Chapter 39
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 39
The current Sect Leader of the Everlasting Spring Sect, long believed to linger merely at the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment—
He, too, was a Golden Core cultivator.
It was never that the Everlasting Spring Sect lacked a Golden Core cultivator. They had two!
Kwaaaa!
The inner barrier of the Nine Peaks Rejuvenation Formation expanded in a single breath.
A verdant wall of light surged toward the Outer Affairs Market, violently repelling the assailants. Embedded deep in the soil, the six Counter-Pulse Spikes tore free from the earth amid a furious backlash of crimson energy.
Crack!
The Foundation Establishment cultivators anchoring the Six-Spike Counter-Pulse Formation spewed mouthfuls of blood. The elders of the Everlasting Spring Sect did not miss the opening.
Swish, swish, swish!
Dozens of brilliant sword rays descended like a torrential squall upon the Foundation Establishment cultivators disguised as rogues.
In an instant, the tide of battle reversed.
“The Sect Leader has formed his Golden Core!”
“Our sect has two Golden Core seniors!”
The ecstatic roars of the Everlasting Spring Sect disciples shook the nine peaks.
Conversely, the rogue cultivators gathered in the Outer Affairs Market fell into utter turmoil, and the raiders lurking among them were thrown into disarray.
A sharp magical light flared in Venerable Crimson Furnace’s eyes as he glared at the Sect Leader.
“You deceived us. You didn’t just recently ascend to the Golden Core Stage.”
His voice, dense with magical power, reverberated scorchingly across the battlefield.
“Very well! That is merely one more piece of proof that the Everlasting Spring Sect has deceived the cultivators of the Ram Kingdom!”
The cheers of the Everlasting Spring Sect disciples faltered.
The rogue cultivators in the market exchanged bewildered glances.
“How utterly insidious!” Venerable Crimson Furnace roared, throwing his arms wide. “The Everlasting Spring Sect hid the birth of a new Golden Core cultivator! Masquerading as a humble sect led by a mere Foundation Establishment master, you peddled Vitality-Raising Pills and milked every last spirit stone from the Ram Kingdom’s rogue cultivators! Caught selling tainted pills, you now bare your fangs to flaunt your Golden Core cultivation and order everyone to back down?!”
The Sect Leader’s expression remained placid.
“Nonsense. There has never been anything wrong with our pills. Nor am I obligated to broadcast my cultivation realm to the world.”
Venerable Crimson Furnace bellowed in response. “The pill inspection seal is genuine, and the corpses are genuine! Even the Sect Leader’s Golden Core is genuine—so why do you insist the Everlasting Spring Sect’s guilt is a lie?!”
Uneasy murmurs rippled through the rogue cultivators once more.
His logic took a wild, twisted leap.
The presence of the pill inspection seal and the dead did not prove that the Everlasting Spring Sect had manufactured counterfeit Vitality-Raising Pills. Nor did concealing the Sect Leader’s cultivation realm have any bearing on the medicine itself.
Yet the formidable divine sense woven into Venerable Crimson Furnace’s voice coerced the Qi Refining cultivators, subtly pressing their minds to conflate these unrelated facts into one massive, monstrous deception.
Lady White Ash spoke up, her tone soft yet cutting.
“The Everlasting Spring Sect took spirit stones from the rogue cultivators of the Ram Kingdom while hiding its true strength. You gladly reaped the profits, yet when the hour came to answer for your deeds, you retreated behind your mountain gates.”
Her gaze drifted sorrowfully toward the seven coffins.
“Is this what passes for righteous conduct?”
“You still babble nonsense without batting an eye.”
The Grand Sect Master casually rested his gnarled walking stick against his shoulder. His gaze swept over the coffins and the injured sprawled across the Outer Affairs Market.
“I wonder how many among them are truly rogue cultivators. Those youths over there seem to hail not from the Cheongro Kingdom, but from the Namryeo Kingdom. Who are you trying to fool? The fishy stench of the sea clings to them like a plague.”
The Grand Sect Master pointed his cane toward the shattered remnants of the Counter-Pulse Spikes strewn across the market floor.
“Did the victims prepare those specialized formation implements? And what of the flying boats and cultivators lying in ambush beyond the outer boundary—are they merely mourners brought along to assist with a funeral?”
The rogue cultivators stared at the shattered iron spikes and the distant flying boats in dawning bewilderment.
“We had no idea such things were hidden out there!”
“Did the Hongro Sect use us as pawns?”
“Wait… why did I even rush here in the first place?”
The crowd’s conviction began to fracture.
Venerable Crimson Furnace wasted no more breath.
“It seems strength is the only language you understand.”
Dong—
Nine blazing fire dragons roared forth from the pill cauldron hovering behind him.
The Grand Sect Master leveled his walking stick.
“Indeed. Isn’t it far better to be honest, Crimson Furnace?”
Thud.
The instant the Grand Sect Master’s staff struck the earth, the forests of the Everlasting Spring Mountains surged as one. Hundreds of towering trees and ancient roots intertwined in midair, forming a living bulwark against the onslaught of flames.
Beside him, the young Sect Leader raised an ordinary-looking tree branch. Yet the ripples of magical power radiating from it were terrifyingly vast.
Four distinct leaves sprouted from the branch:
A tender light-green leaf.
A verdant summer leaf.
A radiant golden leaf.
A pristine, snow-white leaf.
Opposite him, Lady White Ash unfurled her folding fan.
“A magical treasure bearing the cycle of the four seasons…”
With a flick of her wrist, white ash blanketed the sky like an apocalyptic blizzard.
That signaled the true clash.
Every time a fire dragon lashed out, dozens of ancient trees burst into flames—yet wherever the ashes fell, even more roots surged from the earth to take their place.
Kbaaaang!
A colossal trunk wrapped in emerald roots slammed into the crimson pill cauldron. Venerable Crimson Furnace was thrown back dozens of zhang, cloud and all, as a hairline fracture spread across the cauldron’s bronze surface.
Lady White Ash’s ashen gale withered the vitality of the spring leaf and rotted the golden autumn leaf, but the moment frost scattering from the pure white leaf froze the ash in midair, hundreds of thorny seeds burrowed through the open gaps.
The deadly exchanges unfolded in the span of a single breath.
Down on the earth, the magical artifacts and spells of dozens of Foundation Establishment cultivators crossed in a ceaseless, chaotic flurry. Yet even while locked in life-and-death duels, both the Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining cultivators could not help but cast terrified glances toward the heavens.
Every time the Golden Core experts unleashed a spell, the entire Nine Peaks Rejuvenation Formation shuddered violently.
Boom!
The stray aftershocks leaking from the Golden Core clash carried enough force to obliterate dozens of Qi Refining cultivators in an instant. Though the protective barrier absorbed the brunt of the fallout, the strain on the disciples manning the formation nodes mounted rapidly.
As Lee Hyun surveyed the battlefield, Bae Gyeong-song spoke beside him.
“We’re pushing them back.”
It was true.
Venerable Crimson Furnace and Lady White Ash were formidable, but this was the Everlasting Spring Sect’s home territory, fortified by the ancient Nine Peaks Rejuvenation Formation. Venerable Crimson Furnace’s robes were shredded in multiple places, a distinct crack marring his prized cauldron. A vibrant green leaf was lodged deep into Lady White Ash’s faded fan.
The disciples of the Everlasting Spring Sect cheered, their spirits soaring.
Yet Lee Hyun felt a gnawing sense of unease.
Neither Venerable Crimson Furnace nor Lady White Ash showed the slightest trace of panic or desperation.
Something is wrong.
Their initial siege made tactical sense. If the Everlasting Spring Sect truly lacked a Golden Core cultivator—or possessed only a decrepit elder unfit for battle—this was a rare opportunity to seize a newly formed Tier 3 spirit vein. As long as they maintained a plausible pretext, the great sects of the Ram Kingdom possessing Nascent Soul sovereigns would not intervene too deeply.
However, that gamble only held if they could win. In a Tier 4 cultivation realm like this kingdom, Golden Core cultivators were supreme entities, answering only to the few Nascent Soul sovereigns. There was no reason for them to risk their cultivation and lives sustaining a losing battle.
Just then—
Hm?
Lee Hyun looked up.
The wind had shifted.
Amid the stench of scorched earth, smoke, and blood that choked the battlefield, a faint, briny scent drifted on the breeze.
Crash.
From somewhere indistinct, the sound of breaking waves echoed.
The cultivators of the Everlasting Spring Sect looked around in confusion.
The sound came again, louder, closer.
Clear water began to seep through the rubble of the Outer Affairs Market, rising with alarming speed.
Ankles.
Knees.
Waist.
Yet the phenomenon was deeply bizarre.
Though the collapsed pavilions and bodies were submerged in water, no one choked. Their garments did not grow damp.
A small fish with shimmering silver scales swam past the crowd, gliding effortlessly through the air. Dozens of azure fish trailed in its wake.
Before long, the entire Outer Affairs Market seemed plunged into the depths of a boundless ocean.
It was not true seawater, but a colossal manifestation woven of water qi and divine sense that felt indistinguishable from reality.
Only one tier of existence could wield such divine might with such casual ease.
Sim Yeon-ju whispered, her face bloodless.
“Another Golden Core cultivator…”
The sunlight vanished from the sky.
Everyone turned their eyes upward.
The southern sky above the Everlasting Spring Mountains had transformed into a shimmering azure surface. Where clouds should have drifted, vast oceanic swells rolled and broke.
The colossal silhouette of a whale glided beneath the water’s surface, its body stretching dozens of zhang in length.
Whoooosh—
As the whale breached and spouted a tremendous plume of water, an azure deluge cascaded over the Everlasting Spring Mountains.
Then, a figure strode across the inverted sea.
One step.
Silver ripples expanded beneath his feet.
Another step.
The distance collapsed, bringing the man into sharp relief.
His hair was bound with a coronet carved from white jade and crimson coral. His sweeping robe was woven of deep blue silk, lavishly embroidered in silver thread with cresting waves and nameless sea beasts. With every sway of his sleeves, the stitched beasts swam as though alive.
Hovering behind his back was a silver ring artifact as tall as a man. Azure currents swirled in an endless vortex within its hollow center, the metal etched with foreign, intricate formation scripts.
The moment Lee Hyun caught sight of the medallion hanging at the man’s waist, his pupils narrowed.
The Azure Tide Merchant Alliance?
The Azure Tide Merchant Alliance possessed no Golden Core cultivators. At least, that had been the case when Lee Hyun fled the Namryeo Kingdom.
A Foundation Establishment elder from the Outer Affairs Peak recognized the newcomer and let out a strangled gasp.
“Wanderer of the Azure Sea… The Golden Core guest retainer the Azure Tide Merchant Alliance recruited from across the Southern Nether Sea!”
Wanderer of the Azure Sea.
He was a figure whose name had recently begun echoing across the southern regions of the Namryeo Kingdom.
The man glanced at the minor wounds on Venerable Crimson Furnace and Lady White Ash before casting his gaze downward upon the Everlasting Spring Sect.
“The ocean receives ten thousand rivers.”
His voice crashed over the Everlasting Spring Mountains like a tidal bore.
“It embraces both clear and turbid waters without prejudice. Yet it cannot abide poison.”
Waves crested across the inverted azure sky.
Hearing his resonant, echoing voice, the cultivators below felt as small and fragile as lonely travelers stranded before an endless ocean. Disciples with weaker divine sense stumbled back, their spirits trembling.
“Though I hail from distant seas, the Dao knows no borders, nor does the grievance of the unjustly slain belong to a single land.”
He let out a gentle, lamenting sigh.
“For generations, the Azure Tide Merchant Alliance has supplied pills and spirit plants to the Ram Kingdom. Bearing witness to the agony of the Ram Kingdom’s rogue cultivators, how could I, a guest retainer, remain an idle bystander?”
The Grand Sect Master fixed his eyes upon him.
“I was unaware that guest retainers of the Azure Tide Merchant Alliance were tasked with attacking sovereign sects.”
“To turn a blind eye to injustice would bring shame upon me—not merely as a guest retainer, but as a cultivator who has attained the Golden Core standing before juniors.”
“Splendid words,” the Grand Sect Master nodded coldly. “Yet I find it curious. How does one who rushed here solely upon hearing of injustice happen to know the exact hour our outer formation would breach?”
Wanderer of the Azure Sea merely smiled.
The Sect Leader spoke next. “Was it you, Fellow Daoist, who brought the Vitality-Unblocking Pills into the Ram Kingdom?”
“The distribution of medicinal goods is a trifling matter handled by juniors. I am unacquainted with the details.”
“Is that so?”
Lee Hyun did not miss the brief, subtle hesitation before Wanderer of the Azure Sea answered.
He’s directly involved.
Wanderer of the Azure Sea casually appraised the Sect Leader, seeming mildly surprised by his hidden strength, before letting his gaze fall on the Grand Sect Master’s withered frame and wooden cane.
“For a Golden Core cultivator to be so frail… It seems that in the Ram Kingdom, even a half-dead husk is enough to lay claim to a Tier 3 spirit vein.”
The faces of the Everlasting Spring Sect elders darkened at the blatant insult.
Venerable Crimson Furnace spoke. “Fellow Daoist Changmyeong, it appears the Everlasting Spring Sect has no intention of admitting its guilt willingly.”
Lady White Ash added softly, “For the sake of the departed souls, the mountain gates must be forced open.”
Wanderer of the Azure Sea gave a slow nod.
“Then I suppose our righteous parley ends here.”
He raised his right hand.
The silver ring hovering behind him began to spin violently.
Kwwaaahhh—
The ocean suspended in the heavens poured down toward Everlasting Spring Peak in its terrifying entirety.
The Grand Sect Master and the Sect Leader formed hand seals in perfect unison. Colossal forests surged from the earth and a radiant mandala of the four seasons blossomed in the sky, straining to bear the crushing weight of the descending sea.
KBOOOOOM!
Shockwaves rippled across all nine peaks. Thousands of spirit stones slotted into the formation stations shattered into dust in an instant, and the disciples maintaining the nodes coughed up mouthfuls of blood.
Yet the deluge did not stop.
Even with two Golden Core cultivators joining forces, the suffocating water pressed downward inch by inch.
Seizing the opening, Venerable Crimson Furnace’s fire dragons and Lady White Ash’s ashen storm crashed against the strained inner formation once more.
Crrraaaack!
Standing atop the inverted sea, Wanderer of the Azure Sea looked down with cool disdain.
“The ocean tide does not count the peaks it drowns.”
The colossal silhouette of the whale rose behind his back, blotting out the light. As its cavernous jaws parted, layers of dark azure currents swirled deep within.
“Allow this Changmyeong to witness…”
The Golden Core cultivator from the southern sea swept his hand downward.
“Just how profound the Dao arts of the Ram Kingdom truly are!”
A dark blue deluge plunged toward the mountain like a falling sky. Against that titanic force, Everlasting Spring Peak looked like a fragile, pitiful reef waiting to be crushed.
Right at that moment—
“Halt.”
A calm, resonant voice rang out across the world, sounding like a scholar drawing an ink brush across fine paper.
A majestic purple stroke slashed across the dark blue sea. Vertical and horizontal lines intersected in rapid succession, carving a colossal character across the firmament: Halt.
Kwooooom—
The cascading ocean froze solid above the Everlasting Spring Mountains. From the droplets foaming at the crests of the waves to the silver fish darting through the currents, everything was locked in place, motionless.
Wanderer of the Azure Sea sharply turned his gaze toward the north.
A cloud of purple mist drifted leisurely from the horizon. Standing atop it was a middle-aged scholar clad in robes embroidered with crane patterns. He wore a modest scholar’s cap, his three-strand beard neatly trimmed, and in his right hand, he held a foot-long ruler carved from flawless white jade. His serene eyes carried the refined, unshakeable aura of a transcendent sage.
“Scholar Jaun!”
“It’s Scholar Jaun of the Supreme Harmony Sect!”
Ecstatic murmurs rippled across the ranks of the Everlasting Spring Sect.
The Supreme Harmony Sect.
Occupying a premier Tier 4 spirit vein in the heart of the Ram Kingdom, it was a colossal sect boasting a Nascent Soul Grand Patriarch and Sect Master, commanding dozens of Golden Core masters beneath them. The names of either the Supreme Harmony Sect or the Ziwei Sword Sect were stamped upon every major treaty and covenant across the kingdom’s cultivation world.
It was one of the paramount powers steering the fate of the Ram Kingdom.
Scholar Jaun lightly raised his white jade ruler.
“Seeking to destroy a magnificent mountain within another’s domain. Do they teach this as proper etiquette across the Southern Nether Sea?”
Wanderer of the Azure Sea chuckled softly.
“I merely could not tolerate injustice.”
“Do you refer to the Everlasting Spring Sect’s Vitality-Raising Pills?”
“Indeed.”
Scholar Jaun retrieved a slender golden ledger from his flowing sleeve. Tapping it with his white jade ruler, glowing golden script drifted out and expanded across the sky:
[770 Vitality-Unblocking Pills and 80 catties of Meridian-Severing Grass.
Received into inventory by the Azure Tide Merchant Alliance.
Everlasting Spring Sect Vitality-Raising Pill bottles and damaged Spirit-Sealing Talismans purchased.
Totaling over 1,100 items.]
The cultivators in the Outer Affairs Market stared slack-jawed at the records shimmering in the air.
Scholar Jaun tapped the ledger again.
The flow of Vitality-Unblocking Pills and spirit stones into various Azure Tide Merchant Alliance storehouses branched out into complex trails. Yet when traced back by date and origin, nearly every single transaction converged upon a single maritime route.
It was a trade route originating from the southern Namryeo Kingdom and plunging deep into the Southern Nether Sea.
At the terminus of the route sat a crest bearing wave-and-cloud patterns—an insignia foreign to the Ram Kingdom.
Scholar Jaun spoke calmly. “These are the official records compiled by the Supreme Harmony Sect’s Inspectorate. The individuals who smuggled the Vitality-Unblocking Pills into our lands and those who bought up the Everlasting Spring Sect’s empty pill bottles transacted directly within the storehouses of the Azure Tide Merchant Alliance.”
A furious roar erupted from the rogue cultivators below.
“They bought up that many empty pill bottles?!”
“Why on earth would an alliance need broken talismans and empty bottles?!”
“It was the Azure Tide Merchant Alliance that brought in the Vitality-Unblocking Pills all along!”
Scholar Jaun’s clear voice cut through the clamor.
“The Vitality-Unblocking Pill itself is an ordinary, harmless medicinal pill. However, the pills recovered from the victims bore traces of having been melted down and re-condensed, along with the lingering toxicity of Meridian-Severing Grass. During that exact timeframe, the Azure Tide Merchant Alliance procured Vitality-Unblocking Pills, Meridian-Severing Grass, and hundreds of discarded Everlasting Spring Sect bottles and seals. For a mere coincidence, the ingredients for murder aligned with far too much precision.”
Scholar Jaun’s sharp eyes swept over Venerable Crimson Furnace, Lady White Ash, and Wanderer of the Azure Sea.
“Disguising poison pills as Vitality-Raising Pills to slaughter innocents, then dragging their corpses to this mountain to serve as your shields. For such people to stand before this realm and lecture on righteousness makes even an outsider like me blush with shame.”
The crowd in the market erupted into wild, venomous rage.
“They murdered our brethren just to frame the Everlasting Spring Sect!”
Venerable Crimson Furnace’s face turned thoroughly ash-pale.
“Fellow Daoist Jaun! Do you intend to slander even our Hongro Sect without concrete proof?!”
“Fellow Daoist?” Scholar Jaun’s gaze turned freezing cold. “Since when did a minor sect like Hongro dare question a cultivator of the Supreme Harmony Sect? Conspiring with overseas forces to slaughter cultivators of our kingdom—do you even possess the shame to speak to me?”
Scholar Jaun snapped the ledger shut and pointed his white jade ruler forward.
“Even if the Everlasting Spring Sect is guilty, judgment falls under the laws of the Ram Kingdom. We will never permit a blade drawn from the southern seas to mete out punishment upon our land.”
The faint amusement died in the eyes of Wanderer of the Azure Sea. Inside the silver ring, the tides churned violently before unleashing a crescent-shaped wave of pressurized water, surging forth to bisect both the floating ledger and Scholar Jaun where they stood.
Shweeeek!
Yet before the strike could hit its mark, a single black bamboo leaf sliced cleanly through the center of the crest.
Snip.
The silver wave, spanning dozens of zhang across, was sheared in two with surgical ease.
Rustle.
A blank white scroll unfurled silently in the empty air. Standing delicately atop the tip of an ink-painted bamboo shoot on the canvas was a woman who appeared no older than twenty-five. She was clad in a modest black-and-white robe, her waist-length hair pinned with a single ink-bamboo hairpin. In her right hand, she held a slender brush.
Wanderer of the Azure Sea narrowed his eyes. “And what kind of spell might this be?”
Down below, a rogue cultivator cried out in astonishment. “It’s Lady So Juk-yeon of the Supreme Harmony Sect!”
So Juk-yeon was not only a renowned talisman master within the Ram Kingdom, but an eccentric genius who cultivated the Dao of Painting.
Lifting her brush, she swept a single stroke across the blank margin of the scroll. Instantly, the vast ocean canopy smothering the Everlasting Spring Mountains began to spiral inward, violently drawn toward the paper. The colossal silhouette of the whale, the spiraling schools of fish, and every droplet of suspended water coalesced into a massive vortex, swallowed whole into the painted world.
Wanderer of the Azure Sea gave a quiet nod of appreciation. “It seems the Ram Kingdom possesses quite respectable Dao arts after all.”
Scholar Jaun spoke evenly. “If you withdraw this instant, the Supreme Harmony Sect will overlook your insolence.”
“Do you truly believe the two of you can hold me back?” Wanderer of the Azure Sea looked between Scholar Jaun and So Juk-yeon, devoid of even a trace of apprehension. “What difference does it make whether there are two of you, or three?”
The silver ring whirred as the ocean within churned with terrifying ferocity. Twelve distinct lights materialized from the deep, resolving into twelve dark blue beads. Locked within each translucent sphere was an entire miniature seascape. It was a peculiar magical treasure, forged through spirit materials and refining methods foreign to anything found in the Ram Kingdom.
“Allow me to experience the techniques of the Supreme Harmony Sect firsthand.”
So Juk-yeon’s brow suddenly twitched. “Wait… this is…”
At that exact moment, the horizons sealed within all twelve beads flared with brilliance simultaneously. A beam of radiant light surged forth from the spheres, reaching far across the sky toward the distant southern horizon.
Scholar Jaun’s expression hardened into stone. So Juk-yeon’s gaze snapped toward the southern sky as well, her lips parting in a flurry of silent, frantic sound transmissions.
Though no mortal ear could catch the message, the Sect Leader and the Grand Sect Master stiffened and looked up. The lips of the four Golden Core cultivators moved in synchronized haste.
An instant later, the faces of every Foundation Establishment elder turned dead white.
Buzz.
The sect identity token resting at Lee Hyun’s waist vibrated faintly.
[Yeon-ju, Gyeong-song, Dong-i. Listen calmly.]
It was the voice of Go Won-hak.
[Return to the Yang Fire Courtyard this instant. Gather your belongings within half an incense stick’s time and make for North Gate Three.]
Sim Yeon-ju quickly replied through sound transmission:
[Master, what has happened?]
[A Nascent Soul cultivator may be approaching. Show no outward panic. It will do us no good if the enemy realizes we are executing a full evacuation.]
Go Won-hak’s tone was clipped, urgent, and unyielding.
[Take charge of ten disciples at or below the middle stage of Qi Refining.]
[What about you, Master?]
[If Foundation Establishment cultivators travel alongside you, you will become immediate targets. The elders and stewards will divide the core inheritances among ourselves and break out separately. Do not board any large flying boats. Do not rise above the forest canopy; navigate the ravines and tree line, keeping your flight low to the earth. Once you clear two hundred li, regroup, split apart again, and do not stop running until you cross into the territory of the Supreme Harmony Sect or the Ziwei Sword Sect.]
The connection severed abruptly.
Without a second thought, the three turned and sprinted toward Pill Cauldron Peak. High above them, the sky detonated anew as the clash among the seven Golden Core powerhouses resumed with earth-shattering fury.
* * *
By the time they reached the Yang Fire Courtyard, utter pandemonium had already taken hold.
Protective wards over the herb storehouses were being broken one after another. Stewards who normally spent hours scrutinizing ledgers were now sweeping scrolls of pill recipes, bottled elixirs, and rare medicinal ingredients wholesale into their storage pouches.
Lee Hyun headed straight for his dwelling. His true wealth was safely hidden away inside Tunnel No. 2, leaving him with virtually nothing to pack.
As he jogged past the Communal Alchemy Room, a steward in charge of the herb vaults caught sight of him and frantically waved him down. Resting beside the man’s feet was a Tier 1 supreme-grade pill cauldron—an exceptional piece, pristine compared to the standard cauldrons of the courtyard.
“Dong-i! You’re traveling light. Do you have space left in your pouch?”
“Yes, Senior.”
“Then take this with you! Leaving it behind will only hand them free plunder!”
The steward shoved the heavy bronze cauldron straight into his chest.
Blinking in surprise, Lee Hyun reached out and swept the waist-high bronze cauldron into his storage pouch.
Before half an incense stick had burned down, dozens of disciples had assembled before North Gate Three. Among them, thirteen members of the Yang Fire Courtyard formed a tight-knit squad.
Sim Yeon-ju and Bae Gyeong-song took point, while Lee Hyun brought up the rear. The remaining ten were young disciples at the 6th layer of Qi Refining or below.
A Green Leaf Boat measuring roughly five zhang in length was hauled out from a nearby emergency depot. Shaped like an elongated emerald leaf, it was a Tier 1 mid-grade Flying Magical Artifact designed for silent, low-altitude maneuvering through dense woodland.
A Foundation Establishment Elder locked eyes with the three leaders and transmitted his voice to them alone.
[Take turns steering the vessel. Under no circumstances are you to rise above the forest canopy, and do not tail the other escape boats.]
Without another word, the elder threw open the heavy seals of North Gate Three.
Hummmm—
Carrying all thirteen disciples, the Green Leaf Boat slipped silently past the azure boundary barrier.
Sim Yeon-ju seized the controls and immediately dipped their altitude below the forest canopy. The sleek hull skimmed inches above the jagged rocks of a ravine before banking sharply through the thick trunks of ancient trees. Behind them, another hidden gate flickered open and closed; disciples from every peak were scattering into the wilderness, each detachment charting their own desperate path of escape.
The heavens behind them remained a riot of blinding light. Searing crimson flames, crackling violet talismans, surging azure waves, and streaks of pitch-black ink clashed and overlapped, casting surreal shadows across the forest as if day and night were alternating in seconds. Even miles away, the concussive shockwaves of the Golden Core battle rattled the hull beneath their boots.
* * *
Roughly sixty li northeast of the Everlasting Spring Mountains.
Just as the Green Leaf Boat was about to break through a narrow gorge, six vicious streaks of bronze light erupted from the thicket ahead.
Swish-swish-swish!
Lee Hyun’s reaction was instantaneous. With a flick of his fingers, ten layered sheets of Spirit Light Shields blossomed in front of the bow.
BOOM!
The foremost six barriers shattered under the ferocious impact, but the surviving inner layers held at an angle, deflecting the incoming flying swords outward. The bronze blades scraped past the gunwales of the Green Leaf Boat by mere inches, gouging deep fissures into the surrounding stone walls and felling several ancient trees.
The kinetic backlash violently rattled the vessel. Sim Yeon-ju pulled back on the controls, ditching the boat into a small clearing below.
“Everyone, out!”
Before the junior disciples could even scramble onto the grass, two suffocating waves of Foundation Establishment spiritual pressure crashed down upon the clearing.
Stepping out from the shadows of the forward tree line was a cultivator draped in a dark gray robe. With an idle gesture of his hand, the six deflected Bronze Flying Swords snapped back into formation, hovering menacingly above his shoulders.
Behind them, atop the cliff edge, a second Foundation Establishment cultivator clad in navy robes emerged from the mist. In his grasp was a heavy Black Iron Spear that stood taller than a man.
Front and back, their escape route was completely severed.
Sim Yeon-ju and Bae Gyeong-song drew their weapons without hesitation, while the ten junior disciples huddled tightly into a defensive circle.
Lee Hyun grasped his hilt and drew the Mountain-Suppressing Sword.
Chiiing—
An uncanny, lethal radiance gathered along the edge of the blade.
The instant the gray-robed cultivator caught sight of the sword, his posture stiffened violently.
“You…”
Overcome by sheer disbelief, the man ripped off his cloth mask, revealing a weathered face.
“Badger!”
Lee Hyun’s eyes narrowed slightly. An Alliance Elder from Jeokyo Island?
The spearman on the cliff glanced down, furrowing his brows in confusion. “You know this kid?”
“Do not drop your guard!” the gray-robed cultivator roared, his spiritual energy spiking in panic. “Kill him! Kill him right now!”