First battle, breaching the market

Lu Zhao stayed there for half a month, and the bloody slaughter never ceased.

The horns announcing the army's departure once again tore through the stillness of the Heavencloud Mountain Range. Lu Zhao marched with the column, iron hooves crushing dead branches as the low growls of spirit beasts echoed through the valleys.

His gaze swept over the familiar jagged rocks on either side and the deep gorges draped with curtains of ice, stirring a faint ripple in his heart.

The northern foothills of the Heavencloud Mountain Range, where he had once cautiously explored with Wang Yun's beast-hunting squad and risked his life for a few spirit stones, now trembled beneath the thunderous hooves of the Zhou Household's Cloud-Pattern Iron Cavalry.

Those scenes from years ago stood in stark contrast to the might of the army now passing through, driving demonic beasts into retreat. The army advanced in silence, surging steadily toward the other side of the mountains.

After trekking for over another half month and crossing the last snow-covered ridge, the view suddenly opened before them. They had reached Tianfang Commandery.

Three more days brought the army to Greenrock Market.

This stronghold stood on the fringes of the Zhao Family's territory in Tianfang Commandery and was comparable in size to Blue Stone Market.

Above the Market District, a pale green light screen covered the entire settlement like an enormous upturned bowl. Spiritual light flowed across it, not particularly dazzling but exceptionally stable. Countless fine runes could vaguely be seen swimming across its surface like fish, forming a vast, complex whole—the first-tier superior-grade defensive formation, the Greenrock Mystic Light Formation.

The formation's light screen connected to eight thick stone pillars standing around the Market District. Spirit stones of various sizes were embedded in the pillars, continuously supplying the formation with energy.

From a distance, the entire Market District resembled a giant turtle crouched on the plain beneath a hard green shell.

The Zhou Household's army halted three li outside the Market District and began constructing a simple camp.

Enormous siege magical artifacts—three Mountain-Splitting Ballistas, each several zhang tall, cast entirely from cold iron and covered in formation-breaking runes—were pushed to the front, their sights trained on the Market District's formation screen in the distance.

Elite Cloud-Pattern Cavalry took defensive positions around the ballistae, their gazes sharp as hawks'. Lower-ranking cultivators swiftly laid warning formations and traps around the camp's perimeter to prevent the cultivators inside the Market District from breaking out or launching harassing attacks.

Lu Zhao stood among the guest elders, gazing at the green dome of light. He could clearly sense the formation's resilience. It was far stronger than Green Vine Ravine's protective formation, but it was not impregnable.

First-tier superior-grade meant that it could, at most, withstand a full-powered strike from a Foundation Establishment early-stage cultivator, or several days of continuous saturation attacks from Qi Refining Stage cultivators.

The next day, the horns of attack sounded.

"Fire!"

At the command, the three house-sized Mountain-Splitting Ballistas unleashed deafening roars! Enormous bolts as thick as thighs, inscribed with "armor-piercing" and "spirit-shattering" runes, slammed into the green light screen with ear-splitting shrieks!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The deafening blasts almost made the earth tremble! The points struck on the green screen instantly caved inward, erupting with blinding light. Countless runes flashed frantically, flickering in and out with sizzling sounds.

Violent ripples spread wildly outward from the impact points, and the entire screen shook fiercely. Faint cries of alarm and sounds of confusion came from within the Market District.

Yet the screen did not break. The depressions swiftly sprang back, and as the runes flowed, they consumed the spirit stones' energy, stubbornly mending the damage. Only its color seemed to have dimmed a little.

"Keep firing! Same targets, continue the attack!" the Zhou Household cultivator commanding the assault ordered coldly.

The next three days became a hell woven from spiritual light and thunderous blasts.

The Mountain-Splitting Ballistas fired a volley every two hours. Each bombardment made the green screen shudder violently, its runes flickering erratically.

The Zhou Household's Qi Refining Stage cultivators took turns attacking. Magical artifacts of every kind, talismans, and five-element spells poured onto the same section of the screen like a torrential downpour.

Fireballs burst into brilliant waves of flame, Ice Cones trailed bone-piercing frost, metallic weapon energy slashed back and forth, and massive boulders crashed down... The formation screen was like an enormous target, enduring endless battering.

On the eight stone pillars supporting the formation, the embedded spirit stones turned ashen and shattered at a rate visible to the naked eye.

The cultivators inside the Market District were clearly replacing spirit stones desperately to keep the formation running. But the Zhou Household had prepared an immense stockpile of siege resources; their spirit stones and talismans seemed inexhaustible.

Every blast from the Mountain-Splitting Ballistas was like a heavy hammer, smashing into the defending cultivators' hearts as well as the foundation sustaining the formation.

At dusk on the third day, the setting sun dyed the sky a savage blood-red.

Boom-crack!

An unprecedented crash rang out, accompanied by a tooth-grating sound of shattering!

The Mountain-Splitting Ballistas' enormous bolts finally pierced the screen, already covered in spiderweb cracks! A gaping breach several zhang wide appeared.

Along its edges, fragments of the green light screen fell like shattered glass and dissipated.

"The formation's broken! Charge inside!" The Zhou Household cultivators' furious roars rang out like thunder.

"Kill!"

The Cloud-Pattern Cavalry led the charge. Beneath them, their Cloud-Pattern Horses neighed fiercely as they became dozens of torrents of iron, sweeping through the breach first with biting killing intent!

Close behind came the Zhou Household's elite disciples, followed by a tide of mid- and low-ranking guest elders and cultivators from subordinate forces! Battle cries, the clash of magical artifacts, and the explosive reports of spells rang out!

Greenrock Market, the Formation Core's stone chamber.

His face was pale, his forehead covered in fine beads of sweat. Spiritual power poured from his body into the formation plate like floodwaters through an open sluice as he struggled to sustain the tottering Greenrock Mystic Light Formation.

The thunderous blasts outside the stone chamber drew ever closer. Every strike from the Mountain-Splitting Ballistas seemed to smash directly into his soul, churning his blood and qi. The ground beneath his feet shook continuously, and dust sifted down.

"Third Uncle! The spirit stones in the West District's formation foundation are almost exhausted! We can't replace them fast enough!" A young Zhao Family disciple, his face covered in blood and grime, staggered inside, his voice hoarse with despair.

"Hold on! Get the Li Family and Wang Family cultivators up there! Tell them that once the formation breaks, none of them will survive!" Zhao Yongfeng shouted harshly, though his voice could not conceal his exhaustion.

"It's no use, Third Uncle!" Another, somewhat older Zhao Family cultivator, Zhao Changhai, rushed inside. Blood seeped through the bandages around his arm, and his face was livid. "Those vassal lineages and rogue cultivators are nothing but a disorganized rabble! The moment the Zhou Household began attacking, they panicked and started going through the motions! Someone even tried escaping from the south just now, but the Enforcement Team cut them down!"

Zhao Yongfeng closed his eyes briefly, his heart ice-cold. How could he not know? When he received the lineage's secret orders three days ago, he had understood this place's fate.

The orders had been brief and cold: "Hold Greenrock Market for three days. After three days, whether the formation has broken or not, you, Zhao Changhai, and Zhao Changyan must immediately activate your Minor Teleportation Talismans and withdraw through the reserved secret passage. Do not delay."

"This Market District is a whetstone, meant only to wear down the Zhou Household's edge and test their strength. Your lives matter more than the Market District."

What the lineage valued was the lives of the three of them, direct descendants of the Zhao Family, and intelligence on the Zhou Household's siege methods—not this Market District, doomed to be sacrificed, or whether the rogue cultivators and vassal lineages inside lived or died.

Zhao Changhai watched the points of light on the formation plate grow dimmer and spoke in a low voice. "Third Uncle, it's almost been three days. It's... nearly time. The Mountain-Splitting Ballistas are even more powerful than we expected, and our spirit stone reserves are nearly depleted..."

As though to confirm his words, an unprecedented, heart-stopping crack suddenly resounded outside! Immediately afterward, earthshaking battle cries surged toward them like a tsunami!

On the formation plate, the point of light representing the section under concentrated attack abruptly went out!

"Pfft!" Zhao Yongfeng could hold on no longer. He violently spat out a mouthful of blood, staining the formation plate before him red. The last light on the plate faded completely.

"The formation... has broken!" Zhao Changhai's voice trembled.

"Go!"

Zhao Yongfeng made his decision at once. A trace of pain and reluctance flashed through his eyes, only to be instantly replaced by resolve. He tore open the front of his robes, revealing a palm-sized jade talisman hidden against his body, covered in profound silver runes-a Minor Teleportation Talisman!

Zhao Changhai and Zhao Changyan, the other Zhao Family disciple who had silently stood guard beside them all this time, also took out their jade talismans without hesitation.

"Activate!" Zhao Yongfeng growled, frantically pouring all his remaining spiritual power into the jade talisman in his hand!

Hum!

Three intense beams of silver light erupted inside the stone chamber. Space twisted violently, forming a vortex-like passage, and a powerful tearing force instantly swallowed all three men!

Not long after their figures vanished, a tremendous force blasted apart the chamber's heavy stone door!

Amid the swirling smoke and dust, a fierce-auraed Late Qi Refining cultivator from the Zhou Household charged inside, holding a long saber dripping with blood. His lightning-sharp gaze swept over the empty stone chamber, the shattered formation plate on the ground, and the bloodstained fragments of spirit stones. His expression darkened.

"Damn it, they ran fast!" He spat, then turned and charged back into the even fiercer din of slaughter outside. Greenrock Market's fall was now a foregone conclusion.