After her hateful declaration, Yu Rong didn't bother asking for the other two's opinions. She flew directly to the front of the Cangyu Sect disciples. Following a few words spoken with a grief-stricken and indignant expression, an uproar erupted among the Cangyu Sect cultivators.
Their faces flushed with anger, their auras surged, and killing intent overflowed. Immediately, they followed Yu Rong and flew towards the mountain gate.
In an instant, the sound of explosions thundered before the Falling Star Valley's mountain gate, as many Cangyu Sect disciples roared.
"The Falling Star Valley is despicable and shameless! As Golden Cores, all you know is how to launch sneak attacks..."
"Avenge the Sect Master!"
"Kill everyone in the Falling Star Valley..."
Just now, Yu Rong had only told them that their Sect Master had been killed in a sneak attack by the Falling Star Valley, which was enough to fill the entire sect with grief and indignation. This was indeed what Ning Ying had told her.
When the disciples of the Cangyu Sect heard that their Sect Master had not died in an open and honorable battle but had fallen to an enemy's ambush, they realized in an instant that the Cangyu Sect had lost its greatest pillar of support. This had all happened in such a suffocatingly unjust way.
"Fellow Daoist Ning, you came here with the cultivators from the Wind-Severing Clan. What did Brother Changfeng say before?"
"He and Tianxingzi fought until both were grievously wounded. He still hopes we can take this opportunity to seize the Falling Star Valley. What is Fellow Daoist Xue's opinion?"
Ning Ying's eyes darted. She didn't offer her own opinion, instead stating that this was Lie Changfeng's wish, before turning the question back to Xue Qianzong.
Xue Qianzong glanced at the explosions of fire at the mountain gate not far away, then at the eager and disgruntled cultivators of the Wind-Severing Clan.
"What's the harm in going to take a look? We just need to be extra careful. Otherwise, there's no point in our four sects even having an alliance."
Xue Qianzong was still very concerned with the bigger picture. Hadn't they worked so hard for so long just to obtain the Falling Star Valley? Now that they had come this far, and given Lie Changfeng's character, he would certainly not send his own clansmen to their deaths just like that.
"That's exactly what I was thinking!"
Upon hearing this, Ning Ying offered a charming smile, for a moment, appearing incomparably beautiful...
As Li Yan was meditating, Lin Xinghe's voice suddenly echoed in his mind.
"Now is the time for you to perform. There are three enemy Golden Core cultivators outside—one each at the Initial, Mid, and Late stages. However, the Grand Elder and I will naturally lure them away. They are currently breaking the restriction at the mountain gate. Shortly after they enter, they will have truly entered the range of the Sect-Protecting Grand Formation. That is where you will kill the enemy. In the stretch of road from the mountain gate to the inner valley entrance, the grand formation has now conjured many forked paths. Even if they have a spy feeding them information, knowing that the entrance to the inner sect is on a certain hillside, they won't be able to find it easily. They will definitely split up to search... hehe!!"
As he spoke, Lin Xinghe let out a sneer, a hint of mockery in his laughter.
The enemy wanted to leverage their numerical superiority? But this was the Falling Star Valley's home turf.
Li Yan quietly awaited Lin Xinghe's next words. That laugh was likely directed at him. In other words, Lin Xinghe didn't believe Zhang Ming's supposed hidden purpose at all. His words seemed to be telling him that even if he were the spy, they weren't afraid of him reporting the location of the inner valley entrance.
"Go to the Hall of Deacons now and find Deacon Meng, the one who distributes Spirit Stones to you every month. You will then follow his squad into action..."
Lin Xinghe's voice transmission was extremely fast; he had no time to waste on this brat. But his Martial Uncle had told him to give the notice, so it had to be done. He had no goodwill towards Zhang Ming whatsoever. This person had dared to infiltrate the sect with malicious intent. Moreover, it had happened during a time when he was paying special attention to new disciples. He had thought himself perceptive as a blazing fire, but tragically, he had still been played like a fool. If his Martial Uncle hadn't spoken up, he would have definitely performed a Soul-Searching Art.
Just as he finished speaking and was about to turn and leave, Zhang Ming suddenly sent a voice transmission in reply.
"Sect Master, I am not good at coordinating with others. It's better for me to be alone. In any case, all that matters is that I fulfill my end of the agreement."
For a moment, the departing Lin Xinghe fell silent. But after only two or three breaths, his voice once again sounded in Li Yan's mind. He was pondering whether this brat wanted to use this as an opportunity to cause some trouble alone, but then he remembered the restriction inside Zhang Ming's body.
"Fine. You can get a teleportation jade that will return you to the valley from Deacon Meng later. I will explain it to him. Of course, all that matters is that you complete the agreed-upon task. However, if I discover you attacking a fellow sect member or acting against the sect's interests, you will not get a second chance. Hmph, don't tell me you haven't tried to break the restriction in your body. That's even better. I imagine it makes you understand its power all the more clearly. Your life and death are in our hands. You'd best behave yourself!"
With that, Lin Xinghe's voice vanished.
Rather than having someone watch over Zhang Ming, it was better to let him go his own way. This would also avoid the possibility of a cornered dog leaping over the wall, taking a few people down with him before he died. After all, once the grand formation was running, given his Martial Uncle's current condition, although he could sense Zhang Ming's location at all times, it was not certain he could stop a desperate act in time.
Li Yan looked outside. It was now high noon.
'The Falling Star Valley is planning to use the formation's advantage to force a decisive battle between the mountain gate and the inner valley.'
Suddenly encountering this situation, besides blaming his own faulty planning and bad luck, Li Yan also felt a tremendous killing intent towards these four foreign sects. If it weren't for them stirring up trouble, he would have been able to openly enter the Shattered Star Grotto to refine artifacts in another two or three years. Now, his life was constantly in someone else's hands. This feeling of being out of control made him feel incredibly insecure.
The memory of the Cangyu Sect Golden Core cultivator being instantly incinerated last night, without even his Demonic Core escaping, sent a bone-deep chill through Li Yan.
'Since you've ruined my plans, I'll make you pay a heavy price. I'll at least drag as many of you as possible down with me!'
At this moment, boundless killing intent surged within Li Yan. As long as he avoided the Golden Core cultivators, the rest shouldn't be a big problem.
With that, he rose to his feet. His figure flickered and instantly vanished from the small courtyard...
The Feng Family Ancestor looked at the green light gate before him, sighed inwardly, and stepped through...
After a moment of slight dizziness, the two Feng Family ancestors and three other Foundation Establishment cultivators appeared in a densely shaded forest. Behind them were more than thirty Qi Condensation disciples. Teamed up with the Feng Family was a small sect named the Tingshan Sect, whose overall strength was roughly equivalent to the Feng Family's. It was just that their Sect Master had taken a step ahead of the Feng Family Ancestor into the Pseudo-Core Realm, and they also had one more elder who had successfully reached Foundation Establishment twenty years ago. However, the strength of their disciples was inferior to the Feng Family's, and the various sinister methods of ghost cultivators were not something the Tingshan Sect could compare to.
The Tingshan Sect was quite familiar with the Feng Family, and they had more dealings with each other. So, they had already agreed to act together for the next step.
The Falling Star Valley had assigned these vassal forces a designated area, requiring them to defend certain key locations. The Falling Star Valley disciples would not be acting together with the vassal sects. In fact, the Feng Family Ancestor and the others could all see the reason for this.
The Falling Star Valley still did not trust any of its vassal cultivator families and sects. They didn't want these people by their side, lest they suddenly turn on them. Thus, the Falling Star Valley disciples formed their own teams to face the enemy. Even if a betrayal did occur, at most they would lose some defensive points or some other allied vassal forces; it wouldn't immediately harm the disciples of the Falling Star Valley.
In Tianxingzi's view, as long as the grand formation was in his hands, he would quickly know everything that happened within it. As long as the Falling Star Valley disciples were still around, there was a chance to remedy the situation.
Looking at the forest, which was still somewhat dark even in the noon light, the Feng Family Ancestor's expression changed the moment he circulated his Spirit Power. At the same time, the faces of the other few Foundation Establishment cultivators also changed. However, the Qi Condensation disciples, while vigilantly surveying their surroundings, showed no change in their expressions.
"Sect Master Wang, something is wrong here. There is a no-fly power," the Feng Family Ancestor immediately said, turning to a beautiful woman in her forties.
This beautiful woman was the Sect Master of the Tingshan Sect. This was quite a surprise to cultivators unfamiliar with the Tingshan Sect, as it was not a female-only sect.
Sect Master Wang had also felt a pressure from the sky the moment she stepped out of the light gate. This pressure was almost imperceptible to the Qi Condensation disciples who could not yet fly, but to Sect Master Wang and the others, it was as if they were being pressed to the ground.
As the Feng Family Ancestor spoke, he immediately began to sense his surroundings carefully. A moment later, he made a judgment: they could probably fly about five zhang off the ground. Any higher, and the pressure from the restriction would become so strong that the Spirit Power in their bodies would descend into chaos.
"No wonder they had us establish defenses. With these no-fly restrictions, it's impossible for the enemy to just fly past. They must defeat us to pass," Sect Master Wang's voice was like an oriole's song, very pleasant to the ear, making one feel a sense of joy upon hearing it. In reality, she was already over one hundred and forty years old. If she could not form her core in another fifty-odd years, she could only sit down and pass away, walking the path of reincarnation.
The Feng Family Ancestor was still sensing with his eyes closed. "At our cultivation level, even if we use our full strength, we won't get higher than ten zhang. And the rate of Spirit Power consumption will increase exponentially. Even a Golden Core cultivator, though able to fly normally, probably won't be very fast—slower than some cultivators running on the ground." He quickly stated his conclusion.
"Truly a grand sect. To suppress such a large area, yet the formation's power is still so strong, with no variation in strength. For cultivators like us trapped within, our cultivation will be weakened by about twenty percent," at this time, the Third Ancestor of the Feng Family, after sensing as well, couldn't help but sigh.
With cultivators at Foundation Establishment and above losing their space to maneuver in the air, some of their arts were greatly restricted. At the same time, when fighting enemies here, the height their magical treasures could fly was also limited. Once they exceeded five zhang, the Spirit Power consumed to control them would increase exponentially.
However, the enemy's combat power was similarly weakened by several degrees. This was precisely what the Falling Star Valley intended, allowing them to establish defensive formations on the ground and preventing the enemy from leveraging their advantages in numbers and high cultivation.
"Fellow Daoist Feng, Sect Master Lin said the enemy only has three Golden Cores, and he and the Grand Elder will lure them away. However, we still need to choose our ambush spot carefully. We can't cut off our own retreat before the enemy Golden Cores have left." Sect Master Wang's beautiful eyes revealed a hint of worry. She suddenly switched from whispering to a voice transmission.
Although Lin Xinghe had already sent them a voice transmission informing them of the final outcome of yesterday's battle, they weren't fools. They knew this was just to boost their own side's confidence. Lin Xinghe had told them that of the enemy's Golden Cores, one was dead and one was heavily injured; the strongest combat power of the Wind-Severing Clan and the Cangyu Sect was crippled. Although three Golden Core cultivators had arrived today, they didn't need to worry too much, as he and the Grand Elder would deal with them.
But how could Sect Master Wang and the others rest easy? If they were to face a Golden Core, what difference was there from suicide? Having lived for so long, the only ones they truly trusted were themselves.