"Fellow Daoist Lin, it has been some time. How have you been lately?"
Leaning against the battlements with a desolate air, Lin Qingxuan shifted his eyes slightly at the sound of the voice.
In his view, Master Yelan, the new sect master of the Divine Talisman Sect, was walking toward him with a genial smile and a greeting.
His tone was quite familiar, as though the two were close acquaintances.
In truth, they had barely interacted, having merely exchanged a few words when Luo Chen hosted the Shouyang Dao Discourse.
Under normal circumstances, Lin Qingxuan would never have paid him much mind.
Yelan had only just formed his Nascent Soul, nowhere near Lin Qingxuan, who had long since established his renown.
Yet beneath Master Yelan's somewhat humble, presumptuously familiar smile, Lin Qingxuan somehow saw the shadow of his former self—currying favor before famous powerhouses just to broaden connections for his sect.
Lin Qingxuan straightened up and nodded to the newcomer.
"Not great, but not bad either. I heard Old Fu of your esteemed sect has stabilized?"
Yelan came up to him, halted, and said,
"Thanks to the medicinal pills the Alchemy Grandmaster bestowed during his visit, Master's injuries have indeed stabilized and ceased to worsen. But as for truly recovering..."
Yelan sighed, his countenance heavy.
Lin Qingxuan patted his shoulder and consoled him, "The older generation has already done enough. In the end, we will have to rely on ourselves from now on."
Then, with some curiosity, he asked, "The Alchemy Grandmaster refines healing medicine as well?"
Pulled from his sorrow over his elder's condition, Yelan forced a smile and replied, "The Alchemy Grandmaster's skill is truly extraordinary. Even ordinary healing medicines crafted by his hand are far more effective than those on the market. I heard you're quite close with him; you could try asking for one or two to keep handy for emergencies."
'Close with him?
Ha!'
Lin Qingxuan gave a self-mocking laugh inside.
Yelan looked left and right, then asked somewhat curiously, "Speaking of which, with the storm gathering, why did the Alchemy Grandmaster leave Lingtian Pass for the rear?"
The Luotian Sect's departure could not be kept secret.
Especially considering how prominently Luo Chen had carried himself over the years.
Many had assumed he would show his might in the coming war, but to everyone's surprise, before the clash even started, he had "slipped away."
Lin Qingxuan narrowed his eyes, offering a casual deflection: "Perhaps he feared suffering harm in battle. Given his alchemical mastery, even in a Soul Formation sacred ground he would be honored as an esteemed guest. Why would someone of such precious status stand beneath a crumbling wall?"
Though he spoke those words, in his heart Lin Qingxuan felt secretly relieved.
Luo Chen's prestige was already immense!
In their transactions, their standings were completely unequal.
If Luo Chen were to rise even further on the back of military exploits, the disparity between them would only grow, and their fragile partnership might not survive at all.
Yelan frowned, visibly dissatisfied with Lin Qingxuan's take.
Such words truly belittled the Alchemy Grandmaster.
In his mind, Alchemy Grandmaster Luo Chen was genuinely a person of high virtue and prestige with staggering prowess—how could he flee before a battle?
He could still vividly recall how Luo Chen had withstood the pressure of the Mingyuan Sect at the Shouyang Dao Discourse to take a blow from Lei Daozi head-on.
A true man should be like that!
"Fellow Daoist Lin, aren't you being a bit..."
Just as he was measuring his words, his expression abruptly shifted.
A talisman appeared in his palm, burst into flame without any breeze, and turned to ash.
"It's a life-saving talisman of my disciple! How can this be? He was patrolling outside the pass—could it be..."
Lin Qingxuan had no time to answer him.
Leaping upward, his body transformed into an arc of rainbow light, stationing himself high in the sky.
Biting his fingertip, he pressed his fingers together like a sword, wiped the bloody fingers across his eyes, and his narrowed eyes suddenly flew wide.
A pair of blood-red pupils instantly surveyed several thousand li away.
In his vision, a staggering spectacle was unfolding.
A boundless ocean of demonic beasts surged from the craggy mountain ranges, thundering toward Lingtian Pass.
The horde was vast beyond measure; viewed from afar, they seemed like swarming ants.
Yet how could puny ants ever compare to the sky-swallowing demonic qi billowing across the horizon?
"They're here?"
Lin Qingxuan inhaled deeply, and in the next instant, sent out a thunderous alarm.
"Enemy attack!"
The roar burst like thunder, rolling across Lingtian Pass.
As though long prepared, fluctuations of mana from Nascent Soul True Persons began erupting toward the sky from all quarters of the city.
Lin Qingxuan had no time to count the powerhouses in the city. Instead, he subconsciously touched his eyes.
These blood-red pupils were the culmination of consuming the Jade Emperor Clear Pupil Liquid personally brewed by Luo Chen!
Its effects were extraordinary; seeing across thousands of li was only one of them.
In combat, it offered even more remarkable wonders!
If he could continue advancing it, the assistance it offered would only grow greater.
And to advance it further, the Jade Emperor Clear Pupil Liquid would be absolutely essential.
'What I said earlier was a bit indiscreet. I still need to maintain my bond with Luo Chen. In the future, I must speak well of him before outsiders.'
Thinking this, Lin Qingxuan cast another glance toward the black tide of churning demonic qi in the distance.
With just that glance, he let out a gasp of surprise.
"Huh?"
In his gaze, the massive black tide split subtly as it advanced.
It branched off into four or five smaller streams, rushing in other directions around Lingtian Pass.
Seeing this, Lin Qingxuan understood in an instant.
The cultivators of the Mingyuan Sect had been right: the demons were truly throwing everything into this war.
They didn't just want to overwhelm Lingtian Pass; they intended to engulf the surrounding domains as well.
If so, Luo Chen, currently in the Fenghua Domain, was not as safe as presumed.
Shaking his head, Lin Qingxuan reined in his mind, gathering his qi and focusing his spirit to face the impending life-and-death struggle!
If he survived it, he would gain new life, and might even rebuild the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect!
If he didn't, all would be lost!
...
Rumble! Rumble!
The sun and moon lost their luster, and the earth convulsed.
Beneath the rolling clouds of dust and smoke lay a beast horde stretching beyond the horizon!
And this was merely the Fenghua Domain to the rear of Lingtian Pass.
It was hard to imagine just how many beasts were assaulting Lingtian Pass itself.
Yet the cultivators of the Fenghua Domain had no spare thought to worry about others; all their energies were thrown into resisting the encroaching beasts.
Formations rose one after another along the rolling mountains and rivers.
Yet before the monstrous horde, the weaker sects vanished in an instant.
Gale Valley, Peacock Islet, Jinshan Temple...
Only when this massive tide collided with Fenghua Palace was it barely halted.
Having returned to Fenghua Palace a step ahead of Luo Chen, Fenghua Fairy struck immediately, drawing upon divine winds to shred the vanguard beasts to ribbons.
She then ordered her disciples to activate the formations and make use of the terrain to fight.
She herself flew out of Fenghua Palace, ascending into the nine heavens.
"Halt, Fellow Daoist! This is no place for you!"
From the boundless sea of clouds, a figure emerged and cupped his hands to Fenghua Fairy.
"Is this Fenghua Fairy before me? Canlou, subordinate to Lord Pingshan, offers his greetings!"
Fenghua Fairy's expression changed slightly. This Demon Emperor, who called himself Canlou, possessed a cultivation realm clearly around the mid-fourth rank.
Most crucially, he did not serve under some general or commander, but directly under Lord Pingshan!
Lord Pingshan!
That title alone exerted tremendous pressure.
Moreover, it meant Demon Emperors directly serving Ancient Demon Di Tian had entered the fray.
Canlou smiled faintly and waved his hand behind him.
"Leave this woman to me. Make haste to flatten the other forces in the Fenghua Domain, then encircle Lingtian Pass!"
"Yes!"
"Understood!"
"By your command!"
Several voices answered from behind him, some even sounding familiar to Fenghua Fairy.
Was a mere Fenghua Domain worth committing so many Demon Emperor-level powerhouses?
Below, the massive horde held at bay by Fenghua Palace seemed to receive orders and split again, spreading left and right toward other lands.
Such a posture made it clear: they truly intended to conquer the entirety of the Fenghua Domain!
Yet Fenghua Fairy had no time to reflect, focusing all her attention on the man before her.
"I hear Huang Fengke's physical body was destroyed by your hand?" Canlou asked with a beam.
The corner of Fenghua Fairy's mouth twitched, but she offered no explanation.
In that past battle, Gao Chang had parasitized Huang Fengke, transforming into a billowing yellow gale to flee the encirclement. It had taken her to shred Huang Fengke's true body, forcing Gao Chang to reveal himself.
For Canlou to bring this up meant he already knew some of her combat methods.
This battle would likely be exceptionally arduous.
Fenghua Fairy's heart sank steadily.
...
A "small" beast horde surged frantically southwestward.
"Small" was only in comparison to the immense tides attacking Lingtian Pass and Fenghua Palace.
In reality, the beasts in this horde numbered well over ten thousand.
Weaker ranked forces would find it difficult to withstand.
Yet after surging into a plain, this horde was met with rolling black mist. Before they could even lay eyes on an enemy, the harassment of that black mist alone caused beasts to collapse one after another.
Corpse after corpse of flesh and blood lay prone across the boundless earth.
There were no wails, no roars.
Whoosh!
A tall, slender figure landed upon Baili Qingchuan.
Tianxuan held a banner so dark it looked pitch-black, her fingers pinched in an incantation seal as the black mist swept myriad aggrieved souls back into the banner.
"This Myriad Soul Banner bestowed by Master is truly wonderful in large-scale battles!"
Upon a brief inspection, delight showed on Tianxuan's face.
She found that the Myriad Soul Banner was advancing toward a Hundred Thousand Ferocious Soul Banner. The only element lacking was likely a Nascent Soul-grade primary soul!
Suddenly!
Her brow furrowed, and her divine sense expanded outward.
Within her perception, an even greater number of beasts was advancing toward Baili Qingchuan.
Not just one horde, but at least four!
The total number had to exceed a hundred thousand!
How could a mere Luotian Sect possibly attract so many beasts?
Tianxuan had no time to ponder; she sent out a shrill voice transmission.
In the next moment, atop Mount Daqing in the distance, cultivators cast their arts and activated the grand formation.
Ripples of earthy-yellow light, like waves of water, spread ten li, fifty li, gradually enveloping all of Baili Qingchuan.
Undaunted by death, the beasts plunged straight into the vast formation without looking back.
Atop Mount Daqing.
Min Longyu sat cross-legged inside a grand hall.
Nine Foundation Establishment cultivators served under him, controlling the formation cores on his behalf.
Above the hall floated vivid water mirrors, reflecting the precise conditions outside.
"The Supreme Elder's Cloud Chess Water Mirrors are truly an excellent complement to formations, sparing the strain of divine sense surveillance."
Min Longyu sighed with appreciation, but his hands didn't slow in the slightest.
Pinching seals to direct the formation and reap the low-tier beasts entering it, he kept watch for threatening enemies inside.
"More and more Demon Kings are entering the formation!"
"They will damage the foundations of my formation. We need people to hunt them down one by one."
"I'll report their exact locations and approximate strength; inform the Sect Master, and he will assess and dispatch the elders to slay them!"
The nine Foundation Establishment disciples below promptly acknowledged.
Taking a deep breath, Min Longyu began calling them out one by one.
"At Moonlight Ridge, a centipede-type beast is coiled up, roughly early third-rank."
"At Grey Pool, an earth dragon has burst from the ground, roughly early third-rank."
"So fast! A Great Demon King has ignored the formation's restraints and charged straight to the banks of the Heishui River!"
...
Inside the Sect Master's hall.
Having received the transmissions, Li Yingzhang made swift decisions one after another.
"Shalongzi, go to Moonlight Ridge and slay that centipede Demon King!"
"Understood!" Zeng Yilong accepted the order and left.
"Elder Gu, head to Grey Pool... and be careful."
"Understood!" Coiled whip in hand, Gu Caiyi left the hall, eager to test herself.
"Elder Wang, that Great Demon King is yours!"
Wang Yuan nodded silently and leaped out of the hall.
Li Yingzhang's orders continued to pour forth.
Not a single powerhouse of the Luotian Sect defied his words.
When no one was left in the hall to command, Li Yingzhang could not help shaking his head.
Their foundation was simply too small, their manpower lacking!
The low-tier disciples had all been dispatched to garrison formation nodes, leaving only a meager handful of Golden Core elders at his disposal.
"In that case, the capable must shoulder more!"
Faced with the constant stream of enemy intel from Min Longyu, Li Yingzhang made swift, accurate assessments and assigned them to each of the Luotian Sect's Golden Core elders.
Wang Yuan was assigned the most tasks and performed the best, routinely dispatching enemies with thunderous speed.
Fairy Jueqing and Tianxuan, who had both advanced to the late Golden Core stage, did not have an easy time either; they not only had to resolve Demon Kings but also provide reinforcements across different sectors.
Even Meng Qin'er, who nominally remained a disciple of Fenghua Palace, was deployed by Li Yingzhang as a combatant, finding herself locked in bitter fighting.
Yet the formidable enemies were simply too numerous!
The Luotian Sect's strength had dwindled significantly over the years; among their Golden Core elders, Chu Kui and Fu Jiusheng had died in battle at Lingtian Pass, and no newly ascended Golden Cores had stepped up to take their place.
Li Yingzhang was truly caught trying to cook without rice.
He longed to throw himself onto the battlefield in person, but he had to hold the center and oversee the entire situation.
"I finally understand how Sect Master Sima felt all those years—having strength but nowhere to apply it."
A bitter smile crossed Li Yingzhang's face.
Even so, he wondered: why hadn't the Supreme Elder made a move?
With the Supreme Elder's strength, not to mention a few dozen Demon Kings, even that sky-blanketing horde of over a hundred thousand beasts could surely be wiped out with a flick of his sleeve!
What was he waiting for?
...
In the void.
Four figures stood atop the clouds, gazing down at the boundless slaughter below.
A burly man bearing a broadsword with golden rings wore an impatient expression.
"We've brought in a hundred thousand of our boys and gathered twenty-eight Demon Kings. Why are we still standing by? Can you three brothers not break this formation below?"
Lu Changsheng said fawningly, "Lord Di Tu, please don't be hasty. The formation below is simple enough, but our target on this expedition is not these weak humans."
Di Tu gave a cold snort and did not refute him.
Only one or two Demon Emperors had been sent to the other domains, yet Father had taken great pains regarding the Fenghua Domain.
Not only did he have that lad Canlou lead the charge, but he also dispatched Di Tu himself and the three Lu brothers.
Such a lineup would be considered lavish under ordinary circumstances.
Even now, it should have been a major force storming Lingtian Pass.
Yet it had been deployed to the Fenghua Domain!
What they sought was, naturally, the famed Alchemy Grandmaster Luo Chen!
That fellow possessed heaven-defying alchemical prowess, and rumors even said he had ties to Mount Cangwu.
If they could capture him, it would be an immense achievement.
Whether his eldest brother, Huang Man, could conquer Lingtian Pass remained unknown, but Di Tu was determined to capture the Alchemy Grandmaster and fulfill Father's task without fail!
Yet until this moment, he hadn't seen the man show his face.
Was a siege of a hundred thousand beasts against Baili Qingchuan still not enough pressure?
Di Tu frowned as he looked down, his gaze involuntarily drawn to a figure sweeping across the field, drenched in demon blood.
"That fellow..."
Suddenly!
Above Baili Qingchuan, sword silk like darting fish diffused into the air, and boundless sword qi cleaved the void, coordinating with the Golden Core cultivators to strangle the third-rank Demon Kings one by one.
"He finally couldn't sit still!"
Lu Changsheng's eyes lit up, and he barked in a low voice:
"Strike!"
Chapter 850