Chapter 39
Translator: T_Fan
The current sect master of the Changchun Sect had been known to be at Foundation Establishment Great Perfection.
He, too, was a Golden Core cultivator.
It wasn’t that the Changchun Sect had no Golden Core cultivators. It had two!
WHOOOOOM!
The inner formation of the Nine Peaks Spring-Restoring Formation expanded in an instant.
The blue barrier stretched all the way to the External Affairs Market, forcing the attackers back, while the six Vein-Reversing Nails embedded in the ground were ripped free amid streams of reverse-flowing red energy.
CRACK!
The Foundation Establishment cultivators operating the Six-Nail Vein-Reversing Formation coughed up blood, and the Elders of the Changchun Sect did not let the opening slip by.
SWISH-SWISH-SWISH!
Dozens of streams of sword light rained down on the Foundation Establishment cultivators disguised as rogue cultivators.
The tide of the battlefield reversed in an instant.
“The sect master has reached the Golden Core realm!”
“Our sect has two Golden Core seniors!”
The cheers of the Changchun Sect disciples shook all nine peaks.
Meanwhile, the rogue cultivators gathered in the External Affairs Market fell into confusion, while the attackers disguised among them were thrown into disarray.
Magical light flickered through Red Furnace Adept’s eyes as he stared at the Changchun Sect’s sect master.
“You deceived us. You didn’t just enter the Golden Core realm.”
A moment later, his voice, infused with magical power, thundered across the battlefield.
“Good! Now we have yet another piece of evidence that the Changchun Sect has deceived the cultivators of Lan Kingdom.”
The cheers of the Changchun Sect disciples briefly subsided.
The rogue cultivators in the External Affairs Market looked at one another as well.
“How utterly devious! The Changchun Sect concealed the birth of a new Golden Core cultivator. It wore the guise of a sect led by a Foundation Establishment sect master while selling Essence-Raising Pills and taking the spirit stones of Lan Kingdom’s rogue cultivators!”
Red Furnace Adept spread both arms.
“Now that you’ve been caught selling defective pills, are you flaunting your strength and telling everyone not to get uppity because you’re a Golden Core cultivator?”
The Changchun Sect’s sect master answered calmly.
“Nonsense. There is nothing wrong with our pills. Besides, I have no obligation to announce my realm.”
Red Furnace Adept shouted.
“The pill-inspection seal is real, and the victims are real! Even the sect master’s golden core is real, so why do you insist the Changchun Sect’s crimes are false!”
Murmurs once again spread among the rogue cultivators in the External Affairs Market.
There was a leap in his logic.
The existence of the pill-inspection seals and the victims was not proof that the Changchun Sect had produced counterfeit Essence-Raising Pills, and concealing the sect master’s realm had nothing to do with the Essence-Raising Pills either.
Yet the powerful divine sense carried in Red Furnace Adept’s empowered voice made the Qi Refining cultivators perceive those unrelated facts as parts of one enormous deception.
Lady White Ash also spoke quietly.
“The Changchun Sect took spirit stones from Lan Kingdom’s rogue cultivators while concealing its own strength. You shared in the profits, yet when the time came to take responsibility, you hid behind your Mountain Gate.”
With sorrowful eyes, she looked at the seven coffins.
“Is that righteous conduct?”
“You’ve always been good at spouting nonsense.”
The supreme sect master casually rested his staff across his shoulder.
He glanced at the coffins and injured people in the External Affairs Market.
“I wonder how many of these people are truly rogue cultivators. Those youngsters do not even seem to be from Qinglu Kingdom, but from Nanli Kingdom. Who are you trying to fool? The stench of the sea hangs all over them.”
The supreme sect master pointed his staff toward the scattered remains of the Vein-Reversing Nails throughout the External Affairs Market.
“Did the victims prepare the formation devices that made up that formation as well? And the flying boats and cultivators hidden outside the outer formation, were they all mourners brought along to help with the funeral?”
The rogue cultivators in the External Affairs Market stared at the shattered iron stakes and flying boats in alarm.
“We didn’t know those things were there!”
“Did the Honglu Sect use us?”
“Come to think of it, why am I even here?”
The crowd began to split.
Red Furnace Adept did not waste any more words.
“It seems I’ll have no choice but to teach you through force.”
THOOOM―
Nine fire dragons emerged from the pill furnace floating behind him.
The supreme sect master raised his staff.
“That’s better. You look much more agreeable when you’re honest, Red Furnace.”
THUD.
The moment the supreme sect master’s staff touched the ground, the forests of the Changchun Range reared up as one.
Hundreds of trees and roots intertwined in midair, intercepting the flames.
Beside him, the young sect master of the Changchun Sect held a single tree branch. It looked ordinary, but the waves of magical power emanating from it were anything but.
Four leaves grew from the branch.
A pale green leaf.
A deep blue-green leaf.
A golden leaf.
A pure white leaf.
Across from him, Lady White Ash opened her fan.
“A magic treasure containing the transformations of the four seasons…”
When Lady White Ash swept her fan, white ash blanketed the air like a blizzard.
That marked the beginning of the battle.
Every time one of the fire dragons twisted its body, dozens of ancient trees burned, but wherever ash fell, even more roots burst from the ground.
BOOOOM!
A massive ancient tree covered in green roots smashed into the red pill furnace. Red Furnace Adept was driven back dozens of zhang (at least several dozen meters) together with his red cloud, and a hairline crack appeared across the surface of the furnace.
Lady White Ash’s ashen wind withered the life force of the pale green leaf and rotted the golden leaf, but the instant frost scattered from the pure white leaf froze the ash, hundreds of seeds burrowed through the opening.
All those transformations overlapped within the span of only a few breaths.
…
On the ground, magic tools and techniques wielded by dozens of Foundation Establishment cultivators flew back and forth without pause.
The Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining cultivators had to keep an eye on the sky even as they continued the battles before them.
Every time the Golden Core cultivators unleashed techniques, the entire Nine Peaks Spring-Restoring Formation shook.
BOOOOOM!
Every stray aftershock from the Golden Core cultivators’ techniques carried enough power to kill dozens of Qi Refining cultivators.
The Nine Peaks Spring-Restoring Formation blocked most of those aftershocks, but the burden on the disciples operating the formation stations rapidly increased.
As Lee Hyun watched the battle, Pei Jingsong spoke.
“We’re pushing them back.”
He was right.
Red Furnace Adept and Lady White Ash were powerful, but this was the Changchun Sect’s home ground, protected by the Nine Peaks Spring-Restoring Formation.
Red Furnace Adept’s long robe was torn in several places, and a thin crack had appeared in the red pill furnace floating behind him. A green leaf was embedded in Lady White Ash’s faded fan.
The Changchun Sect disciples cheered.
But Lee Hyun felt that something was off.
Red Furnace Adept and Lady White Ash did not look hard-pressed.
‘Strange.’
Their initial decision to attack the Changchun Sect could be considered reasonable. If the sect had no Golden Core cultivator, or only one so old and frail that he could no longer fight properly, this would have been an ideal opportunity to seize a newly formed Tier 3 spirit vein.
As long as they had a suitable pretext, the great sects of Lan Kingdom that possessed Nascent Soul cultivators would probably not interfere too heavily.
But that was only true if they could win. In a Tier 4 cultivation nation, Golden Core cultivators stood above virtually everyone except Nascent Soul cultivators. There was no reason to risk such precious lives by continuing a battle in which they were at a disadvantage.
That was when it happened.
‘Hm?’
Lee Hyun raised his head.
The direction of the wind had changed.
Amid the battlefield wind thick with the smell of mountains, fire, and blood, he caught a faint salty scent.
SPLASH.
The sound of waves came from somewhere.
The cultivators of the Changchun Sect looked around.
SPLASH.
This time, it was closer.
Clear water began seeping between the shattered buildings of the External Affairs Market, then rapidly rose.
Ankles.
Knees.
Waists.
But there was something strange about it.
The halls and people’s bodies were submerged, yet no one struggled to breathe. Their clothes did not even become wet.
A small fish with silver scales passed beside them as though swimming through open air.
Dozens of blue fish followed behind it.
Before long, the entire External Affairs Market looked as if it were beneath the sea.
It was not real seawater, but the vast illusion created from water qi and divine sense felt half real.
There was only one kind of existence that could casually display such might.
Shen Yanzhu spoke with a pale face.
“Another Golden Core cultivator.”
Sunlight vanished from the sky.
Everyone looked up.
The southern sky above the Changchun Range had transformed into a blue ocean surface.
Waves rolled where clouds should have been.
The shadow of a whale passed beyond the blue sky.
Its body seemed dozens of zhang long.
FWOOOOOSH―
When the whale blew a column of water, blue rain poured over the Changchun Range.
Then a man came walking across the inverted sea.
One step.
Silver ripples spread beneath his feet.
Another step.
The distance contracted, bringing the man’s figure rapidly closer before their eyes.
His hair was bound beneath a crown woven from white jade and coral, while waves and unknown sea beasts had been embroidered in silver thread across his long, flowing robe.
Each time his sleeves moved, the embroidered fish and sea beasts seemed to swim as if alive.
A circular ring as tall as a man floated behind his back.
Its outer rim was silver, while endless blue waves revolved within. Unfamiliar formation inscriptions were engraved across its surface.
The moment Lee Hyun saw the token hanging from the man’s waist, his expression changed.
‘Qingchao Merchant Alliance?’
The Qingchao Merchant Alliance had never possessed a Golden Core cultivator. At least, not by the time Lee Hyun left Nanli Kingdom.
A Foundation Establishment Elder from External Affairs Peak recognized the man and groaned out his name.
“Azure Sea Wanderer…. The Golden Core guest retainer the Qingchao Merchant Alliance recruited from beyond Nanming Sea.”
Azure Sea Wanderer.
He was a figure whose name had begun spreading through southern Nanli Kingdom only recently.
Azure Sea Wanderer glanced over Red Furnace Adept’s and Lady White Ash’s wounds before looking down at the Changchun Sect.
“The sea accepts ten thousand rivers.”
His voice rolled across the Changchun Range like a wave.
“It embraces both clear water and muddy water without distinction. But it cannot accept water laced with poison.”
Waves rose across the blue sky.
Those who heard his empowered voice felt as though they stood alone before an endless horizon. Disciples with weak divine sense unconsciously stepped half a pace backward.
“I came from the distant sea, but the Dao knows no borders, nor does the grievance of those unjustly slain belong to any one homeland.”
He gave a quiet sigh.
“The Qingchao Merchant Alliance has distributed pills and spirit plants throughout Lan Kingdom for many years. How could I, as its guest retainer, remain silent after witnessing the suffering of Lan Kingdom’s rogue cultivators?”
The supreme sect master looked at Azure Sea Wanderer.
“I didn’t realize the duties of the Qingchao Merchant Alliance’s guest retainers extended to attacking other people’s sects.”
“If I were to turn away after witnessing injustice, would I not be ashamed before my juniors, not as a guest retainer, but as a cultivator who has formed a golden core?”
“Well said.”
The supreme sect master nodded.
“But how strange. If you merely heard of this injustice and rushed here afterward, how did you know the exact moment the outer formation would collapse?”
Azure Sea Wanderer smiled.
The Changchun Sect’s sect master asked.
“Was it you, fellow Daoist, who brought the Essence-Unblocking Pills into Lan Kingdom?”
“The distribution of pills is a matter the juniors handle themselves. I do not know the particulars.”
“Is that truly so?”
Lee Hyun did not miss Azure Sea Wanderer’s brief silence.
‘He’s involved.’
Azure Sea Wanderer studied the Changchun Sect’s sect master for a moment, seemingly curious about his realm, then shifted his gaze to the supreme sect master’s withered body and the staff in his hand.
“To think Golden Core cultivators here are this weak… It seems this level of strength is enough to occupy a Tier 3 spirit vein in Lan Kingdom.”
The faces of the Changchun Sect cultivators hardened at Azure Sea Wanderer’s insulting words.
Red Furnace Adept spoke.
“Fellow Daoist Azure Sea Wanderer. It seems the Changchun Sect has no intention of admitting its crimes willingly.”
Lady White Ash quietly added,
“For the sake of the dead as well, the Mountain Gate must be opened.”
Azure Sea Wanderer nodded.
“Then this is as far as I will go in explaining reason with words.”
He raised his right hand.
The silver ring floating behind him began to rotate.
WHOOOOOOOM―
The sea hanging in the sky poured down in its entirety toward Changchun Peak.
“…!”
The supreme sect master and the Changchun Sect’s sect master formed hand seals at the same time. The forest surged upward, and a ring of the four seasons appeared to support the descending sea.
BOOOOOOM!
The shockwave from the collision spread across all nine peaks. Countless spirit stones socketed into formation stations were pulverized at once, while the disciples operating those stations coughed up blood.
Yet the sea did not stop.
Even with two Golden Core cultivators joining forces, the surface of the sea continued to descend little by little.
Taking advantage of the opening, Red Furnace Adept’s fire dragons and Lady White Ash’s ashen wind once again struck the inner formation.
CRACK-CRACK-CRACK!
Azure Sea Wanderer stood atop the inverted sea and looked down at the Changchun Sect.
“The tides of the great ocean do not count how many peaks stand before them.”
The shadow of a gigantic whale emerged behind Azure Sea Wanderer.
When the whale swimming through the sky opened its mouth, layers of blue waves gathered within.
“Let me see just how profound the Daoist arts of Lan Kingdom are….”
The Golden Core cultivator from the southern sea lowered his hand.
“Allow this Azure Sea Wanderer to witness them firsthand.”
A dark blue wave collapsed toward the Changchun Sect.
Changchun Peak looked like nothing more than a tiny reef.
At that exact moment,
“The character zhi (止), ‘stop’.”
A calm voice rang out, as though someone were writing a character across paper with a brush.
A purple stroke appeared in the middle of the dark blue sea. Vertical and horizontal lines joined together, completing one enormous character.
【止】
RUUUUUMBLE―
The descending sea froze in place above the Changchun Range. Even the droplets flung from the tips of the waves and the fish swimming within were fixed motionless in the air.
Azure Sea Wanderer’s gaze turned north.
Purple clouds were slowly rolling in from that direction. A middle-aged scholar in a crane cloak stood atop them.
He wore a simple crown on his head and held a white-jade ruler one chi (about 33 cm) long in one hand. With his three strands of beard and tranquil eyes, he resembled a scholar from the mundane world.
“Master Purple Cloud!”
“It’s Master Purple Cloud of the Taihe Sect!”
Murmurs spread throughout the entire Changchun Sect.
Taihe Sect.
It was a great sect that occupied a Tier 4 spirit vein in central Lan Kingdom, with a Nascent Soul supreme ancestral master and a sect master above several Golden Core cultivators. The names of the Taihe Sect or Ziwei Sword Sect appeared in most of the large-scale covenants formed among the sects and clans of Lan Kingdom.
It was one of the powers that led the cultivation world of Lan Kingdom.
Master Purple Cloud raised his white-jade ruler.
“Trying to destroy another country’s beautiful mountains… Is this what they teach as proper etiquette beyond Nanming Sea?”
Azure Sea Wanderer laughed.
“I simply cannot tolerate injustice.”
“You speak of the Changchun Sect’s Essence-Raising Pills?”
“I do.”
Master Purple Cloud withdrew a thin golden ledger from his sleeve. When he tapped it with the white-jade ruler, the recorded characters floated into the air.
「770 Essence-Unblocking Pills and 80 jin (about 48 kg) of Meridian-Severing Grass.
Received into Qingchao Merchant Alliance inventory.
Purchased Changchun Sect Essence-Raising Pill bottles and damaged Spirit-Sealing Talismans.
Total: over 1,100.」
The cultivators in the External Affairs Market looked up at the records in the air.
Master Purple Cloud pointed his jade ruler toward the final portion of the ledger.
The movement of Essence-Unblocking Pills and spirit stones through the Qingchao Merchant Alliance’s various warehouses had been split along complicated paths. But when traced backward by location and date, most converged upon a single maritime route.
It began in southern Nanli Kingdom and extended deep into Nanming Sea.
At the route’s end was stamped a wave-shaped emblem unknown in the cultivation world of Lan Kingdom.
Master Purple Cloud spoke.
“These are records from an investigation by the Taihe Sect’s Patrol Court. The ones who brought in the Essence-Unblocking Pills and the ones who purchased the Changchun Sect’s empty pill bottles both crossed paths in warehouses belonging to the Qingchao Merchant Alliance.”
An uproar spread among the rogue cultivators of the External Affairs Market.
“They bought that many Essence-Raising Pill bottles?”
“What could they possibly want with empty bottles and Spirit-Sealing Talismans?”
“So the Essence-Unblocking Pills came through the Qingchao Merchant Alliance too!”
Master Purple Cloud continued.
“The Essence-Unblocking Pill itself is a perfectly normal pill. However, the pills recovered from the victims retained both the fire patterns left by melting down Essence-Unblocking Pills and putting them through Pill Condensation again, as well as the poison of Meridian-Severing Grass. During the same period, the Qingchao Merchant Alliance purchased Essence-Unblocking Pills, Meridian-Severing Grass, empty Changchun Sect pill bottles, and Spirit-Sealing Talismans. The necessary materials came together far too precisely for this to be mere coincidence.”
Master Purple Cloud’s gaze moved across Red Furnace Adept, Lady White Ash, and Azure Sea Wanderer.
“You disguised poison pills as Essence-Raising Pills, killed people with them, then carried their corpses all the way here and used them as shields. Hearing people like you speak of righteousness is enough to make even me ashamed.”
The rogue cultivators erupted in anger.
“They deliberately killed people and tried to pin the crime on the Changchun Sect!”
Red Furnace Adept’s face hardened.
“Fellow Daoist Purple Cloud. Do you intend to slander even the Honglu Sect without conclusive evidence?”
“Fellow Daoist? Since when did the likes of the Honglu Sect dare question a cultivator of the Taihe Sect? After joining hands with an overseas power, you still have the face to speak to me?”
“…”
Master Purple Cloud closed the ledger and extended his white-jade ruler.
“Even if the Changchun Sect were guilty, the matter would be judged according to the laws of Lan Kingdom. I will not allow a blade from beyond the southern sea to sit in judgment over one of Lan Kingdom’s sects.”
The smile vanished from Azure Sea Wanderer’s eyes. A crescent-shaped wave sprang from inside the silver ring, attempting to cleave through both the floating ledger and Master Purple Cloud.
SWOOOOOSH!
Before it could, a single black bamboo leaf brushed across the center of the wave.
SLICE.
The silver wave, dozens of zhang long, split cleanly in two.
RUSTLE.
A white scroll unfurled in midair. At the tip of the ink-black bamboo painted upon it stood a woman who appeared to be around twenty-five.
She wore a simple black-and-white robe, and her waist-length hair was held in place by a single ink-black bamboo hairpin. A slender brush rested in her hand.
Azure Sea Wanderer spoke.
“And what technique is this?”
Someone among the rogue cultivators shouted.
“It’s Senior Su Zhuyan of the Taihe Sect!”
Su Zhuyan was a renowned talisman maker in Lan Kingdom and an extraordinary cultivator who followed the Dao of Painting.
When she painted a single wave into an empty section of the scroll, the sea pressing down on the Changchun Range began to be sucked into the painting. The whale’s shadow, the schools of fish, and even the droplets frozen in the sky formed a tremendous vortex and streamed into the scroll.
Azure Sea Wanderer exclaimed in admiration.
“Lan Kingdom does have a few techniques worth seeing.”
Master Purple Cloud spoke.
“If you turn back even now, the Taihe Sect will not pursue your discourtesy any further.”
“…”
“Do you intend to face the two of us alone?”
Azure Sea Wanderer looked back and forth between Master Purple Cloud and Su Zhuyan.
Not a trace of fear appeared on his face.
“If there are two, so what? If there are three, what of it?”
The sea within the silver ring began revolving even faster.
Twelve lights appeared within its depths.
They were twelve dark blue beads.
Each bead contained the scenery of a different sea.
It was a magic treasure forged from spirit materials and an artifact-forging method never seen in Lan Kingdom.
“Then allow me to witness the Daoist arts of you two as well.”
Su Zhuyan’s eyebrow twitched.
“No, wait….”
At that moment, the horizons of the different seas contained within the twelve beads brightened simultaneously.
The light extended from the beads and connected to somewhere beyond the southern sky.
Master Purple Cloud’s expression hardened. Su Zhuyan also looked toward the southern sky before rapidly moving her lips.
No sound could be heard, yet the gazes of the Changchun Sect’s sect master and supreme sect master immediately turned toward the two of them. The lips of all four Golden Core cultivators moved almost simultaneously.
The next moment, the Foundation Establishment Elders’ expressions grew solemn.
Soon, the identity token hanging from Lee Hyun’s waist trembled ever so slightly.
[Yanzhu, Jingsong, Dong’er. Listen carefully, and don’t be alarmed.]
It was Gao Yuanhe.
[Return to Yang Fire Court. Pack your belongings within half a ke (about seven or eight minutes), then head to North Gate Three.]
Shen Yanzhu asked,
[Has something happened?]
[A Nascent Soul cultivator may be approaching. Don’t show any reaction. Nothing good will come of them realizing we’re evacuating.]
Gao Yuanhe’s voice transmission was swift and firm.
[Take charge of ten disciples at mid Qi Refining or below.]
[What will you do, Master?]
[A Foundation Establishment cultivator accompanying you would only make you a target. The Elders and stewards will split up and travel separately, each carrying a portion of the core inheritance. Do not take a large flying boat. Do not rise above the forest canopy. Run through the valleys and between the trees, or fly low. Once you’re two hundred li (about 78 km) away, divide the group again, and do not stop until you reach territory controlled by the Taihe Sect or Ziwei Sword Sect.]
The voice transmission ended.
The three hurried toward Pill Cauldron Peak.
In the sky behind them, the battle between the seven Golden Core cultivators resumed.
…
Pill Cauldron Peak, Yang Fire Court.
By the time the three returned, Yang Fire Court had already fallen into chaos.
The seals on the medicinal-ingredient warehouses were being released one after another. The stewards, who normally would have scrutinized every last line in the ledgers, swept pill recipes, pills, and medicinal ingredients into storage pouches.
Lee Hyun headed straight for his residence.
Most of his core assets were in Tunnel No. 2, so there was almost nothing he needed to take.
As he passed the communal alchemy chamber, a steward in charge of the medicinal-ingredient warehouse spotted him and beckoned. At the steward’s feet stood one of the better-maintained communal pill furnaces in Yang Fire Court, a Tier 1 supreme-grade pill furnace.
“Dong’er, you don’t seem to have much luggage. Is there room left in your storage pouch?”
“Yes.”
“Then put this in too. If we leave it behind, it’ll only become loot for those bastards.”
The steward pushed the pill furnace toward him.
Still somewhat bewildered, Lee Hyun reached out and stuffed the waist-high bronze pill furnace directly into his storage pouch.
…
Before even half a ke had passed, dozens of disciples had gathered in front of North Gate Three.
Thirteen of them from Yang Fire Court formed a single group.
Shen Yanzhu and Pei Jingsong stood at the front, while Lee Hyun took the rear. The remaining ten were disciples at Qi Refining Stage 6 or below.
A Green Leaf Boat a little over five zhang in length emerged from the emergency storehouse beside them. It was a Tier 1 mid-grade flight magic tool shaped like a broad leaf, with a sleek hull and little noise, making it easy to pass through dense woodland.
A Foundation Establishment Elder sent a voice transmission only to the three of them.
[Take turns operating it. Do not rise above the forest, and do not travel in the same direction as any other Green Leaf Boat.]
Without another word, he opened North Gate Three.
HUUUUM―
The Green Leaf Boat carrying all thirteen passed through the blue barrier.
Shen Yanzhu lowered their altitude, bringing the Green Leaf Boat beneath the treetops. At times it glided along valleys, and at others it slipped diagonally between thick tree trunks.
Once they left the Mountain Gate, another gate behind them briefly opened and then closed. Disciples from the various peaks were quietly scattering at different times and along different routes.
Lights from techniques still flashed across the sky. Red flames, purple characters, blue waves, and ink-black radiance alternately dyed the forest as though day and night were flickering back and forth. Even as the distance increased, the explosions continued to shake the Green Leaf Boat beneath their feet.
…
A forest a little over sixty li northeast of the Changchun Range.
Just as the Green Leaf Boat was about to leave a narrow valley, six bronze streaks flashed between the trees ahead.
SWISH-SWISH-SWISH!
Ten layers of Lee Hyun’s Spirit Light Shield unfolded in front of the Green Leaf Boat.
BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!
The six outer Spirit Light Shields shattered at once, but the inner shields tilted at an angle and deflected the trajectories of the flying swords outward. The bronze flying swords barely skimmed past the edges of the Green Leaf Boat before piercing the cliffs and trees on either side.
When the Green Leaf Boat shook violently from the impact, Shen Yanzhu immediately changed direction and brought the flight magic tool down into a clearing in the forest.
“Everyone, off!”
Before the disciples could even leap from the Green Leaf Boat, two waves of Foundation Establishment spiritual pressure crushed down over the clearing.
A cultivator in a dark gray robe stood among the shadows of the trees ahead. At a gesture from him, the six scattered bronze flying swords swiftly returned and began revolving above his head.
Another Foundation Establishment cultivator appeared atop the cliff behind them, dressed in a dark blue robe. He held a black-iron spear longer than a man was tall.
The two Foundation Establishment cultivators had blocked their escape from both front and rear.
Shen Yanzhu and Pei Jingsong immediately drew their magic tools, while the ten Junior Brothers also formed up.
Lee Hyun drew the Mountain-Suppressing Sword.
SHING―
A wondrous light quietly wreathed the blade.
The instant the cultivator controlling the bronze flying swords saw the sword wrapped in that light, his body went rigid.
“You….”
As though unable to believe his eyes, he tore off his mask. Beneath it appeared a face that seemed vaguely familiar.
“Badger!”
‘Is he one of the alliance elders I fought on Chiyao Island before?’
The cultivator in the dark blue robe asked with a puzzled expression.
“You know that guy?”
“Don’t underestimate him. We need to kill him immediately!”
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