The surprise attack on Mystic Wood Forest, a man worthy of respect who burned away everything

Lu Chenxing chose to give Great Xia the fourth opportunity to open the teleportation passage. To send another reply, he would have to wait patiently for a month.

During this interval.

He began preparing the resources for the next delivery.

Meanwhile, the Lu Household's three Foundation Establishment cultivators quietly left the household.

Mystic Wood Forest.

It was not far from the Lu Household, and likewise not far from the Wang Household.

The two households had fought over this resource site once, with the Lu Household ultimately withdrawing and the Wang Household taking possession.

The reason was simple.

The Wang Household had five powerful Foundation Establishment cultivators and had shown its determination to claim Mystic Wood Forest, mustering a formidable force with every appearance of launching a decisive battle against anyone who dared contest it, not stopping until one side was dead.

Although the Lu Household had two fewer Foundation Establishment cultivators, they trusted in their considerable combat strength and did not fear the Wang Household.

They simply did not want a fight to the death that would only hand the surrounding factions an easy advantage.

Most importantly, the Lu Household still had its black iron vein then, and its other holdings, including spirit fields and spirit medicines, could meet its needs.

Things were different now.

The black iron vein was nearly exhausted.

The spirit fields and spirit medicines continued to yield less, bringing in meager income.

To be honest, they could still have continued developing if they endured and tightened their belts.

But Lu Chenxing's appearance had made Lu Changfeng change his longstanding strategy of maintaining stability.

Heaven had bestowed a monstrous prodigy upon the Lu Household. If they did not stake their lives and spare no effort to nurture him, they would be letting down their ancestors!

They could scrimp and save, but Lu Chenxing could not.

Not only could he not, he had to enjoy the same treatment as the other factions' chosen talents, or even better.

A minor realm every half month.

With sufficient resources, he could reach Foundation Establishment within ten years and Core Formation within fifty. Although attaining Nascent Soul required great fortuitous opportunities and tremendous fortune, a chosen talent with a heavenly spirit root would surely have greater opportunities and fortune than ordinary cultivators like them.

"For little Chenxing, for the Lu Household's future, we'll stake everything!"

Three terrifying waves of might swept in.

The Wang Household had stationed two of its Foundation Establishment cultivators at Mystic Wood Forest, an extremely important resource site for the lineage, and one was even at the Foundation Establishment middle stage.

Upon sensing the pressure of cultivators in the same realm whose presence was stronger, both their expressions changed. They emerged from their respective cave abodes, gathered together, and flew upward.

Soon, three familiar figures appeared in their sight.

"Lu Changfeng, Lu Changgeng, Lu Xuanming!"

The Lu Household's three Foundation Establishment cultivators had all come, including its patriarch.

Did their purpose even require thought?

They certainly meant no good.

Wang Haocheng, at the Foundation Establishment middle stage, looked at Lu Changfeng with a dark expression and demanded an answer.

"Patriarch Lu, what is the meaning of this?"

Lu Changfeng's expression remained calm.

"Is it so hard to tell?"

"We're here to fight for Mystic Wood Forest, of course. Did you think we were visiting?"

With that, he hurled the flying sword in his hand and controlled it with his Divine Sense, attacking without another word.

"These two must have already sent word back. End this quickly. Even if we can't kill them, we must wound them severely!"

"Understood!" Lu Changgeng and Lu Xuanming answered in unison, then each brought out his Law Artifact and attacked the two Wang cultivators.

Meanwhile, Wang Haocheng and the Wang Household's other Foundation Establishment cultivator, Wang Zhaoran, hurriedly brought out their own Law Artifacts to defend themselves.

At the Lu Household's surprise attack.

They were both shocked and furious.

Their first response was naturally to send a message requesting reinforcements. After all, their opponents had three Foundation Establishment cultivators, while they had only two.

"Lu Changfeng, how dare your Lu Household attack our Wang Household!"

The Wang Household had five Foundation Establishment cultivators. Aside from the two of them, the lineage had another two Foundation Establishment middle-stage cultivators and one Foundation Establishment early-stage cultivator.

They were all on their way now.

Given the disparity in their strength, the Lu Household should never have taken the initiative to provoke the Wang Household.

Even during the past struggle over Mystic Wood Forest.

The Lu Household had ultimately backed down.

But why now?

Wang Haocheng could not understand, nor did he have time to think further.

After all, he was facing attacks from two Foundation Establishment cultivators, and Lu Changfeng's flying sword was astonishingly powerful. He could barely fend it off, retreating steadily as the spiritual power within him churned.

Elsewhere, Lu Xuanming and Wang Zhaoran, both Foundation Establishment early-stage cultivators, fought one another.

The former likewise suppressed the latter, beating him down so thoroughly he could barely raise his head.

Their cultivation realms were the same, yet their combat strength was as far apart as heaven and earth.

Lu Changfeng's flying sword suddenly circled behind Wang Haocheng. Fully occupied with blocking Lu Changgeng's blood-colored saber, Wang Haocheng instantly sensed the threat of death.

He roared in fury.

"Argh!"

"Get back!"

The flying sword he controlled suddenly surged in power, knocking Lu Changgeng's blood saber aside.

At the same time, a layer of blood-red light covered the spiritual power barrier around him.

Lu Changfeng's flying sword was also repelled.

"The Blood-Burning Secret Method. Hmph, let's see how long you can last!"

Rather than worrying Lu Changfeng and Lu Changgeng, Wang Haocheng's sudden increase in strength delighted them.

Because the Blood-Burning Secret Method had extremely severe side effects.

Once its effect ended, the user would lose his ability to fight, and his foundation would suffer greatly, severely harming his future cultivation.

Those who practiced it would not use it lightly unless faced with life or death.

Wang Haocheng had been forced to use this forbidden secret technique for a burst of power, which also meant he would soon become fish on a chopping block, helpless before the butcher's knife.

After employing the Blood-Burning Secret Method, Wang Haocheng's combat strength increased tremendously, and he held his own against two opponents.

But he knew that once the secret method's duration ended.

His death would come.

So, for the sake of his life, he decisively chose to.

Flee!

He retreated to Wang Zhaoran's side and helped knock away Lu Xuanming's attack.

Then he took Wang Zhaoran with him, charging out of Mystic Wood Forest and racing toward the Wang Household.

Lu Changfeng watched the fleeing pair without the slightest change in expression.

Everything was as they had anticipated beforehand.

"After them!"

"Wang Haocheng is already finished. Try to cripple Wang Zhaoran too before they meet up with the others from the Wang Household."

That way, the two households would be evenly matched on paper.

Whether they went to war or negotiated afterward.

The Lu Household would hold the absolute initiative.

Furthermore, Lu Changfeng had organized this surprise attack on Mystic Wood Forest to teach the Wang Household a lesson: it could not swallow this resource site alone.

Likewise, the Lu Household could not swallow it alone either.

They could hardly neglect their own home and station all three Foundation Establishment cultivators in Mystic Wood Forest.

Thus, cooperation between the two households was the best solution.

Of course, if the Wang Household preferred war to yielding.

Lu Changfeng would deal them an extremely heavy blow.

Regardless, the Lu Household had to claim a share of Mystic Wood Forest.

At the Wang Household's home.

Three streaks of light shot out, racing eastward.

"The Lu Household is courting death!"

Wang Haocheng's body withered visibly, his face deathly pale, and his presence continued to weaken.

The Blood-Burning Secret Method burned the spiritual blood within his body.

It could still be used after that spiritual blood was exhausted.

But continuing would burn his foundation instead.

Staring at the empty space ahead, Wang Haocheng's face was filled with unwillingness.

The lineage's reinforcements had not arrived yet!

But the enemies behind him had already closed in.

Two flying swords and a blood saber struck simultaneously.

If he did not turn to block them, he would surely die.

But if he did, what could he block them with?

"Argh! Break!"

"No, Elder Haocheng, don't!" Seeing his spiritual power suddenly surge again, Wang Zhaoran immediately realized something and cried out in horror.

But Wang Haocheng did not stop. Burning his foundation to unleash power, he repelled the combined attack of the Lu Household's three Foundation Establishment cultivators with a single sword strike.

Then he shouted sternly at Wang Zhaoran.

"Go!"

"Save yourself and avenge me!"

Knowing he could not hold out until reinforcements arrived, he had ultimately chosen to sacrifice himself to buy a fellow lineage cultivator time to escape.

Wang Zhaoran did not hesitate long. He understood that the opportunity would vanish in an instant.

The time Elder Haocheng had bought with his sacrifice.

How could he waste it?

"Rest assured, Elder Haocheng. Once I grow stronger, I will make the Lu Household pay blood for blood!" With that, he turned and left.

Wang Haocheng gave a bitter smile, then controlled his flying sword and advanced to meet Lu Changfeng and the other two.

"Come and fight!"

Watching this Wang cultivator burn himself away, blazing with fierce fighting spirit.

Lu Changfeng and the other two frowned slightly.

"Kill!"

There was nothing flashy about battles between cultivators. Once they struck, it was life or death.

The two sides clashed.

Law Artifacts and spiritual power collided, sending waves of humming reverberations echoing through the heavens.

Half a quarter-hour.

Wang Haocheng held them back for an entire half a quarter-hour.

Until all his blood had run dry, his foundation collapsed, and the oil was spent and the lamp burned out.

Lu Changfeng's flying sword was about to sever his head, but after a moment's thought, he sent it through his heart instead, leaving his corpse intact.

"Patriarch, after this delay, Wang Zhaoran has probably met up with the Wang Household's people."

That was inevitable.

So.

"In that case, let's return to Mystic Wood Forest and wait."

"Clean up the battlefield. We're leaving."

Cultivators had a fine tradition of cleaning up after a battle, leaving nothing on an enemy's body behind.

Storage Bags, Law Artifacts, or anything kept close to the chest.

The corpse naturally had to be thoroughly searched.

After taking everything on Wang Haocheng's body, the three returned to Mystic Wood Forest and quietly awaited the Wang Household's cultivators.

Elsewhere, Wang Zhaoran fled at full speed in grief, his pupils wide.

Until he met the lineage's other three Foundation Establishment cultivators head-on.

Surging tears spilled from his eyes.

Seeing him alone and in such a state.

The three immediately realized something was wrong.

The Wang Household's patriarch, Wang Haochang, asked with a dark expression, "Where is Elder Haocheng?"

"Elder Haocheng, he... he..." Wang Zhaoran's face was grief-stricken, and he struggled to speak. But when he thought of those three figures from the Lu Household, boundless hatred surfaced in his eyes. "The Lu Household! It was all the Lu Household!"

"Patriarch, the Lu Household launched a surprise attack on Mystic Wood Forest. Elder Haocheng and I were no match for them. He suffered severe injuries under the combined attacks of two cultivators in the same realm. Knowing he could not escape, he used a secret method to burn away everything. If not for Elder Haocheng, I'm afraid I would also have..."

Been unable to escape death.

Intense killing intent erupted from every one of the Wang Household's Foundation Establishment cultivators.

"Lu Household, our Wang Household has always kept well water clear of river water with you, yet you dare!"

"Come, follow this old man to retake Mystic Wood Forest and storm the Lu Household!"

"We'll obtain justice for Elder Haocheng."