Half an hour later, the sky had returned to its original state. Wei Zhongran and fourteen Golden Core cultivators stood in the air. Li Yan also stood to one side. Below, Gong Yuantai was leading people to clean up the battlefield, searching for injured Windy Cool Mountain cultivators.
"In this battle, we owe our thanks to Fellow Daoist Wei's presence. Otherwise, 'Mutual Destruction Ridge' would have fallen into the enemy's hands today."
Watching the rolling demonic smoke retreat into the distance, a female Golden Core cultivator with a refined appearance sized up Wei Zhongran a few times and spoke with some lingering fear.
In the battle between the Demon Lords and the Golden Cores just now, both sides had suffered considerable casualties, especially the Golden Core cultivators from the Windy Cool Mountain side, whose losses were much greater.
At this moment, Wei Zhongran's clothes were also stained with a lot of blood, and his pale face had an unnatural flush, but his aura was still steady.
As soon as the refined female Golden Core cultivator's voice fell, the other Golden Core cultivators, whether they were from the Malevolent Spirit Sect or not, all nodded one after another, their eyes filled with admiration.
The four Malevolent Spirit Sect Golden Cores were also constantly sizing up this junior brother of theirs. They had not expected Wei Zhongran's cultivation to have reached such a high level.
Even when the other side sent out an initial-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, they still failed to assassinate Wei Zhongran . Instead, the resulting Golden Core battle ended with both sides suffering heavy losses.
After a long and inconclusive battle, the short-haired Demon Lord below could only lead the remnants of his forces to retreat first. Before leaving, he showed a look of awe towards Wei Zhongran in the high sky. In this world, the strong would be respected wherever they went, and the Demonic Cultivators were no exception.
Wei Zhongran , on the other hand, had fought Lei Andao to a standstill. But strictly speaking, Wei Zhongran was at a disadvantage throughout. However, Lei Andao was not confident that he could kill Wei Zhongran without being heavily injured himself.
That was a price that even Lei Andao was unwilling to pay for Teng Wuji's sake. After covering the retreat of the short-haired Demon Lord and the others, Lei Andao also withdrew.
Li Yan, at the side, was also constantly sizing up this master of his. He himself could fight across realms, so of course he knew the difficulty of doing so.
Especially as the levels of cultivators went up, the gap between major realms became larger. The gap between Nascent Soul and Golden Core was like that between heaven and earth.
In the ancient texts he had read, since ancient times, Golden Core cultivators who could fight a Nascent Soul were as rare as a phoenix feather or a qilin horn. When the two sides met, it was almost a certain death sentence.
Li Yan had not expected his master to have reached such a level. Now he finally understood why Wei Zhongran had been able to beat Teng Wuji so badly that he couldn't find his bearings in just a few moves back then.
Previously, many of the Golden Core Demon Lords had safely retreated, but the twenty-five Demonic Soldiers had been almost completely wiped out.
Just now, Li Yan, by arriving later but striking first, had finally caught up with the short and stocky Demonic Cultivator . The short and stocky Demonic Cultivator had already developed a boundless fear of Li Yan, and his mental state had become unbalanced. In just a few moves, Li Yan had beaten the short and stocky Demonic Cultivator to the ground.
Finally, just before he died, the short and stocky Demonic Cultivator heard a light laugh from Li Yan. It was just that at this time, Li Yan's voice sounded somewhat familiar to him, and what Li Yan had said was, "Our pleasant chat with you in 'Zhouyang Town,' I believe, was not long ago..."
Then, the short and stocky Demonic Cultivator fiercely pointed at Li Yan, as if about to shout something, when Li Yan stomped heavily on his dantian.
Li Yan stood to one side, thinking about the day's events. Wei Zhongran did not pay any mind to the praise from those around him. A moment later, he shook his head.
"With or without me, this place would not have been lost in the slightest!"
With that, he withdrew his gaze from the direction of the retreating demon remnants and suddenly bowed respectfully to the sky, saying in a clear voice.
"Many thanks to the three martial uncles for coming to assist. Otherwise, if this place had fallen, this disciple and the others would not have been able to escape blame even with ten thousand deaths!"
Wei Zhongran's sudden action startled the other dozen or so cultivators and Li Yan, whom Wei Zhongran had called up. They immediately scanned the direction in which Wei Zhongran was bowing, but to their surprise, that direction was empty.
Just as everyone was puzzled, a resonant voice came from the sky.
"Hehe, for Dacen to have a disciple like you, that old fellow would sit up in his coffin and laugh a few times even if he were dead. The younger generation is to be feared, truly to be feared!"
Then, a gentle female voice also came from above.
"Little fellow, what he said is true. Dacen's judgment is not bad. As long as you are willing to go into seclusion, you will be our peer in just a few years. We did not help you just now. You don't hold any resentment in your heart, do you?"
As the voices came, how could the dozen or so people below not understand? It turned out that Nascent Soul cultivators had been hidden above all along, and they hadn't noticed in the slightest. Yet that Wei Zhongran had been able to point it out in one sentence.
This level of strength made them lose confidence in their previous assessment of Wei Zhongran . But when had these Nascent Soul cultivators arrived?
At this time, it was obviously not something they dared to ask casually. The dozen or so Golden Cores and Li Yan hurriedly bowed in the air.
Strangely enough, despite such a big commotion above them, the Foundation Establishment cultivators below who were busy were still attending to their own business, and no one had noticed the abnormality in the sky.
This was because the Nascent Soul cultivators did not want to frighten the cultivators below and had deliberately isolated their divine senses and line of sight.
"How could this disciple dare to have such thoughts? Many thanks to the several martial uncles for giving this disciple such an opportunity for training!"
Wei Zhongran answered respectfully again.
"Mm, you're a sensible kid. Although your cultivation is already able to fight with ordinary Nascent Soul stage cultivators, such opportunities are rare. No one is willing to casually spar with a junior. After this exchange with that old Demon Clan member, you will surely benefit greatly after you go back and reflect on it!"
The gentle female voice came again.
"Alright, let's leave the matters here to you. The three of us have other things to attend to. As for the opponent's Nascent Soul and Spirit Transformation cultivators, you don't need to worry. If they appear, someone will naturally deal with them!"
The resonant voice immediately followed.
After hearing this, the dozen or so people below hurriedly bowed again. Normally, if a Nascent Soul cultivator were to say a word to them, it would be an opportunity they could not even hope for.
This had at least established a small bond of goodwill. If there was an opportunity in the future, the other party might, on account of this past encounter, offer some guidance or slight assistance.
After that sentence from above, there was no more sound. The last Nascent Soul had not said a single word from beginning to end. It seemed he was a person of extremely indifferent character.
And as Wei Zhongran was bowing along with everyone else, the resonant voice had actually transmitted some other news to his Divine Sense , which made even Wei Zhongran slightly stunned.
But his self-control had always been excellent, and he immediately concealed it, not letting others notice anything amiss.
With the disappearance of the voice from above, this area returned to peace again. No one spoke. After a full ten breaths or so, Wei Zhongran was the first to break the silence.
"Now, do all of you fellow daoists understand the reason? The Demon Clan army that attacked here just now was actually followed by three Nascent Soul-grade Demonic Generals. It was just that only one had hidden his aura and was concealed among the Golden Core Demonic Cultivators, intending to launch a surprise attack from behind. After failing, he only showed himself and fought with me. The other two Nascent Soul Demonic Generals were hidden in the dark all along. They were also wary of the three martial uncles on our side, so they did not make a move. In the end, they just let us people fight. After a long and inconclusive battle, they secretly covered the retreat of the remnants."
In fact, without Wei Zhongran's explanation, which of these people was not an old fox who had cultivated for hundreds of years? Their minds were extremely sharp. When the Nascent Soul cultivators spoke, they had already begun to consider the reason for the matter in their hearts.
Li Yan touched his nose, knowing that this was his master explaining it to him.
'Sure enough, the clashes between the enemy and us are not as simple as soldiers against soldiers, generals against generals. In every exchange, the high-levels of both sides are constantly playing a game of strategy in the dark.'
Just now, Li Yan was still thinking that if the other side had sent two or more Nascent Soul cultivators, then even with his master here, it would be uncertain if he himself could escape, let alone these low-level cultivators like them.
Now it seemed that he had been overthinking. Those old monsters above were all as cunning as demons. It was an understatement to say that they looked ten steps ahead with every move.
Of course, the reason Wei Zhongran had explained these things to him was to let Li Yan know that he just needed to do what he should do. Things beyond his ability would be solved by others, and he didn't need to worry too much.
"Congratulations, Senior Brother. Once the battle subsides for a while, with a little seclusion, Senior Brother's Nascent Soul Formation will be in sight!"
A Golden Core cultivator from the Malevolent Spirit Sect seemed to have thought of something and changed the subject with a smile on his face.
"Yes, yes, we must also congratulate Fellow Daoist Wei. It would have been great if you had shown such strength earlier. It would have made us feel more at ease about the situation at Windy Cool Mountain , hahaha..."
Seeing that Wei Zhongran had broken the silence, they knew that the few Nascent Soul cultivators in the sky had already left. First, a few of his fellow sect members from the Malevolent Spirit Sect hurriedly stepped forward to congratulate him.
The cultivators from other sects beside them also offered their congratulations. As for how many were sincere, and how many were filled with unwillingness and jealousy, only they themselves knew.
But in any case, they had to maintain a good relationship with Wei Zhongran on the surface. That was the truth.
As long as Wei Zhongran did not perish in this great war, he would definitely be the first to succeed in Nascent Soul Formation in the future, becoming their martial uncle. And a Nascent Soul cultivator of the Malevolent Spirit Sect at that.
Wei Zhongran , however, waved his hand. At this moment, he had already put away his twin hammer magical treasure, and his body exuded a gentle aura. Where was the soaring killing intent from just now?
"You all think too highly of me. No one has ever dared to say that Nascent Soul Formation is a success. We must now reconsolidate this place. 'Mutual Destruction Ridge' has been completely destroyed. The Demon Clan army's next attack will not stop."
Then his gaze swept around. The ground there was covered with piles of rubble, the areas where the stone rain from "Mutual Destruction Ridge" had fallen.
"With our Spirit Power, it is feasible to move another mountain over and set up another grand formation. The higher-ups can bestow another such protective grand formation... It's just... what kind of magical treasure did the Demon Clan use before? It's too tyrannical! A magical treasure of that power already has the force of a single strike from a Nascent Soul cultivator. Even if we were to reshape this place, they could still destroy it again. At that time, it wouldn't be us controlling the grand formation here. I'm afraid we wouldn't have the confidence to contend with it. An attack like the one before... if they were to attack multiple times, we wouldn't be able to take it!"
"Just thinking about that magical treasure makes one tremble. If it weren't for the fact that both sides were in a chaotic battle just now, with a magical treasure of that power, just one hit and we would have been reduced to dust."
After Wei Zhongran's voice fell, a moment later, two Golden Core cultivators beside him spoke thoughtfully. Especially the latter Golden Core , as he spoke, his Divine Sense rapidly spread out into the distance.
At this moment, there were more than a dozen Golden Core cultivators gathered together. If a magical treasure of that kind were to attack, it was estimated that only Wei Zhongran might be able to escape. The others would most likely be turned to ash.
At this time, an old man from the Malevolent Spirit Sect's Four Symbols Peak waved his hand. His attainments in formations and artifact refining were relatively high.
"Fellow Daoist Cheng is overthinking. Although there were only three attacks before, looking at the overall situation of the battle during this period, this kind of magical treasure cannot be used easily. Firstly, they have been fighting for so long, and this is the first time they have used it. Secondly, just now, they only attacked 'Mutual Destruction Ridge.' No other defensive points have been attacked by this kind of magical treasure. So, from these circumstances, it seems that either this kind of high-powered magical treasure has a limited number of uses in a period of time, or its use consumes a great deal of energy, and this consumption is not something the Demon Clan can bear at will. That's why they used it in a siege battle and had not used it for so long. And, if I'm not mistaken, even if they wanted to use this magical treasure to deal with us now, it would probably be difficult. Our side should have had seniors keeping an eye on the other party long ago."