Caught off guard, the two immortal cultivators high in the sky took the hit head-on.
Yet there was no gory spectacle of torn flesh. Ripples merely drifted out around the two of them, some invisible power deflecting the surging wave of bullets in its entirety.
"Oh? What sort of magical artifact is this?" Faced with a sudden ambush by over a thousand mortals, the two cultivators remained entirely unfazed. Reaching out with his right hand, Kou Hong drew a soldier up into the sky through the air. He examined the firearm seized from the soldier's grasp while casually flinging the man away.
"Rather interesting. Using intricate mechanical structures in place of spell formations, and the explosive force of mortal matter instead of spiritual energy, yet able to unleash power on par with early Qi Condensation..." With a single glance, Kou Hong saw through the weapon's underlying principles.
He shook his head. "To think that after several millennia, mortals banished to this land severed from immortality could devise such an ingenious contrivance. A pity it works only in this place of broken Great Dao. Beyond the borders of this land severed from immortality, it is nothing more than useless scrap iron." With that, the firearm in his hand vanished, tucked away into his storage with an offhand gesture.
"Mere mortals daring to lay hands upon immortal cultivators like us. I originally felt a slight twinge of guilt, but it seems you brought death upon yourselves!"
Looking down from on high at the countless mortal soldiers densely packed in the dark, Kou Hong's eyes held only contempt.
His right hand tapped swiftly in the air before him, tracing profound trails through the void.
Countless sparks flared out of the darkness, swelling in an instant into enormous fireballs like a wild blaze sweeping the plains.
"Dao Art: Roar of the Fire Dragon!"
At Kou Hong's cold, commanding shout, ribbons of crimson flame used these massive fireballs as nodes, expanding outward in unison. Within mere moments, the crimson fire linked the sky full of fireballs together like sinew and flesh.
A ferocious, colossal dragon formed of crimson flames materialized, coiling high above the city of Xuanjing.
Rearing its head, the fire dragon loosed a resounding roar, flexed its body, and plunged violently toward the ground below.
*Boom!*
A deafening explosion rang out repeatedly.
The buildings of Xuanjing were like flimsy toys, crushed with effortless ease without the slightest ability to resist.
And as if possessed of a mind of its own, the crimson fire swallowed and incinerated everything it touched upon striking the ground.
In the blink of an eye, Xuanjing transformed into a raging sea of flames—a living purgatory!
Yet Kou Hong, who had brought all this about, furrowed his brow in deep suspicion and unease.
For he realized that despite how wretched Xuanjing appeared below, the vast majority of the soldiers had somehow survived his strike!
One had to understand that the Roar of the Fire Dragon he had unleashed in fury was struck with his full might.
The power of a cultivator at the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment was simply not something mortals could withstand!
Even if those soldiers were well-trained—fetching protective gear and ducking into corners of buildings the instant they saw him cast the spell—their casualties should have been vastly higher than this!
What was happening?!
Both shocked and bewildered, Kou Hong suddenly noticed something. Beckoning with his hand, he drew up one of the small metal projectiles that had showered him earlier—easily repelled by his protective spiritual energy—now littering the ground.
"This is..." Kou Hong's expression changed drastically. He swept a vigilant gaze all around, the contempt in his eyes instantly replaced by dread.
"These concealed weapons were soaked in mortal blood. It's the immortal-mortal miasma..." Dao Xuanzi's voice reached him, his complexion equally grim.
"We were ambushed the moment we arrived, and they even employed immortal-mortal miasma. They clearly came prepared. Could an immortal cultivator be directing these mortals from behind the scenes?" The two exchanged a glance, numerous thoughts flashing through their minds. "Regardless, this place is bizarre. We shouldn't linger."
Though Dao Xuanzi and Kou Hong could draw blades against one another over a Core Formation cultivation method, that was a matter between the two of them.
Now that an unforeseen variable had arisen, the two men—sharing a century of mutual understanding—subconsciously chose to slip away first, even when facing a mere few thousand mortals.
Perhaps sensing their intent, the gunfire that had paused in the wake of the Roar of the Fire Dragon erupted once more!
This only confirmed Dao Xuanzi and Kou Hong's suspicions.
These mortals clearly harbored a calculated purpose!
"Go!" Just as the two prepared to flee, a voice rang out from below.
"Dao Xuanzi! Kou Hong! If the two of you flee today, word that you acquired a Core Formation cultivation method will spread across the entire cultivation world by tomorrow!"
The voice came from every direction in Xuanjing, echoing through the night without end.
It sounded somewhat aged, yet the tone was absolute and cold.
Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi froze in midair, their faces drained of color and filled with disbelief.
"How is that possible? The two of us were the only ones who knew about obtaining the Core Formation technique! How could word have leaked?" For a moment, both plunged into profound dread.
Venturing together into the immortal cave, Kou Hong snatching the technique and fleeing, Dao Xuanzi pursuing relentlessly, Kou Hong taking a desperate gamble to plunge into this land severed from immortality in search of a glimmer of survival...
Every person and encounter throughout flashed across their minds one by one.
Just who was it?!
Even as their minds were violently shaken, nearly overwhelmed, dozens of artillery shells with long trailing tails of flame shot toward them from unexpected angles throughout the darkness.
"Courting death!" Snapping out of his shock, Kou Hong flared with even greater fury.
"Dao Art: Flame Cinder Burst!"
A massive ring of fire began to take shape out of thin air.
"Not good! Kou Hong, get away!" Dao Xuanzi's urgent cry rang out at that very moment.
"What?" Kou Hong froze. As his divine sense swept out, sheer terror washed over his face.
He tried to dodge, but it was already too late.
Dozens of shells detonated beside them.
There was no deafening blast—only bursts of dark red liquid erupting around them, forming a localized shower of blood that drenched both cultivators to the bone!
"Ahhh—!"
A bloodcurdling scream tore through the heavens.
At the same time, the aura that had struck mortal hearts with awe rapidly plummeted.
Withstanding it for only a few moments, the two could endure no longer and crashed down from the sky.
Over a thousand soldiers, firearms raised, surrounded them on all sides.
Yet the present state of these two "immortals" sent a chill through the hearts of even these specially trained deathsworn soldiers, who held their own lives of no account.
Dao Xuanzi and Kou Hong had originally possessed the appearance of young men in their twenties or thirties. But after being drenched in that rain of blood, their hair turned snow-white in an instant. Within the span of a few breaths, both aged dramatically, their faces covered in a dense web of horrifying wrinkles.
Hunched over, they slumped upon the ground. Kou Hong was drawing his last breaths, on the verge of death. Dao Xuanzi, possessing deeper cultivation, seemed slightly better off, but he too was merely clinging to life.
The once-lofty immortal masters had actually been reduced to such a wretched state!
It was not just the soldiers present; even Li Fan, directing everything from the shadows in the rear, felt an inexplicable chill run down his spine upon hearing his subordinates' report.
"Immortal Masters, our Grand Preceptor commands that if the two of you surrender without resistance, your lives may be spared!" a soldier shouted from a distance.
"Surrender without resistance..." Grievously wounded, Dao Xuanzi looked at his dear friend beside him, whose eyes burned with bitter unwillingness, who wanted to say something but could no longer speak. A cold sneer suddenly escaped Dao Xuanzi's lips.
Seeing Dao Xuanzi's gesture, Kou Hong already knew what he intended to do.
Shaking his head faintly, he summoned his final ounce of strength to pass his storage ring into Dao Xuanzi's grasp.
"Go..." Kou Hong's lips parted slightly, and then his head slumped forward as he breathed his last.
High in the sky, an anomaly suddenly manifested!
A crimson horned dragon appeared above. It seemed in excruciating agony, thrashing and roaring, struggling to break free of something.
Yet all effort proved futile.
It withered away before their eyes, reduced to mere skin and bone in an instant.
A moment later, the entire horned dragon was devoured clean, leaving behind neither flesh nor bone.
Only then did onlookers see clearly that an ordinary-looking, tea-brown branch had taken root and sprouted within the dragon's body, consuming it entirely!
Though common wood, it could still swallow a dragon!
This magnificent spectacle illuminated the sky for thousands of li around like dazzling fireworks.
In the minds of every living being who witnessed this sight, whether human or beast, a passage of words arose naturally:
"Foundation Establishment cultivator Kou Hong, having cultivated the Dao for two hundred and five years, forged his Dao foundation through the wonder known as the Horned Dragon Branch. In this land severed from immortality, he was besieged by thousands of mortals and inadvertently harmed by immortal-mortal miasma."
"Cultivation lost in an instant, lifespan near its end."
"Now his body perishes and his Dao disperses, returning the Dao to Heaven!"
Grief for one's own kind, sorrowful empathy, an ache that could not be suppressed...
All living beings around Xuanjing blanketed beneath this anomaly sank into such emotions, unable to master themselves.
The magnificent phenomenon persisted for nearly half an hour before finally fading away.
The soldiers at last gathered their wits, looking in silence at the remaining aged cultivator in their midst.
"Immortal Master Dao Xuanzi, our Grand Preceptor has no wish to fight you to the bitter end. If you cease resisting, our Grand Preceptor guarantees your safety..." The soldiers continued to call out per Li Fan's instructions.
From the shadows, however, Li Fan let out an inward sigh, knowing his attempt to capture an immortal in this life had failed.
He had never expected the immortal-mortal miasma's lethality against cultivators to be so terrifying.
As anticipated, Dao Xuanzi turned a completely deaf ear to the shouts.
He merely looked up at the fading sky, his eyes brimmed with nostalgic longing.
"The Horned Dragon Branch..."
After a long while, he pulled back his gaze and struggled to straighten his hunched back.
Sweeping his eyes over the surroundings, Dao Xuanzi sought the mastermind behind the scenes.
"I do not know who you are," he said toward Li Fan's direction. "Nor do I know your aim."
"Perhaps it is for this Core Formation technique, or perhaps for something else." Dao Xuanzi glanced down at the storage ring on his finger, his tone turning calm. "Now that my brother and I have fallen into your trap and met our demise, we should have nothing left to say."
"Yet I am not resigned," Dao Xuanzi said coldly.
"To trail behind us all this way, knowing our affairs like the back of your hand without being discovered, your cultivation must be formidable."
"That someone like you dared not face us head-on is one thing. But to resort to such underhanded schemes, hiding behind mortals and even deploying immortal-mortal miasma—vile filth scorned by all who cultivate..."
Dao Xuanzi drew a deep breath.
"My brother Kou Hong died at the hands of someone like you; I grieve that his end was squandered on the likes of you."
Dao Xuanzi slowly rose into the air, looking down once more at the instantly guarded crowd, his face devoid of joy or grief.
"You have already witnessed my brother's Foundation Establishment wonder. Now, I invite you all to look upon mine."
"With the wonders of Heaven and Earth, I forged my Dao foundation!" Dao Xuanzi chanted aloud.
"My Dao foundation is named: Dao Xuan!"
A colossal, battered iron sword materialized in the sky above Xuanjing.
Every living being beneath the giant sword's shadow felt their thoughts turn dull and sluggish, like rusted gears grinding to a halt.
"I have a sword—I invite you all to behold it!"
Brilliant light suddenly flooded the heavens and earth, and every soul within Xuanjing froze as though trapped in absolute stillness.
Then, like glass spiderwebbed with countless fractures, the entirety of Xuanjing shattered into pieces in a single instant!
"True Reversion."
As the charge progress plummeted, in the instant before his consciousness vanished, Li Fan uttered the words within his heart.
Chapter 4