The Decisive Battle on Tiangu Plain!

Heavy were the vessels, bleak blew the wind; a hundred thousand strong marched forth to slay the demons. As massive flying vessels surged toward the Tiangu Plain, countless cultivators stood in tight battle array, waiting in grim anticipation. Luo Chen had already handed his Scarlet Flame Dragon Boat to Xu Huanzhen, bidding him fly back laden with the massive carcasses of the demonic beasts. Thus, he currently possessed no personal flying craft. In truth, he had no need for one! The cultivators of the Falling Cloud Sect had extended an invitation to him long beforehand, welcoming him aboard their Tianfan battleship. At this moment, standing beneath the fluttering battle banners and towering sails, Luo Chen gazed in awe at the warship's armaments. "Are those... cannons?" Bearing a striking resemblance to the cannons of his previous life on Earth, they were being hauled into place along the warship's outer hull by numerous cultivators. Swarms of Falling Cloud Sect disciples were stuffing them with spirit stones and calibrating the formations. The muzzles were thick and gaping, the pitch-black barrels ferocious and intimidating. "You have a keen eye, Daoist Luo. Those are indeed cannons—spirit energy cannons!" Luo Chen turned to look at the speaker. Her delicate, fair face carried a hint of fatigue, but even more apparent were hope and anticipation. "Fellow Daoist Mu, I trust you have been well since we last met." "Alas, with several of our sect's senior martial brothers having perished all at once, how could I be well?" Mu Yunyan let out a sigh, her gaze settling upon the spirit energy cannons. "This is an instrument of war unique to Tianfan City. Each shot consumes a superior-grade spirit stone! "Transmuted and amplified by the formation, a single blast reduces Tier 2 demonic beasts to utter clay and rubble. "If ten fire in unison, even a Tier 3 demon king must retreat in dread. A direct hit would mean certain death!" Luo Chen swallowed hard. A single glance told him that aboard this Tianfan battleship, there were no fewer than a hundred spirit energy cannons! Moreover, according to her explanation, even early Foundation Establishment cultivators could operate such devastating weapons. In other words, ten early Foundation Establishment cultivators working in concert could pose a mortal threat to a Tier 3 demon king—or even a Golden Core cultivator? Shaking his head, he marveled, "No wonder Tianfan City's opening war was called the easiest in history. Without the aid of superior sects, relying solely on their own strength, they conquered the Tianfan Domain in just ten years. With weapons like these, once deployed in sufficient numbers, they are virtually unstoppable!" After expressing his amazement, his gaze shifted to the rows of small skiffs lining the Tianfan battleship. They were only about a zhang in length, sleek and slender, resembling light canoes. "And what are these?" Mu Yunyan explained, "These are drifting skiffs. They cannot fly long distances, only short sorties. Anchored to the grand formation of the Tianfan battleship, they hover in a defensive perimeter around the vessel. If large numbers of enemies attempt to board, the drifting skiffs execute suicidal strikes. Even Qi Refinement cultivators can pilot them. "Naturally, they can also make quick runs a few li out to hunt down nearby foes." Luo Chen's mouth fell slightly open in astonishment. He had heard of sects drilling low-tier Qi Refinement disciples to form battle arrays, uniting their strength to threaten higher-tier cultivators. He had never imagined that Tianfan City had engineered war machines like these. Drifting skiffs... Luo Chen pursed his lips. If the Luotian Sect possessed a Tianfan battleship equipped with over a hundred spirit energy cannons and swarms of drifting skiffs, they could pool their entire sect's might to maneuver at will, dominating the demon-slaying battlefield. He could not resist asking, "How much is a battleship like this worth?" To this, Mu Yunyan offered no answer, only a wry smile. Luo Chen understood. Such an engine of slaughter could no longer be measured in spirit stones. It was something fit to serve as a sect's foundational heritage. Acquiring one would require bartering exorbitant quantities of precious resources or promising deep, long-term strategic concessions. In all likelihood, Tianfan City had no intention of selling them at all. The Falling Cloud Sect's vessel had merely been borrowed and would certainly have to be returned later. Still, with this ship, they could make up for the combat power deficit left by the fallen elders and maintain their commanding dominance on the frontline battlefield. Casting one last longing glance over the Tianfan battleship, Luo Chen reined in his unrealistic daydreams. He turned around and cast his gaze out over the vast, ten-thousand-li expanse of the Tiangu Plain. Looking beyond the countless streaks of flying lights and past the advance squadrons of flying vessels, he could already see rolling plumes of beacon smoke surging into the sky on the far horizon. Evidently, the Ao Xiao Wolf Court had received word, and their horde had mobilized in full force as well. The grand clash was on the brink of erupting! ... Just as Fairy Jueqing had predicted, Luo Chen was assigned no dangerous duties in this campaign. The Falling Cloud Sect granted him ample leeway. Consequently, Luo Chen did not charge on the vanguard with the surging tide of cultivators. Accompanied by Zeng Yilong, Luo Chen stood on the deck of the Tianfan battleship, quietly observing the approaching demonic wolf army. With his exceptional eyesight, he could see far further and in far sharper detail than ordinary cultivators. When the two sides drew within a thousand li of each other, he could already make out the saliva dripping from the fangs of the Tier 2 demonic wolves charging at the forefront. A suffocating, ferocious baleful aura washed over the battlefield! And right at this distance, deafening roars suddenly battered his ears. "Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!" The abrupt thunder caused Luo Chen's brows to twitch. Beside him, Zeng Yilong jumped in fright. In the next breath, over a hundred massive spheres of pure energy crossed the thousand-li distance, crashing straight into the depths of the wolf vanguard. Colossal explosions rippled outward in all directions, centered on the wolf horde. Across the Tiangu Plain, a hundred blossoming flowers of pulverized flesh and blood burst into existence. Under that single volley, several hundred demonic wolves were blasted to cinders within the densely packed ranks. Though Luo Chen maintained a calm expression, his inner mind was churning. 'Such power! 'Such range! 'It is practically on par with short-range ballistic missiles from my past life on Earth! 'Yet the cost is clearly astronomical. A single volley burns over a hundred superior-grade spirit stones—that is a million inferior-grade spirit stones! Anyone without massive foundations couldn't dream of playing with toys like this!' As he marveled, a thunderous shout rang out across the Tianfan battleship. "Don't just stand there gawking! Check the spirit cannon formation conduits immediately and load fresh superior-grade spirit stones!" Luo Chen glanced over. A middle-aged man with a square, resolute face was bellowing commands, directing the disciples. It was Gongye Qian of Tianfan City. Though not as renowned as Huyan Zhuo, his background was illustrious in its own right. Rumor had it that True Person Tianyezi, one of Tianfan City's three Nascent Soul True Persons, was the progenitor of the Gongye clan, making Gongye Qian his direct descendant. Evidently, though Tianfan City had loaned a battleship to the Falling Cloud Sect, the man in command of operating it remained Gongye Qian. Sensing eyes upon him, Gongye Qian glanced back. Seeing it was Luo Chen, he gave a slight nod of acknowledgment, saying nothing further. Everything went without saying. Luo Chen shifted his attention back to the frontline battlefield. Recovering from the shock, Zeng Yilong could not help asking, "Martial Uncle, why deploy such formidable weapons right at the start instead of saving them for a decisive juncture?" Luo Chen answered casually, "In war, morale is paramount! The first drumroll rouses the spirit; the second flags; the third exhausts. Crushing the enemy's momentum at the very outset, followed by the strike of our cultivators, shatters the wolf army's formation. Our side already holds the numerical advantage. Once their ranks break, dividing and slaughtering them will ensure a leisurely victory." Pondering the words, Zeng Yilong took on a thoughtful expression. He did not realize that Luo Chen had accumulated considerable experience in large-scale warfare. During the pivotal battle on Mount Thunder Accumulation, the Falling Cloud Sect had preemptively unleashed their puppet legions, and the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect had deployed the Ten Thousand Swords Killing Formation for the very same purpose. In the battle of Incense Valley, Luo Chen himself had spearheaded the assault, using his Landslide art to shatter the battle array of low-tier Yan Alliance disciples for this exact reason. Now, that strategy was merely being executed with the simpler, more direct power of spirit energy cannons. The battle unfolded just as Luo Chen had described. At a range of a thousand li, the spirit cannons carpeted the ground. Immediately following that, when the distance closed to a hundred li, the cultivator army began hurling countless activated talismans through the air. Alongside them surged long-charged, lethal strikes from magic treasures. At this range, low-tier cultivators below the Golden Core realm could no longer precisely guide their strikes. Yet against such a dense wall of wolves, merely unleashing the attack was enough—who cared about aiming? Were the enemies not everywhere? Boom! Boom! Boom! Terrific detonations reverberated endlessly within the surging tide of wolves. They wrought flying flesh, splintered bone, and endless agonizing howls. After two rounds of barrages, the wolves' tidal charge was utterly disrupted, their formations shattered into disarray. First roused, second flagging, third exhausted. The third phase was the most direct and perilous: close-quarters combat. Under the command of human Golden Core cultivators, countless warriors soared into the air, charging in structured formations toward the disordered beasts. "Kill!" "Kill!" "Kill!" Cries of slaughter rose in waves, piercing straight into the clouds. Even a cultivator like Luo Chen, who had cultivated the secret art of Stilling the Storm, felt his blood boil, seized by the urge to charge into the fray. Evidently, however, he held himself in check. Zeng Yilong, on the other hand, could barely contain his restless eagerness. "Restrain yourself. The enemies are plentiful; you will not lack chances to fight," Luo Chen said coolly, glancing at him. Zeng Yilong nodded repeatedly. As the pair looked down, the battle across the field fully unfolded. Across the boundless Tiangu Plain, lights of every hue erupted as spiritual and demonic power clashed with feral fury. Cultivators excelled at employing external tools—spiritual artifacts, magic treasures, talismans, and puppets unleashed in an endless array of techniques. The demonic beasts possessed formidable physiques; shielded by thick hides and tough muscle, they rampaged and tore through the battlefield. In one-on-one combat, demonic beasts were generally inferior to human cultivators of the same tier. Yet amid the chaotic battlefield, where violent energy fluctuations raged and spiritual senses tangled crisscross, human cultivators could not fully extend their spiritual sense to pinpoint targets, causing them to lose their usual edge in frontal combat. Above all, after suffering two consecutive barrages, the Tier 3 demon kings of the Ao Xiao Wolf Court could no longer sit idle. Accompanied by a dozen furious roars, seemingly ordinary beasts amidst the wolf pack suddenly expanded in size, ballooning into colossi seven to eight zhang tall. With single bounds, they leapt straight into the human formations behind the vanguard. Talons slashed and demonic energy surged; with a single swipe, they snuffed out a dozen living souls. At this sight, the human Golden Core Masters glared with fury. Unable to watch any longer, they intervened, wielding tremendous magic power to partition the battlefield into isolated combat zones. Furthermore, Master Cheng Yan, who oversaw overall command of the battlefield, utilized a specialized magic treasure to expand his divine sense across the entire expanse, projecting clear commands: "Avoid head-on clashes! Divide and surround them! "Leverage our numerical advantage! Disciples of all sects, spread out! "Golden Core Masters, draw the core fights into the sky!" Evidently, holding a massive advantage, Cheng Yan wished to prevent heavy casualties. Otherwise, even if they won, the Falling Cloud Sect would find it difficult to answer to the allied sects. Luo Chen spread his divine sense to scan the area, yet could not pinpoint Cheng Yan's exact location. He could only murmur in admiration, "I did not expect Master Cheng Yan to possess such commanding talent!" Following that thought, his mind turned to his own Luotian Sect. Zhou Yuanli actually possessed similar potential, having demonstrated it during multiple major conflicts throughout his Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment days. Regrettably, his aptitude was mediocre, making it exceedingly difficult for him to form a core in the future. Without superior eyesight or powerful divine sense to aid him, surveying the whole battlefield and issuing clear orders in a grand war was next to impossible. Of course, if he could obtain treasures or formations capable of amplifying spiritual sense, that flaw might be mitigated. Even as he pondered this, the situation on the battlefield shifted. The transition strictly adhered to Master Cheng Yan's instructions. From an initial army-wide clash, the combat splintered into smaller skirmishes. Some were one-on-one, some multiple against one, while larger ones involved dozens of humans and wolves clashing in a tangled melee. In an instant, figures of human cultivators and demon wolves carpeted the Tiangu Plain. And for the Falling Cloud Sect, the time had come to reveal their trump cards to tilt the scales of victory. Pitch-black and deep-blue ferocious puppets surged forth from the storage bags of the poised Falling Cloud Sect disciples. At a glance, there were nearly several thousand puppets. The five hundred puppets at the very fore were unmistakably the Thunder Puppets that had wrought devastation on the Mount Thunder Accumulation battlefield years ago! "That's Big Brother Qin!" Zeng Yilong called out in a low voice. Luo Chen followed his gaze and indeed spotted the solemn-faced Qin Yuanjiang among the crowd. He stood side by side with a woman at the center of the Falling Cloud Sect army; she had to be his Dao companion, Ruan Huan'er, daughter of the late former sect master, Ruan Jing. Several unfamiliar Golden Core cultivators of the Falling Cloud Sect stood aloft, sweeping their hands forward. "Deploy!" The next instant, the several thousand puppets surged as fresh combat strength, hurtling toward the heart of the battlefield. The Falling Cloud Sect's arsenal did not end there. Once the puppet legion was dispatched, the Tianfan battleship completed its recharge. Gongye Qian's booming voice overpowered the din of battle, echoing in the ears of every cultivator aboard: "This time, no carpet bombardment! "Harness the battleship's formation to amplify your spiritual sense! Lock onto Tier 2 demonic wolves and conduct precision strikes! "I grant you full authority to fire at will! "Now, find your targets!" Amid a chorus of acknowledgments, the cultivators aboard the battleship scanned for targets, the muzzles of the spirit energy cannons swiveling continuously. Clack! Clack! Clack! Boom! As a Tianfan City disciple triggered a spirit cannon, a crimson orb of light shot forth. A Tier 2 wolf demon locked in fierce combat with a cultivator was blasted into a bloody mist in an instant. Even the Foundation Establishment True Cultivator who had been handling the beast with ease was left momentarily stunned. Looking up at the Tianfan battleship, he saw streaks of luminous orbs firing in rapid succession, arcing over the battlefield to deliver pinpoint strikes upon Tier 2 demonic wolves one after another. This time, Luo Chen could no longer conceal his admiration, his face lighting up with marvel. These spirit energy cannons were this adaptable? In advance, they could unleash devastating carpet bombardments; in support, they could lock onto individual targets for precision execution. So long as the front lines held firm, this Tianfan battleship was a butcher's blade ruthlessly carving through the enemy ranks. This Tiangu Plain was a colossal slaughterhouse! Suddenly, an idea struck Luo Chen, and he tugged at Zeng Yilong. "Let's go! "I've picked out a few opponents for you. Go test your mettle!" He spoke aloud, without resorting to divine sense transmission. Zeng Yilong nodded excitedly. Unfurling the Rising Dragon Wings from his back, he leapt from the Tianfan battleship. Aboard the vessel, Gongye Qian glanced at Luo Chen and paid it no further mind. It was perfectly normal to temper one's disciple; if the eight Nascent Soul superior sects did so, Luo Chen was naturally entitled to do the same. Besides, with an additional combatant shouldering pressure on the battlefield, it would only help expand their own tactical gains. ... Leaving the Tianfan battleship, Luo Chen swept his divine sense outward and swiftly found a suitable sparring partner. It was a late Tier 2 demon wolf! Brimming with baleful ferocity, it had already slain three human early Foundation Establishment cultivators, while the Qi Refinement disciples killed by its claws were too numerous to count. "That's the one. "Xiao Long, I order you to take it down within fifty breaths." Zeng Yilong's eyes gleamed as he licked his lips, a bloodthirsty edge surfacing on his face. "Understood!" The next instant, he snapped open the Rising Dragon Wings and activated Ninety Thousand Li, transforming into a streak of bloody light that plunged toward the massive demon wolf. Seeing an enemy charge in, the demon wolf showed no fear, wheeling around to pounce. Throughout this, it did not perceive Luo Chen's presence in the slightest. The Concealment Formation inscribed upon his person rendered Luo Chen utterly unremarkable even amidst the chaotic battlefield, leaking not a shred of Golden Core aura. Moreover, the area he had chosen lay on the periphery of the Tiangu Plain, away from the most ferocious combat zones. As Luo Chen watched Zeng Yilong wildly hacking away with a treasure-grade saber, he split his divine sense to monitor both the main battlefield and the Tianfan battleship. Dividing one's mind three ways could be no more thorough than this. On the main battlefield, bolstered by the puppets and spirit cannons, the trend toward victory for the human cultivators had already become manifest. Before long, that advantage would widen into an overwhelming triumph. Under such circumstances, the Ao Xiao Wolf Court would naturally not sit by. The late Tier 3 demon kings finally joined the battle. Two demonic clouds—one golden and one black—came shrieking across the sky. Right at that moment, Linghu Jie's calm voice rang out from the rear: "Sword-Bearing Hall, deploy!" The next instant, a boisterous voice exploded across the heavens: "Golden Wolf King, this old man, Wei Wuya, has come to test your mettle!" A sky-covering crimson hurricane surged upward, enveloping a figure as it charged toward the golden demonic cloud. Nor was he alone. Two more figures stepped forward from the human ranks. "Elder Ye, it is Jin's honor to fight alongside you." "Heh, why speak so politely? We are merely putting down a beast." Trading easy banter, Elder Ye Xiang of the Divine Talisman Sect and Jin Buque of the Five Elements Divine Sect stepped through the void toward the Black Wolf King. Before even closing the distance, Ye Xiang drew an ochre-yellow talisman from his sleeve. "Boundless Heaven and Earth, Righteous Law of Qian and Kun! "Seal!" He struck out with a fierce palm. Instantly, an immense suppressive force gripped heaven and earth; space in all ten directions seemed to turn into a thick quagmire. In a flash, the Black Wolf King's movements grew sluggish. While he was still reeling in shock, a golden beam pierced the air straight toward his eyes. Right at that juncture— "Awoooo—" A gigantic gray-furred demon wolf stood proudly atop the mountain peaks. As he howled, the surrounding peaks echoed in resonance, and the Tiangu Plain vibrated to the sound. In an instant, thunderous howls rolled across the land. Many human cultivators battling the wolf horde stiffened as their bodies froze at the eerie howl, particularly those with weaker souls. Immediately following that— "Ah!" "Ugh!" "Crash!" In that momentary lapse, well over a thousand human cultivators succumbed to the howl's influence and were brutally slaughtered by their foes. Hovering at the edge of the battlefield, Luo Chen was unaffected. Even so, the instant the three wolf kings appeared, his pupils shrank. Their arrival had nearly reversed the tide in an instant. Especially that Gray Wolf King! Not only was his soul attack terrifyingly potent, but his sonic offensive was amplified by the battlefield itself! The mountains chimed in harmony, and the Tiangu Plain reverberated with his power. He was plainly channeling the natural might of an ambient grand formation! 'No wonder Wolf Emperor Ao Xiao favors this third son, who failed to inherit his Radiant Gold Wolf bloodline. Though he did not inherit the lineage, he inherited the immense soul strength characteristic of the Radiant Gold Wolves. Here on the Tiangu Plain, he is a true engine of slaughter! 'By his strength alone, he rivals that entire Tianfan battleship! 'Still, he displayed this exact ability during the night raid on Chiba Peak. Could the Falling Cloud Sect really be unprepared?' Just as Luo Chen wondered, Linghu Jie vaulted into the sky, his sinister demeanor beneath his black robes striking terror into onlookers. He pressed his hands toward the earth, then clawed upward with sudden violence. Instantly, bleak winds howled and spectral rains fell amidst the weeping of ghosts and wailing of wolves. From within the boundless blood-soaked expanse, countless wronged spirits and fallen warrior souls seemed to be seized by his will, coalescing into a black cloud spanning a full hundred li. Hiss! 'What formidable divine sense! What vicious methods!' Luo Chen was no stranger to this spectacle. Back then, Linghu Jie could already manipulate the three ghost kings of Dahe Mill. Now, he ruthlessly commandeered the vast horde of souls freshly slain on this battlefield. Treading atop the black cloud, Linghu Jie's robes billowed wildly. His eyes blazed with brilliant divine light as he locked his gaze onto a desolate, low-lying knoll. "There!" With that shout, the black cloud descended like a shroud over the low knoll. Simultaneously, a sword came flying from the west, dazzling beyond compare. Frigid frost crackled, freezing heaven and earth. Lush willow branches unfurled, blanketing the hills. Under these three ferocious assaults, a figure finally emerged atop that low knoll. It was none other than the Gray Wolf King! The wolf atop the distant peak had not been his true body; this was. Besieged by four experts—Linghu Jie, Lin Qingxuan, Fairy Jueqing, and Nalan Feng—he showed no fear. With a low growl, he erupted with a halo of light, forcing back the incoming strikes, and prepared to burrow into the earth. Yet right at that instant, an exceptionally sinister strike surged from deep underground. "Despicable!" The Gray Wolf King roared in fury, forced into the sky with a black palm print stamped into his vulnerable underbelly. As he recoiled, a streak of light burst from the earth, and a masked man withdrew his hand in regret. "What a pity. Its senses are too sharp; I fell short by a hair." Linghu Jie's calm voice carried over: "No matter. Daoist Baisun, forcing him into the open is already a great merit. With the five of us joined against him, slaying him will take mere moments." Across the field, wind carried blood and cries of slaughter shook the heavens. In a corner by the low knoll, five Golden Core cultivators led by Linghu Jie completely encircled the Gray Wolf King. Faced with this encirclement, the wolf king's massive head showed little wrath; instead, a smirk of triumph appeared. "You think you ambushed me? "Wrong! "You fell into our trap!" Hearing this, Linghu Jie stiffened in shock and spun his head toward the massive battleship hovering in the rear. Right at that moment, five surging demonic auras erupted from the Ao Xiao Wolf Court, lunging straight for the Tianfan battleship. A glance revealed that every one of them was a late Tier 3 demon king! Moreover, none of them belonged to the demonic wolf tribe. There was an eagle, a giant python, a ferocious tiger, a leopard, and even a massive flood dragon! On the battlefield's perimeter, Luo Chen's heart leapt into his throat at the sight. A Storm Goshawk! An Armored Dragon Python! A Ferocious Fiend Tiger! A Dark Cloud Leopard! A Frost Flood Dragon! Each was a creature renowned among demon beast tribes for sheer cruelty and savagery. Worse, all of them had cultivated to the late Tier 3 realm. How could ordinary human Golden Core cultivators withstand them? Only sixth-layer Golden Core experts or late Golden Core grand cultivators could rival or suppress them. 'I knew it! 'The Tianfan battleship's strategic value is far too immense, and it stands out too much. It was bound to be their highest-priority target. 'Staying aboard was never safe.' Even as he felt relieved to be off the vessel, Luo Chen grew anxious. Potent as the Tianfan battleship was, it could not withstand five demon kings attacking together! Once the battleship was destroyed, those five demon kings would only need to turn on the rest of the army and run amok across the field, throwing the scales of victory into reverse. On the other side, "You dared borrow power from other wild mountain ranges?" Linghu Jie snarled in fury. The Gray Wolf King was just as enraged: "It was you humans who broke faith first! The original covenant between humans and demons stipulated one sect to one domain, each relying on their own abilities! Over these millennia, you have crossed the line again and again, with multiple superior sects banding together to invade our demon race! This time you even mobilized nine Nascent Soul superior sects! Despicable wretches like you have the gall to point fingers at us?" Faced with this biting retort, Linghu Jie put away his fury in an instant, shaking his head with disdain. "Words are pointless. We are not of the same path; it is merely a struggle for survival and gain." "Then fight! Even if the five of you come at me together, why should I fear?" A desperate clash erupted! Yet it was plain to see: neither the Gray Wolf King's clash nor those of the other two wolf kings would decide the ultimate outcome. The Tianfan battleship was the true crux! Just as the five demon kings closed within a hundred li and prepared to unleash their assaults, a formidable aura suddenly exploded from the lower hold of the Tianfan battleship. "Mere pelt-and-scale beasts dare run rampant? Pass through my Star Moon Divine Temple first!" The cold rebuke reverberated in all directions. A figure shimmering like a bright moon rose from the warship, scattering flecks of pristine white moonlight as magic power surged. At this sight, someone gasped: "It is the Moon God Emissary of the Star Moon Divine Temple!" Joy washed over the crowd. The Star Moon Divine Temple was a top-tier Golden Core great sect! Though termed a temple, it had no temple master, only the Twin Emissaries of Star and Moon. Both emissaries were late Golden Core grand cultivators, masters of profound and arcane arts. Rumor had it that during the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect's Jade Emperor Sword Debate, Master Yaoguang had privately sparred with visiting guests and lost to the Moon God Emissary. Her presence proved that the Falling Cloud Sect had made preparations well in advance. Clearly, their preparations went further still. Alongside the Moon God Emissary, seven more towering auras shot into the sky. The Slovenly Daoist of the Fish Dragon Gang! The Supreme Elder of Mengquan Cave! The Supreme Elder of the Fierce Sun Sect! The Sect Master of the Lotus Sect! Founding Patriarch Chu Baihong of the White Rainbow Sect! Deputy Tower Master Xiaoxiangzi of Huanzhu Tower! And an unfamiliar late Golden Core scholar. Among these seven, the weakest was Chu Baihong, who nevertheless possessed fifth-layer Golden Core strength. Meanwhile, the Slovenly Daoist of the Fish Dragon Gang stood at the profound height of the eighth layer of the Golden Core realm. The unfamiliar scholar in particular radiated an aura as vast as the blazing sun; his magic power was balanced, upright, magnificent, and inviolable. A ninth-layer Golden Core cultivator, hovering on the verge of the Great Perfection! Combined with the Moon God Emissary, there were eight Golden Core powerhouses in total. Eight against five—the advantage lay entirely with humanity! At this sight, the five foreign demon kings shuddered in horror, stripped of their initial terrifying bravado. Without a single command, the five demon kings turned in tacit unison and fled in separate directions. However haughty their arrival had been, their retreat was just as pathetic. Of the eight human experts, seven set off in pursuit. Only the scholar remained aboard the Tianfan battleship, gazing down upon the battlefield with a stern expression. When his gaze fell upon the figure on the battlefield's perimeter, he offered a friendly nod. Luo Chen smiled and nodded in return. In his heart, he thought with awe, 'To think even Haoranzi joined the fray.' Haoranzi was a consecrated elder of Tianlan Immortal City and the sole inheritor of the former Haoran Sect. For centuries, he had remained stationed in Tianlan Immortal City. He had ventured out only once, when the White Night Ruins appeared. Now it seemed his cultivation had advanced further, brushing against the Golden Core Great Perfection. His motive for joining the war and assisting the Falling Cloud Sect was easy to deduce. The Falling Cloud Sect had likely promised that once he reached the Great Perfection, he could borrow the Tier 4 spiritual vein of the Howling Moon Mountain Range to attempt a breakthrough to the Nascent Soul realm! Luo Chen shook his head, brushing the speculation aside. Glancing at Zeng Yilong, he saw that the youth had long since slain the initial late Tier 2 demon and was now engaged in a life-and-death struggle with another Tier 2 beast Luo Chen had selected for him. Though peril lurked at every turn, the boy fought with mounting vigor, showing not the slightest hint of exhaustion. With the emergence of top powerhouses from the allied sects, the human cultivators had secured an overwhelming advantage! From top-tier combatants down to local skirmishes, the tide was decisive. On the main battlefield, the demon wolf army crumbled into rout. A Tier 3 wolf king, hounded by two Golden Core cultivators, even fled toward the battlefield's edge. Its trajectory led straight toward Luo Chen. Luo Chen was not one to sit on his hands. "Since you're already here, stay!" Reaching out with a hand, he brought down a colossal palm print. Under a shroud of azure light, a terrifying suppressive force bore down upon the Tier 3 demon king. Its body froze, and two coordinated strikes struck home in the same instant. Swoosh! Swoosh! As the demon king was decapitated and its demon core extracted, two figures halted before Luo Chen. "Splendid technique, Daoist Luo. With a single strike, you left this mid-Tier 3 demon king utterly helpless." The speaker was a petite, delicately built woman. Luo Chen smiled faintly. "I merely rode upon your coattails, Fellow Daoist Yu. Had the two of you not been pursuing him so fiercely, how could he have lost all awareness and allowed me to suppress him so easily?" Yu Jiaolong, a Heavenly Spiritual Root cultivator of Mengquan Cave. As for the other cultivator, through Yu Jiaolong's introduction, Luo Chen learned that he was a Golden Core elder of Mengquan Cave. Yu Jiaolong smiled, her gaze dropping to Zeng Yilong locked in fierce combat below. "Oh? "This combat style and transformation art bear quite a resemblance to your sect's Wang Yuan!" Luo Chen smiled. "You have sharp eyes. Xiao Long is indeed Wang Yuan's personal disciple." Yu Jiaolong cast a few more surprised glances downward. The Luotian Sect was truly strange; why did they all seem to love body refinement? Wang Yuan was like this, Luo Chen was like this, and even the younger generation chose this path. Did they not know that the path of body refinement had long declined, its future road nearly severed? The three conversed casually, as though not on a battlefield, but exchanging toasts and banter at a banquet. This leisurely composure illustrated one undeniable fact: the outcome was decided! With the top powerhouses of the major sects joining the fray, strategic superweapons like the Tianfan battleship and Falling Cloud Sect puppets dominating the field, and the human forces inherently far outmatching the Ao Xiao Wolf Court, even with the Wolf Court having brought in foreign reinforcements, they were nowhere near a match for the human coalition. As Luo Chen surveyed the horizon, he saw the Slovenly Daoist flying back carrying a severed tiger head, and Mengquan Cave's Supreme Elder exerting every ounce of strength amid the rolling peaks to capture the Frost Flood Dragon alive. In the distance, a golden streak fled in frantic retreat while Wei Wuya of Motian Cliff laughed boisterously in hot pursuit. Suppressed beneath successive talismans, the Black Wolf King was battered miserably as Jin Buque wielded Metal-attribute arts to sever its limbs and break its bones. The demonic arts it specialized in were like fireflies before the moon when pitted against the Five Elements Divine Sect's spells—all the more so under the suppression of the Divine Talisman Sect expert's talismans. As for the Gray Wolf King who excelled at soul strikes, he had gone completely berserk, blasting sonic waves that kept low-tier cultivators within a hundred li from daring to approach. Judging by his state, defeat was only moments away. Yu Jiaolong was also watching the field. She could not help remarking, "I never imagined this decisive battle would go so smoothly, ending so quickly. I assumed it would drag on for at least ten days to half a month." Her companion sighed, "Nine superior sects and eighteen Golden Core great sects waging an opening war together—in the history of the Eastern Desolation's opening wars, such a grand scale has rarely been seen outside the ancient era. Had the Ao Xiao Wolf Court not produced an ambitious sovereign who unified the inner domain wolves and constantly summoned reinforcements from the deep rear, we might not have needed even ten years to conquer the Howling Moon Mountain Range. Today's single-day battle on the Tiangu Plain is the true manifestation of our combined might." Yu Jiaolong nodded. Turning to the contemplative Luo Chen, she smiled and said, "Fellow Daoist Luo, the Tier 3 spiritual vein your Luotian Sect conquered is not far from our Mengquan Cave's Seven Kings Mountain. We shall be neighbors from now on." Luo Chen smiled back, though his expression was somewhat strained. Yu Jiaolong grew curious. "Is there something troubling you, Daoist Luo?" Luo Chen said faintly, "Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment may garrison territory, and we of the Golden Core can steer the course of a battle. But when it comes to truly settling the fate of a domain, that rests on the hands of the True Persons!" At these words, both cultivators froze. Yu Jiaolong asked tentatively, "Are you suggesting that Wolf Emperor Ao Xiao might take the field?" Her companion shook his head. "Unlikely. By historical precedent, Demon Emperors and True Persons do not engage in fights to the death. In most cases, the outcome among those beneath them determines the fate of the domain." This was indeed established custom. Once reaching the Nascent Soul realm, a cultivator's primary objective became Soul Formation and ascension. Territorial gains were contested if possible, but no one would risk their life over them. Yet Luo Chen did not see it that way. Clearly, an organization like the Ao Xiao Wolf Court was an anomaly among the otherwise loose and disjointed demonic tribes. For it to have reached this stage, it had undoubtedly secured the backing of other mighty beings from the wild mountain ranges. To expect Wolf Emperor Ao Xiao to withdraw willingly ran completely contrary to his character. Above all, he was an existence whose actions defied convention, possessing intellect and cunning far exceeding ordinary cultivators! Just as Luo Chen was turning this over in his mind, by the low knoll, the Gray Wolf King was drenched in blood, his voice so hoarse he could scarcely muster his devastating sonic strikes. Pfft! A spray of blood erupted. Gathering his last wisp of demonic energy, he rasped a despairing howl toward the depths of the mountains: "Imperial Father! Must our Wolf Court truly perish here?" None among the ordinary crowd understood the meaning of the wretched wolf howl. Yet Golden Core cultivators like Luo Chen had already mastered the language of beasts. Hearing it now, his complexion shifted. In the very next moment, a figure stepped forth from the void, wearing a flat-topped imperial crown and clad in golden robes, radiating an emperor's majesty before all the world. With a casual flick of his sleeve, Linghu Jie and the other four were violently thrown back as if struck by a cataclysm. The Gray Wolf King's frame rapidly shrank until he was the size of a man-high gray wolf, drawn into the emperor's grasp and prostrating at his feet. The emperor showed restraint; since the enemy's Nascent Soul True Persons had refrained from slaughtering low-tier beasts, he maintained the poise befitting a Demon Emperor. He merely injured Linghu Jie and the four others without taking their lives. Stroking the blood-soaked gray fur, Wolf Emperor Ao Xiao's eyes grew fathomless as his gaze cut through the dense sea of cultivators toward the far rear of the coalition army. Beneath his gaze, the clashing battlefield seemed to fall into silence. After a long pause, he said in a deep voice: "Fellow Daoist Han Zhan, this battle between us was inevitable after all!" Without the slightest hesitation, a chilling voice echoed as if from the Nine Netherworlds: "I shall slay you to avenge my Falling Cloud Sect!" A figure in cyan robes soared into the sky. Wolf Emperor Ao Xiao drew a deep breath. With a reverse thrust of his hand, he sent the Gray Wolf King hurtling away as a streak of light, vanishing tens of thousands of li into the distance. Then, transforming into golden radiance, he shot into the heavens as well! Wind and clouds churned, and heaven and earth changed color. Across the Tiangu Plain, a thunderous reverberation echoed like the beating of war drums, gripping every heart!