A Minor Setback

"Soul-Scorching Witchfire?" Shan Sheng murmured, a hint of apprehension on his face.

He lived longer, and although his combat skills were not outstanding, the Jade Moon Shan Household was a long-established Foundation Establishment clan. In terms of extensive knowledge and strong memory, Shan Sheng was much stronger than Kang Dabao and Jiang Qing, the two newly established Foundation Establishment cultivators.

"Soul-burning?" Upon hearing Shan Sheng's words, Kang Dabao connected them with what Patriarch Zhang had recorded in his military notes, and his tone was filled with surprise. "Isn't that a method used by the Mountain Barbarians royal family?!"

"What Sect Leader Kang said is true; it is indeed the method of the Mountain Barbarians Royal Family." Shan Sheng nodded firmly, a hint of reminiscence in his eyes.

When he was young, the Mountain Barbarians had not yet disappeared in the thirteen counties of Cloud Horn Prefecture. At that time, in order to earn some bonuses, Shan Sheng once fled into the Cold Crow Mountain Range to seek out the bad luck of the Mountain Barbarians cultivators.

Therefore, unlike Sect Leader Kang Da, Shan Sheng had actually witnessed the unique skill of the Mountain Barbarians royal family.

However, by the time he entered the world, the Mountain Barbarians had completely declined. The so-called "royal family" that Shan Sheng had encountered had extremely diluted bloodlines, and their cultivation was only at the Foundation Establishment Early Stage.

These descendants are far from the impressive figure they once were, when the Mountain Barbarians single-handedly fought against four Immortal Dynasty, including Shen Lingfeng, and even gained the upper hand.

Ma Wenhan was much older than Shan Sheng. When he saw the methods used by the Mi Household Stockade's grand formation, he was initially surprised, but in an instant, a familiar memory surged up again.

For younger generations like Kang Dabao, the word "barbaric" was nothing more than a few simple strokes in a poem.

But for cultivators like Ma Wenhan who had experienced the end of the barbaric chaos, it was a true catastrophe. Countless sects and clans in the Shannan Circuit lost their lineage and bloodlines as a result, and the number of ordinary mortals who perished in this battle was in the tens of millions.

The Ma Household had lost a Foundation Establishment True Cultivator at one point, and was in danger of collapse.

Ma Wenhan suddenly tensed up, and the bronze bell immediately emitted bursts of dark purple sound waves, first protecting the row of Ma Household disciples who were facing the Soul-Scorching Witchfire.

Holding the magic fan that had just appeared in his hand again, the old cultivator exhaled a colorless spiritual light, which struck the magic fan.

The magic fan instantly swelled to the size of an elephant's ear, and the wind howled even more fiercely, as if it had blown away most of the spiritual light from the Second-Tier Lower-Grade -grade array of Mi Household Stockade.

The Ma Household cultivators were greatly encouraged by this, but they did not see that a few drops of sweat had seeped out from Ma Wenhan's temples. The old cultivator folded his magic fan into a size the size of a finger joint, opened his mouth and inhaled, warming it under his tongue.

Suppressing his trembling hands and enduring the excruciating pain from his damaged meridians, Ma Wenhan stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the great formation of Mi Household Stockade.

Like an old leopard searching for a weakness in its prey, it slightly arches its back, poised to strike.

"This old man is quite adept at bluffing, thinking he's clever, but he can't scare me. Just look at the power of that bronze bell he just used; he's all bark and no bite, and he's much weaker than he was a few years ago."

This magic fan does have some skill, but I'm afraid it can't be used for more than a few times. Even if we brought that good-for-nothing Huo Bing from the Two Instruments Sect, this Elder Ma might not be able to defeat him!

The Toothless Old Man chuckled for a while. He had dealt with Ma Wenhan several times and could tell that every time he met the latter, the old Foundation Establishment's skills would weaken a little more.

This indicates that the person has already entered a state of Qi and Blood depletion, and cannot even use four out of ten of their skills, so there is nothing to fear.

The old woman and the Foundation Establishment surnamed Feng were not entirely convinced. After staring at Ma Wenhan for a few more breaths, her expression relaxed considerably.

The Ma Household members outside the formation were unaware of all this. Because their ancestor had shown his power, their morale had been restored.

The Law Artifact artifacts and talismans fell one after another onto the spiritual light of the great array, like ripples spreading across a calm lake, which was quite a beautiful sight.

However, the Mi Household Stockade shaman soldiers inside the great formation would not sit idly by and wait to die. Although their cultivation level was lower, they used the power of the great formation to continuously retaliate against the Ma Household cultivators.

In an instant, talismans and Law Technique flew wildly outside the formation, and severed limbs and broken arms were scattered everywhere.

Although the more than two hundred members of the Ma Household suffered many casualties, they showed no sign of retreating.

Although his family members are not considered elite among the Foundation Establishment clans, their full strength when they fight with their lives on the line should not be underestimated.

Even though the village's shaman soldiers were fighting hard, and even though the protective array of Mi Household Stockade was of a high grade, the spiritual light on the array's protective shield began to gradually dim.

The head of the Mi Household was furious, shouting incessantly. If this continued, the protective formation of Mi Household Stockade would likely be breached by the Ma Household within ten days.

The three Foundation Establishment True Cultivator hired by Mi Household at a high price still did not make a move. Instead, they all ignored Ma Wenhan and kept a close eye on the three Foundation Establishment, including Kang Dabao.

The spiritual energy within a Qi Refining Qi Refinement's body was already limited, and it couldn't withstand too much tempering. After fighting for nearly the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the spiritual energy of the cultivators at the forefront of each side gradually weakened.

Just then, "Bang! Bang! Bang!" Three huge crossbow bolts struck the Mi Household Stockade's great formation one after another. Not only was the Mi Household Chief in charge of the formation caught off guard, but even the three Foundation Establishment True Cultivator, including the old man surnamed Feng, had not expected such a sudden change.

A group of shaman soldiers who were just about to withdraw from the front lines were knocked down by the three crossbow bolts, and after several breaths, not many of them could be seen getting up. It was unknown how many were wounded or killed.

"You have your clever plans, but I have my countermeasures." Kang Dabao nodded slightly. This time, he had caught the Mi Household Stockade Fang Yi off guard and managed to make up for some of the losses that the Ma Household cultivators had suffered with the "Soul-Scorching Witchfire".

"Star-Shooting Crossbow!" the Toothless Old Man exclaimed, perhaps because he had some unpleasant past with this magical creature.

The Foundation Establishment surnamed Feng and the old woman beside him also frowned. The details of the battle between the State Court and the Clear Cloud Alliance at Little Wu Mountain had already been compiled and disseminated by those who were interested.

Not only is the battle between Fei Sima and the fake alchemist of the Liangyi Sect described in detail, but the entire course of the battle at the Jiazi Xu Mountain sub-battlefield has also been clearly explained.

Both the Foundation Establishment surnamed Feng and the old woman knew that one of the Foundation Establishment True Cultivator from the Clear Cloud Alliance who had been killed by the Chongming Sect had suffered from the Star-Shooting Crossbow.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" Three crossbow bolts were fired simultaneously again, but this time none of them were as lucky as the previous three.

The Toothless Old Man summoned a black bowl to block one of the attacks, the old woman conjured a brocade handkerchief to cover another, and the Foundation Establishment surnamed Feng's eyes gleamed with a mysterious light, also covering one of the attacks.

The first crossbow bolt shattered, denting the surface of the black bowl, and crashed back into the Toothless Old Man's hand, turning his palm bruised and purple.

The second crossbow bolt was bent under the weight of the brocade handkerchief, and the wooden shaft finally gave way, exploding suddenly, with splinters flying out from the gaps.

A Ma Household cultivator who was far away was unlucky; a wooden splinter pierced his thick neck, knocking him to the ground. With such an injury, how could he possibly survive?

The third crossbow bolt seemed the most ferocious, but once it was enveloped by the mysterious light of the cultivator surnamed Feng, it could not advance any further. After a while, it still turned into specks of dust from beginning to end, falling to the ground in a flurry.

Seeing this, Sect Leader Kang Da sighed. The Star-Shooting Crossbow he had taken from the Pingrong County Armory was ultimately broken. If there had been a intact one nearby, even with three Foundation Establishment in the Mi Household Stockade formation, it would not have been so easy for them.

Kang Dabao dismounted from the crossbow and gave his position to Pei Que.

The latter had nearly mastered the "Reflecting the Void" technique, a Desolate Rank, Supreme Grade eye technique, and was much more adept at wielding the Star-Shooting Crossbow than the other disciples.

Pei Que had only reached the Qi Refining Fifth Layer of Qi Refining, and his spiritual power could only fire one arrow. But while the man rested, the crossbow could not. Sect Leader Kang Da arranged his disciples in order to await orders.

This was, of course, intentional on Kang Dabao's part. After all, the disciples of the Chongming Sect were not particularly skilled, and it was much safer to fire arrows from behind the lines than to fight to the death on the front lines.

If these Double Brightness disciples can make the most of a broken Star-Shooting Crossbow, then its usefulness will be far greater than sending them into battle.

Even if Ma Wenhan comes knocking on his door, Kang Dabao will have no reason to back down.

The shaman soldiers of Mi Household Stockade were ultimately much weaker than the cultivators of Ma Household. Under repeated attacks, the shaman soldiers guarding the array nodes had already been replaced.

Left with no other choice, even the Toothless Old Man put away his worn-out black bowl and used it to form a crucial base for the Mi Household Stockade, which finally managed to slightly halt the decline of the witch soldiers.

The Double Brightness disciples, with Restore Spirit Pill pills in their mouths, fired a barrage of crossbow bolts, which were all blocked by the old woman and the Foundation Establishment surnamed Feng.

Although the Star-Shooting Crossbow was stopped from succeeding again, the two Foundation Establishment cultivators did not look well.

Although Chongming Sect's Star-Shooting Crossbow was an inferior product, far inferior to the genuine crossbow that the state court had temporarily allocated to the Chongming Sect, its power was still not to be underestimated. Apart from them, no one could stop it.

In such a short time, Chongming Sect managed to hold the old woman and the two men back here with only a dozen or so Qi Refinement cultivators, which was a huge advantage for them.

However, the Foundation Establishment surnamed Feng wouldn't allow Chongming Sect to continue taking advantage of him like this. He was both skilled and daring, and called out to the old woman, "Thank you for your hard work, fellow Daoist."

Then, turning to the anxious-looking Mi Household boss, he shouted, "Set it on fire!"

The latter showed a hint of heartache on his face, but his movements were swift. He made hand seals and shouted sharply, unleashing a torrent of witch fire. The purple barrier formed by Ma Wenhan's spirit bell sound pattern could not hold back the witch fire for long before it was completely devoured.

Upon seeing the approaching witch fire, the Ma Household cultivators behind the barrier remembered their kin who had been burned to death on the spot. Their feverish minds cooled down, and they retreated back into the formation in terror.

As the Ma Household cultivators retreated, the Mi Household leader was lamenting that the witch fire hadn't killed many of them when he saw the Ma Household Foundation Establishment surnamed Feng point to the witch soldiers guarding the formation beside him and utter a few words quickly.

Upon hearing this, Wu Bing looked shocked, even the witch script on his face seemed to have turned cold from the shock. However, he turned his head and saw that the head of the Mi Household did not intend to stop him.

The shaman immediately dispelled his magic spells and gave way.

Before the Ma Household cultivators outside the formation could recover from the shock of the Soul-Scorching Witchfire, a gap the size of a person suddenly appeared in the Mi Household Stockade's great formation.

Before Ma Wenhan, who had been closely watching the changes in the formation, could even feel a surge of joy, a figure rushed out from within the formation.

"Oh no!" Ma Wenhan exclaimed.

The Ma Household surrounding the formation reacted quickly; as soon as someone stepped out, a deluge of talismans and magical Law Artifact rained down upon them.

Nearly a hundred beams of profound light and Daoist magic were seen haphazardly crowding together, seemingly about to shatter the air around the Foundation Establishment surnamed Feng into pieces.

However, the Feng family member Foundation Establishment Movement Method, possessed a ghostly and unpredictable movement technique and had the upper hand. Wearing only a golden armor, he managed to withstand several bursts of Qi Refinement spiritual light before rushing out of the formation and pouncing on Ma Wenhan.

Ma Wenhan's Movement Method Lower Vehicle to that of the Feng family's Foundation Establishment cultivator, and his cultivation skills were even worse.

Seeing that this old cultivator, who only had a few days left to live, was about to be intercepted by this fierce man surnamed Feng who had just reached the Foundation Establishment, one side was old and weak, while the other was full of Blood Qi; one side was about to die, while the other Sha Qi.

If Ma Wenhan were to be stopped by the Foundation Establishment surnamed Feng, he would likely die within two rounds.

Ma Wenhan could feel the hot air exhaled from Feng's Foundation Establishment as he reached her back. A white streak blocked Feng's Foundation Establishment. The Xuan light of his pupil technique, hastily unleashed, collided with the Sword Qi, resulting in a draw.

The remaining Sword Qi swept over, causing the golden armor of the Foundation Establishment surnamed Feng to crackle.

He was decisive, seeing that Jiang Qing had arrived so quickly and that his methods were much more ruthless than he had anticipated.

Therefore, the plan to capture Ma Wenhan and force Chongming Sect to retreat is definitely not going to succeed.

The man surnamed Feng was quite naive at Foundation Establishment. Since this adventure had already failed, he didn't hesitate and immediately turned to flee back into the formation.

Fearing for the safety of their ancestor, the Ma Household members behind them panicked and made mistakes in their haste to rescue him. They rushed over in a chaotic manner, but were scattered by the Foundation Establishment surnamed Feng who used his pupil technique to kill one wave of enemies and then wielded the Mandarin Duck Hook to cut down another wave.

Broken swords, shattered shields, and mangled organs were scattered everywhere, leaving the Ma Household disciples with half their feet covered in scrap metal and half in a slick, pungent stench.

Ma Wenhan was furious and, with all his might, spat out another breath of golden energy onto the bronze bell.

The melodious bell tolled, causing the Feng family member, who was at the Foundation Establishment, to lose focus slightly. He was a step too slow and was overtaken by Jiang Qing's sword light.

The Foundation Establishment surnamed Feng was caught off guard this time and was hit by the sword light. He was sent flying backward and was intercepted by several members of the Ma Household, where he was then struck by several Five Elements Daoist spells.

Even the golden armor had lost its former luster, covered in scratches and greatly diminished its color.

Jiang Qing would not let this opportunity pass, and stepped forward, only to be stopped by the eye technique of this Foundation Establishment surnamed Feng.

The Ma Household cultivators who rushed at the latter did not gain any advantage. Behind the golden armor of the Foundation Establishment cultivator surnamed Feng, a pair of silver wings appeared, sharp as knives. With just a flap and a strike, they repelled all the Ma Household cultivators who had pounced at them.

These Ma Household cultivators were in a terrible state; after being swept by countless, thin as cicada wings of silver feathers, it was difficult to find a single piece of good flesh on their bodies.

There was a female cultivator who was originally beautiful, but now both her ears and nose had been scraped off, and half of each of her beautiful eyes had been scraped away, with silver blood still flowing out, and she was crying out in pain.

Those who had once admired her came to offer her pain-relieving pills. Before the crowd could even gather, they heard the female cultivator forcefully stop her screams, a spiritual light appearing in her palm as she slammed it hard onto her heart meridian.

Her beauty faded, her fragrance vanished, leaving only a memory.

"Something's not right!" By this point in the battle, even Jiang Qing, who was not usually very sensitive to matters of battle, had sensed something was amiss.

The Feng family's Foundation Establishment skills and Law Artifact are all quite remarkable. The disciples from various families could not form a proper formation to hold him back. Having many people was useless; on the contrary, it made Jiang Qing hesitate to use his sword.

The man surnamed Feng, who had just Foundation Establishment, Yixin to leave, but Jiang Qing blocked his way with his sword.

The former flicked his body to the side, sending out countless silver feathers. The White Dew Sword's light crisscrossed and formed a dense net, failing to repel Jiang Qing but clearing away a large area of Ma Household cultivators beside the two, thus creating a large open space.

"Senior Ma, order all fellow Daoists of the Ma Household to form an array!" Sect Leader Kang Da asked Shan Sheng to stay behind and guard his disciples and the Star-Shooting Crossbow, but he finally caught up himself.

The Ink Abyss Flag flew out of his hand, and the top of the flagpole almost pierced straight into the gaps in the golden armor of the Foundation Establishment surnamed Feng.

Even a hair's breadth is a mistake, Kang Dabao said regretfully. He watched as the top of Ink Abyss Flag swept across the golden armor leaves, scattering golden stars, but leaving behind a patch of jet-black.

This is a pole tip that has been soaked in the venom glands of Third-Tier Lower-Grade Cloud Python. If it were to pierce the flesh of the Foundation Establishment surnamed Feng, he would be in for a world of hurt.

Sect Leader Kang Da put the Ink Abyss Flag back into his hand and looked at it again, realizing that his warning was ultimately too late.

Ma Wenhan lacks the ability to assess the situation, but Mi Household Da Dang does.

Under such circumstances, he still asked the Toothless Old Man to guard the formation base and the Foundation Establishment Old Woman to intercept the crossbow bolts, but he himself dared to abandon the great formation and lead the hundred most powerful witch soldiers to launch a surprise attack.

These hundred sorcerer soldiers were not highly skilled; most of them were only at the early or middle stages of Qi Refinement.

However, their cultivation Cultivation Method and magical Law Artifact all originated from the same lineage; they all wielded human skin shields, wore bird bone pendants around their necks, carried gaba belts at their waists, and held upside-down beast tail whips.

The hundred men advanced and retreated in unison, chanting Witchcraft Incantation. The beast blood and witchcraft smeared on their bodies emitted large plumes of crimson vapor, which made the Ma Household cultivators in front of them pale and their hands and feet ice cold.

The Ma Household cultivators, who were like a scattered mess, were instantly scattered by the hundred weak witch soldiers. Even the two younger ones who had not lost their courage were swarmed by the witch soldiers and beaten into a pulp.

Ma Wenhan flew into a rage and abandoned his formation once again, flying over alone. The magic fan was once again in the old cultivator's hand, and this time, before it could even change size, the beast tail whips of the hundred witch soldiers lashed out in unison.

The bronze bell expanded to a size of ten feet to block the attack, but it was struck by the hundred beast tail whips, clanging and rattling, before falling back into Ma Wenhan's hands. The Ma Household patriarch was so shaken that blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. He carefully put away his Spirit Artifact as a precaution, daring not to make any further rash moves.

"Truly worthy of being called Mi Household witch soldier who could force two Foundation Establishment to retreat! He truly possesses some of the spirit of the Mountain Barbarians soldiers described in the classics." Kang Dabao ignored Ma Wenhan's dejected expression and praised him in his heart once more.

Ink Abyss Flag was still dealing with the Foundation Establishment surnamed Feng with Jiang Qing and couldn't spare a moment, but Spirit-Striking Chain again and struck out fiercely.

Mi Household's chief guard, leading the shamanic soldiers, remained calm despite the situation, simply shouting, "Wind!"

"Wind!" the sorcerers shouted in unison.

The bird dominoes on their necks detached from the bone chains, drifting one after another to the front of the formation, forming a black bird shield two zhang wide, which steadily caught the Spirit-Striking Chain.

The shield scattered like dominoes, flying back one after another, causing the shamanic soldiers to retreat several steps; the Spirit-Striking Chain swung back into his hand, but the Sect Leader Kang Da was so shocked that his tendons ached.

Mi Household Jiada was astonished. This Kang Dabao had only been at the Foundation Establishment for a few days, yet his spiritual power seemed to surpass that of the two Foundation Establishment who had been defeated at Mi Household Stockade years ago.

He came out to meet the Foundation Establishment surnamed Feng, not to fight against so many Foundation Establishment True Cultivator.

Since Kang Dabao is not as easy to deal with as Ma Wenhan, then we should just retreat.

Mi Household Jiadang thought so, but Sect Leader Kang Da was also a veteran with some military experience. Taking advantage of the retreat of this group of witch soldiers, he scanned the area with his magic eyes, found an opening, and Delusion-Breaking Golden Eyes to break through the formation.

The tight formation of the Mi Household's main force collapsed, and at least twenty or thirty witch soldiers were intercepted by Kang Dabao.

The Sect Leader Kang Da intercepted the witch soldiers, but did not rush to attack, waiting for the Mi Household's leader to come to the rescue. However, the latter also understood the principle of a brave man cutting off his own arm, and without looking back, he led the remaining troops back into the formation.

At this moment, the Ma Household cultivator beside the Foundation Establishment surnamed Feng had been driven back by the witch soldiers. He Movement Method ghostly speed and was considering retreating.

Even with Jiang Qing's flying sword being quite sharp, and with the Sect Leader Kang Da's distraction and cooperation, they still couldn't stop him. They could only watch helplessly as the Foundation Establishment surnamed Feng stepped back into the formation before the sorcerer soldiers.

Only then did Kang Dabao manage to subdue the shaman soldiers who had been stopped. Since they were no longer in any formation, it was as easy as cutting melons and vegetables.

After finishing this task, he looked around again. Although the Foundation Establishment surnamed Feng had appeared suddenly, the melee had not lasted long, but the casualties on both sides had probably exceeded one hundred.

In truth, the Ma Household cultivators probably suffered even greater losses. It was not advisable to continue fighting at this point, so they had no choice but to regroup first.

The blood and flesh of the two sides on the battlefield were all mixed together, and before they could be cleaned up, a red-collared falcon that had come from afar overhead let out a cheerful cry.

The cry of the eagle pierced Ma Wenhan's heart, and he could only sigh. He turned around and looked at the wailing Ma Household members all over the ground, remaining silent for a long time.

Thank you to Brother Chisucunxinjiyunya for the six Extended Net Moon.

Thank you to Brother Heart-Dying for the five Extended Net Moon.

Thank you to Brother Shuishuimiaomiao for the Extended Net Moon.

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