Guilt by Association

"I have long heard that you are well-versed in military strategy, and have been praised by Lord Marquis and Sima Fei. I hope you will lend your strength to this military matter within the alliance."

The Book and Sword Gate True Cultivator Jia Wenze, who was sent by the Foundation Establishment to lead the team in this battle, was a refined scholar. His words were like a gentle breeze, and he was far superior to his junior nephew Heng Yiban in his conduct.

But at this moment, he was not in good condition, sitting in the center of the tent. His face was pale and bloodless, and a black arrow covered with runes was stuck in the center of his chest.

Logically, the massacre of the Grass Witch Cult should have been led by Zi Maple Valley, whose leader had died.

Unfortunately, the two remaining Foundation Establishment from Zi Maple Valley were busy hunting down Chen Ye all over Cloud Horn Prefecture with bloodshot eyes! So, this task was taken on by Alliance Leader Ye, who magnanimously entrusted it to the Book and Sword Gate.

He was of noble character, but the task fell to Jia Wenze, the most junior Foundation Establishment True Cultivator the Book and Sword Gate.

He originally thought this trip would be a straightforward deal, but he never expected to be seriously injured by Qi Refinement Refining cultivator. He felt unlucky and embarrassed.

Although Jia Wenze has already Foundation Establishment, if he wants to gain more influence within the sect, he naturally needs to produce some outstanding achievements.

The reason he was chosen to do such a low-paying job as attacking and destroying the Grass Witch Cult was simply because he had no status within the sect.

Being seriously injured by a small Qi Refinement sect is hardly a remarkable thing. If this incident were brought up by someone of the same level in time, he would surely be ridiculed.

The injury was serious, but it would heal in two or three years. However, the Grass Witch Cult's great formation was still difficult to break through, which made Jia Wenze somewhat anxious.

As the saying goes, "a desperate person will try anything," and as soon as the somewhat famous Sect Leader Kang Da arrived, he was immediately targeted.

The Daoist Black Shoes's nephew first followed Fei Nanying to pacify the Five Aspects Sect, then became Fei Household's son-in-law, and even survived in the Spirit Stone mine in Tanggu County led by Second Tier Gold-Devouring Rat. He also easily defeated Huo Household's most famous son-in-law.

Having gone through all that, Sect Leader Kang Da's reputation among the nearby Qi Refinement cultivators is quite considerable. He should have some real skills and not be a complete incompetent fool, right?

"It is my honor to be able to contribute my meager strength to the alliance," Kang Dabao hurriedly replied, bowing his head. But inwardly he cursed, "What the hell do I know about military strategy? Why do you Foundation Establishment True Cultivator keep bothering me? Am I your top choice, fellow Daoist?"

"Good! Yimeng, please go and take a look inside the formation. The little Grass Witch Cult is taking so long to surrender, making us a laughingstock among the other factions." Jia Wenze waved his hand with some difficulty, Heng Yiban responded and led Kang Dabao out of the main tent.

"Senior Jia's injuries seem quite serious." Kang Dabao asked softly after they had walked a distance away.

"My uncle was caught off guard and was ambushed by some villain. He'll be fine in a moment, no need for Sect Leader Kang to worry," Heng Yiban said coldly, glancing at Kang Dabao.

Kang Dabao was displeased but remained silent. This guy seemed to be born with a squint; would he die if he looked directly at the Daoist priest?

The protective array of the Grass Witch Cult is not weak; it was created by a renowned array master based on the poisonous altar within the Grass Witch Cult, forming Second-Tier Middle-Grade Black Water Poison Wood Formation.

This formation was jointly built by the Grass Witch Cult in its early years, and it is no less powerful than the Upper Origin Golden Dipper Formation of the Five Aspects Sect.

To build this grand formation, the disciples of the small Qi Refinement sect, the Grass Witch Cult, had not received their annual salary for nearly ten years, truly demonstrating their united will.

The Patriarch Zhang of the Chongming Sect, Zhang, was invited to offer his congratulations back then, and he said that it was no different from the Chongming Sect's protective formation.

Time flies, and the Patriarch Zhang, whom the disciples of the Chongming Sect's protective formation are gone. Now, only a fat sect leader and three junior brothers have returned to the formation that the ancestral master once praised.

The Grass Witch Cult's Second Tier grand formation is indeed of the highest rank. Several elders of the Grass Witch Cult have studied grand formations since childhood and have mastered the techniques of controlling formations to an extremely high degree.

Even now, with a dozen or so disciples from the Book and Sword Gate, the Jade Moon Shan Household, and the Zi Maple Valley leading a hundred or two Rogue Cultivators in a combined attack, the protective aura of the Black Water Poison Wood Formation showed no signs of weakening.

Even under heavy siege, the Black Water Poison Wood Formation still occasionally fired out several black poison arrows.

Every time a poisoned arrow was fired, the New Cloud Alliance would suffer casualties. After only half a day of siege, not only were the Rogue Cultivator seriously injured, but nearly ten disciples from the three Foundation Establishment sects also perished.

Heng Yiban led Kang Dabao and the others to greet the leading disciples of the four families.

The leader of the Book and Sword Gate was not Heng Yiban. The disciple's surname was Jia. He was a rough and bold swordsman with a long beard and phoenix eyes, and had a somewhat unrestrained air about him.

The woman sent by the Shan Household was a beautiful woman dressed in palace attire. She spoke in a soft, sweet voice and possessed a graceful and curvaceous figure.

On the other side of Zi Maple Valley are two disciples surnamed Shen, one named Shen Jin Shen Tu. I still have some impression of the Shen Tu Sect Leader Kang Da Tu. I should have seen him a few years ago when he took Changsheng Ruyi to Linghe Market. I remember that he was on good terms with Lady Chong.

The disciple leading Hemu Dao was at the back. Kang Dabao was somewhat familiar with him; he was a slightly closer junior disciple of the Daoist Black Shoes, surnamed Han. He was quite skilled in Daoist cultivation, already at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer, specializing in dual cultivation.

In the present Hemu Dao, he and the disciple who often came to the Chongming Sect to invite the Daoist Black Shoes back to the sect are jointly in charge of affairs.

After the group gathered and exchanged brief greetings, the rough-and-tumble swordsman, being the more impatient, asked first, "I've long heard that Sect Leader Kang is highly skilled in military strategy; do you have any brilliant plans?"

The others also turned their gazes towards him. Kang Dabao, who was under their spotlight, felt somewhat helpless. He had only managed to defeat the weak soldiers sent by the Five Aspects Sect by sheer luck, so why were they all talking about him as if he were the Marquis of Huaiyin?

"Fellow Daoist flatters me. I am but a dullard. Though I may have some humble opinions, how could I possibly offer any brilliant strategies? Therefore, the art of war dictates: do not attack with elite troops, and when besieging an army, leave an opening. Perhaps we could give this a try."

Since Sun Tzu's Art of War was written by an ordinary person, yet its principles are profound, and since ordinary people can use military formations, shouldn't cultivators also be able to use them?

The leading disciples huddled together and discussed the matter animatedly for a while before blindly adopting Kang Dabao's suggestion.

First, they lifted one side of the encirclement, and most of the disciples from each family also withdrew, leaving only one or two of their own disciples to guard the outer perimeter and supervise the battle. The Rogue Cultivator in front of the battle only harassed from a distance.

After this exchange, the elder in charge of the Grass Witch Cult fired several more black arrows, killing only four or five Rogue Cultivators in total, which was almost meaningless in terms of the overall battle.

The heads of the Grass Witch Cult disciples that Kang Dabao had previously collected came in handy again, and every now and then he would throw one of them onto the Grass Witch Cult's formation.

The sight of their fellow disciples, their heads severed and mangled, gradually chilled the spirits of the Grass Witch Cult disciples in the formation.

Every now and then, someone would glance at the open space outside the formation.

After another hour of attacking, a disciple of the Grass Witch Cult finally lost his patience and pleaded with the elder in charge, "Chief Priest, surrender!"

"They surrendered?!" The chief priest of the Grass Witch Cult sneered inwardly, "It's not that easy!"

Sect Leader Chen Ye has caused a colossal disaster, and the people of Zi Maple Valley are waiting outside to vent their anger!

Throw away your Law Artifact artifacts and talismans, surrender your possessions and life, and then be at the mercy of others? Become a mine slave, a living corpse, or a furnace for others to use as a cooking pot? Oh, I'm too old, I guess I won't need to be a furnace for others.

But what should we do?! That batch of aid came suspiciously, without any beginning or end. It's obvious that someone just wants the Grass Witch Cult to make a knife so that they can bleed the New Cloud Alliance more!

Chen Ye, we've been scheming against each other as fellow disciples for so many years, and you've caused so much trouble outside, yet in the end, I have to take the fall for you!

With a loud "bang," the old man's face twitched slightly, and a tiny crack appeared in the array's protective barrier before it was restored to its original state.

However, the cultivators in the formation were still quite frightened. Seeing that the other side had not even produced any Foundation Establishment, the very foundation of their sect's protective formation had been shaken by the enemy.

"The combined effect of the three Heavenly Thunder Seed and the Three Talents Formation-Assisting Talisman is significantly better when used together," Kang Dabao, squinting his small eyes in praise.

This is a little trick recorded in Patriarch Zhang's notes. Kang Dabao had long remembered it, but Chongming Sect had never had the money to purchase Heavenly Thunder Seed in recent years. He decided to take advantage of the fact that the Book and Sword Gate, that rich dog, was giving away Spirit Stone to verify it.

"A wise man labors with his mind, while a petty man labors with his body. Fellow Daoist Kang is right, they're starting to panic!" A beautiful woman in palace attire praised from the side. Her mouth seemed to hold a piece of soft jade, and her voice was soft, sweet, and pleasant to listen to.

Kang Dabao was extremely cautious. After hearing the words of the beautiful woman in palace attire, he said that it was all thanks to the efforts of his fellow Daoists who helped him to float the mountain, and he dared not take credit for it.

No sooner had Sect Leader Kang Da finished speaking than another volley of poisoned arrows was fired from the formation. Unexpectedly, the New Cloud Alliance suffered no casualties, and even the group of trembling Rogue Cultivator were all unharmed.

This is the first time the two sides have fought so fiercely for so long.

At that moment, the two black-clad cultivators who were hiding in the distance also noticed the situation.

One person said, "How can the Grass Witch Cult be so useless? It's a pity that the alliance still supported them with so many talismans and Spirit Stone."

Another person added, "They didn't send any manpower, just some supplies, mostly low-grade items besides six Poison Wood Arrow. It's already an unexpected surprise that they've managed to hold out until now under an attack by several times the size of the state's henchmen, and even manage to seriously injure Jia Wenze with poisoned arrows."

The alliance's plan was only to cause some minor trouble for the New Cloud Alliance, but this time Kuang Liuting is truly enraged, and we dare not provoke him. He even killed those with False Core; the few Foundation Establishment in our alliance cannot withstand him.

Even several Foundation Establishment senior uncles secretly intervened to make things difficult for the Foundation Establishment True Cultivator by the New Cloud Alliance in their pursuit of Chen Ye, fearing that the state court would find fault with them. It's unclear whether these senior uncles will be able to free up their forces soon; if just one of them were to arrive, Jia Wenze wouldn't be able to return home today."

"Is the Two Instruments Sect Cloud Horn Prefecture? I have a feeling about it."

"Shut up! How dare you say such a thing? You're really courting death."

Behind the two, a Daoist priest with a messy beard, dressed in Hemp Robe Black Shoes, stood on the treetop, listening intently, seemingly lost in thought.

Upon hearing the news of the change in the Grass Witch Cult's formation, Jia Wenze immediately drew his sword and stepped out.

Whether he used a secret technique or ingested some kind of spirit medicine, the gray-black arrow that had been embedded in his chest was gone. At this moment, Jia Wenze's complexion was rosy, and he was full of energy; he showed no signs of being seriously injured.

His appearance further frustrated the Grass Witch Cult disciples in the formation, who then launched several more poisoned arrows, attempting to repeat their old tricks and severely injure Jia Wenze once more.

But Foundation Establishment cultivator who is on guard is not so easy to deal with. With just a few light slashes, he easily shattered the illusions of the Grass Witch Cult disciples.

Even the chief priest of the Grass Witch Cult, who was in charge of the main formation, secretly glanced at the gap outside the formation. Should he wait to die or walk into the trap? He couldn't make up his mind at this moment.

Jia Wenze, who had deflected the poisoned arrow, remained motionless, standing coldly before the Grass Witch Cult's grand formation. His flying sword gleamed like snow, exuding a chilling aura, as if to say, "Come and try again."

Upon seeing Jia Wenze, they regained their former glory, and the joy of the Grass Witch Cult disciples' crushing defeat of the Foundation Establishment vanished instantly.

A buzzing sound arose within the formation. Several panicked elders and deacons whispered a few words of reprimand, but they couldn't quell the commotion at all; instead, it only made the discussion louder.

The large gap outside the formation was like a magnet, drawing almost everyone's attention.

"Run! Run! What does the trouble Chen Ye brought have to do with us? Are we just going to be trapped here and die for nothing!" A blue-faced cultivator roared and rushed out of the formation without looking back.

Shen Jin seeing the Shen Tu, Shen Jin picked up his Law Artifact and prepared to pursue and kill him, but was stopped by Kang Dabao and Jiang Qing.

Seeing that the cultivators of the New Cloud Alliance had not truly wiped them out, the disciples of the Grass Witch Cult within the formation were even more restless.

Nobody's stupid; they know this is a tactic the enemy uses to break their formation. But so what if it's a tactic? They'll just let the people in front go, won't they? Why shouldn't I run too?

Just as the blue-faced cultivator was about to escape from the sight of both cultivators, the chief priest of the Grass Witch Cult spat out a short, grass-black nail, which swiftly pierced the blue-faced cultivator's back.

The blue-faced cultivator who was hit paused in his steps, turned his head in disbelief to look at his mentor in the formation, and then turned into a puddle of pus.

"It takes ten years to nurture a single Black Death Nail, and you wouldn't even use it on those trash outside the formation, yet you used it on your own disciple!" The chief priest glanced at his disciple, whose body was torn to pieces, with a complicated expression, and cursed himself inwardly.

He didn't dwell on his sorrow for long. He turned back to face his fellow disciples and said, "Don't think that running away will lead to any good outcome. Cloud Horn Prefecture is vast, but we still won't have anywhere to stay if we go out."

Just imagine the feeling of being arrested, tortured, and at the mercy of others; you won't do anything foolish. Three days—just three more days, and the great formation will once again provide the Black Water Mystic Light to kill enemies. You saw the fate of those Rogue Cultivator just now; they couldn't hold out for long.

The thieves outside have made many enemies. If we just hold out a little longer, someone will come to our aid. Don't worry.

The words of their fellow disciples, now reduced to pus, along with those of the highly respected chief priest, finally calmed the tense nerves of the Grass Witch Cult disciples somewhat.

At the same time, the chief priest unexpectedly unleashed another volley of poisoned arrows, killing several careless Rogue Cultivator and impaling two disciples of the Book and Sword Gate Sect like skewers of candied hawthorns, giving the Grass Witch Cult Sect a jolt of excitement.

This move caused Jia Wenze, who was outside the formation, to slightly change his expression. How dare they! This was undoubtedly a show of defiance against him!

So he suppressed his injuries, raised his longsword, and a huge beam of light, several meters long, condensed on the blade, slashing heavily onto the array's light barrier.

"Sizzle!" The cracks that appeared on the light shield this time were slightly smaller than those caused by the previous Heavenly Thunder Seed, and they quickly recovered.

However, two disciples of the Grass Witch Cult who were in the Early Qi Refining Stage of Qi Refining were distracted by the sword light, lost their hand seals, and were thrown out of the formation's protection by the impact. They were bleeding from their mouths and were clearly not going to survive.

The morale that had just been rallied within the ranks was extremely fragile! Even the slightest setback plunged the Grass Witch Cult disciples back into a state of constant fear.

Affected by this, the array of light seemed to dim slightly for a moment. The elders of the Grass Witch Cult reacted quickly, and with a series of stern shouts, the disciples regained their composure, and the array of light returned to normal in an instant.

However, Sect Leader Kang Da, who had been watching the formation closely from the outside, could see it clearly. After all, his pupil technique was extraordinary, and his eyesight was no less than that of Jia Wenze, a cultivator in the Foundation Establishment Early Stage.

His small eyes narrowed, shooting out two sharp beams of light. Now that he had noticed the changes in the Grass Witch Cult's formation, it was time to attack!

"Attack!" Kang Dabao seized the opportunity, shouted loudly, and his short blade flew out first, stabbing heavily into the array's light barrier.

Kang Dabao's attack was a signal! The leading disciples of each sect issued orders one after another, leading the Rogue Cultivator to launch a fierce attack as well.

Having not experienced such a fierce, tidal wave of attacks in a long time, the Grass Witch Cult disciples in the formation were instantly thrown into disarray. Many made mistakes in their haste, and the originally well-functioning formation developed numerous flaws, flickering incessantly under the relentless assault of the New Cloud Alliance!

"Hold on! Hold on! That Foundation Establishment must be seriously injured and can't fight anymore! These Qi Refinement cultivators can't break through our sect's protective formation. Just hold on! Our reinforcements will be here soon!"

At this moment, the chief priest was making empty promises, and he no longer cared about being stingy. He spat out two Black Death Nail, killing one and injuring another of the Zi Maple Valley disciples who were charging ahead.

Even so, no matter how much he promised, he couldn't suppress the chaos within the formation. Seeing fellow disciples being killed on the spot by attacks from outside the formation, these Grass Witch Cult disciples couldn't help but panic!

"Bang!" Three more Heavenly Thunder Seed, carrying the Three Talents Formation-Assisting Talisman, slammed into the array's light shield.

Unlike before, the cracks that formed this time did not heal instantly. After a while, a small patch of fine lines remained, causing the disciples in the formation to tremble even more.

"Kill them!" An elder of the Grass Witch Cult had just used a long sword to cut two rogue Law Artifact outside the Rogue Cultivator into several pieces when he suddenly fled out of the formation and into the open space outside.

Today's battle has shown me that I have lived up to the sect's kindness in nurturing me!

Elder Zhao!

"Run! The elders are all gone!"

"Run, everyone! If you don't run, you'll all die!"

"Don't leave! None of you are allowed to leave! I'm going to avenge my second brother! You wicked villain, I'll give you a good beating with my hammer!"

The Grass Witch Cult is gone!

The sounds of pleas for mercy, noise, and weeping filled the air. The chief Grass Witch Cult, who was born and raised in this place, coldly closed his eyes, then suddenly opened them again, staring intently at Jia Wenze, who was outside the formation with a cold smile on his lips.

"Foundation Establishment True Cultivator, huh?! How impressive! Back in the day, I even had to help Chen Ye urinate. Believe me, the Grass Witch Cult will kill another one today?!"

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