Chapter 629: The Fight Begins

Chapter 629: Chapter 109: The Fight Begins

Ning’an Prefecture.

This place was originally an important branch of the Earth Cave Sect. Before Wu Quan moved to Mozhou Road, the Daoist Palace garrison here had three Second Realm Cultivators. Now, however, only one remained: Li Lin of the Pingdong Sect.

As a staunch ally of Qianmu Temple, the Pingdong Sect had plundered numerous Celestial and Earthly Treasures during past wars in the Southern Cultivation Realm. This allowed Li Lin to advance to the Second Realm just before his lifespan was about to end.

The Prefecture City Daoist Palace garrison was usually deserted, so the station consisted of just a courtyard with two main sections and a three-story wooden building. The building was used to store the Daoist Palace’s important case files and documents, while the courtyard served to receive visiting Cultivators.

As hand-written orders from Qianmu Temple arrived one after another, the small, two-section courtyard suddenly became lively. In the blink of an eye, more than twenty Entering Cultivators had gathered. They were all masters of the various Dao Fields in Ning’an Prefecture. Most of their lineages came from the Earth Cave Sect, with a smaller portion being branch families of Qianmu Temple.

“Daoist, for what reason has the Daoist Palace summoned us this time?”

Inside the main house, a Second Realm Earth Vein Cultivator of the same rank as Li Lin was pushed forward by the crowd to question Li Lin, who sat in the head seat.

Li Lin’s gaze fell upon the doorway. Seeing the disguised Wenhai, he let out a silent sigh of relief and rose to his feet. He invited Wenhai to sit in the seat of honor to his right. Then, under the expectant gazes of the crowd, he cupped his fist to those assembled and spoke:

“According to a message from the Daoist Palace Headquarters, Evil Cultivators of the ‘First Day’ have entrenched themselves in Shujiang Prefecture on Mozhou Road. Changqing Zhenren has ordered us to go and annihilate them!”

Upon hearing this, the crowd immediately broke into a flurry of discussion.

For the Entering Cultivators, this was actually welcome news. The last time they had cleared out Mozhou Road, they had made a fortune. They were even able to openly perform sacrificial rituals to enhance their own cultivation.

The Second Realm Cultivators, however, were rather indifferent to such matters. For most of them, the Third Realm was far too illusory and distant. After reaching the Second Realm, many simply chose to coast and wait for death, enjoying the several hundred years of life they had left.

Take the man who had spoken earlier, for example. He frowned slightly at the news, his reluctance plain on his face, though he dared not voice it directly.

“When do we move out?”

Wenhai asked calmly.

Li Lin glanced at a disciple beside him, who immediately cupped his fist and said, “Senior, we could move out at any moment. The exact time will be when three red signals are launched from the direction of Jinhuai City…”

He paused, then looked at everyone and added a reminder, “Everyone must remember to activate the identification tokens issued by the Daoist Palace. If a fight breaks out, anyone without the aura of a token must be eliminated immediately.”

“Don’t worry. Most of the Fellow Daoists here just returned from the battlefield south of Shang’an Prefecture half a month ago!”

Someone replied with full confidence, and the others chimed in boisterously.

The world may be in chaos, and even Entering Cultivators sometimes lead a precarious existence. But most of the people present had been born in war and raised in war. A generation that grew up in such an environment felt no aversion to conflict. On the contrary, they were excited by it.

To them, war meant new merits and new targets to plunder!

The group waited in the two-section courtyard until 7:15 AM the next morning. Suddenly, a Cultivator outside shouted excitedly, “The signal! The signal from the direction of Jinhuai City!”

Li Lin instantly transformed into a streak of light and appeared in the courtyard. When he saw the signal rising beneath the clouds, he immediately said to those around him, “Fellow Daoists, this journey is perilous. It would be best to use the integrated offensive and defensive formation we agreed upon beforehand.”

“We will follow the Daoist’s command!”

When their lives were on the line, no one joked about such matters.

Li Lin nodded and looked at the disciple beside him. “Xian, you will lead the Earth Cave Sect Cultivators in the vanguard.” Then, he turned to Wenhai and the other Second Realm Cultivator and said politely, “You two Fellow Daoists will stay with me to hold the rear and prevent any surprises!”

“Alright!”

“Yes!”

The “Xian” Li Lin mentioned was his disciple, Li Xian.

After receiving his master’s order, Li Xian glanced back at the four other Entry-level Earth Vein Cultivators following him. They exchanged a look and transformed into streaks of light, soaring into the sky. The others followed close behind.

As they rose into the air, they discovered the sky in every direction was filled with brilliant, multicolored streams of light. As far as the eye could see, there were at least a hundred auras.

That was a hundred Entering Cultivators.

Li Xian’s heart skipped a beat. His master’s voice transmission sounded in his ear, “Slow down. We don’t need to show off!”

His master’s voice soothed Li Xian’s nerves. He then locked onto the guiding signal ahead and, using sixty percent of his power, followed it toward Shujiang Prefecture.

The tense flight lasted for ten hours. Just as the sky was about to grow dark, Li Xian felt the spiritual energy ahead suddenly turn chaotic. The most obvious sign was the blaze of fire that lit up the dim evening sky.

At that moment, a signal to accelerate and charge forward rose into the air from the central column. At the same time, waves of heat washed over them from the battlefield ahead. Everyone instinctively took out two True Essence Pills from their storage pouches and swallowed them to restore the True Essence in their Qi Sea.

“Be careful!”

After Li Lin’s warning, he sensed the other Cultivators to their left and right speeding up. He ordered, “Keep up with them! Don’t let us fall behind!”

Hearing this, Li Xian first summoned a three-foot-tall, earth-yellow tower. The four other Earth Vein Cultivators beside him did the same. The five towers formed a Defense Array that looked like a bright moon streaking across the darkening sky.

It felt like an instant, yet also an eternity. The chaotic spiritual energy between heaven and earth grew closer, and various kinds of Magic wove through the air, creating a thick smoke that blocked all sight and agitated Li Xian’s calm heart.

The next moment, he sensed countless violent auras—some were enemies, some were allies!

Just as this thought crossed Li Xian’s mind, his vision was completely obscured. The chaotic spiritual energy roiled, making the Spirit Veins in his body feel as if they were about to burst out of his skin.

Then, he felt a powerful gust of wind strike, followed by scorching flames.

‘It’s the enemy!’

His spiritual sense detected several auras, and he subconsciously deployed the tower beside him to block.

FWOOSH.

Li Xian felt as if his body had been plunged into a volcano. An indescribable heat instantly shattered the Defense Array he had formed around him. He subconsciously invoked the Power of the Earth to resist.

The dense Power of the Earth combined with the tower beside him to create a defensive barrier. The instant the barrier formed, he saw a massive Horse-Cutting Saber pierce through the thick smoke and dust.

‘That’s a favorite weapon of Artifact Cultivators!’

Then, an overwhelming torrent of fire engulfed him once more…

“AHHH!”

An Earth Vein Cultivator next to him screamed. Out of the corner of his eye, Li Xian saw the man’s tower get pierced through. Flames melted his body. At the same time, Li Xian himself was struck by an irresistible force, and his body fell uncontrollably toward the ground.

As he fell, Li Xian saw the other Cultivators behind him repelling his attackers. They had just run into three Artifact Cultivators and two Fire Cultivators!

Three breaths later, he stabilized himself. By then, Cultivators from all directions had arrived on the battlefield!

“Get back in formation! Don’t fall behind!”

As his master’s voice rang in his ears, Li Xian’s spiritual sense spread out rapidly. In an instant, he located the Ning’an Prefecture contingent. But at the same time, he realized that in that brief exchange, their side had already lost two Fellow Daoists!

Meanwhile, Li Lin, who was holding the rear, sensitively turned his head to look northeast. His Earth Vein Eye—an ability that all Earth Vein Cultivators gain upon reaching the entry-level realm—allowed him to sense that the energy fluctuations in that direction were even more intense.

“That’s the direction of Shang’an Prefecture!” Wenhai’s voice sounded beside him.