“We can start making our move,” Pei Mufeng’s voice rang. Xue Chengxuan was too hesitant to interrupt Ling Ji, while Qiao Ran definitely would not dare.
Ling Ji’s gaze lingered intensely on Meng Qi for a moment before turning to the others who had assembled around them, nodding, “Very well.”
“Then as mentioned just now, Senior Ling, Meng Qiqi, Sect Leader Pei, plus Fellow Daoist Qin and…” Seeing Ling Ji agree, Xue Chengxuan spoke up, glancing hesitantly at the white-robed man.
“Yun Qingyan,” said Yun Qingyan.
“I see, Fellow Daoist Yun,” Xue Chengxuan looked thoughtfully at Yun Qingyan. Standing on the cliff at the mountain’s peak, the man’s white robe billowed like a sail played by the wind. Although his current aura was only at the peak of the Spirit Severing stage, he wasn’t being overshadowed even when standing with Ling Ji, a long-renowned figure in Three Thousand Worlds. That alone was something they could not achieve.
Yun Qingyan’s gaze swept casually over Xue Chengxuan’s face, startling him for a moment before quickly regaining his composure to continue, “A few of us will assault one of the city walls, while I, Fellow Daoist Qiao, and Fellow Daoist Yan will temporarily conceal ourselves, to make the enemies wary.”
“I’ll take Sect Leader Pei’s place,” said Yan Xuan, who had been silent until now.
“Hmm?” Xue Chengxuan was taken aback. As the eldest son of the Xue clan, he was well aware of Yan Xuan’s affairs. Regardless of his current cultivation level, there would be no doubt about the capabilities of this young master of the Jingyuetian Sect. But respect was one thing; they were about to launch an assault on the city wall defended by powerful arrays, and bringing someone at the Qi Condensation level of power might create a weak link.
“Well…” Xue Chengxuan hesitated for a moment, then smiled brightly, “If that’s the case, let Fellow Daoist Yan replace Sect Leader Pei.” He didn’t ask if Yan Xuan was confident, nor did he inquire how someone at the Qi Condensation level planned to fight. He merely let Yan Xuan go as naturally as could be, as if it was a mere substitution. After all, before Yan Xuan was injured, his reputation as a genius even surpassed that of Pei Mufeng.
“Are you sure?” Meng Qi said, already reaching out to touch Yan Xuan’s wrist. “You don’t have any spiritual aura, right?” She asked directly, then reminded the young man, “We only have three lives, you know.” She never suspected that Yan Xuan would die thrice just to reach the enemy camp. With his pride, he would never do such a thing. Besides, if Yan Xuan was someone who would join the enemy camp just to remain in the Ten Absolutes Mountain, he wouldn’t have distanced himself from his sect in the first place, wasting his time wandering aimlessly in Jingyue City.
“…” Xue Chengxuan silently looked at Meng Qi and Yan Xuan.
“Do you have a way?” Pei Mufeng asked directly.
“Yes,” Yan Xuan nodded, spreading his hands to reveal a golden lotus blossoming in his palm.
“This is…” Xue Chengxuan stared at the golden lotus for a moment, then suddenly gasped, “Is this the Karmic Fire Red Lotus?!” He could hardly believe his eyes. This legendary treasure was said to save any life — as long as the person still breathed, placing a Karmic Fire Red Lotus in their spiritual sea was believed to ensure their survival. Not only that, but the lotus was also said capable of helping cultivators overcome tribulations. It goes without saying that this treasure was highly sought after across the Three Realms, extremely rare, and only appeared once every few centuries, becoming the stuff of legends.
“My inner core is damaged, leaving my spiritual sea empty,” Yan Xuan admitted openly, with nothing to hide from his temporary teammates, “The Karmic Fire Red Lotus can temporarily replace my inner core, and I can manage to fight.” He explained, “The enemies do not know I can take action now, and together with Sect Leader Ling here, we will surely take them by surprise.”
Yan Xuan then turned to Pei Mufeng and the others, “Their attention will be focused on the five of us. Meanwhile, Brother Pei, Brother Xu, along with Brother Xue and Brother Qiao will move in secret. With three sword cultivators and one medical cultivator, we could hopefully bring back one or two people to our camp.”
“Alright,” Xue Chengxuan nodded. His original plan had been for five of them to appear, leaving the other four hidden, thus keeping the enemy wary, not daring to commit all their forces to the wall they attacked. This strategy was somewhat wasteful, but they had no other choice; with Yan Xuan present, they still needed to keep an eye out for him. Otherwise, given his cultivation level, he could easily be killed thrice quickly. This would not only waste a chance to strike at the enemy’s camp but also further strain their already limited numbers. Even after Yan Xuan’s injury had reduced him to the Qi Condensation stage, he was still the young master of Jingyuetian, and his thrice defeat would greatly demoralize them.
“Okay,” Xue Chengxuan sighed, “Let’s go with that.”
“Which wall should we attack?” Ling Ji asked, now that the combatants had been decided.
Yan Xuan stepped forward, squinting as he surveyed the terrain below. They were to the west of the city, facing the western gate. The north, east, and west sides of the city were bordered by cliffs, leaving only the south relatively less steep, with a winding mountain path leading up to the city. For cultivators, however, terrains mattered little, and even Meng Qi could manage climbing the cliffs easily.
“The city isn’t large, which is also to their advantage,” Xue Chengxuan observed, “No matter which wall we attack, they can quickly reinforce it. So currently, there isn’t a specific focus on defense.”
“From here to their city, there’s almost no cover, so we can choose any direction, but we need to be fast,” Xue Chengxuan continued, “Since we can’t hide our tracks, speed is our best cover.”
“Hmm,” Yun Qingyan suddenly spoke up, “Setting up an array to hide the movements of the five of us isn’t difficult.” He stated plainly.
“…” Xue Chengxuan was silent; he had only a vague idea of Yun Qingyan’s true identity, but he had no idea what this person’s specialty was. If Yun Qingyan was truly that notable figure from the Demon Realm as he had suspected, this person indeed had been famous and simultaneously mysterious for a long time. Tales of his skirmishes in the Three Thousand Worlds were already centuries old. Xue Chengxuan was only in his twenties and definitely wasn’t his peers… no, not even his father could put himself as a peer of this senior—or rather, grand grand grand… senior. He wasn’t even sure whether this person was a spell cultivator, a sword cultivator, or something else…
Xue Chengxuan remembered Yun Qingyan mentioning that he had personally taught Meng Qi. But that seemed odd—wasn’t Meng Qi a medical cultivator like himself? What exactly had Senior Yun taught her? Methods from the Demon Realm? And what did he mean by setting up an array?
Questions filled Xue Chengxuan’s mind, but he didn’t ask Yun Qingyan directly. Instead, he managed a slight smile and said, “So, Senior Yun means…”
“Senior?” Yun Qingyan looked at Xue Chengxuan with a smile that was not quite a smile, “You call me a senior?”
Xue Chengxuan: “…”
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