A Farmer's Journey To Immortality

’Looks like there’s no backup coming.

’I even tried to call out those two old bastards and the two vixens using half of the precious 3rd Order resources I had from my collection.

’And yet nobody’s responding. Aksai can’t be contacted either.

’Should.. Should I make a move on my own?’

The Purple River Lord had a sudden impulse to act but he controlled it. The two old bastards and two vixens he referred to were obviously the remaining Lords from the Big Five Sects.

Judging by the spirit pressure radiating from his opponent, Purple River Lord knew one thing clearly. This enemy was not weaker than him.

Not even slightly.

That fact alone disturbed him deeply.

His expression remained calm on the surface. But inwardly, his thoughts had already become chaotic.

Earlier, he had already received intelligence reports through his secret alliance with Aksai.

Thanks to Aksai’s reports, he already knew about these faction’s existence. The hidden faction’s potential overt and covert strengths were also detailed in. But the earlier assessments were redrawn by Aksai a few days ago.

Those reports had warned the Purple River Sect that the royal faction was far more dangerous than they originally believed.

At first, he had doubted some parts of the information. A faction that has Core Formation Lords in it has remained hidden on this subcontinent? For what purpose? Was hiding strength that rewarding?

Maybe Aksai had fought with an exception.

Now—

Looking at the masked Lord standing before him, he could no longer doubt anything.

He had already learned that Aksai had personally killed one Core Formation Lord connected to the royal faction not long ago. And it could be easily verified by him by keeping tabs on the intel that came from the five kingdoms.

That information alone had shocked him. But now, another Lord had suddenly appeared.

And this one was clearly powerful.

Purple River Lord had lived for hundreds of years. He had always believed that people like him and the other Lords of the Big Five Sects stood at the top of the Dadangar Subcontinent.

In his mind, they were the true rulers of this land.

The royal families were merely secular powers controlling mortals and weak rogue cultivators.

At least—

That was what everyone believed.

Yet reality was now slapping him across the face.

The royal faction had hidden far more strength than anyone had expected. It seemed that the saying was indeed true. There was always a heaven above heaven.

Not only had they secretly developed forces capable of directly attacking one of the Big Five Sects—

They had also managed to hide the existence of another Core Formation Lord among their ranks all this time.

Purple River Lord slowly narrowed his eyes. His gaze sharpened. For a brief moment, he looked downward again.

Another explosion erupted below. Three more sect disciples died instantly. His fingers twitched slightly. But he forced himself to remain calm.

He had fought countless battles in his life. He was not some inexperienced Lord who would lose composure simply because of an unexpected situation.

Fear and surprise had no place in a battlefield like this. Slowly, he shifted his attention back toward the masked figure.

The cold wind howled between them. The moonlight reflected faintly against both their floating bodies. Then Purple River Lord finally spoke. His voice was calm and cold, carrying clear hostility.

"It seems the royal faction has finally decided to show their fangs out in the open."

He paused briefly. His eyes remained locked on the masked Lord. Then he spoke again.

"Since you have already gone this far..."

A faint sneer appeared on his face.

"...might I have the honor of knowing your esteemed Lordship’s name?"

In response to Purple River Lord’s inquiry, the masked Lord tilted her head downward and looked at the battlefield below.

At this point, the outcome had already become obvious.

The Purple River Sect disciples were collapsing faster and faster. Their formations had broken apart completely. Their Foundation Establishment elders were being hunted down one after another. The remaining disciples were desperately fighting for survival, but it was already too late.

Victory was certain.

A faint smile slowly appeared beneath the lower edge of the mask. Then the masked Lord finally raised one hand. She slowly removed her mask.

Under the moonlight, a breathtaking face was revealed.

It was a woman.

Her beauty was striking enough to make ordinary men lose themselves in a single glance.

She looked mature, like a woman who had experienced much in life. Yet strangely, her skin looked youthful and flawless. There was not a single sign of age on her face.

Her long dark hair danced softly in the cold wind. Her sharp eyes carried a dangerous kind of confidence. It was the face of someone who had complete control over everything happening here tonight.

She looked at the Purple River Lord and smiled faintly.

"Old man," she said in a calm voice, almost amused.

"What will you do by learning my name at this stage?"

Her smile widened slightly.

"Don’t you know that you are about to die along with your sect members?"

Her voice carried absolute confidence. It was not arrogance. It was certainty.

Everything happening tonight had unfolded exactly according to her plans. Not a single mistake had occurred.

From the moment the Purple River Sect disciples entered this forest, their fate had already been sealed.

The Purple River Lord narrowed his eyes.

This woman, she was indeed a calamity for his sect. And unlike the cultivators of the Dadangar Subcontinent, something about her felt... different.

Her aura was powerful, yes. But more than that...

There was refinement in the way her spirit essence moved around her body.

Too clean. Too polished. Too stable. For some reason, the Purple River Lord felt like this was not the aura of someone who had grown up in this subcontinent.

The Purple River Lord once again remembered the intelligence reports he had received earlier. The reports about the royal faction and their hidden connections beyond the Dadangar Subcontinent.

About the Shinayin Empire, his expression turned even colder. As a Core Formation Lord, of course he knew about the Shinayin Empire. He had even dreamt of going there in the past as a Foundation Establishment Expert. However, when he learned more about it after becoming a Lord, he gave up.

In short, it was better to remain big fish in a small pond than become small fish in a big pond.

Meanwhile, the woman simply stared at the Purple River Lord calmly.

The truth was—

She could have attacked him much earlier. Yet she had deliberately chosen not to. It was not because she feared him.

Far from it.

The real reason was simple.

Her superiors inside the royal faction had warned her beforehand.

There was a possibility.

A backup might arrive for the Purple River Lord tonight.

Of course...

They were not referring to the Lords belonging to the Big Five righteous sects.

Nor the Lords from the Major Three demonic sects ruling the Wild Devil Lands.

The royal faction had already accounted for them.

For the last several weeks, they had secretly kept tabs on every known Core Formation Lord in the entire Dadangar Subcontinent.

Using hidden spies, misinformation campaigns, secret sabotage, and carefully arranged distractions...

They had ensured that none of those Lords would be free tonight.

Every possible reinforcement had already been neutralized before the battle had even begun.

Of course, even if reinforcements did arrive, the royal faction could simply choose to deploy more Lords. But it seemed that someone within the royal faction wanted to achieve a perfect score by obtaining the highest possible efficiency while conquering this subcontinent.

This was not about flexing the royal faction’s muscles. This was about securing a clean victory without ruining the riches of this land or alerting the rival forces.

Even though the higher-ups of the royal faction treated all of this like a game, they played seriously... with the intention not just to win, but to win with a perfect score.

As far as the royal faction was concerned, the existing Lords of this subcontinent were not worth worrying about anyway.

It was just that the higher-ups had adopted the stance of a lion that would pounce on rabbits with the same ferocity it displayed while dealing with a predator of equal caliber.

However, the attitude of the higher-ups was not shared by the bewitching woman. She could not help but look down on the Lords of this land. Were they even qualified to call themselves Lords?

Compared to the powers beyond this land, the Lords of this subcontinent were mediocre at best.

The woman herself knew this better than anyone by drawing an obvious comparison in her mind.

After all...

She was indeed not from the Dadangar Subcontinent.

Her thoughts drifted briefly toward the reason everything had begun changing recently.

For centuries, the Dadangar Subcontinent had remained weak.

Spirit cultivation here had stagnated.

Very few cultivators could progress beyond the Foundation Establishment Realm, let alone reach the Core Formation Realm.

This was apparent from the size-to-Lord ratio of the subcontinent. Such a vast landmass could barely produce Lords in double digits within a single era.

In the woman’s eyes, that was quite an "achievement."