Eternal Life by Daily Divination

The war between the Two Domains brought the Core Formation Ceremony to an abrupt halt.

Everyone departed one after another.

Li Chang’an, for his part, was happy for the peace and quiet.

In the days that followed, news constantly trickled in.

The Western Domain’s grand army was pressing forward, successively breaking through several Spiritual Lands guarded by Golden Core Masters.

The Cyan Cloud Sect and the Ten Thousand Swords Sect each lost a Master, and the Dan Valley Xiao Family also saw a Golden Core Master fall.

The heartlands of the Southern Domain were being steadily devoured by the Western Domain.

As a Golden Core Master, Li Chang’an was now one of the top figures in the entire Southern Domain. Naturally, he could no longer stand by idly as he had in the past.

He took action many times, traveling to various fronts and repelling the invading enemies on several occasions, but the combat prowess he displayed was far from outstanding.

It was more or less what everyone had guessed.

His strength was comparable to that of an Early Stage Golden Core Cultivator with many years of accumulated power.

’The strength I showed in the last few battles was reasonably normal. I just need to maintain this level and not stand out too much.’

Li Chang’an was deliberately controlling his own strength.

If he didn’t hold back, he could even kill a Late Stage Golden Core Cultivator!

「In the months that followed.」

Changqing Mountain also suffered several attacks.

But the attackers weren’t strong. They all seemed to be testing the waters, mostly striking once before retreating.

’These people must have been sent by Shi Hu.’

Li Chang’an mused.

He could tell that Shi Hu was doing this to ascertain his true strength.

The man appeared rough and boorish, but he was quite cautious and didn’t attack directly.

While continuously probing, he also planted numerous spies around Changqing Mountain.

Clearly, he was waiting for the right opportunity.

Little did he know...

...Li Chang’an was also looking for an opportunity to deal with Shi Hu’s trusted right-hand men.

Time flew, and in the blink of an eye, half a year had passed.

「On this day.」

The Mu Family faced its most severe crisis in a thousand years.

The family’s ancestor, Mu Song, was at the end of his lifespan. Though withered and gaunt, he had to hold on by a thread to preside over the Mu Clan Territory’s Tier Three Array.

The enemy’s grand army was at their gates.

「Outside Red Leaf Valley.」

A Tier Three giant python, hundreds of zhang long, coiled in the air. It flicked its scarlet tongue, its Demon Qi thick and its scales menacing. Its colossal body resembled a mountain range.

Hundreds of Western Cultivators stood upon the giant python’s body.

On its head stood two Golden Core Masters.

One of them wore a black robe and had a black snake scale on his forehead. His aura was similar to that of Cyan Snake Master, who had once attacked Changqing Mountain.

This person’s Daoist title was Black Snake.

He was the Daoist partner of Cyan Snake Master and also a Cultivator from the Western Hundred Beasts Sect.

The other person’s aura was slightly weaker, but he was born with three pupils. A vertical eye was set in the center of his forehead, its gaze sweeping over Red Leaf Valley’s Grand Array with an eerie light.

"Within this Red Leaf Valley, there should be twelve Tier Three Arrays."

"Four each of Tier Three Early, Middle, and Late Stage Arrays, forming a complete Ring Array."

"That Mu Song of the Mu Family is presiding from within these twelve arrays..."

The man retracted his gaze and slowly described the Mu Family’s entire array formation.

His name was Fang Mao. He was also a Cultivator from Hundred Beasts Valley. Although his strength was only at the Early Stage of Golden Core, he was exceptionally talented in the path of arrays and was already a Tier Three Top Grade Array Master.

He had come here today, naturally, to break through the Mu Clan Territory and utterly annihilate the Mu Family.

Black Snake Master asked, "Daoist Fang, are you confident you can break the Red Leaf Valley’s arrays?"

Fang Mao shook his head slightly. "Not for the moment."

"What do you mean?"

"Daoist Black Snake, this twelve-part Ring Array is particularly formidable. As long as someone is presiding over it, I dare not try to break it rashly."

With someone in control, the array is alive and can change at will.

Even a Tier Three Top Grade Array Master like Fang Mao was unwilling to touch the Red Leaf Valley’s arrays lightly.

For this very reason, he needed to wait.

"We just need to wait for that Mu Family Ancestor, Mu Song, to exhaust his lifespan."

"But after Mu Song’s life ends, other Mu Family Cultivators will take over the array."

"Rest assured, Daoist Black Snake. An array presided over by mere Foundation Establishment Cultivators is not enough to stop me!"

"Excellent..."

After talking for a moment, the two did not attack immediately.

They merely released their oppressive might, using the aura of a Golden Core Master to bear down on all of Red Leaf Valley. This forced Mu Song to remain constantly vigilant, unable to rest as he had to preside over the array at all times.

「In the following days.」

The atmosphere throughout Red Leaf Valley grew increasingly oppressive.

Although calls for help had been sent out, the other Sects and Noble Families were facing their own troubles and couldn’t come to their aid for the time being. The Mu Family could only face this crisis alone.

But Mu Song’s aura grew weaker and weaker; he couldn’t hold on for much longer.

The spirits of the Mu Clan Members varied.

Some planned to fight to the death, others were frantic with panic, and still others despairingly awaited the day the arrays would be broken.

In this suffocating atmosphere, all the Foundation Establishment Cultivators of the Mu Family gathered to discuss their strategy.

The Patriarch, Mu Chengsong, sighed. "Alas, Yuanchen, you shouldn’t have stayed in the clan. If you had left earlier, you might have had a sliver of a chance to survive."

Mu Yuanchen—the disguised Li Chang’an—still only had a Late Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivation and had not yet achieved Core Formation.

It now seemed he was fated not to reach Core Formation in time.

Once the Western Cultivators broke in, he, as a Golden Core Seed, would certainly be targeted and become the object of pursuit for countless Western Cultivators.

Mu Siyu asked worriedly, "Grandmaster Chengsong, is there no way to send Cousin Yuanchen out?"

"There is not."

A look of helplessness crossed Mu Chengsong’s face. If there had been a way, he would have tried it long ago.

This time, the people from the Western Domain had come with overwhelming force.

All the escape routes the Mu Family had established over a thousand years had been cut off by the enemy in advance.

They had sent a few of the younger Mu family members away earlier, but they were all intercepted and killed on the road. Not a single one survived.

Red Leaf Valley had now become a deathtrap; there was simply no way out.

"Yuanchen, the Mu Family has dragged you down."

"If you had been born into a better family, like the Xiao Family or the Jin Family, you might have reached Core Formation long ago. You wouldn’t be here waiting to die with an old man like me."