Chapter 588 - 74: Fighting to the Death, the Great Victory in Ling Province (Part 2)

And so, the brutal war finally came to a close.

Hex Tai was dead, Rong Mingtao was critically injured, Vast Sea was reduced to a mere wisp of a remnant soul, and Song Changsheng’s fate was unknown...

「Ling Province, Vast Mist Peak.」

Ever since the last battle, the Lieyang Sect and the Rong Clan had been acting like turtles with their heads pulled into their shells. They neither advanced nor retreated, which was strangely unsettling.

Song Luzhou watched the motionless enemy outside the mountain, a faint sense of unease creeping into his heart. ’They haven’t made a move in over a month,’ he thought. ’Are they preparing a new way to break our array?’

Just as he was thinking, a streak of light suddenly shot toward him from the horizon.

’A Communication Flying Sword?’

Song Luzhou reached out, puzzled, and caught the flying sword. After reading the message it contained, his expression changed drastically, and he rushed to the Minor Affairs Hall.

At that moment, Song Xianming and Yuann Tianshu were analyzing the enemy’s potential array-breaking tactics. Seeing the panic on Song Luzhou’s face, Song Xianming asked, "Why the alarm? What happened?"

The situation was urgent, so Song Luzhou dispensed with formalities. "Changsheng has been ambushed by Hex Tai, Rong Mingtao, and Vast Sea!" he said breathlessly. "He’s calling to the clan for reinforcements!"

The words had barely left his mouth when Song Xianming shot to his feet. "Impossible!" he roared. "Changsheng is still in seclusion! Even if he had a breakthrough, he would have taken the Space Transmission Array back to Vast Mist Peak. How could he possibly be ambushed by Hex Tai and the others?

"In my opinion, this must be a trick by Hex Tai and his cohorts!"

Yuann Tianshu, who was standing to the side, nodded in agreement. "Indeed. Vast Sea perished years ago. How could he be ambushing the Clan Leader alongside Hex Tai? I fear this is a ploy to lure us out."

"But the seal and the Divine Soul Seal can’t be fake," Song Luzhou said, his face grim, as he handed the Communication Flying Sword to Song Xianming.

Song Xianming took one look, and his expression turned grim. He nodded heavily. "It is indeed Sheng’er’s."

"But that shouldn’t be possible. How could this happen?" Yuann Tianshu stroked his beard, completely perplexed.

Just then, an old man with white hair and a white beard stepped out from behind Song Xianming. "There’s one way to find out if it’s real," he said in a deep voice.

Song Luzhou was startled. He hadn’t even noticed the man’s appearance. "Who are you?" he demanded sharply.

"Luzhou, this is an old friend of the Great City Lord, Fellow Daoist Drunkard. He is here to help us at the Great City Lord’s request. Do not be rude," Song Xianming quickly interjected.

Hearing this, Song Luzhou realized the old man was an ally, not an enemy. He quickly bowed. "I spoke out of turn. Please forgive my offense, Senior."

The Drunkard waved a dismissive hand. "No offense taken. Besides, I was the one who appeared so abruptly. Your reaction was perfectly normal."

"Fellow Daoist Drunkard, what did you mean by that?" Song Xianming asked, unable to contain his impatience.

"Simple. We charge out and attack them directly!" The Drunkard lifted his gourd, took a swig of wine, and a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

"Hey, look! The mist is clearing! Go report to the Sect Leader, quickly!" Inside the Lieyang Sect’s camp, a disciple pointed toward Vast Mist Peak and spoke to the tall cultivator beside him.

The man nodded and was about to turn and leave, but he noticed the other disciple’s expression had turned ghastly. "What’s wrong?" he asked with concern. "Are your injuries from last time acting up?"

The disciple didn’t answer. Instead, he raised a trembling hand and pointed forward.

The tall cultivator turned to look and saw three figures with overwhelming auras streaking directly toward their camp from Vast Mist Peak.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!" the tall cultivator immediately screamed.

The entire Lieyang Sect camp, along with the Rong Clan’s, immediately erupted into chaos.

Zhang Hongguang emerged from the main tent upon hearing the commotion. Seeing the chaos around him, his face turned grim. "I am here!" he roared. "What is there to panic about?"

At his words, the Lieyang Sect disciples seemed to find their resolve. They instantly quieted down and, under the direction of the Elders, began to methodically organize their defenses.

Zhang Hongguang nodded in satisfaction and went to the front of the defensive array. He saw Song Xianming, Yuann Tianshu, and an unknown Purple Mansion Cultivator charging toward them.

At that moment, his eyes nearly popped out of his head. ’Where did a Mid-stage Purple Mansion Cultivator come from?’ he muttered in disbelief.

"Sect Leader, it seems the Song Clan has called for reinforcements. Where is the Supreme Elder?" Elder Hex Beishui asked as he approached Zhang Hongguang, his expression grave.

Zhang Hongguang’s mind was in utter turmoil; he hadn’t heard a word the Elder said.

The others might not know, but he knew perfectly well: Hex Tai and his group weren’t in the camp. The two other reinforcements they’d hired from who-knows-where had also long since departed. He was the only Purple Mansion Cultivator left in the entire camp.

If it were just Song Xianming and Yuann Tianshu, he could have held them off for a while using the array. But now that a Mid-stage Purple Mansion Cultivator had appeared out of thin air, he began to lose his nerve.

He didn’t snap out of it until Hex Beishui had repeated his question several times.

Glancing at the three approaching figures, Zhang Hongguang feigned composure. "The Supreme Elder and the other esteemed Daoists are preparing to break the array. You lead the men and hold them off for a bit. I will personally inform the Supreme Elder to face the enemy."

Hex Beishui, suspecting nothing, immediately cupped his hands. "Understood. Please hurry and inform the Ascendants, Sect Leader. I cannot hold them for long."

With that, he rallied the surrounding disciples and charged forward to intercept the attackers.

In an instant, Zhang Hongguang was left standing alone before the main tent.

He watched their retreating backs and whispered, "Don’t blame me... I can’t die here..."

With that, he deactivated the defensive array and fled, deserting his post. He left Hex Beishui and the others staring in stunned silence as their protection dissipated around them.

"Look, someone’s escaping!" Yuann Tianshu suddenly exclaimed.

"It’s Zhang Hongguang. It seems the message was true after all—Hex Tai and the others really aren’t here." Song Xianming recognized the deserter at a glance, and his expression darkened.

"Then it seems Young Friend Song is in great danger."

Song Xianming turned to Yuann Tianshu. "I’ll have to trouble you to handle things here, Fellow Daoist Yuann. Fellow Daoist Drunkard and I must go reinforce Changsheng immediately."

"Rest assured, Fellow Daoist Song," Yuann Tianshu replied in a solemn tone. "I will not fail you!"

Watching the two transform into streaks of light and depart, Yuann Tianshu looked down upon the chaotic Lieyang Sect camp below. A strange anger welled up within him, and he gritted his teeth. "A pack of shameless cowards!"

With that, he gathered mana in his palm and began a one-sided slaughter of the Lieyang Sect disciples below.

Without an array for protection or a Purple Mansion Cultivator to lead them, the Qi Cultivation and Foundation Establishment Cultivators were utterly powerless before Yuann Tianshu. They quickly suffered devastating casualties.

By now, the smarter ones had realized something was wrong and simply abandoned their positions and fled.

It started with one or two, but soon grew into a flood. Their morale had shattered, and they had long since lost the will to fight. They scrambled over each other to escape, cursing their parents for not giving them more legs.

Having received the news, Song Luzhou also led the clan’s elites out to join the fray. Old grudges and new hatreds surged within them, and in their fury, they unleashed a frenzied and bloody retaliation upon the cultivators of the Lieyang Sect and the Rong Clan.

In an instant, the battlefield was filled with agonizing screams.

A group of Rong Clan members rallied around their remaining Elder and attempted to break through to the north. The battlefield was so chaotic that the Song Clan was unable to form an encirclement in time, and the group actually managed to escape.

Seeing this, Yuann Tianshu was about to give chase and eliminate them completely when a pillar of pure white light descended from the sky, striking the group of Rong Clan cultivators and instantly wiping out nearly half of them.

It was Song Qingxing and his group, who had been lying in wait nearby, arriving aboard the Black Star Ship.

They had been planning to launch a surprise attack on Hex Tai’s group from the shadows during the next major battle between Purple Mansion Cultivators. But after a full month of inactivity, Song Changxue had volunteered to scout out the situation.

As a result, she had witnessed the complete rout of the Rong Clan and the Lieyang Sect.

She immediately relayed the information back. Song Qingxing and the others rushed over without a moment’s delay to join the battle, arriving just in time to intercept the escaping group of Rong Clan cultivators.

The group of nearly one hundred men only managed to withstand three volleys from the Quasi-Celestial Ship’s weapons at full power before they were all but annihilated.

Afterward, Song Qingxing joined forces with Song Luzhou to complete the encirclement, annihilating every last enemy trapped inside.

When the battle was over, only a small fraction of the Lieyang Sect and Rong Clan members had managed to escape in the chaos.

This one battle had utterly crippled two Purple Mansion Influences.

...