"Capture him alive? Brother Fang, surely you're joking! You know full well that Fellow Daoist Zhong once tried to deal with this man. But not only is he proficient in lightning escape — he also knows a blood escape technique we've never seen before. There's simply no way to cut off his retreat. And his other abilities are considerable too. Capturing him alive would be no different from capturing someone at our own level. Fellow Daoists, do you think that's possible? If it's just killing him and seizing his Gold Lightning Bamboo treasure, however — that I can manage." The gaunt old man spoke in a sinister tone.
"If capturing him alive is that difficult, then dead will do." To the old man's surprise, the black-robed man briefly considered the matter, then immediately changed his position.
The gaunt old man, the scholar, and the others exchanged glances, discussed it briefly among themselves, and agreed to the arrangement.
And so, the group proceeded to discuss the finer details.
……
Meanwhile, in the Tiannan main camp, Supreme Yang, Wei Wuya, and the rest were gathered in a large hall, likewise discussing matters related to the great battle.
But there were fewer of them.
Besides the three great cultivators and Long Han, there was also a beautiful woman in red robes and a bald, white-bearded old man with hawk-like eyes.
The old man's eyes were half-lidded, and on one of his fingers he wore a jade ring.
The ring was a vivid, almost dripping green, with faint runes shimmering across its surface — clearly a rare and extraordinary treasure.
"Fellow Daoist Tianhen, we're counting on you and your companions this time. We'll pin down the main body of the Mulan army here. All you need to do is infiltrate Tiantian City and ransack every resource warehouse. Without the spirit stones and materials the Mulan have painstakingly collected, even if they gain the upper hand in the battle, we can simply drag things out and wear them down completely." Supreme Yang spoke with a smile, as though no unpleasant history had ever existed between him and the famous "Old Freak Tianhen" standing before him.
"As long as you keep the Mulan Divine Masters pinned at the border, infiltrating Tiantian City will be no problem at all. Moreover, with the teleportation array Fellow Daoist Wei is providing, we can teleport straight into the city — making it even easier. My only concern is why the Mulan would leave all their resources in the city. Could it be a trap, waiting for us to walk right into it?" The hawk-eyed old man's voice grated like metal on metal, extremely unpleasant to hear.
"Fellow Daoist Tianhen, rest assured about that. According to our moles inside the Mulan, although they've occupied the kingdoms of Fengyuan and Yu, the Nine Nations Alliance had already made preparations to withdraw beforehand. Every spirit stone mine and raw material source was destroyed. The dharma masters had the Mulan commoners try to repair them, but there was far too little time — only a fraction were restored, barely making a difference. The spirit stone resources they're currently consuming are pooled contributions from the various tribes, to be distributed and used centrally. That's why they're all stored in a single secret warehouse, protected by a powerful restriction formation and guarded by several Grand Masters. That's why they're so confident — unless an irresistible force attacks the resource warehouse, the restrictions will buy them enough time to evacuate everything. In theory, it's as solid as a mountain." Old Devil Hehuan spoke in a flat tone.
"But what they never expected is that after dealing with the Mulan for so long, the Nine Nations Alliance has learned a thing or two. If they can send spies into our Yue Kingdom, we can certainly infiltrate their dharma masters in return. One of the Grand Masters guarding the resource warehouse is our mole. When the time comes, he'll shut down the formation. Fellow Daoist Tianhen, as long as you keep things quiet, you'll catch them completely off guard." Wei Wuya spoke with a cold smile.
"If you Fellow Daoists are that certain, then I suppose I'll have to make this trip. After it's done..."
"After it's done, the four great powers will cede the entire Kingdom of Xu to you. You may establish your sect and found your school there, and none of our four powers will interfere in the slightest. From then on, you'll be known as a sect patriarch." Long Han added with a smile.
"Good. With your guarantees, this old man and a few friends have no choice but to give it our all. It's getting late — I'll go back and make preparations. We depart at first light tomorrow and infiltrate the Kingdom of Yu first." Having obtained the promises he wanted once more, Old Freak Tianhen's face showed satisfaction, but he had no intention of lingering. He took his leave and departed the hall.
Before long, his figure vanished through the entrance.
"That old freak's chances are pretty good, aren't they? After all, apart from him, those rogue cultivators he brought along are all formidable in their own right. With the Mulan caught off guard, there's no reason for failure." Old Devil Hehuan furrowed his brow and spoke slowly.
"Fellow Daoist Yi is right. As long as we truly pin down the Mulan Divine Masters, Fellow Daoist Tianhen should have a seventy to eighty percent chance of success. I just didn't expect that at his age, he'd suddenly think of founding a sect — and rally so many rogue cultivators to bolster his ranks. It's quite unexpected." Long Han's eyes flickered as he spoke.
"That's perfectly normal! Old Freak Tianhen has been at mid-stage Nascent Soul for three or four hundred years. After all that time unable to break through to the late stage, he's probably given up entirely. It's not surprising he's turned his enthusiasm elsewhere. And becoming a sect founder is quite the prestigious honor. It's just that he's made enemies of many major sects over the years, which is why he's seizing this opportunity to negotiate with us. Their arrival could be quite the hidden asset." Supreme Yang spoke in a leisurely manner.
"Now then. Even though we have Old Freak Tianhen as a backup, we cannot afford to be careless in the coming battle. We should still aim for outright victory. If one battle causes a complete rout, even without the Mulan dharma masters' resource supply, we still won't be able to halt their advance. Brother Wei — the Nine Nations Alliance's restrictions for countering spirit technique formations are ready, aren't they? That's the dharma masters' most commonly used tactic in chaotic battle." Supreme Yang's expression turned serious as he addressed Wei Wuya.
"After fighting the dharma masters for so many years, our understanding of spirit technique formations is no less than their own formation masters'. If not for the differences in our cultivation techniques, the Nine Nations Alliance could even deploy formations identical to the Mulan's. Fellow Daoist Supreme Yang need not worry about this." Wei Wuya spoke calmly.
Supreme Yang was greatly satisfied by this answer. Though he said nothing further, his gaze shifted to the burly man in black robes.
Old Devil Hehuan noticed this and spoke up in a flat tone.
"The Six Demonic Sects are fully prepared. Not only has the Spirit Control Sect brought their three sect-guarding beasts, but our Joyful Harmony Sect is ready to release the Yin-Yang Twin Demons. The Ghost Spirit Sect's Myriad Souls Grand Formation can be activated at any moment. The other three sects also have their own formidable measures to deploy. As for you, Fellow Daoist Supreme Yang — has the Righteous Alliance prepared any killing moves?" The old devil spoke coldly.
"Before we set out, every sect within the Righteous Alliance opened their ancestral halls and retrieved over a dozen ancient treasures of tremendous power. When the time comes, we certainly won't disappoint you." Supreme Yang's words were simple, but Old Devil Hehuan's expression relaxed slightly and he nodded — apparently he knew exactly what those ancient treasures were.
"Our Heavenly Dao Alliance is rather loose-knit, but every sect within has made their own preparations. However, I'm not entirely clear on the specifics. But our Phoenix Cry Sect has brought out several ancient jade talismans from our collection. Their power is more than enough to widen the Mulan dharma masters' eyes. It's just that they're so old that very little power remains — after this battle, they'll likely be spent." Long Han spoke thoughtfully, a look of regret on his face.
"Ancient jade talismans? I didn't know the Phoenix Cry Sect possessed such treasures. I imagine the other sects of the Heavenly Dao Alliance won't disappoint us either. The only remaining concern is those black-robed men and the wagered battle. Brother Yi — those black-robed men also use demonic path techniques. Can't you identify where their techniques come from?" Supreme Yang asked hesitantly after a moment's thought.
"Hmph! Just because I cultivate demonic path techniques doesn't mean I should recognize every variant. The characteristics of those black-robed men's techniques were relayed to me by the Nine Nations Alliance — I haven't seen them firsthand. How could I make an accurate judgment? The only thing I can say for certain is that their demonic cultivation seems far more refined and sophisticated than our six Tiannan demonic sects, and bears some resemblance to the Ghost Spirit Sect's lineage." The burly man in black replied with ill humor.
"The Ghost Spirit Sect? The exact number of these black-robed men is unknown, but at Tiantian City alone, seven or eight showed up — and every last one was a Nascent Soul cultivator. They're clearly from the same sect. Only a nation-level demonic sect could field this many demonic cultivators. Could they really be from the Great Jin Kingdom?" Supreme Yang analyzed aloud, his face growing dark.
When the others heard this, none showed any surprise — it seemed they all shared the same suspicion.
"Hmph! So what if they're from Jin? Look at these black-robed men, skulking around like they don't dare show their faces. Their interference in our Tiannan cultivation world is surely just one demonic sect's doing — or even just a faction within that sect. What's there to be afraid of? Just treat them like the dharma masters and pretend we don't know." The beautiful woman in red, who had remained silent until now, suddenly spoke up. Her voice was cool but clear and pleasant.
"Madam Feng makes a good point. Even if a demonic sect from Jin is fully supporting the Mulan, it only makes our enemy somewhat stronger. It's not as if we'd hand over Tiannan to them." Supreme Yang nodded in agreement.
"That may be true, but it's undeniable that Jin cultivators surpass us Tiannan cultivators in both techniques and treasures. If those demonic cultivators participate in tomorrow's wagered battle and secretly pull some tricks, it could get quite troublesome. Jin has techniques and secret arts as numerous as ox hairs — many of them nearly impossible to guard against." Old Devil Hehuan spoke gravely.
"No problem. I've already thought of that. Do you all remember our Taizhen Sect's 'Restriction Breaking Pearl'?"
"The Restriction Breaking Pearl! That single-use artifact for breaking restrictions? Aren't those only effective against low-grade ones? And the barrier at the wagered battle is something even Nascent Soul cultivators would struggle to break through. What good could such an artifact possibly do?" Long Han asked in surprise.
(I spent most of the night working out the battle details and finally have a rough framework. Phew — with so many characters involved, making it exciting really isn't easy. I only managed to squeeze out one chapter this late, so please bear with me. Looks like this morning there will only be one chapter.)
(End of Chapter)