"Martial Uncle, Lie Changfeng has begun to break the grand formation's restrictions. There are only two of them now. Should you make a move against Lie Changfeng while my senior brother and I simultaneously attack Sang Dongxing? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
A sharp, murderous glint flashed across Lin Xinghe's eyes. His cultivation was only at the Mid-stage Golden Core. Although he believed he was a match for ordinary cultivators of the same rank, he had no confidence in dealing with the Late-stage Golden Core Sang Dongxing alone, especially if he wanted a quick victory.
"Kill them? Once a cultivator reaches the Golden Core stage, how can they be killed so easily? One of them is a Pseudo-Nascent Soul, the other a Late-stage. Even if I go all out against Lie Changfeng, I don't have a twenty percent chance of killing him. The more likely outcome is that he escapes. Perhaps you and Xing Ming, attacking from the open and the shadows, have a fifty percent chance of killing Sang Dongxing in one blow, but that's still only half a chance. And what if you fail? Our trump card would be completely exposed. To then think of having an expert secretly lead the elite disciples away would be nothing but a fool's dream."
The red-robed youth shook his head. He had no confidence he could succeed, which was also why Lie Changfeng and the other dared to stay behind.
Of course, Lin Xinghe understood these principles, but the enemy's arrogance, using just two people to blockade the entire Falling Star Valley sect, had stirred the killing intent that had been brewing in his heart from years of being in a high position. His master's words left him not only disappointed but, more so, unwilling to accept the situation.
However, after shaking his head, the red-robed youth immediately sent him another voice transmission.
"The formation in the outer valley is just an extension I added later to the Sect-Protecting Grand Formation, borrowing its residual power. If they try to break through by force, the attacks will be transferred to the main formation, and they won't be able to break it with their magical power. But if they target the restrictions to disable them, Lie Changfeng's skill in formations is not weak. He should be able to crack the outer valley's restrictions. Let him be for now. It will serve to mislead them, making them think our Sect-Protecting Grand Formation is nothing special. This is perfect. What you said just now was not without reason, but the premise is that we cannot expose your Senior Brother Xing Ming. When they grow complacent, I will go out and deal with the two of them. At that time, Xinghe, you will personally control the grand formation and use its killing array for an instantaneous strike. It's not impossible that we might achieve a miraculous result. Hmph!"
As he said this, a flash of killing intent crossed the red-robed youth's face, but it was gone in an instant. His expression then became calm as he looked down below. He was confident that with the Sect-Protecting Grand Formation, even if the four sects joined forces, it would take them ten days to half a month to make any progress. However, he would not allow them to ride roughshod over his sect. Was Falling Star Valley supposed to just hide like turtles in a shell? The Spirit Stones would eventually be depleted.
Their voice transmission exchange high above had taken but a moment. To the crowd below, it seemed as if the two figures had just arrived, paused for a beat, and then Lin Xinghe's voice had sounded out.
At this moment, the vast square in front of the Technique Transmission Pavilion was already densely packed with nearly a thousand people, among them about thirty Foundation Establishment cultivators. Seeing so many people left many of Falling Star Valley's disciples astonished. Their sect, including all the low-level disciples, outer disciples, and handymen, numbered no more than seven hundred. But as they followed the order to quickly gather at the square, they noticed that among the streaks of light flashing past them, there were many people they had never seen before.
Some disciples were already in a daze, only snapping back to reality when their companions urged them on. For instance, Feng Tao, who came from a cultivator family and a small sect, saw many familiar faces in the crowd. There were the two ancestors of the Feng family, several heads of the branch families, and many other clansmen. Greatly alarmed, Feng Tao quickly understood what the presence of her clansmen here meant. She then began to search frantically through the crowd, but she did not see her parents.
'Is this only a part of the family, or have the others not yet arrived?'
Feng Tao grew worried and was about to expand her Divine Sense to search. But just then, the voice of the Feng family ancestor sounded in her mind.
"Feng Tao, do not worry. Your parents and a portion of our clansmen remain at the Feng estate. I have already given them the skull that opens the Yin Tomb in the back mountain. If anything happens, your father will lead all our clansmen into the tomb. There, even if a Golden Core cultivator comes, your father can use the skull to drive out all the ghouls in the tomb to attack. He should be able to hold them off for at least half an incense stick's time. They can then cross through the Yin Tomb and leave directly."
The Feng family ancestor's words stopped there. He never once glanced in Feng Tao's direction. Although the Feng family had been forced to come, who didn't have a backup plan? He and his third brother couldn't refuse, but they definitely had to ensure the survival of the family's outstanding descendants.
However, the Feng family ancestor did not tell Feng Tao the whole story. If his side was defeated and the enemy invaded their estate, even though Feng Zaiyu could use the skull to command the Yin ghouls that the Feng family had painstakingly suppressed and tamed over a thousand years to hold them off for a while, their path forward would be cut off. They could only traverse the entire Yin Mountain tomb from the back. The outcome of that would be unknown. With the cultivation of Feng Zaiyu's group, if they encountered a powerful ghoul, the entire Feng family might be wiped out. But this was their last resort.
'What a pity for the child, Feng Tao!'
The Feng family ancestor sighed inwardly. He had no reason to let Feng Tao return to the family at this time to gamble on that slim chance of survival. Falling Star Valley would absolutely not allow anyone within its sphere of influence to escape beforehand, unless they were never to be found by Falling Star Valley again. Once Falling Star Valley survived this calamity, they would surely hunt down all the vassal families and sects that had fled. Since you chose to pledge allegiance, you enjoyed the glory in good times. When misfortune strikes, you want to just walk away? There is no such good thing in the world. Not only could they not leave, but this time, all the Foundation Establishment cultivators from every family and sect were required to come.
Falling Star Valley's message was direct: before Falling Star Valley is finished, all its vassal families and sects must at least give their all. It was already a heavenly grace that they weren't asked to bring their entire sects and clans. This was to force everyone into a mindset of common hatred for the enemy. When the nest is overturned, how can any egg remain intact?
There were many disciples in Falling Star Valley in a similar situation to Feng Tao. The moment they saw their fellow sect members or relatives, they understood what was happening. However, the vast majority of people here could not imagine how such a powerful entity as Falling Star Valley could be besieged just like that. Once upon a time, a stomp from Falling Star Valley could make the entire region for ten thousand li around tremble.
Only those cultivators who had been through bloody storms knew that this was the true normal state of the cultivation world. To have a few decades or a century of peace was all due to the lingering grace of one's ancestors.
"There is no need for me to say more about the events of the past half-year. An enemy has already made a move against Falling Star Valley. And their methods are extremely vicious—either direct killing or seizing souls and enslaving spirits, leaving no one alive. As cultivators, you should all know what this means. You cannot sever your ties with the sect, which is to say, your names are already on the enemy's list. Since you have stepped onto the immortal path, I presume you are all prepared. If you were a rogue cultivator, you would have long shouldered the storms alone. But you are different. Under the protection of Falling Star Valley, you have passed many years in peace. The sect has provided you with good cultivation resources, for alchemy and artifact crafting, for cultivating the Way of Eternal Life. But all this tranquility did not come from nowhere. It is Falling Star Valley that has ceaselessly restrained the greed of powerful enemies. Greed will eventually make people reckless, and now the enemy has attacked Falling Star Valley. They fear our strength, which is why the Cangyu Sect, the Snow Moon Wolf Clan, the Wind-Severing Clan, and the Night Fox Clan have joined forces. Your individuals or sects are all closely tied to Falling Star Valley. The most crucial point is that you are all human cultivators. On the Forsaken Continent, you all know what happens when a race's sect is invaded by an alien race. If Falling Star Valley is victorious in this battle, our reputation will soar, and no petty cowards will dare to covet us again. This will guarantee you at least a hundred years of stability."
After these words, Lin Xinghe fell silent and looked respectfully towards the red-robed youth.
When the red-robed youth appeared, most of the people below had already guessed his identity, even though ninety percent of them had never seen this legendary Grand Elder before.
"I am Tianxingzi. All matters will be commanded by Xinghe. Violators will be executed!"
The red-robed youth's words were as brief as if he had said nothing at all. As he spoke the last word with a blank expression, his aura swept out, covering heaven and earth. A majestic pressure, like a vast sea, appeared like a towering giant wave in the Divine Sense of every person present. Even the Foundation Establishment cultivators turned deathly pale in an instant.
In their Seas of Consciousness, a crimson, blood-red character for "Execute" suddenly appeared, filled with a grim killing intent. The character appeared so swiftly, as if it had been forcefully squeezed in within an instant. It was utterly domineering and soul-shaking. Even a late-stage Foundation Establishment expert like the Feng family ancestor felt his mind roar and his legs tremble. For a moment, the character "Execute" seemed like a giant axe about to split open everyone's Sea of Consciousness. Just as boundless despair appeared in the eyes of the crowd below, the pressure between heaven and earth suddenly vanished. The character that threatened to tear their minds apart was also gone without a trace. Everything felt like a momentary illusion. But the clothes soaked in sweat reminded everyone that what had just happened was no illusion at all.
"Tianxingzi, the Grand Elder!"
It was only then that many people truly reacted. Who in Falling Star Valley and its vassal forces did not know the great name of "Tianxingzi"? But for the red-robed youth to say it himself, and then with a cold display of power like a celestial axe, he had made everyone fear him as if he were a god.
"So this is the true power of a Golden Core expert. Life and death can be decided in a single thought."
The third ancestor of the Feng family murmured to himself. It wasn't that he had never seen a Golden Core expert, like the Sect Master Lin Xinghe before him. If Lin Xinghe were to use his Divine Sense to attack and kill them, he could certainly do it. But to be able to instantly attack everyone here and then easily resolve it, Lin Xinghe was definitely incapable of that. One had to know that the cultivation levels of the nearly thousand people here varied greatly. To be able to transform one's Divine Sense into a thousand threads and enter their minds in an instant without causing immediate death required judging the amount of force each person's Sea of Consciousness could withstand in the instant of entry. For the red-robed youth to do this so effortlessly showed that he was a true expert. In his eyes, the thousand-plus cultivators were just a group of ants that could be crushed with a light pinch.
This sudden display from the other party had also caused Li Yan, who was mixed in the crowd, to break out in a sweat. This was not an act; it was genuine fear. From the moment the red-robed youth appeared, he had sensed that this person's magical power was unfathomably deep. Although he vaguely felt it wasn't as freely controlled as his own master, Wei Zhongran's, like a deep abyss or a tranquil pavilion, it was enough to make his heart pound and afraid to even breathe loudly. When the other party's Divine Sense entered his mind without any obstacle, Li Yan was scared out of his wits.
In that instant, he too felt the grim killing intent emanating from the blood-red "Execute" character, which seemed to transform into a gleaming long saber hacking down at his head.