Chapter 297: Why Did You Bring This Star of Death Here, Before the Greedy Wolf Sect

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Hundreds of radiant attacks landed on the formation light screens of the magic skiffs belonging to the Mo Family, the Xu Family, and others.

The pale green light screens rippled violently.

Numerous cracks instantly appeared on the light screen of the Ximen Family's magic skiff, as the formation deployed on their vessel was merely at the peak of the second tier.

"Brother Mo, this is already the second wave. It seems the cultivators of Greedy Wolf Prefecture are quite enraged,"

Xu Chuan looked toward the hundreds of Foundation Establishment Cultivators and the three or four early and mid-stage Golden Core cultivators in the distance, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.

"Demonic cultivators have always been arrogant. They only allow themselves to attack others, but forbid anyone from invading them. Daoist Friend Withered Glory, there is no need to waste words with them.

You, me, Daoist Friend Ximen, and Daoist Friend Fierce Sun shall strike together. Every one we can kill counts."

Xu Chuan nodded slightly.

The crowd scattered and fled in all directions.

Under the watchful eyes of the public, it was inconvenient for Xu Chuan to use his Divine Sense Secret Method with full force, but using evasion divine abilities posed no major issue. He immediately chose an early-stage Golden Core cultivator and pursued them.

The other three also picked a target each.

Many among the Foundation Establishment stage also rushed out of the magic skiffs, hunting down those Foundation Establishment demonic cultivators.

The rest remained where they were, waiting for their return.

Ye Fan, Xu Mingxian, and Xu Deyue all went out to slay the enemy, while Xu Deling stayed behind to guard the magic skiff.

Xu Chuan had long secretly used the "Lesser Star Divination Art" to calculate which of the four targets would yield him the greatest harvest.

His divination spell had already reached the stage of major completion.

Moreover, since he was at the Golden Core stage, his ability to withstand the backlash of divination arts had greatly increased. These trifling matters were extremely easy for him.

He even guided Xu Mingxian and the other two on which directions to pursue, ensuring their harvests would certainly not be small.

Xu Chuan chased that middle-aged Golden Core cultivator over one hundred and fifty kilometers away.

Before long, the middle-aged Golden Core cultivator suddenly stopped and shouted, "Old Ghost Withered Bone, Old Demon Green Sheep, aren't you going to come out?"

"Hahahaha!"

From the vast surrounding mountain range, two figures—one gray and one black—rushed out, arriving about three hundred and thirty meters away on either side of Xu Chuan.

The old man on the left wore a gray cloth Daoist robe washed until it was white. His figure was as thin as firewood, his joints protruding. Faint gray mist lingered around him, exuding a chilling yin qi.

The hair on his head was sparse and countable, withered and yellow like dead grass clinging to his scalp, with a few strands hanging over his forehead. His cheekbones were high, his eye sockets sunken, and his eyes cloudy and yellow, yet hiding a bone-eroding chill.

On the right was a middle-aged man dressed in dark red tight-fitting attire. His robes were woven from fire silkworm silk, darkly embroidered with ferocious demonic runes, and emitted a faint red glow.

His tight-fitting attire outlined his burly physique, with broad shoulders, a thick back, and knotted arm muscles. His aura was overbearing and scorching, actually causing the surrounding air to distort slightly.

It was obvious that he practiced an overbearing Fire-Element Cultivation Method of the demonic path.

The middle-aged man's face was resolute, his thick eyebrows like ink, and his blood-red eyes burning like demonic fire. His gaze was as sharp as a blade, brimming with hostility, and a shallow scar on his forehead added a touch of ferocity.

Both men were at the mid-stage Golden Core cultivation level, and they released their imposing pressure without any restraint.

"Brother Mo, well done. The immortal cultivators of Heavenly Azure Prefecture are simply foolish. With just a simple lure, he chased right after you," Old Demon Green Sheep laughed heartily.

Master Withered Bone parted his lips, revealing several scorched, blackened teeth. "Brother Green Sheep, why talk so much? Let's finish him off quickly. They must have plundered quite a bit of resources and wealth along the way.

However, leave his body and soul to me.

A Golden Core soul is an incredibly nourishing tonic for my little darlings."

"Of course!" A hint of dread flashed through Old Demon Green Sheep's eyes.

It wasn't just Xu Chuan; Mo Wenshang, Ximen Xue, and True Lord Fierce Sun were also under siege by two to three Golden Core cultivators each.

"A Ghost Dao cultivator? What a pretty good opportunity," Xu Chuan noted.

A streak of cyan light shot out from Xu Chuan's dantian, hovering above his head and spinning slowly. Twelve flying sword magic treasures burst forth, splitting into three paths to attack the three of them.

At the same time, six formation flags flew out of his storage ring, shooting into the distance.

The cultivator surnamed Mo, Old Demon Green Sheep, and Master Withered Bone were all greatly astonished to see Xu Chuan strike first. After all, their opponent was only an early-stage Golden Core cultivator.

However, the formidable aura radiating from that rotating cyan-gold treasure umbrella and the twelve flying swords shooting over like lightning forced them to react.

The expressions of all three changed drastically.

Old Demon Green Sheep exclaimed, "An umbrella-type high-grade magic treasure, early-stage Golden Core, excels at controlling multiple flying swords... Are you Heavenly Azure Prefecture's True Lord Withered Glory?!"

Master Withered Bone turned to look at the cultivator surnamed Mo, a cold gleam flashing in his eyes. "Why did you lure this star of death over?!"

"I've never seen what True Lord Withered Glory looks like either!"

Xu Chuan's fierce reputation had long spread throughout Greedy Wolf Prefecture.

Before he killed Blood-Robed Ancestor, mid to late-stage Golden Core cultivators like them might have considered him not worth mentioning.

But Blood-Robed Ancestor already had a terrifying reputation, yet he became Xu Chuan's stepping stone in the last great battle. This deeply shocked and terrified countless Golden Core cultivators in Greedy Wolf Prefecture.

The cultivator surnamed Mo and the other two hastily summoned their natal magic treasures to fend off the fierce onslaught of the four flying sword magic treasures assigned to each of them.

Old Demon Green Sheep even simultaneously activated his demonic path true flame divine ability, attempting to use the opportunity to escape, but how could Xu Chuan let him succeed?

With a flick of his sleeve robe, the "Heaven-Overturning Seal" shot out, viciously smashing and shattering the true flame divine ability.

Furthermore, Xu Chuan split off two flying swords to block his path of retreat.

The same was true for Master Withered Bone.

He released three white bone skulls with eerie green flames flickering in their eye sockets. These entities existed somewhere between a divine ability and a magic treasure, being highly unusual.

In an instant, they blocked the attack of four flying swords.

Xu Chuan then released four more flying swords from the Azure Dragon Treasure Umbrella to cut off Master Withered Bone's escape route.

The cultivator surnamed Mo was the weakest; besieged by four flying swords, he was completely overwhelmed.

"True Lord Withered Glory, do not push us too far!" Master Withered Bone rapidly formed hand seals. The three white bone skulls merged into one, growing to a size of over three meters.

The flames in its eye sockets turned dark red, and its aura was in no way inferior to a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The flying swords' attacks landed on the massive skull, unexpectedly leaving only shallow scratch marks. It was fundamentally difficult to damage its core.

The skull knocked the flying swords aside, opened its massive maw, and bit straight toward Xu Chuan.

The Azure Dragon Treasure Umbrella flared with intense cyan light, its pale green defensive light screen completely blocking the skull's attack.

"Old Demon Green Sheep, what are you saving those treasures for?!" Master Withered Bone roared. "If we cannot escape today, we will all die here!"

Old Demon Green Sheep erupted with his full power, using his surging mana to shake off the magic treasures. Then, with a flick of his sleeve, a cyan orb containing explosive energy hurtled toward the pale green light screen.

"You're a bit too late."

Xu Chuan's figure suddenly vanished.

For some unknown reason, that cyan orb collided directly with Master Withered Bone's skull, erupting in a massive explosion.

Clouds and mist gradually rose in the surroundings.

The figures of the three men disappeared entirely, making it impossible to see each other.

Even sending out their divine sense proved entirely ineffective.

The flying swords and the Heaven-Overturning Seal had already been withdrawn by Xu Chuan.

The moment the third-tier Cloud Heaven Illusionary Array was established, this became his home ground, and the time of his hunt.

The cultivator surnamed Mo remained constantly vigilant of his surroundings. However, an incomparably terrifying pressure suddenly descended from the sky, nearly crushing every bone in his body.

Even his mana was affected by some force, causing its circulation to become extremely sluggish.

This was precisely the effect of the high-grade magic treasure, the "Heavy Profound Seal."

At the exact moment it struck the cultivator surnamed Mo, Xu Chuan also silently appeared behind him. A single strike of the "Flourishing Glory Seal" effortlessly shattered his mana shield, inflicting heavy injuries and destroying his dantian.

He extracted the soul, sending it into the "Soul-Gathering Banner" as nourishment for the Blood Fiend Ghost King.

The physical body would serve as materials for refining blood corpses in the future, or as food for other blood corpses.

Old Demon Green Sheep was not weak, managing to hold out against Xu Chuan for a dozen breaths of time.

However, just as he realized the situation was hopeless and attempted to self-destruct, Xu Chuan fired off a divine sense secret method, heavily damaging his soul, and smoothly finished him off.

His end was identical to the cultivator surnamed Mo.

The "Green Sheep Demonic Cultivation Method" he practiced was extremely overbearing, but unfortunately, it was useless against Xu Chuan. It was merely collected as a decent cultivation method for his records.

Only things like puppetry arts, Ghost Dao secret methods, and corpse refining secret arts were of great use to Xu Chuan.

Finally, there was Master Withered Bone.

Upon seeing Xu Chuan, Master Withered Bone said, "It seems the other two are dead, am I right?"

"I, Xu, never actively provoke anyone. But for those who dare to extend their claws at me, I will sever their claws and take their lives together."

"It is true we underestimated you, but the victors of this war will definitely be us."

Master Withered Bone prepared to detonate that massive three-meter skull.

If this special Ghost Dao magic treasure self-destructed, its power would be comparable to the self-destruction of a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator, which might destabilize the space of the Cloud Heaven Illusionary Array.

But Xu Chuan struck first to gain the upper hand. Before Master Withered Bone's words even faded, a dark light lit up on Xu Chuan's glabella, and eighteen silver needles condensed from divine sense pierced into his sea of consciousness.

Master Withered Bone practiced the Ghost Dao and had a powerful soul; his divine sense strength was entirely on par with a late-stage Golden Core cultivator.

However, under the full brunt of Xu Chuan's divine sense secret method, he was tortured by an agonizing splitting headache, completely unable to mobilize even a single trace of mana.

Xu Chuan pierced through his dantian with a single finger.

The "Withered Silence Seal" heavily struck his soul once more, bringing him to the verge of unconsciousness.

After slaying him, he sealed away the three skulls that had split back apart.

Having obtained the nourishment of three Golden Core souls, once the Blood Fiend Ghost King fully refined them, it should be able to upgrade to the peak mid-stage of the third tier.

From Master Withered Bone's body, Xu Chuan found the secret method to refine and control the skulls, along with Ghost Dao cultivation methods, quite a few related ancient classics, and high-level yin-attribute materials.

On this trip, between spirit stones, materials, magic treasures, and other various items, the total value amounted to hundreds of thousands of spirit stones.

'Murder and arson for a golden belt—the ancient sages did not deceive me!'

Xu Chuan studied the secret method for controlling the skulls for a moment. These skulls used the skull bones, souls, and essence blood of Golden Core cultivators as primary materials, combined with numerous other yin-attribute materials, and forged via Ghost Dao secret methods.

They possessed a certain level of intelligence. If one could not suppress them, it would be easy to suffer a backlash.

But if controlled well, every single skull could rival an early-stage Golden Core cultivator.

However, these skulls were not easy to refine. Master Withered Bone had only successfully refined three in hundreds of years.

This was exactly his capital for roaming unimpeded across Greedy Wolf Prefecture.

Even some late-stage Golden Core cultivators were deeply wary of Master Withered Bone.

'Refining them is quite troublesome. It will take at least half a month. I'll just wait for an opportunity to refine them later!'

Xu Chuan formed a hand seal to withdraw the Cloud Heaven Illusionary Array, then headed back.

"Grandfather, you've returned,"

Xu Deling smiled and greeted him upon seeing his return.

"The others haven't returned yet. It seems they've run into some trouble,"

Xu Chuan replied calmly. Pursuing and slaying the three Golden Core cultivators had only taken him a little over fifteen minutes.

A moment later.

True Lord Fierce Sun returned.

"Daoist Friend Fierce Sun, how did it go?"

"The opponent was bait. After chasing them for over a hundred kilometers, I was besieged, but they were no match for me.

I killed one early-stage Golden Core demonic cultivator, and the other two ran away."

"As long as there was a harvest, that's fine," Xu Chuan smiled faintly.

Another fifteen minutes passed.

Ximen Xue and Mo Wenshang returned one after another. Compared to True Lord Fierce Sun, they appeared slightly more disheveled, clearly having experienced an intense battle.

The other Foundation Establishment disciples also returned in succession.

Approximately thirty minutes later.

Mo Wenshang, who was adjusting his breathing, spoke up, "The Foundation Establishment cultivators who haven't returned yet are highly likely dead. Let's move out."

Xu Chuan nodded, also instructing everyone to press forward.

Life and death are determined by fate; wealth and honor are decreed by heaven.

While one kills, one must also be prepared to be buried in a foreign land.

Along the remainder of their journey, they encountered no further ambushes.

Evidently, the cultivators who had escaped had notified the others, and the news of several Golden Core cultivators' deaths had spread.

Relying on petty tricks to besiege them again would undoubtedly be courting death.

Consequently, everyone headed to the Greedy Wolf Sect to rendezvous.

Two days later.

Many Golden Core cultivators gathered there.

"They're here!"

"The people of Heavenly Azure Prefecture are here!"

Over a dozen massive magic skiffs pierced through the clouds and the void, arriving just a few kilometers outside the mountain gate of the Greedy Wolf Sect.

One streak of light after another shot into the sky.

There was a full complement of several thousand Foundation Establishment cultivators and over twenty Golden Core cultivators.

Of course, this was not the entire fighting force of Greedy Wolf Prefecture. Some were situated too far away and couldn't necessarily arrive in time, while it was also possible that some simply didn't wish to participate.

Qi Tianxiong scanned with his divine sense and discovered Mo Wentian on the Mo Family's magic skiff.

"Indeed, there is an additional Nascent Soul cultivator."

He immediately sent a message to Tianluo.

Then, he exuded the overwhelming pressure of a Nascent Soul cultivator, enveloping all the magic skiffs like a massive mountain range.

A beam of sword light surged toward the heavens, blossoming with dazzling golden light, entirely dispersing his Nascent Soul pressure.

Next, Xi Daoyun arrived above the deck and looked toward Qi Tianxiong, saying, "Striking against the younger generation—you are as unscrupulously brazen as ever."

"You've already attacked all the way to the doorstep of my Greedy Wolf Sect. What else does this Sect Master need to be scrupulous about?"

"Your Greedy Wolf Sect provoked us first. Could it be that my Heavenly Azure Sect is not allowed to retaliate? Or perhaps we should wait until you slaughter a few more cities in our Heavenly Azure Prefecture?"

Qi Tianxiong scoffed coldly, quickly adding, "As for the other Daoist friend, since you're already here, what are you still hiding for?"

"Your Heavenly Azure Prefecture really kept it tightly under wraps. Someone newly advanced to the Nascent Soul stage, yet not a single bit of news reached our Greedy Wolf Prefecture."

"Hahaha."

Mo Wentian likewise darted out of his room, arrived above the deck, and cupped his fists, declaring, "Heavenly Azure Prefecture's Mo Family, Mo Wentian, greets Daoist Friend Qi."

His Nascent Soul pressure permeated the area, causing the expressions of the crowd of Greedy Wolf Prefecture cultivators to drastically change.

"It really is a Nascent Soul cultivator!"

"Someone in Heavenly Azure Prefecture actually achieved Nascent Soul Formation!"

True Lord Canglang and True Lord Heavenly Wolf exchanged a glance. "Senior Brother, you really guessed correctly."

"But if no one stops the Mo Family's Nascent Soul Ancestor, our situation won't look good."

"There's no need for you and me to worry about this. The Sect Master definitely made a decision early on. We only need to deal with the Golden Core cultivators of Heavenly Azure Prefecture."

Qi Tianxiong sized up Mo Wentian and after a moment said, "So it's Daoist Friend Mo. A millennium-old aristocratic family, yet only producing a single Nascent Soul cultivator now. It seems the Mo Family's circumstances in Heavenly Azure Prefecture aren't that great either.

Why not relocate to my Greedy Wolf Prefecture? My Greedy Wolf Sect absolutely will not interfere with your Mo Family's development. As long as your Mo Family is strong enough, replacing my Greedy Wolf Sect in the future is also a possibility."

Mo Wentian chuckled softly. "My Mo Family has been rooted in Heavenly Azure Prefecture for a millennium, making our homeland difficult to leave. I can only decline Daoist Friend Qi's invitation."

At this time, Xi Daoyun also spoke up, "Daoist Friend Qi, as long as your Greedy Wolf Sect swears an oath not to invade my Heavenly Azure Prefecture for a thousand years, we can retreat today.

If not, we'll just have to settle this in a fight."

"A thousand years of non-aggression? Old Ghost Xi, what a beautiful dream. You only have a century or two of lifespan left. If your Heavenly Azure Sect doesn't produce another Nascent Soul cultivator soon...

The collapse of your grand edifice will be right before your eyes."

"That is not for you to worry about!" Xi Daoyun's face turned icy cold. Holding a golden longsword, the blade vibrated, spitting out threads of sword light that seemed capable of tearing apart space itself.

"Let's fight, then!"

"As if I'm afraid of you!"

The two shot up into the sky, flying high above the peak of the clouds. Moments later, astonishing shockwaves surged out, tearing apart the cloud layers.

"I wonder who will exchange blows with this old man,"

Mo Wentian stood with his hands behind his back, his white clothes like snow. The pressure of his newly formed Nascent Soul felt like a deep abyss of still water; though not overly ostentatious, it caused the surrounding air to stagnate.

His gaze flashed like lightning as he swept over the opposing formation. His voice wasn't loud, yet it pierced through the four directions, making the cultivators in the formation hold their breath in focus.

None dared to meet his gaze.

"I'll do it!"

An explosive shout detonated like sudden thunder, and a streak of black light abruptly shot out from within the grand array. Its speed surpassed lightning, flying to the front of the Greedy Wolf Prefecture crowd.

This person possessed a head of purple hair fluttering without wind, his dark tight-fitting attire fluttering noisily.

"You must be Tianluo, the one who slaughtered my Heavenly Azure Prefecture's Sieve Constellation City, correct?"

Mo Wentian's gaze sharpened slightly. His spiritual sense probing shockingly failed to see through the other party.

"That's me. Does Daoist Friend Mo wish to settle accounts with me?"

Tianluo grinned and laughed maniacally, every strand of his purple hair standing on end. His right hand grasped at the empty air, and the high-grade magic treasure, the "Blood Demon Axe," materialized instantly.

"Your aura?"

Mo Wentian sensed the aura radiating from Tianluo, detecting a faint, almost imperceptible Nascent Soul presence. He raised an eyebrow, a look of surprise crossing his face. "False Nascent Soul stage?"

"Good observation skills. Take my axe!"

Tianluo burst into wild laughter, his purple hair dancing wildly as if aflame. His right hand violently swung the "Blood Demon Axe," condensing a one-meter-long pitch-black axe gleam. Like an ink dragon flicking its tongue, it was piercingly cold.

Mo Wentian stood motionless. With a simple raise of his hand, his Nascent Soul mana condensed into a shield.

"Clang—"

The axe light tore through the air, carrying the momentum to split mountains and sever peaks, violently slashing onto the pale golden shield.

A deafeningly loud explosion echoed. The black light and golden brilliance collided intensely, sending a shockwave rolling out like raging tides toward all directions.

The surrounding people were forced to retreat repeatedly.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The shield was densely covered in cracks within an instant.

The next moment, it shattered with a loud boom, the residual axe light continuing to strike forward at Mo Wentian.

Mo Wentian's expression shifted. With a pat on his storage pouch, a three-meter-tall puppet appeared in front of him. Crossing its arms, it blocked the residual axe light.

"Your strength..."

"Daoist Friend Mo, it's best we don't involve others in our exchange. What do you think?"

After pondering for a moment, Mo Wentian replied, "Then let me, Mo, test exactly how strong Daoist Friend Tianluo's strength truly is!"

The two of them also flew off toward another section of the sky.

When Nascent Soul cultivators exchanged blows, the aftershocks were far too tyrannical. Golden Core cultivators might be able to withstand it, but Foundation Establishment cultivators would likely have their internal organs shattered from the impact.

'An Ancient True Demon truly is terrifying. To genuinely contend against a Nascent Soul expert with the cultivation realm of a Golden Core... I wonder if there are such formidable Golden Core stage immortal cultivators in the Heavenly South.

If I reach Golden Core perfection, could I fight a Nascent Soul cultivator?'

While Xu Chuan was deep in thought, Bingqian had already challenged True Lord Heavenly Wolf.

Just as True Lord Green Wood was about to charge at True Lord Canglang, Xu Chuan spoke up, "Daoist Friend Green Wood, leave Canglang to me. I have quite a few grudges I'd like to settle with him."

True Lord Green Wood looked at Xu Chuan's face, pondered for a moment, nodded, and then dashed toward another True Lord-level powerhouse at the ninth layer of Golden Core from Greedy Wolf Prefecture.

He hailed from the Situ Aristocratic Family of Greedy Wolf Prefecture.

This was also a millennium-old aristocratic family, whose ancestor was named True Lord Seven Fiends.

"Xu Chuan, I didn't come looking for you, yet you actively seek me out! Let me see just how you plan to settle accounts with me!"

True Lord Canglang rushed at Xu Chuan, a cone-shaped magic treasure appearing out of thin air in his hand, exuding a ferocious aura.

The main material of this magic treasure was the wolf fang of a peak third-tier wolf demon, refined in combination with several other third-tier materials.

Although initially a low-grade magic treasure, it had grown alongside True Lord Canglang and had now reached the mid-grade level.

Xu Chuan, meanwhile, wielded the Azure Dragon Treasure Umbrella, swinging it like a wooden club to deflect the cone-shaped magic treasure away.

However, right at this moment.

A streak of blood-colored light suddenly shot over from his side.

With a shake of his sleeve robe, Xu Chuan sent the "Heaven-Overturning Seal" flying out, smashing the streak to pieces in one swift strike.

That person did not continue to attack Xu Chuan, as they were tangled up by another early-stage Golden Core cultivator.

"Are you feeling surprised?" True Lord Canglang said while laughing maniacally.

"His cultivation method shares the same origin as the Blood-Robed Ancestor. He must be a descendant," Xu Chuan deduced.

"Exactly."

"Xu Chuan, within Greedy Wolf Prefecture, there are quite a few people who want to kill you. Who told you to be so aggressively conspicuous without showing any restraint?"

True Lord Canglang controlled his magic treasure, the "Ink Fang Spike," clashing ceaselessly with Xu Chuan's "Heaven-Overturning Seal," while he formed hand seals himself, unleashing divine abilities to bombard Xu Chuan.

Xu Chuan formed the "Flourishing Glory Seal" to meet his attacks head-on.

Bang!

The two were separated by the resulting shockwaves, and Xu Chuan turned around, diving toward the mountain range below.

The crowd here was too dense, making it unsuitable for him to employ his various methods.

True Lord Canglang had always been arrogant and wildly pursued him.

In merely the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, The area outside the Greedy Wolf Sect had completely devolved into a massive battlefield.

Thousands of Foundation Establishment disciples clashed. In terms of sheer numbers, Heavenly Azure Prefecture held the upper hand because they came thoroughly prepared.

Many Foundation Establishment cultivators from Greedy Wolf Prefecture were slaughtered, and their storage pouches became the spoils of war for Heavenly Azure Prefecture's cultivators.

The number of Golden Core stage cultivators on Heavenly Azure Prefecture's side was also greater by several individuals.

However, among Golden Core stage cultivators—excluding anomalies like Tianluo and Xu Chuan—it was very difficult to determine a victor in a short time against an opponent of roughly equal strength.

Even when facing a siege from two or three opponents, they could still hold out for a period of time.

Heavenly Azure Prefecture was fully prepared, but this place was, after all, Greedy Wolf Prefecture.

The numbers of demonic cultivators could be described as an endless stream.

Therefore, the key to this battle ultimately rested on the combat strength at the Nascent Soul stage.

If Heavenly Azure Prefecture's Nascent Soul combat strength proved superior, they could crush Greedy Wolf Prefecture and even potentially break through the grand array of the Greedy Wolf Sect.

If the battle remained a stalemate for a long time without a clear victor...

Then Heavenly Azure Prefecture would have no choice but to retreat and return home.

Because Greedy Wolf Prefecture could constantly replenish their ranks with cultivators. Unless combat strength formed an overwhelming crushing scenario, under conditions of relatively equal footing, one couldn't compete against a home-turf advantage.

The performance of the members of the Xu Family was extraordinarily eye-catching.

It took four or five veteran Foundation Establishment geniuses of the Greedy Wolf Sect laying siege to barely obstruct the assaults of Ye Fan and Xu Deyue.

They were both individuals who had comprehended their foundational divine abilities to the level of sixty to seventy percent.

Eight years had passed since the Prodigy Grand Assembly.

Ye Fan and Xu Deyue had completely matured. Even when compared to the top ten prodigies of back then, their performance was not lacking in the slightest.

Xu Deyue had even comprehended the true intent of "Vast Cold" to ninety percent. She was merely a single step away from grasping the foundational divine ability, condensing a divine ability seed, undergoing divine ability core formation, and charging straight toward the Golden Core stage.

Ye Fan's True Yang divine ability had reached seventy percent comprehension, and his Battle Intent divine ability was at fifty percent.

But combined with a second-tier perfected physical body and the initial mastery of the third form of the Brahma Sacred Fist, he could withstand a blow or two even when facing attacks from an early-stage Golden Core cultivator.

If he could perfect the third form of the Brahma Sacred Fist and comprehend the true intent to a hundred percent, he might even be able to clash with an early-stage Golden Core cultivator for a period of time.

Compared to someone like Tianluo during his Foundation Establishment perfection phase, Ye Fan wouldn't be far off in strength.

"Whoever kills the prodigies of Heavenly Azure Prefecture's Xu Clan, my Greedy Wolf Sect will reward with an opportunity for Core Formation and a magic treasure!" roared a late-stage Golden Core elder of the Greedy Wolf Sect furiously upon seeing one of his disciples slain.

Countless Foundation Establishment cultivators swarmed forward, utterly disregarding life and death.

"Five Elements Battle Array, condense!"

Xu Mingxian darted over to Xu Deyue and the others. Forming hand seals with both hands, five formations condensed in an instant.

Furthermore, the power of each battle array was far stronger than during the Prodigy Grand Assembly, having already reached the mid-grade of the second tier.

His comprehension of the True Intent of the Formation Dao had already reached eighty percent.

This type of true intent was incredibly difficult to comprehend; only someone with extremely high aptitude for the Array Dao could possibly grasp it. Using this true intent divine ability for core formation would inevitably allow one to comprehend fourth-tier formations in the Golden Core stage.

The Cang Family's Golden Core True Lord, Cang Fengyan, had reached Golden Core perfection. Having pondered formations for hundreds of years, he had only reached the high-grade of the third tier.

It was evident just how arduous the path of the Array Dao was.

With Xu Mingxian's aptitude, perhaps not long after stepping into the Golden Core stage, he would be able to deduce third-tier high-grade formations.

From the Five Elements Battle Array, five streams of spiritual light soared into the sky, intertwining and wrapping around each other to form forty-five distinct, multicolored chains.

The chains advanced together, acting like an inescapable net as they shot toward the Greedy Wolf Sect disciples to entangle them, completely cutting off their path.

These chains each possessed the strength of a full-powered strike from a late Foundation Establishment cultivator, making it impossible for the disciples to ignore them.

"Damn it! Break these chains!"

The Greedy Wolf Sect disciples roared furiously.

Dharma tools surged forth in their hands, unleashing sword qi, blade gleams, and exploding runes, aggressively bombarding the Five Elements Chains.

Just as the Greedy Wolf Sect disciples were exhausting themselves dealing with the chains, a white silhouette soared out like a startled swan—it was exactly Xu Deyue!

She gripped the Autumn Water Sword in her hand. The blade was as clear as condensed moonlight. As she danced with the sword, her robes fluttered; she looked like the fairy of the Vast Cold Palace descending to the mortal realm.

"Vast Cold Sword Art: Frost Sky Snow Dance!"

With a cold and crisp shout, the Autumn Water Sword erupted with tens of thousands of silver-white sword rays. Each ray resembled autumn waters reflecting the moon—breathtakingly beautiful, yet containing a bone-piercing chill that would freeze tendons and crack bones upon contact.

Wherever the sword rays swept past, miserable shrieks rose and fell in continuous waves.

A Greedy Wolf Sect disciple had just cleaved apart a wooden chain when three sword rays simultaneously pierced him. A thin layer of ice instantly froze over his body, stagnating his qi and blood. In the next instant, the sword rays shot clean through his chest, reducing him to a mist of blood.

Another late Foundation Establishment disciple attempted to flee, but a sword ray cut off his escape route. The icy cold aura invaded his meridians, causing him to instantly stiffen in place. He was then wrapped up by pursuing chains and forcibly strangled into a mangled mess.

There was also Ye Fan, who let out a wild roar. The muscles all over his body knotted together, veins bulging out as he fully unleashed his physical strength. He rammed his way through like a humanoid demonic beast.

Relying solely on his bare fists, he smashed into the Greedy Wolf Sect disciples.

"Bang!"

With a muffled thud, a Greedy Wolf Sect disciple took a punch square to the chest. Their protective spiritual qi instantly collapsed, and their physical body exploded right there, sending blood mist flying in all directions.

Every punch Ye Fan threw carried a terrifying wind pressure. A light hit resulted in broken bones and snapped tendons, while a heavy blow completely pulverized the body.

While Xu Mingxian manipulated the battle arrays, his gaze flashed like lightning. Seeing enemy disciples perish and their storage pouches scatter, he immediately flicked his finger.

Streams of spiritual power swept out, gathering every single storage pouch into his hands without missing even one.

The Xu Family's style of doing things had always been to absolutely never waste anything.

He formed another incantation with his fingertips. The sky filled with blood mist was drawn up like a giant whale sucking in water, collected straight into a certain dharma tool, and the dissipating residual souls shared the very same fate.

The ingenuity of this Five Elements Battle Array lay in its capacity to assist in trapping foes, blocking them, and harassing them; everything within a hundred-meter radius was firmly under his control. However, its pure lethality was ultimately somewhat lacking.

But Xu Deyue's Vast Cold Sword Art and Ye Fan's physical might perfectly covered for the battle array's shortcomings.

The trio joined hands in seamless cooperation. Even while under the siege of dozens of people from the Greedy Wolf Sect, they handled the situation with ease.

With the battle array trapping the enemy, the sword rays breaking their defenses, and physical strength reaping their lives, this series of combination attacks inflicted catastrophic casualties among the Greedy Wolf Sect disciples. Not a single person was even able to break within fifty meters of them.

The upper limit of Xu Mingxian's path of battle arrays was extremely high. Once he deduced his battle arrays to the peak of the second tier, he would be more than capable of sweeping entirely through the Foundation Establishment stage without needing to rely on the killing power of Xu Deyue or Ye Fan.

He could even rival a Golden Core cultivator.

Quite a few Golden Core cultivators of Greedy Wolf Prefecture wished they could rush over and slay Xu Mingxian's trio.

But Xu Deling was constantly keeping watch over them.

Her opponent was a mid-stage Golden Core demonic cultivator whose demonic cultivation methods were exceptionally overbearing, yet she completely suppressed him from start to finish.

In fact, Xu Deling hadn't even activated the power of her Fire Phoenix bloodline, nor had she mobilized her high-grade magic treasure. She was simply facing off using divine abilities and a mid-grade magic treasure.

The high-grade magic treasure was personally refined for her by Zhen Yangzi, serving mainly for defense.

The mid-grade magic treasure was a congratulatory gift from True Lord Yanzhen celebrating her core formation, specializing in offensive attacks.

Besides this, she also had the plume of a true spirit Fire Phoenix that had been transformed into her natal magic treasure, resonating with her the most perfectly. Though it was only at the two-stripe tier, its sheer power rivaled that of a mid-grade magic treasure.

Unfortunately, her spiritual pet was still only at the peak of the second tier and couldn't be of much use at present. It almost entirely remained in the fire vein of the Heavenly Plume Sect, silently absorbing its energy to cultivate.

Whenever any Golden Core cultivator from Greedy Wolf Prefecture dared to have designs on Xu Mingxian's group, she would hurl a mid-grade magic treasure straight at them.

Subsequently, other Golden Core immortal cultivators from Heavenly Azure Prefecture would step in to cover the gap.

While Xu Deling couldn't manipulate over a dozen magic treasures at once like Xu Chuan did...

Controlling four or five low and mid-grade magic treasures posed absolutely no problem for her, and she could unleash formidable might with every single one of them.

Of course, this was exactly her limit.

Not everyone could successfully cultivate the various incantations and secret methods passed down by Xu Chuan to the Xu Clan descendants to the same transcendent level he had achieved.

But as long as they cultivated them to a certain degree, it was more than enough for them to hold the upper hand while clashing with other Golden Core cultivators.

It was typically exceedingly difficult to find even a single mid-grade magic treasure on an average mid-stage Golden Core cultivator, but Xu Deling carried seven or eight magic treasures on her person.

There was a mix of both low-grade and mid-grade treasures, and almost none belonged to the same category.

After all, she had successfully refined a three-stripe magic treasure not long ago, firmly establishing herself as a third-tier mid-grade blacksmith.

"As expected, the people of the Xu Family present far too massive a threat!"

True Lord Heavenly Wolf cast his gaze towards Xu Mingxian's side. Unless Golden Core cultivators personally intervened, those three were completely invincible within the Foundation Establishment stage.

"Daoist Friend Heavenly Wolf, you still have the spare time to worry about others?"

Bingqian closed in aggressively, an ice flame cupped in his hand.

True Lord Heavenly Wolf dodged, commanding his magic treasure to shoot out, while Bingqian countered with the ice flame.

Boom!

The ice flame was reduced to countless blue motes of light that scattered in all directions.

But as Bingqian formed hand seals, all the motes of light rapidly gathered back together to form an Ice Flame Lotus.

"Daoist Friend Heavenly Wolf, both Elder Huangyuan and Elder Chiyang of my sect were killed by you, correct? Since you dared to murder the elders of my sect, why are you currently avoiding clashing with me?

Could it be that you're only skilled at bullying the weak?"

Naturally, True Lord Heavenly Wolf was not going to fall for this goading method. Having forcefully exchanged a divine ability earlier, his physical body had suffered from the invasion of the ice flame's cold aura, which he had yet to completely expel even now.

If he suffered that a few more times, he might even be critically wounded, or worse, killed outright.

With the Great Dao right before his eyes, he was naturally someone who valued his own life.

"Goading me is utterly useless, Daoist Friend. Your ice flame divine ability is indeed incredibly overbearing; I will openly admit that I am no match for it." True Lord Heavenly Wolf chuckled softly. "However, you guessed wrong earlier—the elders of your sect were not actually killed by me."