Cultivation Starting from Choosing Augments

Chapter 346 - 184: The Turmoil at Seeking Plum Mountain, Xiao Chen’s Thoughts Gradually Become Clear

"Sigh... last night at 7 p.m., an urgent report came from the direction of Seeking Plum Mountain. Qi Chen and the others were all dispatched there as reinforcements."

"As for everyone else, with rumors flying around outside, who has time to come to the Marketplace?"

"Right now, everyone is talking about Master Yusha of the Four Seas Sect... Forget it, I shouldn’t prattle on about these rumors, lest I mislead you, Xiao."

The Qiu Clan Elder stopped halfway, his expression tightening as he swallowed the rest of his words.

There were rumors in the Marketplace that Master Yusha had fallen.

On his way to the Qiu Mansion, Xiao Chen had also overheard similar discussions.

But it was all being spread by a group of Qi Refining Cultivators, and he hadn’t heard any concrete evidence. It was all the classic "I have a friend who said..."—nothing to be taken seriously.

"Thank you, Mr. Qiu. I will take my leave now."

Xiao Chen cupped his hands in farewell, then turned and rushed directly toward Seeking Plum Mountain.

Once he found some reliable allies, he would naturally be able to understand the current situation.

Along the way, he passed through Qingyang County, which had also descended into chaos.

Looking down from his Flying Sword, he could see many Qi Refining Cultivators retreating westward in groups.

During the last major invasion by the Divine Fire Sect, everywhere except the territory of Qingyang County had been devastated.

Although Xiao Chen had managed to exterminate the Demon Cultivators who entered the territory in time, many innocent Loose Cultivators and mortals still lost their lives.

This time, hearing that the Demon Cultivators were making a comeback, many of Qingyang’s Loose Cultivators decided to flee ahead of time.

Some even brought large groups of mortal servants with them.

This triggered even more panic and imitation, and from the sky, it looked like ants moving house.

In the face of such chaos, without the power to protect oneself, one could only drift with the current and resign to fate.

Xiao Chen silently increased the speed of his Flying Sword, avoiding the crowds.

To get from Qingyang to Seeking Plum Mountain, one had to pass through an important stronghold—Wangyan Mountain.

As he passed by, he glanced at it from a distance of about a hundred li away.

He saw streaks of Sword Light lingering there, with radiant ribbons of light rising and falling from time to time. It was clear that many more female cultivators from the Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers were present.

He had previously heard that many Foundation Establishment Cultivators from the Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers had retreated to Elemental Magnetic Peak with the Lingyuan Sect.

Now it seemed they had all come to Wangyan Mountain, taking over from the original garrison.

Considering that even the Qiu Family had been completely mobilized last night, it seemed the situation at the front was likely grim.

And so it was.

When Xiao Chen was still over three hundred li from Seeking Plum Mountain, he saw forty-nine pillars of light standing between heaven and earth, together forming the legendary Nine Bends Linked Ring Immortal Trapping Array.

Even from a great distance, he could feel the intense and continuous fluctuations of Spiritual Qi.

Clearly, a great battle had already erupted within the Array.

As he got a little closer, he saw Demon Cultivators in groups of three, forming squads of nine, surrounding the base of the mountain, each carrying an Array Flag on their back.

One contingent was engaged with the Orthodox Foundation Establishment Cultivators guarding Seeking Plum Mountain, locked in one-on-one mortal combat.

Another contingent was planting Array Flags into the base of the mountain, then turning back to transport more.

Whenever an Array Flag was planted, it would emit streaks of bright red Demonic Qi that coiled around the area, interfering with the Defense Array.

If any Cultivator drew near, the Demonic Qi would be triggered, detonating a large cloud of Demon Flame.

Its power was far greater than the Demon Fire Xiao Chen had summoned in the side room of the Qiu Mansion; even Foundation Establishment Cultivators had to rely on Defensive Spiritual Artifacts to resist it.

At the same time, they had to guard against nearby Demon Cultivators launching sneak attacks.

But if left undealt with, a large number of those Array Flags would affect the stability of the Nine Bends Linked Ring Immortal Trapping Array.

To put it bluntly, the role of Foundation Establishment Cultivators on the front line was to protect their own Array or destroy the enemy’s.

As for the Golden Core Daoists on both sides, they were hidden, not making a move lightly.

Xiao Chen stopped far on the periphery, waiting for a lull in the fighting.

He wasn’t carrying a friendly Array Flag, and rashly entering the Defense Array would get him mistaken for a Demon Cultivator.

It wasn’t until an hour later, when a wave of the Divine Fire Sect’s offensive paused, that an Orthodox Cultivator spotted him and came out to meet him.

"Xiao, what brings you here?"

The person who came was none other than Lone Sword Liu Feng. He had been at Seeking Plum Mountain all along.

After leaving the Yellow Springs Traveling Palace, he had returned to the front lines at the first opportunity.

Xiao Chen cupped his hands and said, "After I got out of the Traveling Palace, I heard the situation outside was chaotic, so I came here to find out what’s going on and see if I can lend a hand."

He had rushed to the front lines not only to inquire about the latest situation.

But also because he truly wanted to earn points as quickly as possible to exchange for a Rank-Breaking Spirit Pill.

Now that he had unexpectedly obtained the Five-Colored Jade Coral, even though he hadn’t gathered a matching pair of Evil Qi sources, it had given him hope of reaching Core Formation.

Kill Demon Cultivators to save up enough points, then return to the Li Huo Sect to obtain the Core Formation Secret Techniques—with that, Xiao Chen was ninety-nine percent confident he could successfully reach Core Formation.

The reason it wasn’t one hundred percent was mainly that one shouldn’t speak in absolutes.

"Xiao, you’ve come at the perfect time. With your help, things will definitely be a lot easier for us."

A smile on his face, Liu Feng handed over a special Jade Token. "This is an access Token. Just keep it on your person, but don’t put it in your Storage Bag."

"The Array is being frequently interfered with right now, so stowing it away might cause you to be misidentified."

Xiao Chen took the Jade Token and carefully tied it securely to the inside of his Magic Robe.

Then, while following Liu Feng inside, he inquired about the current situation. "Liu, after I left the Traveling Palace, I was chasing a Demon Cultivator and couldn’t rendezvous with everyone."

"I’ve heard many rumors since then, so I’m not sure what the situation is like now."

"Is Master Yaohua alright?"

Hearing this question, Liu Feng subconsciously glanced around, confirming that the two of them were alone.