Zhang Shishi, Mo Guining, Mo Jianxin, Qin Weiyu, Ming Jiu, Yu Jing, Pan Rong, Shen Chang, Wei Minniang—and Qi Xiu himself.
Ten people exactly.
Like fate had a sick sense of humor and decided to run the numbers again.
Qi Xiu swept his gaze over them, taking in every weathered face, every mismatched robe, every set of eyes that had seen too much for their age.
He raised his voice, clear and steady.
“Years ago we followed the Wei family to attack Mount Capital. That day cost us two brothers. Heavy price. But the foundation of Immortal Forest Hollow? We carved it out of that fight. Every bite of food on your table, every spirit stone in your pocket—you can trace it back to spoils taken that day.
These years I’ve learned the hard truth: in the White Mountains, nothing falls from the sky. You don’t bleed for it, you get nothing. You end up with dust and regrets.
Now war’s co knocking again. I’m not here to feed you pretty speeches. Just this: fight with everything you’ve got. For Chu Qin. For the kids and grandkids waiting back ho. Carve out a future worth having.”
“Yes! Long live Chu Qin! Chu Qin must win!”
Zhang Shishi was first, voice cracking like thunder as he snapped the deep-crimson Chu Qin banner—issued by Zhao Liangde all those years ago—through the air with vicious sweeps.
The rest answered in a ragged, fierce chorus that rolled up into the clouds.
No more handouts from the sect these days. Just the stingy monthly stipend and a gaggle of family dependents to feed.
This ti, every single one of them slled blood money on the wind.
The hunger in their eyes was starting to look a lot like the rest of the White Mountain cultivators.
“Good. Move out.”
Qi Xiu felt the tide of their resolve and let a flicker of real satisfaction show on his face.
He stepped aboard the Wei family’s beast ship first.
The other nine filed in behind him.
The Wei crew on deck took one look at the ten crimson-robed figures, the banner snapping like a live thing in the wind, the sharp killing intent rolling off them in waves—and quietly revised their opinion upward.
“Wait!”
A streak of white shot in from the horizon.
Bai Muhan landed lightly on the deck, lips curved in a wry smile.
“Sothing this big and you didn’t even tell ?”
Wei Minniang hurried forward, catching her arm.
“You—how did you even get here? What about little Zhan Chou?”
Ti had only traced the faintest crow’s feet at the corners of Bai Muhan’s eyes.
Otherwise she looked exactly like the woman who’d stood unflinching in Naless Valley all those years ago—crisp, capable, dangerous when she needed to be.
“I left him with Father. I’ve spent ten years in Black River Market raising him with Yuan Zhan. Now it’s his turn to watch his grandson for a few days. Maybe it’ll finally drag the old man out of the scripture vault. He’s starting to look like a mole.”
Yuan Zhan was gone.
She was newly widowed, with a posthumous son.
No one had asked her to co.
Yet here she was.
Qi Xiu t her eyes and gave a small nod.
“You’re here.”
“Yes.”
She dipped in a light, formal bow.
“A matter this important—I want to do my part. For both of us. Yuan Zhan never forgave himself for not being at Naless Valley. And I…”
Her voice cracked.
Wei Minniang reached over, gentle, stroking her arm in silent comfort.
Qi Xiu swallowed the sudden tightness in his throat.
Yuan Zhan’s absence hit like a dull blade.
But Bai Muhan’s mind was quick, her decisions steady under pressure.
She was born for this.
“Since you’re here, sa as always. You call the shots. Everyone—including —follows your orders.”
The beast ship surged eastward, joining the main Wei force.
Without the Beast Taming Sect’s support this ti, the montum felt thinner.
Only twenty-odd second-tier beast ships of various makes, Wei Tong’s flying flood-dragon leading the pack, cutting through the sky like a spear.
“This target is the Heaven’s Draw Sect. A little hanger-on of the Artifact Talisman Alliance. Four Foundation Establishnt cultivators at most. Sa as when we cleaned out the old Mount Capital Sect. Easy pickings. No need to tense up.”
A Wei Foundation Establishnt cultivator stood on the deck of their ship, scanning the Chu Qin group with cold eyes before laying out the objective.
Exactly as Qi Xiu had guessed.
The Weis were killing the chicken to scare the monkeys—and they’d picked a target that wouldn’t drag the entire Artifact Talisman Alliance into a real war.
Heaven’s Draw was only a vassal, not a full mber.
Bad luck for them.
“Wei Tong! You’ve got so nerve, raiding inside Artifact Talisman territory!”
An elderly Golden Core cultivator hovered in midair, shouting abuse at the lead flood-dragon.
The rest of the Alliance’s Golden Cores had been dragged off to the depths of the White Mountains by Vast Assembly’s Nascent Soul ancestor, still hunting the Blood Shadow heretic.
Only this one remained behind on house duty.
The Weis had tid their strike perfectly.
Wei Xuan leaped forward, facing him across the distance, aura unflinching.
“Heaven’s Draw brought this on itself. Anyone not involved—get out of the way. Don’t bla when blades don’t care who they cut. Your Alliance let your dogs run wild, bullying the weak. Last ti you even dared slander my Wei family and force a search of our mountain. That humiliation still burns. If you insist on sticking your neck out today, then let’s settle it once and for all.”
“Pah! If we hadn’t gone easy on you last ti, your whole clan would be fertilizer by now! Don’t think you can refuse the toast and then complain when we pour the punishnt wine. Sure, our Golden Cores are away—but they’ll be back. And when they are, you’ll see. You, Wei Xuan? What are you? A stray dog that ran to the White Mountains with its tail between its legs, barking loud to hide how scared you are?”
The Artifact Talisman Golden Core didn’t back down an inch.
Both sides had already torn the mask off.
No point in mincing words.
“Hmph. Pack of rabid mutts. Co on then. Let , Yu He, have a taste of you.”
A figure shot up from the dragon’s back—high Daoist crown, flowing robes, aura like mountain frost.
Yu He.
“You—”
The Artifact Talisman Golden Core’s montum collapsed the mont he saw the face.
His tone turned almost ingratiating.
“Fellow Daoist Yu He, last ti was our mistake. We admitted it. We apologized. Why are you still mixing with the Weis, making things difficult for us?”
The sudden shift from arrogance to deference drew roaring laughter from every Wei beast ship.
Inside the Heaven’s Draw mountain gate, the defenders’ faces drained of color.
They knew.
This was bad.
“Hmph. Last ti I rely attended a banquet, and you spread rumors I was stealing infants. This ti I’ll help the Weis fight a proper battle. Let’s see what story you spin next. Are you going to fight, or are you going to crawl away?”
Yu He wasn’t letting it go.
He’d been dragged into this slander out of nowhere, hauled across the White Mountains on false accusations.
He was furious.
Wei Xuan had given him the perfect chance to vent—and to send a ssage.
“Uh…”
The Artifact Talisman elder glanced around desperately.
Fight Yu He?
Absolutely not.
One—he’d lose.
Two—the kid had a Nascent Soul master backing him.
Three—they really had been in the wrong last ti.
No face-saving way down.
He just hung there in the sky, awkward as hell.
“Hmph. This ti the Wei family is only settling accounts with Heaven’s Draw. It has nothing to do with your Alliance. Why force yourself into it? Heaven’s Draw isn’t even a proper mber of your faction. I, Wei Xuan, swear—after today, we won’t trouble the Artifact Talisman Alliance again. Fellow Daoist, be reasonable. We all have to live in these mountains. Heads bow, eyes et. Why turn it into blades and blood?”
Wei Xuan was no fool.
He read the room instantly.
He only wanted a clean example, not an all-out war with the Alliance.
He gave the man an out—and a ladder.
“Fine… This matter has nothing to do with the Artifact Talisman Alliance. We’ll stay out of it. And we advise you—don’t make this a habit.”
The Golden Core forced out a few stiff face-saving words, turned tail, and slunk away.
The mont he left, the wave of reinforcents inside Heaven’s Draw saw their Golden Core protector flee—and promptly scattered like rats.
The Weis didn’t bother chasing.
They just watched the banners and war drums drop to the dirt.
The mountain gate stood silent except for the ashen faces of the remaining Heaven’s Draw cultivators.
“Will you surrender?”
Wei Xuan’s voice carried across the distance.
“Surrender, we punish only the ringleaders. The rest walk free. Refuse…”
He made a slow, deliberate chopping motion with his hand.
“…then we kill every last one.”
Reviews
All reviews (0)