Beneath clear, bright skies, thunder rolled like a rising tide.
A massive host swept in from afar, riding colorful rays of flight light.
Under the gaze of thousands, the one at the fore was a handsome young man whose brow harbored a chilling murderous aura.
As he drew near, his sword-like brows swept toward his temples and his nose was straight as a suspended gall. Heroic vigor radiated from him, shining like a solitary star blazing in the night sky.
When he came to a halt, his brocade white robe whipped and snapped in the wind.
A pair of eyes, deep and cold as an abyss, fixed unblinkingly on Qin Tairan within Incense Valley.
"Old dog!"
"Did you ever think you would see this day?"
Qin Tairan ground his teeth and hissed in hatred, "What I never imagined was that it would be you! Had I known this day would come, back at Danxia Peak, I would have crushed you to death even if it meant taking a wound!"
"Haha!"
At those words, Luo Chen burst into loud laughter.
"Senior Fei Ming was right after all. An old dog like you only knows how to talk big."
Not far off, the corner of Fei Ming's mouth twitched. When had he ever said that?
Still, it did sound rather satisfying.
Suddenly, Luo Chen's tone shifted, turning harsh and fierce.
"Open your eyes and look! Today, the positions of hunter and hunted have flipped. The one who needs to worry about how to survive is you!"
Qin Tairan's heart leaped. His gaze shifted behind Luo Chen.
Not only him, but even the watching cultivators who had flocked here upon hearing the news only now realized what an immense force Luo Chen had assembled.
At the very first glance, everyone's eyes instinctively fell upon the woman standing side by side with Luo Chen.
Dressed in a frost-white gown, she emanated an intimidating aura that warned strangers to stay back.
Fairy Jueqing of the Ice Fort, mid-Golden Core!
She had not come alone, bringing along a number of Foundation Establishment True Cultivators from the Ice Fort's vassal forces.
The Qu family, the Xue family, the You family...
Not very many, only about twenty or so.
Yet that was merely the Ice Fort's contingent.
There was also Azure Pill Valley!
Led by Danyangzi, the current Eldest Senior Brother of Azure Pill Valley!
Flanked on his left and right stood two Golden Core protectors.
Qiu Daochun had formed his core over a century ago, his cultivation exceptionally solid.
As for Che Xiang, he too had successfully attained Core Formation more than a decade ago, possessing the tremendous might of a Golden Core cultivator.
Under the command of these three were more than forty Foundation Establishment True Cultivators, all hailing from Azure Pill Valley's vassal forces.
It was no wonder people said Azure Pill Valley's wealth was second to none across the entire Jade Cauldron Domain.
Had the Falling Cloud Sect not risen, Azure Pill Valley would have been the most powerful great sect beneath the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect!
Even without deploying the thousands of Foundation Establishment disciples within their sect, merely calling upon their vassals at will allowed them to casually assemble a force of over forty Foundation Establishment True Cultivators.
At this moment, combining both sides yielded more than seventy Foundation Establishment True Cultivators.
If one added the group brought by Fei Ming of Mount Ailao, the total easily surpassed a hundred.
And not to be forgotten, Luo Chen had not arrived alone either.
Behind him, Wang Yuan and Chu Kui flanked his sides, guarding him in the center like bodyguards.
Rising talents like Min Longyu had also come to Incense Valley alongside Luo Feng, Yue Chong, and the others.
Without counting, one might not realize it, but a brief estimate gave everyone a severe shock.
Without anyone noticing, this Danchenzi had single-handedly assembled a lineup of over a hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators and four Golden Core masters!
And beyond that, who knew how many potential allies lay among the tens of thousands of cultivators hovering in the surrounding skies?
"Is this the reach of an alchemist's connections?"
"I have never seen a Foundation Establishment cultivator capable of inviting so many helpers for his revenge, to the point where even Golden Core masters are willing to fight on his behalf."
"Tsk, tsk! This Danchenzi is truly extraordinary!"
"Indeed. He hasn't even formed his core yet, and he's already an honored guest of various factions. Once he successfully attains Golden Core, even a Nascent Soul supreme sect might lower itself to personally recruit him!"
"This battle will certainly be something to watch!"
While the onlookers buzzed with discussion over Luo Chen's forces, Luo Chen was calculating in his own mind.
According to the intelligence Tianxingzi of the Falling Cloud Sect had sent earlier, the Yan Alliance had lost nearly eighty percent of its strength after being slaughtered!
Only three Golden Core cultivators remained: Qin Tairan at mid-Golden Core, Master Xuyang at the second layer of Golden Core, and an Elder Wang who had only recently stepped into Golden Core.
At the Foundation Establishment level, at most sixty to seventy remained.
Qi Refinement disciples were disregarded entirely!
Before a major battle like this, Qi Refinement disciples were already of no consequence.
According to that intel, his side ought to comfortably overpower the Yan Alliance.
Yet through a voice transmission from Fairy Jueqing, he just learned that inside the Yan Alliance, no fewer than a hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators were currently assembled!
*I wonder if they recalled disciples from outside, or forcibly conscripted vassals of the Yan Alliance.*
*The foundation of a great sect truly cannot be underestimated!*
*Even in these straits, they managed to scrape together a force ten times larger than the Luotian Association of back then.*
As he sighed internally, Qin Tairan had clearly also made a rapid assessment of both sides' strength.
Having reached his conclusion, a smug grin broke across his face, and he shouted loudly:
"Luo Chen, is this all you can manage?"
"Our forces are evenly matched, and I hold the terrain advantage! With this Blazing Fire Formation in place, what can you possibly do to my Yan Alliance!"
"If you ask me, you'd better kneel and surrender. For the sake of all the fellow Daoists present, I might leave your corpse intact!"
Hearing this, Luo Chen sneered with contempt.
Today, unless the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect intervened in person, he would never leave without seeing rivers of blood flow!
Too disdainful to bicker with Qin Tairan any longer, Luo Chen shifted his gaze toward Mount Ailao's contingent.
"Elder Fei Ming, I'll trouble you!"
Fei Ming chuckled. "It's no trouble at all. I came on a sect assignment anyway. This Yan Alliance ought to disappear."
"Fellow Daoists, follow my lead in a moment and lend me a hand!"
After a few brief words, he led a host of Foundation Establishment cultivators down toward the ground.
Luo Chen turned his head and said to Min Longyu, "Go help as well. Follow Elder Fei Ming's instructions, and remember to keep yourself safe."
Min Longyu's eyes flickered. Nodding to Luo Chen, he flew toward the Mount Ailao cultivators.
Seeing this, the onlookers instantly realized what Luo Chen's faction intended to do.
Break the formation!
Unless the grand formation was shattered, no one would dare charge into Incense Valley.
In the cultivation world, aside from physical arrays, most grand formations were woven from leyline qi and spiritual qi into a blend of the illusory and the real.
The exceptionally mighty could naturally fight their way inside, but while the formation remained unbroken, anyone entering would suffer the crushing bombardment of the entire array.
Even if one merely struck inside with individual spirit tools or magic treasures, their power would be shaved down layer by layer, or the formation's controllers could even use the grand array's power to forcibly sever the bond between the magic treasure and the cultivator.
If that happened, the losses would far outweigh any gains.
Therefore, in large-scale sect warfare across the cultivation world, defending and breaking formations was an eternal cornerstone.
Across the vast Jade Cauldron Domain, sects skilled in formations were few—chiefly the Falling Cloud Sect, the Yan Alliance, and Mount Ailao.
One walked the path of puppetry, another the path of artifact forging, while Mount Ailao integrated formations with mountain gates, spiritual lands, and feng shui architecture, carving out a completely unique path as spirit builders.
Ordinarily, outsiders did not appreciate Mount Ailao's prowess in formations, but that was merely because they were standing upon the mountain without perceiving its full face.
From pill rooms and cultivation chambers to market towns, immortal cities, and even the construction of entire sect gates, Mount Ailao cultivators were involved in all of them.
Could the formation mastery contained within such expertise be trifling?
To break the Yan Alliance's protective grand formation now, Fei Ming was undoubtedly the premier choice!
Inside Incense Valley, Qin Tairan watched this, his expression shifting slightly.
"Junior Brother, Fei Ming is moving to break the formation!"
Deep beneath the earth sat Master Xuyang.
He was one of the Yan Alliance's few formation grandmasters.
The main reason he had survived the Falling Cloud Sect's surprise raid was that he had remained behind the scenes rather than fighting on the front lines.
Now, with the aid of the Yan Alliance's disciples, he had rebuilt a third-rank defensive formation and was personally presiding over it!
"Do not panic, Senior Brother!"
"The Blazing Fire Formation is in no way inferior to our original mountain-protecting array. Even though it was thrown together in haste, under my control, it cannot be broken by ordinary means!"
"Let me stall them for a few days while you seize opportunities to lead sorties outside."
"As long as you blunt their momentum, that disorganized rabble will have no choice but to scatter like birds and beasts!"
Master Xuyang's voice transmission came in a calm, unhurried cadence.
The confidence carried in it reassured Qin Tairan.
Fixing his fierce eyes on the outside world, he replied, "A brilliant plan, Junior Brother!"
"In that case, I will act according to plan. Whenever it is time to strike, notify me at once."
***
After a brief verbal clash, the battle settled into the routine rhythm of defending and breaking the formation.
It seemed tedious, yet the watching cultivators possessed ample patience.
Everyone knew that the moment the formation broke, an immense battle would erupt.
What was happening now was merely the breeze before the approaching storm.
Luo Chen stood aloft in the air, his cold eyes fixed unblinkingly on Incense Valley.
Beside him, Fairy Jueqing frowned and asked, "Can this formation truly be broken? If it drags on too long, I fear other complications may arise."
Luo Chen was thoroughly confident.
"Master, you need not worry!"
"The intel the Falling Cloud Sect provided made it very clear. During that battle, they not only slaughtered eighty percent of the Yan Alliance's cultivators, but under earth-shattering bombardments, the Yan Alliance's leylines were severed. Even if they forcibly patched them up, they cannot run smoothly in the short term."
"With Master Fei Ming's skill, this formation will surely fall within two days at most!"
Hearing this, Fairy Jueqing's expression eased slightly.
Breaking a great sect's mountain-protecting formation within two days was already remarkably fast.
Right at that moment, Fei Ming's voice transmission reached her ear.
Fairy Jueqing said softly, "I must go help attack the formation nodes. Be careful on your end."
"Understood. Thank you for your trouble, Master."
Luo Chen nodded, stepping back slightly to avoid any sudden charges from the cultivators of Incense Valley.
Next, under Fei Ming's direction, Fairy Jueqing, Qiu Daochun, and Che Xiang took turns striking, deploying the might of Golden Core cultivators to assault the Blazing Fire Formation's vital nodes one after another.
Deafening explosions rang out intermittently.
Furthermore, the hundred-plus Foundation Establishment True Cultivators were all mobilized by Fei Ming.
Luo Chen observed with a detached gaze, calculating the flow of battle once the formation shattered.
His eyes occasionally drifted toward the rogue cultivators keeping their distance nearby, eager yet hesitating. A touch of anticipation rose in his heart.
Relying solely on his own side's strength, he could inflict heavy damage, but completely wiping out the Yan Alliance might exceed their reach. Moreover, achieving his secondary objective based on the Falling Cloud Sect's intel would still fall slightly short.
Yet if he could stir those fence-sitters into action when the time came, they would become the final straw that broke the Yan Alliance's back.
On that front, he had already dispatched Xing Zonghan and the others to make corresponding arrangements.
Coupled with the assistance promised by Tianxingzi on behalf of the Falling Cloud Sect, when the moment arrived, it would become an all-out assault where everyone pushed against the crumbling wall.
Days of rushing about and myriad schemes had culminated in this very scenario.
For a moment, heroic pride welled in Luo Chen's chest!
In his memory, he had experienced a similar simulation inside the Ghost-God Heart-Questioning Mirror.
Except in that simulation, he had united various factions to attack the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect after it lost its Nascent Soul True Person.
He had thought that was mere wild fantasy and absurd nonsense, yet unexpectedly, in reality, he was doing something quite similar.
The difference was that his target was the Golden Core great sect, the Yan Alliance.
And the factions he had united were entirely different from those in the simulated memory.
The Ice Fort, Azure Pill Valley, Mount Ailao, and even the Falling Cloud Sect working in secret...
Among them, he offered profits to the Ice Fort, made clear the mutual peril to Azure Pill Valley, traded mutual benefits with the Falling Cloud Sect, and rode the natural momentum with Mount Ailao.
As for the rogue cultivators from all quarters, they were merely fence-sitters who would bend wherever the wind blew.
What he needed to do next was blow that easterly wind even harder!
Even as these thoughts turned in his mind, Fei Ming's formation-breaking efforts accelerated rapidly.
***
Time slipped past.
In less than half a day, Fei Ming's surprised voice suddenly sounded by Luo Chen's ear.
"Strange!"
Luo Chen's brow furrowed. "What is it? Did you run into trouble breaking the formation?"
"Quite the opposite; it's actually good news," Fei Ming replied. "What baffles me is that, according to the Falling Cloud Sect's intel, most of the Yan Alliance's terrain in Incense Valley was wrecked, causing sluggish leyline flow, displaced spiritual veins, and chaotic atmospheric spiritual qi."
"Isn't that a good thing?"
"It is, which was why I dared boast that it would take only two days to break it. But our probes just now revealed that the Blazing Fire Formation seems to be steadily weakening on its own. Breaking it won't take two days at all."
Receiving this piece of good news caught everyone somewhat off guard.
Could the Yan Alliance, which specialized in formations, have botched even its formation layout?
Luo Chen pondered for a moment, his gaze sweeping over the countless cultivators in all directions.
In the end, he gritted his teeth.
"Never mind that. Break it as soon as we can!"
"The advantage is ours!"
"Once the formation breaks, we charge in and see whether the Yan Alliance can withstand us!"
On the other side, Fei Ming frowned as he looked at the parched, cracked earth of the mountains.
After brief consideration, he could only agree with Luo Chen's stance.
Under Fei Ming's command, squads of cultivators continuously bombarded the Blazing Fire Formation's foundation bases.
Several key nodes in particular took repeated strikes from the Golden Core masters.
Gradually, the crimson canopy blanketing the skies above Incense Valley grew increasingly feeble.
The churning currents of fire began flowing backward, pouring back into the subterranean cavern along the twenty stone pillars.
Anyone looking at this scene could tell the formation was on the verge of collapsing.
Inside Incense Valley, Qin Tairan watched in utter shock.
His demeanor shifted from supreme confidence to mounting anxiety, and he repeatedly pressed Master Xuyang in the underground cavern for updates.
"Junior Brother, what on earth is happening?"
From below came Master Xuyang's strained voice: "Senior Brother, I underestimated Fei Ming's formation attainment. I can barely hold on!"
"You—!"
"Senior Brother, prepare for battle. In one incense stick of time at most, the Blazing Fire Formation will shatter!"
Those words caused Qin Tairan's heart to sink straight down.
How could this be!
It hadn't even held for half a day!
In such a short span, would the Golden Core allies they had invited earlier even arrive in time to reinforce them?
***
*Crack!*
*Crack!*
*Crack!*
Crisp snapping sounds echoed continuously.
Everyone knew the Blazing Fire Formation was about to break.
Four figures flew up from below, landing beside Luo Chen.
Fei Ming laughed heartily. "The formation is on the brink of falling. A gentle tap will finish it. Are you all ready?"
The other three nodded in tacit understanding.
Then, before thousands of watching eyes, all four struck simultaneously.
Surging Dharmic powers coalesced into a vast, unified blow.
In a single instant—
*Boom!*
With a deafening roar, the crimson light screen stretching across a hundred li above Incense Valley shattered into pieces.
In that exact moment, the scene within Incense Valley was laid bare before everyone.
Qin Tairan, Elder Wang, and a dark-red figure slowly emerging from the ground—Master Xuyang, the Yan Alliance's third Golden Core cultivator.
Beyond them, over a hundred Yan Alliance Foundation Establishment cultivators and several thousand Qi Refinement disciples were arrayed in various positions, staring coldly at the enemies outside.
Qin Tairan took a deep breath and roared:
"Everyone, stand with me today and revive the glory of the Yan Alliance!"
"Bury these invading dogs inside Incense Valley!"
The next instant, a tsunami of voices answered.
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
Compared to them, the momentum on Luo Chen's side seemed far less vocal.
After all, they had brought no Qi Refinement disciples or junior sect members to this battle.
However, their superior numbers of Foundation Establishment and Golden Core cultivators stood deployed in all directions, completely unfazed by this display. Their eyes were fixed on the enemies in Incense Valley like wolves and tigers.
Fei Ming stepped forward from the crowd, his wide sleeves billowing and his eyes flashing like lightning.
"Old bastard, let us finish our unsettled battle today!"
Qin Tairan sneered, "You alone are no match for me. Come at me together!"
As he spoke, he shot into the sky, reaching thousands of feet up in the blink of an eye.
Fei Ming flew upward at the same time.
Fairy Jueqing's lips moved slightly: "Fei Ming cannot handle Qin Tairan alone; I must assist him. Watch yourself down here."
Beside her, Luo Chen nodded slightly.
The next moment, Fairy Jueqing swiped her hand, and a talisman ignited without wind.
A white horned flood dragon surged forth with an arrogant roar.
Treading atop the dragon, she followed closely after Fei Ming.
With those two gone, the two Golden Core vassals of Azure Pill Valley frowned. They had originally intended for one of them to stay behind and guard Danyangzi.
After all, four against three left room to spare.
They had not expected Qin Tairan to prove so troublesome that Fairy Jueqing and Fei Ming had to face him together.
The two exchanged a glance and quickly reached a consensus.
"Leave Master Xuyang to me. Fellow Daoist Che, handle Elder Wang," Qiu Daochun said.
Che Xiang nodded, locking his divine sense onto Elder Wang, who wore a hesitant expression.
This was a direct challenge to battle.
Refusing meant suffering a direct assault, which would drop the battlefield right into Incense Valley.
Regardless of the outcome, under the unrestrained clashes of a group of Golden Core cultivators, this spiritual ground of the sect would inevitably suffer catastrophe once more.
"Be careful. You've only recently entered Golden Core and your methods are not yet seasoned," Qiu Daochun warned. "Once I dispatch Xuyang, I will come aid you."
"My thanks, Fellow Daoist Qiu, though I believe I have a few tricks of my own."
Che Xiang smiled faintly and stepped into the heavens.
At the same time, Master Xuyang and Elder Wang flew into the high skies together.
Qiu Daochun cast a slightly uneasy glance back at Danyangzi.
Danyangzi waved his hand. "Do not worry about me. With the Grand Elder's measures, I will be safe even if a Golden Core master attacks."
At that, Qiu Daochun was reassured.
Although Qingdanzi, Azure Pill Valley's Supreme Elder, was not renowned for martial prowess, as an illustrious alchemy grandmaster in the Jade Cauldron Domain, his wealth was immense and his trump cards numerous.
Any random boon from him, combined with Danyangzi's own peak Foundation Establishment cultivation, meant ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators could never touch him.
Once Qiu Daochun also vanished into the high skies, the momentum of the remaining forces on both sides did not diminish in the slightest. Instead, it was like boiling water with its lid ripped off, bubbling to an absolute fever pitch.
On Luo Chen's side, all eyes converged on Luo Chen.
Meeting these gazes, Luo Chen gave a savage grin.
A pair of illusory red wings manifested behind his back.
Not only that, beneath his robe, pure white scales forged of blood qi condensed into shape.
"What are you waiting for!"
"Follow me and kill!"
Even as the words left his mouth, he took the lead and charged straight toward Incense Valley.
Without the slightest hesitation, Wang Yuan and Chu Kui followed.
Seeing this, Danyangzi's brow twitched, as if seeing Luo Chen in a new light for the first time.
The Danchenzi who had competed against him on the alchemy platform had not possessed such a fierce temperament, had he?
Yet there was no time to ponder that now.
"Azure Pill cultivators, follow me!"
Simultaneously, the accompanying vassal cultivators of the Ice Fort and Mount Ailao charged right behind them.
On the other side, cultivators from Incense Valley leaped into the air one after another, brandishing weapons to meet the assault.
Inside the valley, thousands of Qi Refinement disciples gathered under the leadership of their senior masters, seemingly assembling into some form of joint battle array.
The foundation of a great sect was indeed remarkable.
Even Qi Refinement disciples, when linked by special formations, could participate in clashes between Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Charging at the very front, Luo Chen's exceptionally sharp perception instantly caught sight of this.
"Wang Yuan, Chu Kui, protect me!"
"Yes!"
"Understood!"
The next instant, Wang Yuan slapped a Mysterious Armor Talisman onto himself without hesitation.
His body swelled rapidly, expanding to two zhang tall in the blink of an eye—a living giant!
Chu Kui drew a deep breath and held the golden core half inside his mouth.
The long staff in his hands burst with a golden-black sheen.
When they said protect, they meant with everything they had!
As the two people Luo Chen trusted most at this moment, they held nothing back from the very first breath, unleashing their full power.
Watching this, Xiao Lian, who was commanding the defensive battle from high above Incense Valley, felt his eyelids twitch frantically.
It seemed something terrible was about to occur.
The very next moment, he saw Danchenzi, guarded between the two, clutching a dark greatsword and chanting incantations under his breath.
Surging spiritual power surged violently from within his body.
Anyone looking at this knew Luo Chen was preparing a devastating ultimate move.
"Stop him!"
Xiao Lian roared.
The next instant, countless spirit tools and treasures flew toward Luo Chen's group.
Yet it was already too late!
Luo Chen had plotted this battle for far too long.
Every scenario had been rehearsed over and over in his mind.
Though it looked like he was casting a spell, everything had long been prepared.
At this moment, he was merely executing the final step.
Luo Chen rose into midair, gripped the sword with both hands, and plunged it downward fiercely.
That single thrust seemed to pierce through the void and drive straight into the earth itself.
"Landslide!!!"
Veins bulged along his neck as he snarled the word.
The next moment, several massive mountains encircling Incense Valley shuddered in unison.
Then, at the exact same instant, they utterly collapsed!
Countless boulders rained down like descending meteors, carrying scorching currents of magma as they blasted in all directions.
Faced with this technique, the Yan Alliance's Foundation Establishment True Cultivators scrambled to defend themselves with all their might.
*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*
The piercing whistling of shattered stone tearing through the air rang out ceaselessly.
Yet to Xiao Lian, it seemed unimpressive.
"I wondered what grand measure he had. With a display that doesn't even match the power of a Foundation Establishment strike, he dares show off?"
As the explosions gradually subsided, he scanned the surroundings.
He discovered that aside from one or two unlucky individuals, the Yan Alliance's Foundation Establishment cultivators had suffered virtually no casualties.
This made him look down on the move even more.
However—
"Sect Master Senior Brother! Look below!"
What was wrong below?
Xiao Lian looked down instinctively, and with a single glance, his eyes nearly tore at the corners.
Within Incense Valley, the earth had cracked open and boulders lay strewn everywhere.
Rivers of lava rolled and churned, consuming life after life.
The thousands of Yan Alliance Qi Refinement disciples who had formed arrays were strewn haphazardly across the ground.
Countless people were wailing.
Agonized shrieks and weeping echoed without end.
Merging together, these cries soared straight into the clouds, shaking even the spirit of a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator like him.
Without counting them all, just a rough glance told him that Danchenzi's single strike had wiped out nearly a thousand Qi Refinement cultivators.
Those fortunate enough to survive disregarded all formation lines, frantically taking flight from the ground and staring down at the carnage in sheer horror.
It was the array formation!
Yes, gathering tightly together had given Danchenzi the perfect opportunity for an area-of-effect strike!
Otherwise, how could a Foundation Establishment cultivator possibly unleash such terrifying lethality, even using a wide-area destructive spell?
Once he realized this, Xiao Lian's lips trembled violently, his entire body shuddering with rage.
These were all his disciples and sect members!
Suddenly, he erupted:
"Danchenzi!"
"You call yourself a Foundation Establishment True Cultivator, yet you butcher low-level cultivators so ruthlessly!"
"I will have your life!"
With a furious roar, his eyes went wide, and he waved his hand.
Over a hundred Foundation Establishment True Cultivators under his command surged toward Luo Chen.
And he himself was among them.
This was the task Qin Tairan had assigned before departing.
Luo Chen was the instigator of this siege against the Yan Alliance; as long as they killed him, the enemy host would fall into disarray.
Perhaps that could resolve the Yan Alliance's crisis!
Facing the rolling tide of charging cultivators, Luo Chen drew a rough breath.
Disregarding the dignity of a Foundation Establishment True Cultivator to slaughter low-level cultivators?
Heh!
Back when you besieged Danxia Peak, your Yan Alliance vassals did the exact same thing.
He was merely paying them back in kind.
*Brother Qin, Liu Qiang, Xiugu... these thousand Qi Refinement cultivators shall be your funerary offering!*
Beside him, Chu Kui's anxious voice called out, "Luo Chen, what do we do now?"
Luo Chen looked up at the charging tide of Foundation Establishment cultivators and said calmly, "No need to worry. We have people too!"
Chu Kui froze.
Yet the next moment, lines of Foundation Establishment True Cultivators surged forward from behind them.
As they passed Luo Chen's position, cultivators looked at him with curiosity and shock.
None of them had expected Danchenzi, famed for his alchemy, to cause such a massive upheaval the moment he struck.
The mountains encircling Incense Valley were spiritual mountains that the Yan Alliance had reinforced with formations for three hundred years!
And they collapsed just like that?
What they did not know was that according to the Falling Cloud Sect's intel, those mountains had long ceased to be true spiritual mountains.
Back when a thousand puppets and ten Golden Core masters bombarded the Yan Alliance, they had battered this place into a fragile, crumbling wreck.
Luo Chen had merely ridden the momentum and cast a Grandmaster-level Landslide.
Now that the threat of those Qi Refinement gnats was eliminated, what followed was a clash of cold steel between Foundation Establishment True Cultivators.
The waves of cultivators from both sides collided once the distance closed to a hundred paces, unleashing the first wave of impact.
All manner of spirit tools and talismans exploded outward.
Surging spiritual power fluctuations swept through the surroundings.
That first exchange alone produced more than a dozen casualties.
Luo Chen's side suffered particularly heavier losses!
It could not be helped; theirs was a hastily assembled coalition that lacked the tacit coordination of the Yan Alliance's cultivators.
Sensing this, the late Foundation Establishment cultivators led by Danyangzi made a split-second decision to disperse their formation.
The Yan Alliance did not want to endure such concentrated casualties either, and similarly fanned out into a sprawling melee.
Amidst the chaotic battlefield, several figures charged straight toward Luo Chen.
It was Xiao Lian, the current Alliance Leader of the Yan Alliance!
His intent to kill Luo Chen remained resolute.
However, halfway through his charge, he was intercepted.
"Xiao Lian, your opponent is me!"
Brandishing the Purple Evil Treasure Sword, a sinister purple mark gleaming between his brows, Danyangzi barred Xiao Lian's path.
Xiao Lian's expression shifted. "Danyangzi, there is no old grudge or recent enmity between us. Why press me so hard?"
"No grudge or enmity?" Fury flashed across Danyangzi's face. "You led men into the Blackwater Swamp and killed my younger brother. Did you truly think I didn't know?"
Xiao Lian froze.
Yet Danyangzi gave him no room to argue; a purple true sun rapidly expanded at the tip of his sword.
The moment they met, he struck to kill!
At this moment, Xiao Lian could no longer spare any thought for slaying Luo Chen.
Danyangzi was the previous generation's Dao Child of Azure Pill Valley.
Had it not been for a gauntlet of battles that drained too much of his strength, Tao Wan would never have claimed the title of Dao Child.
Against someone of his caliber, how could Xiao Lian afford to be distracted?
"You have source true fire, but do you think I don't?"
A vicious glint flashed in Xiao Lian's eyes, and he spat a pale, withered flame from his palm.
The two collided, erupting into shockwaves that rippled out across dozens of paces in a single instant, forcing the surrounding Foundation Establishment cultivators to retreat frantically.
In the distance, Luo Chen withdrew his gaze and looked at the two beside him.
"How are your injuries?"
Chu Kui shook his head. "Fine. We were far away just now, so their attacks lost seventy to eighty percent of their power. It wasn't much. Besides, Brother Wang was blocking in front."
Luo Chen's gaze fell on Wang Yuan.
That towering frame blocked the front like a small mountain.
At this moment, the giant's flesh was split and bones were exposed, yet as he breathed, surging blood qi churned, knitting his flesh and blood back together.
Furthermore, scales resembling armor formed to cover his bare torso.
Such methods somewhat resembled the Qi Armor technique from Luo Chen's *Convergence of Myriad Paths*.
Sensing Luo Chen's gaze, Wang Yuan said in a booming voice, "I'm fine. I can keep fighting."
Indeed!
Not only had he achieved great success in neutralizing force, allowing him to disperse most attacks that hit his body, but he also had the Mysterious Armor Talisman Luo Chen had given him.
Those attacks from so far away had already lost most of their power, incapable of dealing Wang Yuan any fatal damage.
Luo Chen's eyes flickered. His gaze swept across the battlefield, finally circling the perimeter.
Those watching rogue cultivators were still holding back!
Not enough!
This wind was still not strong enough to blow these fence-sitters!
"In that case, let us fight!"
"Into the valley!"
The moment the words fell, Wang Yuan took the lead, leaping forward like a miniature mountain crashing down into Incense Valley.
Clad in mysterious armor, ringed by a blood python.
With eyes like lanterns, his massive hands seized outward as though plucking stars from the sky.
Beneath his assault, neither Qi Refinement nor Foundation Establishment cultivators could withstand a single blow.
Even mid and late Foundation Establishment cultivators blanched at the sight.
Soon, the Yan Alliance dispatched powerful experts to surround and attack Wang Yuan.
Chu Kui also leaped into the fray, picking an eighth-layer Foundation Establishment cultivator and bringing his staff down upon his head.
This was precisely the tactic Luo Chen had agreed upon with them beforehand.
Fight independently!
As for why they used this tactic, the reason lay in Luo Chen's subsequent actions.
Gripping the Profound Fire Sword, the Blazing Cloud Wings trembling slightly behind his back, Luo Chen swept his spiritual eyes across the entire battlefield.
Under these circumstances, one dared not carelessly release divine sense, as it could easily suffer backlash.
However, his spiritual eyes, cultivated over many years, served as an exceptional tool for observation.
In merely a few breaths, Luo Chen formulated a complete plan!
He opened his mouth and inhaled deeply.
From all around, an airflow resembling a dragon seemed to be swallowed into his belly.
Then, clamping his lips tight, his wings fluttered.
Luo Chen vanished from the spot.
***
Zheng Jun!
A cultivator of the Yan Alliance who had achieved Foundation Establishment three years ago.
He remained at the first layer of Foundation Establishment.
In a grand battle like this, he was utterly inconspicuous; a single lapse in attention could see him perish in the crossfire.
Fortunately, he had run into an enemy who was also an early Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Although the opponent was one layer higher than him, that foe was merely from a vassal force.
Whether in the quality of spirit tools or the depth of spiritual power, the opponent was far inferior to him.
Consequently, Zheng Jun had the upper hand.
Even so, he was in no hurry to force an outcome.
*Keep the fighting confined to the edge of the battlefield; that makes it easier to preserve my own life.*
Just as Zheng Jun was feeling smug about his tactics, a red gleam flashed in the corner of his eye.
*What is that?*
That was his final thought in life.
The Mount Ailao vassal cultivator battling Zheng Jun had been struggling bitterly, his face twisted in strain.
Yet the next moment, he saw his enemy's head suddenly tumble off.
Blood sprayed, nearly splashing onto him.
"That was..."
He stared in stunned disbelief at the streaking red light, and a thought surfaced in his mind.
*Danchenzi?*
Looking across, he watched Luo Chen's figure approach another Yan Alliance cultivator at the battlefield's edge with unimaginable speed.
Then, a sword struck down!
He couldn't help swallowing hard. *Why isn't Danchenzi seeking out the enemy's late Foundation Establishment masters? Why is he only targeting early Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Yan Alliance?*
Yet there was no time to ponder further.
Nearby, someone was calling to him:
"Junior Brother, come help me!"
The man gritted his teeth. Regardless of the reason, Luo Chen had saved his life.
Besides, on a battlefield, where was the room for moral posturing?
They were all Foundation Establishment; what difference did early or late stage make?
Life and death merely came down to inferior skill!
He turned and dashed toward his senior brother.
***
Outside Incense Valley, tens of thousands of low-level rogue cultivators watched the battle.
They cared little about who won or lost.
They only cared about whether there were scraps to scavenge.
As for the high-level cultivators lurking in the shadows, they naturally hoped the Yan Alliance would fall.
That way, there would be even greater spoils to reap.
As for Luo Chen's side?
Their composition was far too complex.
Even if they lost, onlookers could hardly dare move aggressively against them.
After all, one had to consider the Golden Core great sects backing those cultivators.
In the shadows, several strands of divine sense conversed continuously.
"Fellow Daoist Diwu, you've arrived?"
"Fellow Daoist Jiang, haven't you come as well?"
"I came for the rumors of the vast amount of thunder essence the Yan Alliance acquired from the Deity Transformation ruins. What about you?"
"The same!"
"I doubt that. I heard you have ties with that newly ascended Nascent Soul True Person of the Jade Cauldron Domain. Will you strike in this battle?"
"We shall see!"
"Fair enough. We must at least wait until those fellow Golden Core Daoists decide the outcome before we make our move."
"Indeed!"
"Fellow Daoist Diwu, who do you think will win?"
"Hard to say. How could a battle between Golden Core cultivators be decided in a brief moment?"
Just as the Golden Core master surnamed Diwu was watching the high-altitude clash, bursts of startled cries reached his ears.
Following the gazes of the Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment cultivators, he quickly spotted an abnormality on the battlefield.
In an instant, his brow furrowed.
"This Danchenzi may have a grand reputation, but his conduct is utterly disgraceful!"
Within his sight, Luo Chen moved across the battlefield as a red streak of flight light.
Every time he struck, a life was claimed.
And the souls falling beneath his sword were mostly at early Foundation Establishment.
"Earlier, when he used a supreme spell to wreck the Yan Alliance's Qi Refinement array, I thought he possessed great magnanimity. Now, disregarding his status as a major cultivator, he specifically hunts down Foundation Establishment cultivators weaker than himself. Tsk, tsk. Is this the style of the young talent shaking the Jade Cauldron Domain?"
His scoffing remark was made without concealment, naturally reaching the ears of the other Golden Core masters.
Some agreed.
Yet a local Golden Core master voiced a different perspective.
"Fellow Daoist Diwu Qi hails from outside our domain, so you likely do not know the details."
Diwu Qi was puzzled. "What details?"
The Golden Core master in the shadows explained personally, "Though this Danchenzi arose as a rogue cultivator in the market town, he possessed exquisite alchemy skills. Relying on them, he established a small faction known as the Luotian Association."
"Two years ago, the Yan Alliance rallied its vassals and besieged them with several times their number in Foundation Establishment cultivators."
"Not only that, even Fellow Daoist Qin of the Yan Alliance, who is fighting above right now, struck ruthlessly in an attempt to slaughter Danchenzi."
"When it comes to bullying the weak with superior might, the Yan Alliance was the first to do so!"
Diwu Qi listened in stunned silence.
He had merely promised the Falling Cloud Sect that he would give things a push once the situation tilted noticeably.
He had not expected such a web of grievances and vengeance to lie behind it.
He muttered, "Looking at it that way, this Danchenzi is quite a passionate man—treating others exactly as they treated him."
The Golden Core master surnamed Jiang from his domain joined the discussion.
"Indeed. This is an eye for an eye, blood for blood! Moreover, one must admit that this junior's tactic is genuinely altering the course of the battle!"
Regarding this battle, Luo Chen's side had seemed to possess the upper hand.
In truth, however, he had merely assembled a coalition that was superior on paper.
By contrast, though the Yan Alliance had fewer cultivators, they all hailed from the same sect or were close vassals.
Working in concert, their actual strength still surpassed Luo Chen's side.
Yet Luo Chen's tactics were steadily shifting the tide.
In a short span, he had resolved over a dozen localized skirmishes, freeing allied cultivators to reinforce other areas and create situations where they outnumbered the enemy.
Not only that!
Under the watchful eyes of several Golden Core masters, Luo Chen's figure flickered even faster, displaying a speed that drew looks of respect even from Golden Core cultivators.
And the enemies targeted by his sword tip were no longer limited to early Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Mid Foundation Establishment cultivators, and even late Foundation Establishment masters, were pulled into his strike range.
One after another, Yan Alliance cultivators fell.
The trajectory of the battle inside Incense Valley grew clearer by the moment.
Chapter 427