Living steadily in the world of gods and mystery

Though a declaration of war had been made, there had been no action from within the sect, which clearly indicated they were still waiting for the right moment.

Influenced by the wartime atmosphere, even Zhou Hong, who had become somewhat lax in her cultivation, began to practice diligently. Resolutely entering seclusion for over half a month, she finally overcame the bottleneck of the seventh level of Qi Cultivation, advancing to the eighth level.

Only two more steps remained until she would reach the Foundation Establishment stage.

The entire summer passed by quickly amid this non-stop hustle and bustle.

...

At night!

"After such a long delay, do you think there might be no battle after all?" Lying in Chen Li’s arms, Zhang Shuniang drew gentle circles with her hand and said in a hopeful whisper.

"Sigh, I hope so." Chen Li sighed in response.

However, he was well aware that the likelihood of this was slim.

The blood feud between the Hongshan Sect and the Heavenly Star Sect was not so easily dissolved, a great battle was inevitable, one that would decide life or death.

And clearly, his own Sect Leader would not pass up this opportunity to benefit from both sides.

He guessed that, at the latest, the conflict would begin before the onset of winter.

Otherwise, it would have to wait until the next year.

The winters here were quite harsh, and once the heavy snows arrived, it would be inconvenient to do anything at all.

Even high and mighty Cultivators would have their moments of being grounded.

"Since I was little, my greatest fear has always been being alone. My mother passed away early, and it was always my father who looked after me. Every time he left to sell charms, I would be locked in the house, forbidden from even stepping outside the door, spending the day lost in wild and fearful thoughts," Zhang Shuniang spoke softly.

Feeling distressed, Chen Li hugged Zhang Shuniang tighter, comforting her: "Don’t worry, even if the war begins, I will come back alive. Remember back in the Green River District, when Demon Beasts roamed wildly and consumed humans everywhere? That was far more dangerous, and we still made it through, didn’t we!"

Zhang Shuniang snuggled closer into Chen Li’s embrace: "I just can’t help but worry about you, Uncle!"

"Ah! What Uncle? Call me your husband!" Chen Li’s face couldn’t help but redden.

"Ehehe!"

...

Chen Li’s guess was not wrong.

Not long after autumn began, the war broke out.

"This battle won’t last long; I should be back in a month or so. Don’t worry about me, just carry on as usual," he said.

It was still faintly light outside.

With lingering reluctance, Chen Li bid farewell to his wives.

The two women’s eyes brimmed with tears, appearing as though they were parting with life and death.

"Ah, enough with the long goodbyes, let’s go!" he said.

In the distance, the five massive Flying Boats of the Returning True Sect, as imposing as mountains, already stretched across the mountain peaks.

Countless Cultivators, numerous as ants, piloted their Magic Artifacts, tracing faint glimmers of light through the pre-dawn darkness as they entered the hatches of the Flying Boats.

Fearing information leaks, this operation had not been widely publicized. Apart from the Foundation Establishment higher-ups, most Qi Cultivation cultivators were not informed of the impending combat until they boarded the vessels.

"Senior, you’re to board the Ding vessel, located at the top-level control hub, led personally by Xiao Yuan, Uncle Xiao," a disciple responsible for coordinating arrangements said respectfully as he jog-transferred over to Chen Li, who had just arrived.

Chen Li nodded his head.

He made his way into the center of the Flying Boat’s control hub and surveyed his surroundings.

A colossal Array Plate sat there.

Within the basin-sized energy trough at the center of the Array Plate, a hazy glow spread out, filled with countless Spirit Stones. Several middle-aged and elderly Qi Cultivation cultivators were busy with control tokens in hand.

It looked quite similar to operating a Formation.

But it was much more complex.

At that moment, Xiao Yuan was engaged in a hushed conversation with a few Foundation Establishment cultivators, showing no signs of pre-battle tension. Upon seeing Chen Li enter, he warmly gestured and said:

"Fellow Daoist Chen, come, come, have a seat here!"

Chen Li promptly exchanged pleasantries and paid his respects to each of the Foundation Establishment cultivators before sitting down cross-legged on the side.

Four Foundation Establishment cultivators had already arrived.

Three men and one woman.

Apart from Xiao Yuan, the other three were the married couple Peng Yan and Wen Hui, and Hu Buwei.

"Speaking of which, Fellow Daoist Chen, you’ve been at Foundation Establishment for five years, so you should have reached the second layer, right?" Xiao Yuan inquired.

"The cultivation journey has been quite smooth after Foundation Establishment; just recently, I entered the third layer!" Chen Li said with a smile. Given the coming battle, he couldn’t hide his cultivation level, so he spoke truthfully.

The cabin momentarily fell silent.

All eyes turned to him, and Wen Hui’s face showed particular astonishment.

In the entire Returning True Sect, including those Loose Cultivators who had established families, there were thirty to forty individuals. Among them, there was one late-stage Foundation Establishment, six mid-stage Foundation Establishment, and the rest were at the early stage.

Being at the third layer of Foundation Establishment placed one above the midpoint among all cultivators at that stage.

And this had taken him merely five years.

"Who would have thought Fellow Daoist possessed such talent? I fear it won’t be ten years before our Returning True Sect will have another mid-stage Foundation Establishment," Hu Buwei exclaimed, and then considering his own situation—having been in Foundation Establishment for a hundred years, with almost half of his three hundred year lifespan gone, still at the third layer—he couldn’t help feeling a bit bitter.

"Hardly, hardly! The difference between the initial and the middle stage of Foundation Establishment is nearly insurmountable; not so easy to cross. Otherwise, with so many Foundation Establishment cultivators in our sect, there wouldn’t be but a mere six like Fellow Daoist Xiao at the mid-stage. Everything is up to fate!" Chen Li replied modestly while also subtly praising Xiao Yuan without attracting attention.

"Ah, you’re too modest, too modest, what’s the big deal about mid-stage Foundation Establishment? It’s just a bit more minor cultivation," Xiao Yuan replied, repeatedly shaking his head, though the corners of his mouth kept curling up.

"It’s certainly not just a ’bit more minor cultivation...’" Hu Buwei joined in with the flattery.

"Yes, yes," said Peng Yan, who was somewhat slow to speak, echoing the sentiment.

Soon, no one paid any more attention to Chen Li.

In the interim, two more Foundation Establishment cultivators arrived in the control room.

An elderly cultivator named Song Zhi, with age spots on his face and obviously advanced in years, was accompanied by an average-looking middle-aged female cultivator named Huang Qin.

Chen Li had not had much interaction with these two, only having seen them a few times before.

As everyone talked, a voice came from the control array:

"All hands in position, we are leaving immediately!"

Accompanied by the buzzing of the array plate, the energy slot glowed brightly.

The flying boat finally began to move slowly.

"This thing flies too slowly; it’ll probably take a full day and night. Let’s gamble a few rounds instead, come on!" Song Zhi’s aged face broke into a chrysanthemum smile, revealing ancient yellow teeth missing from two-century-worth of time.

He took out a set of gambling paraphernalia from his storage bag.

"Oh, you’ve even brought gambling tools. How big are we betting?" Hu Buwei suddenly showed interest.

"A friendly wager! It won’t spoil the mood, with a loss and win limit of one top-grade spirit stone. How does that sound?" Song Zhi proposed with a sly grin.

"That’s too little, boring." Xiao Yuan scoffed, "Why set a limit? If we win this battle, we won’t lack money, and if we don’t return, what use is more money left in hand?"

"You’re right!" Wen Hui chirped in, smiling cheerfully.

Thinking it over, everyone nodded in agreement.

Chen Li, not wanting to stand out awkwardly, learned the rules briefly and then joined the game.

Although he was new to this type of gambling tool, relying on his sharp and agile mind from brain refinement, his exceptional sense of timing, and a stable style of play without any recklessness, he lost little and won much. After playing for a day, he won three top-grade spirit stones.

Among them, Xiao Yuan won the most, around six top-grade spirit stones, and the others won some as well.

Only Hu Buwei was the loser, and Chen Li guessed he lost more than ten stones.

"I didn’t expect I would win a top-grade spirit stone too!" Wen Hui happily counted her spirit stones and then placed them into her storage bag, beaming with delight.

"Today really is my unlucky day; everybody wins but I keep losing." After the gambling ended, Hu Buwei bemoaned his misfortune.

Fortunately, he was wealthy and influential, operating in Luoluo City’s pleasure quarters, plus being a senior practitioner of Foundation Establishment; he had ample family wealth. The loss of a dozen top-grade spirit stones didn’t seem to bother him much, at least from what Chen Li could discern.

Of course, with his shrewd nature, Hu might have deliberately lost to everyone for all Chen Li knew.

"Your card skills aren’t up to snuff. You need more practice. That’s enough for today; we need to rest and gather our spirits for tonight. We’ll play again some other day when we have the spare time." Xiao Yuan twirled his long beard, chuckling.

After that, the relaxed atmosphere was no more.

Everyone started to meditate and rest, preparing for the upcoming major battle.

As the flying boat continued its journey, meeting up with the forces from Hongshan Sect at nightfall, over a dozen flying boats formed an imposing array. They glowed with a dim spiritual light in the darkness, like a cloud looming overhead, heading straight for the target.

Then they flew through the night, and by early dawn, they finally arrived at their destination.

Through the porthole, far away, the Heavenly Star Sect’s Mountain Protection Array shone brilliantly, lighting up a thick protective barrier.

Soon after, two Golden Core cultivators flew out from the array, one after the other:

"Ao Xiong, you dare to fight to the death with me, to a standstill? And He Zhao, you despicable and shameless man, with ambitions as wild as a wolf, Heavenly Star Sect and your Returning True Sect have no grievances. We do not infringe on each other’s territory. Should you withdraw now, I will pretend none of this ever happened."

His voice boomed like thunder, spreading in all directions.

Even filtered through the flying boat’s array, the voice was crystal clear.

Chen Li felt somewhat embarrassed upon hearing it.

Alas, this situation really lacked justification!

"Hmph, Cao Wu, you are overbearing, causing conflicts and excessive killing, disrupting the peace of our neighbors. Heaven will not allow this! I assist Fellow Daoist Ao, simply to uphold justice in place of Heaven. If you surrender now and admit your mistakes, we might spare your life." He Zhao emerged from the flying boat, responding unflinchingly.

"Hahahaha, you twist the truth, you shameless wretch! Come and die if you wish!" Cao Wu was so enraged that his beard and hair bristled; he was gritting his teeth in anger, yet laughing out of sheer fury.

He had never seen such a shameless person.

If it came to killing,

He Zhao of the Returning True Sect would be first to be blamed; who would dare claim the second place?

The bones of Longevity Sect were hardly cold yet.

"Fellow Daoist He, why waste so much talk on these men who are about to die. Come on, come on!" Ao Xiong also emerged from the flying boat, sneering with provocation, "It’s fair, two on two. Let’s settle life and death now, shall we? It would also save us the trouble of breaking the formation and sparing unnecessary casualties. Do you dare?"

"As if we’d be afraid of you! Why wouldn’t we dare."

He Zhao and Ao Xiong exchanged a covert glance, imperceptibly nodding.

The next moment.

The four cultivators from both sides turned into beams of light, speeding towards each other. Midway, Ao Xiong threw out an umbrella-shaped magic artifact to shield himself, then withstood a strike from Cao Wu’s flying sword. His body abruptly pivoted towards the newly advanced Golden Core cultivator.

Gathering all his spiritual power, his aura surged, the mid-stage Golden Core pressure encompassing the entire battlefield.

Clearly aiming to eliminate the support first.

"Not good!" Cao Wu’s face changed drastically, chasing frantically.

But it was too late!

He Zhao and Ao Xiong coordinated perfectly.

The prepared struck the unprepared!

Another mid-stage Golden Core thunderous strike followed.

The newly advanced Golden Core cultivator was completely caught off guard.

In just a moment’s encounter,

A blinding flash of light erupted.

His defenses were breached instantly, and he was slain on the spot by the pair.

Blood spilled across the sky.

The entire battle lasted but an instant, quick as lightning!

A Golden Core cultivator had already fallen.