Chapter 73: That Day, December 8th

Chapter 73: Chapter 73: That Day, December 8th

Chu Fan himself never would have guessed that the destructive power of his Lion Seal Divine Techniques, far from deterring his pursuers, would instead drive them into a frenzy.

Master Ni’s betrayal was an unexpected complication to his original plan.

Because of Master Ni’s betrayal, his plans had been thrown into disarray. After all, the Earth Spirit Pill was only effective for a single hour.

He had wasted nearly half an hour at the Celestial Derivation Sect, and his escape had been further delayed by Qu Lingce and five Divine Separation Realm cultivators for several minutes.

Finally, when he was still about twenty-five miles from Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain, the effects of the Earth Spirit Pill wore off.

An intense wave of weakness washed over his entire body, and he even felt his head spin.

He landed on the ground and set Yun Xi down.

Yun Xi sensed his weakness and asked, her voice full of concern.

Chu Fan said weakly, "The only reason I wasn’t afraid of those Divine Separation Realm cultivators was because of an elixir I was lucky enough to find once. Its effects have worn off now. I pushed myself too hard, so I’ll probably be in a weakened state for half a month. I’m going to have to rely on you to protect me."

"There are probably still a lot of people chasing us relentlessly. You need to get me into Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain."

"What? Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain? Anything more than three miles deep into Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain is a forbidden zone for humans!" Yun Xi exclaimed.

Though worried, she walked over to Chu Fan and crouched down. "I’ll carry you!"

Chu Fan didn’t stand on ceremony. They were running for their lives, after all. He had entered a period of weakness and would be no different from a normal person for the next two weeks.

Besides, Yun Xi was a Heartbeat Realm Late Stage cultivator; flying while carrying him wouldn’t be a problem for her.

...

「Yunmeng Mountain, Cuiyun Peak.」

At this time, only Yu Zongding, four Elders, and six Steward Elders were left to guard the Lingyun Sect.

Fifth Elder Yun Keji and Sixth Elder Li Mosheng had gone to the Celestial Derivation Sect to escort a bridal party.

Great Elder Ji Chengding had taken the Fourth Elder, Eighth Elder, and several Steward Elders to Nanling County to attend an auction.

Yu Zongding could never have imagined that on this very day, the Lingyun Sect would receive uninvited guests.

「High Noon.」

The warning bells of Cuiyun Peak began to toll.

All the disciples scrambled toward the Martial Arts Arena.

Yu Zongding arrived at the Martial Arts Arena with the Elders and Stewards, only to see several hundred men from the Red Blood Mansion charging up the mountain, having already cut down the Mountain Guard Disciples at the main gate.

"Who are you people?" Yu Zongding roared in fury.

In the three thousand years since the Lingyun Sect’s founding, when had they ever faced such an intrusion?

"Yu Zongding, have you gone blind? I am Yan Linzhen, Left Protector of the Red Blood Mansion! Six months ago, your Lingyun Sect’s Supreme Elder, Ling Zhexing, led an attack on my Red Blood Mansion’s Cloud Horse Jade Mine and slaughtered over a hundred of our disciples. Surely you haven’t forgotten that, have you?"

Yu Zongding was so enraged he nearly spat out blood.

’How could someone so utterly shameless exist in this world? It was clearly the Red Blood Mansion that seized the Cloud Horse Jade Mine and ambushed the Lingyun Sect disciples who were out on their training excursions.’

’The Cloud Horse Jade Mine was the Lingyun Sect’s private property. When did it ever belong to the Red Blood Mansion?’

Not only did this man twist the truth, but he even made a false counter-accusation. How could Yu Zongding not be furious?

"Yan Linzhen, your Red Blood Mansion has gone too far!" Yu Zongding roared.

Yan Linzhen clicked his tongue and said casually, "Yu Zongding, being loud doesn’t make you right. What’s the use of roaring? You killed so many of our Red Blood Mansion disciples at the Cloud Horse Jade Mine. We’re here to avenge them and seek justice. Is that not as it should be?"

Yu Zongding was once again stunned by Yan Linzhen’s shamelessness.

’So many of your disciples died? Who was it that started the fight in the first place?’

’The Lingyun Sect lost a Supreme Elder, two Elders, and three Steward Elders! And the top prodigy of the Eastern Domain had his cultivation crippled!’

"You people from the Red Blood Mansion are utterly shameless," Yu Zongding said, grinding his teeth.

"Us? Shameless? HAHAHA!" Yan Linzhen laughed boisterously.

Then his gaze turned sharp, and he gave the order: "For the Elders and our brothers of the Red Blood Mansion who died at the Cloud Horse Jade Mine—avenge them! Charge!"

Yu Zongding knew this battle was inevitable. The Red Blood Mansion was clearly taking advantage of the Lingyun Sect’s current vulnerability. This attack had likely been planned for a long time.

"Disciples of the Lingyun Sect, protect the Sect with your lives! Meet them in battle with me!" Yu Zongding roared, drawing his sword.

And so, a great battle began.

Although the Lingyun Sect was fighting on its home ground and had five to six thousand disciples...

The Red Blood Mansion had only brought a little over six hundred attackers. However, the Lingyun Sect was short on high-tier experts, while every single one of the invaders from Red Blood Mansion was at least at the Heartbeat Realm.

There were a considerable number of Golden Core, Nascent Soul, and Soul Emergence Realm cultivators among them.

Thus, the Lingyun Sect held no real advantage.

The battle raged from high noon for three full hours.

Yu Zongding was gravely wounded. Of the four Elders, one was killed, one was crippled, and two were injured. All six Steward Elders were slain. Yun Xi’s mother, from the Chen Clan, lost an arm.

Over a thousand disciples of the Lingyun Sect had been killed.

After Yan Linzhen of the Red Blood Mansion was injured, he took his remaining men and departed without a second glance.

Despite killing so many from the Lingyun Sect, they had only lost a little over two hundred of their own men: three Soul Emergence Realm cultivators, eleven in the Nascent Soul Realm, over thirty in the Golden Core Realm, and nearly two hundred in the Heartbeat Realm.

Gazing out at the Martial Arts Arena, now a devastated landscape of corpses and gore, Yu Zongding finally coughed up a mouthful of blood and collapsed, unconscious.

This time, the Lingyun Sect’s very foundation had been crippled.

...

At the same time as the surprise attack on the Lingyun Sect, the medicine gardens of the Celestial Derivation Sect, located in the Yishan Valley of Nanling Mountain, also suffered a devastating blow from the Red Blood Mansion.

The disciples guarding the Medicine Valley were all massacred. All mature herbs were uprooted and carted away, while the immature ones were burned to ashes.

...

「Nanling County. Mr. Hong’s Auction House.」

The moment the auction began, the bidding became white-hot.

The auction house presented a total of sixty-three lots, and to the Cultivation Sects, every single one was a priceless treasure.

Partway through, members of the Wuji Sect and the Mixed Element Sect even came to blows over a Sixth Transformation Elixir. Ying Xiao appeared and immediately slew the five troublemakers, among whom were two Elders from the Wuji Sect and the Sect Leader of the Mixed Element Sect.

This act thoroughly stunned everyone present—including Ying Xiao himself.

An Integration Realm expert, a Divine Separation Realm expert, and three Soul Emergence Realm experts—he had slain them all by himself, without suffering so much as a scratch.

After his initial shock, Liu Yicai realized what had happened. ’It must be because Lord Chu Fan took some kind of high-tier, potential-unleashing elixir. Because of our Celestial Dao Contract, the combat power of all eight of us was enhanced as well. That’s how Ying Xiao was able to slay an Integration Realm expert!’

With this newfound confidence, Liu Yicai was naturally more assertive. He publicly announced that from now on, if anyone dared to cause trouble at Mr. Hong’s Auction House, their entire Sect would be permanently blacklisted.

After that, although tensions still ran high during the bidding, no one dared to cause another disturbance.

Moreover, Mr. Hong’s Auction House made a name for itself that day. The entire Eastern Domain Cultivation Realm was abuzz with countless speculations about the power backing it.

What Liu Yicai didn’t know was that because of the day’s events, Mr. Hong’s expansion throughout the Eastern Domain would face no further resistance.

Yan Qi, having disguised himself, had personally attended the auction. His original plan was to probe the true strength of Mr. Hong’s Auction House, but after witnessing Ying Xiao’s overwhelming power, he abandoned his plan and meekly participated in the bidding.

Mr. Hong’s Auction House made an absolute fortune from this auction.

Every one of the sixty-three items sold for at least four to five times Liu Yicai’s estimated price. The most expensive was a Celestial Grade Top Class Treasure Sword, which fetched a staggering 1.38 billion taels of silver.

It was just a shame that Chu Fan had no idea that when he took the Earth Spirit Pill, the combat power of all eight of them increased along with his. If he had known, why would his fight have been so difficult? Why would he have needed to flee for his life with Yun Xi in tow?