At a single command, four streaks of light brimming with killing intent sped toward Mystic Wood Forest.
After arriving.
The four from the Wang Household saw the Lu Household's three Foundation Establishment cultivators, who had long been waiting for them atop the mountain.
Four against three.
By rights, the Wang Household held the advantage.
But battles between cultivators were full of variables.
Many factors could affect both sides' combat strength, the course of the battle, and its outcome.
Once the fighting truly began.
Who would have the last laugh remained to be seen.
All four from the Wang Household held Law Artifacts, ready for a deadly battle of spells.
The three from the Lu Household were no different.
The two sides kept their distance and faced off.
Wang Haochang, whose face had been dark the entire time, spoke first. "Lu Changfeng, where is our Elder Haocheng?"
Lu Changfeng took Wang Haocheng's corpse from his Storage Bag and tossed it forward.
"We were kindhearted enough to leave him an intact corpse."
Wang Haochang hurriedly guided his sword to catch his clansman's body. Meanwhile, Lu Changfeng's words enraged the other three Foundation Establishment cultivators beside him, and they shouted furious rebukes.
"What a Lu Household! You dared kill our Foundation Establishment cultivator! From this day onward, our Wang Household and your Lu Household will fight until one of us is destroyed!"
"Lu Changfeng, Lu Changgeng, Lu Xuanming, I'll make all three of you pay for Elder Haocheng's life with your own!"
"A blood debt must be paid in blood! Patriarch, there's no need to waste words on them. Give the order to fight!"
Wang Haochang used his flying sword to carry Wang Haocheng's corpse before him. Seeing his wretched state, reduced to skin and bones, filled him with grief. Beside him, Wang Zhaoran could no longer hold back, clear tears streaming from his bloodshot eyes.
"Elder Haocheng did it for me! He did it for me!"
Without waiting for Wang Haochang's order, Wang Zhaoran sent his flying sword straight at the three from the Lu Household.
Wang Haochang had still had other considerations in mind, but now there was no time to think further.
At the same time, he sent out the spear in his hand.
"Kill!"
That icy shout signaled the beginning of battle.
The Lu Household's three Foundation Establishment cultivators-Lu Changfeng, Lu Changgeng, and Lu Xuanming-also used their Divine Sense to direct their weapons against the enemy.
"I'll take on Wang Haochang."
"Changgeng, Wang Haofeng is yours."
"Xuanming, hold off the other two at the Foundation Establishment early stage."
Lu Changfeng's sword shot straight toward Wang Haochang, while Lu Changgeng's blood saber cleaved through the air at Wang Haofeng.
Lu Xuanming unleashed his sword moves, splitting his sword light to fight two opponents alone.
The four from the Wang Household instantly understood the Lu Household's strategy, and they were happy to oblige.
Wang Haochang instructed Wang Zhaoran and the other Foundation Establishment early-stage cultivator from his clan, "Join forces and kill Lu Xuanming as quickly as possible, then go support Elder Haofeng immediately."
First, kill Lu Xuanming with two against one.
Then, combine the strength of three to kill Lu Changgeng.
Finally, all four would gather to kill the Lu Household's patriarch, Lu Changfeng.
Then everything would be settled.
That was the Wang Household's plan.
But often, things did not develop in the favorable direction one anticipated.
Since Lu Changfeng dared to stake everything on this fight, he certainly had something to rely on.
Of course, with over a century of accumulated resources, the Wang Household was equally confident.
Sword Qi swept across the sky, and the spear struck like a dragon.
The spear and flying sword collided repeatedly. In terms of directing weapons with Divine Sense and pitting their spiritual power and Law Artifact attacks against each other alone.
The Lu Household's patriarch, Lu Changfeng, and the Wang Household's head, Wang Haochang, were essentially evenly matched.
They exchanged dozens of moves, neither gaining a clear upper hand.
On the other two battlefields.
Lu Changgeng displayed exceptionally formidable combat strength. His blood saber struck with tremendous weight, every collision making the spiritual power within Wang Haofeng's flying sword shudder.
As one waned, the other waxed.
Wang Haofeng found it increasingly difficult to fend him off and soon began retreating.
Then he changed his strategy.
He shifted from meeting force head-on to a nimble, circling fight.
He hoped the clan's two Foundation Establishment early-stage cultivators on the other side could defeat their enemy sooner and come to his aid.
Wang Zhaoran and Wang Zhaoyu did not disappoint.
They joined forces to attack Lu Xuanming.
While directing his sword to defend, Lu Xuanming kept shifting about to maintain his distance, not daring to let the two get too close.
As a result, he showed signs of being driven back in defeat.
This greatly excited Wang Zhaoran.
"Kill, kill, kill!"
"I want him dead! I'm going to avenge Elder Haocheng!"
Above Mystic Wood Forest.
The struggle between two cultivation factions quickly reached a fever pitch.
Both sides brought out various things.
Special Law Artifacts, spirit talismans, and even secret treasures!
Seeing Wang Zhaoran and Wang Zhaoyu fail to defeat Lu Xuanming for so long, Wang Haochang grew anxious and silently cursed them as useless trash, then brought out his trump card.
A rust-covered dagger.
From its appearance alone, it looked like an ordinary mortal object.
After all, how could something forged from spiritual materials rust?
Yet when Wang Haochang took it out, Lu Changfeng, who was fighting him, suddenly felt an intense sense of danger.
He sensed something wrong with that dagger.
He immediately brought out his greatest source of confidence for this venture as well.
A sheathed sword.
Changfeng-concealing its edge.
Its edge had been concealed for exactly a hundred years.
"Lu Changfeng!"
"You spent your entire life as a turtle hiding its head, only to suddenly grow a spine. Unfortunately, you have no idea what you once missed out on."
"And you'll never have the chance to regret it, because you're about to die!"
As he spoke, the corners of Wang Haochang's mouth curled slightly into a sinister sneer. "I obtained this treasure from Mystic Wood Forest. It's just the thing to kill you!"
As spiritual power poured into it, the rusty dagger vanished instantly.
Alarm bells clamored within Lu Changfeng.
With no time to think, he grasped the Changfeng Sword's hilt and drew it from its sheath.
Then an exceptionally sharp sword intent soared skyward from his body.
Its terrifying might shook the entire battlefield, making those fighting on the other two fronts stop and turn their gazes toward him.
Wang Haochang's eyes, fixed straight ahead, suddenly widened.
They were filled with disbelief.
"Sword intent? Impossible! How is this possible!"
No!
Lu Changfeng.
A piece of trash.
A turtle hiding its head.
A man who only knew how to yield and retreat.
How could he have comprehended sword intent and stepped through the gateway to the path of sword immortals, which everyone looked up to and envied yet could never attain?
"So what if you're a sword immortal? You've only just become one."
"Today, I, Wang Haochang, will slay you to prove my invincible Great Dao!"
Even though Lu Changfeng had suddenly revealed sword intent and become a sword immortal, Wang Haochang remained highly confident in himself.
Or rather, highly confident in that rusty dagger.
Because he had once used this treasure to kill a cultivator of a higher realm through a sneak attack.
The insignificant Lu Household should have been grateful that he had not troubled them, yet they actually dared take the initiative to attack the Wang Household. They were simply courting death.
Lu Changfeng spread his Divine Sense all around himself, trying to locate that strange dagger.
But he could find no way to do so.
Sword Qi swirled around him, firmly protecting his body.
Suddenly, a disturbance appeared in one corner.
He immediately slashed at it with the Changfeng Sword.
But a strange sight soon followed. The Changfeng Sword clearly struck the dagger, yet the dagger turned illusory, allowing the sword to pass straight through.
Then the rusty dagger solidified again, easily piercing Lu Changfeng's Sword Qi barrier and spiritual power barrier.
It reached his final layer of defense, his inner armor.
Only then did Lu Changfeng react and mobilize the sword intent within him to knock the dagger away. He immediately shot backward, staring warily at Wang Haochang straight ahead.
So close. Just a little more.
A deep crack marred his inner armor.
That dagger had nearly pierced it, then pierced his heart, causing this newly emerged sword immortal to perish, his Dao extinguished.
On the other side, a flicker of dejection passed through Wang Haochang's eyes.
So close.
Just a little more.
He had nearly slain the Lu Household's sword immortal, nearly destroyed the Lu Household, avenging Elder Haocheng while ridding the Wang Household of this powerful enemy.
What a pity. He had been just that little bit short.