Emerald Smoke Valley Ambush

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Three muffled, earth-shattering roars exploded almost simultaneously.

The light shield vibrated violently, ripples surging outward. The spirit boat was jolted backward by dozens of feet, its spiritual light flickering unstably.

The attackers' target was clear: they were aiming directly for the Chen Family's spirit boat carrying the immortal seedlings.

At this moment.

Chen Xingyuan, Chen Xingyong, Chen Xingyi, and others on the Sky Wind Vultures also attacked, each unleashing spells and jointly creating a defensive barrier. They managed to barely block the second wave of pale green poison darts that shot in from the side.

"What kind of cowards are you, hiding your faces!" Chen Xingyong's furious voice echoed through the night sky. He had already summoned a fiery red flying sword and was vigilantly scanning the dark canyon below.

The attackers had clearly come prepared, lurking within the complex terrain of the valley, revealing no figures.

Various tricky and malicious spells, talismans, and arrows imbued with chilling, poisonous energy shot in continuously from different angles, like venomous snakes.

The attackers seemed proficient in stealth, their presence flickering in and out, making their numbers impossible to determine.

Chen Heng, Chen Mingjing, and Chen Minglang quickly formed a small triangular formation, protecting the immortal seedlings in the center.

Chen Mingjing's hands moved through a series of hand seals, and a layer of soft, jade-green water screen slowly spread across the inner wall of the cabin, serving as a second layer of defense.

Chen Minglang held a small hammer magical artifact, nervously scanning the darkness outside the window, his palms sweating.

Chen Heng, however, was fully focused. He clutched several defensive talismans in his hand, his sharp gaze searching for the source of the incoming spells. The inexplicable sense of foreboding that had been with him since returning from the well had magnified countless times at this moment.

Just as an unusually tricky, dark blue light spear, carrying the sound of wind and thunder, bypassed Chen Xingzhou's light shield interception and bizarrely shot out from a crack in the rocks below, aiming directly at the bottom of the spirit boat carrying the immortal seedlings, a sense of danger exploded in Chen Heng's heart!

His face changed drastically. He almost instinctively reached to tear open the talisman in his hand, but the light spear was too fast!

It was about to pierce the spirit boat's weak underbelly!

At the critical moment!

Buzz—!

An extremely faint hum, as if originating from the void, sounded.

This sound was so weak it was almost completely drowned out by the explosion of spells, yet it clearly pierced through the chaos and landed directly in everyone's ears!

It was the sound of the Withered Wood Dragon's Roar.

Swish!

A faint, almost imperceptible, yet extremely condensed, invisible sound wave suddenly shot out!

Its speed surpassed everyone's perception, meeting the dark blue light spear that was about to pierce the spirit boat!

The expected violent explosion did not occur.

The sound wave, like an invisible mouth, instantly swallowed everything upon contact with the light spear. The spear's incomparably sharp spiritual energy, its hidden wind and thunder power, and even its dark blue flames...

All the energy seemed to be drawn into a bottomless vortex, vanishing without a trace!

The light spear annihilated itself in thin air!

Only a brief distortion of the air, torn by its power, remained.

All of this happened too quickly.

Chen Xingmo on the spirit boat couldn't react at all. Fortunately, the Ninth Elder, Chen Xingyuan, reacted swiftly. Otherwise, falling from this height of a hundred feet...

These immortal seedlings would likely perish here, the consequences simply unimaginable!

The hidden attacker was clearly stunned as well. That attack contained their proudest secret technique, yet it was so bizarrely neutralized into nothingness?

Seizing this opening, Chen Xingzhou seized the opportunity and shouted, "Get out here!"

The earth-yellow light shield suddenly transformed into the phantom of a majestic mountain, smashing down with immense force towards the direction from which the dark blue light spear had attacked!

RUMBLE—!

The mountain phantom landed, shaking the entire Emerald Smoke Valley. Rocks flew, clouds churned, and dust billowed into the sky.

A blurry black figure, emitting a muffled groan, was forced out of the dust in extreme disarray. However, it immediately blended back into the night.

At this moment.

Chen Xingmo on the spirit boat was the first to crush the communication jade slip requesting reinforcements from Jade Spring Mountain. Not only were immortal seedlings on board, but there were also three juniors of the Ming generation.

With the enemy's numbers unknown, it was not advisable to continue the entanglement.

However, the Foundation Establishment Ancestor, who was expected to quickly reinforce from the mountain, and the current head of the Chen Family, Chen Tianheng, did not appear.

Meanwhile, the attackers' various assaults continued.

The targets were extremely clear: the spirit boat carrying the immortal seedlings!

And the spirit boat, not known for its defense, had its spiritual light extremely dim, looking like it was about to collapse.

"The aerial target is too obvious. Eighth Brother, quickly pilot the spirit boat to land!" the Great Elder, Chen Xingzhou, shouted loudly.

Not long after.

The Sky Wind Vultures and the spirit boat were forced to land in the treacherous Emerald Smoke Valley.

The next moment.

In the deep, dark valley, under the shadowy trees, a masked man in black let out a sinister sneer and snapped his fingers.

BOOM!

Instantly, a patch of dark light enveloped Chen Heng and the others, like dark clouds descending, bringing with them an aura of malevolence.

SWISH!

Before setting out, the Great Elder, Chen Xingzhou, had been prepared. He had specifically retrieved several second-grade talismans from the Chen Family's treasure vault, just in case of a situation like this.

Seeing the person behind the attack make their move, he no longer hesitated and immediately activated a talisman hidden in his sleeve.

The yellowed talisman paper instantly turned to ash, and a bolt of green lightning shot out, blasting a hole in the dark clouds overhead, causing them to dissipate into nothingness.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, a second-grade low-tier Azure Lightning Talisman. As expected of the Jade Spring Chen Clan's Violet Palace lightning cultivators."

As the voice faded, ten figures in black emerged from all directions, radiating a potent aura of killing intent.

"They're professional assassins!"

Watching the approaching figures in black, Chen Xingzhou's heart sank to the bottom of the abyss, his expression so grim it seemed water could drip from it.

There were ten of them in total. Six were cultivators in the late Qi Refining stage, and the two leading the group were at the great circle of Qi Refining.

The remaining four were all at the sixth level of Qi Condensation, seemingly just a step away from breaking through to the late Qi Refining stage.

On their side, they had five cultivators in the late Qi Refining stage, but they also had thirteen immortal seedlings to protect. As for the three junior cultivators in the Ming generation, only Chen Heng likely possessed any combat ability.

Their group was no match for the attackers!

Furthermore, the signal Chen Xingmo had sent for help earlier had received no response. The enemy had set up a formation specifically to block communications.

They were completely prepared!

There must have been a traitor within the Chen Family, otherwise, the enemy couldn't have pinpointed their group's movements so accurately.

However, they had made contingency plans before setting out, so they weren't panicking.

It was just that the children had never seen such a scene before, cowering in fear and huddling together behind the adults.

"Great Elder, we should strike first!" Chen Xingyong, wielding a long sword that emanated a scorching light, transmitted his voice secretly.

Chen Xingzhou didn't respond, merely nodding with a grim expression. Chen Xingyuan and Chen Xingyi, standing beside him, understood the implication and prepared to attack.

The burly, bald old man shouted at the sharpening black-clad figures opposite them, "Bold ruffians! Our Chen Clan's Foundation Establishment Patriarch is on Jade Spring Mountain. Are you tired of living?"

The leader of the attackers responded dismissively, "Chen Tianheng is just a..."

Before he could finish his sentence, he saw the other side make the first move, unleashing a barrage of magical artifacts, talismans, and spells.