"I overestimated my skill in arrays!"
"The geography of Mount Thunder Accumulation's Nine Peaks is intensely hostile, making it fundamentally impossible to deploy an intact defensive array there. Even a Tier 3 defensive array laid down by a Golden Core Master of the Luoyun Sect would crumble at the first strike before an opposing cultivator of the same realm."
"Therefore, I spent nearly half a year adapting to local conditions to craft a killing array—Five Thunders Striking the Crown."
"Drawing upon the omnipresent power of thunder throughout Mount Thunder Accumulation, that array was potent enough to threaten any great cultivator in late Foundation Establishment."
"Yet who could have foreseen that the battle would break out so abruptly? No one expected a Golden Core Master to strike so brazenly, given that the fighting before had been strictly limited to Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment."
"When the battle erupted, I triggered the thunder array and struck down five Foundation Establishment cultivators in a single stroke. I thought such a feat would deter the enemy, but the surviving Foundation Establishment cultivators pressed forward relentlessly, refusing to give up."
"Wang Yuan ordered me to withdraw with our people while the three of them stayed behind to hold the line. In the end, Li Yingzhang was gravely wounded, and his treasure, the Chilong Sword, fell into enemy hands. Xu Huanzhen sacrificed his Tier 2 white crane spirit beast to pull Li Yingzhang to safety. Wang Yuan unleashed his lethal moves, repeatedly striking with the Blood God Tribulation Finger to cover their escape, before being pursued into the dead of night and vanishing without a trace."
"Only after falling back to the Eighth Mountain did Duan Feng arrive to shelter us. It wasn't until then that I was permitted to return to Tianlan to bring back everyone's remains."
As he reached the end, Min Longyu's voice choked with emotion, his eyes reddening to the rims.
That battle had been far too gruesome.
He knew nothing of the casualties at the other encampments, but the Luotian Association alone had lost nearly half its people.
Of their four Foundation Establishment True Cultivators, one was critically wounded, one was missing, and Xu Huanzhen, the one with the highest cultivation, had lost his white crane spirit beast.
Only he, Min Longyu, had returned completely unharmed.
"President, I have failed your expectations. I deserve to die!"
Luo Chen pressed his lips tight, his expression drawn taut.
Looking at the man who was drowning in self-reproach and remorse, he found himself at a loss for words for a moment.
Before departing, Min Longyu had indeed declared that he would lay down a grand array there to preserve the lives of the Luotian Association's cultivators.
Yet this outcome had delivered a harsh slap across his face.
On the field of battle, what right did a cultivator merely in early Foundation Establishment have to make such lofty promises?
Even so, some words still needed to be said.
"The blame does not lie with you."
"You did remarkably well. If you hadn't set up that grand array, half of those people wouldn't have survived at all."
"Go rest now. In a couple of days, write down a detailed report and hand it to Murong Qinglian."
Min Longyu wanted to say more.
Yet Luo Chen had already turned away, slowly pushing open the heavy doors of Huixin Hall.
Inside the hall lay a dead, hollow silence.
Min Longyu parted his lips, but in the end, he slunk away in shame.
***
Before the black wooden coffin.
Luo Chen gently rested his hands on the unrecognizably mangled corpse.
Threads of pure wood-attribute spiritual power flowed from his palms and sank into the flesh.
Rotten flesh shifted, bones snapped back into place, and ghastly gashes knitted together.
A fresh, ruddy layer of skin returned to the face.
Coarse, aged, and weathered by life's trials.
It was the exact face of Sima Xian preserved in his memory.
Beside him, Sima Huiniang, who had managed to compose herself earlier, caught sight of the face and could no longer hold back. She broke into quiet sobs once more.
At this moment, nothing remained of her usual formidable demeanour as a powerful woman.
She looked as frail and helpless as a blade of grass trembling in the wind.
"My two brothers and I came from a secular city. Our family was once fairly well-off, but after our fortunes declined, we fell into destitution."
"Eldest Brother was the one who pulled Wenjie and me along, raising us with his own two hands."
"Later, by pure chance, we encountered immortal destiny. By some stroke of luck, all three of us possessed spiritual roots, and from then on, we set foot on the path of cultivation."
"To outsiders, it seemed that the Three Sima Cultivators were led by me, that I was the one making the plans and calling the shots wherever we traveled."
"Yet whenever danger struck, it was always Eldest Brother who stood at the forefront to take the blow, and it was always him who chose to stay behind and hold off the rear."
...
"I wanted so badly for him to find a Dao companion and live a peaceful, ordinary life. But he said that while his little sister looked glorious standing in the spotlight, who knew how many people were eyeing my position? He said he had to cultivate with all his might to become my sturdiest pillar of support."
"Eldest Brother was never a man of many words. Even that single remark was something he confessed to Wenjie in private after having too much to drink."
"Failing Foundation Establishment was the most painful ordeal of his life. After that, he grew even quieter, pouring every ounce of his heart into the Battle Hall."
"Yet I never thought he would die at Mount Thunder Accumulation."
"No, in truth, I should have realized long ago. How could anyone be immortal? Even Foundation Establishment True Cultivators can fall."
"And yet..."
Luo Chen drew her into his embrace.
He had always been articulate and quick-witted, capable of speaking with effortless eloquence even before high-stage cultivators. Yet faced with this fragile woman, he could not find a single fitting word of comfort.
All he could do was hold her tight.
Time trickled past. The candle flames in the hall swayed softly, releasing slender trails of blue smoke.
No one knew how long had passed.
With a heavy *thud*, the sound echoed through the hall.
The woman slid the coffin lid shut.
Wiping away her tears, she stepped back from Luo Chen's embrace. In a daze, it felt as though the familiar Sima Huiniang had returned.
"Are you all right..."
"I'm fine!"
Sima Huiniang sniffled, her expression turning resolute.
"Everyone dies eventually. Zeng Wen could die, Granny Yuan could die, and so many cultivators of our Luotian Association could die. How could my eldest brother be exempt?"
"From the moment he set foot on the battlefield of Mount Thunder Accumulation, he was already prepared for this."
"Life must go on, after all."
Luo Chen parted his lips, momentarily caught off guard.
The Sima Huiniang he knew had truly returned.
"President, the Battle Hall cannot remain without a master for even a day!"
"Mm."
"I've decided to transfer Bian Zhen laterally to take over as the Battle Hall Master. Xiugu can step up to head the Spirit Herb Hall in his place. She was already—"
"I'll take it!"
Sima Huiniang snapped her head up, looking at the man before her.
In the dim hall, the man stood tall and straight, his tone calm and deliberate.
"The Battle Hall is the sword of the Luotian Association. How can it afford to be dull?"
"Wang Yuan is strong enough, but he is far more devoted to his martial cultivation. Appointing your eldest brother back then was merely a reluctant compromise."
"He did exceptionally well, but I underestimated the gravity of the current situation. It is no longer something a Qi Refinement cultivator can handle."
"Surveying our association today, only I can wield this blunt sword!"
Sima Huiniang could not help but speak up. "But—"
"There are no buts!"
Luo Chen cut her off with utter certainty. "Once I have attended the funerals of these cultivators, I will personally travel to the battlefields of Mount Thunder Accumulation's Nine Peaks to take command of our people!"
"It's very dangerous there," the woman whispered, a note of pleading in her voice.
Luo Chen shook his head.
"There is no such thing as an easy, peaceful path in cultivation."
"Over the years, every single battle the Luotian Association fought, large or small, took place under my command."
"Although all of you are now capable of holding your own, the situation over there is fundamentally different."
"Wang Yuan is missing, Li Yingzhang is gravely wounded, and Xu Huanzhen lost his primary combat spirit beast. If I do not go, I fear our surviving cultivators will simply be used as cannon fodder."
"Huiniang, across the entirety of Danxia, can you find a second person more suited for this than me?"
Sima Huiniang was struck speechless.
Luo Chen knew what she was afraid of.
Yet when danger threatened at their doorstep, responsibility took precedence over everything!
As the founder who had built the Luotian Association with his own hands, he could not sit idly by in Tianlan, detached and indifferent.
He reached out and gently stroked her cool cheek.
"Rest easy. So long as I don't run into a Golden Core Master, no one else can do anything to me."
These words were meant as comfort, but they also carried absolute, overwhelming confidence.
The woman's heart settled slightly.
Turning back, she looked toward the black wooden coffin.
"Where should my eldest brother and the others be buried?"
"The back of the mountain," Luo Chen said somberly. "Backed by the ink mulberries and facing the Qinhua River. Bury them with high honors. For those who fell in battle without their remains recovered, erect cenotaphs, and provide generously for their families."
***
Three days later.
Paper money fluttered across the sky like falling blossoms, accompanied by endless weeping and mournful wails.
In the distance.
Luo Chen watched Sima Wenjie, who remained kneeling before Sima Xian's grave and refused to leave, his expression solemn and quiet.
Footsteps sounded from behind.
It was Min Longyu.
Without looking back, Luo Chen asked, "Something on your mind?"
*Thud!*
Min Longyu dropped to one knee, gritting his teeth. "President, take me with you!"
The news that Luo Chen would personally march to Mount Thunder Accumulation had spread throughout Danxia over the past three days.
Every hall had mobilized, preparing all necessary personnel and resources.
Yet Min Longyu's name was not on the expedition roster.
Truth be told, his display came as something of a surprise to Luo Chen.
Min Longyu had not been part of the Luotian Association at first; in fact, he had once been considered an adversary.
Yet upon returning from this battle, the emotion he showed was deeper than that of many old veterans.
Otherwise, he would not have fallen to his knees twice in such a short span.
Luo Chen found it curious, but he did not pry.
Whether born of sincere conviction or pretense, Min Longyu's attitude was beyond reproach.
He simply refused in a cool tone.
"You aren't going this time."
"Why!"
Min Longyu raised his head, his eyes brimming with bewilderment.
"There is no why. If both you and I leave, who will guard Danxia Peak?"
"But as things stand, no one should dare provoke our Luotian Association, and we still have President Sima and the other two Foundation Establishment cultivators holding the fort."
"Better safe than sorry. With you commanding the Danxia grand array, ordinary great cultivators won't dare cause trouble. Only then can I leave without worrying about our rear."
Hearing this, Min Longyu lowered his head, crestfallen.
Yet an unwilling fire still lingered in his gaze.
His feelings toward the cultivators of the Luotian Association were deeply complicated.
When he first joined, he had merely treated them as strangers, an arrangement where each side took what they needed.
Yet after the Luotian Association established its footing on Danxia Peak and restored his ancestral home, something within him had gradually shifted.
Watching his clan's formerly dilapidated ancestral grounds slowly regain their vigor under the diligent cultivation of the Luotian Association's members, an indescribable emotion had taken root deep in his heart.
They had labored together, fought side by side, and regularly exchanged insights on cultivation.
They were not kin, yet in his heart, they had come to feel almost like family.
More than a century ago, when the Min clan was destroyed, he had been powerless to stop it.
Now, a century later, how could he sit by and watch the Luotian Association fall into ruin, especially when he possessed formidable strength of his own?
This battle had inflicted one of the heaviest tolls in the Luotian Association's history.
In terms of sheer numbers, it could not compare to the Battle of Gaoling Plain, yet every single cultivator wounded or killed was an elite.
And in this, he had committed the grave sin of arrogance.
Therefore, he wanted to make amends!
Yet Luo Chen refused to give him that chance.
"Get up!"
Luo Chen released a strand of spiritual power, raising him to his feet without leaving room for refusal.
Looking toward the graveyard nestled among the ink mulberries in the distance, Luo Chen said mildly, "Life and death are parting truths that exist throughout the mortal world. You have already done well; there is no need to drown in blame. Compared to charging onto the battlefield to kill enemies and seek vengeance, remaining on Danxia to protect the Luotian Association is far more meaningful."
Though reluctance still tugged at him, Min Longyu ultimately nodded, accepting Luo Chen's arrangement.
Even so, he was determined to contribute his part.
Before Luo Chen's eyes, he solemnly retrieved the Eighteen Wandering Formation Disks.
"President, I give this to you."
"Hm?"
Luo Chen looked at the treasure that had once been gifted from his own hands.
It had been damaged in the past, but after years of joint repairs by Min Longyu and Duan Feng, it had been restored to pristine condition, bearing no sign that it had ever been broken.
"Isn't this the core of the Seven-Colored Danxia Grand Array? If you give it to me, what will happen to the formation here?"
Min Longyu slowly shook his head. "No, the core of the Seven-Colored Danxia Grand Array is Danxia Peak and me, not this treasure. As long as I live, the mountain stands; if the mountain falls, I die with it!"
Luo Chen's brow furrowed as he stared intently at the man.
Taking a deep breath, Min Longyu continued:
"The situation over there is growing increasingly treacherous. Even Golden Core cultivators have discarded all shame to strike in person. President, you are undeniably strong, but if you run into a Golden Core foe... You are the soul of the Luotian Association. Nothing must happen to you!"
Luo Chen's gaze settled upon the Eighteen Wandering Formation Disks.
"Can this item contend against a Golden Core?"
"If the environment is right, it might just hold its own!"
Seeing the hope in Min Longyu's eyes, Luo Chen ultimately accepted the gesture.
Just as Min Longyu had said, Luo Chen's significance to the Luotian Association was irreplaceable.
Just like right now.
Danxia Peak had been plunged into gloom and sorrow, and it was only because Luo Chen had stepped forward that the situation was kept firmly under control.
Sima Huiniang was exceptionally capable, but she was still missing something.
That something would require a long, arduous expanse of time before she could gradually catch up to Luo Chen.
Tracing his fingers across the Eighteen Wandering Formation Disks, Luo Chen listened as Min Longyu painstakingly explained the lethal array technique he had spent years perfecting.
At the end of it, Luo Chen suddenly asked:
"Describe the scene of that night's battle to me once more. I want to know who it was that pursued you so relentlessly even after our forces had suffered such devastating losses."
At the mention of that matter, Min Longyu's expression instantly warped with fury.
***
"All the corresponding supplies are ready."
"The smaller items have been stored in holding bags, entrusted to Qin Liangchen and Yuan Xiaoyue. The bulkier cargo has been loaded onto the Langqi Flying Boat."
"Once we arrive, we only need to hand them over to the Ice Fort cultivators. The prices were already settled through Tantai Jin earlier."
In the sky above Danxia.
The Langqi Flying Boat had deployed to its fullest extent. Stretching over fifty fathoms long, the massive hull showcased the imposing presence fitting for a top-grade large flying boat.
Heaps of large-scale raw materials had been densely packed aboard.
Ores, timbers, and various other goods.
Once they reached the front line, these supplies would serve immense strategic value in the war.
From this single haul alone, the Luotian Association stood to earn over a hundred thousand spirit stones!
In addition to the cargo, numerous cultivators from the War Hall and the outer sect were aboard the ship. The Gold Hall had dispatched its vice hall master, Yuan Xiaoyue, who would oversee the trade transactions upon arrival.
Sima Huiniang looked at Luo Chen with deep concern.
"None of these goods truly matter. What matters most is you!"
Luo Chen chuckled softly. "Being this fussily sentimental doesn't suit you."
Sima Huiniang said no more. Everything that needed to be said had already been discussed thoroughly over the past few days.
It was merely the parting moment stirring up raw emotions.
She disembarked from the vessel, joining Gu Caiyi and Murong Qinglian on the ground below.
"Do not worry. When the war ends, I will bring them all back!"
Luo Chen waved toward them, then turned and strode back onto the Langqi Flying Boat.
"Set sail!"
With his command, the massive vessel roared with deep rumblings, gradually cruising toward the distant horizon.
Sima Huiniang and the other two women watched the receding silhouette from afar.
Across Danxia Peak, countless cultivators were also watching the spectacle unfold.
Someone called out into the open air, though no one knew who began it.
In the next breath, a unified roar echoed across the mountain.
"President, you must return safely!"
No words answered from the flying boat. There was only a white-robed figure standing tall against the wind, hands clasped behind his back, gazing into the vast expanse ahead.
*Mount Thunder Accumulation's Nine Peaks, I, Luo Chen, have come!*
Chapter 363