Chapter 74: Ferocious Assault on the Northern Alliance

A moment later.

Jiuyou raised his hand and refined the souls of those two, absorbing their memories in the process.

"From the memories of these two, the language, script, culture, and customs on this Lingchuan Continent are extremely similar to those of the Tianyuan Sea human race. It seems the three Grand Cultivators weren’t lying; the Abyssal Sea human race did indeed migrate from Lingchuan Continent. Even if not, there’s a deep connection between them."

He lifted his brow, gazing at the distant, continuous mountain ranges.

"So this place is called Thousand Gorge Mountain Range. Deep within the mountains lie two sects and one school. Those two Golden Core Cultivators came from the Heavenly Sword Sect among them. Additionally, there’s the Hundred Gorge Sect and the Tian Mountain Sect. Each sect has two Nascent Soul Cultivators stationed there. Among them, the Heavenly Sword Sect is the strongest, with one Mid-Nascent Soul and one Early Nascent Soul. The other two sects each have two Early Nascent Soul Cultivators."

"That’s still a considerable force."

Jiuyou waved his hand and transformed back into his previous elderly appearance: a gaunt face, murky aged eyes, and his aura once again turning cold and deep. He took out his communication jade token from his waist, probed it with his Divine Sense, and read the message that had just arrived.

After a moment, he looked up again toward the depths of the mountain range, a faint smirk curling at the corner of his mouth.

"Three-pronged assault targeting the three sects. Looks like it’s going to be a lightning war, quick and decisive. The three Grand Cultivators must have discussed it long ago after obtaining the continental power distribution map. Their plan is to first take Thousand Gorge Mountain Range as a temporary stronghold. Once the rear forces arrive, they’ll have a place to set foot."

He paused, finding it amusing.

The vanguard was, naturally, the strongest combat power of the Tianyuan Sea. He Taiyi was leading the team personally, including him, a full twenty Mid-Nascent Soul Cultivators, plus one hundred and fifty Early Nascent Soul Cultivators—nearly half of the entire Tianyuan Sea’s high-level combat strength, all pressing down on this continent.

The Thousand Gorge Mountain Range had a total of six Nascent Soul Cultivators, the strongest being merely a Mid-Nascent Soul.

One hundred seventy-one against six.

Advantage: ours.

……

Thousand Gorge Mountain Range, Hundred Gorge Sect.

The mountain gate was built halfway up the peak, shrouded in mist and clouds, with pavilions scattered throughout. Though the sect wasn’t considered top-tier, within a radius of several thousand miles, it was an undisputed overlord. This day, the mountain gate was peaceful; disciples were either cultivating or sparring, completely unaware of the impending catastrophe.

Suddenly, the sky above the mountain gate darkened.

It wasn’t dark clouds. It wasn’t nightfall.

It were countless warships and spirit boats.

Dense, blotting out the sun, covering the entire sky. Each warship shimmered with spiritual light, its oppressive might rolling forth. Thousands of warships hovered in the high sky, like a moving steel city, compressing the air below until it grew stagnant.

The disciples of Hundred Gorge Sect looked up, stunned.

"What... what is that?"

A disciple’s mouth hung open; the magical tool in his hand slipped and clattered to the ground, but he didn’t even notice.

"Spirit boats? Where did so many spirit boats come from?"

"Look! People are standing on those warships! They’re all cultivators!"

"How is that possible? That many cultivators... must be at least over a hundred thousand, right?"

Above the sect, alarm spiritual light flashed wildly.

The Sect Master of Hundred Gorge Sect, an Early Nascent Soul Cultivator, was in seclusion in the Grand Hall. Sensing the overwhelming pressure of spirit bearing down from outside, he snapped his eyes open, his form flickering as he shot out of the hall.

The moment he looked up and saw the sky full of warships, his face turned ashen white.

"This... this is impossible!"

His voice trembled.

At the front of the warship formation stood dozens of figures with their hands clasped behind their backs.

Each figure exuded an aura that made him feel suffocated—Nascent Soul Cultivators. And not just one or two, but dozens!

Among them, standing at the very front, was Jiuyou. Behind him, six Mid-Nascent Soul Cultivators stood side by side, with dozens of Early Nascent Soul Cultivators scattered on either side.

"Fellow Daoist! May I ask what faction you represent? Has my Hundred Gorge Sect offended you in any way?"

The Sect Master of Hundred Gorge Sect suppressed his terror, flew forward, and clasped his hands in salute, his voice dripping with extreme deference.

Jiuyou looked down from his lofty height at the insignificant Hundred Gorge Sect below, a cold, icy smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

"Offended?"

His voice was hoarse, like the grinding of rusty iron.

"You haven’t offended this old man. I’m just borrowing your sect’s grounds."

The Sect Master’s face stiffened.

"Fellow Daoist, this..."

"Too much useless talk."

Jiuyou raised his hand, too lazy to waste more words.

The Golden Sun Heavenly Mountain flew out from his sleeve, transforming into a streak of golden light, swift as lightning. The Early Nascent Soul Cultivator had no time to react, not even to summon a defensive magical artifact, before the Golden Sun Heavenly Mountain slammed into him with a thunderous crash.

Boom—!

A deafening sound.

The cultivator’s physical body shattered, his Nascent Soul flying out from the fragments of flesh, his face full of terror as he prepared to flee. But the Nether Capital Gate behind Jiuyou had already opened. A massive, eerie-blue hand reached out from the gate, seized the Nascent Soul in a firm grip, and dragged it inside.

The entire process took less than a single breath.

The entire Hundred Gorge Sect fell into a dead silence.

Everyone stared blankly at the figure standing with hands clasped behind his back, their eyes filled with despair.

The Sect Master—a Nascent Soul Stage Sect Master—had been killed with a single move by that person?

"Disciples of Hundred Gorge Sect, listen well."

Jiuyou’s voice echoed through heaven and earth, utterly devoid of emotion.

"Those who surrender will not be killed. Those who resist will be slaughtered without mercy."

A moment of silence.

The other Nascent Soul Cultivator of Hundred Gorge Sect arrived belatedly, witnessed the scene, looked at the dozens of Nascent Soul Cultivators on the opposing side, then at himself. Without the slightest hesitation, he knelt and surrendered.

When the other disciples saw this, they couldn’t muster any resistance either.

A moment later, not a single person remained standing within the Hundred Gorge Sect’s mountain gate; all were kneeling on the ground.

At the same time, at the other two locations within the Thousand Gorge Mountain Range.

Heavenly Sword Sect.

He Taiyi led the team personally.

The overwhelming pressure of the Grand Cultivator descended like a mountain. The Heavenly Sword Sect’s Supreme Elder, a Mid-Nascent Soul Cultivator, only managed to hold out for three exchanges before He Taiyi crushed his physical body with a single palm strike. The remaining disciples, seeing the situation was hopeless, all surrendered.

Tian Mountain Sect.

Blood Sea True Person, Wei Kun, and over a dozen other Mid-Nascent Soul Cultivators joined forces. The two Early Nascent Soul Cultivators of Tian Mountain Sect couldn’t even activate their mountain-protecting grand formation before they were captured alive.

The three sects were annihilated in less than half an hour.

The news spread throughout the entire mountain range. Every medium and small power, rogue cultivator, and marketplace was horrified.

Over the next few days, the Tianyuan Sea vanguard used the Thousand Gorge Mountain Range as a foundation and rapidly expanded outward.

Dozens of medium and small powers within the mountain range either surrendered at the sight of the approaching army or put up a token resistance before being crushed. Over a dozen marketplaces were taken over, and all spiritual veins, mineral deposits, and medicine gardens fell into their hands.

The warship fleet traveled day and night, planting the banners of the Three Alliance Council all across the mountain range.

The news spread, shaking an area spanning millions of miles.

The cultivators of the Lingchuan Continent had never seen such a display—so many Nascent Soul Cultivators, so many warships, such a well-trained army.

Some called them "visitors from overseas," others called them "demons descended from the heavens."

But most people watched in fear, waiting and seeing.

A few more days passed.

Northern Heaven Alliance, Headquarters.

In the main Grand Hall, the Alliance Leader, Northern Sky Lord, had a face as dark as iron. He slammed the stone table in front of him, shattering it with a vicious blow.

His gaze swept over the many Nascent Soul Cultivators in the hall, his voice cold enough to freeze.

"Can any of you tell this lord where these people came from? How many are there? What cultivation levels?"

The hall fell into a dead silence.

An Early Nascent Soul Cultivator braced himself and spoke up.

"Alliance Leader, according to reports from fleeing disciples, the enemy warships blotted out the sun. There are hundreds of Nascent Soul Cultivators. At least one of them is a Grand Cultivator. No, I suspect there’s more than one. They came with fierce momentum and are well-trained—definitely not some rabble of rogue cultivators."

"Hundreds of Nascent Souls?"

Another elder drew a sharp breath.

"How is that possible? Even if we gather all the Nascent Soul Cultivators in the entire Northern Heaven Alliance, we wouldn’t have that many!"

"Regardless of whether it’s possible or not, they’ve already arrived. Now, a small portion of our Northern Heaven Alliance’s territory has fallen into their hands."

Northern Sky Lord said in a deep voice.

"Pass down the order: assemble all combat power and prepare for battle."

Another silence fell over the hall.

An elder said quietly, "Alliance Leader, with our current strength... I’m afraid we can’t hold them off."

Northern Sky Lord closed his eyes. It was a long time before he opened them again.

"Even if we can’t hold them off, we still have to fight. Otherwise, the Northern Heaven Alliance’s legacy of tens of thousands of years will be destroyed in our hands."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the crowd.

"Oh, and notify the other three major alliances. These people have come with a fierce momentum, and their goal is clearly not just us, but the entire Lingchuan Continent. I don’t believe the other three can sit idly by while these outsiders pick us off one by one."

As his words fell, the hall fell into a dead silence.