Heavenly Traversal Peak.
With the formation broken,
the Lu Household's encampment had been reduced to ruins.
Lu Changgeng patted his chest.
"Good thing we used up the resources in the treasury beforehand."
This truly was a blessing amid misfortune.
One shot from Truth had left the Lu Household with plenty to keep them busy.
Rebuilding the encampment, clearing the radiation, and restoring the damaged spirit fields and herb gardens all had to be done step by step.
The loss of these material possessions was nothing to fear.
As long as their people were still alive,
none of it was a problem.
Besides, the losses were not beyond recovery. They might even make a huge profit.
No wonder people said a fresh brain worked wonders.
Lu Chenxing suddenly had a flash of inspiration.
"Grandpa Patriarch, Grandpa Changgeng, Grandpa Xuanming, the Blazing Yang Sect, the Divine Fire Gate, and the Zhao Household attacked our Lu Household. Shouldn't we go to their doors and demand justice?"
"The Blazing Yang Sect only has one Foundation Establishment early stage cultivator left now. The Divine Fire Gate has one middle stage and one early stage cultivator, and the Zhao Household has one early stage cultivator..."
At this point, his meaning could not have been clearer.
Lu Changfeng and the other two instantly brightened.
That was right!
Those three factions had invaded the Lu Household, intending to wipe them out. The Lu Household ought to go demand justice.
If the other side could not deliver a satisfactory answer,
there was no need for them to remain in this world.
This was ordinary revenge between factions, entirely different from those three factions wiping out other sects without any reason.
Even if the matter reached their respective overlord sects,
the Lu Household would have righteousness entirely on its side.
So this was worth doing!
Lu Changgeng was already itching to act. "Little Chenxing truly has unique insight. Patriarch, what should we do now?"
Lu Changfeng suddenly exclaimed excitedly.
"Do you even need to ask? Of course we attack without a moment's delay! Before those left behind in the three factions react, we seize every bit of profit we can!"
And so,
the Lu Household's party stopped clearing the radiation and put rebuilding the encampment out of their minds.
They all set out, racing without pause toward the nearest target, the Divine Fire Gate.
The Divine Fire Gate.
Once, it had been nothing more than an ordinary Foundation Establishment faction, with only two Foundation Establishment cultivators and few disciples-just over a hundred.
The entire sect was starved of talent and developed slowly.
Then, one day,
the sect's higher-ups discovered a way to obtain vast quantities of resources.
After that, there was no stopping them.
Their faction grew ever stronger, and their disciples continued to increase in number, with some highly talented cultivators distinguishing themselves among them.
Everything flourished.
Every cultivator of the Divine Fire Gate felt an intense sense of belonging to the sect.
They felt that being able to cultivate here
was truly an incomparable honor.
Yet the lower-ranking cultivators did not know that the cultivation resources bestowed upon them were all stained with other people's blood.
Having grown to its present size, the Divine Fire Gate now had six Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Four had gone out on business, while the remaining two were responsible for guarding the sect.
They were cultivating in their respective cultivation grounds when a sudden, unsettling palpitation struck them. As they wondered about it, violent tremors and rumbling came from outside their cave abodes.
Both broke off their cultivation, abruptly rose, and walked outside.
They looked toward the source of the noise.
Three figures stood on flying swords in the sky, with a little child who looked only three or four sitting on one figure's shoulders.
It was quite peculiar.
"What scoundrels dare attack our Divine Fire Gate?"
A cold sneer appeared on Lu Changfeng's lips.
"You don't recognize me?"
"Fair enough. We haven't had any dealings before."
"Your sect master, Qin Wuxiang, and three other nameless Foundation Establishment cultivators are waiting on the road to the Yellow Springs. Once you go down there, they'll tell you who we are."
Lu Changfeng wasted no more words, signaling Lu Changgeng and Lu Xuanming on either side with his eyes.
Lu Chenxing, sitting on his shoulders, understood as well.
The four poured in Spiritual Power again, directing their flying swords to slash at the formation below.
"What a hard turtle shell! A high-grade second-tier formation. This Divine Fire Gate really is wealthy!"
"They follow the path of robbery. Nothing but fiends!"
"Hmph! Today, we'll carry out heaven's justice and destroy them!"
The Lu Household's four Foundation Establishment cultivators struck together, their attacks repeatedly slashing into the defensive barrier raised by the Divine Fire Gate's sect-protecting formation.
Every blow struck hard at the hearts of the Divine Fire Gate's two remaining Foundation Establishment elders and its Qi Refining disciples below.
"The sect master is dead? How is that possible?"
"He must be spouting alarmist nonsense! Our Divine Fire Gate joined forces with the Blazing Yang Sect and the Zhao Household, each sending four Foundation Establishment cultivators, twelve in total. How could they possibly..."
But
why were the Lu Household's people here?
Where were the sect master and the others?
Could it be?!
The two seemed to have already found the answer in their hearts.
It was simply an unwelcome answer, one they found difficult to accept.
With the Divine Fire Gate doing so well, how could it-how could it suddenly all be ruined?
"Everyone, prepare to meet the enemy!"
"Spare no resources! Strengthen the formation's defenses! Hold them off! We must hold them off!"
In the sky,
seeing that they still could not break the formation, Lu Changfeng felt that continuing like this was no solution.
They were taking too long.
Complications might arise.
They could not let the Blazing Yang Sect and the Zhao Household get word and flee.
Moreover, on the surface, all three factions were subordinate to the Crimson Firmament Sect, while the Lu Household had chosen to attach itself to the Spirit Creek Sect.
If the overlord sect intervened...
"We must break the formation as soon as possible."
Seemingly having made his decision, Lu Changfeng took out one of his trump cards, the supreme-grade second-tier Water Dragon Talisman.
Then he instructed Lu Chenxing and the other two.
"I'll use this talisman to open the way!"
"Watch for your chance and attack the same node. This formation will break!"
With that, he activated the spirit talisman in his hand without hesitation.
Mist suddenly filled the space directly ahead, then a massive water dragon took shape. Under Lu Changfeng's control, it charged ferociously downward.
Lu Chenxing, Lu Changgeng, and Lu Xuanming also drove the Spiritual Power within their bodies to its fullest.
They sent their supreme-grade Spirit Artifacts after it.
The power of each attack rivaled that of a Foundation Establishment late stage cultivator.
The high-grade second-tier sect-protecting formation had impressive defensive power, but it had already endured repeated attacks. Added to that was this strike from the Water Dragon Talisman, comparable to a Foundation Establishment peak attack.
There could only be one outcome.
The water dragon slammed ferociously into that turtle shell.
A sharp crack suddenly rang out.
Dense cracks appeared.
Power poured continuously from the formation's foundations, attempting to repair them.
Unfortunately, the follow-up attacks arrived first.
One large saber and two longswords.
They slashed in succession at the spot the water dragon had just struck. The cracks grew denser and more numerous, but the barrier still did not break.
Before the Divine Fire Gate's cultivators could breathe a sigh of relief,
a terrifying streak of sword light descended from the sky.
"Annihilation, slash!"
With one slash from a sword immortal, neither gods nor ghosts could survive.
This follow-up strike from Lu Changfeng was the final straw that broke the camel's back.
The Divine Fire Gate's sect-protecting formation finally gave way, shattering inch by inch.
At that very instant, four supreme-grade Spirit Artifacts flew murderously toward the Divine Fire Gate's cultivators.
"Run! Run!"
Run?
It was too late!
As his flying sword severed the neck of a Qi Refining stage disciple of the Divine Fire Gate, two patches of pallor suddenly appeared on Lu Chenxing's face, which had been flushed with excitement.
His smile vanished as well.
Killing.
This was the first person he had killed.
A living, breathing person.
Previously, in the Cloud-Soaring Mountain Range, he had only killed Demon Beasts.
To Lu Chenxing, Demon Beasts were the equivalent of chickens, ducks, fish, pigs, cattle, and sheep in his previous life.
But humans were lives with the same form as him.
Back when Lu Chenxing had asked Lu Changfeng whether he had killed many people, he had already begun preparing himself.
Preparing to kill.
After all, this world was not Great Xia.
The principles of the cultivation world were not merely that the weak were meat for the strong.
There was also this brutal slaughter.
Bare white bones warned every cultivator: if you did not kill others, others would kill you.
Despite having long prepared himself mentally,
Lu Chenxing still needed quite some time to recover from his first killing.
Lu Changfeng, beneath him, noticed something amiss and gently reassured him.
"Little Chenxing, take a rest. The three of us are enough!"
Lu Chenxing understood Grandpa Patriarch's kindness.
He stubbornly shook his head.
A trace of coldness flashed through his eyes.
The flying sword that had stopped in midair at his thought moved again, mercilessly reaping the enemies' lives.
"No, no! I don't want to die! Mercy! Have mercy!"
Lu Changgeng snorted coldly.
"If not for Little Chenxing, it would be our Lu Household's clansmen in this plight! You still want to cling to life? Dream on! Kill!"
"Lu Household, I won't let you off even as a ghost!"
"A pack of Bandit Cultivator beasts! We carry out heaven's justice. Why would we fear ghosts and demons? If you truly become ghosts, I won't mind cutting you down again! Kill!" Lu Xuanming radiated righteousness, drawing repeated gleams of admiration from Lu Chenxing's eyes.
These three old men of the Lu Household
truly were men of genuine temperament.
Against Foundation Establishment cultivators, Qi Refining cultivators could not even block an attack, let alone fight back.
Only the Divine Fire Gate's two Foundation Establishment cultivators could offer a little resistance, but they also received more attention, beaten back step by step in utter disarray.
In the end, they even abandoned the sect's disciples and fled on their own.
Unfortunately, they had not escaped far before Lu Changfeng cut them down with a single sword strike. The Foundation Establishment middle stage cultivator was gravely wounded, while the early stage cultivator died on the spot.
"Patriarch Lu, I don't want to die! Please, spare my life! I'm willing to be your slave, your servant, to attend at your side! Please..."
Before he could finish begging for mercy, a flying sword cut off his head.
The Lu Household did not need slaves or servants.
Even if they did, they would not accept Bandit Cultivators who had fallen onto the demonic path.