"Chen Sanshi? You are—Chen Sanshi?!"
Bai Liangbi stared at the white-robed figure before him. The blood-red pupils in his eyes first showed astonishment, then sudden realization.
"I should have thought of it earlier!
"How could a rogue cultivator from Heavenly Water Isle somehow have such deep connections with the Eastern Divine Continent and even command those people?
"So Fellow Daoist Xiao is actually that Tianwu Emperor."
"Brother Chen, it's you?!"
Bai Linxun stood frozen in place. "Y-you came to Dusk Valley—why didn't you reveal your identity directly?"
Chen Sanshi explained, "Chen is an enemy of the entire world. Acting with discretion benefits both myself and your noble clan, so please forgive the concealment."
"Heh, I had long harbored some suspicion, but your Art of Disguise is truly divine. I simply could not detect a single flaw!"
Shangguan Siheng cupped his fists. "Then allow me to formally greet you, Fellow Daoist!"
"Enough idle talk."
Bai Liangbi struggled to maintain consciousness. "Fellow Daoist Chen Lei, earlier you said there was a method to protect my Bai clan. What exactly is it?"
"Go to the Great Han."
Chen Sanshi gave a brief answer.
"The Great Han?"
Bai Linxun frowned. "Brother Chen, I have long considered this option. The problem is that the people of the Shengyun Sect are about to activate the formation to destroy the seal. When that happens, the Eastern Divine Continent itself will likely—"
"Struggle to protect itself?"
Chen Sanshi finished the sentence for him. "That is precisely why I need Patriarch Bai's help. If this succeeds, not only will the continent remain safe, but the Bai clan will also gain a new place to settle."
Bai Liangbi asked, "What do you need me to do? Speak plainly."
"Half a day's journey from here, within a mortal mountain range, there is a mountain called Dafeng Mountain. In that mountain stands a Mountain God Temple."
Chen Sanshi said in a deep voice, "Immediately send someone carrying the Living Earth to that Mountain God Temple. All problems will then resolve themselves. The bigger the commotion, the better."
"The Living Earth?"
Upon hearing those words, Bai Liangbi's expression became conflicted. "And afterward? What will become of the Living Earth?"
"There are two possible outcomes."
Chen Sanshi spoke calmly.
"First: after this battle, it will be unavoidable for the Living Earth to become public knowledge. It will most likely trigger a bloody storm, and in the end it will fall into the hands of one of the great heavenly sects.
"Second: if the Bai clan is willing to trust me, you may bring the Living Earth with you to the territory of the Great Han. I will not treat you unfairly."
No one could resist such a supreme treasure, and Chen Sanshi was no exception. There was no need to hypocritically conceal his thoughts.
However, as the saying goes, a gentleman loves wealth but acquires it through righteous means. Against enemies, there would naturally be no scruples. But as allies, Chen Sanshi would not seize it through trickery or force.
Instead, he chose a transaction.
He would use the protection of the continent to shelter the Bai clan, and the Bai clan would exchange the Living Earth in return.
It was fair.
"I understand..."
After a moment of silence, Bai Liangbi suddenly raised his head and demanded, "What if I refuse?!"
"I will not force you."
Chen Sanshi met his gaze directly. "But what I must say is that this truly is the best outcome for both the Bai clan and the Eastern Divine Continent."
"Heh... hahaha—!"
Bai Liangbi let out a painful, ferocious laugh.
"We are incompetent, unable to safeguard this treasure. We have failed our ancestors!"
His gaze shifted toward his younger brother.
"Second Brother! After my death, you will become the head of the Bai clan. As for what decision to make—leave it to you."
Up until now, Bai Linxun still did not fully understand what had caused his elder brother to become like this.
He only knew that the Bai clan now had only two paths left.
Either lose the Living Earth and see the entire clan annihilated...
Or submit to the Great Han and offer up the Living Earth.
The latter meant surrendering ownership of the Living Earth, but they would still be able to obtain resources in the future.
After weighing the pros and cons, this was already the best possible outcome for the Bai clan.
Otherwise, once the Living Earth appeared in the world and the heavenly sects learned the truth of what had happened in the past, every member of the Bai clan—even those descendants hiding within the Qingxu Sect under false names—might not remain safe.
"Before the Tianwu Emperor!"
Bai Linxun suddenly dropped to one knee, his voice ringing loudly.
"I, Bai Linxun, am willing to present the Living Earth of the Imperial Heavens and lead the entire Bai clan to submit to the Eastern Divine Continent and the Tianwu Emperor!"
"Brother Bai, there is no need for such formality."
Chen Sanshi helped him to his feet.
"I can also make you a promise: so long as the Great Han still stands and Tianyong City still exists, I will ensure that the Bai clan's lineage never ends and its resources never cease. No matter how far I advance in the future, I will share everything I possess with the Bai clan."
"Your subject kowtows in gratitude for Your Majesty's grace!"
Bai Linxun bowed heavily.
With such a promise, it was already more than enough for the present Bai clan.
"Big Brother, we—..."
Bai Linxun turned his head to look, only to discover that the Bai family patriarch had at some unknown point sat down cross-legged and already lost all signs of life.
In his place, waves of baleful qi spread outward from the heart, quickly transmitting through every limb and bone before shrouding the entire body.
Bai Liangbi was dead!
What had replaced him was a dragon puppet with no self-awareness whatsoever, completely controlled by another!
"The refinement is already complete!"
Shangguan Siheng informed them sternly, "Two dragons must not meet. Once the mother and child dragon puppets draw near one another, the bloodline resonance will fully activate, and Patriarch Bai will begin slaughtering us without restraint."
"There is no time to lose."
Chen Sanshi instructed, "Brother Bai, go fetch the Living Earth at once, then head straight for Dafeng Mountain and use the Living Earth to create an anomaly. Can you do it?"
"No problem."
Bai Linxun nodded. "The Imperial Heaven Living Earth is itself a supreme treasure and naturally carries auspicious heavenly signs. The entire Northern Yang Dao will be able to see it. I'll go right now. As for my clansmen—"
"The patriarch's command token is still in my hands. I will mobilize them."
Chen Sanshi continued, "Fellow Daoist Shangguan, how is the formation at Dafeng Mountain coming along?"
"Do not worry."
Shangguan Siheng said, "I am, after all, a hall master of the Zhuxian Sect. Though I cannot invite Golden Core seniors, obtaining a pseudo-Tier 3 formation and temporarily trapping those people will not be a problem."
Originally, Chen Sanshi had planned to expend a large amount of national destiny profound qi to activate the Heavenly Book formation directly, and he had also left quite a few immortal treasures and strange flames at the Mountain God Temple. The Zhuxian Sect's assistance had spared him one trouble.
Formation mastery also could not be neglected.
This time, precisely because his own attainment in formations was insufficient, he had to waste a great deal of resources. Moreover, when the time came to refine the Spirit-Sealing Grand Formation in the future, it would likewise demand no small amount of skill in formations.
"Fellow Daoist Shangguan."
Chen Sanshi said, "After your men finish setting up the formation, they may leave directly. There is no need for them to remain there."
"Brother Chen, what kind of words are those?!
Shangguan Siheng said, "Since our aims are aligned, the people of the Zhuxian Sect are not afraid of death!"
Seeing the man's calm composure, Chen Sanshi found himself briefly unsure whether the Zhuxian Sect were lunatics or simply possessed utterly lucid hearts.
"Very well."
He naturally would not indulge in soft-hearted hesitation. "Then, Fellow Daoist Shangguan, please come with me and first buy Bai Linxun some time."
Shangguan Siheng brought out the talisman treasure of the Exquisite Treasure Pagoda.
Daze Market.
185 disciples of the Shengyun Sect assembled outside the market.
"Those demonic villains have grown more and more rampant!"
Peng Rui shouted loudly, "They kill our fellow disciples and slaughter innocents! We cultivators ought to slay demons and eliminate evil, upholding righteousness!"
"Slay demons and eliminate evil, uphold righteousness—"
"Set out! Avenge our fellow disciples!"
With a single order, nearly 200 disciples of the Shengyun Sect, carrying large quantities of talismans and magical artifacts prepared in advance, rushed straight toward Dafeng Mountain.
Great Marsh main peak.
Wang Jun hurried over to report, "Master, Senior Brother Peng refused to listen to advice and has taken away more than half of our people."
"Alas~"
Shouzhongzi let out a long sigh. "Forget it. Let him be. You should not stand around either—go stay by Peng Rui's side, lest something unexpected happen.
"Zhang Jinchen's death has already left the Second Elder very displeased, and every day he speaks ill of this old man before the Sect Master. If anything happens to Peng Rui as well, our entire Purple Cloud Peak will likely be punished."
"Master—"
Wang Jun looked troubled. "Senior Brother Peng's cultivation is actually a notch higher than this disciple's. He would never listen to anything I say. This disciple would be better off remaining by Master's side to watch over the Demon-Smiting Grand Formation."
"You, you..."
Shouzhongzi shook his head, seeing through the man's thoughts at a glance. "You're afraid of running into danger, aren't you?"
Wang Jun remained silent.
"What are you afraid of? This old man is not going to scold you."
Shouzhongzi said with a chuckle, "On the contrary, unlike those old fossils in the sect, among all the disciples, the one this old man thinks most highly of is you. Cultivation, cultivation—only those who survive are qualified to cultivate. Otherwise, no matter how good your talent is, what use is it?
"This old man was precisely because I fought fiercely against others when I was young and damaged my foundations that in this lifetime I have no hope of Nascent Soul, and I am not even likely to reach the middle stage of Golden Core.
"By the time I understood that principle, it was already too late~"
Wang Jun said nothing, only lowering his head even further.
"Enough. Help me return to the sect and deliver a message to the Sect Master. Tell him the seal has already begun to loosen, and at the latest, within half a month, the Demon-Smiting Grand Formation will activate. Tell them to prepare to come over."
As he spoke, Shouzhongzi tossed over a Storage Bag. "Inside are some pills and my心得 on cultivation methods. After delivering the message, stay obediently within the sect to recover from your injuries, then enter seclusion and cultivate. There is no need for you here in Northern Yang Dao anymore."
"Many thanks, Master!"
Delighted inwardly, Wang Jun received the Storage Bag with both hands.
Just as he was about to take his leave, he heard the aged voice sound by his ear.
"In the future, stop injuring yourself on purpose to fake wounds. It only delays your cultivation. If you want to leave, just say so to my face. Now get lost."
Wang Jun froze for a moment, then clasped his fists heavily before finally departing.
Not long after he left, powerful waves suddenly came from the direction of Dusk Valley. They contained vast True Force, mixed with soaring baleful qi.
That meant—
A demonic martial artist of the Golden Body Realm had successfully broken through!
"This Northern Yang Dao..."
Shouzhongzi narrowed his eyes. "What exactly is it hiding?"
Dafeng Mountain, Mountain God Temple.
"This is the place!"
Peng Rui drew his longsword. "Brothers, heed my command—spread out in all directions and surround the entire mountain. Do not let a single one escape!"
Buzz—
For a time, explosive cries of flying swords rang out ceaselessly above Dafeng Mountain's sky.
Dense masses of disciples from the immortal sect descended like banished sword immortals from heaven, surrounding the mountain without warning before rapidly shrinking the encirclement. In the process, they cleared away the demonic cultivators on the outskirts until they reached the outside of the Mountain God Temple.
In Peng Rui's eyes, the "demonic cultivators" within the temple appeared panicked and disordered. A savage joy for slaughter surged up in his heart, and he roared,
"Attack!"
Sword light filled the sky like a silver river pouring down from the Ninth Heaven. Mana surged and roared, and the entire Mountain God Temple collapsed into ruins in an instant.
"Senior Brother Peng, there's no one here!"
Yet the ruined temple was empty. Aside from broken walls, shattered beams, and dust filling the sky, there was not a single person to be seen.
"Where are they?!"
Peng Rui's brows locked together. "Search for them—"
Rumble—
Before he could finish speaking, the ground suddenly began to tremble violently. Dense mist came rolling in head-on, quickly covering everything within several kilometers!
"This is bad. It's an ambush!"
Peng Rui was alarmed. "Withdraw first!"
"Where's the exit?!"
"Senior Brother Peng, I—we seem to be trapped in here!"
The disciples of the Shengyun Sect rushed about like headless flies, quickly discovering that this pitch-white fog was like a maze in which they could not see even their own outstretched hands.
"Careful, someone's there!"
Slash—
A blade flashed, and a Shengyun Sect disciple's head fell to the ground.
"There are people in the fog!"
Within the boundless white mist, human figures flickered in and out of sight. Occupying special positions that matched the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams, they had completely fused with the fog itself. Their shadows loomed and vanished, making it impossible to tell how many there were.
"Brats of Shengyun!"
A voice carrying echoes entered their ears. "You have fallen into our grand formation and are now turtles in a jar. Why not surrender at once!"
"Pretending to be gods and ghosts!"
Peng Rui slashed fiercely in the direction the voice had come from, but only stirred ripples in the fog, achieving no real effect at all.
Enraged, he shouted, "Pang Jingxuan! Break the formation for me!"
As one of the 36 immortal sects, the Shengyun Sect had countless disciples. Naturally, among the many arts of immortality, there were always disciples specifically responsible for studying each discipline in depth.
"It's a Nine-Palace Bewildering Formation!"
Pang Jingxuan quickly recognized it. "This is a formation specifically used to trap enemies. It is usually only used on border battlefields."
"Bewildering Formation?"
Peng Rui narrowed his eyes. "So the formation itself has no killing power?"
Pang Jingxuan replied, "That's right. The problem is that we can't get out!"
"Who says it has no killing power? Let's see whether you die or not!"
Boom boom boom!
Within the endless fog, dense clusters of firelight suddenly lit up.
They were flaming arrows, falling from overhead like a violent storm.
"Fire arrows?"
With a casual slash, Peng Rui knocked all the arrows aside and sneered, "Have you demonic villains gone mad? Are you actually planning to use mortal weapons against us?!"
"Then have a taste of this too!"
Whoosh whoosh whoosh—
The trembling of bowstrings sounded from all directions, followed by another rain of arrows pouring down from the sky. This time, however, the flames on the arrows were all crimson red.
Peng Rui struck out with another sword slash, only to feel terrifying heat. Even the surface of his sword edge showed visible damage.
Some of the less cautious disciples treated it as ordinary fire and reached out to catch the arrows barehanded, only to be burned into a pile of ash in an instant.
"What rank of flame is this?!"
Peng Rui's expression turned grave. "Is there a high-realm cultivator here, or some kind of treasure?!"
"Ah!"
Cries of agony rang out one after another.
From time to time, disciples in the corners of the Shengyun Sect ranks died in the flames.
"Spread out, all of you spread out!"
Peng Rui shouted. "Pang Jingxuan, hurry up and break the formation!"
"This is a pseudo-Tier 3 formation!"
Pang Jingxuan, who had only recently become a Tier 2 formation master, was covered in cold sweat. "Senior Brother Peng, I'm afraid there's nothing I can do!
"We—
"We have no way of leaving the Bewildering Formation!"