Chapter 523: Siege
Lin Dong jumped onto the pavilion on the Tianpeng Bird. With a command, the bird took off toward the spiritual array through which the elders of the Jinshi Sect had entered.
As the Tianpeng Bird fully entered the array, the weather changed abruptly—the valley turned into an endless swamp of mud. A pungent stench filled the air. One by one, mud figures rose from the muck and gathered around the Tianpeng Bird. Everywhere, countless mud figures kept emerging.
The others remained unmoved. Yun Lan glanced around calmly. In an instant, her Green Rainbow Sword, glowing with light, sliced through the gloomy space, flying diagonally upward before plunging straight downward.
Thud!
With a soft sound, the Green Rainbow Sword pierced the back of one of the mud figures. Instantly, the mud figures everywhere collapsed and merged back into the swamp.
“Follow me!” Yun Lan soared into the air. Her Green Rainbow Sword flew back to her feet.
Under Lin Dong’s control, the Tianpeng Bird followed Yun Lan, turning left, stopping, then right…
At the center of the spiritual array, an elder of the Jinshi Sect who was guarding it suddenly stood up, his face filled with uncontrollable shock.
“Bad news—our opponent has a high-level spiritual array master. At this speed, if this is their first encounter with such an array, it must be an eighth-tier spiritual array master!”
“Elder, shall I lead some men to intercept them?” asked an elite disciple in a serious tone.
The Jinshi Sect elder remained silent. Sending someone to intercept could indeed buy some time. But what truly alarmed him was the threat posed by an eighth-tier spiritual array master to the Jinshi Sect.
The reason why the Jinshi Sect is not afraid of confronting other major sects despite the huge profits at stake is that it is a sect specializing in spirit arrays, with numerous arrays within, including many of the ninth level. Ordinary major sects simply cannot even enter the Jinshi Sect’s gates. Moreover, even if they go to other major spirit array sects to ask for the help of high-level array masters, no major sect will agree unless they can offer an irresistible sum of money. Firstly, because the Jinshi Sect is a long-established major sect in spirit arrays, no other sect wants to offend it; no matter how close their relationship with the Tianjian Sect is, no one would want to make an enemy of such a major spirit array sect. Otherwise, if circumstances change and the Jinshi Sect isn’t destroyed, it could lead to endless troubles. Additionally, other major spirit array sects also rely on their arrays for survival. If someone today gets their help to destroy another major spirit array sect, there’s no guarantee they won’t seek revenge in the future, and that sect won’t ask other major spirit array sects for help to break their arrays. Lessons from the past must be heeded, and no precedent should be set for future conflicts.
Furthermore, even if other major spirit array sects get involved, no one would be foolish enough to have the sect leader or top-ranking elders, who are crucial to the sect’s overall strength, take action personally. At most, they would send a few lower-ranked elders. The ninth-level spirit arrays of the Jinshi Sect are not weak; array masters below the seventh level entering them can at most reduce the opponent’s losses. By using ninth-level arrays to first eliminate the array masters sent by the other sect, complete safety can be ensured.
An eighth-level array master not only means the opponent can stay in the ninth-level array more easily and may even have the chance to break it if given enough time, but it also makes it much harder to eliminate the opponent’s array masters. To become an eighth-level array master, one must not only possess a high level of understanding and speed in array construction but also have strength at least at the sixth stage of the Xin Ni phase. Otherwise, without spiritual energy support, it’s just an illusion and cannot be considered an eighth-level array master.
A strong person at the sixth stage or above of the Xin Ni phase can hardly be killed, even if they temporarily hold off the peak-level warriors guarding them.
It’s one thing that the long-absent Dingtian Jiuzun showed up to seek revenge just over ten minutes after escaping, but it’s even more surprising that he brought along another peak-level warrior. Thinking this was the worst of it, they didn’t expect there to be an eighth-level array master inside as well.
The elders of the Golden Vision Sect were extremely anxious. With just two peak-level warriors, if they were willing to sacrifice lives, the sect’s ninth-tier spirit array could still hold out for ten or eight years. But if the opposing side had an eighth-tier spirit array master as well, it was uncertain whether they could last even a month.
Seeing that the elder remained silent, the elite disciple who spoke up immediately waved his hand decisively and called out over a dozen names, intending to send them to intercept. Sword lights flashed as Yun Lan rushed over.
The elders and disciples left behind in the Golden Vision Sect became agitated. In such a short time, they had already found the location of the array’s core.
“Kill!” The elder of the Golden Vision Sect didn’t dare overthink it. His sleeves swelled as he took the lead in attacking Yun Lan.
Boom…
The Green Rainbow Sword was thrust forward, its tip hitting the palm of the Golden Vision Sect elder’s right hand. With a loud explosion, the sword pursued its advantage, sending the elder flying backward. Just one encounter was enough to determine who was stronger.
During this brief exchange, the Tianpeng Bird took flight. The elite disciples of the Golden Vision Sect, who had planned to join the attack, were stunned.
With such a massive size and imposing presence, they realized at that moment that the elders had ordered them to stay behind not just to buy time, but to use them as sacrificial pawns.
On the Tianpeng Bird, Feng Yue and Lin Dong rushed down, wielding a Ruyi Stool and a pair of fleshy palms to attack the elite disciples left behind. Like wolves among sheep, though the two of them were not particularly large or numerous, their overwhelming momentum far surpassed that of the dozen-plus elite disciples of the Golden Vision Sect.
There was no suspense in the outcome. Wherever the Ruyi Stool passed, people fell. Feng Yue’s fleshy palms killed anyone they touched instantly.
On the Tianpeng Bird, Old Ding sat calmly in a pavilion, sipping fine wine. His face no longer showed its usual leisure and laziness; instead, it was filled with grim seriousness. He knew that Lin Dong had a dish called Braised Wind Spirit Grass, which could revive Yun Cangqiong no matter how badly he was injured. But that was only because Yun Cangqiong was lucky. Without that dish, if Lin Dong and Yun Lan hadn’t arrived in time, Yun Cangqiong would not have survived.
In his life, Old Ding loved wine the most and valued friends the most. Beyond that, he desired nothing else. The actions of the Golden Vision Sect had severely violated his bottom line—a thing he could not tolerate. Having reached his current level, he no longer enjoyed killing, but when he truly got angry, it wasn’t just a few lives that could settle it.
The reason he didn’t act at this moment was that he wasn’t in a hurry. He wanted to make the Golden Vision Sect understand what a true peak warrior was. If they really wanted to chase after the sect leader and elders of the Golden Vision Sect, they could simply use the Tianpeng Bird to fly straight through those spirit arrays.
Without Old Ding stepping in, the battle ended quickly. After Feng Yue and Lin Dong slew over a dozen elite disciples of the Golden Vision Sect in one go, they turned to see Yun Lan’s Green Rainbow Sword already piercing through the heart of an elder from the sect.
“Elder Feng, destroy this array core!” Yun Lan pointed at a conical object in front of her, made up of eighth-tier spirit stones and peculiar spirit minerals.
Feng Yue extended his right hand and gently pressed it on the conical object. Surging spiritual energy burst forth, instantly creating a howling hurricane around him.
Boom…
A fierce wind arose, with debris flying everywhere.
The vast swamp collapsed in an instant, and the world reverted to its original valley. Looking back, there were only about two hundred meters left to the end.
The three of them flew together onto the pavilion. At a command, the Tianpeng Bird spread its wings again and fearlessly rushed into the next eighth-tier spirit array.
Yun Lan explored the spirit array for a while until she figured out the pattern governing it. Then, she led the group to fly straight to the array core. The remaining members of the Golden Vision Sect were similar to those in the first eighth-tier spirit array—just an elder at around the sixth level of the Heart Reversal stage and over a dozen elite disciples.
Blood filled the air. After Feng Yue destroyed the array core, the four of them turned their attention back to the valley.
With this pattern of fighting and stopping, though far slower than the fleeing sect leader and elders, their speed was still astonishing. With Yun Lan, an eighth-tier spirit array master, and Feng Yue, a peak warrior, it took less than half an hour to destroy each eighth-tier spirit array.
All seven eighth-tier spirit arrays were quickly destroyed. What appeared before them was an endless sea of people—thousands upon thousands, stretching as far as the eye could see.
“They’ve come out. The Spirit Tree is likely in their hands.”
“Stop them! The Spirit Tree is in their possession!”
Chaos ensued as people armed with weapons tried to incite others to intercept them, hoping to take advantage of the situation.
Since the sect leader and elders of the Golden Vision Sect had been able to pass through unimpeded, such a trivial task was nothing for Lin Dong and the others.
“Whoever blocks us will be killed without mercy!” Feng Yue roared loudly, his voice soaring into the sky and reaching dozens of miles away.
With a push of his palms, a fierce wind blew out, leaving no one able to stand firm. Warriors at the lowest level of the Heart Stirring stage to those at the highest level of the Heart Spirit stage all staggered and fell in the hurricane.
That single push instantly scattered the onlookers in all directions.
The old man with the cauldron waved his hand casually, grabbed a sect disciple to lead the way, and then the Tianpeng Bird let out a soft cry before taking off. They reached the skies above the Jinshi Sect. Looking down from above, the sect was crowded with people, clearly preparing for defense. “Elder, shall we just attack directly?” Lin Dong asked. The old man with the cauldron shook his head. “Don’t you have quite a few people? How many can you assign?” Not understanding his intention, Lin Dong nodded and said, “I can assign about five to six hundred people.” “Isn’t the Jinshi Sect relying on their large numbers to attack Yun Cangqiong? Yun, set up formations to encircle the entire Jinshi Sect,” the old man said solemnly. Lin Dong was stunned—this was no longer just destroying a sect but exterminating it! Even the usually gentle Elder with the Cauldron could be so ruthless. Yun Lan hesitated for a moment before nodding firmly. The Tianpeng Bird dived downward, while the old man with the cauldron and Feng Yue took positions on opposite sides, focusing their minds outward to prevent anyone from leaving the sect. Yun Lan took out materials and began arranging various eighth-tier spirit formations around the Jinshi Sect. Meanwhile, Lin Dong led the Tianpeng Bird toward Hongtu City. After returning to the Lin’s Inn, he immediately used the transportation gate to reach the Lin’s Inn in Southwest City. There, he changed the healing bonus of braised Wind Spirit Grass to fifteen times before rushing to the capital to find Ma Chun and briefing him about the matter, asking him to gather all available guards and send them to the Jinshi Sect.