Volume 3 Chapter 52

Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW

Volume 3 Chapter 52: Old Grudges

Fairy mist, auspicious clouds, and the calls of cranes surround Jiuhua Mountain. The scenery is adorned with blue stones, ancient pines, and fairy cranes.

While Zhang Hualing and others were striving to break through, the scenery on Jiuhua Mountain remained enveloped in fairy mist, distant and serene. Occasionally, a few junior disciples from Jiuhua Mountain would walk together, whispering and looking relaxed.

These junior disciples of Jiuhua Mountain had no idea that their sect leader had been replaced days ago, nor did they know that their former sect leader was currently struggling in the "Nine Pole Array." They were also unaware that a group of terrifying creatures was about to attack Jiuhua Mountain.

They were joyfully unaware of any danger, not knowing if it was fortune or misfortune.

Suddenly, a deafening roar shattered the peace and harmony within Jiuhua Mountain. Under the powerful noise, the remaining disciples lost their footing and fell to the ground. Even after the roar subsided, their ears buzzed and their faces turned pale.

In their shock, they quickly looked in the direction of the sound and were even more astonished to see a black hole had appeared in the protective mist of Jiuhua Mountain’s "Nine Pole Array." Fierce winds and thunder emerged from this hole, leaving the plants and trees in chaos, and destroying much of the fairyland-like scenery.

Then, over a hundred cultivators swiftly emerged from the black hole. Although they appeared disheveled from breaking the "Nine Pole Array," their imposing presence remained. It was clear they were at least late-stage Inedia Stage cultivators. The leading ten or more elders emitted rainbow-like fairy mist, evidently masters of the Condensed Core Stage.

Could someone be attacking Jiuhua Mountain?

The remaining disciples of Jiuhua Mountain, upon seeing this scene, immediately considered this possibility. The breaking of the seemingly invincible "Nine Pole Array" shook their spirits, causing panic to spread among them.

Some disciples prepared to defend with their magical tools, some prepared to hide, while others stood bewildered, making the whole Jiuhua Mountain appear extremely chaotic.

Just then, a sharp-eyed disciple finally saw through the layers of flying ash and recognized the faces of the suddenly appearing cultivators, shouting loudly to his still-confused fellow disciples, "It’s the sect leader martial uncle, the sect leader martial uncle, and the elders and senior brothers have returned."

With this disciple’s reminder, the disciples on Jiuhua Mountain finally noticed the identities of the incoming cultivators. Due to Taoist Jiuze and Man Tian’s intervention, Zhang Hualing’s return to Jiuhua Mountain was accompanied only by the elders and nearly a hundred most elite disciples of Jiuhua Mountain. These individuals were quite renowned on Jiuhua Mountain, so the remaining disciples quickly identified them one by one.

"It really is the sect leader martial uncle, everyone, don’t panic."

"Look, that’s Elder Lu and Elder Weichi."

"Those three are Senior Brother Xu, Martial Brother Jin, and Senior Brother Lv. Huh? Why is Senior Brother Feng being carried by Senior Brother Xu? What happened to him? And where is Martial Brother Wang? Weren’t they all supposed to participate in the cultivation world’s Newcomer Competition together?"

…

Gradually, more and more disciples calmed down after recognizing the arrivals, but they remained puzzled as to why Zhang Hualing and the others didn’t enter properly and instead broke in through the formation. Observing that only a third of the returning Jiuhua cultivators made it back, although they didn’t yet know what had occurred, an ominous feeling arose in the hearts of the Jiuhua disciples.

Zhang Hualing and his companions, who had just broken through the formation, had no time to attend to the disciples’ mood below. They still could hardly believe that the mountain-protecting formation, which had been passed down for thousands of years, had been breached by them. Their hearts were filled with both excitement and sadness. They were thrilled to witness the breaking of Jiuhua Mountain’s most renowned formation but felt dejected as they were themselves disciples of Jiuhua.

At this moment, only two people on the field remained calm. One was the Master of Jiuhua, Zhang Hualing, and the other was Xu Qingfan. They had already anticipated this situation beforehand.

Now, they were already considering the next steps.

Zhang Hualing addressed the gathered cultivators, saying, "Respected elders, please take the elixirs promptly to restore your Spirit Qi. I believe Zhou Huahai and his group will arrive soon. As for the Jiuhua disciples, make sure you disperse the other disciples to prevent chaos. If anyone dares to spread alarming rumors, you have the authority to make immediate decisions!"

After speaking, Zhang Hualing swallowed a few elixirs and sat cross-legged on the cloud to meditate. Seeing him do this, the other elders followed suit, taking their elixirs and sitting cross-legged to meditate.

They all knew that Zhou Huahai wouldn’t give them any respite. After the "Nine Pole Array" was broken, he would surely attack when they were low on Spirit Qi. But the elders’ Spirit Qi was indeed severely depleted; in this state, they wouldn’t be able to face the enemy. So, they needed to recover as much as they could.

It made sense that Zhang Hualing hadn’t asked the other disciples to stay and face Zhou Huahai together. The Condensed Core Stage and Foundation Establishment Stage were entirely different levels. A great expert at the early stage of Fake Golden Core could easily defeat over ten late stage Lingji Stage fighters. The disciples wouldn’t be able to contribute to the battle against Zhou Huahai and could even be caught in the crossfire, becoming a burden. It was better to find an excuse to send them away.

More importantly, Zhang Hualing wasn’t sure if Zhou Huahai had taken control of everyone left at Jiuhua Mountain, including lower-level disciples who might, like some elders, be under Zhou Huahai’s influence. He therefore instructed the loyal Jiuhua elite disciples to keep the others in check to prevent unexpected incidents. Moreover, the power of Condensed Core Stage cultivators was immense, and these Jiuhua disciples might suffer significant casualties if caught in the fight.

Ultimately, compared to the renowned elders of the Condensed Core Stage, Zhang Hualing was more concerned with the safety of the lower-level disciples at Jiuhua Mountain. Although these elders represented much of Jiuhua Mountain’s current strength, the future of Jiuhua Mountain did not rest with them.

Clearly, the elite disciples also understood this. After hearing Zhang Hualing’s orders, they did not hesitate and, led by Xu Qingfan, Jin Qinghan, and Lv Qingshang, swiftly flew toward the Jiuhua disciples below.

Clearly, Zhou Huahai hasn’t had the chance to control the junior disciples yet, so they are completely unaware of the recent events. Moreover, the elite disciples who follow Zhang Hualing have a high reputation among the junior disciples of Jiuhua Mountain. Therefore, the junior disciples, without hesitating, quickly took control of the situation as per Xu Qingfan and his group’s arrangements.

Some of Zhou Huahai’s loyal disciples who were aware of the situation tried to take advantage but were quickly knocked unconscious by Xu Qingfan and others. Due to the urgency, some disciples couldn’t hold back their strength, causing injuries or even fatalities among Zhou Huahai’s followers. Yet the elite disciples didn’t have time to feel guilty, and hurriedly gathered other Jiuhua disciples to fly towards the mountain’s base, escaping the battleground where a conflict was about to erupt.

At the same time, Zhou Huahai arrived with his loyal elders, flying on clouds. Unlike the last meeting, Zhou Huahai was now wearing the same sect leader attire as Zhang Hualing, with a dignified expression.

Sensing Zhou Huahai’s arrival, Zhang Hualing and his group sighed inwardly, knowing Zhou Huahai would give them no breathing space as expected. They finished their meditation, stood up solemnly, and watched Zhou Huahai and his group approach.

When Zhou Huahai and his group got within thirty feet of Zhang Hualing and his companions, they all descended from their clouds and stood quietly, mirroring Zhang Hualing’s group.

"I didn’t expect you to break out of the formation so quickly," Zhou Huahai remarked with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

Zhang Hualing didn’t respond to Zhou Huahai’s words; instead, he focused intently on Xiao Huazhe beside Zhou Huahai. A trace of melancholy flashed in his eyes, and he asked slowly, "Senior Brother Xiao, are you also going to stand against me now?"

Xiao Huazhe replied mildly, "Junior Brother Zhou gave me the ‘Azure Dragon Banner’, and I couldn’t refuse it."

The "Azure Dragon Banner" is a highly advanced artifact, not inferior to the "Heavenly Mirror", and is secreted at Jiuhua Mountain. It’s renowned throughout the entire cultivation world for its mystery and power.

Zhang Hualing heard Xiao Huazhe’s words and sighed softly. When he turned to look at Zhou Huahai, his gaze turned icy cold. In truth, when he learned that Zhou Huahai had killed several elders left behind at Jiuhua to take the position of sect leader, Zhang Hualing had already severed all ties with him.

"Junior Brother Zhou, this is the last time I’ll call you that. Have you done all this just for the title of Master of Jiuhua today?"

"You’ve been the sect leader for hundreds of years, so it’s natural you can’t understand what I feel," Zhou Huahai replied coldly. "Senior Brother Zhang, this is also the last time I’ll call you that. Ever since you became sect leader, we haven’t sparred as brothers, so I don’t know if you’ve let your cultivation slow down because of your duties."

"You will soon find out." When Zhang Hualing heard Zhou Huahai’s response, the killing intent in his eyes had already gathered. Zhou Huahai’s words had extinguished Zhang Hualing’s last thought of forgiving him.

As they spoke, more than thirty Condensed Core Stage masters began to gather the vast Spirit Qi within them. Their bodies shone with bright, multicolored lights, dimming even the sun above. The pressure they generated began to clash even before they made their moves, and the Jiuhua Mountain echoed with a series of booms. Dust and stones flew beneath the elders’ feet.

A rare chaotic battle among Condensed Core Stage masters in the cultivation world was about to explode.

…

Meanwhile, on another side, Xu Qingfan saw that the chaotic lower disciples of Jiuhua Mountain had stabilized under his and others’ control. Overcome by urgency, he entrusted everything to Jin Qinghan and the others and swiftly flew towards his cave abode in the back mountain.

In this Jiuhua crisis, Xu Qingfan was most worried about the safety of Ting’er, whom he had left in the back mountain. He didn’t know if Zhou Huahai had done anything to him.

But Xu Qingfan didn’t know that an enemy who had harbored a grudge against him for decades was now waiting for him in his former hideout. Unlike the chaotic battle among the elders in the front mountain, an equally intense but less grandiose battle was about to unfold in the back mountain.