If they hadnât heard the news in person, they wouldnât have believed it.
âChen Cangshu, are you dreaming? Tell the truth, did we lose miserably?â asked one of them.
âFuck off! Old Yiâs saint palace was destroyed in order to detonate the formation. He almost lost his life and you stand here saying this? Is it hard to admit that he turned the tide?!â Chen Cangshu shouted.
âDonât get me wrong. Iâm just so happy I canât believe it. I was afraid itâs all nonsense!â
âDonât worry, the others will be back with their reports soon.â
Turning to Fang Taiqing, Chen Cangshu said, âSect Master, I rushed back to report so you can prepare and plan your next move. Nonahall and the other four divine realms must be outraged by the crushing defeat. We must deal with them as soon as possible.â
âAlright, go rest. Gao Yue, take ten people with you and bring Yi Xingyin back safely. Heâs Archaionâs hero.â Fang Taiqingâs voice was a little hoarse.
Since the Heaven Branch sect master had spoken, his words were obviously credible. At this moment, Tribulation Peak was in shock. Turning around, Fang Taiqing entered Tribulation Peak.
âWhere are you going?â Leaning against a pillar, Fang Yuqing asked softly.
âLooking for Xuanyuan Dao. What else would I be doing? Fuck! Everyoneâs so excited.â
âAs the Heaven Branch sect master, you shouldnât use foul language,â said Fang Yuqing.
âIf this continues, I might go crazy.â Fang Taiqing replied.
âYes, now that Yi Xingyin has come forward, you canât surrender.â Fang Yuqing pouted.
âWho wouldâve thought he possessed such talent and courage! What a pity. I do admire him, though,â said Fang Taiqing.
âWhat do you think will happen next?â asked Fang Yuqing.
âThe Nonahall Sect is bound to try destroying Taiji Peak Lake, but with the Ninefold Formation, their odds of winning seem to be much lower than originally expected. Did you hear about Li Tianming?â asked Fang Taiqing.
âI heard. He killed a million by manipulating their souls,â Fang Yuqing replied.
âThatâs the most frightening part! Now that he has such means, and with Ghoul King Si Ling and her army of corpse puppets gone, the legions of the five divine realms have lost their advantage. Theyâll lose their entire army in the war. In fact, the legions of the five divine realms and the army of corpse puppets were their strongest weapons against us. But now we donât have to fight such low-level battles with Li Tianming around. It looks like itâll be a battle between the samsara powerhouses of both sides. Without their warriors and army of corpse puppets, theyâll have to pay a heavier price if they attack the Ninefold Formation. Even if they manage to take down Archaion, the Nonahall Sect would be crippled.â Fang Taiqing cursed. He had never been an irritable man. But this had left him speechless. It was all so unbelievable!
âSo the Archaion Sect has a chance of winning?â
âEven if Archaion doesnât win, we wonât lose either,â said Fang Taiqing.
âThen what should we do?â asked Fang Yuqing.
âWhat can we do?â Iâll have to let the old woman down! Fuck, theyâre all monsters, Iâm the only normal one!â
Fang Taiqing left gloomily.
âŠâŠ
In one corner of Tribulation Peakâ
âYi Xingyin, you bastardâŠ.â
As soon as he heard the news, Ouyang Jianwang fell on his bottom. The entire Tribulation Peak was celebrating, but he opened a jug of wine with tears in his eyes. He swallowed the wine that was mixed with tears.
âDamn it! You risk your life in order to be a hero. And after you became a hero, you became useless!â
He was upset. In his heart, that buddy of his had always been a free and easy man, but he was obsessed with heavenly patterns to the point of neglecting everything else.
âIâll just have to watch over you in the future. What should I do? I canât be a dissolute man anymore. Fine then! Iâll take care of you for the rest of my life. If I have a mouthful of wine, half of it is yours.â
âŠâŠ
Xuanyuan Xiao left Soulburn Hall just as Fang Taiqing arrived.
âHave you reported the outcome of the battle to Xuanyuan Dao?â asked Fang Taiqing.
âYes,â said Xuanyuan Xiao.
âAlright.â
Fang Taiqing nodded and entered Soulburn Hall. Xuanyuan Dao stood at the door with his hands behind his back.
âYouâve heard everything?â Fang Taiqing looked up at him.
âYes, they reversed the tides of battle and made a name for themselves.â Xuanyuan Dao smiled.
âI have an idea Iâd like to share with you,â said Fang Taiqing.
âIâd like to hear the details.â Xuanyuan Dao replied.
âWith the imperial sonâs heaven-defying means, ordinary battles are no longer effective. Additionally, a third of the Nonahall Sectâs army has been destroyed and six ghoul kings are dead, so they lack commanders. I donât think theyâll continue attacking the cities. Their original plan was to bulldoze the cities to create hundreds of millions of corpse puppets to use in attacking the Ninefold Formation. But now thereâs no point in attacking the cities. The only thing they can do right now is stake it all on one battle, gather all the samsarans, and attack Taiji Peak Lake,â said Fang Taiqing.
âAnd your point is?â
âDisperse those in the cities, get them to enter the mountains and spread out. After all, our enemies no longer have the troops to chase and kill the citizens throughout Archaion. Even if they wanted to, our intelligence agents will be able to find them when theyâve gathered a million-strong army. We can send the imperial son to slay every last one of them. Additionally, we must quickly find a hundred million empyrean saint cultivators and above to gather at Taiji Peak Lake to provide power for the Ninefold Formation. That was their strategy in Tianming City. When the time comes, the Ninefold Formation will be invulnerable to attack.â Fang Taiqing voiced all his thoughts in one breath.
Before this, the cities couldnât be cleared out for fear that the enemy would march straight ahead, and at the same time they couldnât remain to be refined into corpse puppets. However, they didnât have to worry about that now, because the enemyâs legions were useless.
âI agree, itâs a good idea. Taiji Peak Lake will be the ultimate battlefield. Let the masses hide in the mountains,â said Xuanyuan Dao.
âSince you agree, Iâll start implementing it,â said Fang Taiqing.
âShouldnât we wait until Jian Wuyi returns? Heâs done well this time.â
âThereâs no need. Heâs never had any opinions,â said Fang Taiqing.
âHas the imperial son returned?â asked Xuanyuan Dao.
âNot yet. When he returns, Iâd like him to head to the east and west borders immediately. Regardless of how the Nonahall Sect in the south responds, letâs get him to destroy the Hexapath and the Biritual legions first. After all, speed is crucial in war, right?â said Fang Taiqing.
âI hear that the imperial son is stronger than a third-origin tribulation elder?â
âYes, no one can kill him now,â Fang Taiqing replied.
âAlright. When he returns, weâll ask him if heâs willing to go.â
âHeâs given his all for the sect. Would he refuse?â Fang Taiqing pursed his lips.
âThatâs true. After all, it wonât take much time, anyway,â said Xuanyuan Dao.
âWith him around, thereâs no need for an army.â
At the thought of that, Fang Taiqing was tempted to swear again. After muttering several expletives inside, he waved his hands and was about to leave.
âDo you remember what Her Eminence said?â asked Xuanyuan Dao.
âWhatâre you referring to?â
âWhat she said after your motherâs death,â said Xuanyuan Dao.
âI remember.â Fang Taiqing replied.
âIn truth, I think itâs good to have a pure heart. The heavens wonât forsake those who sacrifice.â
âIâm in control of my own life. I donât believe in fate!â Fang Taiqing laughed.
âSo?â
âYou donât have to test me. Iâll live and die as a member of the Archaion Sect. You can choose whether to believe me or not,â said Fang Taiqing.
âI believe you,â Xuanyuan Dao replied.
âIâm leaving.â Fang Taiqing turned and left, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
âŠâŠ
On Specter Mountain, the All Saints Hall beneath the Nineghoul Skypalace was huge and magnificent. Within the hall itself, many tribulation elders had gathered. They were the peak powerhouses of the Nonahall Ghost Sect, and their only goal was Taiji Peak Lake.
The purple-robed ghoul king, Zi Xiao, sat in All Saints Hall. Just as everyone was in the midst of discussion, a murky beast descended in front of the hallâit was the necrofiend flare dragon.
Everyone in the hall was excited, smiling as they chatted.
âI knew good news was on its way.â
âI wonder how many tribulation elders the four ghoul kings killed.â