The blazing sun plunged downward, obliterating everything in its path.
Boundless energy detonated in a single instant.
A painted scroll erupted with dazzling radiance, straining to unfold that cerulean marsh realm. Yet, constrained by the emerald light and a streak of bloody crimson, it ultimately failed to withstand the entirety of the explosion.
*Boom!*
A deafening roar shattered the air.
The earth convulsed as a colossal, mushroom-like cloud of fire billowed into the sky. Immediately following, terrifying waves of flame rippled outward in expanding rings, reducing everything they touched to ashes.
The entire night sky was illuminated.
The ceaseless, frigid rain was steadily vaporized by the surging tide of fire, while snow that had accumulated over an entire winter melted away without a sound.
Extreme heat permeated the surroundings. Several rogue cultivators caught too close let out agonized shrieks; even high-grade robes proved utterly useless against the horrific temperatures.
In just a few breaths, the battlefield at the foot of Mount Xiaohuan was transformed into a sea of fire.
*Gulp!*
Beyond the mountain, an unknown cultivator swallowed hard. A moment later, a clamor of astonished voices erupted.
"What spell is that? How can it be so terrifying?!"
"Is that the Blazing Sun Art? Even if it is, it shouldn't be nearly this powerful!"
"Could it be a spell modified by the Five Elements Divine Sect?"
"Who was that standing beneath the blazing sun just now?"
"We're too far away to see clearly!"
Every voice trembled with undisguised dread.
This was an attack far beyond the imagination of any rogue cultivator. Even though some among them had witnessed Foundation Establishment cultivators fight, those True Cultivators typically relied on dharma artifacts to dispatch enemies, prioritizing lethal single strikes and concentrated spiritual power. Any rare, powerful attack they displayed had at most resembled Duan Qiankun's Triple Surges of the Vast Sea.
Yet the spell Luo Chen had just unleashed on Mount Xiaohuan boasted an enormous area of effect, blanketing a radius of several hundred yards with an unmatched, utterly horrifying explosive force.
High in the sky, Nangong Qin braved the rolling heat waves and flew to his father's side. Only after stepping onto the white cloud did he feel the scorching temperature recede slightly. Swallowing hard, he spoke with terror in his eyes.
"Did Luo Chen do this?"
Nangong Jin's throat was also rather dry. Forcing himself to look composed, he said calmly, "The might of spells has always been renowned for its grandeur. It is by no means comparable to ordinary dharma artifacts."
"B-but... isn't this far too horrifying?!"
Nangong Qin still could not accept it. Luo Chen was just like him—both had shown a realm of the ninth level of Qi Refinement. He knew full well that no matter what, he could never achieve such a feat.
Turning his head, he looked at his father. "If spells are this formidable, why do cultivators of our generation cast them aside to focus exclusively on external objects?"
*Has his conviction been shaken?*
Nangong Jin pressed a hand firmly onto his shoulder. "How can you assume dharma artifacts and magic treasures are inferior to spells? A powerful magic treasure can also amplify a cultivator's spiritual power, unleashing an attack several times greater than one's own capability. Besides, the drawbacks of spells are common knowledge. You must never let yourself be seduced by their spectacle and jeopardize your own cultivation!"
Nangong Qin parted his lips, but in the end, he merely sighed in defeat.
Indeed!
Spells had far too many disadvantages. They formed slowly, cast slowly, and consumed far too much of a cultivator's refined spiritual power. The latter in particular was devastating; obsessing over mastering spells would severely impede a cultivator's progression. If someone wasted time trying to cast a spell mid-battle, an enemy would need only concentrate a single sword strike to disrupt their tempo. At best, it would trigger a backlash; at worst, it would leave them completely exposed to be slaughtered with ease.
Reason after reason surfaced as Nangong Qin tried to convince himself.
"Moreover, Luo Chen did not cast this spell casually," Nangong Jin explained thoroughly to steady his son's Dao heart. "This battle was launched with the full might of the Luotian Association to ensure victory in a single stroke. You saw it yourself—every member fought desperately. Wang Yuan in particular clashed with Duan Qiankun, his life or death still unknown. Under such circumstances, Luo Chen never once showed himself. You should be able to guess what he was doing."
Instant enlightenment struck Nangong Qin.
Staying hidden for so long was naturally to prepare this spell. Clearly, even this Blazing Sun Art could not be released on a whim. Had Luo Chen attempted to cast it right in front of him, he likely would not have survived a single sword strike.
"He stayed hidden because he feared Duan Qiankun would take his head with one slash?"
"Precisely. You are quick to learn." Nangong Jin gave his son an encouraging pat on the shoulder. "There is no need to covet the spectacle of spells. So long as you cultivate diligently, once you advance to Foundation Establishment, you too will wield... Hmm?"
His encouraging words cut short as his expression shifted slightly. He looked toward the distant night sky, where three streaks of light were speeding toward them beneath the stars.
Right at that moment, Nangong Qin gasped beside him. "He's coming out!"
***
Amidst the sea of fire, a figure strolled outward.
Shod in cloud-treading boots and clad in a white robe, his slender silhouette appeared entirely at ease. His long hair was bound behind him with a Daoist hairpin. His lips were lightly pursed, corners curved in a faint, enigmatic smile. With a tall nose and deep eyes, his piercing gaze looked as though it could see straight through the Netherworld.
With both hands clasped behind his back, he walked out step by step through the surging flames.
Suddenly, he halted his steps and looked out toward the numerous rogue cultivators from Dahe Market who had followed in their wake.
A clear, resonant voice, like jade chimes and vermilion strings, drifted distinctly into everyone's ears as his lips moved.
"As of today, the Duan family of Dahe Market is eradicated. Mount Xiaohuan belongs to my Luotian Association. Everyone, please turn back. Luo will not be seeing you out."
Many in Dahe Market had heard the name Danchenzi and knew his true name was Luo Chen. However, few had actually seen his face. When he first rose to fame, he had focused on pill concoction; later, when he became head of the Luotian Association, he mostly dealt with Foundation Establishment cultivators. Even during the war against the Fu family, most people's attention had been drawn to the Fu family's abundant assets rather than Luo Chen's appearance. Thus, when he first spoke, many did not recognize him.
Yet the moment the word "Luo" left his lips, everyone realized who he was. And every single person deeply etched his features into memory.
Such an earth-shattering strike had stunned the world. Luo Chen was someone worth remembering.
However, expecting everyone to simply leave was overly optimistic.
"Now that the Duan family is destroyed, Mount Xiaohuan is ownerless land! What right does the Luotian Association have to claim it?"
"Fellow Daoists, Mount Xiaohuan holds centuries of the Duan family's accumulated wealth, not to mention an Ice-Fire Spiritual Spring! Why shouldn't we claim it together?"
The speaker was a ninth-level Qi Refinement cultivator named Fang Chengshan, a renowned rogue cultivator in Dahe Market who had founded a small faction called Panshan Fort. Coincidentally, their fort was currently situated in the former Fu family stronghold, so they had already profited off the aftermath of Luo Chen's destruction of the Fu family.
As he spoke, several late-stage Qi Refinement cultivators from Panshan Fort tacitly stepped forward alongside him.
Seeing these eager opportunists, the corners of Luo Chen's mouth curled slightly. "Are you certain?"
For some reason, Fang Chengshan sensed something amiss. But with fortune right before his eyes, how could he back down? Luo Chen was merely at the ninth level of Qi Refinement himself, yet he dared lead the Luotian Association to storm the mountain and exterminate the Duan family. How could Fang Chengshan allow himself to be intimidated by a few words?
With a cold sneer, Fang Chengshan took step after step forward.
"Don't be afraid, everyone! Danchenzi may be strong, but after unleashing such a massive attack, his spiritual power is bound to be completely depleted. He's nothing more than an empty shell right now! He's just putting on a bluff—"
Before his words could finish, golden light flashed!
Fang Chengshan reflexively activated his high-grade robe, and a protective light barrier materialized. Yet it lasted only for an instant. The golden light, fine as silk, sliced right through the barrier. In a flash, a severed head flew back along with the returning light, landing squarely in Luo Chen's hand.
Cradling the head in one hand while his sword pill whistled and circled around him, Luo Chen's gaze turned chillingly cold. He flicked a finger.
*Ssshh!*
The sword pill transformed into a golden thread, carving an immense, elongated line into the earth outside Mount Xiaohuan.
"Any who cross this line... will be slain without mercy!"
As he spoke, he tossed the head beyond the line. Its wide, unseeing eyes glared at all those who had been itching to move.
For a time, not a single person dared advance another inch.
How could Danchenzi be exhausted? His spiritual power surged vibrantly; his spirit was brimming and his qi robust, clearly at the peak of condition. His murderous intent was bitingly sharp, radiating the ruthlessness of someone who would slaughter at the slightest provocation. Even the cultivators from Panshan Fort trembled to their cores, entirely forgetting to retrieve their leader's corpse.
Paying them no further heed, Luo Chen took to the air. With a wave of his hand, a charred scroll slowly floated before Nangong Jin.
"A mission fulfilled."
"No, no, no—it was a pleasure cooperating!" Nangong Jin's eyes shone brightly as he carefully received the scroll.
Beside him, Nangong Qin swallowed hard.
A magic treasure—the Marsh Country Gui Chart!
Luo Chen averted his gaze. This magic treasure had been Nangong Jin's condition for forming an alliance with him. To seal it, both sides had sworn a Great Dao Oath together. Ordinary rogue cultivators might not care about such an oath, but Nangong Jin was under a hundred and fifty years old—in the prime of his "youth" with hopes of reaching the Golden Core realm—so he certainly cared. Their alliance was rock solid.
After accepting the scroll, Nangong Jin nodded to Luo Chen. "I have already negotiated the terms with Elder Zhou of the Lianyun Merchant Alliance. As for the Great River Gang..."
Luo Chen nodded in kind. "I will allow them a share of the Jade Marrow Pill business."
"Very well. With your promise, they will stay their hands. In that case, I shall take my leave." Nangong Jin cupped his hands.
"Safe travels, Senior. I will not see you off."
Before departing, Nangong Qin looked back at Luo Chen, still finding the whole thing unbelievable. Luo Chen gave him a smiling nod, then turned his gaze toward several streaks of light lingering in the distance. After Nangong Jin flew over, they soon vanished together.
Their cooperation had mainly targeted the aftermath of the battle. In that regard, Nangong Jin would handle discussions with those Foundation Establishment cultivators. What had swayed Nangong Jin to agree, beyond the Nangong family's decline and urgent need for allies, was Luo Chen's promise to supply them with high-grade Jade Marrow Pills.
Yes, high-grade Jade Marrow Pills!
The Nangong family urgently needed a vast quantity of pills to elevate their clan members' strength. High-grade Jade Marrow Pills lacked the flaw of dantian jadeification, and their medicinal potency rivaled Qi-Nourishing Pills while costing far less. That alone had been enough to move him.
*The pressure from the Foundation Establishment True Cultivators is finally past.*
*Beyond the Luotian Association's strength and the combat power of Wang Yuan and myself, it was ultimately profit that swayed their hearts!*
That final step was the easiest to achieve, yet also the most critical. However, without the preceding groundwork, it would have been utterly impossible. Luo Chen would never have qualified to sit at the table and converse as an equal.
Looking down at the lingering rogue cultivators who still refused to leave, Luo Chen smiled—a smile tinged with ferocity.
"Do you truly need me to see you out?"
As he spoke, he flicked his fingers repeatedly toward the foot of Mount Xiaohuan. There, several opportunists had crossed the line he drew, attempting to sneak up the mountain. Amidst the night, agonizing shrieks erupted one after another alongside bursts of explosions. Seeing this, the lingering rogue cultivators finally retreated in bitter disappointment.
Only after they departed did Liu Qiang rush up.
"Mission accomplished! A large number of waste Jade Marrow Beads have been buried along all the mountain paths."
"Good, you've done well. Don't head up the mountain tonight. Just lead your people to guard this perimeter," Luo Chen instructed.
The people he referred to were not the exhausted members who had just fought a desperate battle, but rather the many early and mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivators left behind to guard Crescent Moon Valley. Now that they had won, those cultivators would rush over upon receiving the signal.
Liu Qiang nodded heavily. Looking at Luo Chen's silhouette as he rode a cloud up the mountain, deep veneration filled his eyes.
The Association Leader had truly done it! Leading the Luotian Association, he had eradicated a Foundation Establishment clan! In the history of Dahe Market, such a feat was unprecedented!
***
Following the fierce battle, the sky gradually brightened.
Though the once-terrifying sea of fire had shrunk considerably, its center continued to blaze furiously. Luo Chen halted outside. Before him lay a massive crater a hundred yards across and more than a dozen yards deep. With the flames still burning, the falling spring rain vaporized into steam, cloaking the area like an ocean of mist.
Spiritual light flared as his spiritual vision pierced deep into the crater's bedrock. Luo Chen pursed his lips, his expression wavering uncertainly. In the end, he shook his head and chose not to disturb Wang Yuan.
Picking up the supreme dharma artifact known as the Heluo Sword, Luo Chen walked toward the mountainside.
During the previous night's battle, Wang Yuan and Duan Qiankun had fought so violently that the battlefield had split into two distinct areas: one lower down Mount Xiaohuan, and the other on the mountainside where the Duan clan members resided year-round.
As Luo Chen advanced, figure after figure converged toward him.
"Are you all right?"
"*Cough, cough*... Association Leader, I'm fine."
"And you?"
"Nearly died. Thankfully, the Blood Burning Pill you concocted saved my life."
"Zeng Wen, you look quite battered!"
"How could I not be? They were fighting for their lives."
Luo Chen's words gradually grew sparser, for the cultivators gathering around were fewer than he had anticipated.
Casualties were higher than estimated!
Halting before twelve massive pillars, Luo Chen turned around. Sima Huiniang stood there respectfully, flanked by the two brothers Sima Xian and Sima Wenjie.
"Go tally the casualties and inventory the spoils. I want a full report within three days."
Sima Huiniang acknowledged softly, then turned and left alongside Murong Qinglian, who had just hurried over. As for the others, led by Gu Caiyi and Granny Yuan, they dispersed to find places to rest and tend to their wounds.
"Association Leader, Duan Feng is missing."
Once the crowd thinned, Feng Xia stepped forward anxiously.
Luo Chen shook his head. "No need to rush."
After such a long night, life and death had long been decided. In Luo Chen and Nangong Jin's plan, this had always been an asymmetrical war. It was never an underdog's rebellion to overthrow the Duan family, but rather the Luotian Association moving to strangle them.
With a second-tier exploding ape, Wang Yuan, Nangong Jin, and himself, their high-end combat power had completely overwhelmed Duan Qiankun. And in mid-to-low-tier strength, the Duan family held no advantage whatsoever—as evidenced by the fact that none of the Luotian Association's ten ninth-level Qi Refinement experts had fallen. Yet because the Duan cultivators held the geographical advantage and counterattacked desperately, the Luotian Association had still lost many brothers. That was the reason Luo Chen's mood had steadily darkened.
Suppressing her anxiety, Feng Xia stood to one side.
Luo Chen looked up at the shroud hovering in the sky, from which the twelve pillars of light emanated. He had not expected this supreme dharma artifact, the Qiankun Shroud, to remain active even without anyone piloting it. But it made sense—after all, Duan Qiankun was not yet dead.
Opening his mouth, Luo Chen spat out his sword pill, which instantly morphed into a longsword. Leaping into the air, he brought the blade down hard upon the Qiankun Shroud.
*Clang!*
The shroud rocked violently. At the same time, an enraged roar echoed from within. Seizing the opening created by the combined strikes from inside and outside, the exploding ape forcefully squeezed its way out.
Catching the shrinking Qiankun Shroud in one hand, Luo Chen looked down at the ape.
"*Roar!!*"
The exploding ape pounded its chest repeatedly, venting its fury.
"Xiaohong, shut up!" Luo Chen barked. Only then did Xiaohong grudgingly cease its howling.
Without having it shrink its frame, Luo Chen stepped directly onto its shoulder, following a faint spiritual resonance deeper into Mount Xiaohuan. Feng Xia followed closely behind, looking immensely tense.
Before long, the two people and one ape arrived at a place shrouded in dense white mist.
"This must be the Duan family's forbidden ground, where the Ice-Fire Spiritual Spring is located. To think it isn't at the foot of the mountain, but at the summit."
Muttering softly, Luo Chen's eyes flickered. The array guarding this forbidden area possessed little defensive strength. After all, it was deep within Mount Xiaohuan, protected externally by the Seven Extinctions Annihilation Loop Formation and internally by numerous Duan cultivators. If an enemy fought their way here, even the strongest defense would mean merely waiting for death. This array served primarily to conceal and disorient. An ordinary intruder who lacked the method would only lose their way, but to Luo Chen, it presented no obstacle at all.
With spiritual light gleaming in his eyes, he navigated around several small entrapping and lethal sub-arrays, finally arriving outside a thatched hut.
In a single glance, his eyes settled upon the ground.
Two people lay there.
"Duan Feng!"
Feng Xia cried out in anguish, her face draining of color as she threw herself forward heedlessly.
Luo Chen did not stop her. Reaching out a hand, he beckoned, and a green banner lying beside Duan Feng flew back into his grasp.
*The measures I left on it are gone. It seems Duan Feng truly gave it his all.*
This banner was precisely his supreme dharma artifact, the Azure Musk Flood Dragon Gathering Banner. Before the battle, he had made thorough preparations, especially regarding Duan Feng! Because Duan Feng was intimately familiar with the Duan family, he could not afford to lose him.
Luo Chen knew that Duan Feng had once raised a Yangwu chicken and understood basic beast-taming techniques. Thus, he had entrusted Xiaohong to Duan Feng; under the suppression of the Spirit-Subduing Seal, Duan Feng could briefly direct and control the second-tier exploding ape. Furthermore, Duan Feng was skilled in artifact forging and possessed deep insight into wielding dharma artifacts, so Luo Chen had also lent him the Azure Musk Flood Dragon Gathering Banner, which he had no current use for.
During that period, Luo Chen had imparted many tricks for manipulating the banner to Duan Feng, even expending significant effort to leave a reserve technique capable of summoning three wood-attribute azure flood dragons at once. Looking at it now, Duan Feng had indeed accomplished his assigned task to perfection.
"Association Leader, Duan Feng... he..."
"He isn't dead, just heavily injured. Give him these." Tossing over several pill bottles, Luo Chen cast a series of Healing Arts onto Duan Feng to temporarily stabilize his condition.
Only then did Luo Chen look toward the thatched hut. As for Duan Rui's corpse on the ground, he did not spare it a single glance. Though Duan Rui had attained the Great Perfection of Qi Refinement, he had spent his life sheltered by his clan and pampered by a Foundation Establishment True Cultivator. He possessed cultivation without combat prowess; it was hardly surprising that Duan Feng had killed him.
Taking a deep breath, Luo Chen pushed open the door of the thatched hut.
Instantly, two entirely contradictory currents of qi surged toward him.
Unmoved, Luo Chen fixed his spiritual vision upon the center of the hut.
There, right before his eyes, lay the Ice-Fire Spiritual Spring!
Chapter 183