Above Yingfeng Ferry.

Three figures followed the flow of Spiritual Qi, silently gliding through the moonlit sky. Unknown plant seeds fell from above, carried by the wind to the blood-soaked riverbank on the other side.

At this moment, the stretch of marshland between Yingfeng Pass and Biyou Mountain was brightly lit. In some places, large swaths of wildfire were even starting to spread.

In the air.

Among the three, Shang Ge led the way, Sun Shulin brought up the rear, and Wang Ping concealed himself to the side, ready to provide support at any moment. The hundred-li distance from Yingfeng Pass to Biyou Mountain was a journey of merely fifteen minutes for them.

As they were about to reach Biyou Mountain, several more signal flares shot up in succession near the mountain range.

"Be careful. Don’t rush in too fast!"

Wang Ping sent a transmission to Shang Ge, who was ahead. He then sensed several figures flying over quickly from the southern sky. There were two of them, and both were Artifact Cultivators. When the two groups met, they cautiously sized each other up, unlike the opportunists in the marsh below who killed on sight.

After a standoff of more than ten breaths, the two Artifact Cultivators clasped their fists in a salute to Wang Ping’s group, then quickly retreated ten li in the direction they had come from.

"You two go on ahead. I’ll cover our retreat."

Wang Ping made the decision, secretly instructing Yu Lian to observe the two departing Artifact Cultivators while he communicated with the Wood Spirit to monitor for any potential enemies from other directions.

Nothing unexpected happened. After all, those who could cultivate to the Second Realm had all been tempered by time and had endured their own untold hardships. They cherished their lives and wouldn’t risk them unnecessarily.

By the time Wang Ping caught up with Shang Ge and Sun Shulin, Biyou Mountain was already in sight.

"I can see the Celestial Water Sect’s camp."

After Shang Ge said this, the three of them tacitly steadied themselves, using their respective methods to hide in the night sky.

Wang Ping’s gaze was like a torch, and he soon spotted the Celestial Water Sect’s camp as well. It was on a grassy area surrounded by water on three sides. On the north side of the grass was a faint purple barrier, inside of which were some Spirit Grasses emitting a blue halo. A dozen or so disciples of the Celestial Water Sect were busy inside.

Outside the barrier, at least several hundred Celestial Water Sect disciples had formed an Array, using their own spiritual senses to channel Spiritual Qi to the barrier.

Across the river, on the banks opposite the camp, at least a thousand people had gathered. They stared covetously at the Spirit Medicines inside the barrier that were emitting blue halos. That was the fully matured Holy Heart Grass.

"Let’s add some fuel to the fire."

Wang Ping looked at Shang Ge in front of him and gave the order, but he didn’t make a move himself.

Shang Ge let out a low, sinister chuckle. He formed a Spell with his left hand, using some kind of Secret Technique to stabilize the Demon Soldiers within his body. In the palm of his right hand, a black spherical object materialized. He toyed with the black sphere for a moment before tossing it down into the riverbed.

Soon, the sinister black sphere sank into the river, kicking up a massive wave that knocked nearby people to the ground and caused a sizable commotion. Seeing an opportunity, some of the bolder ones immediately leaped across the river and charged toward the barrier, trying to fish in troubled waters.

They were followed by more people rushing across the river...

The next moment, a stream of white light shot up from the center of the camp. The white light was the halo reflected by special metal spheres. An uncountable number of these metal spheres flew over the camp at an imperceptible speed, smashing the Jianghu Travelers who had crossed the line into a bloody pulp.

Wang Ping stared blankly at the gory scene below and asked Sun Shulin beside him, "Have you sensed anyone?"

"A Gold Cultivator!"

"Then let’s move. You two attack together and force them all out!" As Wang Ping spoke, he preemptively activated the Spirit Gathering Array, but instead of summoning the Soldier Talisman and Armor Talisman, he placed the Wood Spirit Sealing Array on his left hand.

Shang Ge and Sun Shulin exchanged a look. Shang Ge then released the suppression on the Demon Soldiers in his body, a crazed and twisted expression appearing on his face. His body rapidly turned black as he shot down from the clouds like a cannonball. A loud BOOM! echoed, accompanied by the startled cries of people nearby. A deep crater collapsed into the camp, the earth around it cracking layer by layer. Then, with the crater as the center, all surrounding objects were pulled toward it, getting pulverized by the distorted Spiritual Qi in the process.

Amidst the chaos, one figure wreathed in golden light was not pulverized. The pure white metal spheres that had just shredded the Jianghu Travelers now circled him, blocking the suction force. However, he was unable to break free himself. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"That guy almost destroyed the Holy Heart Grass!"

Sun Shulin directed this comment at Wang Ping. As he finished speaking, the temperature around him dropped at a visible rate. The Spirit Bird that had been following above his head descended, landed on his shoulder, and then burrowed into his flesh at the base of his neck, along his spine.

’How disgusting. He actually refined his own Spirit Pet into a part of his Magical Artifact.’

Yu Lian complained in the Spirit Sea.

Wang Ping also felt a bit disturbed. He then saw Sun Shulin’s spear, suffused with an energy blacker than night, strike toward the Gold Cultivator suppressed by Shang Ge’s magnetic field.

CLANG!

The sound of metal striking metal rang out abruptly. A golden barrier blocked the descending black energy, causing it to spread outwards. It quickly engulfed the river on three sides. As for the side with the barrier, another Cultivator, also wreathed in golden light, blocked the black energy.

Another Gold Cultivator.

"AH... AHH..."

Agonized screams rang out continuously. They came from the mortals and ordinary Qi Cultivators near the river who had been engulfed by the black energy. Upon contact, their bodies rotted at a visible rate, and their spiritual nature was instantly converted into mindless Corpse Soldiers. When the black substance touched the ground, its spiritual vitality also withered rapidly, releasing a toxic gas that even Entering Cultivators would dread.

"Two Gold Cultivators. Now all that’s left is that half-mad Star God."

As Sun Shulin sent the transmission to Wang Ping, he controlled the refined spear in his hand, which carried a sky full of corrosive black energy, and attacked the Gold Cultivator in front of the barrier, trying to prevent him from joining up with the one inside Shang Ge’s magnetic field.

"You two keep them busy!"

Two more Wood Spirit Sealing Arrays appeared in Wang Ping’s hands. Seeing that the Gold Cultivator before the barrier was occupied, he operated the Spirit Gathering Array around his body at full power, infusing his magical consciousness and Wood Spirit Qi into the barrier’s perimeter. He then issued a cold Imperial Decree: "Form!"

Instantly, hundreds of soldiers made of grass and wood sprang from the ground, sending the Celestial Water Sect disciples at the barrier’s perimeter flying and causing the barrier to tremble slightly.

Observing this from their hiding spots in the distance, some of the more impatient Jianghu Travelers rushed out again. But as soon as they reached the river, they were poisoned by the toxic gas drifting in the air. Their bodies began to putrefy, and they were then devoured completely by the newly converted Corpse Soldiers.

"I have a bad feeling about this..."

Yu Lian had already emerged from the front of Wang Ping’s robes.

Hearing this, Wang Ping’s brow twitched. He secretly connected to the Spirit Communication Talisman inside his body, and a sense of dread washed over him. "Fall back, now!" he decisively summoned his divine soul and shouted into the minds of Shang Ge and Sun Shulin.

Sun Shulin retreated the fastest, and Shang Ge was not far behind. Just as Shang Ge pulled back, rows of green halos appeared in the spot where he had just been.