Xu Mu pondered for a moment before explaining, "The growth of the brain is very complex, related to the cerebral primordium and central functions. It generally takes shape around the eighth month of fetal development."
Hearing Xu Mu's words, Jiang Taixu froze, his face full of confusion. "What are you talking about?"
"Brain growth," Xu Mu said earnestly, looking at him. "You asked me to explain it to you."
"Even if you might not understand, you just need to know how the head grows."
Jiang Taixu was utterly stunned. After a few seconds, he started to laugh inexplicably. "Heh... Hehehe..."
"It's been a long time since I've met someone as interesting as you," Jiang Taixu said with a smile, looking at Xu Mu. He then beckoned him over. "Come here, let me get a good look at you."
"Don't do anything rash!" Seeing that the situation was about to escalate, Jiang Taixu's subordinate quickly whispered a warning.
But in the next second, Jiang Taixu struck him directly in the chest with a palm. The subordinate coughed up blood as he was sent flying off the cliff!
*Bang!*
Transparent white energy surged from Jiang Taixu's body, churning the surrounding air and creating a palpable sense of suffocation.
Xu Mu frowned at this, speaking coldly, "Tonight's primary objective is Ye Palace."
"After eliminating him, if you still want to fight me, then so be it."
Jiang Taixu stared intently at Xu Mu, appearing as though he might erupt at any moment. However, at that instant, he noticed the group of people behind Xu Mu, all glaring at him with unyielding gazes, showing no fear. A battle at this point would undoubtedly result in mutual destruction.
"Regardless, Ye Palace must be eliminated tonight," Jiang Taixu slowly calmed himself and said indifferently.
"You don't need to tell me that," Xu Mu nodded, then called out loudly, "Everyone, when the battle begins, we will be divided into four layers. I will lead the allied forces on the outermost layer, bearing the first round of elemental attacks from the enemies above."
"After that, we will retreat to the rear of the formation. Then, the brothers in the second layer will take the front, enduring one round of elemental attacks before retreating to the back, allowing the third layer to advance, and so on, rotating upwards."
A cultivator beside Jiang Taixu scoffed dismissively. "I thought you had some brilliant strategy. Perhaps you don't know, but the cliff face leading to the peak of Sky Dome Peak is four hundred meters high. The rock is smooth, with no protrusions or indentations. Even a fly would slide down."
"Your idea is well-intentioned, to endure the first round of attacks and then retreat, but in reality, after a direct confrontation without any support, you'll likely fall off the cliff!"
Xu Mu nodded calmly. "Yes, I've considered your point, but it has been resolved."
"It's actually very simple. All it takes is a normal-sized hemp rope."
Xu Mu retrieved a hemp rope from his spatial ring and tied it around his and Qian Qian's waists, connecting them.
"As you can see, as long as we all tie ourselves together with ropes and are positioned in different attack layers, when I, in the first layer, fall downwards, Qian Qian, who is in the fourth layer, will use his strength to pull me up. Then, we can borrow each other's strength and won't fall."
The cultivator listened, his expression stiffening as he scratched his head, clearly not understanding. But Jiang Taixu did.
"Your method is theoretically feasible, but I don't know where you'll find enough ropes. There are four thousand people here, requiring at least two thousand long ropes," Jiang Taixu asked coldly.
"Of course, there aren't that many ropes, so I had them cut a lot of vines and willow branches," Xu Mu said, clapping his hands. The members of his allied forces then produced large bundles of vines and willow branches. They were twisted together and tied with strong knots, perhaps even sturdier than hemp ropes.
Xu Mu smiled. "There's no hemp rope in the Great Green Mountain, but trees are everywhere."
"Moreover, if you had thought of this method earlier, we could have created four thousand four-hundred-meter-long vine ropes and tied them to the trees. This way, we could charge freely, and as long as the ropes don't break, we would never fall."
Jiang Taixu's facial muscles twitched violently. He said with a sinister expression, "I hope these things are strong enough."
"If they break easily, causing people to fall off the cliff, then their purpose will be to weaken our numerical advantage and waste our fighting strength."
Xu Mu shook his head, his voice calm. "They won't. As long as everyone maintains their composure and doesn't linger or become reckless, just take one elemental hit and withdraw, letting the next layer take over. If the rhythm isn't disrupted, I believe we can quickly reach the summit."
As Xu Mu spoke, his subordinates had already distributed the vines and willow branches. They paired up, wrapping and tying them together. Jiang Taixu's team members were no exception.
"Our alliance takes the first layer, Jiang Taixu's alliance takes the third. For the rest of you, divide yourselves according to your numbers. Each layer will have about a thousand people, fewer is fine too, just encircle the peak."
Soon, everyone was ready and, following the command, formed four layers of teams in a semicircle. Xu Mu's team was on the outermost perimeter. Without further ado, he stepped on the Xun symbol and instantly ascended into the wind, charging towards the peak of Sky Dome Peak.
"Brothers, charge!"
With a roar, the four thousand people in the field leaped up almost simultaneously, using their elemental abilities as propulsion towards the peak of Sky Dome Peak. Xu Mu's thousand-strong allied forces charged at the forefront, each person channeling powerful elemental energy, prepared for the impending attacks.
As expected, the next moment, the attacks arrived. Ye Palace's forces had been waiting on the summit for a long time. At intervals, elementalists were stationed in a circular formation around the entire Sky Dome Peak, unleashing elemental attacks downwards.
*Boom!*
Furious flames transformed into candle dragons, charging downwards. The power of a volcanic eruption seemed capable of overwhelming everything. Shadows in the night were illuminated, and these shadows split into a thousand duplicates, each wielding a weapon. Ice and snow condensed in the air, and mind-disrupting notes pierced through the brain... Various elemental abilities were unleashed by the elementalists on the summit. They were indeed Ye Palace's subordinates, their awakened abilities were potent, and their levels were high.
Facing this overwhelming offensive, those below dared not delay and immediately unleashed their own prepared elemental abilities.
*Boom!*
Two waves of elemental energy collided in space, the resulting shockwaves generating incredibly violent recoil, clearing the surrounding mist and causing moonlight to ripple.
"Don't resist directly, retreat!" Xu Mu shouted, and as he finished unleashing his Bagua Flames, he immediately stepped on the wind and retreated, not even waiting for the elemental explosion. The others also dared not linger, as their lives were at stake. They retreated as fast as they could. Fortunately, they had all released their elemental attacks. Although their collective elemental power was not as strong as Ye Palace's forces, and their terrain was not as advantageous, their numbers helped to bridge the gap, resulting in a stalemate.
"Pull upwards with force!"
Xu Mu fell downwards, and then he felt a strong tug. He took the opportunity to step on the wind and continue upwards. The other elementalists did the same, using the vines or branches connecting them to pull their descending bodies back. Then, they continued to use their elemental abilities as propulsion to rush upwards.
"Second layer, attack!"
On the summit of Sky Dome Peak, another round of elemental bombardment ensued. This time, it was the turn of the scattered forces forming the second layer of the front line to counter. Their faces were solemn as they unleashed their prepared elemental abilities. As they clashed, terrifying explosions shook the entire Sky Dome Peak. After the second layer's elementalists finished, they quickly handed over to the third layer. This layer was responsible for confronting Jiang Taixu's team, whose overall strength was the strongest among the four layers. The difference was palpable during the engagement; their attacks and retreats were meticulously planned, unhurried and orderly.
Next, it was the fourth layer's turn, and then Xu Mu and his group returned to the front to act as the first layer. Thus, they continued to cycle back and forth, repeating this offensive pattern, shifting up and down, inside and out. In less than the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn, they had covered half the distance, about two hundred meters. Although their condition had slightly declined, their consumption was not excessive, and few of the ropes binding them had broken.
On the summit of Sky Dome Peak, Ye Palace watched everything from above, his eyes narrowed slightly. Clearly, this situation was beyond his expectations.
Qi Ye said with a grave expression, "I was actually considering whether to go easy on them, let them up intentionally, and then capture them all. But if we don't show some real skill now, Jiang Taixu and the others might reach us without a single casualty."
"At that point, facing five hundred against four thousand, we have absolutely no chance of winning."
"Then exert your full strength," Ye Palace nodded and said calmly. "Since they are using ropes, cut those ropes!"
"Everyone listen, I don't care how you do it, but you must reduce their numbers. The final number allowed to reach the summit must not exceed one thousand."
"Yes!"
...
At the summit, the circle of elementalists responded in unison and immediately increased the intensity of their elemental attacks, which became abruptly ferocious. Faced with this amplified pressure, Xu Mu and the others had to slow down their advance. They could only try to stabilize their defense while inching upwards. However, this was incredibly draining of elemental energy. For one or two incense sticks, it was manageable, as the elementalists rotated, and the consumption was sustainable. But after an hour, the condition of the elementalists, including those in Jiang Taixu's team, had severely declined. Although they didn't have to constantly release energy for attacks, they needed to constantly channel it for upward propulsion. Not everyone could command the wind. At this point, they were less than one hundred and fifty meters from the summit, and their numbers had dwindled to three thousand.
"The offensive has intensified again, we can't delay any longer!" Xu Mu turned, looking at the exhausted crowd, then took a deep breath and shouted, "Everyone, all-out attack! Only one hundred and fifty meters left, let's fight fiercely!"
As Xu Mu's words fell, he used his finger as a weapon, summoning a statue and unleashing a ferocious slash upwards. The other elementalists did the same, erupting with power, no longer holding back as before. Under this sudden surge, Ye Palace's forces were caught somewhat off guard, with some elemental attacks even exploding before their eyes, meaning the enemy was about to breach their defenses.
Seeing this, Qi Ye's expression changed dramatically, and he immediately shouted, "Everyone, no holding back, full power attack!"
*Boom!*
*Crack!*
*Clang!*
Elemental energies collided, and explosions resounded through space, the terrifying shockwaves pushing back both groups of people.
"Fifty paces left!"
Xu Mu's hemp rope was severed by an elemental explosion, as were those on others. This meant that from this point onwards, they no longer had the safety net of being pulled back up if they fell. Now, they could only rely on their own strength.
"Charge!!!"
*Rumble!*
Three thousand people simultaneously unleashed their full potential, elemental energy surging towards the sky, the roars shaking the heavens. However, elemental attacks from above rained down like a tempest, striking down cultivator after cultivator. The numbers of Xu Mu's allied forces decreased from three thousand to two thousand five hundred, then to one thousand five hundred, until finally, they were less than a thousand.
At this moment, Xu Mu's foot finally touched the summit of Sky Dome Peak. Meanwhile, Ye Palace's five hundred people had only experienced a decline in their condition, but their numbers remained unchanged.
Five hundred against one thousand.
Ye Palace and Qi Ye stood side by side.
The battle had just begun!
...