Dust to dust, earth to earth.
A gentle breeze swept over the verdant mountain, while a rain of blood stained the soil.
Boundless spiritual energy surged forth from the earth, and the iridescent clouds in the sky poured down into Danxia Peak like an inverted river.
The kaleidoscopic, seven-colored barrier slowly mended itself amid rippling waves of light.
Under the watchful eyes of thousands, the massive breach blasted open earlier by dozens of Foundation Establishment True Cultivators vanished completely in mere moments.
The seven-colored barrier once more enveloped Danxia, bridging heaven and earth, awe-inspiring and inviolable!
Yet those words—"Within the Seven-Colored Danxia, I, Min Longyu, am ever-victorious!"—still rang in every ear, thundering in their hearts.
Ever since the seven-colored Daoist avatar had manifested and slain several people in the blink of an eye, an eerie, stifling atmosphere had begun to spread.
And when that Daoist casually slaughtered ten Foundation Establishment True Cultivators, the oppressive dread reached its absolute peak.
So absolute was the silence that neither the Anti-Luotian coalition led by Zheng Xian nor the countless onlookers dared make a sound.
Beyond Danxia, complete silence reigned; not a single person dared speak aloud.
"Gentlemen, why not step inside and enlighten me?"
A voice brimming with supreme confidence and provocation rang across a hundred li.
In that single instant, the crowd erupted!
"How arrogant!"
"I have never seen anyone so domineering!"
"Who is he? I've been in secluded cultivation for years—since when did our Tianlan Immortal City harbor such an invincible figure?"
"Didn't you hear? Min Longyu! If you don't know that name, surely you know Lei Zhenzi!"
"*Hiss!*"
"Could he be the Lei Zhenzi who slaughtered five Foundation Establishment True Cultivators in the blink of an eye with a lightning grand array on the battlefield of Mount Thunder Accumulation?"
"Who else could it be! To think that after staying out of sight for a few years, not only has his cultivation advanced, but his mastery of arrays has grown even more terrifying. Slaughtering peers of the same realm is as easy as butchering chickens and dogs to him—ten lives claimed in the wave of a hand."
"Indeed. Those four who managed to survive only escaped having their heads severed because they were slightly slower entering and quicker retreating."
"Lei Zhenzi is far more than just the Luotian Association's Chief Array Master; he's also the scion of the Danxia Min family from a century ago. Now that he has reclaimed his ancestral land, he would fight to the death before allowing history to repeat itself."
"Array masters at this level are simply too terrifying!"
...
Cultivators locked in life-and-death combat was by no means rare in the cultivation world.
Instantly killing an opponent of the same realm was not unheard of either.
Even leaping realms to fight above one's tier would at most elicit sighs of admiration or become a temporary legend.
Even when Luo Chen crossed an entire major realm to obliterate Golden Core Elder Di Wanyun, after the initial shock, most cultivators merely assumed he had used trickery and relied on external aid.
Yet Min Longyu's display just now truly stunned countless cultivators across Tianlan Immortal City.
With only a mid Foundation Establishment cultivation, he had flitted among over a dozen peers of the same realm, claiming a life with every swing of his sword.
And worse still, those cultivators had barely managed to mount any semblance of resistance.
They had simply stood there frozen like wooden statues, awaiting death.
This sight made not only ordinary Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment cultivators shudder, but even the eight late Foundation Establishment experts led by Zheng Xian felt their scalps tingle with creeping chill.
They had seen it with absolute clarity.
Within that grand array, Min Longyu was virtually invincible among his peers!
Forget weaker figures like Wei Bofan and Shen Gongyi in early and mid Foundation Establishment—even late Foundation Establishment experts like themselves would likely have little power to resist if they stepped inside.
An array! It was the array!
"This is definitely not some Tier 3 defensive array," Xiahou Kun exclaimed in horror, losing his composure. "This is clearly a Tier 3 slaughter array!"
He understood arrays!
A century ago, when the Min family was destroyed, his Silver Gorge Xiahou clan had seized many array manuals compiled and authored by the Min family.
When they were aggressively bombarding the array earlier, it had not been entirely obvious.
Yet when Min Longyu personally took action just now, channeling the grand array to butcher True Cultivators, the overwhelming killing intent could no longer be contained.
"Inside a Tier 3 slaughter array, how could any of us Foundation Establishment cultivators be his match?"
Songfengzi wore a look of shock. He had not expected rogue cultivators of the Jade Cauldron Domain, usually lacking any substantial background, to produce such an extraordinary figure.
"No wonder he dares claim that within the Seven-Colored Danxia, he alone is ever-victorious!"
While they were marveling in shock, Tuoba Lingfei said gravely, "Now is not the time to discuss this. We need to figure out how to break the array."
The True Cultivators turned their gazes toward Danxia Peak soaring into the clouds, and then toward the allied Qi Refinement cultivators retreating in disarray.
For a moment, they were at an impasse.
Zheng Xian's eyes flickered, and he looked up toward the sky.
...
Just like the countless rogue cultivators below, the three Golden Core Elders high above were equally stunned.
The junior Qin Junjie even rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
"Where did this person come from? How can he slaughter Foundation Establishment cultivators so effortlessly? Even the true disciples of our great sects could never achieve such a feat!"
While he was marveling, Tao Wan on the opposite side scoffed coldly.
"Is this the cultivator army you cobbled together? Large in number, but nothing more than a rabble. Before even confirming whether the array was broken, they charged into a trap to be butchered at will."
"If you ask me, you had better withdraw early, lest you bring further humiliation upon yourselves!"
Qin Junjie froze.
Beside him, Qin Tairan cast a cold glance over.
That single glance made Qin Junjie's face flush bright red.
The campaign against the Luotian Association had been orchestrated by him personally.
He believed he had done quite well, assembling a group of experts within a few short years without drawing upon the Yan Alliance's manpower.
A lineup featuring eight late Foundation Establishment experts was a force not to be underestimated even on the Mount Thunder Accumulation battlefield.
Yet on this modest Danxia Peak, they had slammed headfirst into a brick wall.
In front of others, Qin Tairan would not reprimand his grandson too harshly; he had to leave him some face.
His gaze settled upon the seven-colored barrier, his divine sense spreading out to encompass that pocket of heaven and earth.
"Huh?"
Following his soft gasp of surprise, Mount Ailao's Elder Fei Ming and Azure Pill Valley's Elder Long also noticed something amiss.
"This array is quite intriguing!"
"Tsk, tsk. Why does it remind me of Ghost-God Valley's sect-guarding grand array?"
Hearing this, Tao Wan looked with surprise at Elder Long, who was escorting her.
"Ghost-God Valley's sect-guarding grand array?"
Elder Long nodded slightly and sent a quiet transmission: "Among the sixteen sects that had jointly conquered Lianxia back then, Ghost-God Valley was a major Golden Core sect second only to the six great upper sects! That sect was exceptionally skilled in array craft. Given just a little time and space, the arrays they laid down were something even Nascent Soul True Monarchs dared not underestimate."
"And Ghost-God Valley's most famous array was their sect-guarding grand array—Heavenly Craft Spirit Seizing."
"You are young and may not know its power. But you only need to know that our sect's Pill Valley, nestled beneath the five peaks, contains a portion of the essence of the Heavenly Craft Spirit-Seizing Grand Array. That should tell you how formidable it is."
Hearing this explanation, Tao Wan came to an immediate realization.
Though the spirit vein of Pill Valley at the heart of Azure Pill Valley was low in rank, it was the sect's vital sanctuary and the hope for its future.
Especially after Luo Chen had pointed out that the Falling Cloud Sect might covet Pill Valley, she had inquired extensively among her elders.
That Pill Valley had been built up from nothing, with the potential to become a Tier 4 spiritual land in the future!
And now, Danxia Peak, where the Luotian Association resided, also possessed a mountain-protecting grand array that harbored the essence of Heavenly Craft Spirit Seizing.
No wonder that group below had pooled the strength of all their Foundation Establishment True Cultivators yet achieved nothing, losing a quarter of their forces in an instant.
Elder Long and Qin Tairan could recognize it because Ghost-God Valley's legacy had primarily been divided among the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect, the Yan Alliance, and Azure Pill Valley.
This division had created the strongest Nascent Soul upper sect, the wealthiest artifact-crafting sect, and the premier alchemy sect in the Jade Cauldron Domain.
Meanwhile, Mount Ailao's Elder Fei realized the truth only a moment later.
"It truly is the Heavenly Craft Spirit-Seizing Grand Array!"
"Of course!"
"The Luotian Association originated from Dahe Mill, and the ruins of a Ghost-God Valley Supreme Elder once appeared in the Guyuan Mountain Range. When our Mount Ailao cultivators investigated, the site was already in ruins, and even that grand array had been excavated and taken away."
"To think the Luotian Association was among those who claimed the legacy."
"Heh, with this array here, unless old man Qin acts personally, those people won't be able to do a thing against the Luotian Association."
As he mused inwardly, Elder Fei cast a faint smirk toward Qin Tairan.
The other man's face was grim, seemingly contemplating a method to break the formation.
Yet after a brief moment, Qin Tairan smiled with relief.
The Heavenly Craft Spirit-Seizing Grand Array was indeed powerful.
Though only Tier 3, given sufficient time, it could grow into something ordinary Tier 4 arrays could hardly rival.
Both Azure Pill Valley's Pill Valley and the Yan Alliance's Incense Burning Valley possessed similar arrangements.
One hoped to promote its grounds into a Tier 4 spiritual land, while the other sought to concentrate fire-element energy to facilitate artifact forging and fire nurturing.
After hundreds of years of cultivation, both had achieved remarkable results.
However, the Luotian Association was merely a backwater power that had struck it lucky.
Their foundation was exceedingly shallow!
They had been in Tianlan Immortal City for barely a dozen years.
Though that junior Min Longyu possessed some talent in array craft and had absorbed part of the essence of Heavenly Craft Spirit Seizing, too little time had been granted to him!
Furthermore, Tianlan Peak dominated the region of Tianlan Immortal City, resulting in the absence of even a Tier 2 spiritual land within ten thousand li.
How could a mere Danxia Peak plunder enough worldly spiritual energy?
That junior seemed to have realized this as well.
Thus, he had modified the array to draw upon the spiritual energy within the iridescent clouds in the sky to bolster its strength.
Yet!
In the end, it was merely a drop in the bucket!
Foundation! The Luotian Association lacked foundation!
Having thought this through, he swept a cold smirk across the two opposite him and sent a direct transmission downward.
Below.
Zheng Xian's expression shifted, and an enlightened look crossed his face.
"Everyone, follow my commands from here on. I have a way to break this array!"
The crowd was taken aback.
Xiahou Kun, who possessed some knowledge of arrays, asked curiously, "How do we break it?"
Zheng Xian gave a light laugh. "Breaking it isn't difficult. We simply grind them down as before, but this time in rotating shifts."
Was it that simple?
"Oh, right. This battle of attrition may last quite a while, and everyone's spiritual power consumption will be substantial. Conveniently, I have a Tier 3 spirit-gathering array on hand that can establish a spirit-gathering zone."
"Fellow Daoist Xiahou, since you claim to know arrays, I leave its deployment to you!"
As he said this, the complexion of Zheng Kejian beside him changed drastically.
That Tier 3 spirit-gathering array had been exchanged from the Sword Sect using the merits accumulated before Zheng Tianfang's death, along with a massive quantity of resources.
The intention was to forcibly establish a Tier 2 spiritual land at Gunlong Ridge to rapidly bolster their clan's strength.
How could it be used here!
"Cousin-Uncle..."
Zheng Kejian's words died in his throat.
Faced with Zheng Xian's icy gaze, he was left speechless.
"Fellow Daoist Xiahou, take it and set it up!"
From his storage bag, Zheng Xian produced an array plate, along with over a hundred array flags of various sizes, interspersed with numerous five-element materials.
Xiahou Kun took the items cautiously, his eyes unashamedly betraying a hint of greed.
A high-tier spirit-gathering array!
And a large-scale one at that!
This was an auxiliary array that every cultivation clan dreamed of.
Years ago at the Tianlan auction, just a single Tier 2 version had provoked frenzied bidding before the Zheng family finally secured it.
Who would have guessed they were still unsatisfied and had procured a Tier 3 one as well.
Zheng Xian naturally caught the look of avarice in the man's eyes, but he did not care in the slightest.
Such a thing was dispensable to him; it was merely a rarity to the Zheng clan.
Besides, Xiahou Kun would never dare lay a finger on it.
Paying no mind to how the man set it up, Zheng Xian called over the other experts to discuss how they would wear down the Luotian Association's Seven-Colored Danxia Grand Array in shifts.
...
While the outside world was full of speculation and prying eyes, the interior of Danxia Peak, freshly resealed beneath its seven-colored protective barrier, was a bustling hive of activity.
Due to the brief clash at the foot of the mountain earlier, a number of the Luotian Association's Qi Refinement cultivators had suffered casualties, and healers were doing everything they could to tend to the wounded.
Zhou Yuanli and Liu Qiang of the Disciplinary Hall were also leading patrols along the frontline, consoling the injured and keeping a firm hand on anyone harboring improper thoughts.
Gu Caiyi led a large contingent of female cultivators dashing across the mountain, replacing array components in accordance with Min Longyu's instructions.
*Screech!*
A sharp bird's cry pierced the air, and Yuan Xiaoyue looked up curiously.
"Pay no mind to that. Hall Master Xu dispatched a spiritual beast to collect the corpses of the enemies Elder Min killed earlier," Gu Caiyi explained briefly as she watched the Tier 2 plume-skimming eagle, before continuing in an unhurried tone, "Once we finish inspecting the array setup here, move on to the next site immediately. Remember to replenish the spirit stones completely—they can only be more, never less!"
"Yes, Hall Master!"
The crisp, pleasant voices of the women rang out in unison.
The female cultivators of the Gold Hall, accustomed to greeting guests and conducting business, acted without the slightest hesitation.
High in the air, the plume-skimming eagle, crowned with a small golden crest, looked down upon the earth, wheeled around, and descended toward the summit of Danxia.
*Thump!*
A corpse dropped to the ground, and the eagle lowered its head, offering the woman before it the dead cultivator's storage bag.
The eagle's sharp beak opened slightly, emitting Xu Huanzhen's hollow voice from within: "President, the belongings of those ten Foundation Establishment cultivators have all been retrieved."
With a flick of her sleeve, Sima Huiniang swept the storage bags into her robes.
She gave a slight nod, then stepped directly into an oddly shaped, web-like, labyrinthine seven-colored stone chamber atop the peak.
Upon entering, she saw a man clad in black Daoist robes sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed.
Ribbons of iridescent mist fell from the heavens like silk, drawn by unseen currents into the interior of the stone chamber.
The chamber was awash in dazzling radiance and majestic splendors, making the black-robed man appear like an enlightened immortal shrouded in seven colors.
This person was none other than Min Longyu, the one who controlled the Luotian Association's mountain-protecting grand array!
As Sima Huiniang entered, he slowly opened his eyes.
"True to my word, I repelled the first wave of attack!"
Sima Huiniang nodded. "It's all thanks to you. Had you not acted, either our newly advanced Foundation Establishment cultivators would have suffered casualties, or Wang Yuan and the others would have been worn down in battle."
Min Longyu's expression remained tranquil, completely detached from the haughty figure who had looked down upon tens of thousands of cultivators earlier and brazenly proclaimed himself ever-victorious.
He merely remarked calmly, "This is my duty. Besides, I have simulated this battle countless times on the array plate; what transpired just now was merely the first practical test."
"What a pity those late Foundation Establishment experts are so cautious that not a single one stepped into the array."
"Otherwise, I could have slain one or two to strike terror into the rest!"
He spoke measuredly, confident and composed!
Had the countless cultivators outside heard this, their jaws would have dropped.
In his first practical test, he had decapitated ten Foundation Establishment True Cultivators within the array.
Such a feat was already terrifyingly astounding.
Yet he was still unsatisfied, even wishing he had slain one or two late Foundation Establishment experts to make an example of them.
This was beyond arrogant!
Perhaps in the entire Luotian Association, including Luo Chen, only Sima Huiniang—who oversaw the entire organization—truly understood why he possessed such immense confidence.
It was simple.
This was no longer just the strength of Min Longyu alone.
For the Seven-Colored Danxia Grand Array to unleash such terrifying might, a staggering sum of the Luotian Association's resources had been poured into it.
When Wang Yuan returned from the Mount Thunder Accumulation battlefield years ago, he brought back an intact magic-treasure-grade array plate for Min Longyu.
Later, Chu Kui and Luo Chen returned one after another, bringing with them the spoils of dozens of Foundation Establishment True Cultivators.
The resources amassed were immense.
In particular, magic-treasure-grade flying swords, the most common weapon among cultivators, numbered over thirty!
From these, Min Longyu selected twenty-one flying swords of diverse attributes and buried them deep within Danxia Peak.
Using them as the foundation, he constructed a new array upon the original Seven-Colored Danxia Grand Array.
By now, it was no longer merely the scalable defensive array initially envisioned, but had been transformed into a slaughter array!
Of course, driving such a magnificent slaughter array was something Min Longyu could never accomplish on his own.
Thus, Sima Huiniang had managed the overall situation, marshaling every bit of manpower and material wealth to perfect the array for him.
The Gold Hall cultivators scurrying to make repairs was merely one part of it.
The hundreds of craftsmen from the Forging Hall, who had vanished from sight, were stationed at various array foundations to maintain the grand array's basic operation.
Beyond that, Sima Huiniang had spared no expense, pouring out all the spirit stones the Luotian Association had accumulated over the years in one fell swoop.
If that sum were made known, even Golden Core Elders would turn green with envy!
One million spirit stones!
Every basic array inscription was inlaid with low-grade spirit stones.
The crucial array foundations were entirely powered by mid-grade spirit stones secretly exchanged from the black market over the years.
And inside this stone chamber, layer upon layer of mid-grade spirit stones were embedded in dense clusters!
Even the three high-grade spirit stones Luo Chen had treasured in recent years had been handed over to Min Longyu for use.
It was fair to say that every time Min Longyu activated the array, he was squandering an ocean of spirit stones.
His instant slaughter of ten Foundation Establishment True Cultivators earlier appeared effortless to onlookers, but only he and Sima Huiniang knew that in that brief span, at least three hundred thousand spirit stones had been consumed!
The sheer volume of resources spent demonstrated just how seriously the Luotian Association regarded this battle.
With such a colossal investment of resources, defeat was something Sima Huiniang could never accept.
Only victory—and an overwhelming victory at that—could compensate for the Luotian Association's expenditure in this war.
And how to achieve that victory was a matter for her and Luo Chen to consider.
Her arrival at the summit was also to ask whether Min Longyu had any further needs.
To her inquiry, Min Longyu appeared completely confident.
"Battle is a matter of courage. A first roll of drums rouses their spirit; a second diminishes it; a third exhausts it. When their spirit is exhausted and ours is brimming, victory is won!"
"Their two opening assaults were successively neutralized by my defense and counterattack. Originally, if all the Foundation Establishment cultivators, including the eight late-stage experts, had charged the array together, I would have had my hands full even if I managed to kill one or two. But many of them fancied themselves clever; outsmarted by their own cunning, they hesitated, giving me the chance to pick them off one by one."
"Now my slaughter array stands before them, and their momentum is broken."
"What comes next is nothing more than a battle of attrition while they hesitate to advance."
"President, once it enters a war of attrition, our initial objective has been achieved, hasn't it?"
Sima Huiniang nodded slightly.
"Indeed. What the Association Leader discussed with me was to withstand the initial onslaught at all costs, so that the Luotian Association's casualties could be kept within limits. That way, he will have more room to maneuver."
"As for a war of attrition..."
Their eyes swept over the mid-grade spirit stones lining the room.
Some had already crumbled to powder.
Yet far more remained quietly embedded within the array patterns, ready to contribute their power at any moment.
Min Longyu stated with absolute confidence, "Ten days! I can hold out for ten days!"
*Ten days?*
Sima Huiniang blinked, then carried this reply back down to the Luotian Great Hall halfway up the mountain.
Four figures sat quietly within. A massive water mirror rippled with light, reflecting the entire scene within ten li of the mountain.
Hearing this answer, the figure at the head smiled with satisfaction.
"Ten days is more than enough!"
"Ten days from now, whether the enemy advances or retreats, we shall launch our full offensive and settle this war once and for all!"
Chapter 406