Chương 129: March to War

After laying out the plan, Huaijin and Zhang Liwei set off for Blood Lion Mountain, leading the Zhang clan members who had been chosen to join the battle. But just before departing, Huaijin still felt a nagging unease. He promptly summoned Haihu and ordered the spirit beast to return to Green Bamboo Mountain. An ordinary early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator was no match for Haihu in combat. With Zhang Wujian and Haihu standing guard, Green Bamboo Mountain should remain secure.

And at Purple Cloud Peak, the mysterious Pine Fish kept watch, a guardian more formidable than any mountain fortress. By Huaijin's estimation, even a Tier 3 spirit beast would struggle to overcome that creature. After all, if not for the Primordial Tai Chi Visualization Diagram, his own soul would have been shattered by the Pine Fish's spiritual assault. Across all nine counties of Qingtai Prefecture, every cultivator faction had been mobilized.

This time, Zhang Liwei's feelings were worlds apart from twenty years ago. Back then, he had been merely a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator. Now, he stood as a second level Tier 2 expert. Even in Qingtai City, Foundation Establishment cultivators weren't exactly as common as cabbages in a market stall. Huaijin led the Zhang clan through the Purple Dusk Mountain Range. These days, the mountain range was thick with baleful energy, a murderous aura that clung to the air like a shroud.

But most of the spirit beasts were converging on Blood Lion Mountain. The few stragglers that remained didn't dare approach when they spotted Huaijin and his party. The journey passed in uneventful silence. Half a month later, Huaijin and his clansmen arrived at Blood Lion Mountain. The scene before them echoed twenty years past, countless cultivation forces crowded together, a sea of tents and banners. But the Zhang family's standing had undergone a complete transformation.

Where once they had been insignificant, now they commanded respect. The moment Huaijin set foot on Blood Lion Mountain… Fang Tao's figure emerged, a warm smile spreading across his face as he strode forward to greet them.

"Brother! You're quite unkind, you know, more than a decade without visiting Qingtai City. I've been waiting all this time!" Fang Tao himself had reached the peak of the sixth level, and from the look of it, he was poised to break through to the seventh level at any moment. He had achieved that peak five years ago, but the bottleneck separating the mid-stage from the late Foundation Establishment realm had proven stubborn, holding him back for five long years.

He had tried everything, even Tier 2, upper grade pills, but luck had refused to favor him. Huaijin's expression remained impassive.

"Brother, don't you know?"

"Know what?" Fang Tao's smile flickered with confusion as he studied Huaijin's face. Huaijin shook his head and fell silent. Back then, his whereabouts had been leaked, that much was certain. And the leak had come from the Fang family. Otherwise, his enemies couldn't have known his movements with such precision. If Fang Tao had been behind it, then the man was a master actor, his performance flawless, without a single crack for Huaijin to detect.

But if Fang Tao truly knew nothing, then someone within the Fang family had betrayed him. The question was, which Fang family cultivator had he offended? If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"Nothing," Huaijin said flatly. Fang Tao's smile had faded completely.

"Come now, brother, tell me clearly, what's going on?" Huaijin halted, gesturing for Zhang Liwei to lead the clansmen away, giving them space.

"Brother, do you truly not know? Then let me tell you. Twenty years ago, after I left the Fang family, I was ambushed." He paused, letting the weight of his words settle.

"The ones who ambushed me were the Jin family. I never understood it, I hadn't offended them, and they're an established Tier 2 clan. Why would they risk everything to ambush me over a single Foundation Establishment Pill? And the Jin family is your Fang family's in-laws." He didn't need to spell out the rest. His tone remained calm, measured. But Fang Tao's face had gone pale, his expression darkening like a storm cloud. He genuinely hadn't known. The revelation struck him like a physical blow.

Now, the pieces clicked together, the Jin family's two Tier 2 cultivators who had "died" in mysterious circumstances. The outside world had never learned the true reason. And suddenly, Huaijin's coldness toward him made terrible sense.

"Brother, I swear to you, I knew nothing of this." Fang Tao's voice was tight with suppressed anger.

"But I give you my word: I will get you answers. I will get you justice." His eyes burned with fierce resolve. After settling the Zhang family into their assigned quarters, Fang Tao departed in haste, his robes snapping behind him. Huaijin turned to his own tasks, organizing his clansmen, acquainting them with the terrain, preparing for the coming storm. He felt no pressure. The Foundation Establishment families of Langya County were positioned close together.

The Tian family, with only one Tier 2 cultivator, had been exempted from sending their elder to battle, but they were still forced to contribute thirty Qi Refining cultivators. They had no choice but to comply. As an established power with only a single Foundation Establishment expert, they couldn't afford to refuse. Tian Jianmo's relationship with the Zhang family was strained, so he could only rely on the Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators from the Gao and Yan families to watch over his people.

Above Blood Lion Mountain, the Nine Star Black Glass Array stretched across the heavens like a silver dome, scattering faint starlight that shimmered over the defensive formation. The great barrier covered more than half the mountain. Over ten thousand Tier 1 cultivators swarmed like ants across the slopes, hauling supplies, transporting spirit stones, inspecting the formation's weak points, patching gaps in the defenses. Everyone was consumed by the frenzy of preparation.

The Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators withdrew to their own quarters, meditating, conserving their strength, steeling themselves for the battle to come. Outside, the number of spirit beasts gathering around Blood Lion Mountain swelled with each passing day. A towering tide of blood-tainted baleful aura rose like a crimson dawn, nearly blotting out the sky in every direction. Roars echoed without end, wave after wave of primal fury, each cry sharper and more hateful than the last.

The beasts stared up at the human fortress with eyes gleaming with cold killing intent. On this land of the Eastern Region's Great Wilderness, humans and spirit beasts had waged countless wars for resources and territory. The victor reigned supreme; the loser was forgotten. Twenty years ago, the cultivators of Qingtai Prefecture had claimed a modest victory. They had wounded the sixth level Tier 3 Raging Blood Lion and slain a Blood Jade Spider.

Who could say whether that injured Raging Blood Lion had since broken through to the late Purple Mansion stage? Now, the humans had gained another Purple Mansion Realm cultivator of their own, Fang Tianyu. The Fang family's fortune had turned when they acquired a Purple Sun Jade in Bing Province. Twenty years ago, Fang Tianyu had already been at the peak of the Foundation Establishment realm, his combat prowess formidable. He had crushed every competitor who dared challenge him for the jade.

The Purple Sun Jade was a natural spiritual treasure, a rare and precious thing that could only be gestated within Tier 3 earth veins. Like the Foundation Establishment Pill, it could assist peak Foundation Establishment cultivators in breaking through to Purple Mansion. The jade contained a thread of primordial purple qi that protected the cultivator's meridians, allowing them to pierce through their Dao channels and impact the Purple Mansion realm.

Even if the breakthrough failed, that same purple qi would preserve their life, they would not perish in the attempt. And besides the Purple Sun Jade, there was also the Five Elements Crystal Jade, another treasure capable of helping peak Foundation Establishment cultivators reach for the Purple Mansion realm. The hunt for power never ended. And soon, the battle would begin.