Youth must be seized while it is young; how can one remain forever in spring? Chapter Ninety-Two: Golden Core Cultivator
Mount Vast Face.
The three spirit vessels arrived here as agreed, converging at the appointed time.
Yet aside from the vessel carrying disciples of the Profound Sun Sect, which remained unharmed, the other two bore varying degrees of damage, and most of the cultivators looked somewhat dispirited. It was obvious they had met setbacks in their respective battles.
From the exchanges that followed, it was learned that when the other two spirit vessels attacked the mountain gates, they encountered fierce resistance, and both sides fought a great battle.
In the end, however, under the crushing advantage in numbers, the mission was completed flawlessly. Those two sects were utterly annihilated, and apart from the Divine Eagle Bastion, all Foundation Establishment cultivators of the other two sects had been slain.
This greatly weakened the overall strength of Dragon-Tiger Mountain.
With the three spirit vessels reunited once more, the confidence of the people of the Boundless Alliance surged again, and the cultivators’ morale rose.
At noon, everyone was summoned onto the deck.
At the front of the deck, a middle-aged cultivator stood suspended in empty air, his bearing so formidable that his wrath seemed inherent, his presence overwhelmingly imposing.
Those with keen eyes recognized him at once: this middle-aged cultivator was none other than the leader of the Boundless Alliance, Zhang Huan.
No one knew when he had arrived here.
Zhang Huan swept his gaze around. Seeing that many cultivators had already gathered on the deck, he cleared his throat and spoke in a loud voice: “Fellow cultivators! I am Zhang Huan, leader of the Boundless Alliance!”
His voice rolled out like thunder, spreading in an instant in all directions.
The scene then fell silent, everyone waiting for what Zhang Huan would say next.
“Friends of the Dao! The place we are at now is Mount Vast Face. Three days’ journey ahead lies the mountain gate of Dragon-Tiger Sect, which is also the target of this campaign! I will not hide it from you: Dragon-Tiger Sect has already gathered numerous sects and assembled cultivators from all quarters. There may be more than five hundred of them, all waiting in full readiness for us to come!” Zhang Huan shouted.
His words immediately sparked murmured discussion among many, and some even showed expressions of fear.
“But!” Zhang Huan swept his gaze around and cried out, “We have even more people! We have more than ten more Foundation Establishment cultivators than they do! As for Qi Refinement cultivators, we outnumber them by well over a hundred! And our Golden Core ancestors are even stronger than theirs! In this battle, our Boundless Alliance shall be victorious!”
His voice rang clear in everyone’s ears, instantly lowering the murmur of debate.
“Dragon-Tiger Mountain has committed countless evils! In this battle, we will wipe them out completely and return a clear and bright world to the cultivation realm!” Zhang Huan roared. “And after we win, we will take full control of the Dragon-Tiger Mountain territory! All the places rich in spiritual energy throughout this domain will be ours to use. Fellow cultivators! Let me tell you this: anyone who makes exceptional contributions in this war may, under the protection of the Boundless Alliance, found a sect and establish a school!”
The crowd erupted at once.
They could actually found a sect and establish a school? This instantly stirred the hearts of many independent cultivators.
They began whispering excitedly to one another, and many late-stage Qi Refinement cultivators could hardly contain themselves, their faces lit with exhilaration.
At that moment, one rogue cultivator in the crowd took the lead and shouted, “Lord Alliance Leader, rest assured! We will certainly give our all! Glory to the Boundless Alliance!”
“Glory to the Boundless Alliance!”
“Glory to the Boundless Alliance!”
The cultivators raised their arms and shouted in unison, their expressions fervent.
Seeing their reaction, Zhang Huan nodded in satisfaction. Such morale could be used.
“Set out!”
With Zhang Huan’s command, the three spirit vessels slowly rose into the air. Spiritual energy surged, the formations activated, and the sound of rushing wind filled the air.
Bearing a host of battle-ready cultivators, they flew toward the direction of Dragon-Tiger Sect.
...
The two alliances, Dragon-Tiger Mountain and the Boundless Alliance, had harbored deep resentment toward one another for many years, and their enmity had long since become irreconcilable.
The Dragon-Tiger Mountain alliance was centered around Dragon-Tiger Sect, with dozens of neighboring sects surviving as its dependents, forming a large alliance.
Dragon-Tiger Sect was also the only sect to possess a Golden Core cultivator.
Precisely because the Golden Core ancestor of Dragon-Tiger Sect and the Golden Core ancestor of the Boundless Alliance could not stand one another, they had spent all these years in open and covert conflict, and over time this had forged a blood feud between the two alliances.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and the people of the Boundless Alliance soon reached the protective formation of Dragon-Tiger Sect.
Upon arrival, everyone went out onto the deck early to observe the situation below.
The people of the Profound Sun Sect were no exception.
From the spirit vessel, Bai Qingzhou looked down and saw that the entire mountain of Dragon-Tiger Sect was immensely grand and imposing. A multicolored formation enveloped the whole mountain gate, and its coverage was vast—several times larger than an ordinary formation. Its exterior also appeared to be far sturdier than usual.
Within the formation, countless figures were moving about frantically.
The three spirit vessels of the Boundless Alliance were arranged neatly before the formation, and their immense size created an oppressive pressure that bore down heavily upon the cultivators of Dragon-Tiger Sect.
Both sides faced off with drawn swords, and battle could erupt at any moment.
“Hahaha! Old dog! I’ve come to take your life!”
As soon as the words fell, a white-haired cultivator drifted out from the Boundless Alliance’s vessel formation, standing in midair as he laughed toward the formation.
An incomparably vast spiritual energy circled around him, and his entire body radiated a terrifying aura.
Everyone knew at once that this was the Golden Core cultivator of the Boundless Alliance, Zhang Zhenyuan.
A cultivator instantly shot out from within Dragon-Tiger Sect’s formation, hair bristling with rage, and pointed at the white-haired cultivator as he thundered, “Zhang Zhenyuan! You vile dog, you truly have the nerve! Are you trying to force a fight to the death with me?”
His momentum was actually no weaker than the old ancestor of the Boundless Alliance.
“Hmph! Cao Xiong, you run rampant, commit evil, and do all manner of wicked deeds, bringing unrest to the neighboring regions. Heaven itself cannot tolerate you! And now you still dare kill our Profound Sun Sect’s leader, Li Yuyun! Today, I will take the head of this vile dog from your shoulders to avenge the many disciples of the Profound Sun Sect!” Zhang Zhenyuan rebuked furiously.
“Hahaha, you dog need not invent these excuses. After fighting for so many years, do I still not know your nature? You vile thing only knows how to turn black into white, despicable and shameless. Is this not merely an excuse to start a war? Do you think I fear you? If you want death, come then!” Cao Xiong sneered repeatedly.
Hearing these words, Zhang Zhenyuan’s beard and hair bristled with rage as he shouted, “If you have the guts, come and fight me properly. Just right, one against one—let us decide life and death now! That way we need not deal with the formation later and cause needless casualties. Do you dare?!”
Cao Xiong showed no weakness, leaping out as he shouted, “What is there for me to fear in fighting a waste like you!”
The two Golden Core cultivators were about to collide, and the cultivators aboard the spirit vessels grew wildly excited. To witness such a battle, seldom seen even once in a century, was for low-level cultivators a rare and precious opportunity.
In just an instant, two streaks of light closed in at high speed and crashed together violently.
The crowd only felt a flash before their eyes, and then a deafening roar rang in their ears.
Even with the sound dampened by the spirit vessels’ formations, the early Qi Refinement cultivators still could not help but cover their ears.
Boom!
Boom!
How swift the speed of a Golden Core cultivator was! The Qi Refinement cultivators could only see blinding light flashing in the sky, while two blurred figures periodically slammed into each other, each impact producing a tremendous sound.
Far away, turbulent currents of air surged outward from the center of the battle in all directions, like rolling thunder.
Feeling the slight shaking of the spirit vessel beneath them, caused by the battle of the two Golden Core ancestors, Bai Qingzhou was astonished beyond measure and murmured to himself, “This is the power of a Golden Core cultivator...”
Before long, the two had exchanged over a hundred blows.
“Hahaha! Old Zhang, you really are old at last!” The two figures parted in the air, and Cao Xiong laughed up at the sky, sounding relaxed.
The people of the Boundless Alliance were shocked and hurriedly looked toward Zhang Zhenyuan. They saw that his face was pale and there was blood at the corner of his mouth. It seemed he had suffered a serious injury.
Spitting out a mouthful of blood, Zhang Zhenyuan shouted angrily, “So much nonsense! If you have the skill, keep coming!”
“Die, beast!” Cao Xiong lifted the long blade in his hand with one arm, and a dazzling white radiance immediately shimmered across the blade. Light brimming with terrifying spiritual force burst forth from it, and with himself as the center, boundless pressure of spiritual energy shot out in all directions.
Terrifying spiritual pressure erupted.
Everyone present could feel the horrifying power of the next strike, as though it even carried a fear born from the depths of the soul.
“Let me settle this feud of several hundred years!” Cao Xiong roared and shot forward like a bolt of lightning. The long blade in his hand, carrying a heaven-and-earth-shattering momentum, hacked down toward Zhang Zhenyuan.
With this attack unleashed, many of the Boundless Alliance cultivators drew in a sharp breath, and more than a few could not help but pray for Zhang Zhenyuan.
After all, if Zhang Zhenyuan were defeated, then all of them would become dogs of a losing cause and flee in disgrace.
Yet Zhang Zhenyuan, who stood closest to Cao Xiong, remained expressionless. He slapped several high-grade talismans onto himself, while the long sword in his hand erupted with a deep crimson light.
The two surging auras were about to collide.
And just then—
Zhang Zhenyuan suddenly shouted, “Why have you not come out yet!”
A black figure abruptly emerged behind the three spirit vessels and shot straight toward Cao Xiong.
Its speed was astonishing, far beyond that of a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
This was... Golden Core!
The Boundless Alliance was actually hiding a Golden Core cultivator!
“Not good!” Cao Xiong’s expression changed drastically, and he hastily tried to halt his momentum.
But at this point, it was already too late.
The black figure and Zhang Zhenyuan coordinated their attack and struck Cao Xiong together!
Boom!!
The two streaks of light hit Cao Xiong’s true body, instantly producing a sky-shaking explosion. A massive fire-red mushroom cloud erupted on the spot, and the shockwave scattered in all directions, battering the cultivators and spirit vessels nearby into disarray as they swayed and staggered in utter embarrassment.
“What... what is going on!”
The sudden turn of events stunned everyone present.
As the smoke dispersed, only two figures remained in the sky, namely the black figure and Zhang Zhenyuan.
“This is... Zhang Xiao of the Boundless Sect!” Someone recognized the identity of the black figure.
“He actually succeeded in forming his core!”
“Where is the Dragon-Tiger Sect ancestor?!”
The crowd could not see Cao Xiong’s figure in the sky at all, and could only see a little powder drifting through the air.
As for Cao Xiong, he had actually been blasted to fine dust, his entire body already scattered to the wind.
“He’s dead?”
“Ah!”
“Cao Xiong is dead?! Dragon-Tiger Mountain’s biggest backer is dead!”
A deafening cheer instantly erupted from the three spirit vessels of the Boundless Alliance.
Meanwhile, within the protective formation of Dragon-Tiger Mountain, countless cultivators fell into complete silence, staring blankly at the sky, their eyes filled with utter disbelief...