At the center of the World-Domain Battlefield, the ancient grounds stood as a witness to eons of conflict.
Battlefield barriers, etched with the scars of time, stretched from the high heavens to the deepest netherworld, dividing the entire theater into seven major zones ranging from Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment to the Unity Stage.
As the barrier separating the two armies vanished, the demonic horde, radiating a horrific aura, surged forward like an overwhelming tide toward the humans of the Star-Sea World. Their presence and combat power were staggering.
Faced with such formidable enemies, the humans felt a tremor of awe and a sliver of fear in their hearts, but beyond that, there was only killing intent and resolve. Thus, the moment the demonic torrent rushed toward them, not a single person retreated. They moved precisely according to the instructions of the battlefield commanders and Formation Masters.
In an instant, the demonic tide arrived with sky-shattering bloodlust. For them, no sophisticated strategy was needed. They used the simplest and most effective method: crushing the enemy with pure numbers and combat power. They believed that no matter the formation or lineup, everything would be pulverized before them.
The Star-Sea humans would be no exception. Worlds far stronger than this one had been reduced to scorched earth under their maws. Especially now... they carried the blessing of their Supreme Demon Lord!
"Eat! Kill! Tear!"
The horrific bloodlust shook heaven and earth, threatening to consume the Star-Sea humans in an instant. However... just before they made contact, the formations erupted!
Spirit-Devouring Fiend-Flames, Profound Ice of Extreme Cold, Heavy Water of the Netherworld!
Azure Thunder, Yin-Corroding Absolute Water!
The Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation! The Yin-Yang Grinding Stones!
The moment the demon army charged, countless brilliant and terrifying killing arrays detonated simultaneously! The entire central ancient battlefield was filled with countless dazzling spiritual lights, instantly piercing through the demonic aura that had shrouded the area. The demonic roars that had echoed through the battlefield were replaced by earth-shattering booms!
The true utility of the formations prepared by the Star-Sea World was finally revealed. In an instant, wails filled the air as severed limbs and shredded flesh covered the ground. It was a super-meat-grinder on a grand scale!
However, such a tragic scene did not cause the demonic torrent to falter or hesitate in the slightest. What they feared least was death, and they would not feel cowardice just because their companions were killed by an array.
As one batch of demons died, even more surged forward, biting at flying swords and slamming into any location that might be a formation eye! Given their massive numbers and powerful bodies, the attacks of the arrays were rapidly diluted. Many strikes that should have been fatal were spread out until they only caused minor or heavy injuries.
For the maddened demons, such injuries had a minimal impact on their combat effectiveness. Even more terrifying was that many formations could not withstand the extreme strain. Some had their eyes smashed, and most were overrun within a short time.
This was the horror of the demonic legions. Formations were indeed sharp tools in large-scale warfare, but there was a limit to the numbers they could handle. Many arrays that would have been lethal to human cultivators were merely noisy firecrackers before these demons with their peerless physical strength and overwhelming numbers.
It was because of this trait that when many human cultivation worlds were invaded, the arrays that had protected a sect's foundation for ten thousand years were like tiny ants before the demonic flood. Using the methods of internal human warfare to deal with a world-invasion-level demonic threat would only result in a miserable end!
The formations erupting from the Star-Sea World faced this same dilemma. Although they could grind down many demons in the initial clash, they couldn't hold on for long.
Surprisingly, while some Star-Sea cultivators were shocked by the demons' terrifying combat power, the majority remained expressionless, as if they had expected this. This reaction puzzled the demon commanders. Based on past experience, the humans should have been utterly stunned by how easily their carefully prepared and highly anticipated arrays were being overrun.
'What is wrong with the humans of this world?'
The answer surfaced very quickly.
They exploded.
Just as the contact area between the demonic torrent and the arrays reached its maximum, the formations seemed to have been prepared for this moment. At the cost of burning everything and self-destructing, they unleashed their ultimate lethality!
Normally, doing this would be a wasteful destruction of resources, but the density of the demons was simply too high. To minimize the damage from the arrays and accelerate the breakthrough, the demon commanders had ordered their troops into an unprecedentedly dense formation. At this moment, they had become perfect targets!
As the powerful formations performed their final strike, blinding spiritual light and horrific booms echoed through the central ancient battlefield! The entire battlefield shook violently under the resonance. Such a sudden explosion of combat power was rare even for this ancient ground.
Yet, this was still not everything the Star-Sea World had prepared.
Beyond these numerous formations, the Star-Sea World had ready their true trump cards: Self-Detonation Formations, Self-Detonation Talismans, and Self-Detonation Spirit Tools, interspersed with a massive number of high-power talismans!
These were strategic-level weapons specially researched and refined by the Star-Sea World's highest institutes of formation, talismanry, and smithing. They were all designed with the terrifying power of a cultivator's self-detonation as a reference, further enhanced and improved through advanced knowledge!
In some respects, these weapons were no less powerful than the self-destruction of a cultivator of the same rank; some were even stronger. Due to limited materials, every type, regardless of power, had been mass-produced as much as possible.
The most terrifying among them were the Self-Detonation Formations. These arrays, which fused the power of heaven and earth with spiritual objects, possessed world-destroying power!
These horrific self-detonation weapons had been quietly buried within the path of the demonic torrent, waiting for this moment to reveal their purpose! The final strikes of the previous arrays were merely the prelude—a method to lure the enemy in. The true killing move lay in these pre-positioned self-detonation weapons!
The Star-Sea Self-Detonation Weapon Developers had once said:
"Do the demons think they are peerless in physical strength and masters of the overwhelming legion torrent? Are they so confident in their disaster-level invasion scale? Then let them taste the flavor of our self-detonation weapons!"
As these weapons and formations detonated, various colored spiritual mushroom clouds rose into the sky! The eyes of the Formation Masters who had joined this battlefield instantly grew incredibly bright!