Chapter 346

Chapter 346: The Great War Begins

Fang Lie hadn’t actually intended to rescue those from Great Thunder Sound Temple and East Kunlun. He simply knew Buddhist defenses were formidable, and Buddha Mountain—a fortress reinforced over countless millennia by high monks and powerful beings—would hold against evil forces even at their strongest. Once the Lost Forest reopened, both major sects would escape naturally.

Thus, rather than let them remain unharmed, Fang Lie chose to eliminate True Young Master outright. Revenge was one motive—the brat had killed him during their last encounter. More importantly, Fang Lie grew suspicious.

Elite disciples like True Young Master, a Heavenly Dao favored child, never entered the perilous Lost Forest where death meant permanent demise. Yet he’d defied convention, signaling hidden schemes. Mo Qianxun and Huo Wufang had even warned Fang Lie of potential ambushes by rival sects here. How could he not stay vigilant?

Fang Lie guessed the brat carried something like The Puppet That Dies in Place Divine Lightning to target him. Better to strike first than let the trap spring in the forest!

Acting on this impulse, Fang Lie blasted True Young Master without hesitation.

This move, however, enraged the young master’s protector. Failing to shield his charge twice had shattered the man’s dignity. His only redemption lay in killing Fang Lie. Spotting the Earth’s Magnetic Force Warship, he roared and steered his White Bone warship toward it, bellowing, "Focus on Mo Sect’s Fang Lie! He’s enemies with Great Thunder Sound Temple and East Kunlun—no allies here! Three against one!"

The cold-faced youth atop the blood palace smirked. "I’ve loathed that whelp since his father slaughtered Blood Sea Sect disciples. Today, we’ll end his bloodline!" He directed the blood palace to ram Fang Lie’s vessel.

From the Netherworld Ghost Fire, another voice cackled, "That fool dared sell a Sixth-rank Netherworld Ghost Fire—spitting on our sect! Tear him apart! The rewards will be immense!" The ghostly flames surged toward the Earth’s Magnetic Force Warship.

Trapped between three forces, Fang Lie faced dire odds.

Master Fa Yin frowned, turning to Wu Liangzi. "Shouldn’t we aid him? He acted to save us."

Wu Liangzi sighed, replying via mental transmission, "I’m merely the figurehead leader. The true authority forbids intervention."

Before Fa Yin could react, a voice whispered in his ear: "Observe. Let the dogs maul each other."

Fa Yin paled—it was Jie Yan Chan Master, Bai Lian Chan Master’s third disciple, a mid-stage Fire Tribulation cultivator who’d suppressed his cultivation to Golden Pool realm to enter the forest. Only Fa Yin knew his true identity.

Bound by hierarchy, Fa Yin halted Buddha Mountain’s activation, signaling others to cease channeling magic. To Wu Liangzi, he transmitted, "Same orders here. We’re to stay put."

Wu Liangzi chuckled bitterly. "Seems we’re twin fools in misfortune."

"What do you mean by that?" Master Fa Yin asked in confusion. "We’re just following orders; how could we be in trouble?"

"You don’t understand. Fang Lie is not an easy opponent. He came to save us and ended up being surrounded and attacked by the three major Demonic Sects. Meanwhile, we sat back and did nothing, earning ourselves a bad reputation for being heartless and ungrateful. With his temper, he will surely spread the word. For the sake of harmony among the righteous sects, both of us will likely become scapegoats for this situation!"

"Ah~" Master Fa Yin sighed and said, "It truly seems like that. It’s a pity that our clean reputation will go to waste!"

"Fortunately, it’s just our reputation that suffers; we won’t face severe punishment from the sect. We just have to endure this and move on!" Wu Liangzi said with a long sigh.

While they were speaking, another battle officially began nearby. The first to arrive in front of Fang Lie was the imposing White Bone warship. True Young Master’s protector was almost going mad, acting as if it was a life-or-death struggle. The White Bone warship was completely surrounded by an overwhelming aura of hatred, forming a black cloud that charged toward the Earth’s Magnetic Force Warship.

However, its intention was not to collide but to use the hatred to taint the Earth’s Magnetic Force Warship, causing it damage.

But just as the black cloud was about to hit the Earth’s Magnetic Force Warship, the ship, which had been completely still and calm until now, suddenly erupted with a terrifying white light, reminiscent of the sun.

The concentrated earth’s magnetic force burst forth like a storm, rushing toward the cloud of hatred. Since the hatred belonged to the Yin aspect of Yin-Yang and Five Elements power, it was perfectly restrained by the earth’s magnetic force. Moreover, the earth’s magnetic force on the warship was amplified by the covering of Earth’s Magnetic True Gold, becoming extremely terrifying. Consequently, the clash between the white light and black cloud created a completely one-sided situation.

Wherever the white light passed, the black cloud began to dissipate in large swathes, with countless grievances screaming as they vanished into nothingness in the Divine Earth’s Magnetic Force Light.

The Divine Earth’s Magnetic Force Light pushed forward not only scattering the black cloud but also illuminating the White Bone treasure ship. Instantly, the outer skeletons of the White Bone treasure ship began to be purified, and all the hidden hatred was eliminated, leading to immense damage to the skeleton, which began to disintegrate visibly.

In a short span of time, the front section of the White Bone warship had been washed clean by the Divine Earth’s Magnetic Force Light, suffering massive losses to its outer skeleton. The entire front of the ship sustained severe damage; various Formations were destroyed, and even the sturdy body of the warship began to crack.

Seeing this terrifying scene, the protector was astounded, unable to hold back his exclamation: "Divine Earth’s Magnetic Force Light? How can it be so powerful? Damn it, it’s an Eighth-rank warship; we’ve been fooled!"

It turned out that Fang Lie had long known that the Divine Earth’s Magnetic Force Light restrained the hatred of the White Bone warship. So when he approached, he kept the ship flying normally, not activating any Divine Earth’s Magnetic Force Light.

In its inactive state, the warship only appeared beautiful. Judging by its appearance alone, only true experts could discern its attributes and relative strength.

Unfortunately, the Fire Tribulation Immortal from the White Bone Sect clearly wasn’t good at mechanical arts and couldn’t see through the opponent’s facade.

As a result, they crashed into it and ended up suffering the consequences. The Seventh-rank warship and the Eighth-rank warship were two completely different concepts, especially when one was under a disadvantage. There was no way they stood a chance.

Seeing that things were going badly, the protector quickly ordered, "Turn around; hurry and run!"

But it was all too late. Fang Lie intentionally feigned weakness to draw the enemy in and then annihilate them. Now that the White Bone warship was almost right next to the Earth’s Magnetic Force Warship, how could Fang Lie let them escape easily?

Without any hesitation, Fang Lie shouted, "Activate the Earth’s Magnetic Divine Light Towers and bind this broken toy!"

With Fang Lie’s command, thirty-six Earth’s Magnetic Divine Light Towers started to operate simultaneously, each Stone Orb emitting a beam of Divine Light, thick as a span and thousands of feet long.

These Divine Lights were composed of pure earth’s magnetic force, which not only restrained the Yin-Yang and Five Elements but also had the added feature of being able to bend freely, like a multitude of gigantic tentacles under the influence of the Formation.

Since Fang Lie’s command was to capture, the thirty-six massive tentacles surged forward, firmly binding the White Bone warship.

Given that the White Bone warship was much smaller than the Earth’s Magnetic Force Warship, it was roughly one-third its size.

From a distance, the scene looked like a giant octopus had captured its prey with its tentacles. No matter how the White Bone warship struggled, it couldn’t escape the bindings of the Divine Earth’s Magnetic Force Light.

At the same time, the puppets aboard the Earth’s Magnetic Force Warship also went into action. They raised their arms high, and beams of Divine Earth’s Magnetic Force Light formed from their hands, crashing down onto the White Bone warship.

Countless earth’s magnetic force puppets unleashed a frenzied assault, and the White Bone warship soon could not hold up against it. The outer layer of the cloud of hatred almost entirely dissipated, and even the body of the White Bone warship suffered serious damage.

The hidden disciples from the White Bone Sect within the ship were frightened. Realizing the dire situation, they frantically fled from the White Bone warship, only to be met with countless beams of Divine Earth’s Magnetic Force Light!

The unfortunate disciples of the White Bone Sect were thus burned alive within the Divine Earth’s Magnetic Force Light.

These scoundrels were all elite members of the sect, originally thinking they could profit in the Lost Forest while killing some Righteous Cultivators for a feast. However, they unexpectedly died before entering the Lost Forest, all killed by Fang Lie.