Chapter 180: A Touch of Crimson on the Sword's Tip

The Lancang River surged westward, its vast waters rolling with unrelenting force. Along its course, small streams and rivulets merged into its mighty flow, while other tributaries branched off, cascading into deep ravines and treacherous pits.

Yinma Ford was one such tributary of the Lancang River. With its flat terrain and lush, verdant grasslands, it had long been the designated pastureland of the Li family, a local Foundation Establishment family known for breeding dragon-horses. Though not explicitly fenced off, most rogue cultivators in Dahe Market knew well that this land belonged to the Li family and rarely trespassed.

But today, Yinma Ford was stained crimson with blood. Mutilated corpses floated in the shallow waters, some sinking beneath the current, others caught on the muddy banks. The air reeked of blood, and the silence was only broken by the excited murmurs of cultivators in enchanted robes as they eagerly looted the dead.

“Damn, these guys were loaded!”

A young cultivator whistled low as he rummaged through a bloodstained storage pouch, eyes gleaming at the spirit stones and talismans he uncovered.

Another nearby chuckled, his voice tinged with envy. “Yeah, can you believe it? The Mi family hasn’t even been around for a hundred years, and their people are richer than those from our Li family and we’ve got a three-hundred-year legacy. A mere seventh-stage Qi-Refining cultivator walking around with a storage pouch? That says everything you need to know about how much wealth Mi Shuhua’s hoarded through the Poshan Gang.”

He spat to the side, expression hardening as the clang of distant fighting echoed through the trees.

“After this battle,” he said with finality, “Poshan Gang’s name will be etched in Dahe Market’s history... as the seventh rogue faction to be wiped out.”

One cultivator suddenly laughed. "Haha, I heard the Beast Hall of Poshan Gang will belong to our Li family from now on?"

"Shh! Where’d you hear that? Don’t spread rumors carelessly!"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. By the way, where’s Brother Li Ao? Haven’t seen him."

"One of those Mi family bastards managed to escape. Brother Li Ao probably felt humiliated and went after him personally!"

The last rays of sunlight slipped beyond the horizon, swallowed by a blanket of heavy evening mist. Deep within the dense forest, darkness took hold, thick, absolute, and unforgiving. No light could penetrate its depths, and the damp air was heavy with the scent of earth, rot, and blood.

A lone figure stumbled through the undergrowth, his steps erratic, his direction aimless. He moved not with purpose, but with desperation and driven by the singular instinct to survive.

Escape... I must survive...

Father is still waiting for me... Junping is still waiting for me...

Sikong Yuanhong was barely conscious, his body riddled with wounds, large and small. Blood soaked his tattered robes, painting a grotesque trail behind him. The broken twigs and upturned earth, the pungent scent of fresh blood, all of it marked his path like a beacon for his pursuers.

A group of cultivators stood at a distance, hesitating. One among them young, dressed in spotless robes that hadn’t seen a speck of dust stood atop a towering tree, his gaze sweeping across the dark wilderness.

The wind rustled his robes as Li Ao narrowed his eyes.

"Jueyun Mountain! I’d best not follow him in."

Li Ao recalled the Grand Elder’s warning, though the beast tide in Ancient Plains had yet to subside, there were a few places absolutely off-limits.

One of those places was Jueyun Mountain.

"Of all places, you just had to run into Jueyun Mountain.

“Of all places, you just had to run into Jueyun Mountain,” Li Ao muttered to himself with a cold smirk. “Do you even realize? That place is crawling with demonic beasts... and the second-tier Bloodthirst Crocodile nests there.

"Oh well, in your current state, you’re as good as dead anyway. Consider this my final farewell gift."

Li Ao sneered coldly, turned around, and left without hesitation. His task was done, and so was the Li family’s.

With this battle, the backbone of the Mi family had been completely shattered.

One could say that this rising Foundation Establishment family had had its spine crushed. No matter how capable Mi Shuhua was, the Mi family would not be able to rise again for at least a century.

If the plan proceeded as intended and the Poshan Gang was divided up, Mi Shuhua would be nothing more than a lone man without allies.

As he departed, silence returned to the forest’s edge.

A long while later, low growls and piercing roars echoed from within Jueyun Mountain, filled with primal savagery.

***

"Total annihilation! Impossible!" Mi Junping collapsed into her seat, her face drained of color.

Beside her, Mi Zifan stood stiff as a statue, a flicker of fear creeping into his eyes. Had he been the one leading the reinforcements to Crescent Moon Valley... he would be among the dead now.

"Grandfather...

“What do you want to say?” Mi Shuhua cast a single glance his way, and the icy gaze nearly made Mi Zifan cough up blood. It was the unintentional pressure exuded by his spirit consciousness.

Mi Zifan quickly lowered his head, but in that brief moment, he caught a glimpse of something terrifying.

"Has Qin Liangchen left the city?" A voice broke the silence.

Mi Zifan, keeping his head lowered, respectfully replied, "Yes. The moment I informed him of the attack on Crescent Moon Valley, he left immediately without any delay."

“But that...” Mi Shuhua said coldly, “...is still not enough.”

Mi Zifan shuddered involuntarily, feeling the weight of that gaze upon him.

Thud!

Mi Zifan dropped to his knees. "Grandfather, we've already lost too many gang members for Crescent Moon Valley, for Luo Chen. It’s not worth it!"

Useless!

Mi Shuhua inhaled slowly, as though trying to dispel his disgust. He didn’t even bother responding. He didn’t need to.

Surely,

he thought grimly,

they don’t expect me to act personally.

So far, neither Dajiang Gang nor Lianyun Trade Alliance had sent out their Foundation Establishment cultivators.

There was still an unspoken agreement between all factions which was to not escalate beyond the lower ranks. But if he acted first, that delicate balance would shatter instantly.

The Dajiang Gang was not the real threat. It was Lianyun Trade Alliance’s strength that he couldn’t afford to provoke.

"Ping’er, what’s the situation with the other halls?"

Mi Junping lifted her head blankly and answered absentmindedly, "The Main Hall has withdrawn into its defensive array. Right now, it can only protect itself.

"Battle Hall is gone. Yang Wei was already gravely injured, he won’t make it.

"No word yet from Zeng Wen’s side.

"Qiu Wu fled. The entire Battle Hall surrendered and was absorbed by the Dajiang Gang.

"No updates from Beast Hall.

"No updates from Mining Hall either.

"Water-Dragon Hall..." She hesitated, then continued, "Lancang Dock has been nearly destroyed. Wang Yuan and... Xu Renke! Yes, Xu Renke!"

Mi Junping suddenly remembered something and cursed angrily, "Xu Renke isn’t dead! He deliberately lost to Gao Tingyuan back then. That traitorous bastard, once we catch him, we must punish him severely!"

Mi Shuhua ignored her outburst, his voice cutting through the air like a blade. "I asked you—what happened to Wang Yuan?"

Mi Shuhua’s voice was chilling, each word dripping with menace, as if it came from the depths of the underworld.

Mi Junping shuddered and quickly reported, "According to our secret communications, Wang Yuan killed two ninth stage Qi-Refining experts. Then, he and Xu Renke perished together in the Lancang River. Their bodies have yet to be found."

After hearing all these reports, Mi Shuhua felt an icy chill seep into his very core.

How could the vast Poshan Gang suddenly be left without anyone to use? He had nurtured so many talents, each capable of standing on their own.

Mi Shuhua took out his sound-transmission jade token, his expression grim. The spirit light flickering on its surface had reached a frantic, desperate pace.

Dajiang Gang has launched an attack, using spells to bombard the Earth Guardian Array five times.

Dajiang Gang has launched a second attack. The Earth Guardian Array is on the verge of collapse.

Spirit stone reserves can only sustain seven more attacks. Requesting the Gang Leader’s assistance!

Ninth stage Qi-Refining cultivators have joined the battle—Shan Xiu and Fuzhang. Reporting to the Gang Leader, the Fu family is also involved in this conflict.

Each message struck like a rolling death knell.

Mi Shuhua clenched the jade token tightly, his knuckles white. He stood there for a long time before slowly rising to his feet.

A heavy sigh escaped his lips. "It seems I have no choice but to act personally."

As he walked step by step toward the exit of the Mi family estate, Mi Junping and Mi Zifan hurriedly stood up behind him, eyes once again filled with hope.

As long as Father or Grandfather stepped in, there was nothing in Dahe Market that couldn't be resolved.

It had always been this way for so many years.

***

High above, a streak of radiant light pierced through the dark clouds, streaking across the sky at breakneck speed, heading straight for Crescent Moon Valley.

Mi Shuhua soared through the air, the wind howling past him, but his mind was far noisier.

A Foundation Establishment cultivator intervening in a Qi-Refining Realm conflict was a blatant violation of Dahe Market’s unspoken rules.

But this was no ordinary battle.

Luo Chen could not be lost. His alchemy skills were far too valuable! This wasn’t just about spirit stones, this was about future cultivation resources, power, influence, and even his own path to the Golden Core Realm.

So be it! Breaking the rules was a small price to pay!

He would first secure Luo Chen, then seek out Miao Wen of the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect to mediate the situation.

Suddenly, Mi Shuhua’s figure came to an abrupt halt mid-air.

He hovered motionless in the night sky, his plump, round face trembling violently.

His expression shifted with rapid unease, and his pupils shrank into sharp pinpricks.

Something's wrong!

Encircling without attacking, baiting reinforcements while spreading conflict across multiple fronts, yet leaving Crescent Moon Valley untouched... This is a classic strategy to lure the enemy into a trap!

Their target isn’t Luo Chen. It isn't the Poshan Gang. It’s me!

This entire slaughter is orchestrated for me!

Without hesitation, he reversed direction and flew at full speed in the opposite direction. Not only that, but he also swiftly pulled out two jade tokens and injected his spirit consciousness into them.

Like a storm sweeping across the land, a golden-purple flying wheel surged around him. In a blink, he vanished without a trace—Luo Chen? Poshan Gang? They were long discarded from his thoughts.

Within moments, he was back at the Mi family estate.

Beneath the night sky, the remaining Mi family members had already lit their lanterns, their warm glow casting long shadows across the ancestral grounds.

Beneath the dazzling glow of the lanterns, Mi Shuhua let out a deep breath.

As long as he remained here, relying on the second tier formation he had set up in his early years, along with his enchanted treasures, even multiple Foundation Establishment cultivators would pose no threat to him.

The Fu, Li, and Chen families have all joined the assault on the Poshan Gang. That means the Duan and Nangong families won’t be far behind.

Let them have their moment of triumph! Once I recover, what is mine will be mine again!

With his guard lowered, Mi Shuhua muttered to himself, taking his first step toward his family estate.

But in the next instant, his spirit consciousness flared wildly, and his mind was shaken to its core.

Without hesitation, he forcefully shifted his body hundreds of meters sideways, barely avoiding the unknown threat.

At the spot where he had stood just moments ago, something began to take form—a faint silhouette of a sword tip, emerging from the void.

At the very tip of the blade, a smear of crimson.

A sigh drifted from within the lantern-lit estate. "Old friend, forgive me."