"Are you certain you want the entire thing?"
Xiong Kun looked at Luo Chen skeptically.
Beside them stood Tianxingzi, acting as the intermediary.
The black market transactions had already concluded, leaving only the three of them in the hall.
Earlier, after a voice transmission from Tianxingzi, Xiong Kun had halted the auction of the demon beast carcass and held it until the very end.
He was not afraid Luo Chen might back out. Demon beast carcasses were always in high demand. Even if Luo Chen did not want it, Tianxingzi, the broker, had the means to take it off his hands.
Either way, he would not lose out.
Luo Chen's earlier surge of excitement had now settled. Facing this impromptu beast carcass transaction, he began calculating the gains and losses.
A second-tier demon beast, and relatively well preserved at that.
He had no idea what methods this man had used to slay it.
If he purchased it, he could use it as the primary ingredient for Emperor Flowing Liquid. After all, the ingredient requirement for Emperor Flowing Liquid was quite straightforward: the bone, blood, and flesh of a demon beast from a single source, and if there was a beast core, all the better.
He paced along the edge of the carcass, occasionally using the Spirit Eye Art to inspect its condition.
As he looked, he picked it apart with critical eyes.
"The most valuable blazing cloud wings—you ruined half of them. That slashes this beast's value substantially!"
"The flesh and blood are well preserved, true, but the beast core was overexerted; the demonic power remaining inside is virtually depleted."
Having said that, he looked at Xiong Kun.
"Senior, the two most valuable components of this beast have been battered like this. I'm afraid I cannot offer the price you're asking for!"
Xiong Kun snorted coldly. "Do you think just anyone can slay an avian demon beast?"
"Setting aside everything else, the name 'blazing cloud roc' alone is worth five thousand spirit stones."
"Furthermore, I haven't harvested a single material from it—that's easily worth another five thousand!"
Was he digging his heels into ten thousand spirit stones without budging?
Luo Chen felt helpless. He had only figured out seventy or eighty percent of the pill formula for Emperor Flowing Liquid. His water alchemy was still a hair shy of the threshold, stalled at the hurdle of the Cloud Transforming Hand. Even if he acquired this carcass, he could not immediately refine Emperor Flowing Liquid.
Xiong Kun recognized Luo Chen as well; Luo Chen had teamed up with someone else last time to purchase his incomplete cultivation method.
He sneered via voice transmission, "Aren't you just trying to take this demon beast to cultivate that incomplete Heavenly Roc Transformation?"
"Ten thousand spirit stones is an absolute steal for you!"
Luo Chen was taken aback; he truly hadn't thought in that direction.
He smiled wryly. "Still, that is far too expensive. At the end of the day, it is a dead second-tier demon beast. Its value should be appraised as second-tier materials. Ten thousand spirit stones is the entry price for a magical treasure."
The prices of second-tier materials had always fluctuated wildly.
Pills started at three to five hundred.
Herbs followed similar pricing depending on their efficacy. Even a breakthrough miracle like the Root of Heaven and Earth had only seen its premium pushed to five-thousand-odd stones.
Ore was usually priced in bulk.
On this carcass, the two most valuable components were both damaged.
Ten thousand was truly exorbitant.
Xiong Kun frowned. He had originally intended to corner Luo Chen, but the young man did not seem hell-bent on having it at all costs.
Back and forth it went, until both sides reached an awkward stalemate.
At this point, Tianxingzi, acting as the middleman, served to smooth things over.
"Young friend, five thousand is indeed too low. After all, Fellow Daoist Xiong risked his life to earn this resource."
Luo Chen nodded. He agreed with that. Any materials earned by entering deep mountains and risking one's life hunting demon beasts deserved a handsome sum.
Tianxingzi paused and looked at Xiong Kun.
"However, very few people can truly afford ten thousand. Otherwise, Fellow Daoist Xiong, you wouldn't have been planning to turn my auction hall into a slaughterhouse earlier, would you?"
These words made Xiong Kun's face flush with embarrassment.
During the earlier auction, he had indeed contemplated doing just that.
Such a colossal carcass was difficult to handle without bulk purchases from major sect shops like Zhongding House, Lingyuan Chai, the Spirit Herb Pavilion, or Wanbao Tower.
His earlier plan for the auction had been to cut off whatever piece a bidder wanted on the spot. If that had actually played out, the Zhenlong Black Market auction hall would have turned into a bloody butcher shop in an instant.
Seeing this, Tianxingzi struck while the iron was hot.
"Even if I were to take this carcass, it would take a long time to liquidate it into spirit stones. If some unforeseen complication arises in the meantime, I fear the price would not satisfy you either, Fellow Daoist. In that case, why don't both sides take a step back and settle on a fixed price so everyone leaves content?"
Seeing that both were swayed, he smiled faintly. "In my view, eight thousand is a fine sum—very auspicious."
Xiong Kun hesitated. Two thousand less in one go was no small figure for a rogue Foundation Establishment cultivator like him.
He was not like the other Foundation Establishment cultivators in Dahe Market, who had factions, clans, or specialized crafts. His cultivation resources came entirely from hunting demon beasts himself. He truly traded his life for money.
Yet Tianxingzi was right: rather than selling it off piece by piece, settling on a lump sum immediately was far better. Although the profit was slightly lower, the time saved could be devoted entirely to cultivation.
"Eight thousand it is. Junior is willing to concede," Luo Chen said with a pained expression.
Xiong Kun reluctantly agreed as well.
In the end, Tianxingzi and Luo Chen had preserved his face. One had raised his offer from five thousand to eight thousand, adding three thousand, while he had lowered his from ten thousand to eight thousand, conceding two thousand. Face had thus been seamlessly granted to all sides.
Once payment and goods were settled, Luo Chen did not linger and took his leave at once.
Only Xiong Kun and Tianxingzi remained in the hall.
After Luo Chen departed, Xiong Kun asked cautiously, "Fellow Daoist, earlier you mentioned that complications might arise. Could something be about to happen recently?"
Tianxingzi dodged the question. Instead, he asked with a genial smile, "As for joining our side, have you given it more thought, Fellow Daoist Xiong?"
Xiong Kun hesitated. After a long moment, he shook his head firmly.
"No. I am accustomed to wandering like a wild crane. Though life is hard, at least I am not bound by so many rules and regulations."
Tianxingzi did not press him. "In that case, I respect your choice. Even if I am no longer stationed here in the future, you may take my token to trade at any Zhenlong Black Market."
This granted Xiong Kun an ongoing trading channel.
Xiong Kun cupped his hands gratefully. Before leaving, he asked curiously, "Fellow Daoist, when do you leave?"
Tianxingzi sighed softly. "Soon. Very soon!"
...
Under the veil of night, a figure soared into the sky at tremendous speed.
A dark cloud abruptly materialized, supporting him as he pulled far away from the ground.
Rogue pillagers who had been lurking outside abandoned their thoughts of killing for treasure the moment they saw this.
Although the figure's spiritual power fluctuations appeared to be only at the Qi Refinement stage, this method of riding the clouds was something only a Foundation Establishment True Cultivator could perform.
No one dared provoke a Foundation Establishment True Cultivator.
Atop the dark cloud, Luo Chen's heart thumped heavily against his ribs.
It was not because he had spent a hefty eight thousand spirit stones on a demon beast carcass.
It was because, during his earlier conversation with Tianxingzi, he had nearly blurted out the man's origins.
"The Luoyun Smoke Generating Art."
"Fit to be the heritage of a sect."
"How could a technique like that be some common good easily picked up? It is clearly the alchemy method of the Luoyun Sect!"
During his earlier exchange with Tianxingzi, amidst what should have been mutual flattery, an epiphany had struck him.
Had it been mere groundless speculation, it wouldn't have mattered.
Yet Luo Chen's mind had been exceptionally sharp lately, unlike the days when dust clouded his spiritual terrace.
Almost instantly, he had realized the various anomalies of the Zhenlong Black Market.
Spanning various market towns, operating like a vast chain.
Frequently selling puppets—they had even offered a combat puppet comparable to a cultivator at the perfection of Qi Refinement.
That was not a treasure one could acquire simply through broad connections and numerous channels.
In the entire Jade Cauldron Domain, only the Luoyun Sect could produce combat puppets, and they were strictly kept from outside sales.
If the Zhenlong Black Market was an enterprise of the Luoyun Sect, everything made sense.
And then there was the grey-robed Golden Core cultivator who had madly released three ghost kings. That was not something one dared to do simply out of an extreme temperament. Ghost kings were inherently violent and cruel; once freed, they would never care who had done them a favor.
Yet that grey-robed Golden Core cultivator had done exactly that, and had even directed the ghost kings to besiege and slay the sword cultivator Pang Renxiong.
How could an ordinary Golden Core cultivator achieve such a feat?
Yet with the Luoyun Sect's puppet arts and long-term scheming, accomplishing this would not be difficult.
It was merely manipulating the three ghost kings as puppets!
It was upon piecing all of this together that Luo Chen's scalp had prickled with dread.
He dared not imagine what would have happened had he exposed Tianxingzi's background on the spot. Would Tianxingzi have silenced him?
That was why he had swiftly shifted targets and refused to let the topic continue.
A beast carcass deal worth eight thousand spirit stones should have been enough to make Tianxingzi overlook any momentary strangeness, shouldn't it?
At least, judging by the fact that he had left the Zhenlong Black Market unscathed, Tianxingzi had not caught on.
"Then again, it's hard to say. An old fox like that might have already noticed something off about me."
"If so, the only reason he didn't strike was the Blood Burning Pill business."
"Blood Burning Pills... Blood Burning Pills."
Luo Chen licked his lips as the fog shrouding his mind faintly dispersed.
For a Qi Refinement cultivator, such pills were considered a trump card. But to a Foundation Establishment True Cultivator, they amounted to very little.
Yet Tianxingzi valued the Blood Burning Pills so highly and purchased them in massive quantities.
His purpose was self-evident.
"It definitely isn't to resell them for a profit margin. In another location, Blood Burning Pills wouldn't necessarily fetch a high price."
"He is buying them clearly for the Luoyun Sect backing him."
"And why would the Luoyun Sect need so many Blood Burning Pills?"
*Gulp.*
His Adam's apple bobbed in a visible swallow.
Luo Chen faintly thought of a single word:
"War!"
The biting northern wind whipped against his face, chilling Luo Chen to the core.
He had always wondered why the Zhenlong Black Market dared to besiege and kill Pang Renxiong.
That was tantamount to declaring war on the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect.
He had never imagined that they had been preparing for war all along.
Black markets spread across the land, aggressively amassing spirit stones and diverse resources. This was clearly the stockpiling of resources before the outbreak of war.
They had even put their sect's puppets up for sale.
Evidently, the Luoyun Sect had made every preparation.
"Still, how do they dare challenge the local hegemon?"
Suddenly, Luo Chen recalled a rumor.
When he had first met Qin Liangchen and his wife, the couple had been sending their son Xiaohu to attend the Luoyun Sect's disciple recruitment ceremony.
They had once mentioned that Han Zhan, the Supreme Elder of the Luoyun Sect, possessed the aptitude for the Nascent Soul realm.
Could it be that he had truly broken through?
Was that why they had the confidence to stand against the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect?
If so, everything fell into place.
A single domain, though rich in resources, could hardly support two Nascent Soul overlord sects.
When the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect had launched its expansion war in the past, it was because they could no longer expand within their original territory.
Now, the Luoyun Sect seemed to have reached the same impasse.
Given their strength, an external expansion war was likely out of reach.
Unable to expand outward, their only option was to vie for dominance from within.
"I have no idea if my deductions are right or wrong."
Luo Chen smiled bitterly. He only knew that amidst the tide of such a grand era, a mere Qi Refinement ninth-layer cultivator like him could only drift with the current.
Yet, after finally securing a stable foundation, who would willingly drift?
He had no desire to become like Xiong Kun, a rogue cultivator scraping by on hunting demon beasts.
"Forget it!"
"Dwelling on this serves no purpose."
"The pressing matter at hand is still cultivation—breaking through to Foundation Establishment as early as possible."
"With the Luotian Association here, even if war truly breaks out, I will have a sufficient buffer to make my choices calmly."
Sighing, Luo Chen steered the dark cloud, looped around, and flew toward the Luotian Association.
In the cold night, the dark cloud drifted slowly. It was inconspicuous; even if cultivators looked up, they would hardly notice it.
Before long, Luo Chen returned outside Crescent Moon Valley.
However, before he could land, his heart leaped into his throat.
"Are they trying to destroy my foundation?!"
Moonlight poured down like liquid mercury.
Outside Crescent Moon Valley, a five-colored light barrier had already unfurled.
A thick stench of blood, beast roars rising and falling in waves—everything announced that the Luotian Association was facing its greatest crisis since its founding.
A beast tide!
...
Half an hour earlier.
Having just finished her cultivation, Sima Huiniang was preparing to sleep when Yuan Xiaoyue rushed in to wake her.
"Director-General, a massive gathering of demon beasts has been spotted nearby!"
Looking at the anxious young girl, Sima Huiniang was startled, but her expression remained calm and collected.
She pulled on an outer coat as she walked toward the door. "What is the exact situation?"
Yuan Xiaoyue was an assistant specifically assigned to her by Luo Chen to run errands and relay messages. While the arrangement carried a hint of oversight, it also carried the unspoken request to look after the girl.
Under Sima Huiniang's steadying influence, Yuan Xiaoyue calmed down as well.
"The demon beasts were discovered by the War Hall cultivators on night patrol."
"Most of them come from the Guyuan Mountain Range, predominantly ape-type demon beasts."
"Right now, Disciplinary Elder Zhou Yuanli is leading men to construct a defense line. The War Hall has been fully notified."
Sima Huiniang paused in her tracks.
She turned around, frowning. "Demon beasts from the Guyuan Mountain Range?"
Crescent Moon Valley bordered the Howling Moon Mountain Range and backed up against Mount Huiye. The beasts there were predominantly grey-leaf demonic wolves.
Why would ape-type demon beasts suddenly appear out of nowhere?
The closest mountain in the Guyuan Mountain Range was Mount Zhouyi, which indeed teemed with ape-type beasts. But it was several hundred li away.
Why had those beasts traveled such a long distance to come here?
Yuan Xiaoyue looked blank.
Sima Huiniang shook her head, knowing the girl knew little else.
She stepped outside immediately, issuing directives on the fly.
"Summon the elders of the four halls."
"Have Elder Duan Feng preside over the Lesser Five Elements Formation. If necessary, tap into our reserve of mid-grade spirit stones to activate the formation's full power."
"Finally, notify the President!"
Having received her orders, Yuan Xiaoyue sprinted off.
Sima Huiniang rubbed her temples, deeply perplexed.
Although Crescent Moon Valley stood isolated outside Dahe Market, it rarely suffered beast attacks. Experiencing one today was uncommon, yet it was still within the contingencies planned by the association.
Yet beasts from Mount Zhouyi?
Amidst her confusion, she quickly arrived atop a watchtower.
Zhou Yuanli was up there barking orders, deploying personnel to establish defensive lines.
The two nodded in tacit understanding, and Sima Huiniang channeled the Spirit Eye Art to look outside.
Beyond the city wall, scattered exploding apes, Jinming spirit monkeys, and green rock monkeys were already appearing.
Their numbers were not vast—only a dozen or so scattered about.
Yet Sima Huiniang's heart sank.
Under normal circumstances, these demon beasts would never band together.
Evidently, a higher-tier demon beast was controlling them, using them as a vanguard to assault Crescent Moon Valley.
"How many demon beasts are behind them?" Sima Huiniang asked at once.
Zhou Yuanli said gravely, "According to scouts, no fewer than a hundred—perhaps as many as two to three hundred."
Hearing this count, Sima Huiniang let out a breath of relief.
Fortunately, this could only be considered a minor beast tide.
In the history of Dahe Market, such small beast tides were countless. Moreover, they often occurred in winter. Given the current weather, it was not particularly unusual.
Still, Sima Huiniang knew better than to be careless.
After all, the total number of cultivators in Crescent Moon Valley barely reached a hundred, and those suited for combat numbered only thirty to fifty.
"Notify the War Hall: full mobilization."
"For the remaining three halls, every late-stage Qi Refinement cultivator must join the battle!"
"Understood! Executing the Director-General's order!"
Zhou Yuanli bowed slightly and immediately dispatched men to relay the command.
Though he held the title of Disciplinary Elder, he lacked the authority to mobilize cultivators from all halls. Only Sima Huiniang, personally appointed director-general by President Luo Chen, held the supreme command to make emergency decisions and oversee the overall situation.
Mere moments after the order went out, Crescent Moon Valley was ablaze with light.
Streaks of escaping light flashed across the night sky.
Seeing that nearly everyone had gathered, Sima Huiniang issued further orders: "Elder Duan Feng, lead your people to preside over the formation."
"Elder Zhou, you excel at battlefield command; I leave this post in your hands. If you need anything, inform me directly. Every cultivator in the Luotian Association will cooperate with you."
Zhou Yuanli nodded, accepting the task without hesitation.
Atop the watchtower, he amplified his voice with spiritual power and began issuing commands.
Taking advantage of the fact that the beast tide had not fully converged, he dispatched small cultivator squads to hunt down and eliminate the vanguard beasts.
Under the dark night, the slaughter commenced.
Against coordinated squads of cultivators, the scattered beasts stood no chance.
As magical artifacts circled and flew, vast plumes of blood sprayed outward.
The rancid stench grew thicker and thicker.
Sima Huiniang stood behind them, holding a magical artifact, ready to react to any beast that broke through.
She glanced around, frowning slightly.
"Have the President and Hall Master Wang Yuan still not appeared?"
Liu Qiang shook his head. "The formation over the President's quarters has been active all along, and the voice transmission talisman received no response. As for Hall Master Wang..."
Before he could finish, Zhou Yuanli's sharp shout rang out from the watchtower:
"The beast tide is upon us! Everyone stay on guard!"
"All cultivators outside, return immediately and hold the formation!"
In an instant, the cultivators hunting outside flew back like swallows returning to their nests.
Landing on the tall ramparts, each felt their nerves tauten.
Thanks to the battle against the Fu family, having witnessed the defensive might of the Fu family fortress, the Luotian Association had followed suit and expanded its own walls.
Built against the mountains with the valley at its center, erecting such structures was not difficult for cultivators.
The only missing element was the Fu family's method of integrating talismans directly into the fortifications.
However, the Luotian Association possessed a top-grade Lesser Five Elements Formation. For a short time, it could hold off even a Foundation Establishment True Cultivator.
Because of this, the War Hall cultivators of the Luotian Association were not in an utter panic.
Yet as the number of demon beasts grew outside, drumbeats of dread pounded in every heart.
One hundred!
Two hundred!
Three hundred!
Under the night, the screeches and howls of apes grew increasingly frantic.
Before long, it sounded like a roaring tsunami, as if ten thousand beasts were bellowing together.
Though they knew the scale outside was merely a small beast tide of two to three hundred, the soaring demonic aura still struck primal fear into their hearts!
For a moment, many cultivators turned their eyes to Zhou Yuanli and Sima Huiniang.
One was in charge of tactical command; the other was the director-general holding executive power over the Luotian Association's fate.
Zhou Yuanli's face was taut, showing no trace of fear. This was not the first time he had faced such a scene. It was merely a battle.
Sima Huiniang's face was somewhat pale. Having operated as an independent rogue cultivator in the past, when had she ever witnessed such a clash?
In the past, she would have fled with her elder and younger brothers without hesitation.
Now, however, she was the director-general of the Luotian Association.
In a sect, she would be the sect master.
How could she flee before the battle?
Taking a deep breath, Sima Huiniang said gravely, "Everyone, prepare for battle!"
"Behind us lies the Luotian Association, the fruits of our half-year's labor, and our families who depend on us."
"In this battle, there can be no retreat!"
Hearing this, the cultivators exchanged glances.
Some were still entertaining thoughts of backing down.
Frightening as the beast tide was, it only numbered two to three hundred. If they scattered and fled toward the shantytown, their casualties wouldn't necessarily be high.
Sima Huiniang sensed this hesitation almost instantly.
She leaped into midair, looking down at the cultivators.
"Are you truly willing to abandon this hard-won foundation?"
"Flee? Where could you flee to?"
"President Luo Chen pays you such generous monthly stipends—was that so you'd have the strength to run away at the crucial moment?"
"Let me tell you, once you leave the Luotian Association, no faction out there will offer you such benefits!"
"I won't waste words with useless chatter."
"I will say only this: in this battle, every demon beast slain earns one merit point! Five merit points exchange for two hundred spirit stones. Ten merit points allow you to exchange for a spell from the Merit Hall. And anyone with twenty or more will be rewarded directly with a high-grade magical artifact!"
As the final sentence rang out, the crowd erupted in fervor.
Twenty demon beasts could be traded for a high-grade magical artifact!
Within this minor beast tide outside, there were plenty of weak first-tier demon beasts. Most of those present were late-stage Qi Refinement cultivators who did not fear them in the slightest.
In an instant, everyone's eyes grew bloodshot with greed.
The beasts outside no longer seemed like monsters, but piles of spirit stones and rows of magical artifacts!
Morale was finally ignited.
Sima Huiniang breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
In the end, they were not a sect or clan; their cohesion was woefully lacking.
When disaster struck, everyone thought of running.
Fruits of labor, familial bonds—all were empty words. Only tying their interests to profit could mobilize these cultivators.
"Hall Master Murong, I must trouble you to lead people in tabulating merits shortly."
Murong Qinglian was startled. Did Sima Huiniang not intend for her to take the field?
Beside her, Qin Liangchen squeezed her delicate hand.
She immediately nodded in agreement.
Everything was ready.
The beast tide outside had arrived beneath the walls.
Then...
"Battle!"
At Zhou Yuanli's command, centered on the War Hall, all of the Luotian Association's late-stage Qi Refinement cultivators plunged into combat.
...
"Kill!"
Flying swords crisscrossed, instantly slaughtering a weak exploding ape in the vast sea of beasts.
The successful cultivator flashed a savage grin.
Low-tier demon beasts were not genuinely formidable.
Lacking powerful physiques, mostly unable to fly, with limited attack methods and no strategic intelligence to speak of.
In the past, they had been hard to kill only because they dwelt in deep mountains and grand marshes. The terrain was intricate, making them impossible to guard against.
Moreover, indiscriminately slaughtering demon beasts easily provoked high-tier beast commanders or beast kings.
That was why the demon beast trade was so difficult to sustain.
Only an organization as numerous and powerful as the Mountain Breaker Gang had possessed stable hunting channels.
Now, however, the beasts had left the mountains to assault the Luotian Association.
It was practically courting death!
Watching the beasts below, Lang Mu felt that his chance to strike it rich had truly arrived.
He had survived the battle that destroyed the Mountain Breaker Gang and the assault on the Fu family. Unfortunately, his luck had always been poor, and he had never managed to reap substantial spoils.
He never anticipated that after joining the Luotian Association, he would encounter such an opportunity.
"That's the third one! Watch me display my full prowess... *Hiss!*"
Lang Mu's expression changed abruptly, his gaze snapping to the side.
Under the moonlight, an agile figure leaped into the air and tore a late-stage Qi Refinement cultivator, who was executing the Wind Riding Art, directly in half.
A Jinming spirit monkey!
One of the rare, cunning demon beasts.
As a shower of blood rained down, Lang Mu, who had been swept up in the slaughter, shivered violently.
Looking around, he finally realized that the battle was turning extremely grim for the Luotian Association.
There were simply too many beasts.
A count of three hundred seemed modest, yet the number of Luotian Association cultivators capable of fighting was pitifully small—fifty at best.
In just this brief clash, six or seven late-stage Qi Refinement cultivators had already perished.
*No good, I have to fall back and hold the ramparts!*
A chill gripped Lang Mu's heart, and he instinctively moved to turn back.
Yet just as he turned, a colossal boulder tore through the air.
Instinctively, he propped up a mid-grade defensive artifact, but the immense kinetic force shattered it in an instant.
Not stopping there, the boulder slammed into the rampart's defensive formation, striking the Lesser Five Elements Formation until its spiritual light shuddered violently, showing signs of collapse.
Before drawing his last breath, Lang Mu stared in disbelief at the mammoth demon beast charging from the wilderness.
"Second-tier... How is that possible..."
Flesh and bone splattered to the ground, agitating the surrounding beasts into frenzied howls.
Bestial instinct drove them to batter the formation with reckless abandon.
The War Hall cultivators who had dared to venture beyond the walls to fight were now forced into steady retreat.
In particular, the thunderous footfalls echoing from the wilderness caused everyone's expressions to drain of color.
"A second-tier exploding ape!"
"Do not let it approach the formation!"
Sima Huiniang's shrill voice rang out, raw and desperate.
Yet facing a second-tier demon beast, who dared charge forward?
At that moment, Sima Huiniang was on the verge of despair.
A second-tier demon beast had emerged—and an exploding ape at that, famous for its violent temper and ferocious combat power.
The Luotian Association was likely doomed.
Was her tenure as director-general, having barely begun, already coming to an end?
"Duan Feng, Sima Xian, come with me!"
Atop the wall, Qin Liangchen held his golden melon-headed sledgehammers, his expression fierce.
Duan Feng stood sword in hand without the slightest hesitation.
Sima Xian hesitated briefly, his gaze falling upon his second sister, Sima Huiniang, only to see her looking dazed.
*Forget it. We finally found a peaceful place to cultivate—how can we let it be destroyed?*
*My path of cultivation is hopeless, but my sister has finally earned recognition. I must risk my life to protect the Luotian Association for her!*
Sima Xian hesitated no longer. Responding to Qin Liangchen's call, he leaped forward.
Three figures, bursting with spiritual energy, soared over the beast horde, charging toward the galloping exploding ape.
Hearing her elder brother's name earlier, Sima Huiniang instantly snapped out of her stupor.
"No, the three of them aren't enough!"
With that thought, she immediately shouted, "Where are Zeng Wen and Wenjie?!"
Before either could answer, a low growl tore through the air:
"No need for them."
The next moment, a tempestuous blast of energy erupted from Crescent Moon Valley.
Then, under the night sky, an unreserved, blood-red silhouette shot forth like an arrow loosed from a bowstring.
In the blink of an eye, he overtook Qin Liangchen and the other two.
"Fall back! Defend Crescent Moon Valley!"
Qin Liangchen and his companions were stunned.
"It's Hall Master Wang!" Duan Feng immediately recognized the voice.
"Can he do it alone?" Sima Xian looked uncertain.
Stopping a second-tier demon beast single-handedly—especially a second-tier exploding ape renowned for sheer combat strength—was not something a Qi Refinement cultivator could accomplish.
Watching that figure hurtle down like a falling meteor, Qin Liangchen gritted his teeth.
"We're going back! Crescent Moon Valley needs us more!"
Before turning back, he stole a hurried glance.
Out on the wilderness, two figures, both blazing with fiery red light, had already collided.
One towered five to six zhang tall, seemingly supporting heaven and earth.
The other was merely seven chi tall, yet the aura he unleashed was not in the least inferior.
"Has he already grown this powerful?"
Muttering to himself, Qin Liangchen and the other two joined the fray outside the valley without hesitation.
At this point, lacking Duan Feng to preside over it, the power of the Lesser Five Elements Formation had weakened considerably.
Even though Zhou Yuanli forcibly replenished large quantities of spirit stones, he could not oversee every section.
Several smaller beasts had already breached the valley.
Fortunately, Granny Yuan and Gu Caiyi stepped in, relying on a group of mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivators to butcher them one by one.
"There are simply too many! At this rate, when will this slaughter ever end?"
Amidst the boundless tide of beasts, Sima Huiniang spun around and hurled a talisman.
A violent explosion instantly blasted two green rock monkeys into mangled flesh. Yet demon beasts had thick hides and tough flesh; they merely swayed before charging toward other nearby cultivators.
"Watch out!"
A warning shouted in her ear, though Sima Huiniang was already watching her surroundings.
Without hesitation, she unfurled a water shield.
*Bang!*
The immense impact sent her flying backward tens of meters.
An exploding ape a zhang tall beat its chest furiously.
A peak first-tier demon beast!
Such size and imposing might were no weaker than a cultivator at the perfection of Qi Refinement.
Shaken by the close call, Sima Huiniang hastily withdrew into the air.
Yet the exploding ape seemed fixated on her. Grabbing a nearby beast carcass, it hurled it like a missile.
"Break!"
A crisp feminine cry sounded beside her, and a flying sword slashed across, cleaving the carcass into dozens of fragments.
Murong Qinglian had stepped in to help.
"Thank you!" Sima Huiniang breathed a sigh of relief.
Murong Qinglian's expression was dark. "This cannot continue."
Sima Huiniang was equally pessimistic. "The beasts outnumber us several times over. If this goes on, even if we win, our losses will be catastrophic."
If casualties exceeded two-thirds, the Luotian Association would exist in name only.
"Where is the President?"
Sima Huiniang unleashed attack after attack while asking after Luo Chen's whereabouts.
For Luo Chen not to appear at such a critical juncture—everyone couldn't be fighting tooth and nail for the Luotian Association while he sat back and reaped the benefits!
"Could he have fled?"
"He is not that kind of person!"
Murong Qinglian snapped back angrily.
Sima Huiniang was taken aback. Why was her reaction so fierce?
Just as she was wondering, a dark cloud descended from the sky with a piercing whistle.
Accompanied by it were countless razor-sharp whooshes slicing through the air.
*Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!*
*Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!*
...
Outside Crescent Moon Valley, within the beast tide.
Dozens of cultivators were locked in a bloody struggle, feeling the pressure mount by the second.
Fewer and fewer comrades remained at their sides to rely upon.
Once their spiritual energy gave out and they plummeted into the beast horde, only death awaited them.
Even in midair, they had to stay wary of beasts leaping up to pounce or hurling boulders and massive logs.
If this continued, defeat and destruction were only a matter of time.
Where was the President?
As the situation grew increasingly perilous, the same question arose in their hearts as had in Sima Huiniang's:
Why hadn't the President intervened?
That question was swiftly answered.
A figure, surrounded by ten fist-sized fireballs, swept into the beast horde like a gale.
Accompanying him was a torrential rain of five-colored stone beads.
Vast clouds of stone beads pelted down like hailstones.
Wherever they passed, blossoms of blood burst from the beasts.
Before the monsters could even turn rabid, the fireballs hovering around the figure shot forth.
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
Deafening explosions detonated in rapid succession.
Each explosion marked the death of one or more demon beasts.
At that moment, it looked uncannily like a farmer harvesting wheat—only this man was harvesting lives!
Abruptly, the figure halted near the ramparts.
Behind him stretched a path paved entirely with blood and shattered bones.
"The President!"
"It's the President!"
"The President has made his move!"
Cheers erupted in an instant.
Luo Chen did not reply.
His gaze swept toward the distant wilderness, where thunderous booms were echoing endlessly.
"We must end this battle swiftly!"
"Everyone, fall back!"
With a quiet cry, Luo Chen spat out a sword pill without hesitation.
Hearing his words, the battling cultivators of the Luotian Association forced back the beasts before them at all costs.
They flew into the air, looking bewildered.
Why was the President telling them to fall back?
Amidst their doubt, the sword pill expanded against the wind, instantly transforming into a streak of light.
Dozens of sword lights abruptly split off.
"Go!"
Luo Chen pointed with two fingers like a sword. His perfection-level Control Art directed those dozens of sword lights to descend into the beast tide like a cyclone of sword qi.
What did it matter if the beasts had thick hides and tough flesh?
The sword pill hailed from the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect, and its previous master had been a Foundation Establishment True Cultivator who had nurtured it with dharmic power for twenty-five years.
Even if its grade could not advance now, it had lost none of its sharpness.
As the cyclone of sword qi plunged into the horde, in the blink of an eye it reaped staggering results.
Dozens of demon beasts were pulverized into bloody froth without the slightest ability to resist.
Three massive exploding apes roared incessantly, charging aggressively toward Luo Chen.
Yet Luo Chen merely sneered with cold eyes, flicking his sword fingers once more.
The cyclone of sword qi shifted again!
A condensed, sky-propping giant sword cleaved downward under the moonlight.
So swift was its speed, so razor-sharp its edge, that the leading exploding ape—comparable to a cultivator at the perfection of Qi Refinement—was cleaved cleanly in two with virtually no resistance.
Seeing this, the other two apes froze in shock.
Letting out whimpering howls, they turned on their heels and ran!
Luo Chen did not pursue them. After all, these were merely low-tier beasts swept along by a second-tier beast commander. Their cohesion was fragile.
Moreover, with the second-tier exploding ape entangled by Wang Yuan, it had no way to command them. Consequently, these low-tier beasts were merely fighting on instinct.
"Everyone, strike together and slaughter the remaining beasts!"
Luo Chen reached out, and the sword pill transformed into a three-foot green blade, landing in his hand.
He pointed the sword diagonally downward.
A thunderous response followed at once!
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
From start to finish, Luo Chen had intervened only three times:
Charging violently inward from outside the beast tide with Fireball Arts and spent jade marrow beads;
Routing the largest cluster of beasts with a cyclone of sword qi;
And decisively cleaving a peak first-tier beast in two with the Giant Sword Art.
Yet each of these three strikes had yielded tremendous results.
Galvanized by his display, the Luotian Association's flagging morale surged manifold.
Streaks of light crisscrossed as they began butchering the remaining ape-type beasts before they could flee.
Figures like Duan Feng and Zeng Wen moved among them, reaping kills with every strike.
Seeing this, Luo Chen let out a quiet breath of relief.
"President!"
A hoarse female voice reached his ears. Luo Chen turned his head to see Sima Huiniang walking up beside him, laden with guilt.
"I apologize. I handled this terribly."
Luo Chen waved his hand dismissively. "Now is not the time to reward merits or punish faults. We will discuss apologies later."
Sima Huiniang was taken aback, then followed Luo Chen's gaze toward the distant wilderness.
With the second-tier beast commander still alive, now was indeed not the time.
"Go assist Zhou Yuanli in mobilizing the cultivators for battle."
"The Lesser Five Elements Formation can be deactivated. Let the mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivators inside the valley come out and taste blood as well," Luo Chen instructed.
Sima Huiniang lingered no longer and immediately moved to muster personnel as ordered.
After she left, Murong Qinglian came over.
"Does Hall Master Wang need some reinforcement from us?"
Luo Chen's eyes flickered as he gazed at the battlefield ten li away.
After a few breaths, he shook his head. "Handle things here first. He doesn't need your help over there."
"Uh..."
Ignoring Murong Qinglian's confusion, Luo Chen flew atop the ramparts.
Spent jade marrow beads showered down from his hands like rain.
Whenever one struck a beast, an explosion detonated.
Though the force was not massive, it was sufficient to disrupt the beasts' movements. Weaker beasts were killed instantly, while stronger ones perished quickly under the surrounding cultivators' onslaught.
Before long, as Sima Huiniang led the mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivators of Crescent Moon Valley onto the battlefield, the situation stabilized completely.
Barring the unexpected, what followed would be an absolute slaughter.
Only then did Luo Chen feel completely at ease.
"Now, only that second-tier exploding ape remains!"
With a thought, Luo Chen put away the sword pill.
In an instant, an azure banner slid into his grasp.
"Emerge!"
With a low shout, three azure wooden flood dragons spiraled forth from atop the ramparts amidst mechanical grinding and clicking.
Luo Chen's expression remained steady as spiritual energy surged through him.
Aided by his superb artifact manipulation techniques, he summoned three more azure wooden flood dragons.
Had Qiu Bai, that cultivator at the perfection of Qi Refinement, witnessed this sight, his jaw would have dropped in shock.
A perfection-stage Qi Refinement cultivator had to exhaust every ounce of strength just to barely muster six wooden flood dragons.
Yet Luo Chen had summoned six with consummate ease.
Judging by how effortlessly he did it, he could likely summon one or two more if pressed.
Luo Chen stepped forward, landing squarely atop the head of the foremost azure spiritual energy flood dragon.
"I leave this place to you."
"No one is permitted to approach the battlefield on the wilderness!"
With that, standing astride the wooden dragon and driving the six beasts, he tore through the air.
On the battlefield below, countless cultivators grew wildly excited.
The President was going to join forces with Hall Master Wang of the War Hall to slay that second-tier exploding ape!
Amidst the crowd, Sima Huiniang's expression was filled with shock and uncertainty.
Her younger brother, Sima Wenjie, sidled up, looking equally amazed.
"Eldest Brother was right all along! That top-grade magical artifact truly is in the President's hands!"
The Azure Musk Flood Dragon Gathering Banner could command six flood dragons.
Moreover, it released an azure musk fragrance capable of impeding the flow of a cultivator's spiritual energy.
While not renowned for raw destructive power, it was versatile and unpredictable—a standout even among top-grade magical artifacts.
Sima Huiniang muttered, "Then that means... the one who saved us in North Street Lane Three back then really was the President."
Wenjie nodded repeatedly. "There's no mistake! And when the President appeared just now, those stone bead projectiles he used were clearly the same method that shattered Liu Han's formation back then!"
When Luo Chen had entered earlier, he had hurled thousands of spent jade marrow beads.
Such a technique had already become Luo Chen's signature.
Sima Wenjie was no fool; he had quickly gathered information from others. During the battle in North Street, their eldest brother had been on the verge of death and their second sister severely wounded; only his consciousness had remained clear.
If their eldest brother, Sima Xian, had still been unsure during the battle against the Fu family, this time he was a thousand times more certain that Luo Chen was the one who had saved them.
Listening to her brother's words while watching the receding figure in the distance, Sima Huiniang bit her lower lip, her emotions churning and complex.
Then, she snapped her head back around.
"Do not dawdle! Eliminate these demon beasts quickly to prevent vile scoundrels from looting while the house is on fire!"
...
*Brother Wang, in the end, you still practiced those blood cultivation methods!*
Standing astride the flood dragon, Luo Chen looked down at the battlefield on the wilderness.
Man and ape clashed without retreating an inch, exchanging bone-jarring blows with every movement.
Surging vitality and blood power permeated the surroundings to a degree that suffocated the air.
Across a ten-li radius, the ground was pitted with craters and spiderwebbed with fissures.
That a second-tier exploding ape possessed such destructive might was hardly surprising. It was, after all, a second-tier beast famed for brute destruction, standing among the very top of ape-type beasts.
The reason Luo Chen's Blood Burning Pills delivered such explosive power was primarily that exploding ape blood served as the main ingredient.
Yet the destructive force Wang Yuan displayed was extraordinary.
Massive blood-red pythons erupted from his body. With every punch he threw, a blood python accompanied the blow.
His overwhelming power was so fierce that even the second-tier demon beast struggled to hold its own.
At this moment, the duel hung in an even split.
*Is this the strength of the second realm of body cultivation?*
*Or is it an uncanny power born from assimilating blood dao methods?*
Luo Chen could sense that Wang Yuan was not in the least disadvantaged; on the contrary, his momentum climbed as the fight raged.
Whenever those blood pythons struck the exploding ape, any remnant blood energy gnawed at the beast's flesh, funneling back into Wang Yuan through tiny crimson serpents to replenish his vitality.
With this ebb and flow, sapping the enemy to bolster himself, Wang Yuan grew only more formidable as the battle wore on.
"Exhilarating!"
"How utterly exhilarating!"
"Luo Chen, you don't need to interfere! I can take down this beast on my own!"
Yet facing Wang Yuan's battle lust, Luo Chen refused flatly.
"Do not prolong the fight, lest prying eyes take notice."
Mid-battle, Wang Yuan frowned slightly.
Soon, however, he realized the wisdom in those words.
His assimilation of the blood dao had not yet reached perfection. The combat techniques he currently displayed carried a blood stench that was far too pronounced.
If righteous cultivators saw this, they would certainly clamor for his head.
When that time came, he would likely end up wanted by the sects, reduced to a rat scurrying in the dark.
"Very well, step in!"
Luo Chen nodded slightly and tapped his foot.
The giant dragon beneath him shook its head and tail, soaring forward.
Rather than clashing head-on, the six flood dragons circled the periphery, continuously exuding azure musk fragrance.
Wang Yuan had already received Luo Chen's advance warning, using a secret technique to prevent himself from inhaling large amounts of the fragrance. Even if a wisp of the toxic musk entered through his pores and skin, his surging vitality instantly dissolved it.
The second-tier exploding ape, however, possessed no such wisdom.
*Roar!*
Sensing a third party intruding, the beast grew increasingly berserk.
Palms as large as millstones struck out relentlessly.
Wang Yuan did not dodge either, vaulting into the sky time and again to meet the blows head-on.
*Crash! Crash! Crash!*
Thunderous shocks sounded repeatedly.
Even manipulating the Azure Musk Flood Dragon Gathering Banner from the perimeter, Luo Chen could feel the shuddering fleshly collision of every single strike.
*The second realm of body cultivation is actually this formidable. Purely in terms of physique, it doesn't lose out to a beast's body in the slightest!*
*I wonder what bizarre transformation occurs in the third realm of body cultivation that Brother Wang mentioned, which can even trigger an extension of lifespan.*
*I have persisted in using Cultivating Origin Spiritual Liquid and Golden Quality Jade Liquid, coupled with spiritual energy tempering. Compared to them, how far off is my physique right now?*
Thoughts drifted through his mind, yet his hands did not slacken for a second.
Under the exhalations of the six wooden dragons, in mere dozens of breaths, the exploding ape's aura waned considerably.
Having absorbed too much toxic azure musk, its demonic power could no longer circulate freely.
Its movements grew sluggish, and its strikes weakened noticeably.
Seeming to sense mortal peril, the exploding ape bellowed, rings of fiery red light abruptly detonating from its body.
"Be careful, it's staking its life!"
Wang Yuan gave a word of warning, yet advanced instead of retreating.
Striding forward, he tucked his fingers into a fist, leaving only his thumb extended outward.
Under Luo Chen's Spirit Eye Art, Wang Yuan's thumb struck twelve major acupoints on his body with lightning speed.
*Are those the upper twelve acupoints of the Bright God Evil Dispelling?*
Luo Chen faintly understood.
In the next moment, Wang Yuan's physique swelled explosively.
Before, at two meters tall, he had been within the bounds of a large man. But under the rapid stimulation of his thumb, his frame expanded continuously, soon reaching a zhang.
And it showed no sign of stopping.
One zhang, one and a half zhang...
Finally, it stabilized at around five meters—a true miniature giant.
His coarse linen clothes shredded, baring massive swathes of muscle that knotted across his vajra physique like coiled dragons and gnarled tree roots.
Beneath the vajra physique, bones resembling white jade faintly gleamed.
As he ran with thunderous strides, an impression of a rushing river roared forth.
That was blood as heavy as liquid lead and mercury, bursting with unrelenting power.
*Is he planning to take the explosive eruption of a second-tier demon beast head-on?*
Luo Chen frowned deeply. He noticed that once Wang Yuan entered a state of battle, his entire personality underwent a drastic shift.
In ordinary times, he had never shown such fanaticism.
*Roar!*
"Die!"
Beast roar and human fury erupted almost simultaneously.
Under Luo Chen's watch, their bodies collided in an instant.
*Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!*
Dense concussions detonated without pause.
Their speed was so extreme that even with his perfection-level Spirit Eye Art, Luo Chen could barely track them.
This was unlike the grand, sweeping attacks of Golden Core cultivators that spanned hundreds or thousands of li. Every punch and kick concentrated power to its absolute limit.
An ordinary person could not endure a single strike.
In fact, Luo Chen suspected that even a Foundation Establishment cultivator would be hard-pressed after taking one or two blows.
"Still, the victor is decided!"
As Luo Chen murmured to himself, the battle in the clearing suddenly resolved into focus.
Wang Yuan pressed a hand against the massive exploding ape, his palm—the size of a palm-leaf fan—slapping down seven times in rapid succession.
Sevenfold Peaks!
*Boom!*
Condensed to the extreme, the blast of energy erupted seven consecutive times, each wave towering higher than the last.
In an instant, it was as if seven immense mountains had come crashing down.
The exploding ape's body staggered as though struck by a catastrophic blow, retreating step after step.
One step, two steps... seven steps!
After seven steps, it fell to one knee, its entire body battered and bloodied.
A gaping hole was blown into its chest.
"Did we win?"
"No, it still has strength left!"
Wang Yuan's low shout rang in his ears.
Luo Chen peered closely. From the exploding ape's chest, a beast core abruptly flew out.
A destructive aura surged into being.
Meanwhile, the exploding ape's body shrank rapidly, soon measuring less than two zhang tall.
Without sparing the two a glance, it turned and fled toward the deep mountain woods.
"Thinking of running?"
Luo Chen sneered. He hadn't been standing around just watching the spectacle.
His moon-white robe billowed without wind.
Clouds surged beneath his feet, carrying him high into the sky in a flash.
He waved the grand banner in his hand relentlessly, as if trying to shake down the heavenly starry river.
Under his waving, the six wood-attribute flood dragons roared, lunging from different angles and rapidly overtaking the exploding ape.
*Boom! Boom!*
The first two detonated instantly, cutting off the ape's flight.
The remaining four wrapped tightly around the ape's four limbs.
Vast clouds of toxic azure musk spewed forth, tinting almost the entire area in green.
As they exhaled immense quantities of azure musk, the bodies of the four wood-attribute flood dragons shrank thinner and thinner.
In the end, they vanished into nothingness.
The exploding ape collapsed unconscious to the ground.
Only then did Luo Chen have the leisure to look toward the ground.
Unexpectedly, the beast core had not succeeded in self-detonating.
Hundreds of densely packed crimson serpents, like threads of red silk, wound around the core layer upon layer.
His body shrunk back to normal, Wang Yuan grasped the beast core in one hand and looked up at Luo Chen, flashing a broad grin.
"What the hell are you grinning at? Can't you put some clothes on first?!"
Luo Chen cursed, unwilling to look at the naked man, and headed straight toward the exploding ape.
He hadn't killed the beast!
That meant he and Wang Yuan had captured this second-tier demon beast alive.
Chapter 176