Night Raid

Halfway up the mountain, heaven-shaking cries of slaughter and the piercing clash of metal erupted in no time.

Lu Lin stood on the summit, looking down over the battle below.

He saw large numbers of Green Duckweed Sword Sect martial artists emerge from concealment and fall into a fierce melee with the Demon Sect martial artists.

At every moment, someone fell—beheaded or cut in two at the waist. Shrill, miserable screams and the dull thuds of blades biting into flesh rang out without end, echoing across the entire peak.

Blood sprayed everywhere. A thick reek of blood spread out, and the whole mountain forest seemed shrouded in a scarlet mist of blood.

That stretch of mountainside had completely turned into a living purgatory.

"Yuan Long..."

Lu Lin's pupils abruptly contracted.

He saw Yuan Long smash a Green Duckweed Sword Sect martial artist's skull with one palm, but before the man died, he swung backhanded and sent out a dazzling streak of sword-light that sliced precisely across Yuan Long's neck.

Yuan Long clutched his throat with both hands, struggling to turn and look toward the summit, his eyes filled with despair and unwillingness. The next instant, a Green Duckweed Sword Sect martial artist leaped out from behind him and cut off his head with one stroke.

Lu Lin instinctively glanced toward Luo Siqing and saw that her face remained as cold as frost, without the slightest ripple in her eyes.

It was not only Luo Siqing. The other Demon Sect immortal cultivators, and even the Green Duckweed Sword Sect immortal cultivators far down at the foot of the mountain, all wore calm expressions, indifferent to the extreme.

As if what was constantly vanishing were not human lives, but insignificant tools. Ants.

"The Immortal Dao is heartless... The Immortal Dao is heartless, hehe."

Lu Lin unconsciously clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white.

In this world, martial artists were forever only chess pieces in the hands of immortal cultivators, trapped on the board and manipulated at will.

Life and death were not their own. Their fate was controlled by others.

One day, I will leap out of this chessboard and completely control my own fate. So what if they're immortals? Anyone who blocks me will be ground into dust...

A voice roared wildly in the depths of his heart.

The slaughter on the mountainside continued, exceptionally brutal.

Between the rugged slopes, corpses lay everywhere, and blood flowed like rivers.

This battle lasted a full half hour.

"Withdraw the troops! Retreat!"

Just then, a Green Duckweed Sword Sect immortal cultivator at the foot of the mountain suddenly spoke, his clear voice spreading across the entire peak.

The Green Duckweed Sword Sect martial artists were as if granted amnesty and turned to retreat at full speed.

The Blood Baleful Demon Sect martial artists all showed looks of joy.

The Immortal Masters had not ordered a pursuit, so naturally no one was willing to rashly advance in greedy pursuit of merit.

In the blink of an eye, all the Green Duckweed Sword Sect martial artists had withdrawn from the mountain.

When they came, there had been more than two thousand of them. When they returned, only just over a thousand remained. Nearly half of the martial artists were left forever in this mountain wilderness.

"Everyone, clear the battlefield, then withdraw to the summit."

Dongfang Yu immediately gave the order.

The surviving martial artists began cleaning the battlefield, recovering arrows, stripping the battle armor from fallen comrades and enemies alike, and carrying all the weapons from both sides up the mountain.

Finally, several immortal cultivators acted, summoning raging flames that enveloped all the corpses.

In just a short while, all the martial artists who had died in battle were reduced to ash.

Dust to dust, earth to earth.

In this battle, the Blood Baleful Demon Sect had likewise suffered heavy losses.

Of the more than two thousand martial artists, only half survived.

The situation under Luo Siqing was slightly better. Apart from Lu Lin, ten people had gone into battle, and seven returned.

Fang Hong, Lan Zhu, and the others Lu Lin knew were all alive. Though each of them carried wounds, martial artists had sturdy physiques, and with a little nursing, they could recover.

This was simply because Luo Siqing's personal guards were all carefully selected martial prodigies, and their equipment was better as well, so the casualty rate was naturally lower.

With a wave of her hand, Luo Siqing sent several pills drifting toward Fang Hong and the others.

"These are healing pills. Swallow them at once and regulate your breathing properly."

"Many thanks, Immortal Master!" Fang Hong and the others bowed in gratitude.

The nearby martial artists all cast envious looks their way.

Not every immortal cultivator was willing to bestow pills upon the guards under them.

"Everyone, today the Green Duckweed Sword Sect came in force, yet returned without accomplishing anything. After retreating, their defenses will surely loosen. In a while, we will come out in full strength, strike straight at the Green Duckweed Sword Sect encampment, and wipe it flat in one fell swoop!"

Dongfang Yu looked toward the horizon and suddenly spoke.

The moment these words came out, the expressions of the Demon Sect immortal cultivators all changed slightly.

"I think that is inappropriate." A burly young man immediately shook his head. "The Green Duckweed Sword Sect's strength here is not inferior to our sect's, and may even be stronger. Taking the initiative to attack is too risky."

"Not bad. The task the sect master entrusted to us is to hold the mine and excavate Red Gold. We only need to defend it—why take the risk?" another person chimed in.

"If we blindly turtle up and passively take a beating, we'll be at far too great a disadvantage. One small slip and they may break through. Only by taking the initiative and wiping them out in one stroke can we render a truly great merit!"

"As commander of the Red Gold Mine, I have the authority to command the entire force. My mind is made up on this matter; there is no need for further discussion! Everyone, heed my order: we depart in half an hour and strike at the Green Duckweed Sword Sect's encampment!"

Dongfang Yu's voice shook the wilderness. His aura surged around him, his gaze blazing like torches as he swept his eyes over the entire gathering.

All those touched by his gaze did not dare meet it.

"Great merit? Your great merit, you mean!"

A cold, eerie voice suddenly rang out.

The one who had spoken was Luo Siqing.

Dongfang Yu narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "Junior Sister Luo, what do you mean by that?"

"What do I mean?" A trace of mockery curled at the corner of Luo Siqing's lips. "You are the commander of the mine. If the Green Duckweed Sword Sect is annihilated, the first merit will naturally go to you. With that great merit, you can obtain a heavy reward to help you break through to Foundation Establishment and condense a powerful Dao foundation. Am I wrong?"

"Nonsense! Luo Siqing, this is slander! I made this decision for the sake of the greater situation!"

Dongfang Yu's voice turned icy.

"For everyone's sake? Who would believe that? You want to pave your path of cultivation with other people's lives. Forgive me, but I won't be joining you. Whoever wants to go can go."

"Luo Siqing!"

Dongfang Yu stared fixedly at her, flames seeming to burn in his eyes.

Luo Siqing, however, showed no fear at all and calmly met his gaze.

"Fine, Luo Siqing, you may refuse to go, but the guards under your command must follow me into battle." Dongfang Yu finally yielded.

"No. I personally cultivated those guards. On what grounds should they sell their lives for you? Don't even think about it."

"According to sect rules, in special times, the sect has the right to requisition all exclusive guards to carry out sect missions. Now, in my capacity as commander of the Red Gold Mine, I am requisitioning everyone's guards to attack the Green Duckweed Sword Sect!"

"Dongfang Yu, you are only a temporary commander, not a Foundation Establishment elder of the sect. We came here only to assist in defending the mine. Anything beyond that scope, we have the right to refuse."

Luo Siqing refused to give an inch.

This time, Dongfang Yu no longer responded to Luo Siqing. Instead, he turned to Lu Lin, Fang Hong, and the others. "Do you listen to Luo Siqing, or do you obey the sect's deployment?"

The expressions of Fang Hong, Lan Zhu, and the others shifted, caught between two hard choices.

Disobeying deployment was a capital crime, but if they disobeyed Luo Siqing, in the future she could casually assign them a mission, and that alone would be enough to leave them dead with no burial ground.

"No need for concern. He has no authority to represent the sect."

Luo Siqing's cool voice sounded again.

Hearing this, Lu Lin, Fang Hong, and the others silently stood behind Luo Siqing, not moving an inch.

"Good. Good. Very good!"

Dongfang Yu's gaze was dark and cold as it swept over Lu Lin and the others one by one, as if he meant to engrave them firmly in his memory.

"Senior Brother Dongfang, I also think this matter is inappropriate!"

"We should indeed proceed cautiously."

"Defense should still take precedence."

At this moment, several Demonic Sect cultivators spoke up one after another.

Quite a few of those who had come here possessed perfected Qi Refining cultivation, and their status was not much lower than Dongfang Yu's. Each of them had a mind clear as a mirror—how could they be willing to sell their lives for him?

Dongfang Yu's expression darkened. He knew today's matter could no longer be carried out.

"All martial artists, heed my order: enter the mine at once and excavate Red Gold! Immediately! Now!"

He gave a cold shout, flicked his sleeve, and strode away.

Naturally, no one disobeyed this order.

All the martial artists immediately took action. They had no time to tend their wounds and poured into the mine tunnels one after another to begin excavating.

Late that night, the sky above was packed with dark clouds, with neither stars nor moon in sight.

Aside from the faint glow emitted by the grand array's light barrier, the entire world was pitch-black.

Lu Lin was resting with his eyes closed inside a simple wooden hut.

The Red Gold Mine was similar to the Black Iron Ore mine. Once night fell, baleful yin energy spread everywhere, so they could only rest at night; mining had to wait until daytime.

Boom!!!

Suddenly, an earth-shattering roar came from the north, and the entire mountain peak shook violently.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack—!"

"It's the Green Duckweed Sword Sect!"

"The array foundation's been destroyed! The grand array's broken! Ah..."

Panicked roars and shrill screams came one after another from the north.

Lu Lin instantly rushed out of the wooden hut. As if sensing something, he abruptly raised his head and looked north.

In that direction, streaks of dazzling sword light shone splendidly like a river of stars, tearing through the pitch-black canopy of night and spanning heaven and earth!