Chapter 249: Engagement

Chapter 249 -245: Engagement

Hurrying away, Chen Qingyang found another deserted corner to hide in.

In this regard, he was almost identical to Zhang Jiu. Both used this method to fish in troubled waters.

After pondering for a moment, he figured out the Foundation Establishment Masters’ plan.

The Daoist Sect was luring the enemy in deep. Any Demon Sect Disciples who dared to show up would be slaughtered, wave after wave. It was almost the exact same tactic they had used outside Nine True Mountain.

‘I wonder if word of this has gotten out. Will anyone from the Demon Sect still come?’

Chen Qingyang sent his Conscious Fish swimming through the city again. He checked Senior Brother Bai’s location, but Zhang Jiu hadn’t dared to show his face there.

It returned to the Imperial Palace one more time. The same fifteen people were still standing guard. He couldn’t yet tell if anyone else was hidden there.

‘Whatever,’ he thought. ‘Stealing Immortal Seedlings is what’s important. The Masters’ business is their own to worry about.’

This time, the Conscious Fish spent two hours in the city. The bloody hue between heaven and earth had only intensified, its range growing ever wider. Yet, he hadn’t found a single Demon Sect Disciple. Even Senior Brother Bai and his group had changed their hiding spot, and he could no longer track them.

Even with so many common people in the city, finding a few specific individuals was certainly difficult. But given the current crisis, it shouldn’t have been *this* hard.

With a thought, the Conscious Fish shot outside the city walls.

He recalled that the first time he’d arrived, the bloody aura hadn’t been nearly this thick. Now, it completely shrouded the area.

It was the same as he went further out.

Chen Qingyang wanted to know just how vast an area this bloody miasma covered. He even sent his Conscious Fish hundreds of miles out before he saw the color finally begin to dissolve, fade, and then disappear entirely.

This meant that with Yunxi City at its center, the phenomenon covered a radius of hundreds of miles. It encompassed well over a hundred cities and towns of all sizes, and millions of people, all of them now shrouded in death.

Everywhere the Conscious Fish went, it saw nothing but fields of corpses. This catastrophe was far more terrifying than he had imagined. ‘If this entire area, hundreds of miles across, is turned into a deadland, will anyone in the Yong Kingdom still believe in the Tai Xu?’

In a city far in the distance, Chen Qingyang spotted a group of Demon Sect Disciples. There were about thirty of them in total, and he couldn’t discern the Cultivation of at least half. They were floating high in the sky on clouds, stirring up waves of Profound Light as they flew straight for Yunxi City.

‘Are they heading for the Imperial Palace?’

Chen Qingyang suppressed his aura and followed quietly from behind. This was the only group of Demon Sect Disciples he had been able to find in the last few hours.

It was a truly bizarre way for two armies to fight. Soldiers never saw soldiers, and generals never saw generals. They just piled up the flesh and blood of the local populace and scattered arrays across the sky. Everyone remained hidden, waiting for the other side to make the first move.

Perhaps in the last thousand years, a direct confrontation of soldier-versus-soldier and general-versus-general, like the one he’d witnessed before, had only happened once. The rest of the time, their conflicts were defined by strange arrays, achieving set objectives while preserving their own forces at all costs, and a back-and-forth of various incredible techniques…

Whether they were Demon Cultivators or Daoist Cultivators, they all cherished their own lives above all else. Internally, they were incapable of true unity. ‘So I guess this is the only way their armies can clash.’

Since even the weakest among them was at the Essence Condensation Fifth Realm, the group’s speed was astonishing. In a flash, they were above the Imperial Palace.

Senior Brother Jie Yi spotted them, his expression one of alarm. “A Half-Step Foundation Establishment cultivator has appeared!”

This exclamation revealed that his own Cultivation was certainly not at the Half-Step Foundation Establishment Realm.

Instantly, the fifteen members of the Daoist Sect mobilized. They all used the Nine Tripods for Array Building, raising an even more brilliant Array that enveloped them all.

The Array shimmered with golden light, forming a perfect sphere. Within it, one could faintly see nine dragons and nine phoenixes soaring—sometimes rising, sometimes diving. Compared to before, this was the Array’s true, complete form.

From a great distance, Chen Qingyang could feel the burgeoning power within it through his Conscious Fish. ‘If the Daoist Sect hadn’t been prepared, how could they have laid such a brilliant Array here?’

“What a tough turtle shell,” one of the Demon Sect members said. “Senior Sister, do you think they’re bluffing, or is there really something to it?”

Their leader was an old crone in grey robes. Her clothes were simple, her face a web of wrinkles, and a murky quality was hidden in her eyes. When she smiled faintly, however, there was a strange, grandmotherly kindness to it.

“It doesn’t matter,” she said. “Since we’re here, we have to make an attempt, regardless of who is inside.”

“Senior Sister is right. But how are we supposed to crack this turtle shell?” The one speaking beside the old crone was a young woman whose Cultivation Chen Qingyang also couldn’t discern.

‘Since Senior Brother Jie Yi just said the old crone is at Half-Step Foundation Establishment, this woman can’t be far behind.’

“Don’t worry,” the crone said. “I have my ways.”

The two sides faced off without a word. The old crone attacked immediately with a devastating move, summoning a Flying Sword as a Magical Treasure that hovered horizontally above the Array.

She formed a series of hand seals, her Technique manifesting with Heaven and Earth Soaring power. This time, Chen Qingyang saw it all clearly. Amidst her dark aura, a single point of gold manifested on her forehead. It traveled down from the bridge of her nose, passing sequentially through the nine great acupoints: Mingtang Hall, Jiang Palace, Spirit Platform, Xuanji, Dongming, Jade Capital, Gui Cang, and Taichu. After this, the point of golden light transformed into a nine-colored radiance, flowed back out from her forehead, and shot toward the Magical Artifact in the center.

Chen Qingyang was extremely far away, but he could still feel the immense power contained within that speck of Spiritual Light. The surrounding ambient energy felt as if it were being compressed, collapsing inward.

It was like a heavy stone dropped onto a flat sheet of fabric; the very air seemed to bend and flow toward that point.

The speck of Spiritual Light shot straight into the Flying Sword. Instantly, the Sword Intent erupting from it grew a hundred zhang high, standing proud between heaven and earth as Profound Golden Flames blazed around it. The world itself seemed to freeze in that moment.

For the Nine Acupoints of Ascension, one cultivates a single acupoint for each realm one passes. This was a Half-Step Foundation Establishment cultivator, meaning her Nine Acupoints were Connected, achieving Nine Acupoints Perfection. She just hadn’t taken the final Step of the Master.

Below, Senior Brother Jie Yi’s expression became extremely grave. He stood at the center of the Array and formed a Sword Formula with his hand. His entire body’s True Power began to build, ready to be unleashed. It looked like he intended to meet this attack head-on.

Chen Qingyang guessed he must have the Cultivation of the Essence Condensation Ninth Realm. And since he was from the Tai Hao Sword Institute, his combat prowess was likely far greater than that of other Ninth Realm cultivators.

“Junior Brothers and Sisters! This old hag is incredibly powerful! Don’t hold anything back! We must give it our all!”

“Yes, Senior Brother!”

United against a common enemy, they all shouted their reply.

The crone’s momentum reached its apex. She brought her sword slashing down toward the golden light.

To Chen Qingyang’s naked eye, the golden light seemed to soften, collapsing inward where the sword’s edge passed. A sound like CRACKLING and SIZZLING filled the air as sparks flew at the point of contact. Powerful gusts of wind swept through, one after another, tossing the countless corpses on the ground high into the air. They rained back down as a bloody, mangled pulp.

The entire Imperial Palace was nearly razed to the ground. The violent shockwave only subsided slightly when it slammed into the Mountain Protection Array of Ci Yun Temple.

“Senior Sister, should we help?”

The old crone waved her hand. “No need. Let me test their strength.”

The phantom of Sword Qi pressed down again. The Grand Array below was on the verge of shattering, unable to hold on much longer. Many of those maintaining the Array were already coughing up blood, a testament to the immense pressure they were under.

But looking at Senior Brother Jie Yi, the greater the pressure, the calmer he became.

He tensed his body and gritted his teeth, gathering his power to its absolute limit. Extending his Sword Point, he sent the Peach Wood Sword behind him shooting toward the heavens. By the time it was about to meet the crone’s Flying Sword, its silver light had expanded to a hundred zhang in size.

High in the sky, the two swords clashed, unleashing an incredibly powerful astral wind.

Senior Brother Jie Yi stumbled back three steps and fell to the ground, spraying another mouthful of blood. The once-brilliant Peach Wood Sword instantly lost its luster and shot back into its Sword Scabbard.

As for the old crone above, her Sword Qi merely dissipated as she let out a long breath. “Haha…” Her booming laughter echoed across the entire city.

“The Tai Hao Sword Institute truly lives up to its reputation! To block one of my sword strikes with only a Ninth Realm Cultivation… word of this will be enough to make you famous!” She looked completely unfazed. It was clear that if she struck again, no one below would be able to withstand it.

“Bullshit!” Senior Brother Jie Yi remained silent, but Li Zheng started shouting curses.

The young woman on their side retorted, “It’s you again, Old Li. I’ve long heard you’re tough to kill. Today, we’ll see what’s harder: your mouth, or my Senior Sister’s methods.”

Li Zheng shot back, “Why don’t you try me and find out? You people from the Demon Sect are good for nothing but running your mouths!”

“Heh!” The young woman sneered. “If you weren’t hiding in that turtle shell, I would have taken your life long ago…”

Just then, the old crone gently waved her hand, cutting the young woman off. “There’s no need for pointless squabbling. I’ll just strike again.”

The moment she finished speaking, another hundred-zhang sword shadow materialized in the sky.

This sword was exceedingly archaic, the color of Bronze. It had patterns like waves etched on its blade, and its hilt was smooth and round, devoid of any decoration.

A speck of Spiritual Light landed upon it, and its Sword Momentum became even more terrifying than before. Even Chen Qingyang knew as he watched: if this strike landed, Senior Brother Jie Yi would undoubtedly die.

‘He’d just been boasting as if for every foot the demonic path rises, the righteous path rises ten. I wonder where that ten-foot advantage is now.’

He grabbed five Elixirs and stuffed them all into his mouth. After taking a long breath, he managed to struggle back to his feet. “Everyone… whether we live or die, it all comes down to this.”

The disciples maintaining the Array all had looks of grim resolve; they had no path of retreat. The old crone never wasted words. She simply pushed her Sword Momentum to its absolute peak and slashed down viciously.

This time, the Array offered almost no resistance as the sword cut straight through. Senior Brother Jie Yi launched the same silver sword attack again, but it only managed to stall the blow for a heartbeat before being overwhelmed.

At that critical, hair-raising moment, a figure appeared out of thin air. A two-foot short sword teleported in front of the old crone’s face, aimed straight for her Mud Ball Palace.

The old crone’s face fell in terror. Her Xuanji Gang Qi erupted instantly, but the person who had launched the Flying Sword was clearly her equal in Cultivation. The sword pierced her forehead in an instant.

“AHHHHHH!” the old crone shrieked in a fury. She reached up a hand and brutally tore the Flying Sword from her own head, then turned and fled into the distance.

Halfway through her escape, the Daoist Sect’s second Half-Step Foundation Establishment Master appeared. Two in ambush, one as bait—they intended to keep her here for good.

Chen Qingyang had his Conscious Fish circle the crone. He made a split-second decision. The Li Yang Earth Fire suddenly erupted, striking the old crone with all its might.

The crone was solely focused on escaping and paid his attack no mind. Having succeeded, the Conscious Fish instantly vanished back into the sky.

This time, he had only managed to steal six thousand Immortal Seedlings.

‘In the end, it wasn’t that the old crone had too few Immortal Seedlings on her,’ he mused. ‘It’s that the Conscious Fish’s Essence Condensation Third Realm Cultivation is no longer sufficient.’

‘Once I get back, I’ll have it sneak into the Five Elements Cave Mansion and train for many more years.’