Chapter 144: The Great Dao is within oneself, life and death are determined by fate

"A step too late!"

A black shadow, as sturdy as a bear, stood in the shadows, looking toward the Mi family's ancestral grounds, which were now in ruins.

A rich scent of blood still lingered in the air.

The massive spiritual power fluctuations slowly dissipated, yet they still declared what kind of tragic battle had taken place here.

Faintly, it seemed as if unwillingness and roars echoed between the clouds.

The black shadow shook his head and turned to leave.

Suddenly, his body stiffened.

He stiffly raised his head to look at a figure in the sky who was examining him closely.

"Yuding sword cultivator?"

That person's eyes were extremely sharp, as if they contained ten thousand swords.

But looking at the black shadow, he remained hesitant.

"Human? Demon?"

The black shadow cupped his fists at him. "You are also late."

After saying this, he disappeared into the night.

In the sky, the Yuding sword cultivator was filled with doubt; was this person also Mi Shuhua's reinforcement?

But how come he didn't know there was such a character in Dajiang Workshop.

Clearly a human Foundation Establishment cultivator, yet the demonic aura on his body was so intense.

Forget it, ignore him for now.

The matter the Elder entrusted was the top priority.

"Late?"

"I am not late!"

With a cold sneer, the sword light rose, his body like a green rainbow, flying toward the location he sensed.

Outside Xieyue Valley, the fierce battle was in full swing!

With the deaths of Shan Xiu and Gao Tingyuan.

Luo Chen, Murong Qinglian, Duan Feng, and Gu Caiyi were freed up, and the situation instantly reversed!

Even though the Dajiang Gang had sent over thirty late-stage Qi Refining cultivators and sixty mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators.

But with their leaders dead and Duan Feng joining the battlefield, the situation began to change.

"Hall Master, are you alright!"

"Luo Chen, are you okay?"

Luo Chen turned around to see Gu Caiyi, Zhou Yuanli, and the others looking at him with concern.

That pain-filled roar from the depths of his soul just now had almost spread across the entire battlefield.

It was no wonder they were so worried about Luo Chen.

Luo Chen smiled slightly. "I'm fine; you go help the others!"

Without hesitation, Murong Qinglian activated her magic tool and killed the enemies.

Gu Caiyi also wanted to join the battle, but just as she raised her spiritual power, she let out a cry of pain, her figure staggering.

"The effect of the Laurel Pill has worn off; Caiyi, stay here and heal."

Luo Chen pressed down on her shoulder and then looked at Zhou Yuanli and Liu Qiang.

The two of them instantly understood Luo Chen's thoughts, but the moment they moved, a strange look appeared on their faces.

"Unbound?"

"Gone?"

Seeing this, Luo Chen asked in surprise.

"What's wrong?"

Zhou Yuanli said with shock and doubt: "The means the Gang Leader left on me... disappeared?"

"Mine too!" Liu Qiang replied, then his face changed drastically: "Nothing happened to the Gang Leader, right?"

The three looked at each other, and for a moment, a multitude of emotions welled up in their hearts.

Worry, fear, or perhaps relief and ecstasy.

Finally, Luo Chen waved his hand.

"First, go kill those Dajiang Gang bastards; they really went too far tonight."

Zhou Yuanli and Liu Qiang gave a hum, still habitually listening to Luo Chen's instructions, and joined the battlefield.

With their joining, the battlefield situation became even more obvious.

Luo Chen took two Dust-Transformation Pills, and with the automatic Qi-recovery effect of the Changchun Art, the spiritual power he had consumed heavily began to recover slowly.

He stood in front of Gu Caiyi, his gaze sweeping across the battlefield.

From time to time, he would strike out with waste jade marrow beads, or Fireball Techniques, or the Jade Saber, to assist his side's cultivators.

Under his sneak attacks, the mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators were vulnerable.

The late-stage Qi Refining cultivators, even if they could block one or two, were distracted and unable to attend to other things, being attacked by others until they were tottering.

Before long, people began to flee.

Luo Chen didn't send anyone to chase, his gaze falling on Xieyue Valley.

A grand formation was surrounding a large area of spirit fields.

Min Longyu's figure flickered within it, occasionally striking out with attacks, free and easy.

Compared to his ease, Granny Yuan appeared extremely difficult.

A crane-beak hoe had already been beaten until its spiritual light was dim, and it looked like she was about to die within it.

"The others are easy to talk about, but this Min Longyu is the most dangerous; on the Dao-Discussion Platform back then, the ninth-layer Qi Refining Han Dang died inexplicably under his formation flag attack."

"I didn't expect Granny Yuan to be able to hold on for so long?"

Luo Chen's gaze flickered, his lips moving.

The next moment, a powerful spiritual power erupted in the sky.

Duan Feng pushed a massive wave of water, pressing down overwhelmingly.

He stood in the water wave, his long sword waving constantly, layer upon layer of giant waves stacking up, crashing down with a monstrous momentum.

Min Longyu's face changed in the formation.

"To find the flaw in my formation so quickly?"

"Are there cultivators who understand formations outside too?"

He didn't hesitate, flipped the formation disk in his hand, and scattered sheets of yellow light.

But at the same time, the formation changed and broke upon impact.

Min Longyu didn't hesitate and fled into the distance.

Granny Yuan's face was ashen, her crane-beak hoe stuck in the spirit field.

"Want to leave? Not that easy!"

She suddenly formed seals with both hands, her old hands, like chicken claws, now extremely agile.

Under her spiritual power guidance, many rice plants remaining in the spirit field suddenly bloomed with golden light.

After about three breaths, the spell was ready.

Granny Yuan's eyes burst with golden light. "Go!"

Countless rice leaves turned into small golden swords, chasing Min Longyu with lightning speed.

"Grass-Cutting Geng Metal Sword Technique!"

In mid-air, Min Longyu turned around abruptly.

"Old woman, I didn't expect you to have this move!"

The light on the formation disk in his hand changed constantly, finally scattering a sheet of firelight, melting the ten thousand golden rays head-on.

Not only that, but large swaths of firelight also pushed back, attacking Granny Yuan.

At this time, Granny Yuan had exhausted her strength and had no spiritual power to defend.

She closed her eyes, calmly welcoming the final death.

However, after a few breaths, she didn't feel any pain or scorching heat.

Opening her eyes, she saw a large cauldron floating above her, dropping tassels of light to protect her.

"Hall Master Luo, this old woman thanks you."

Granny Yuan looked at the back, bowing respectfully.

Luo Chen waved his hand without looking back. "No matter, I have a good relationship with your son; it's just a small effort!"

As he spoke, a disheveled figure rushed over from the Medicine Hall pavilion behind him.

"Mother, are you alright!"

"Are you hurt anywhere?"

"Luo Chen, thank you, really thank you."

Yuan Dongsheng was covered in blood, his face filled with hot tears.

Supporting his old mother, he choked with sobs and thanked Luo Chen.

Luo Chen comforted him casually, his attention still on the battlefield.

Under the suppression of two ninth-layer Qi Refining cultivators, plus Luo Chen, Zhou Yuanli, and Liu Qiang, the originally one-sided battle had reversed.

The Dajiang Gang cultivators were either killed in battle or fled.

According to Luo Chen's estimation, it wouldn't be long before this battle ended.

It shouldn't have been so easy.

The five ninth-layer Qi Refining cultivators sent by the Dajiang Gang could almost be considered powerhouses at the same level.

The only one who was a bit weaker was Shan Xiu, who had lost a palm and whose strength had greatly decreased.

With this lineup, dealing with this group of old, weak, women, and children in Xieyue Valley could be considered a sure win.

But they underestimated Luo Chen.

The moment he struck, he beheaded Shan Xiu, balancing the high-end power.

Then he detonated ten thousand waste jade marrow beads, not only severely injuring Gao Tingyuan but also killing seven late-stage Qi Refining cultivators in one breath.

When Gao Tingyuan died, the situation was already under Luo Chen's control.

Duan Feng's arrival was a pleasant surprise.

His silent killing of the fleeing Lan Tianyun was an even bigger surprise.

By this time, it could almost be declared that the Battle of Xieyue Valley was a complete victory for the Alchemy Hall led by Luo Chen.

His gaze fell on the corpses on the field, and Luo Chen grinned.

"The harvest today is probably not small."

Just as he was calculating how to distribute the spoils later, his heart suddenly jumped.

Two streaks of light flew from the distant horizon like lightning.

The massive Foundation Establishment aura was not concealed at all.

Wherever they passed, a violent wind blew, causing the cultivators still fighting here to stop one after another.

Suddenly, the two figures stopped outside Xieyue Valley.

Luo Chen looked at the two figures from afar, his expression solemn, and his figure was also quietly retreating.

However, after retreating only a few steps, he stopped.

Because the two figures had locked onto him at almost the same time.

"Luo Chen!"

"Alchemist Danchenzi!"

Luo Chen squeezed out a smile. "Gang Leader Wang, Elder Zhou, what interest do you have in visiting here!"

"Guest?" Wang Yang smiled slightly. "From now on, this place is the territory of the Dajiang Gang, so how can you say I am a guest?"

Elder Zhou stepped forward. "Alchemist Danchenzi, welcome to join the Lianyun Merchant Alliance; from now on, we are a family."

While the two were speaking, the battlefield was silent, and no one dared to speak.

Only the sound of the wind, groans, wails, and the crackling of flames entered their ears.

Luo Chen opened his mouth and finally sighed in vain.

This was just leaving the wolf's den only to enter the tiger's den!

"Sigh..."

The sigh spread for ten miles!

Wang Yang's face changed slightly.

Elder Zhou turned around abruptly.

A figure came through the air like a sharp sword.

"Sigh, an unwelcome guest has arrived!"

"But this Xieyue Valley, in name, still belongs to my Yuding Sword Sect, right!"

Deacon Miao landed steadily above Xieyue Valley, cupped his hands, and bowed to the two.

"Return from whence you came."

"Please, you two!"

Wang Yang wanted to say something but stopped, finally glared hatefully at Xieyue Valley, and flicked his sleeves to leave.

The remaining Dajiang Gang cultivators also hurriedly followed and left.

Elder Zhou was quite surprised. "You didn't go to save Mi Shuhua?"

"The Great Dao is within oneself, life and death are determined by fate. I can save him for a moment, but I cannot save him for a lifetime; in the end, it depends on his own choices."

Deacon Miao didn't answer directly, just said this.

But after hearing this, Elder Zhou's eyes showed contemplation, and finally, he seemed to understand something.

He also bowed and then left gracefully.

After everyone left, Deacon Miao descended to the interior of the cliff, into the Alchemy Hall.

He smiled slightly at the person in the valley and reached out to make an inviting gesture.

Luo Chen pondered for a moment, then strode into the Alchemy Hall. ===== CHAPTER 145 =====