The screen of light shone resplendently, propping up the heavens and grounding the earth.
Demon wolves surged like a tide, rising and falling in endless waves.
A brutal battle of offense and defense unfolded amidst the mountain ravines.
"Senior Brother, I'm going! Take good care of Huan'er for me!"
"Junior Brother Ruan!"
Cheng Yan's eyes nearly split at the corners as he watched helplessly while Ruan Jing, Sect Master and reputed pillar of the Falling Cloud Sect, was swallowed by the churning beast tide.
When he fell amidst the wolf pack, there was first a moment of dead silence, followed by the blossoming of immeasurable radiance.
The power of that self-detonation lit up more than half the night sky.
Atop Qianye Peak, Han Zhan watched coldly, lips pursed and teeth clenched tight.
It looked as if he might grind his teeth to dust.
Ao Xiao, standing proudly in the void against the backdrop of the bright moon, beamed a dazzling smile at the sight.
"Fellow Daoist, even now, do you think it is you pinning me down, or I pinning you?"
Han Zhan slowly raised his head, staring straight into that unvarnished mockery.
"Did you plan all of this?"
Ao Xiao shook his head. "Plans can never keep pace with changes. All of this... as you humans say, is merely turning circumstances to my advantage.
"You sought to cull every demonic beast outpost across the Howling Moon Mountain Range, stretching your forces thin.
"And fearing reinforcements from my Wolf Court, you concentrated all your elites into that Sword-Bearer Hall.
"Thus, all I had to do was abandon that single point at Mount Jihuang, gather our strength, and strike straight at the heart. Dealing your esteemed sect a devastating blow was only natural."
Han Zhan parted his lips to speak, but took a deep breath and suppressed the urge.
Verbal bickering served no purpose in the broader scheme.
He could already tell that the other party had never intended to engage him in a true fight.
A tinge of regret seeped through his limbs.
Had he known sooner, there would have been no need to reveal his Nascent Soul puppet in such haste.
Had he entrusted it to Senior Brother Cheng Yan to command, it surely would have stabilized the frontline battlefield.
Regrettably, during their first encounter, he had lost to Ao Xiao by three moves; under the crushing pressure of Ao Xiao's sudden descent, he had been forced to reveal his trump card early to deter him.
In the end, it all came down to the Falling Cloud Sect's lack of foundation!
Every trump card capable of holding down the fort was concentrated on his person alone.
Now, unable to be in two places at once, he found himself tied down instead.
Seeing Han Zhan remain silent, Ao Xiao raised a brow.
With hands clasped behind his back, he pondered briefly before suddenly saying, "If Fellow Daoist is willing to swear a Great Dao oath, declare defeat in the Pioneering War right here, and withdraw from the Howling Moon Mountain Range, I shall immediately command my kin to cease fighting, sparing the lineage of your Falling Cloud Sect."
"Impossible!" Han Zhan refused flatly without a second thought.
Ao Xiao's brow furrowed slightly. "Why go this far? If you continue fighting like this, all the disciples of your Falling Cloud Sect will perish. Even if you conquer the Howling Moon Mountain Range, what good will it do? Do you truly wish to become the weakest Nascent Soul grand sect in history?"
Han Zhan shuddered at the thought of that image.
Yet in an instant, his countenance returned to an unruffled calm.
Rebuffed, Wolf Emperor Ao Xiao remained unfazed.
"In that case, continue sitting by and watching your disciples die wailing! Do not dream of lending a hand. You know very well that you can only barely contest me by virtue of your geographic advantage. Show the slightest flaw, and slaying you will be as easy as turning over my palm!"
"Boastful fool!" Han Zhan growled softly. His magic power surged, and the crushing pressure of a Nascent Soul cultivator soared into the sky.
"Feel free to test it!" Ao Xiao snorted coldly, his overbearing aura crashing down unyieldingly.
The two terrifying pressures collided in an instant.
Ao Xiao's robes fluttered, his golden hair danced without wind, and his body involuntarily retreated a step.
Han Zhan let out a muffled grunt, yet remained seated where he was, utterly still.
From the look of it, Ao Xiao had come out worse.
Yet the wolf emperor was not the least bit angered. Golden light flashed brilliantly in his eyes as he looked toward the black puppet sitting opposite Han Zhan, which was currently vibrating.
"So that's how it is!
"No wonder during our last clash, though you lost to me by three moves, you emerged unscathed.
"You actually refined this puppet into an external incarnation. Not only can you command it as easily as your own limbs, but you can even transfer damage to it.
"Tsk, tsk. What immense fortune you enjoy—reaching the Nascent Soul realm barely a century ago, yet already possessing an external incarnation and a sword array as two formidable trump cards.
"Since that is so, why stubbornly resist? Retreat early and preserve your sect's foundation. With your capabilities, making a resurgence in the future is hardly impossible..."
Han Zhan glared at him and abruptly interrupted his rambling.
"Do you truly believe you have the Falling Cloud Sect cornered?"
Ao Xiao frowned.
Soon, however, he sensed something.
Because of this, he held Han Zhan in even higher regard.
"Your cultivation level is lower than mine, yet your divine sense is stronger than mine. I truly underestimated you.
"In that case..."
***
In a corner of the defensive formation.
An early Tier 3 demon wolf was running amok.
Even with ranks of puppets before it spitting spheres of energy, magical artifacts dancing madly, and waves of murderous intent erupting, it showed no fear.
Relying on its thick hide and sturdy flesh, it relentlessly battered the protective light screen of the defensive line.
*If I can be the first to breach an opening and lead the pack inside, it will be a tremendous merit.*
*The Wolf Emperor will surely be pleased and might even reward me with our wolf clan's secret heritage art!*
Just as it was indulging in fantasy,
from beyond the sky, an azure sword-light plummeted like a falling star.
The demon wolf was terrified. In desperation, it spat out an ochre shield of demonic power, attempting to block the strike.
However—
*Swoosh!*
With a soft hiss, the azure sword-light pierced through the shield like a hot knife through tofu, plunging directly into the demon wolf's massive frame.
In that instant, the demon wolf caught sight of the sword-light's true form.
It was a sword pill!
The next moment!
Endless azure sword-light burst from within its body like butterflies breaking from a cocoon.
Silently, the demon wolf disintegrated into countless tiny fragments, tumbling to the ground.
The sword-light converged abruptly into the sword pill, zipping back in the direction it had come.
From that same direction, ten figures sped forward like lightning.
Before they even arrived, overwhelming attacks rained down in force.
Flying swords, spiked maces, steel needles, puppets, five-element spells...
In just one volley, the defensive pressure on the Falling Cloud Sect disciples was drastically relieved.
Seeing this, everyone knew reinforcements had arrived.
The experts of the Sword-Bearer Hall had returned!
*Whoosh!*
A figure shot forward at incredible speed, plunging straight into the formation like a streak of rainbow light.
The moment he touched down, he frowned and looked toward the massive body embedded in the ground, in an exceptionally wretched, gruesome state.
The faint features on that gigantic face allowed him to recognize the person's identity.
"It's Danchenzi!"
He was about to step forward, but an urgent cry rang out from behind him.
"Fellow Daoist Lin, don't touch him!"
Lin Qingxuan turned around. "Fellow Daoist Jueqing, why shouldn't we move him? Danchenzi is gravely wounded, and this is no place to heal. Why not take him somewhere safe?"
Fairy Jueqing said with a grim expression, "Look at his chest!"
Lin Qingxuan followed her gaze, and surprise surfaced on his face.
Layer upon layer of qi armor lay shattered, flesh turned outward, bones and blood vessels plainly visible.
Countless rays of golden light permeated the wound, attempting to erode Luo Chen's immense frame.
Fortunately, clusters of azure flame burned steadily, holding the golden light from spreading.
Though powerful, the golden light was a sourceless entity; every bit burned away was gone forever.
The flames were weaker, but of an exceptionally high grade and ceaselessly replenished, already slowly gaining the upper hand.
The two locked in a stalemate, maintaining an eerie balance.
Moving Luo Chen's body recklessly would inevitably upset this delicate state, turning good intentions into harm.
"Thank you for the warning, Fellow Daoist. Qingxuan nearly made a grave mistake."
Jueqing waved her hand. "Better to deal with this beast tide first!"
Lin Qingxuan nodded.
Relying on the superior speed of a sword cultivator, he had launched an all-out strike ahead of the others, slaying an early Tier 3 wolf king on the spot.
Having caught his breath, his magic power was circulating freely once more.
He was ready to fight again!
Just as he prepared to return to the fray, the myriad demonic beasts besieging the base camp pulled back in unison, as if answering an order.
Their retreat was orderly and disciplined, entirely unlike mindless, uncivilized brutes.
Lin Qingxuan looked astonished. "I have heard seniors in my sect speak of the war that opened up the Jade Cauldron Domain. Though it took a century, the beasts were never this united or coordinated. They are practically like an army of a mortal nation! Such discipline and organization even surpasses that of us sect cultivators!"
Fairy Jueqing's expression was equally solemn.
"That Wolf Emperor Ao Xiao truly is a rare prodigy of the demon race. To think he could unite the demon wolves into a single, cohesive force. If the scale of this pioneering effort weren't several times greater than in the past, I fear the Falling Cloud Sect would have suffered a crushing blow."
It wasn't just a fear.
They had already suffered a crushing blow!
As a genius of the younger generation in the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect, Lin Qingxuan had long reached the state of the Lucid Sword Heart.
Controlling the sword with the heart, validating intent with the sword.
Under the perception of that sword heart, he could distinctly feel the overwhelming grief of the surviving Falling Cloud Sect disciples.
In this battle, Wolf Emperor Ao Xiao had led a strike straight into their heart, causing untold casualties.
To say nothing of the rest, at least five Golden Core cultivators had fallen!
Among the survivors, nearly every single one was wounded, aside from Cheng Yan.
Even those who appeared unhurt were pale and listless, clearly suffering from weakened souls caused by overusing their puppets.
One had to understand that the Falling Cloud Sect was by no means a Nascent Soul sect with deep foundations.
Years ago, they had possessed barely over a dozen Golden Core cultivators.
During the fifty years of war preparations, they had expended countless resources just to forcefully bring about three more Golden Core cultivators.
Yet even altogether, their number was under twenty.
After this battle, their vital strength had suffered a catastrophic blow!
Had the cultivators of the Sword-Bearer Hall returned even a little later, the sect likely would have been completely wiped out.
Lin Qingxuan sighed, turning his gaze toward the towering mountain piercing the clouds.
"Why didn't that senior intervene?"
***
Atop Qianye Peak, Cheng Yan's face was flushed with fury as he glared fixedly at Han Zhan.
"Junior Brother, why didn't you intervene!"
Han Zhan looked back at him calmly. "How did you expect me to intervene? By exposing a flaw to Ao Xiao?"
"So you just watched our junior brothers and sisters, our sect's elite, die one by one before our eyes? Cherishing your own life to such an extent makes you unworthy of being our sect's Supreme Elder!"
"Senior Brother, you go too far."
Cheng Yan's eyes were bloodshot, his finger trembling as he pointed at Han Zhan.
"I go too far? If you feared exposing a flaw, then fight that beast Ao Xiao! Didn't you tell me that with your external incarnation forming the Liangyi Wuxing Array, you could battle a mid Nascent Soul cultivator? For the sake of this trump card of yours, I spared none of our sect's reserves—ambushing an outland sword cultivator, laying an ambush for Ren Pingsheng of the Sword Sect, and even having Linghu Jie release three ghost kings to seize Pang Renxiong's body! Now that your ultimate technique is forged, you dare not use it. What sense does that make!"
Cheng Yan suffered immense agony in his heart.
In this battle, he had watched his fellow sect members die one after another at his side.
Even though he had personally blasted five Tier 3 wolf kings and countless low-tier demon wolves to death, he could not save them.
If the Falling Cloud Sect's foundational trump cards had still remained,
how could this battle have turned out like this?
Those foundations had either been destroyed in the battle against Ren Pingsheng, top Golden Core expert of the Sword Sect, or poured entirely into Han Zhan to help him achieve the Nascent Soul realm and refine a Nascent Soul-tier puppet incarnation.
Because of this, Cheng Yan had been forced to make bricks without straw, left utterly helpless against the pack of wolves.
Faced with his senior brother's accusations, Han Zhan remained composed.
"I grieve as well, but I truly could not move then, nor did I dare to.
"It was not that I feared death, but that the aftershocks of a battle at the Nascent Soul level are simply too great.
"Once we fought, before the beast tide outside even broke in, Ao Xiao alone could have brought catastrophe upon the thousands of our sect's disciples gathered here."
At this point, he paused, a wry smile surfacing on his meticulous face.
"Being able to fight a mid Nascent Soul cultivator and being able to kill one are two completely different things.
"Even if I heavily injured Ao Xiao, so what? If he chose to flee, a single Nascent Soul escape art would carry him a thousand li away, and I could do nothing to stop him.
"Senior Brother, you are no Perfected Person; you know nothing of the means of the Nascent Soul. I do not blame you."
Cheng Yan froze, stunned in place.
Only after a long while did he begin walking down the mountain, as though his soul had been wrenched away.
Under his breath, he merely muttered a single phrase over and over:
"I am no Perfected Person... I am no Perfected Person..."
Han Zhan let out a soft sigh. He knew that his earnest, candid words had inadvertently struck his senior brother's sorest wound.
Yet at the time, there had truly been no alternative.
At least, through their mutual stalemate, the Falling Cloud Sect had managed to hold out until their elite forces returned, preserving the sect's remaining vital energy.
"Rest assured, Senior Brother!
"Once we conquer the Howling Moon Mountain Range, the Falling Cloud Sect will prosper sooner or later—not only returning to its peak, but growing ten, a hundred times greater than before.
"And Ao Xiao will pay the price for this battle in time!
"Your junior brother would never lie to you!"
The murmured words drifted into Cheng Yan's ears with the night wind.
Whether he took them to heart remained unknown.
Han Zhan pursed his lips, his gaze sweeping down across the battlefield forged in blood and fire, finally coming to rest upon the gigantic body lying on the ground.
His gaze stirred, and he waved a hand.
A ray of dim light fell from the sky, sinking into the body.
Golden light coated Luo Chen's entire frame, and stimulated by this infusion, his body shuddered.
Immediately after, the myriad golden rays gathered toward his center, gradually engulfed by azure flames.
Luo Chen's eyes snapped open. He brought his hands together before him and formed an incantation gesture.
In an instant, his body began shrinking rapidly.
Supported by Fairy Jueqing, he struggled to his feet and draped an outer robe over himself.
Though grievously wounded, Luo Chen still bowed toward the direction of Qianye Peak.
"My thanks to the Perfected Person!"
There was no response.
His face devoid of all color, Luo Chen straightened and cast his gaze around the surroundings.
As if reading his thoughts, Fairy Jueqing said softly, "Go tend to your wounds and rest. I will help you gather the cultivators of the Luotian Alliance."
"Then my thanks to you, Fellow Daoist."
Luo Chen forced a smile and did not decline her kindness, hobbling toward his cave dwelling with unsteady steps.
Watching his retreating figure, Fairy Jueqing could not help but shake her head.
*At it again!*
*Last time was wretched enough, and now he's gone and done this to himself once more.*
*He was just lucky. Otherwise, left on the battlefield, he would have been torn apart and devoured by beasts long ago.*
*Why try to be a hero?*
*An alchemist should just stay safely tucked in the rear.*
However, as Fairy Jueqing moved across the battlefield searching for cultivators of the Luotian Alliance, she learned details of the earlier clash from others.
"Senior Danchenzi?"
"We truly owe him thanks for this battle. Not only did he slay three wolf kings in battle, but he personally stood against that late Tier 3 Golden Wolf King! Had he not, we wouldn't even have had the chance to raise the formation."
"Resisting a late-tier wolf king and surviving with only an early Golden Core cultivation—Senior Danchenzi is truly extraordinary!"
Fairy Jueqing blinked, finding it hard to believe.
Before reaching the Nascent Soul realm, human cultivators possessed varied methods and could utilize external aids, so they did not fear beasts of the same tier.
Yet there was a limit.
If a gap of one minor realm existed, that advantage was already neutralized.
And with a gap of two minor realms—early stage against late stage—it was a virtually certain death!
Luo Chen had actually clashed head-on with the Golden Wolf King and survived?
"It seems I underestimated him."
***
Struggling back into his cave dwelling,
Luo Chen looked down at the gaping hole in his chest and the clump of golden light entrenched inside his body. Even enveloped in layers of his Natal True Fire, it clung to him like maggots on bone.
He gave a wry smile.
"In the end... I was still careless!"
Chapter 503