Chapter 268: The Sun Falls, Incinerating All (II)

For a moment, not a single person dared to step forward.

This Dan Chenzi... was he truly exhausted and powerless?

His spirit power surged, full and unwavering, as if he had never expended an ounce of power. The chilling fiend qi around him carried an unmistakable ruthlessness—one wrong word, and blood would be spilled.

Even the Panshan Fort cultivators, who had just moments ago stood beside Fang Chengshan, shuddered in fear, too stunned to retrieve their leader’s corpse.

Luo Chen ignored them and ascended into the sky. With a flick of his hand, a charred scroll drifted toward Nangong Jin, floating before him with an eerie stillness.

“I have completed the task.

“No, no, let’s just call it a pleasant collaboration!” Nangong Jin’s eyes gleamed with excitement, his hands carefully receiving the scroll as if it were a sacred relic.

Beside him, Nangong Qin swallowed hard.

An enchanted treasure, the Zeguo Gui Diagram!

Luo Chen shifted his gaze away. This enchanted treasure was the very condition that had sealed his alliance with Nangong Jin.

For this reason, the two had even sworn a Great Dao oath. Ordinary rogue cultivators might not care for a Great Dao oath, but Nangong Jin was different. At only one hundred and fifty years old, he was still considered young in the cultivation world, with a chance of reaching the Golden Core Realm. For him, such an oath mattered. This alliance of theirs was solid!

After receiving the scroll, Nangong Jin nodded at Luo Chen. "I’ve already negotiated with Elder Zhou of the Lianyun Trade Alliance. As for Dajiang Gang..."

Luo Chen nodded as well. "I’ll allow him a share in the Jade Essence pill business."

"Alright, with that promise, he’ll back off.

“Well then, I’ll be taking my leave,” Nangong Jin cupped his hands in farewell.

"Safe travels, senior. I won’t be seeing you off."

Before leaving, Nangong Qin turned back to look at Luo Chen, still finding it hard to believe what had just transpired.

Luo Chen merely smiled and nodded, his gaze already shifting to the distant streaks of light lingering in the sky.

As Nangong Jin approached, those streaks of light quickly vanished.

Their collaboration was primarily focused on handling the aftermath. This responsibility fell on Nangong Jin, who would negotiate with the Foundation Establishment cultivators.

The reason Nangong Jin had agreed to this partnership, aside from the Nangong family’s weakness and dire need for allies, was that Luo Chen had promised to supply them with top-grade Jade Essence pills.

Yes, top-grade Jade Essence pills!

The Nangong family was in urgent need of a large supply of alchemical pills to enhance their family’s strength.

Unlike standard Jade Essence pills, the top-grade version had no risk of dantian calcification, and its medicinal potency rivaled that of qi-nourishing pills. And yet, its price was significantly lower. This was precisely what convinced them to cooperate.

"The pressure from the Foundation Establishment cultivators has finally passed.

"Beyond Luo Tian Society’s strength and the battle prowess of Wang Yuan and myself, in the end, it was the allure of benefits that won them over."

The final step had been the easiest to accomplish but also the most crucial.

However, without the groundwork that had been laid beforehand, it would have been impossible. Because without it, Luo Chen would have had no right to even sit at that negotiation table as an equal.

Lowering his gaze, he looked at the lingering rogue cultivators who refused to leave.

Luo Chen laughed, his expression turning somewhat ferocious. “Do you all truly wish for me to see you off?”

As he spoke, he flicked his fingers toward the base of Xiao Huan Mountain. There, several cultivators had dared to cross the forbidden line he had drawn hoping to sneak up the mountain in search of fortune.

In the darkness of night, a series of agonized screams erupted, accompanied by violent explosions. The lingering rogue cultivators who had been reluctant to leave finally departed unwillingly, their greed forcefully suppressed by terror.

Once they were gone, Liu Qiang hurried over. “Mission accomplished. We’ve planted a large quantity of jade essence waste beads along every mountain path.”

“Mm, you’ve done well. Don’t head up the mountain tonight. Stay here with your men and guard the area.” Luo Chen instructed.

The men he referred to were not the exhausted Luo Tian Society cultivators who had just fought a grueling battle. Instead, they were the early and mid stage Qi-Refining cultivators stationed at Crescent Moon Valley. Now that victory was secured, they would soon receive the signal and arrive as reinforcements.

Liu Qiang nodded solemnly, watching Luo Chen ascend the mountain on his cloud. His gaze shone with deep admiration.

The president, he had truly done it! He had led the Luo Tian Society to annihilate a Foundation Establishment Family!

This had never before happened in the history of Dahe Market!

***

After a night of fierce battle, the sky gradually brightened.

The once terrifying sea of fire had diminished significantly, yet at its core, the flames still burned fiercely.

Luo Chen halted his steps outside the massive crater before him, which spanned a hundred meters in diameter and stood over ten meters deep.

The flames had yet to be extinguished. The spring rain falling from the sky evaporated upon contact, enshrouding the area in a dense mist. A flicker of spirit light flashed as his keen eyes peered deep into the bottom of the crater.

Luo Chen pressed his lips together, his expression fluctuating between uncertainty and contemplation.

In the end, he shook his head. He chose not to disturb Wang Yuan.

Picking up the supreme-grade enchanted artifact, the Heluo Blade, Luo Chen strode toward the mountainside. Because of this, the battlefield had been split into two distinct sections. One located in the lower part of Xiao Huan Mountain, and the other at the mountainside, where the Duan family had resided for generations.

As Luo Chen advanced, figures began to gather around him.

“Are you alright?”

Cough cough.

“President, I’m fine,” someone responded.

“And you?”

“I almost died, but thanks to the Blood-Burning pill that you refined, I managed to survive.”

“Zeng Wen, you look absolutely miserable!”

“How could I not? The enemy fought to the death.”

Gradually, Luo Chen’s words became fewer because the number of survivors gathering was far lower than he had anticipated.

The casualties were far greater than expected!

Halting before the twelve massive pillars, Luo Chen turned his head.

Sima Huiniang stood respectfully behind him, flanked by her two brothers, Sima Xian and Sima Wenjie.

“Go and tally the casualties, and inventory the spoils of war. I want all the reports in my hands within three days.”

Sima Huiniang responded with a nod and, along with the recently arrived Murong Qinglian, turned to leave. As for the others, under the guidance of Gu Caiyi and Granny Yuan, they sought places to rest and recover from their wounds.

“President, Duan Feng is missing,” As the crowd dispersed, Feng Xia rushed forward in a panic.

Luo Chen shook his head. “No rush.”

After such a long night, life and death had already been decided.

From the very beginning, in Luo Chen and Nangong Jin’s plan, this battle had always been one-sided. There was no rebellion against a superior force, no miraculous reversal against the Duan family.

This was simply Luo Tian Society's extermination of the Duan family.

With a second-tier Explosive Ape, Wang Yuan, Nangong Jin, and himself on their side. They had utterly overwhelmed Duan Qiankun in terms of elite strength and in the lower ranks, the Duan family had no advantage either. That much was evident of Luo Tian Society's ten late stage Qi-Refining cultivators, not a single one had perished.

However, with the Duan family fighting on home ground, their desperate counterattack had still cost Luo Tian Society many brothers. That was why Luo Chen’s mood had grown increasingly somber.

Feng Xia suppressed her anxiety and stepped aside.

Luo Chen gazed at the canopy swirling in the sky, the source of the twelve radiant pillars. He hadn’t expected the supreme-grade Cosmos Shield to continue functioning even without an active controller.

Then again, it made sense. Duan Qiankun wasn’t dead yet.

Luo Chen parted his lips, and a sword orb shot forth.

In an instant, it transformed into a longsword, he struck the Cosmos Shield with a decisive slash.

Clang!

The Cosmos Shield trembled violently. At the same time, an enraged roar erupted from within.

Taking advantage of the attack from both inside and outside, the Explosive Ape forcibly squeezed its way out.

Luo Chen caught the now-shrunken Cosmos Shield in one hand and looked down at the ape.

Roar!!

The Explosive Ape thumped its chest repeatedly, letting out furious roars.

"Little Red, shut up!" Luo Chen shouted.

Only then did Little Red reluctantly cease its roaring. Without ordering it to shrink, Luo Chen stepped onto its shoulder, following an invisible sensation leading him deeper into Xiao Huan Mountain.

Feng Xia followed closely behind, her expression tense. Before long, the two of them, along with the ape, arrived at a place shrouded in thick white mist.

This should be the Duan family's forbidden grounds, where the Ice-Fire Spirit Spring is located,

Luo Chen murmured.

I didn’t expect it to be at the mountain peak rather than at the base.

As he muttered to himself, Luo Chen’s eyes flickered with thought.

The formation guarding the forbidden area lacked any real defensive capabilities. After all, it was deep within Xiao Huan Mountain. With the Seven Absolutes Annihilation Array outside and numerous Duan family cultivators standing guard within, the need for an additional defensive barrier was minimal. If an enemy had managed to break through to this place, no amount of defense would save them; they would merely be awaiting their doom.

Instead, this formation served the purposes of concealment and misdirection. An ordinary person without the proper method would simply lose their way within.

For Luo Chen, however, it posed no hindrance. With his Spirit Eyes glowing, he skillfully bypassed every disorienting and lethal formation, eventually arriving before a thatched hut. His eyes swept over the ground, quickly taking in the sight of two people lying motionless.

"Duan Feng!" Feng Xia let out a sorrowful cry, her face paling as she rushed forward without hesitation.

Luo Chen didn’t stop her. Instead, he reached out his hand.

A large blue banner lying beside Duan Feng flew into his grasp.

"The techniques I left on it are gone... It looks like Duan Feng truly gave everything he had."

This banner was none other than Luo Chen’s supreme-grade enchanted artifact—the Blue Musk Gathering Serpent Banner.

Before the battle, Luo Chen had meticulously prepared everything, especially for Duan Feng. Since Duan Feng was familiar with the Duan family’s stronghold, his survival was crucial to the plan.

Luo Chen knew that Duan Feng had once raised a spirit beast, a Yangwu Chicken, and had some rudimentary knowledge of beast taming. Thus, he had entrusted Little Red to Duan Feng.

With the Spirit Enslavement suppressing it, Duan Feng could temporarily command the second-tier Explosive Ape. Moreover, Duan Feng was skilled in artifact forging and had his own insights into wielding enchanted artifacts. Therefore, Luo Chen had lent him the Blue Musk Gathering Serpent Banner, which he himself wasn’t using.

During that time, Luo Chen had personally instructed Duan Feng on how to wield the banner and had even expended great effort to imbue it with a technique that could summon three wood-element Azure Serpents.

Now, it seemed Duan Feng had indeed fulfilled his assigned task to perfection.

"President, Duan Feng, he..."

"He’s not dead yet just severely injured. Give him this," Luo Chen instructed, handing over several bottles of pills.

He then cast multiple healing techniques over Duan Feng’s body, temporarily stabilizing his injuries. Only then did Luo Chen shift his gaze to the thatched hut.

As for Duan Rui’s corpse lying on the ground, he didn’t spare it a single glance. Despite reaching Perfected Mastery, Duan Rui had been nothing more than a sheltered cultivator, raised under the constant protection and indulgence of a Foundation Establishment expert.

His realm surpassed many, but his battle prowess was nonexistent. Duan Feng had managed to kill him was not surprising.

Taking a deep breath, Luo Chen pushed open the door. In an instant, two diametrically opposed currents of energy surged toward him.

Luo Chen remained unfazed, his spirit vision locking onto the center of the hut.

The Ice-Fire Spirit Spring lay before him in all its brilliance!