On Danxia Peak.
With Luo Chen's return, the restless atmosphere that had briefly hung in the air quieted down almost immediately.
Such was the anchoring weight of a pillar of stability.
Yet today inside the Battle Hall, numerous cultivators were streaming in and out.
Their urgent, tense expressions aroused the curiosity of anyone acquainted with the Battle Hall's members.
"What's happened?"
"It's rare to see so many Luo Net cultivators out at once, isn't it?"
In the face of these inquisitive queries, the Luo Net cultivators in charge of intelligence gathering and processing glared back with hawklike eyes.
"Don't ask what you shouldn't be asking!"
Leaving only that rebuke, they bustled into the Battle Hall carrying armfuls of dossiers.
...
"Here is the latest intelligence gathered during the year and a half since your departure."
"This stack contains the general intelligence on Tianlan Immortal City collected over the five years since Luo Net's founding."
"And this last pile of dossiers, freshly delivered, was gathered from various channels by Su Xiaolin at great expense and effort following your instructions. It has been compiled on an expedited basis. Although still somewhat disorganized and incomplete, essentially everything related to the war between the superior sects is right here."
Inside the Battle Hall, Sima Huiniang sorted the bamboo slips by category and laid them out before Luo Chen.
Sima Xian, the Master of the Battle Hall, and his subordinate Su Xiaolin, an elder of Luo Net, stood on either flank, awaiting orders at any moment.
Looking at the dense sea of dossiers, Luo Chen drew a deep breath.
Without minding the trouble, Luo Chen unrolled a bamboo slip and began reading attentively.
"Tenth month, 3,408th year of the Mountain and Sea Calendar. Luoyun Sect Supreme Elder Han Zhan broke through to the Nascent Soul stage and forcefully advocated reclaiming three large markets and seven small markets within their sphere of influence that were indirectly controlled by the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect. The crude measures prompted protests from the Sword Sect, and the dispute finally concluded with Sword Sect cultivators withdrawing from the Luoyun Sect's territory."
"This incident was also regarded as the fuse that ignited the war between the superior sects."
Luo Chen paused, calculating along his mental timeline.
Around that time, he had probably been at the ninth layer of Qi Refinement. Pang Renxiong had just died, and Dahe City had been reduced to a ghost city.
"Eleventh month of that same year. A Foundation Establishment true disciple of the Luoyun Sect was suspected to have died at the hands of a Sword Sect true disciple. At the same time, the Sword Sect suspected that the bizarre death of one of its Golden Core Masters was linked to the Luoyun Sect. Friction intensified, and negotiations between the sect masters of both sects proved fruitless."
"The Luoyun Sect demanded the return of a Tier 3 mineral vein, which the Sword Sect refused. It remained unclear which side struck first, but a small-scale battle at the Foundation Establishment level erupted near that Tier 3 vein."
"Though this clash erupted swiftly and ended just as quickly, it was recorded as the beginning of the civil war between the superior sects of Jade Cauldron."
"The true outbreak stemmed from Mount Ailao refusing to repair an immortal city for the Sword Sect, resulting in the murder of a core disciple by a Sword Sect true disciple. In a fit of fury, that core disciple's master destroyed the immortal city's core formation hub, provoking a massive assault by nearby demonic beasts."
"Discontented, the Sword Sect dispatched three hundred sword cultivators to hold Mount Ailao accountable. Mount Ailao appealed to the Luoyun Sect for aid, and the two factions clashed outside Mount Ailao's mountain gate in the first truly significant battle."
Luo Chen estimated the timing.
After that major battle broke out, Tianxingzi from the Zhenlong Black Market in Dahe Market had left in haste.
And then, in the spring of the third month of the following year, Luo Chen had joined forces with Nangong Jin to lead an assault on Mount Xiaohuan, wiping out the Duan family.
Afterward, he had pushed through tremendous hardship to reach Foundation Establishment and eventually left Dahe Market.
Throughout that period, the friction between the two Nascent Soul superior sects of the Jade Cauldron Domain deepened, and their clashes escalated!
Battles of various scales, centered on the Foundation Establishment true disciples of both factions, erupted in continuous succession.
The scope of the battlefield expanded steadily as well.
The Sword Sect boasted a profusion of experts; Golden Core Masters even led hundreds of sword cultivators in attempts to pierce deep into the heart of the Luoyun Sect's territory, only to be held back by the Luoyun Sect's powerhouses.
The world had assumed the Luoyun Sect possessed a shallow heritage and could not withstand the Sword Sect's thunderous might.
Yet to everyone's surprise, the Luoyun Sect's puppet arts—long dismissed as mere eccentric artifices—unleashed formidable might in the opening phases of the conflict.
In sheer combat power, they were not the least bit inferior to Jade Cauldron sword cultivators.
There were even instances where a sword cultivator of equal cultivation severed five puppets in a row from a Luoyun Sect disciple, only to be blasted into bloody mist in the end.
Naturally, on the whole, the Sword Sect remained far stronger than the Luoyun Sect.
After repelling the opening waves of assaults alongside Mount Ailao, the Luoyun Sect acutely felt that a single tree could not support the forest.
It was precisely then that cultivators from Azure Pill Valley entered the fray, aligning squarely with the Luoyun Sect.
Unwilling to show weakness, the Sword Sect dispatched numerous first-rate subordinate factions under its banner into the war.
Not only that, even the Yan Alliance joined their ranks.
By then, the conflict between both sides had drawn in five major sects and over a dozen first-rate and second-rate factions.
Both sides seemed to recognize that allowing such unchecked escalation would be disastrous.
Consequently, they gradually narrowed the theaters of engagement, concentrating primarily on three major battlegrounds: the Lingkong Secret Realm, Blackwater Marsh, and Mount Thunder Accumulation's Nine Peaks.
Even among the three battlegrounds, there was a clear distinction between primary and secondary theaters.
The epicenter of the conflict lay in the Lingkong Secret Realm.
It was a rumored ancient ruin, of which the Sword Sect had later excavated less than half, monopolizing it for several centuries.
There were even rumors that the reason the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect had, in just a few centuries, surpassed even the fabulously wealthy Azure Pill Valley in its numbers of Golden Core and Foundation Establishment cultivators was that it had reaped immense benefits from the Lingkong ruins.
The Luoyun Sect dispatched Golden Core experts in an attempt to seize the ruin and share it with Mount Ailao and Azure Pill Valley.
Naturally, the Sword Sect refused to yield and deployed formidable sword cultivators to contest it.
As for the other two battlegrounds:
Blackwater Marsh was rich in various resources, among which Black Demon Swamp Mud was the item most sorely needed by Mount Ailao, which routinely had to buy it from the Sword Sect at exorbitant prices.
Thus, this was the primary battleground for Mount Ailao's cultivators, who joined forces with the Luoyun Sect to seize control of the area.
Mount Thunder Accumulation's Nine Peaks was even more complicated.
It housed a supermassive Tier 4 lightning mineral vein whose perennial erosion had given rise to the bizarre spectacle of the ten-thousand-li Quicksand Wasteland.
Everyone wanted it, yet no one could swallow it whole.
Both camps dispatched large numbers of low-level disciples to vie for dominance, contesting every inch of ground.
This battleground also had the largest numbers and the most convoluted factional makeup.
Superior sects, major sects, first- and second-rate factions, and even countless rogue cultivators were drawn into its maelstrom.
Ten years ago, the Lingkong Secret Realm had suddenly closed!
This marked the end of that particular theater.
As a result, the arena where the high-level cultivators of the two superior sects clashed directly ceased to exist.
They reined themselves in somewhat, no longer taking the field in person.
Instead, they directed their subordinate forces and allies to wage a war of attrition across Blackwater Marsh and Mount Thunder Accumulation's Nine Peaks.
"So that's why over recent years, everyone felt the intensity of the war between the Nascent Soul superior sects had dropped and eased up?" Luo Chen murmured.
With the strength of his soul and the sharpness of his intellect, it took him a mere half-day to finish reviewing this compiled dossier on what was termed the "Jade Cauldron Civil War."
There were plenty of suspicious points and no shortage of curious details.
Yet none of these were the main concern.
At least, they had little bearing on Luo Chen himself.
He gently rubbed his brow and took the intelligence from the most recent years from Su Xiaolin's hands.
Compared to the earlier summaries, these files were far more detailed.
For instance, in Blackwater Marsh, Mount Ailao appeared formidable, yet against the coalition of vassals spearheaded by the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect, they had suffered grievous losses.
Even two of their Golden Core cultivators had met disaster—one killed, one wounded.
Over at Mount Thunder Accumulation's Nine Peaks, the clashes between Azure Pill Valley and the Yan Alliance grew ever more ferocious.
Many Foundation Establishment true disciples had fought until true fury consumed them, and the number of fallen cultivators was far from small.
Interspersed among them were numerous minor first- and second-rate factions that had scattered to the winds under the crushing weight of the overarching tide.
For example, the descendants of the Ghost Spirit Valley familiar to Luo Chen had their Foundation Establishment cultivators perish in battle one after another.
In the end, a band of rogue cultivators had taken advantage of their misfortune to plunder their ancestral grounds down to the bare walls.
Such examples were legion!
"I thought survival was arduous enough here in Tianlan Immortal City with all its treacherous undercurrents," Luo Chen reflected. "I never imagined that elsewhere in this cultivation world, far more brutal slaughter was unfolding at every single moment. Perhaps that is precisely why the Golden Core major sects have pulled back slightly, seeking to limit their losses. Azure Pill Valley even used the pretext of reestablishing their Dao Child and holding the Dao Seed competition to recall numerous disciples from the front lines."
From the progression of the grand situation, Luo Chen noticed many subtle details.
He even deduced that several sects were no longer willing to keep slaughtering one another in this quagmire of war.
Finally, Luo Chen looked over the intelligence Luo Net had gathered during the year and a half he was away from Tianlan.
"In the 3,425th year of the Mountain and Sea Calendar, Luoyun Sect Supreme Elder Han Zhan and Sword Sect Supreme Elder Perfected Jade Cauldron met publicly for the first time on the banks of the Qinhua River; the negotiations ended in acrimony!"
Reading this entry, Luo Chen's expression shifted slightly.
At last, he knew what monumental event had occurred outside during his eighteen months away.
Negotiations between the two sects on the banks of the Qinhua River.
A summit between Perfected Persons ending in acrimony.
Everyone understood what that signified.
Of course, the banks of the Qinhua River referred to here were certainly not the riverbanks near Tianlan Immortal City.
The Qinhua River wound through the entire Jade Cauldron Domain, an immense waterway second only to the Lancang River in scale.
The exact location of the negotiations was not detailed.
The specific contents of the talks were likewise unknown.
Yet that single phrase—"ended in acrimony"—meant this Jade Cauldron Civil War was bound to continue!
It might even mean the accumulated grievances would detonate completely, sending the war's intensity spiraling upward.
One year ago!
Hadn't that been precisely when the Dao Seed competition commenced?
Luo Chen recalled the many Golden Core Masters he had seen in the Heavenly Palace.
He remembered clearly that Tao Yisheng had mentioned Golden Core cultivators from four major sects—the Luoyun Sect, Hundred Blossoms Palace, Ice Fort, and Mount Ailao—coming as guests to observe the ceremony.
Yet upon the Heavenly Palace, he had plainly never seen any Golden Core from the Luoyun Sect.
"They came but never showed their faces, or perhaps arrived only to depart immediately."
"What does that signify?"
"A notification!"
"Right—they came to deliver the outcome, merely going through the motions on the side."
"In other words, once the Dao Seed competition concluded, the Luoyun Sect's war machine spun into full gear. Azure Pill Valley and Mount Ailao agreed to take the field once more, and even Ice Fort cast aside all hesitation, throwing its full weight behind the Luoyun Sect to prepare for entry into the war!"
By the time he pieced it all together, late night had arrived.
Luo Chen leaned against the back of his chair, mentally exhausted.
Without even lifting his eyelids, he said, "The rest of you may withdraw. Huiniang, stay."
Having stood there all day, Sima Xian and Su Xiaolin exchanged glances before offering respectful bows and taking their leave.
Seeing Luo Chen's exhaustion, Sima Huiniang rose and stepped behind him, gently massaging the acupoints on both sides of his temples.
"I've never seen you care so much about this before. Why the sudden intense interest in the war between the superior sects?"
"I have no choice," Luo Chen said heavily with his eyes closed. "Because before long, we will be forced to take part in it."
"What did you say?"
Sima Huiniang's hands slowed, as though she hadn't heard clearly.
Luo Chen sighed. "Fairy Jueqing of Ice Fort demands that all members of our Luotian Association at the seventh layer of Qi Refinement and above march to war. Only a single Foundation Establishment True Cultivator may remain behind to guard Danxia."
When those words were spoken, the fingers resting against the sides of Luo Chen's face froze instantly.
Shock rippled through Sima Huiniang's expression and dilated her pupils. She moved around and sat down across from him.
"Is that true?"
"Would I ever joke about something like this with you?"
Sima Huiniang said hoarsely, "How could it come to this..."
Indeed.
How could it come to this?
Yet upon careful reflection, the signs had always been there.
If the Luotian Association had remained as it was initially, with only one or two Foundation Establishment cultivators, Ice Fort naturally would not have spared them a second glance.
But as Foundation Establishment True Cultivators sprang up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, one after another, Ice Fort had already fixed its gaze upon them.
The Foundation Establishment Grand Ceremony!
No!
Perhaps back when the Luotian Association had struck out in all directions, destroying the Dan Yuan Sect and the Divine Craft Sect to demonstrate its military might, Ice Fort had already set its sights on them.
They had even added fuel to the fire during the Foundation Establishment Grand Ceremony by gifting a Foundation Establishment Pill that was completely useless to Sima Huiniang herself.
Hadn't the implication been that the more Foundation Establishment True Cultivators the Luotian Association possessed, the better?
At this moment, Sima Huiniang undoubtedly realized the consequences if the Luotian Association were dragged into a war of this scale.
For the first time in many years, she showed shock unlike anything before.
And panic.
Yet when her gaze settled upon Luo Chen, a strange tranquility washed over her heart.
Tucking back a stray lock of hair, she said with apparent resolve:
"Circumstances are beyond our control. Over all these years, we have enjoyed immense conveniences as vassals of Ice Fort. Now that they demand our strength in return, it is only natural."
Luo Chen wanted to say that their status as Ice Fort's vassal had been secured with his Jade Dew Pills.
Yet the words halted on the tip of his tongue.
The Jueqing lineage had not taken the Jade Dew Pills for free; they had paid hefty sums of spirit stones.
Looking at each matter on its own merits, even setting aside the threat posed by a Golden Core Master, fighting for Ice Fort was indeed expected of them.
Where in this world could one reap benefits without paying a price?
Still, when such a burden fell upon oneself, it remained difficult to swallow.
Sima Huiniang took a deep breath and spoke rapidly yet methodically:
"If we truly must march to war, then many of the Luotian Association's current decisions must be reconsidered."
"The branch shops in various locations must be closed or consolidated."
"Our agency partnerships with rogue Foundation Establishment cultivators must be suspended for now; otherwise, they will grow too unwieldy to manage."
"As for our business dealings with other factions, we must negotiate new terms of cooperation as soon as possible."
"The plans targeted at the Bai family of Liuguang Market must be scrapped entirely!"
"Furthermore..."
Luo Chen's wandering gaze settled upon the graceful woman before him.
She seemed to have already accepted the reality.
Moreover, she had adapted to the forthcoming situation with astonishing speed.
Everything she thought, said, and did was oriented toward the days ahead.
Such adaptability was truly formidable!
"Since Ice Fort said our Luotian Association may leave one Foundation Establishment True Cultivator behind, you should stay, Association Master!"
"I will oversee the battlefield operations and do everything in my power to ensure as many people return alive as possible!"
By the end, Sima Huiniang's tone dipped slightly, yet her resolute voice carried not a trace of fear.
Luo Chen smiled.
Under Huiniang's bewildered gaze, he reached out and playfully pinched her delicate, upturned nose.
"Foolish girl."
"Having you handle public affairs and manage the Luotian Association under normal circumstances is fine. But when something life-threatening comes along, how could I ever let you go?"
Sima Huiniang was not quite used to this.
Such affectionate, pampering gestures were not something he normally did.
Yet a warm glow suffused her heart.
Even so, considering the unknown perils awaiting on the battlefield, profound worry still gripped her.
"But..."
"There are no 'buts,'" Luo Chen said, shaking his head. "Fairy Jueqing's condition of leaving one person behind didn't include me. No matter what, I am a master alchemist whose fame has spread throughout the Jade Cauldron Domain. How could they throw specialized talent like me onto the battlefield to be squandered..."
As he spoke, Luo Chen's voice trailed off into a low murmur.
Master alchemist... squandered...
Faintly, an idea began to surface in his mind.
Chapter 353