Chương 131: Six Against Three

Zhang Huaijin cast a cold, indifferent glance over his shoulder and strode away without another word. By all rights, the Jin Family cultivators had no business being at Blood Lion Mountain. Qingtai City was their assigned post, their duty lay in guarding the prefecture capital, especially now that demonic cultivators had begun stirring in the shadows. The city could not afford to be left vulnerable.

Blood Lion Mountain, by contrast, was supposed to be defended by the cultivation forces drawn from Qingtai's nine outlying counties. Yet here they were, because of him. The Jin Family had seen fit to dispatch their own Tier 2 experts to this very mountain. He had already warned his clansmen to keep their eyes open around the Jin Family's people. … As the days dragged on, more cultivators poured into Blood Lion Mountain from every direction.

Wagons laden with strategic resources rumbled in from all corners of the prefecture, spirit stones, talismans, medicinal pills, formation components, stockpiling for the battle to come. The mountain fortress transformed into a bristling encampment of steel and spiritual energy. Half a month slipped by like water through fingers. …. Rooooar! A thunderous roar split the heavens, erupting from the depths of the distant Purple Dusk Mountain Range.

A terrifying presence surged into being, clawing through the blood-fiend miasma that choked the sky. The oppressive weight of its aura sent ripples of dread across the mountain. The Raging Blood Lion had arrived. Above Blood Lion Mountain, three figures materialized against the blood-red sky, Purple Mansion cultivators revealing themselves to face the coming storm. Two of them were familiar faces from twenty years past: Fang Xinjin and Zhou Yuezi.

Both had grown stronger in the intervening decades, each now standing at the peak of Sixth Level. But as Huaijin studied their auras from his vantage point below, he noted a subtle distinction, Zhou Yuezi's presence burned with a fiercer intensity than Fang Xinjin's. The difference was slight but unmistakable to a trained eye. The third was the Fang Family's Fang Tianyu, a newly promoted Tier 3 cultivator who had only just stabilized his foundation. His aura still carried the rawness of recent breakthrough.

But Purple Mansion First Realm was still Purple Mansion Realm. Three Tier 3 cultivators standing guard, the sight alone calmed the hearts of every cultivator on the mountain. If fortune favored them, this spirit beast tide would end in another resounding victory for humans. And if they could claim another Purple Mansion beast's life in the process? That would be the sweetest prize of all. Then the three Purple Mansion cultivators felt their expressions freeze.

The patriarch of the Raging Blood Lion clan, that ancient, battle-scarred monstrosity, had broken through to the Seventh Level. Late stage Purple Mansion Realm.

"That's impossible!" Fang Xinjin's voice cracked with disbelief. The Black Glass Mirror's strike twenty years ago had nearly crippled the beast. It should have taken a decade at minimum just to heal those wounds, let alone push past its previous limits into an entirely new realm of power. Yet here it stood, not only fully recovered but elevated, its presence vast and terrible. Zhou Yuezi's brow furrowed deeply.

"It must have found some rare spiritual medicine," he murmured.

"Some treasure deep within the mountains that accelerated its recovery and catalyzed its breakthrough." A Tier 3 Late Stage Spirit beast was an entirely different caliber of threat compared to its mid-stage counterpart. The gap in combat power was not merely incremental, it was transformative. Both of them exchanged grim looks. Fang Tianyu, however, showed no sign of concern. If anything, a spark of excitement glimmered in his eyes.

Freshly ascended to the Purple Mansion Realm, he saw this battle as his proving ground. A significant contribution here would elevate his standing within the Fang Family. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

"Spread the order!" Fang Xinjin's voice rang out across the mountain, amplified by spiritual energy.

"All personnel maintain high alert! Under no circumstances are you to step beyond the Nine Star Black Glass Array unless absolutely necessary!" The Raging Blood Lion patriarch fixed its crimson gaze upon Fang Xinjin and Zhou Yuezi, its blood-colored eyes blazing with centuries of hatred. Savage killing intent radiated from its massive frame like heat from a forge. Twenty years ago, the loss of one Tier 3 beast had dealt a crippling blow to their forces. Meanwhile, humanity had gained a new Tier 3 cultivator.

But this time... Three Tier 3 Raging Blood Lions emerged one after another, taking formation in the sky. Each had advanced a full level in cultivation since their last appearance. And they were not alone. Two Goldback Mantises joined them, one at the Third Level, the same spirit beast from twenty years past but strengthened, and another newly ascended to the realm. The Blood Jade Spider clan had also produced a new Tier 3 beast, the very same predator that had once hunted Lou Guying through the wilderness.

In total: six Purple Mansion Realm spirit beasts lined up across the horizon, their combined pressure bearing down on Blood Lion Mountain like a collapsing sky. —— The three Tier 3 cultivators atop the mountain felt their jaws tighten. Their side had grown stronger, but the spirit beasts had grown stronger still. The balance of power had tipped against them. Just the Raging Blood Lion patriarch alone could tie down both Fang Xinjin and Zhou Yuezi simultaneously.

Fang Tianyu, for all his enthusiasm, could at most hold back a single early-stage Tier 3 beast. That left the others unopposed. The Nine Star Black Glass Array was powerful, yes. But even the finest formation had limits. How long could it withstand the assault of five unchecked Tier 3 beasts? The weight of that question pressed down on the three seniors like a physical force. And atop the mountain, the Perfection Stage Foundation Establishment cultivators watched with drawn faces.

If the Tier 3 cultivators fell, if the formation shattered, it would fall to them to stand against those monstrous beasts. Their grim expressions spoke volumes. The six Tier 3 beasts arranged themselves in a line, their massive forms blotting out the crimson sky. A single earth-shaking roar, and the tide began to move. Over a hundred thousand spirit beasts surged forward in a seething, churning wave, their collective charge like an avalanche of fangs and claws.

They crashed against Blood Lion Mountain without hesitation, without fear. The battle erupted. The Nine Star Black Glass Array hummed to life, its translucent barrier flickering into existence, only to be immediately swarmed by a carpet of writhing, biting bodies. The beasts clawed and bit and battered at the formation's surface, their blood-fiend power radiating outward like corrosive acid, eating away at the array's stored energy with terrifying efficiency.

At the vanguard: nearly a hundred Tier 2 spirit beasts leading the charge. Behind them: over a hundred thousand Tier 1 beasts, their numbers so vast they seemed to swallow the mountainside. The array's light dimmed visibly within minutes. From atop the fortress walls, Qi Refining Realm cultivators hurled talisman after talisman into the seething masses below. Bright blossoms of spiritual energy, fire, ice, lightning, wind, erupted among the beast tide like fireworks of death.

Each explosion tore through dozens, sometimes hundreds, of beasts. Crunch. Squelch. Crack. Blood sprayed. Bones splintered. Bodies piled high. Within the first exchange alone, several thousand spirit beasts perished. Every cultivation faction had contributed resources to Blood Lion Mountain's defense, and those resources had been converted into talismans, distributed among the Qi Refining Realm cultivators. Wave after wave of talisman bombardment rained down upon the beast tide.

When the smoke cleared from a dozen volleys, nearly thirty thousand spirit beasts lay dead. Blood soaked the earth until it turned to mud. Corpses stacked upon corpses, forming grotesque ramparts. The blood-fiend power thickened, rising like a crimson fog that choked the air and swallowed the light. Between heaven and earth, only blood mist remained. Within that shroud, the six Purple Mansion Realm beasts vanished from sight, their locations obscured by the gory haze.

The Nine Star Black Glass Array's light screen had dimmed drastically. Barely an hour had passed since the battle began, yet a quarter of the array's stored energy was already gone. Such was the ferocity of the beast tide. And the Qi Refining cultivators' talisman reserves were running on fumes.

"We attack." Fang Xinjin's voice was flat, final. If they continued to hide behind the formation, the energy stores would deplete completely in a matter of hours. Even with cultivators reinforcing the array from within, the outcome would be the same. The three Purple Mansions exchanged glances and nodded as one.

With a collective exhale of breath, the kind soldiers take before charging into certain death, the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators began to step forward, past the shimmering barrier of the array, into the roiling sea of fangs and fury. They would hold the line with their own bodies. Talisman energy and spirit artifact power flashed in chaotic bursts, here a pillar of flame, there a crescent blade of wind, and everywhere the wet impact of claws meeting flesh. Cultivators fell. Beasts fell.

The mountain echoed with screams and roars, with the wet percussion of death's endless rhythm. Huaijin led his Zhang Family clansmen, holding a two-hundred-meter stretch of the defensive line. The Zhang Family forces were armed to the teeth. Spirit artifacts gleamed in every hand. Pills for rapid recovery hung at every belt. Talismans were stacked in pouches, ready to be hurled at a moment's notice.

Most of these clansmen came from the family's spirit beast hunting teams, they were hardened veterans who had spilled beast blood since adolescence. Their coordination was seamless, their reflexes honed by years of shared survival. Huaijin and Liwei stood just behind the front line, watching the ebb and flow of battle with calculating eyes. Then, three hours in, everything changed. The Purple Mansion-level spirit beasts joined the fray. The battlefield exploded into chaos.

Six Tier 3 spirit beasts descended upon the Nine Star Black Glass Array, their massive bodies slamming against its weakening barrier with earth-shattering force. Each impact sent tremors through the mountain itself. The battle had entered its true crucible.