Chapter 606 - 553: A Succession of Underhanded Moves

Chapter 606: Chapter 553: A Succession of Underhanded Moves

It wasn’t just Jinyun Valley!

Two Major Sects, more than thirty Halls, over a hundred Golden Core Cultivators, tens of thousands of Foundation Establishment disciples, countless Qi Refining Cultivators, and innumerable Demon Beasts.

In an instant.

Countless streaks of iridescent light flew past, a dazzling myriad of colors. Like a shower of fleeting meteors, they all surged toward the Celestial River Mountain Range.

The grand army bore down!

No words were wasted.

A Horn sounded from within the Celestial River Mountain Range. The ’dark cloud’ hovering over the mountain pass transformed into a vast black sea. It rose high into the air, then, as if a dam had burst, poured furiously down toward the countless streaks of light.

At the same moment, Demon Beasts on the ground and in the river also surged forth.

Because the cultivators controlling the Demon Beasts were mainly from the Azure Dragon Hall, Jinyun Valley received special attention.

WHOOSH—

Chen Che looked up.

Countless Demon Beasts swarmed toward them in a frenzy, filling the sky and covering the ground, leaving almost no gap in their ranks.

Beside him, Meng Qianxun raised his arm. The cultivators of Jinyun Valley and the Pill Hall began circulating their True Essence, ready to face the enemy. A dead silence fell over the Spiritual Boat, broken only by the sound of people nervously swallowing.

Slowly, he scanned the area, but saw no sign of Wen Yangxi.

The Old Hall Master had not led the beast tide in a direct assault as Chen Che expected. Not just him—all the other cultivators from Mist Rain Tower were hidden behind the pass. The only things visible between the crenellations were the cold, gleaming tips of arrows.

Clearly, Mist Rain Tower was determined to use the favorable terrain to engage them in battle.

Just then, the fastest of the vanguard made contact with the beast swarm.

SPLAT—

This was the advantage of being prepared for a real battle.

Having learned their lesson from the last encounter, the cultivators of the two Sects were well-prepared. Each Spiritual Boat was equipped with several Arrays, primarily Attack Arrays. Any Demon Beast that came within three hundred zhang of the boats was instantly torn to shreds by the activated Arrays.

At the same time, not to be outdone, the Beast Masters activated their Beast Taming Techniques and unleashed the Demon Beasts they had previously held in reserve.

By then, the main swarm of Demon Beasts was right before them. The Jinyun Valley cultivators could even smell the foul stench wafting from their great maws. Chen Che glanced at the tense disciples around him, then with a flip of his right hand, he grasped a Folding Fan painted with clouds and rain. He gave it a gentle wave.

WHOOSH—

A gentle whoosh, and then a hurricane, visible to the naked eye, swept ferociously outward.

The power of this hurricane was beyond anyone’s imagination.

The wind swept out, striking the charging Demon Beasts and causing them to explode into a bloody mist in mid-air. The hurricane then caught the mist and, like a whirlwind sweeping away scattered clouds, scattered it into the distance.

In a single instant, all Demon Beasts in the vast area before them were completely annihilated.

The next moment.

The Jinyun Valley vessels and cultivators swiftly pushed through the sea of blood and broke free.

"Is that the Wind and Cloud Fan?"

Jiang Shaotian noticed the commotion, his eyes narrowing slightly.

That fan had belonged to the Left Protector, Dou Shanhe. While not quite Tier Four, it was a rare Magical Artifact, impressive in its power and balanced for both magical techniques and physical combat. Following Dou Shanhe’s death, the artifact had resurfaced in Chen Che’s possession.

’A top-grade weapon... The boy is now considerably stronger.’

Duobao’s expression remained impassive, but inwardly, he was seething with jealousy.

’I pride myself on my high status and noble birth, yet I don’t have Chen Che’s kind of luck. I exhausted a century’s worth of my family fortune just to get a single Sword Pill. If I hadn’t been ruthless enough to carry out that massacre at the very end, all my efforts would have been for nothing.’

’But this guy gets things so easily.’

...

The beast tide that had caused them such immense trouble the first time was easily overcome on their second attempt.

Of course, this was partly because some of the more powerful Demon Beasts had not yet been released.

Therefore, after breaking through the beast swarm, the cultivators of the two Sects showed no joy; instead, their expressions grew even more solemn. In the distance, the Mist Rain Tower cultivators were also orderly and silent, already proving themselves to be a formidable force.

"Che’er, the consensus is to set up an Array outside the mountain range and break through the pass," Meng Qianxun, who was standing beside him, said. During Chen Che’s seclusion, Meng Qianxun had been the one attending the strategy meetings.

"We’ll do as they’ve decided."

Chen Che fell silent for a moment before speaking slowly. In a war of this scale, the power of an individual is diminished. Even a Golden Core Cultivator is no exception.

"Prepare at once!"

The old master waved to those behind him, and someone immediately sounded a Horn.

From within Chu State, even larger Spiritual Boats rose into the air and began heading toward the Celestial River Mountain Range. These vessels were like deep-draft transport ships, groaning and creaking as they moved. As far as the eye could see, each Spiritual Boat carried rows of Crossbow Beds and catapults, all neatly covered with tarps.

The holds were also piled high with all sorts of military supplies—

Beyond Chu State stretched thousands of li of open plains with no defensible terrain, forcing the two Sects to use the state as their temporary headquarters.

"What else did they say?" Chen Che asked.

"Nothing else. The battlefield is constantly changing. They only said that each Hall is responsible for one of the mountain passes, and we are to coordinate our attacks. We can only discuss what comes next after we’ve broken their Array."

The old master gestured with his chin toward the distant fortifications. "But that turtle shell of theirs looks pretty tough to crack!"

Chen Che’s gaze swept across the hundreds of zhang of city walls, which were covered in a dense web of Magic Patterns.

"These walls were built in a hurry using ordinary stone. Their defenses are nowhere near standard. If these had been built over two or three centuries, it could take us decades to break through."

Xiao Chan’s eyes were wide as he scanned the Magic Patterns, as if trying to find a flaw in them.

"But even if they’re just ordinary walls, we won’t be able to break through them quickly," the old master sighed. ’With a single word from the two Sects’ ancestors, people like us have to toil away on the battlefield. It’s a good thing I reached Core Formation, or I might have exhausted my entire lifespan on this campaign.’