News released by the Yan Alliance!
At those words, seasoned as Sima Huiniang was and well-honed though her composure had become over the years, her delicate face still drained of color.
They all knew very well what this implied!
This was deliberate targeting by a major Golden Core sect—seeking to use the hands of others to destroy the Luotian Association!
And yet, why would an august Golden Core sect go out of its way to target a mere Luotian Association?
She instinctively turned her gaze toward Luo Chen.
The answer stood right before her.
Luo Chen sighed. "It seems that even with Ice Fort and the Luoyun Sect standing at the forefront, the Yan Alliance won't easily let go of my killing Di Wanyun!"
Sima Huiniang bit her lip, full of worry.
Standing there with his head lowered, Su Xiaolin had felt churning waves surging in his heart ever since he first learned this intelligence.
Now, hearing direct confirmation from Luo Chen's own mouth only intensified that inner turmoil.
How could they possibly let it go!
On the battlefield, though each fought for their own master and there was no right or wrong, and even if blood feuds existed, both sides would at least maintain a veneer of decorum so long as the two superior sects had not definitively decided the victor.
However, Luo Chen's slaying of Di Wanyun had far exceeded the boundaries of ordinary battlefield slaughter.
That was a Foundation Establishment cultivator killing a Golden Core Master!
Moreover, Luo Chen had only been at the sixth level of Foundation Establishment back then, whereas Di Wanyun had been a powerhouse of the third level of Golden Core—someone who feared nothing unless facing a late Golden Core great cultivator.
Yet he had fallen so easily at Luo Chen's hands.
It was an outright slap across the face of the Yan Alliance, a grand Golden Core sect!
It provoked their authority, damaged their reputation, and invited outsiders to look down upon the strength of the Yan Alliance's cultivators.
No one could swallow such an insult.
Sima Huiniang asked worriedly, "Could a Yan Alliance Golden Core step in personally to deal with us?"
This was the point she cared about most.
To this, however, the corner of Luo Chen's mouth curled slightly.
"They wouldn't go that far. Major Golden Core sects still have to keep up basic appearances."
Seeing Sima Huiniang's confusion, he meaningfully dropped two names.
"The Jade Cauldron Sword Sect, and the Lianyun Merchant Alliance."
The woman froze, then fell into deep thought.
Before long, clarity dawned on her.
Indeed, major sects had their own pride.
If directly affronted to their faces, they would suppress it with thunderous means.
Otherwise, stepping in personally would be beneath their dignity!
Among sects of their own standing, it would only make them a laughingstock.
Just like back when the Sword Sect suspected the Lianyun Merchant Alliance of secretly colluding with the Luoyun Sect, they hadn't intervened personally either.
Of course, not acting directly did not mean leniency.
The Sword Sect had merely needed to hint at an intention, and plenty of people were more than willing to move against the Lianyun Merchant Alliance on their behalf.
And that was exactly how things had unfolded back then.
Under the assault of numerous second-rate forces, the Lianyun Merchant Alliance suffered catastrophic losses, ceding territory after territory.
Originally, their internal roster boasted a Golden Core consecrated elder, three late Foundation Establishment great cultivators, and over a dozen Foundation Establishment True Cultivators!
Under their banner, they ran open and covert businesses across more than a dozen market towns.
They had truly been a first-rate force!
Yet in the end, their consecrated elder died a gruesome death, only the Lianyun Grand Elder survived among the three great cultivators, and the dozen or so Foundation Establishment True Cultivators were almost entirely wiped out.
By the finish, only six or seven True Cultivators remained.
They had even been so desperate to rebuild their strength that they eagerly roped in outsider rogue cultivators like Nangong Jin and Li Yixian.
It could be said that the Sword Sect did virtually nothing at the time; merely hinting at an inclination had directly caused a first-rate force to plummet into a second-rate one.
And a comparatively weak second-rate force at that.
Now!
How similar was what the Yan Alliance was doing to what the Sword Sect did back then?
If anything, the Yan Alliance's methods were even more vicious.
They didn't openly express displeasure or hostility toward the Luotian Association; they simply leaked the news that the Luotian Association had exchanged for four Core Formation secret techniques.
In doing so, not only would the vassal forces close to the Yan Alliance target the Luotian Association, but those great cultivators stranded at late Foundation Establishment would also grow mad with envy and come seeking trouble.
Such speculation was not unfounded.
One could easily glean it from Luo Chen's recent frequent clashes with Foundation Establishment experts from outside the territory.
Though he had treated those fights as mere practice, most of those experts were cultivators at the eighth or even ninth level of Foundation Establishment!
To a second-rate force whose overt strength peaked at late Foundation Establishment, experts of that caliber represented a catastrophic threat.
It was only because the Luotian Association possessed a mature organizational structure, and because Luo Chen and Sima Huiniang had long established their intelligence department, the Luo Net.
Otherwise, caught unaware, they would have suffered devastating casualties long ago.
Nor was it just intelligence.
There was combat strength as well!
Chu Kui, Wang Yuan, and even Min Longyu.
The coordination among the three had grown increasingly seamless; ordinary late Foundation Establishment cultivators were truly no match for them together, unable to withstand even a single clash!
It was precisely this that had guaranteed the Luotian Association's peace and security over the past year or so.
Having thought this through, Sima Huiniang breathed a slight sigh of relief.
As long as a Golden Core sect didn't strike personally, ordinary vassal forces and a few scattered outside Foundation Establishment experts wouldn't pose an existential threat to the association.
However!
Considering what Luo Chen had done...
She couldn't help but ask, "If our Luotian Association remains standing and never falls, can the Yan Alliance truly stomach this?"
"Even if they can't, they will have to!"
Luo Chen gave a cold harrumph.
"First, my trail has not yet been exposed. If they openly attacked the Luotian Association, it would merely be venting petty fury and invite unneeded contempt from others.
"Second, I still hold the status of a Guest Elder of Ice Fort. Put out in the open, it was an Ice Fort elder who killed a Yan Alliance elder, giving them a plausible narrative to save face.
"Lastly, even if one does not look at the monk's face, one must consider the Buddha's face. Even if the Yan Alliance disregards Ice Fort, they must still care about the opinion of the Luoyun Sect!
"For now, the war is merely paused, not definitively over. The Yan Alliance would not dare tear down all pretense and dispatch Golden Core cultivators to wreak havoc on our Danxia."
As he spoke to the end, a fierce glint flickered across Luo Chen's face.
All of the arguments above were merely strategic calculations and political maneuvering.
What truly gave him confidence was the inherent strength of his own side.
If the Yan Alliance stayed their hand, so be it; but if they truly dared send a Golden Core Master here, they had better prepare to choke on more than they could swallow!
Min Longyu held the geographic advantage of Danxia, and the Seven-Colored Danxia Spirit-Seizing Array he had spent years laying down was potent enough to threaten ordinary Golden Core Masters.
Chu Kui and Wang Yuan fighting together were likewise no pushovers.
Add to that Luo Chen's increasingly refined mastery over the Heavenly Roc True Form...
Unless the Yan Alliance dispatched a mid- or even late-stage Golden Core great cultivator, Luo Chen genuinely feared no ordinary initial-stage Golden Core Master!
Of course, these were worst-case contingency plans.
For the moment, matters were far from reaching such a dire state.
Through this intelligence regarding the Yan Alliance targeting the association, Sima Huiniang quickly connected the dots to other difficulties the Luotian Association had encountered in business recently.
The batch of Foundation Establishment True Cultivators that had suddenly appeared on the Zheng family's side had likely acted under the Yan Alliance's instruction, using the Zheng family's name to move against the Luotian Association.
Iron Sword Hall had been destroyed, yet recently made a comeback under the leadership of a surviving elder.
Doubtless, the Yan Alliance's shadow lurked behind that as well.
On the Mount Thunder Accumulation battlefield, Luo Chen and Chu Kui had seized a massive hoard of spoils, among which magical artifacts and magic treasures were abundant.
The two of them couldn't possibly digest them all.
They were currently using the Luotian Association's channels to fence the illicit loot.
Yet fencing that merchandise had not gone smoothly, partly due to Iron Sword Hall's covert obstruction.
Nor was it limited to medicinal pills and magical artifacts!
In an instant, Sima Huiniang thought of even more matters.
Connecting all these threads, she couldn't help drawing a sharp breath.
Without them realizing it, the Luotian Association had become besieged on all sides!
Among their foes, besides vassals of the Yan Alliance, there were also a handful of Sword Sect vassals, as well as a large number of skilled rogue cultivators.
Not a single party among them was easy to deal with!
Without hesitation, she issued orders to Su Xiaolin: mobilize all Luo Net operatives, monitor a thousand-li perimeter around Danxia, and gather all manners of intelligence.
She had to ensure that she was informed of any developments before anything occurred.
***
On the way back, Sima Huiniang remained filled with worry.
Luo Chen, on the other hand, appeared calm and unhurried, as serene as still waters.
"You aren't worried in the slightest, are you, my Association President?"
Luo Chen smiled. "Rest easy. With me here, the sky won't fall."
Sima Huiniang rolled her eyes, but her tight grip on Luo Chen's hand eased slightly.
Indeed, Luo Chen's immense confidence genuinely rubbed off on her.
With him around, all was well!
Every step of the way, Luo Chen had always been her most solid pillar of support!
Even in a meat grinder like Mount Thunder Accumulation's Nine Peaks, Luo Chen had led the association's cultivators to retreat unscathed.
What could these foes, whether in the open or lurking in the shadows, amount to now?
"Let's put external expansion on hold for now," Luo Chen said leisurely. "Digest our battlefield gains as much as possible to build our internal strength. That is our top priority."
In the battle of Mount Thunder Accumulation, Luo Chen's harvest had been truly immense!
Even setting aside the vast resources from the deceased cultivators' estates, he had exchanged battle merits with the Four Sect Alliance for as many as twenty Foundation Establishment Pills!
Even factoring in the steep failure rate of Foundation Establishment, these twenty Foundation Establishment Pills could easily produce a new crop of True Cultivators.
Su Xiaolin, for instance, was one of the beneficiaries.
Halt outward expansion, consolidate internal power, and quietly await the gathering storm.
In just a few brief remarks, Luo Chen had laid out the development policy for the Luotian Association over the next several years.
As for the specific operational details, he entrusted them entirely to Sima Huiniang.
At last, Luo Chen gave Sima Huiniang's delicate hand a gentle squeeze.
"Don't let your own cultivation fall behind either!"
"You have a Tier 2 high-grade immortal's cave, and I provide you with peak-grade Jade Dew Pills. Yet after all these years, you're still stuck at the third level of Foundation Establishment. It really hurts the prestige of the Luotian Association's Managing Director."
"For less important matters, you can hand them off to that disciple of yours, Yao Mingyue. You don't need to do everything yourself."
Sima Huiniang replied offhandedly, "I know, I know. Don't worry so much."
Seeing her still unconcerned, and knowing she was pouring her heart and soul into the association's affairs, Luo Chen still felt a twinge of exasperation at her lack of ambition for herself.
Yet he didn't quite know how to urge her more forcefully.
Suddenly, Luo Chen's eyes darted slyly, and he remarked casually, "Caiyi has been cultivating quite hard lately. Although she established her foundation a few years after the rest of you, she's already at the second level of Foundation Establishment now. At this rate, I reckon it won't be long before she catches up with you."
The woman froze.
The casual indifference vanished from her face as she asked with uncertainty, "Has her cultivation progressed that quickly?"
Luo Chen shrugged. "Why wouldn't it be? She lacks neither spiritual land nor pills, and with Yuan Xiaoyue helping with business matters, her cultivation naturally advances by leaps and bounds!"
Hearing this, Sima Huiniang fell into silence.
Where no one could see, the corners of Luo Chen's lips curled into a subtle smirk.
Chapter 401