Chapter 162: The Alchemist Sect Closes its Mountain Gates

"I see you're at your wit's end." How could Lin Yanghao not see right through his little schemes?

Strike while the iron is hot! Take advantage of his weakened state to finish him off!

Turning around, another flurry of attacks rained down.

"Since you refuse a toast only to drink a forfeiture, I won't hold back either. Take this!" Driven to desperation, Ji Changhen had no choice but to bite the bullet and fight back.

"Hmph, mere parlor tricks." Lin Yanghao easily dodged all of Ji Changhen's attacks.

"Fellow Daoist, don't push things too far. After all, this is just a misunderstanding. Is there really any need to drive me to absolute ruin?" It was only then that Ji Changhen realized how terribly mistaken he had been. Lin Yanghao, this cultivator at the Nascent Soul stage, possessed strength far beyond his imagination. If things kept going this way, death was his only outcome.

"How utterly laughable. If I were no match for you today, would you still be saying this? Would you have let me off the hook?" Lin Yanghao sneered.

Hearing this, Ji Changhen's heart sank into despair, left utterly speechless by Lin Yanghao's words.

He was filled with deep regret now. Why on earth had he gone out of his way to provoke this baleful star? He had truly brought this destruction upon himself...

Half an hour had already passed. If he wasted any more time, the temporary special effects he was relying on would wear off completely.

Therefore, Lin Yanghao could not be bothered to waste any more breath on him. Ji Changhen had already given up resisting; the situation was crystal clear, and any further struggle would be entirely futile.

The Crimson Spirit Sword slashed down through the air, and Ji Changhen was sent flying by a single blow, perishing on the spot.

Lin Yanghao collected Ji Changhen's storage ring, eager to find out what treasures it contained.

"Damn it, what a disgrace to a Deity Transformation stage cultivator, so dirt poor." Aside from tens of thousands of middle-grade spirit stones, the storage ring contained only a few changes of clothing and a rather ordinary high-grade spirit artifact that Ji Changhen had used.

Finding so little left Lin Yanghao quite disappointed, as this fell far short of what he had anticipated.

"What is this?" A jade token in the corner caught Lin Yanghao's attention.

"Ji Changhen?" Three large characters were clearly inscribed upon the jade token.

Lin Yanghao guessed that this must be the name of the Deity Transformation stage cultivator who had just died on the ground.

This jade token was likely some form of identity credential.

Stowing the jade token away, Lin Yanghao continued on his journey toward Moyun Town.

The only reason he hadn't thrown it away was just in case the token might prove useful someday.

...

Meanwhile, a massive war among the three major sects was unfolding at the Dan Sect.

"You actually dare to disregard the tripartite pact and attempt to start an all-out war. When the seniors of our Dan Sect return, they will never let you off!" shouted True Lord Jinming, driven to absolute panic.

The majority of the sect's disciples had already been killed or wounded. Even if the sect's senior figures managed to return in time, the Dan Sect would undoubtedly be left severely crippled.

That was assuming the seniors could return in time; otherwise, the Dan Sect faced total annihilation.

"Back then, your Dan Sect endlessly preached about unity among the three sects to jointly resist external enemies. Unity, my foot! Just how many underhanded schemes has your Dan Sect pulled behind our backs?" said True Lord Luoheng angrily.

"You... you..." True Lord Jinming choked with rage, unable to utter a single word for a long time.

What they said was true; over the years, the Dan Sect had indeed committed many dishonorable deeds.

"What? Speechless now? Since that's the case, prepare to meet your doom! Attack!" True Lord Luoheng shouted excitedly, knowing that starting today, the Dan Sect would be wiped off the map of the cultivation world forever!

From now on, they would no longer have to suffer the suppression of the Dan Sect.

"If you do this, the seniors of our Dan Sect will never forgive you when they return."

"Haha, whether they can even make it back is another matter entirely. Stop being so naive and worry about yourselves first!" True Lord Luoheng sneered coldly.

"What do you mean?" True Lord Jinming froze. The implication was painfully obvious—something had happened to their sect's seniors as well.

At that moment, his heart felt as though it had collapsed, and every shred of hope was instantly extinguished.

"What else could it mean? It means they aren't coming back." As it turned out, the Talisman Sect and the Artifact Sect had long anticipated that the Dan Sect seniors would rush back, so they had laid an ambush along their return route.

While they couldn't guarantee eliminating them completely, successfully stalling them was well within their grasp.

Once they breached the Dan Sect, those seniors wouldn't be able to turn the tides.

By then, they would be nothing more than scattered sand.

"You... you..." True Lord Jinming was once again choked with anger, unable to squeeze out a single word.

"Saying anything more is useless. Jinming, you're at your limit, aren't you? Prepare to die!" True Lord Luoheng launched a fierce assault toward True Lord Jinming.

Having exhausted his spiritual energy in the preceding battle, True Lord Jinming was now on the verge of complete collapse, utterly lacking the strength to block the blow.

Bang!

"Huh? Why am I completely unharmed?" A loud crash echoed through the air, but strangely, he felt no pain whatsoever.

"Uncle-Master? How is it you? Where are the Supreme Elder and the others?" Turning around, he discovered that it was his Uncle-Master, True Lord Tianxing, who had blocked the fatal strike for him.

The sight of his Uncle-Master arriving reignited a spark of hope in his heart, like embers coming back to life from the ashes.

"The Supreme Elder and the others are still being held up by those damn scoundrels. It was all I could do to break through and get here," True Lord Tianxing said with righteous indignation.

"Then what do we do?" True Lord Jinming stood stunned. If that was the case, even with True Lord Tianxing's return, it was merely a drop of water on a burning cart—the Dan Sect remained in imminent peril.

His return could not alter the sect's current predicament.

"There is only one option left: seal the mountain," True Lord Tianxing said in a deep, resolute voice.

"What? Won't that mean the Supreme Elder and the others won't be able to return?" True Lord Jinming cried out in alarm.

Once the mountain was sealed, even immortals would find it difficult to break through.

"Compared to the foundation of the Dan Sect, what is a mere fifty years? Fifty years passes in the blink of an eye, in the flash of a glance. This is the will of the Supreme Elder."

"Very well. In that case, I shall open the Grand Sect-Protecting Array." With that, a jade talisman materialized in True Lord Jinming's hand, into which he channeled a seal of vital energy.

There was a reason the three major sects held their titles, for each possessed their own trump cards for survival.

Each sect possessed a supreme defensive array. Once activated, it would seal the mountain for fifty years, making it utterly impenetrable to anyone from the outside.

Furthermore, any invading enemies would be ruthlessly exterminated by the array's power.

However, the Grand Sect-Protecting Array could only be activated once every thousand years, so it was never used unless the sect faced absolute annihilation.

"Not good! Everyone retreat! He has activated the Grand Sect-Protecting Array. If we stay any longer, we'll lose our lives!" True Lord Luoheng shouted, filled with bitter reluctance.

With the defensive array activated, all their efforts and hard work would come to naught.

"Let's go after them!" True Lord Jinming shouted, preparing to order the remaining disciples to give chase.

"Do not pursue a desperate foe. Let them go," True Lord Tianxing said, before suddenly spitting out a mouthful of fresh blood.