Even with a great battle perhaps looming just ahead, the lake of Liu Yu's heart remained perfectly still.
After sitting in his cave abode and drinking tea for a while, he gathered his belongings and headed outside.
The blazing sun hung directly overhead, casting down rays of scorching light.
The plaza in the southeastern corner of the Eternal Peace Market Ward was already packed.
Cultivators from various factions stood in different corners of the plaza, grouped by their respective factions or lineages, whispering among themselves.
There were men and women alike, dressed in all manner of clothing.
But even the weakest were at least at middle Qi Refining and could wield magical artifacts against an enemy.
A rough count put their numbers at no fewer than five hundred.
Still, however much they discussed, none dared raise their voices, for sixteen figures stood at the center of the plaza.
To the Qi Refining Cultivators, the spirit pressure radiating from each figure was immensely powerful. These were all "masters" of the Foundation Establishment Realm.
The Foundation Establishment Cultivators, led by Jiang Qiushui, Leng Yuexin, and Meng Wenxing, stood silently in place, seemingly waiting for someone.
Suddenly, a fiery-red escape light rose from one corner of the Market Ward and reached the sky above the plaza in the blink of an eye.
Standing on the Profound Departure Sword, his black robe fluttering, Liu Yu looked down with an impassive face and eyes as black as ink.
Among the five or six hundred Qi Refining Cultivators, fewer than a hundred wore the robes of the Primordial Yang Sect's inner and outer disciples-not even one-sixth of the total.
After years of warfare, nearly half the disciples brought from the sect had been killed or wounded.
Of the original hundred and fifty cultivators affiliated with