Li Yuanjiao stepped back as he took a healing pill, and quietly observed the ensuing battle.
Zhe Ledai was already in a dire situation under the siege of Li Wushao and Zhu Xian. Fu Daimu was retreating from Yuan Chengdun's relentless attacks, and he also had to guard against Fei Luoya. The tide had clearly turned against him.
We'll just have to watch out for any desperate counterattack in his final moments.
Li Yuanjiao advanced with his sword, a profound spirit mist enveloping his body as he hovered on the edge of the battlefield, silently waiting for his opponents to exhaust their strength.
Zhe Ledai was already using secret techniques. Being surrounded by the three adversaries, he was soon covered in wounds and bloody holes, wilting under the assault. Li Wushao transformed into his true form, crushing Zhe Ledai's lower body with his tail while Zhu Xian lashed out with a rattan whip, tearing off his opponent's head.
"Junior Brother!!"
Fu Daimu had been his friend for over a hundred years. At that moment, tears welled up in his eyes and he nearly lost his mind from the grief. He had pushed the spell in his hand and his immortal foundation to its limit, yet he still could not escape.
Yuan Chengdun's power had grown increasingly formidable, and each strike he delivered was enhanced by the power of his immortal foundation. Unable to unleash his spell, Fu Daimu began showing signs of despair and madness.
Li Yuanjiao watched Fu Daimu's expression change repeatedly as if he were fighting for his life. He stood back in the air, secretly praying that this Old Mount Yue man would not break the formation as he could not afford to pay for it.
Fortunately, Kong Tingyun's formation plate was exceptionally durable, being a jade heirloom that could maintain a mid-stage Foundation Establishment Realm defense in any environment. In this battle, he lost only five or six Spirit Stones and more than a dozen jade stones. Li Yuanjiao was very delighted and yearned to possess this formation plate.
I wonder how many Spirit Stones this formation plate costs... If it's accidentally destroyed, I might really have to empty our family's vault.
While Li Yuanjiao was preoccupied with his thoughts, Fu Daimu had enveloped himself in a blood mist while fighting desperately.
Li Yuanjiao withdrew and continued waiting amongst the spirit mist. He did not have to wait long before a gust of blood wind swept past him.
The old Mount Yue man's head had been crushed into pieces.
"Brother Jiao, are you all right?"
Although Yuan Chengdun had depleted a significant amount of true essence in this battle, he still managed to fly toward Li Yuanjiao out of concern. Li Yuanjiao nodded and thanked him, then put away the formation plate.
As soon as the large formation was undone, they saw white insects filling the surrounding mountains, densely swarming with nowhere to land.
Fei Luoya nodded with a satisfied smile and remarked, "They are definitely dead! This is the phenomenon of Descending Souls ."
Li Yuanjiao drew his sword and declared, "Now that the evil has been eliminated, I'll stay here to defend this place for a while. Great Jueting still has remnants—go and quickly eliminate them. If anyone hears of this, they'll definitely retaliate."
Fei Luoya nodded and threw Fu Daimu's storage pouch toward Li Yuanjiao, who took it with a nod and said simply, "We'll divide the spoils after we're done."
————
Great Jueting was an ancient, majestic city, once filled with a population of a hundred thousand at its peak. Fu Daimu had only ruled it for decades, but now fewer than ten thousand remained, mostly women dedicated to childbearing.
The fertile soil and abundant water of Jiangnan nurtured the land effectively—seeds scattered today would germinate tomorrow, and an acre of land could easily support a family. People settled down here, cultivating crop after crop. Fu Daimu had been cultivating here for decades, reaping significant benefits.
The boulder was polished smooth and flat with a few Mount Yue soldiers scattered atop it, standing in silence. A group of Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators flew past, and all the mortals kneeled and bowed in submission.
In Great Jueting's royal court, only a few hundred large copper pillars stood tall. On top of them were sporadically tied individuals, most reduced to desiccated corpses, with a small number of them still breathing.
All of them were Embryonic Breathing Realm cultivators.
Li Yuanjiao and the others swiftly entered the hall, breaking the formation and searching for several secret chambers. One by one, they opened each chamber until they found Fu Daimu's Dao Companion in the deepest part of the palace. To their surprise, it was an old woman who was sitting cross-legged. Fei Luoya marched into the room and twisted her head off.
Fu Daimu was highly attentive; the indoor shielding formation was exquisitely crafted, so much so that when the group arrived, the woman remained unaware of their presence. She had a smile on her face, likely because her cultivation had reached a critical point.
In front of her lay a collection of evil, bloody objects. Li Yuanjiao glanced over them, knowing that all of them were gathered by Zhu Xian.
The group dispersed to search further. Fu Daimu had not established a Dao lineage; instead, he kept all his shamanic spells and secret techniques memorized in his mind, much to Fei Luoya's dismay. They only found a few spells in Zhe Ledai's secret chamber, which was better than nothing.
They opened the storage pouches of the Mount Yue men, spilling spirit items across the ground. Most of the items were common, but among them were five treasured panaceas and five glittering jade boxes that would make anyone's eyes gleam with greed.
The group of Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators returned to gather together. They first exchanged a few small secret arts and recorded them down, then laid out what they had obtained.
All their gazes were then drawn toward the Mountain of Human Heads, which after suffering considerable damage, had shrunk to the size of a human skull. The smaller human heads on it were densely packed, looking extremely terrifying.
Although Fu Daimu was not particularly skilled at refining weapons, his cultivation was built on this dharma weapon, sacrificing around eighty to a hundred thousand human lives which could threaten Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators.
Even in the face of Sprawling Azure Mountain, it managed to hold out for the time it took for a stick of incense to burn... What a powerful weapon...
"This object should no longer be used. I will take it back to the clan to refashion it," Yuan Chengdun remarked casually as he picked up the item.
Having dealt the most damage during the siege, Yuan Chengdun naturally had the right to make the first pick.
Fei Luoya merely cupped his fist and said, "Brother Jiao, please go ahead!"
Li Yuanjiao accepted the invitation. He swept his eyes over the items, then said, "Let's take out a few types of treasured panaceas first. These are needed to establish connections with those on Fuchen Peak in the sect. If the Peak Master needs treasured panaceas in the future, I'll have to trouble you two, fellow Daoists."
"Of course."
Zhu Xian and Fei Luoya nodded in agreement, while Yuan Chengdun seemed thoughtful.
Li Yuanjiao collected three treasured panaceas, after making it clear that these were for building connections. He then took a Clear Cloud Elk Fruit , which could be used to solidify true essence and regenerate severed limbs.
Watching Li Yuanjiao take the fruit, Li Wushao finally breathed a silent sigh of relief. Since he would be the last to pick the spoils, he knew he would not be able to secure any treasured panacea.
As long as this panacea is in the master's hands, there's still hope of obtaining it... maybe I won't need to spend decades repairing my tail hooks... he thought quietly to himself.
Fei Luoya took the last treasured panacea, the Wall Mountain Essence Flower , which could assist in cultivation and increase mana. The remaining miscellaneous items were split equally between Li Wushao and Zhu Xian. Although their value was not high, at least they did not return empty-handed.
Yuan Chengdun had managed to obtain a Foundation Establishment Realm dharma artifact, and Fei Luoya's territory had doubled, leaving them in high spirits.
They rode the wind and departed, and Yuan Chengdun bade farewell to everyone with a bright smile before leaving. Fei Luoya stared at Great Jueting's remains in satisfaction.
Li Yuanjiao, fearing he might follow Fu Daimu's example, reminded him, "Fellow Daoist... don't follow Fu Daimu's path if you intend to align with us. That person in my family... abhors that path. Please be very mindful."
Fei Luoya was slightly stunned and hurriedly replied, "Of course! I understand."