Atop Danxia Peak.
The four Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Luotian Association gathered together.
Duan Feng looked at Luo Chen with concern. "Are you certain you want to attend Li Jinhuang's funeral alone?"
"Do not worry. I alone am enough," Luo Chen reassured him.
Duan Feng's face remained full of anxiety. "How can we not worry? Conflicts have been breaking out constantly around the Li family lately, with factions from all sides testing the waters. If we went together, we might be able to keep the situation under control. But you alone?"
The implication was clear: he was not confident in Luo Chen's chances.
Luo Chen did not argue. He simply released the spiritual power fluctuations of the fourth layer of Foundation Establishment.
At once, with the exception of the silent Wang Yuan, both Duan Feng and Min Longyu froze in shock.
"Hiss!"
"You've reached mid Foundation Establishment!"
How many years had it been?
Back when they were at the ninth layer of Qi Refining, Luo Chen was only at the third or fourth layer.
Later, when they were still at the ninth layer, Luo Chen broke through to Foundation Establishment.
Now, they had barely managed to catch up to his footsteps by advancing to the first layer of Foundation Establishment, yet Luo Chen had already reached mid Foundation Establishment.
One had to realize that while the early and middle stages of Foundation Establishment could not be called night and day, the gap between them was still immense.
The disparity in strength between the two was far from just a matter of one or two minor sub-realms.
Back in Dahe Market, Mi Shuhua, a mid Foundation Establishment cultivator, held sole command over the thousands-strong Mountain Breaker Gang.
Ordinary Foundation Establishment True Cultivators dared not provoke him in the slightest.
Even the Great River Gang had to collude with the Lianyun Merchant Alliance before daring to openly oppose him.
During their final battle, five Foundation Establishment cultivators had gathered to ambush, surround, and gang up on him.
Even so, they still failed to take him down.
In the end, it was a hidden Golden Core cultivator who personally stepped in to destroy him.
Of course, one could argue that those were rural Foundation Establishment cultivators without great methods at their disposal.
Yet looking closer to home, the Qinhua River Li family had only Li Jinhuang as a mid Foundation Establishment cultivator, yet he had firmly suppressed the three early Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Tanqiu Hu family.
From this, it was clear that a mid Foundation Establishment cultivator was truly a powerhouse in their own right!
Even in an environment like Tianlan Immortal City, where Foundation Establishment cultivators were numerous, one at the middle stage could become a regional hegemon.
Ordinary people would never dare provoke them lightly!
After his astonishment, Duan Feng felt somewhat relieved.
Luo Chen possessed the mid Foundation Establishment realm, had always been meticulous and cautious, and held many trump cards and techniques.
As long as late-stage cultivators did not intervene, ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators truly had no way to deal with him.
And those late Foundation Establishment powerhouses rarely showed their faces; most remained in seclusion, striving to reach Foundation Establishment perfection and then attempt the Golden Core stage.
Even so, Duan Feng still could not understand why Luo Chen refused to bring the rest of them along.
Facing his doubts, Luo Chen explained simply:
"The news that I would attend Li Jinhuang's funeral on the seventh day of his wake was put out long ago.
"If anyone with ill intentions plans to make a move against our Luotian Association, they will inevitably seize this opportunity.
"Leaving you behind is to prevent our headquarters from being left vulnerable."
Duan Feng came to a sudden realization, then declared confidently, "With the three of us here, it is enough to ensure Luotian's safety!"
"And what if the incoming enemies outnumber you?"
Duan Feng was taken aback.
He considered himself an expert among his peers back in the Qi Refining stage.
Yet he had advanced to Foundation Establishment only a few short years ago and had barely consolidated his realm.
In a one-on-one fight, he might have some confidence in holding his ground.
But if he were outnumbered, then...
Beside him, Wang Yuan and Min Longyu also looked somber.
"Don't worry, I've found you a helper."
Clap, clap!
Luo Chen clapped his hands, and Xing Zonghan walked in from outside.
After briefly introducing him, Luo Chen instructed once more:
"After I leave, none of you should venture out of the mountain unless necessary. If enemies try to take advantage of the chaos, you will follow Wang Yuan's orders.
"There is only one strict rule: Min Longyu must hold Danxia Peak!"
Their gazes instinctively turned to Min Longyu.
He smiled with quiet confidence.
"Rest assured. With me here, I guarantee any intruding enemies will never return!"
This was the confidence of a formation master!
Knowing his capabilities well, Duan Feng and Wang Yuan felt much more grounded.
Xing Zonghan, on the other hand, sized Min Longyu up with curiosity, wondering where the man derived such confidence.
Rumble!
Thunder sounded.
As Luo Chen stepped out of the Luotian Grand Hall, heavy rain was already pouring down.
Reaching out his hand to feel the raindrops carrying a trace of sweltering heat, Luo Chen's gaze grew momentarily distant.
"It's raining again."
He vaguely recalled that during the battle of Mount Xiaohuan years ago, it had also been a rainy night.
Only back then, they were the attacking party.
Now, the tables had turned, and they had become the defenders.
"Hopefully, everything will go smoothly!"
Sighing with emotion, Luo Chen glanced at the dark clouds on the horizon and stepped out into the wind and rain.
***
By the banks of the Qinhua River.
The torrential summer rain pelted down, kicking up countless specks of dirt.
The ground, usually firm, was now completely drenched in mud.
The mournful sound of the suona felt extraordinarily piercing amidst the rain.
The downpour resembled the weeping of countless members of the Li clan.
After a seven-day wake, Li Jinhuang's remains were finally being laid to rest in the family graveyard.
At the place where Li Jinhuang had passed away—by the large bluestone on the riverbank—a man in a vibrant red cloud robe stood holding an umbrella.
His attire was excessively bright and red, appearing completely out of place amidst the somber, grief-stricken white funeral garments.
Yet not a single member of the Li family dared to rebuke him.
It was not merely because of the difference in cultivation.
It was also because at such a sensitive time, he was the sole Foundation Establishment True Cultivator who had personally come to pay his respects.
The master of the Luotian Association—Luo Chen!
Standing on the riverbank beside the large bluestone, with the river waters steadily rising beneath his feet, Luo Chen watched distantly as the funeral rites drew to their close.
The heavy coffin, carried jointly by three ninth-layer Qi Refining cultivators of the Li family and their son-in-law Yuan Dongsheng, was borne out of the Li family's main hall.
It was heading toward the Li family graveyard.
Li Yingzhang walked at the very front, a sheathed longsword hanging at his waist and an ancestral spirit tablet held in his hands.
Despite the pouring rain, his face bore nothing but grief and resolute determination.
His gaze settling on the coffin, Luo Chen knew that Li Jinhuang's remains lay inside.
Unfortunately, the man's final departure was unlikely to be peaceful.
The next instant!
Three streaks of light flew in from the horizon.
Seeing the three figures, Li Yingzhang froze in his tracks.
Between the three streaks of light and his family's funeral procession stood a fiery-red figure holding an umbrella.
Would he intervene?
While apprehension churned in Li Yingzhang's heart, the red-robed figure looked up.
"Fellow Daoists, today is the day Fellow Daoist Li Jinhuang is laid to rest.
"If you are here to see him off, you may join the feast and take a cup of wine.
"If you are here to cause trouble, then you had best return to where you came from!"
The three streaks of light came to a halt.
The leader looked down with cold eyes at the man beside the bluestone.
"Luo Chen of the Luotian Association?"
"Indeed, it is I!" Luo Chen smiled faintly, devoid of the slightest trace of tension as he looked at the man. "Hu Changxi of the Hu family?"
Hu Changxi suppressed his impatience. "Since you know who I am, you should also know the deep, mortal feud between my Hu family and the Li family. I advise you not to block our way!"
Luo Chen gave a scornful laugh.
"If you have a grudge, why didn't you settle it while Li Jinhuang was still alive?"
Hu Changxi's expression stiffened.
He could hardly admit that while the man was alive, the three Hu brothers were no match for him at all!
Taking a deep breath, he shifted his gaze away from Luo Chen toward the green hills on both banks.
Countless cultivators stood there in shadowy silhouettes.
Among them, there was no lack of Foundation Establishment cultivators like himself!
Good. That was precisely the scene he wanted to see.
Turning his gaze back to Luo Chen, he said, "Let the past remain in the past, but today, I am resolved to destroy the Li family!"
A mocking smile appeared at the corners of Luo Chen's lips. "It seems you haven't come for revenge at all, but for the Li family's assets! Preying on a family with no heir left to protect them is rather dishonorable, isn't it?"
"Honor?"
"Hahaha..."
Hu Changxi suddenly burst into loud laughter.
His laughter carried across both banks, echoing between the green mountains and the great river.
Abruptly, the laughter cut off.
"You speak of honor! Aren't you putting on this display just so you can swallow the Li family's assets all for yourself?"
Luo Chen held his oil-paper umbrella, letting the rain patter softly against it.
He offered a faint smile.
"At the very least, as long as I am here, the Li family will see no more blood today."
His words were soft, yet his resolve was unyielding!
Hu Changxi's expression darkened. His spiritual sense had not detected any other Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Luotian Association.
Could it be that the other party had learned something in advance?
While he remained silent, the fourth brother, Hu Changle, who had been quiet all along, sneered.
"A mouth full of benevolence and morality, while your heart harbors nothing but vile greed. A hypocrite like you dares lecture us on honor?"
"Big Brother, Fourth Brother, why waste words on him? He's merely at early Foundation Establishment; he can't stop the three of us!" Hu Changnu was eager and impatient, pointing toward the funeral procession behind Luo Chen. "We only need to charge through and slaughter them, and today will be the death anniversary of the entire Li clan!"
Hu Changxi shook his head.
There was one thing Luo Chen had said correctly.
Though they claimed to seek vengeance, their true objective was to seize the foundation the Li family had built over so many years.
Mount Tanqiu was long past its prime and could no longer support the future cultivation of the three brothers.
Only by claiming the Li family's foundation could they consider anything else.
And those coveting the Li family were far more than just the three of them.
Striking first made them the target of everyone's scrutiny, but it also allowed them to seize the upper hand.
Under the pretext of vengeance, they could rightfully claim this estate.
Yet once they took it, they would inevitably face threats from others.
Right now, along both banks of the river, there were far more than just their few Foundation Establishment True Cultivators watching.
Therefore, the combat strength of the three brothers could not suffer any significant loss; they had to conserve their strength for what came after.
This man Luo Chen might only be at early Foundation Establishment, but he had once achieved the magnificent feat of defeating three peers of the same realm with a single move.
Unless absolutely necessary, Hu Changxi was unwilling to initiate open conflict with Luo Chen.
Suppressing the impulse in his heart, he called out, "President Luo Chen!"
Luo Chen raised an eyebrow. "Do you have further guidance?"
Hu Changxi said slowly, "You stand up for the Li family only because of the marital alliance between the Luotian Association and the Li family. But do you truly think it's worth dragging the Luotian Association down for their sake?"
Dragging the Luotian Association down?
Luo Chen's face gradually grew grim.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Nothing much. I merely heard that recently, some fellow Daoists have grown deeply envious of the Luotian Association's growth. With you lingering here, you should be careful that your own nest doesn't get wiped out."
Luo Chen frowned. "Plenty of people are envious. I'm envious of Nascent Soul sects too."
"No, no, no!" Hu Changxi urged. "Circumstances change. Ice Fort will soon depart, and you are not at home. If someone visits Danxia Peak to pull off a raid and leave, it will be too late for regrets!"
"No need to speak in riddles. It seems you know something, so why not speak plainly?" Luo Chen said coldly. "If it sounds serious enough, perhaps I'll turn around and head back right now."
Hu Changxi felt a surge of delight in his heart.
"As far as I know, with Lu Rong of the Divine Craft Sect taking the lead, supported by Ying Yang of Tianying Peak and Fairy Miaoyu of Yuzhen Daoist Temple, they plan to plunder the Luotian Association today. President Luo, you..."
"Oh, so it's them!"
Hu Changxi was cut off mid-sentence.
Luo Chen gave a scornful laugh. "Nothing more than clay chickens and pottery dogs. Do they even have what it takes to plunder my Luotian Association?"
His words cut short and that mocking sneer ringing in the air, Hu Changxi choked on his breath, the gloom in his eyes dark enough to drip water.
"Are you truly determined to make an enemy of us?"
"No!" Luo Chen's face hardened with cold gravity. "It is you who are determined to make an enemy of me!"
The rain poured continuously, and the river surged endlessly.
Between heaven and earth, the air grew almost suffocatingly still.
***
Atop Danxia Peak.
A few hours after Luo Chen's departure.
Wang Yuan stood at the peak of the mountain with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing into the distance beyond the mountain.
Rain fell from above, but before it could touch his body, it was evaporated by his surging vital blood.
Suddenly, three figures approached at high speed from beyond the mountain, some riding magical tools and one atop a flying eagle.
When Foundation Establishment True Cultivators traveled normally, as long as they were not in a hurry, they usually relied on cloud-riding arts, which were slower and consumed little spiritual power.
Flying recklessly like this, charging straight toward the Luotian Association like an arrow, broadcasted overt malice.
"Luo Chen predicted correctly!"
Wang Yuan murmured under his breath and beckoned with his hand.
A massive recurve bow fell into his grip.
The Sunset Bow, a superior-grade eccentric magical tool.
Though only superior-grade, its effect was singular: it condensed a cultivator's spiritual power to unleash a dazzling, ultra-long-range strike.
Back before he reached Foundation Establishment, while meditating on Danxia Peak, Wang Yuan had sought a method to enhance his ranged attacks.
To that end, he had asked Xu Xiaoliu to search the nearby black markets, large and small.
In the end, it had cost him four thousand spirit stones to purchase this eccentric magical tool.
Today was its first appearance.
It had to yield results!
Focusing his mind on his heart orifice and letting his qi pierce the high heavens, streaks of vital blood transformed into raw force, infused with spiritual power through the method of *Qi and Body from the Same Source*.
In his mind, Wang Yuan recalled what Xing Zonghan had said earlier.
"The Ying family occupies Tianying Peak, making a living by breeding flying eagles and selling them to cultivators as mounts.
"Though the Ying family's Light-Skimming Eagles are not strong, they are extraordinarily fast.
"In particular, Clan Head Ying Yang's mutated Sky-Skimming Eagle is only at the late first rank, yet its speed is no slower than that of a mid Foundation Establishment cultivator.
"To kill him, one must kill the eagle first!"
Wang Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly and slowly drew the bowstring taut.
Between his fingers, a bright-red arrow formed purely of condensed force gradually took shape.
"I despise enemies faster than me most of all!
"So, beast, go die first!"
The thought flashed past.
The next instant,
He exhaled and shouted!
"Go!"
Before his voice had even faded, the crimson arrow tore through the air, shooting out toward the exterior of the mountain.
*Swoosh!*
The crimson arrow traveled at astonishing speed, seeming to rip through space itself and shatter the sound around it.
As it hurtled forward, a line of blood erupted across the sky, dragging a long vapor trail behind it.
The three advancing Foundation Establishment True Cultivators all blanched simultaneously.
This arrow came too swiftly and had been charged for too long; it was certainly not something they could withstand in haste.
Without time to coordinate, the three scrambled to scatter.
With their spiritual sense, they could evade in advance, but how could a first-rank eagle possibly react in time?
*Pfft!*
The crimson streak sliced through, and the flying eagle plummeted toward the earth on the spot.
"No!"
A shrill shriek rang out. Ying Yang's eyes turned bloodshot as he snapped his head toward the top of Danxia Peak.
"You deserve to die!"
Wang Yuan looked at him indifferently, not even opening his mouth.
Yet another voice rang out at the same time.
"No, the one who deserves to die is you!"
The next moment, Xing Zonghan burst out from the mountain, releasing layers of radiant spiritual light as he charged straight at Ying Yang.
Chapter 280