Chapter 974: The Mountain That Overflowed with Wealth!

Thirty kilometers away, a figure shot rapidly through a U-shaped river valley nestled between two mountains.

“Ziz~ ziz~”

Amid flashes of electric light, a figure sprinted into a hidden cave.

“Gulps.” Fang Lingfeng gasped heavily, then swallowed hard.

She was a vast sea-level cultivator—yet to flee in such panic, so visibly shaken, was utterly beneath her dignity.

“Who exactly is that person?” Fang Lingfeng’s face was grim.

Though she had run far, every time she recalled the hammer that had swept past her body, she felt a chill crawl up her spine.

Waves of dread clung to her heart, refusing to fade.

She had almost died!

Just barely!

Was it even a hammer? Unclear.

Ironically, Fang Lingfeng had never dared to turn around—she didn’t know what weapon the attacker used, nor whether the assailant was male or female, or what they looked like!

But that brutal aura—likely from the furious Lie Tian Sect!

No. No, that’s not right!

Fang Lingfeng frowned tightly.

If this were truly a Lie Tian Sect disciple, how could they appear so mysteriously, suddenly behind her head?

Either they could vanish from sight, like those treacherous wolf pups, or they could teleport, like Qiang Xiu disciples.

Teleport?

The moment that word crossed her mind, Fang Lingfeng’s face darkened further.

If it truly was teleportation, and the enemy was this powerful—

Could this person, and this mysterious cloak-wearing organization, be the ones who destroyed Tian Tu Mountain?

Everyone on Jing Ting Mountain knew Luo Tiantu had clashed with a Dog Worshipper!

To ensure his safety, Luo Tiantu personally visited Jing Ting Sect and hired two bodyguards from here.

Everyone envied those two bodyguards—they’d landed a job that yielded exceptional resources.

No one expected the terrible news months later: Tian Tu Mountain had been wiped out.

The mountain’s leader, Luo Tiantu, peak sea realm, died in battle!

Kong Lady, also a sea realm cultivator, died in battle!

Every single member of Tian Tu Mountain—including the two bodyguards who got involved—perished without survivors!

Utterly slaughtered!

Even the entire Tian Tu Mountain was reduced to ashes by a single fire.

There was no doubt: Tian Tu Mountain had angered someone they should never have provoked.

Ruthless, cruel, exterminated to the last root.

“Gulps.” Fang Lingfeng swallowed again.

So, was the destruction of Tian Tu Mountain the work of this mysterious organization?

In the southeastern-central region of Sheng Ling Mountain, only a few factions were active. Luo Tiantu was on good terms with the Jing Ting Sect’s leader; ordinary factions would give him at least some leeway.

Even if a conflict had erupted, Tian Tu Mountain shouldn’t have been annihilated—let alone its entire mountain burned to the ground.

What kind of hatred was this?

Especially that final fire—it was clearly an act of vengeance!

That fire seemed to reveal the identity of the perpetrator.

The culprit was almost certainly a demonic disciple with a deep grudge against Luo Tiantu—the Dog Worshipper!

So—

Was that mysterious, near-fatal figure who just appeared before me also that Dog Worshipper?

Fang Lingfeng reached this conclusion for one reason alone:

In the region dominated by Jing Ting Mountain, no one, no faction, would dare treat a Jing Ting disciple this way!

After announcing her identity, she received no fear, no respectful smiles—only silence.

The cloak-wearers didn’t care a whit for Jing Ting Sect!

Fang Lingfeng truly felt she had encountered the same fate as Tian Tu Mountain.

The same group of people!

“Hmm?” Fang Lingfeng’s thoughts were chaotic when she suddenly heard a crackle of electricity.

She whirled around—only to see a man sprinting in.

“Tangzhu!” The man spotted Fang Lingfeng inside the cave, his face lighting up as if he’d found his anchor.

Fang Lingfeng’s expression hardened, regaining her stern demeanor, and snapped:

“What kind of panicked mess are you making?”

“Y-yes!” The man shuddered, bowing his head, voice trembling.

This river valley cave was the temporary outpost of Fang Lingfeng’s Tang.

Whenever the team split up or someone got separated, members returned here to regroup.

Fang Lingfeng, now with her troops gathered, demanded fiercely:

“Only you escaped?”

“No, I don’t know.” The man’s face flushed with shame; he dropped to his knees before his Tangzhu. “In the sandstorm, I couldn’t see a thing—the Liusha River nearly swallowed me whole.

I—I, Tangzhu, I tried to find you, called out—but I never saw your trace.”

Hearing this, Fang Lingfeng’s eyes narrowed slightly, a surge of killing intent rising within her.

“T-Tangzhu! I—I didn’t mean to! The battlefield was too chaotic, the enemy too strong—” The man’s words cut off with a muffled groan.

“Crack!”

As the man bowed his head, Fang Lingfeng drove her Fangtian Huaji downward with brutal force, piercing his water-armor effortlessly.

The sharp spearhead instantly skewered the back of his skull!

His frantic nodding froze mid-motion.

Fang Lingfeng’s eyes brimmed with murderous intent!

She yanked out the Fangtian Huaji, then stabbed down again—another brutal thrust.

“Ssssh!”

Fang Lingfeng lowered her head, staring at the corpse pinned to the ground, speaking slowly, deliberately: “My Tang’s forces were ambushed by enemies.

The enemy was too strong—every soldier under my command died in battle.

Only I, Fang Lingfeng, fought to the last breath, refusing to surrender—

Only by carving a bloody path out could I return to Jing Ting Mountain to report the truth, so my brothers wouldn’t die in vain.”

Fang Lingfeng murmured, then stomped on the man’s skull, wrenching the Fangtian Huaji free.

Then, the sea realm cultivator finally deigned to kneel.

She reached for the man’s neck, plucking off his divine power bead necklace.

Fang Lingfeng wiped the blood from the beads with her fingers, then fastened them around her own neck.

“Ziz~ ziz~”

Suddenly, the electric crackle returned—drawing nearer.

Two voices followed, filled with relief.

“Tangzhu! You’re really here!”

“Tangzhu, this… this?”

The two Tang members, seeing the scene inside the cave, paled instantly.

Fang Lingfeng’s eyes flickered; she slowly turned to face the two battered, barely alive members of her Tang.

A bone-chilling wave of killing intent spread through the cave.

Meanwhile, dozens of kilometers away, in a dense forest, a group marched in disciplined order.

“Nineteen sea realm cultivators, over one hundred eighty river realm elites,” Lu Ran muttered under his breath.

This intelligence came from captured prisoners.

More astonishing still: within Jing Ting Mountain, roughly two hundred Dong Ting disciples had nearly four hundred slaves.

That’s two slaves per Dong Ting disciple on average?

“No wonder this is the main base of Dong Ting Sect,” Lu Ran sighed. “Truly, masters abound here.”

Gao Yunyan rarely spoke up, but now added: “Stronger than Tianhuang Mountain!

More river realm disciples, and far more slaves—several times over Tianhuang’s numbers.”

Lu Ran nodded. “The geography explains it.”

Jing Ting Mountain’s location was excellent.

If Wu Jifeng was the center of Sheng Ling Continent, then Jing Ting Mountain sat in the southeastern-central region.

Here, you encounter far more weak divine worshippers than in the northwestern Wàn Rèn Mountains.

Naturally, Dong Ting Sect captured far more slaves.

Why did He Qifeng place the Forbidden City thirty kilometers south of Wu Jifeng?

One reason: shelter beneath a great tree. The other: the central region draws massive foot traffic.

“Is your Thunder Mountain’s Lord Lu a Sea Realm peak?” Jiang Ruyi asked suddenly.

“Yes, Lord Lu is Sea Realm Fifth Stage—rumor says he’s been at Sea Realm Fifth Stage for many years!”

The prisoner answered hastily, terrified of delaying even a moment and being burned again by soul fire.

Jiang Ruyi murmured, “Most powerful cultivators hide their true cultivation level. How can you be so certain Lord Lu is at Sea Realm peak?”

What she feared most was that Lord Lu was hiding his true power—that he was already a Heaven Realm powerhouse!

If that were true, Lu Ran and the others getting involved would surely be annihilated without a trace!

But the conduct of any organization naturally flows from the top down.

That was the only thing that could reassure Jiang Ruyi.

After all, if Lord Lu were truly a Heaven Realm cultivator, the Thousand Boats Alliance would have been crushed long ago.

“Lord Lu’s character would never stoop to lying,” the prisoner replied tremblingly. “The Master never conceals his strength.”

Listening to the prisoner’s words, Lu Ran already imagined Lord Lu strutting about in arrogance.

The prisoner had spoken wisely:

Most disciples of East Thunder are haughty by nature—they wouldn’t bother lying.

Jiang Ruyi nodded slightly and asked again, “Your Master has ruled Thunder Mountain for years and amassed many slaves. Surely he has no shortage of weapons and treasures?”

The prisoner answered truthfully: “Lord Lu owns one divine weapon spear and one divine weapon sword—the Fangtian Huayue Spear has unlocked its divine weapon domain!”

His four concubines each possess divine weapons too, but none have unlocked domains.

The First Lady has a magical artifact bracelet; the Third Lady has a magical artifact incense pouch. Oh! Recently, Lord Lu acquired a magical artifact ring.”

Everyone: “...”

What kind of Thunder Mountain is this?

This is a mountain dripping with wealth!

Hmm... now that you mention it.

Even a tiny Heaven Disciple Mountain like Qixue has four treasures: the Crying Blood Waist Knife, the Jade Hairpin, and the Twin Swords of Heaven Trace and Earth Trace.

How could Thunder Mountain, a major sect, lack treasures?

Jiang Ruyi’s expression grew grave. “Describe in detail the functions of the divine weapon domain and the effects of the magical artifacts.”

“My lord, Lord Lu’s divine weapon spear—”

“Hmm?” Lu Ran suddenly murmured in doubt.

Far to the west, a soul was drifting upward into the sky.

Since Lu Ran had previously used the floating soul spirits of the Sword Lotus believers to locate battlefield positions, he had occasionally activated his Soul Realm Eye during travel.

This area was still near the Thousand Boats Alliance—if there was still fighting, he had no objection to lending a hand and eliminating Thunder Mountain’s active forces.

And now he’d actually seen something?!

“What is it?”

“There’s fighting over west!” Lu Ran stared at the male soul, estimating uncertainly. “At least twenty to thirty kilometers from here.”

“Let’s go see!”

(End of Chapter)