That gloom expanded rapidly across his face. Anyone could see that Mi Shuhua looked as grim as still, dark water.
"What is there to panic about? Calm down!"
His tranquil voice fell over Mi Junping like a basin of icy water, clearing her head in an instant.
"Speak slowly."
"Right!"
Mi Junping drew a deep breath and began, "The men left at the headquarters just sent a secret message.
"Right now, Wang Yuan's Flood Dragon Hall, the Battle Hall where Zeng Wen and Qiu Wu are stationed, and even Ke Yuelin's Beast Hall are all under heavy attack.
"Yang Wei, who returned from the Guyuan Mountain Range gravely wounded, was found dead in his home by Battle Hall cultivators who rushed over to ask for aid.
"A massive force is also assaulting the headquarters, led by four ninth-level Qi Refinement cultivators. Mi Zijun is leading the defense with everything he has, but their situation is dire."
Toward the end, an involuntary note of panic slipped back into her voice.
"Father, the scale of the Great River Gang's assault this time is even larger than last year's!"
Hearing her words, the other cultivators of the Mi family were thrown into shock.
Restlessness rippled through the hall before anyone could stop it.
Seeing this, Mi Shuhua's first reaction was not concern over the Mountain Breaker Gang's predicament, but a profound grief.
To think of the towering ambition and brilliance he possessed! Rising up by force from the lowly station of a rogue cultivator, achieving Foundation Establishment, seizing a gang, and founding a family from scratch. Under his leadership, the Mountain Breaker Gang had flourished across the board, scarcely differing from a minor sect. If only he had sufficient resources, he would have dared to vie for the Golden Core realm.
Yet by some cruel twist of fate, the flesh and blood he had sired was nothing but a pack of mediocre fools.
His eldest daughter was rash, short-tempered, and petty. Despite having respectable talent, she was shortsighted, ruining her Dao path over trivial romance. His son and younger daughter possessed negligible aptitude to begin with, barely worth mentioning. Among the third generation, after great pains to cultivate Mi Zifan, the boy had crumbled into complete despair after a single defeat.
How tragic!
Could it be that the entire fortune of the Mi clan rested solely on his own shoulders?
"Father, say something!"
"Shut your mouth!"
Mi Shuhua glared at her, sending a violent shudder through Mi Junping's entire frame.
The last time she had seen that look was when she had fled home in disgrace, cradling her infant daughter, Mi Li.
Mi Shuhua drew a deep breath. "Five ninth-level Qi Refinement cultivators at Crescent Moon Valley, four at the headquarters... Wang Yuan and Zeng Wen are seasoned hands; dealing with either of them would require at least two ninth-level cultivators.
"If you add Qiu Wu, Yang Wei, Ke Yuelin, and places like the Mining Hall, just how many ninth-level experts would the Great River Gang need to deploy?
"Do they even have that many experts?"
Mi Junping was no fool, after all, and quickly caught on.
"Father, are you saying this isn't an isolated move by the Great River Gang, but that the Lianyun Merchant Alliance is behind it too?"
"Aunt, isn't that completely obvious? Don't tell me you only realized it just now!" Mi Zifan sneered, his tone laced with mockery.
Mi Junping glared at him with fury.
Mi Shuhua sighed, too weary to arbitrate their bickering.
"I thought I had reached an understanding with them after the Dao Discussion Platform.
"Yet when the Golden Core ruins opened this time, they ventured into the Guyuan Mountain Range themselves and discovered many of the territories where our gang once profited.
"Now greed has swayed their hearts, and they can no longer hold themselves back."
In saying this, he withheld certain crucial matters.
Mi Junping asked anxiously, "Father, then what should we do now?"
Rubbing his brow, Mi Shuhua pondered for a moment before speaking in a measured cadence. "As for the other branches, wait and watch. They will rely on their own capabilities. If they survive, all the better. If they are wiped out, we can simply rebuild them later; Dahe Market never lacks rogue cultivators.
"Crescent Moon Valley, however, must be taken seriously.
"Especially the Pill Hall!
"That is paramount. There must be no mishaps there!"
Mi Zifan could not help but chime in, "Surely that's an exaggeration? It's merely a stronghold housing the old, weak, women, and children. In my view, it's far less important than the three Battle Halls."
"What do you know!" Mi Junping seized the opportunity to sneer. "If the Pill Hall weren't important, why would the Great River Gang and the Lianyun Merchant Alliance deploy five ninth-level experts all at once?"
The enemy's focus was the clearest testament to the Pill Hall's worth!
Mi Zifan was left tongue-tied, his face flushing with discomfort.
Seeing that he had no retort, Mi Junping felt a smug satisfaction, though given the gravity of the situation, she tucked away her petty thoughts.
"Father, our manpower in the gang is stretched thin right now. I'm afraid we cannot spare any cultivators to provide relief."
Every branch was under assault.
The crisis was even more perilous than the one they had faced the previous year.
For a moment, even Mi Junping was at a loss for ideas.
As she stood bewildered, she noticed her father's gaze fall upon them.
"Don't I still have all of you?"
"I have provided for you for so long; it is time you stirred yourselves. Otherwise, when the Mi family formally integrates the Mountain Breaker Gang in the future, people will inevitably gossip.
"This crisis, in fact, presents an opportunity."
At his words, a stir ran through the Mi family cultivators.
Sheltered beneath Mi Shuhua's wing, the Mi family cultivators had not touched such violent matters in years.
Whenever bloodshed and fighting were involved, they had almost always let the mud-legged rogue cultivators of the Mountain Breaker Gang do the dirty work.
Now, their turn had come to fight?
For a time, hearts pounded with dread.
Even Mi Zifan, who had gained some modest fame on the Dao Discussion Platform, hesitated.
True life-and-death clashes between cultivators were nothing like the fair duels on the Dao Discussion Platform.
Moreover, his defeat at the hands of Duan Feng had left him psychologically scarred. Was he truly expected to go out and slaughter enemies now?
"Father-in-law, I am willing to take the field and lead the relief to Crescent Moon Valley!"
A steady voice rang out from the crowd.
The onlookers parted to reveal the resolute, upright figure of Sikong Yuanhong.
Seeing him, Mi Shuhua let out an internal sigh, though a bright smile appeared on his face.
"It is wonderful that Yuanhong has such resolve.
"You shall lead the force. You may draw upon all the manpower gathered here.
"Crescent Moon Valley has the tier-one Shutu Formation defending it. It can hold for a long time—plenty of time for you to arrive and assist."
Sikong Yuanhong took a deep breath, sweeping his gaze across the gathering.
Yet he found that many of them instinctively averted their eyes.
Even Mi Zifan, a ninth-level Qi Refinement cultivator, shrank back!
"Junping, stay behind to maintain contact with headquarters while rallying whatever personnel remain outside to aid them.
"As for Mi Zifan... enter the inner city and inform Elder Qin Liangchen. Tell him of the situation at Crescent Moon Valley."
After barking out these brief instructions, Mi Shuhua waved his hand listlessly, signaling that the family meeting was adjourned.
Mi Junping breathed a sigh of relief, and Mi Zifan did the same, departing the family grounds in high spirits.
The remaining mid- and late-stage cultivators of the Mi family, handpicked by Sikong Yuanhong, set out with deep reluctance.
Once everyone had departed, a bitter smile crept onto Mi Shuhua's face.
At the critical juncture, it was a matrilocal son-in-law who stepped forward of his own accord to shoulder the burden.
While it proved that his initial judgment of the man had not been mistaken, seeing it unfold under these circumstances was utterly grotesque.
***
Chaos erupted across the outer city of Dahe Market!
This was the greatest turmoil the market had seen in a century.
It was not a few wandering bandits staging ambushes, nor was it rogue cultivators drawing blades over a petty disagreement.
It was an all-out war between two rival gangs!
The sky was streaked with streaks of escaping light.
Across the ground, magical instruments flew and spiritual power surged in wild torrents.
Flames, hailstorms, churning mud, and golden light—all manner of lethal, sinister arts were unleashed without restraint in the slaughter between the two gangs.
The lone rogue cultivators in the outer city could only huddle trembling in their home cellars, or flee desperately toward the safety of the inner city.
Those with bolder temperaments took advantage of the madness to moonlight as bandits.
At Lancang Pier, the fading glow of the setting sun was growing faint.
A crescent moon hung impatient, eager to climb toward its zenith.
Wang Yuan stood atop a roof. His once-dashing white robe had long since shattered, exposing a formidable physique reminiscent of an indomitable vajra.
He tilted his head back, gazing up at the three figures above.
Three ninth-level Qi Refinement cultivators—they certainly thought highly of him!
His heart sank slightly, particularly at the sight of the man in the center, who wore a savage grin.
"You're not dead!"
The man held a broken saber that consisted of nothing more than a hilt, sneering brutally.
"Little Wang, you didn't truly believe that useless Gao Tingyuan could kill me, did you?"
Broken Saber Xu Renke!
A man who was supposed to have perished on the Dao Discussion Platform had now returned from the grave, reappearing in Dahe Market.
Not only that, he had betrayed the Mountain Breaker Gang and joined the Great River Gang.
Wang Yuan would not have spared ordinary Qi Refinement cultivators a second glance.
Yet Broken Saber Xu Renke was no ordinary cultivator; his combat experience was every bit the equal of Wang Yuan's.
Back when the Mountain Breaker Gang had no elder seats, the two had stood side by side as the gang's dual protectors.
In truth, the two had never clashed.
Xu Renke had merely sung Wang Yuan's praises to the outside world, claiming that Wang Yuan was not beneath him.
Yet Wang Yuan knew full well that when it came to standard combat between Qi Refinement cultivators, Xu Renke was decidedly the sharper blade!
Most perilous of all was that broken saber in his hand, a genuine fragment of a magic treasure.
Though it retained enough power for only a single strike, its might far surpassed that of superior magical instruments, rivaling the likes of talisman treasures and blood-inheritance treasures.
When it had flared upon the Dao Discussion Platform, it had instantly obliterated Gao Tingyuan's Death-Substitute Puppet.
Wang Yuan did not know why Xu Renke had faked his death back then, feigning defeat at Gao Tingyuan's hands.
Nor did he know how the man had fooled the inspection of the Sword Pavilion cultivators to slip away unnoticed.
He only knew that today's battle would be exceedingly dangerous.
Beside Xu Renke, the other two ninth-level Qi Refinement cultivators were by no means nameless figures either.
Yang Rusheng, a famed rogue cultivator from Tianye Market.
On the Dao Discussion Platform, he had cleanly slaughtered Ravine-Leaping Tiger Yuan Wuxiang; he possessed vast wealth and an array of superior magical instruments.
The last person held a spot on the Dahe Prodigy Roll, having dominated the top ten for a considerable stretch before the platform's closure.
Rumor had it that he was Chen Haoran, a cultivation prodigy from the declining Foundation Establishment Chen family.
He had great prospects of reaching Foundation Establishment in the future to revitalize the Chen clan.
"I never imagined you would hold this Wang in such high regard, deploying a lineup like this to take my life."
Yang Rusheng chuckled softly. "Then you overestimate yourself. The great figures above don't care the most about you."
Wang Yuan froze, and his expression shifted subtly.
"Luo Chen!"
"You have remarkable self-awareness!" Yang Rusheng praised. "A pity that a man like you could never bear to serve under anyone else, which is why they don't want you left alive."
Xu Renke grinned hideously. "Leaving you alive only invites unpredictable variables."
With a sharp swish, a flying sword tore through the air.
Chen Haoran wasted no breath. Forming a sword seal with his fingers, he barked a low command.
"Kill!"
Wang Yuan did not even glance at the flying sword hurtling toward him. Instead, his gaze swept across the distance, looking toward Crescent Moon Valley hundreds of li away.
Then, opening his mouth wide, he drew in a ferocious breath.
In an instant, his frame swelled by more than half, towering nearly a zhang tall.
Beneath his battle armor, his flesh turned translucent and snow-white, faintly revealing bones that gleamed like white jade.
Drawing his shoulders inward, he unleashed a single punch.
An invisible wave of force swept out in a vast, surging tide.
Boom!
The flying sword that had pierced the air was struck as if by a colossal iron mallet, tumbling backward end over end.
Chen Haoran, who had maintained the crisp, effortless demeanor of an expert a moment before, suddenly flushed with an unnatural crimson hue.
"Something is wrong! Strike together, quickly!"
In midair, Yang Rusheng and Xu Renke's expressions darkened.
Before they could launch their assault, Wang Yuan stomped a single foot down on the roof.
Crash!
The mansion beneath his feet collapsed into ruins in an instant.
Like an arrow loosed from a bowstring, he charged straight for Chen Haoran.
His dark eyes now burned with the feral, feverish ferocity of a monstrous beast.
"Then let us fight!"
***
"Are you all right now?"
"Cough, cough... I'm getting by."
Gu Caiyi coughed twice, offering a wry smile. "My combat experience is truly too lacking. Even with Elder Sikong's early warning and Sister Qinglian parrying most of the blows, my reactions were still too slow.
"If not for that superior defensive magical instrument Fei Baiwen gave me, I'm afraid I wouldn't have made it back this time."
Luo Chen had never interacted directly with Fei Baiwen.
Yet that labor contractor had indeed been generous; once he gifted an item, he had never intended to ask for it back.
Though Luo Chen's past impression of him had not been particularly good, and though the man was already dead, he still had to admit:
*What a decent fellow!*
"Swallow this!"
A medicinal pill was extended before Gu Caiyi.
Taking it, Gu Caiyi asked curiously, "What pill is this?"
"A Laurel Pill, a specialty of Snow Lotus Market. It can temporarily suppress a cultivator's injuries."
Gu Caiyi had heard the pill's name before. Coming from Luo Chen, she took it without the slightest hesitation.
Seeing her swallow it, Luo Chen breathed a sigh of relief.
Truth be told, this Laurel Pill had been taken from the storage bag of Lu Huaiben, back when Shan Xiu had led the ambush against him.
A pity that Lu Huaiben had never found the chance to use it from beginning to end.
That was because the man who had captured him alive had been the Foundation Establishment cultivator Mi Shuhua.
After inheriting his belongings, Luo Chen had kept several pills aside and gradually identified them through multiple visits to the Spirit Herb Pavilion.
Having given one to Gu Caiyi, he still had two left on his person for emergencies.
"Fighting might break out later. Taking this pill will give you the strength to protect yourself."
Flashes of white light rippled across Gu Caiyi's face. Once the glow subsided, a healthy flush returned to her delicate cheeks.
She stood up and paced a few steps, finding that her spiritual power flowed as smoothly as before.
It was as if the grave injuries that had knocked her unconscious had never occurred.
Even so, hearing Luo Chen's words, a lingering fear remained in her heart.
"Perhaps. But those ninth-level Qi Refinement cultivators outside are simply too strong; they aren't enemies I can withstand.
"Luo Chen, you are only at the seventh level of Qi Refinement. You must be careful later!"
Even now, Luo Chen maintained the effects of the Qi Concealment Incantation.
At the Great Perfection stage, the incantation concealed spiritual fluctuations and masked cultivation to an extent that neared the absolute pinnacle of the Qi Refinement realm.
So long as he did not unleash vast amounts of spiritual power, minor manipulations of magical instruments or activating the Hunyuan Bead would not reveal his true realm in the slightest.
It was vastly superior to how it had once been.
Luo Chen did not bother explaining his actual cultivation level.
He merely offered a soft assent, reminding Gu Caiyi to prioritize her own safety.
Arriving before the cliffside terrace, he found Sikong Shoujia, Murong Qinglian, and Granny Yuan discussing defensive arrangements with Zhou Yuanli.
A veil of deep worry hung over every face.
Seeing Luo Chen approach, Sikong Shoujia hesitated before asking, "Did you collect all the Jade Marrow Pills from the pill-curing chamber?"
"If I didn't collect them, was I supposed to wait around for them to be smashed to pieces during the fighting?"
Luo Chen rolled his eyes at him, leaving the old man utterly without a rebuttal.
"Hall Master!"
"Hm?"
Luo Chen turned toward the voice and saw Zhou Yuanli hesitating, caught in an internal struggle.
"What is it?"
"Reinforcements have been dispatched."
"Isn't that a good thing?"
Luo Chen was puzzled. Having reinforcements was cause for celebration; why look so conflicted?
Zhou Yuanli gritted his teeth. "Those coming are neither the experts from the three Battle Halls nor Elder Wang Yuan. It is a detachment of Mi family cultivators led by Sikong Yuanhong. Moreover, there is not a single ninth-level Qi Refinement expert among them."
Beside them, Sikong Shoujia shuddered at the news that his son was personally leading the detachment.
*That unfilial wretch! What is he coming here for?*
*Couldn't he just stay safely with the Mi family?*
"In addition, the Gang Leader has sent someone to invite Elder Qin Liangchen. He should arrive shortly as well."
That was only to be expected.
Luo Chen glanced at Murong Qinglian, who was visibly relieved.
In her eyes, her own man was naturally the most dependable.
Suddenly, Luo Chen's expression darkened.
"You're saying there are no experts from the three Battle Halls, no support from headquarters, and not even Wang Yuan of the Flood Dragon Hall can make it?"
Zhou Yuanli smiled bitterly.
"That is correct!"
With Luo Chen emphasizing the point, the worried Sikong Shoujia, Murong Qinglian, and Gu Caiyi, who had just walked over, all realized the implications in an instant.
"As expected, this encirclement was premeditated!"
Luo Chen said with a grim expression, "Right now, every other hall must be enduring ferocious assaults of their own!"
It was a simple truth.
If Luo Chen and the Mountain Breaker Gang could foresee it, there was no reason the Great River Gang, as the instigators, would fail to anticipate it.
With the initiative on their side, they could make thorough preparations.
"And that isn't even the most critical point." Luo Chen swept his gaze over the crowd and spoke slowly. "A single Great River Gang could never mount an all-out siege against the Mountain Breaker Gang on their own."
Sikong Shoujia spat curses. "Could the Lianyun Merchant Alliance be colluding with them again?"
"Perhaps it goes beyond even that."
"Eh?" Sikong Shoujia was startled.
Withdrawing his gaze from the distance, Luo Chen looked at the old man and asked, "Among the five Foundation Establishment clans of Dahe Market, aside from the Duan, Li, and Nangong families, there are also the Chen and Fu families, correct?"
Sikong Shoujia's mouth fell open, his face instantly draining of color.
"You are experienced and well-traveled, Elder, so you must know many people. Let me ask you: who wields a massive golden melon hammer, possesses a broad forehead, a flat pancake face, and prominent protruding ears? Which clan does he hail from?"
"The Fu family—their current patriarch, Fu Zhang!"
Sikong Shoujia blurted out the name without a second thought.
Luo Chen nodded. "Then it seems that among the five families, the Fu family has entered the fray as well."
At these words, Sikong Shoujia froze on the spot.
Though the Fu family lacked a Foundation Establishment ancestor and ranked at the bottom of the five clans, their strength was by no means negligible.
The entire family made its living by crafting talismans.
Upon arriving in Dahe Market, they had flourished like fish in water. Had it not been for the Divine Talisman Pavilion, they would have long since monopolized the entire talisman market.
Now that even the Fu family had taken the field, would the other four clans join in as well?
If that was truly the case, how could the Mountain Breaker Gang—already heavily depleted from the struggle over the ruins—possibly withstand such an overwhelming coalition?
While he stood dazed, a calm, unhurried voice drifted into his ears.
"Caiyi, brew some tea!"
Gu Caiyi was taken aback. Seeing Luo Chen already seated at the stone table, she could only take out the tea set and charcoal brazier to brew tea for him.
Sikong Shoujia swallowed hard, his eyes locked onto Luo Chen.
"Why aren't you anxious at all?"
Chapter 137