Chapter 323: I Do Not Owe Rainlan City

One of the buildings within the Pill Tower complex belonged exclusively to Luo Feng.

“Whoosh.”

When Luo Feng entered the quiet chamber, his body naturally split apart, producing his strongest avatar to remain outside the chamber as a guardian. The so-called strongest avatar carried the two great secret treasures: the Undying Heart and the Palm World.

After cultivating for a long time, Luo Feng’s energy reserves had grown increasingly profound. Both his cave residence and the Pill Tower stored abundant energy reserves.

“During the consumption of a treasure, no disturbance can be allowed.”

Inside the quiet chamber.

Luo Feng sat cross-legged and flipped his hand, taking out the portion of Hundred Tribulations Heart Marrow.

“I have never consumed such a rare treasure as the Hundred Tribulations Heart Marrow.” Luo Feng clearly understood the miraculous nature of this treasure. According to the information he had gathered, once the Hundred Tribulations Heart Marrow was consumed, the soul would feel as though it were undergoing repeated life-and-death tribulations, causing extreme pain.

The reason for such pain was that the soul’s thinking speed and comprehension would be forcibly elevated to an extremely powerful level. The burden on the soul itself would become unbearably painful.

“Come.”

“I hope my Life and Death Path can reach the late-stage God Emperor realm as soon as possible. The faster, the better.” Luo Feng opened the crystal jade container and gently inhaled. The violet-gold liquid preserved inside immediately flew into Luo Feng’s mouth.

Upon entering his mouth, it felt slightly cool. The flavor of the Hundred Tribulations Heart Marrow could be described as absolutely exquisite. Luo Feng’s soul trembled, craving to absorb it.

Once the Hundred Tribulations Heart Marrow entered his body, it was quickly absorbed by his soul. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Boom—

After absorbing it, Luo Feng immediately felt pain.

Buzz!

His thinking speed surged explosively. At this moment, the amount of information he could process in each instant was three thousand times greater than usual.

His comprehension also reached an extremely high level. But under such an overwhelming load, the soul felt as though it were enduring one tribulation after another. That was why it was called the “Hundred Tribulations.”

“According to my original plan, slowly comprehending and accumulating enough foundation before naturally breaking through would have been the best choice,” Luo Feng thought. “But that would require me to watch helplessly as hundreds of millions of cultivators die.”

Luo Feng could not do that.

Just to pursue the ‘optimal result’ in cultivation while coldly watching hundreds of millions of cultivators perish? If one were a devil, one could calmly watch everything unfold, perhaps even smiling while seeing other cultivators die.

But Luo Feng had walked this cultivation path step by step. He would rather have imperfections in his cultivation than violate his own heart.

“Although I have taken the treasure and hope to break through as soon as possible…”

“Once the war erupts, judging by the speed at which cultivators and the Low-Level Chaotic Origin Lifeforms fight, the war will likely end within a single day.”

“Can I break through within one day?”

Luo Feng had no confidence at all.

No matter how powerful a supportive treasure was, it could not guarantee a breakthrough within a single day.

“I will do everything I can. The rest… will be left to fate.”

Luo Feng closed his eyes and began fully comprehending the Life and Death Path.

Meanwhile, his avatar far away on the Origin Continent also used the Eye of Life and Death to observe Chaotic Origin bloodlines, fully pondering how to perfect the Life and Death Path to the late-stage God Emperor level.

…

While Luo Feng urgently entered seclusion, the Palace Masters and Elders of Rainlan City were doing their utmost to control the formations. Hundreds of formations worked together to resist the attacks outside the city.

“This time, our investigation of infiltrators across the city forced the Low-Level Chaotic Origin Lifeforms to launch their attack earlier than planned. The legions outside the city are not particularly large and are still far from the limit Rainlan City can withstand,” Palace Master Abyss Elephant transmitted to the Elders.

The Elders were well aware of this.

To forcibly attack from outside and break into Rainlan City would require an enormous amount of power.

“Our greatest threat is this group of infiltrators,” Palace Master Abyss Elephant transmitted. “Palace Master Gaitao, you will lead the ninety-two Elders of the ‘Star Swarm Grand Formation’ to jointly hunt down these infiltrators. The rest of us will block the attacks outside the city.”

“Understood,” Palace Master Gaitao immediately responded.

“We will cooperate with Palace Master Gaitao.”

At this moment, Palace Master Gaitao and the ninety-two Elders no longer paid attention to the outside world. Working together, brilliant stars began appearing within the formations above Rainlan City. Each star carried terrifying power, and their positions formed precisely above the King and the group of leaders.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The Overlimit Bewitching Heart Worm and the group of leaders had already left Palace Master Weiyang’s cave residence and were heading directly toward Palace Master Gaitao’s cave residence.

Since Palace Master Abyss Elephant’s soul had been contaminated, his threat level was extremely low. As long as they killed Palace Master Weiyang and Palace Master Gaitao one after another, the war would be more than halfway won.

“Kill!”

Palace Master Gaitao’s gaze was icy. Although his formation mastery was inferior to Palace Master Weiyang’s, as a grandmaster weapon refiner he was still highly skilled in formations. Under his command, the ninety-two Elders cooperated flawlessly.

Brilliant stars descended from the sky like meteors.

“Whoosh!” “Whoosh!” “Whoosh!”

Each star traced an exquisite arc, precisely locking onto the leader-level infiltrators. These stars deliberately avoided the King and instead targeted the leaders.

“Hm?”

The King and the twenty-three leaders behind him sensed the terrifying stars arriving in the blink of an eye.

“Block them.”

The King personally took action, using his palms to block six stars in succession. At the moment, he possessed the body of Palace Master Weiyang. That body was sufficiently tough and powerful; even after forcefully enduring six stars, he was merely injured, and the injuries rapidly healed.

“Stop them!”

“There are too many!”

The other twenty-three leaders tried their best to block them, but under the bombardment of over a hundred stars, their defenses quickly collapsed, forcing them to endure the attacks with their bodies.

The Star Swarm Grand Formation was inherently capable of harming spiritual lifeforms.

“No—”

After the dense cluster of stars struck, both the King and the leaders were wounded. One leader’s true body was smashed apart entirely, dying on the spot.

“One leader died.” The others were alarmed.

“The external threat is too weak. It allows Rainlan City’s Elders to organize a grand formation against us,” the King realized.

There were over three hundred Elders in total. Among the Palace Masters who remained intact, only Palace Master Gaitao was left. The Star Swarm Grand Formation mobilized one Palace Master and ninety-two Elders… reducing Rainlan City’s external defensive capacity by at least half.

Even after losing half its defensive strength, the city could still withstand the ferocious assault outside.

If everything had proceeded according to the original plan, the legions outside would have reached their optimal scale. Under such a furious siege, the Elders would only occasionally be able to use formations to assassinate infiltrators. The infiltrators’ operations would then become much easier.

“All infiltrators in the city—act now.”

The King issued an order that echoed through the minds of every hidden Low-Level Chaotic Origin Lifeform within the city.

“Follow the plan. Assassinate the Elders.”

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

Responses came from all over the city.

Immediately, members of the Bewitching Heart Worm race and the Soul-Devouring Snake race—roughly half of the core members from the thirty-five branches of the Nine Rivers Sacred Realm—launched their operation.

There were 355 clan members at the late God Emperor stage alone. Including true bodies and avatars, the cultivators they possessed numbered in the thousands.

There were also hundreds of avatars belonging to the leaders.

As for the mid- and lower-level members, they were unaware of the operation plan. Their true bodies had not entered the city—only their avatars had. Naturally, these mid- and lower-level members were even more fearless of death.

“Kill.”

“Kill.”

Teams of infiltrators erupted throughout the city. At a glance, there were tens of thousands of cultivators, causing the Elders controlling Rainlan City’s defensive system to become extremely serious.

“Our team’s mission is to kill Elder Qiuge.”

A team composed of ten leader avatars, eight late-stage God Emperor true bodies, and over a hundred avatars rushed toward the nearby cave residence of Elder Qiuge.

They had infiltrated here precisely because it was close to him.

“Our team’s mission is to kill Elder Tianhe.”

Another infiltrator team, likewise led by ten leader avatars, launched their operation.

These infiltrator squads fell into two categories.

One type was led by ten leader avatars and tasked with assassinating a specific Elder.

The other type existed purely to confuse the defenders and consisted of mid- and lower-level clan members.

From the surface alone, the Elders could not determine which teams were strong and which were weak. After all, these members were all possessing cultivators.

“Palace Master Gaitao, immediately use the Star Swarm Grand Formation to simultaneously assassinate every infiltrator team,” Palace Master Abyss Elephant ordered.

“Yes,” Palace Master Gaitao and the Elders responded.

Rumble—

In the sky above Rainlan City, more than ten thousand stars immediately condensed. However, as their number increased, the power of each star dropped sharply.

“Kill!”

Palace Master Gaitao and the ninety-two Elders radiated killing intent.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Like a meteor shower, the ten thousand stars descended, striking every team simultaneously.

The teams composed of mid- and lower-level clan members suffered devastating casualties. After a single wave of attacks, more than half of them died.

However, the elite teams led by multiple leader avatars were able to withstand the attacks.

“Kill—”

Expressionless, Palace Master Gaitao mobilized the Star Swarm Grand Formation again, unleashing a second wave.

Under this second wave, the mid- and lower-level clan teams were completely wiped out. Only thirty-nine elite squads remained intact.

“Everyone, I’ll leave the rest to you.”

Palace Master Gaitao suddenly transmitted to the Elders.

“I, Gaitao, have refined weapons in Rainlan City for countless years. Today, it is time for me to leave.”

“What?”

“Gaitao!”

The Elders, who were still fighting desperately, were shocked.

“How can you do this?”

“Brother Gaitao! You are also a powerhouse from a Source World. This is only an avatar! At worst, we fight to the death. As a Palace Master, how can you flee at such a critical moment?”

“Gaitao!”

The Elders were frantic.

Palace Master Gaitao was far too important. In open battle, a single Palace Master could rival twenty or thirty Elders. But at a critical moment of formation deployment, his role was even greater. If he withdrew, Rainlan City’s defensive and combat capabilities would drop drastically.

“Look carefully!”

“The Overlimit infiltrator is leading more than twenty leader true bodies directly toward my cave residence. They will arrive very soon.”

“I, Gaitao, have focused solely on weapon refining in Rainlan City. I never sought any resources or benefits.”

“Since I never took those benefits, I have no obligation to risk my life for Rainlan City.”

“I have refined a large number of weapons and secret treasures here. They cannot be lost.”

“Everyone, during my years in Rainlan City… I do not owe Rainlan City anything.”

Whoosh!

With only about a dozen breaths left before the King and his twenty leaders arrived at his cave residence, Palace Master Gaitao took all the weapons and secret treasures he had painstakingly refined and controlled a flying vessel that shot straight into the sky.

As a Palace Master, the aerial formation did not stop him. His vessel instantly rushed out of Rainlan City.

“Whoosh.”

The moment it left the city, the vessel vanished and reappeared hundreds of millions of kilometers away. Clearly, Palace Master Gaitao had used an escape treasure at great cost.

Within the Nine Rivers Sacred Realm, spatial travel was almost impossible. However, as a grandmaster weapon refiner, Gaitao had long purchased escape treasures from the Dark Sacred Realm.

“Hm?”

Among the Low-Level Chaotic Origin Lifeform legion outside the city, a blue-white figure looked toward the direction of Gaitao’s escape.

“Ying, should I pursue and kill Palace Master Gaitao?” the blue-white figure transmitted.

“No need to bother with him. His escape will actually make things easier for us,” the King—still wearing the appearance of Palace Master Weiyang—said with a smile.

Palace Master Gaitao still had several avatars throughout the city. Hunting him down would not be easy.

However, his cave residence was also an important weapon-refining site. Many weapons and secret treasures were stored there.

“Given Gaitao’s personality, he may not care about losing avatars, but he would never abandon his weapons and treasures.”

“Just as I expected. With a little pressure, he fled voluntarily.” The King smiled slightly. “Next… it’s time to find Palace Master Abyss Elephant.”

…

At this moment, Palace Master Abyss Elephant and the more than three hundred Elders of Rainlan City felt their hearts sink.

Palace Master Gaitao’s desertion had an enormous impact.

One Palace Master dead, another fled.

Only Palace Master Abyss Elephant remained.

“So it has come to this?” Palace Master Abyss Elephant felt powerless.

He clearly understood his own condition. Most of his mental strength was devoted to resisting the contamination. He could barely continue controlling the formations.

But to personally fight an Overlimit Low-Level Chaotic Origin Lifeform?

That was simply impossible.