To be fair, the Cultivators guarding Ten Directions City weren’t in the wrong.

They were simply following the rules, acting in a methodical and logical manner. Yang An couldn’t find any reason to argue.

At a time like this, it wasn’t out of the question that a Demon Fiend might disguise itself as a Cultivator to try and infiltrate Ten Directions City.

So he could understand why the people of Ten Directions City were defending it so stringently.

But if he couldn’t get into Ten Directions City, he wouldn’t be able to meet the State Lord of Zichuan State or obtain the Golden Thread Sect Seal. It was a dead end.

A sudden, intense feeling of déjà vu left him at a loss for what to do.

Forcing his way in was out of the question. Ten Directions City was full of Cultivators, not to mention even more terrifying entities. If he dared to barge in, he’d likely be blasted to smithereens in moments.

But he wasn’t willing to just give up. He had traveled thousands of miles to get here, right to the foot of Ten Directions City’s walls. He was so close.

’What should I do?’

"Please, fellow Cultivators, I beg your indulgence. Just let me see the State Lord of Zichuan State. Once I have the Golden Thread Sect Seal, I can prove my identity. I would never dare to deceive you."

Yang An could only try to persuade the men on the wall.

"Enough talk! If you don’t leave now, you won’t be leaving at all. We’ll treat you the same as any other Demon Fiend!"

The Cultivators on the wall flatly refused, ordering Yang An to leave at once. Some of them were already itching for a fight.

Seeing he had no other choice, Yang An took a deep breath and turned to leave.

If he couldn’t enter Ten Directions City legitimately, he would have to find another way.

The Demon Fiends were lying in wait. A great battle was inevitable, and he might just find an opportunity in the chaos.

However, lingering outside Ten Directions City was extremely dangerous. He’d have to find a place to hide from the Demon Fiends and bide his time.

But just as Yang An turned to leave, he suddenly sensed something. He snapped his head up, looking out beyond the city walls.

At that same moment, the expressions of the Cultivators on the wall changed as they, too, stared into the distance.

A foul, sickening stench washed over them. In the distance, the sky rapidly darkened, as if a storm of black clouds was descending upon the city, blotting out the sun.

A dense swarm of countless black specks appeared in the distant sky, rushing rapidly toward Ten Directions City. The sight was enough to make one’s Scalp crawl.

’That’s...’

Yang An froze, and alarm bells screamed in his mind!

Flying in from the distance was a swarm of sneering human heads!

From the looks of it, all those heads were headed straight for Ten Directions City. This scene...

A jolt went through Yang An!

’This angle... and that intense feeling of déjà vu... They’re going to bombard Ten Directions City!’

If Yang An could see them, the Cultivators on the wall certainly could too. Immediately, shouts rang out.

"Demon Fiend attack! Demon Fiend attack!"

The top of the wall instantly erupted into chaos. All the Cultivators went on high alert, and the city behind them fell into disarray.

’Shit! I need to get away from here!’

Yang An was far too close to Ten Directions City; he was bound to get caught in the crossfire. In a situation like this, his first instinct was to run.

’But... where can I run?’

His senses told him that in addition to the countless flying heads, vast numbers of Demon Fiends were also rapidly approaching from afar.

Clearly, fleeing away from the city would be like a sheep walking into a tiger’s den. It was suicide.

Who could have predicted that the Demon Fiends would attack at this very moment? He had no chance to get away; it was impossible to create any distance now.

The flying black shapes moved with incredible speed, crossing thousands of meters in the blink of an eye. The bloody heads were about to rain down on Ten Directions City.

At this moment, the attention of every Cultivator on the wall was fixed on the attacking Demon Fiends.

Yang An made a split-second decision. ’In this situation, my only choice is to run *for* Ten Directions City!’

’Conveniently, no one is paying attention to me right now. It’s a heaven-sent opportunity.’

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH—

The heads shrieked as they cut through the air, plummeting toward the city. Their numbers were horrifying; in the blink of an eye, they threatened to completely overwhelm the sky above Ten Directions City.

The heads let out strange, grating cackles, their faces twisted in sneers.

Naturally, the Cultivators on the wall didn’t just stand by and watch; they each unleashed their own techniques.

In an instant, the scene devolved into a chaotic frenzy, a true Purgatory of the Human World.

One Cultivator’s stomach suddenly swelled, inflating rapidly like a balloon until it was a full ten feet wide. He then violently exhaled a great gust of black wind from his mouth.

As the black wind touched the heads, they began to pop and crackle, exploding one after another into a sky-filling mist of blood.

Another Cultivator transformed on the spot into a giant toad. With a flick of its long, pink tongue, it swept a large number of heads into its mouth and swallowed them.

Yet another flew into the air, shooting countless fine white threads from his body.

Anything that came into contact with these threads was instantly sliced into several pieces.

Here in Ten Directions City, their actions could all be seen by the people of the Golden Thread Pavilion. As long as they could repel the Demon Fiend attack, they would be able to receive a reward from the Golden Thread Pavilion afterward.

Therefore, none of the defending Cultivators held back, unleashing all sorts of strange and bizarre techniques.

But despite their efforts, the sheer number of heads was too great. Though there were many Cultivators, gaps inevitably appeared in their defense as they unleashed their techniques, allowing some to slip through the net.

A good number of heads broke through the successive lines of defense as if they had been filtered out, falling into Ten Directions City and slamming violently onto the ground.

SPLAT SPLAT SPLAT—

The heads burst apart like watermelons, splattering red and white gore everywhere.