Thirty-sixth day.
The first week had been almost quiet—too far west in Shandu territory, too awkward for rogues from the Artifact & Talisman side to slip through. Nearby sects had even run a sweeping search, rooting out stragglers. But a month ago the Wei family pulled off one successful extraction, ferrying every trapped Shandu cultivator out of Black River Market. After that the rogues lost their primary target. With nothing left to chase in the east, they drifted west instead.
At first it was only Foundation Establishnt loners—three or five at most—picking off soft targets. In the last ten days Qi Refining swarms started appearing. Wei family patrols vanished. Inter-sect communication died. The situation spiraled completely out of control.
“Sect Leader Qi, the Mao family’s signal flare didn’t light tonight…”
Wei Minming stepped into the Scripture Pavilion and gently shook Qi Xiu awake from his shallow doze beside the array core. These past weeks the mountain-protection array had held—barely—thanks to its stubborn endurance and the attackers’ half-hearted commitnt. Chu Qin rotated shifts at the core; so far they’d kept the line.
“Mao family… gone too, huh…”
Qi Xiu’s voice was barely audible. Over ti the ergency flares—once desperate cries for help—had beco sothing else: mutual encouragent, proof of life. When one didn’t appear, the ssage was final.
He lifted his gaze. Across from him Wei Chengqian sat cross-legged, unusually silent. The man had finally dropped his usual sleazy mask. Whatever else he was, he understood the stakes now. He took his turn at the array core like everyone else—focused, diligent. Rare decency.
“Tomorrow… don’t light our flare either,” Qi Xiu told Shen Chang outside as the next shift relieved him.
Shen Chang hesitated. “But won’t that—”
Qi Xiu cut him off with a tired wave. “Exactly. Right now only us and the Mu family are left nearby. Signaling is pointless. Worse—it’ll draw every stray rogue within eyeshot. Better they think Immortal Grove Hollow already fell. Maybe they’ll skip us… head for the Mu place instead.”
Even as he said it he cursed himself for the pettiness. Then he heard won’s voices rising in argunt nearby. Yu Jing’s wife from the Bai clan was squabbling with Qin Sigao’s sister-in-law over who got to wash clothes first. So man finally stepped in and broke it up.
Twenty-four cultivators inside the gate now. Over a hundred mortal relatives cramd into makeshift housing. A month of close quarters—friction was inevitable. Even at the edge of survival people still found ti to bicker over laundry.
Qi Xiu exhaled heavily and walked the grounds. Disciples went through the motions—eyes dull, shoulders slumped, spirits hollowed out.
Thump. Thump.
The mountain array shuddered again. Low, bone-deep vibrations. Another wave of attackers. Early raids had been disorganized—rogues fighting each other as often as the array. Lately they’d started to coordinate. A late-stage Foundation Establishnt leader, two early-stage, thirty-plus Qi Refining rotating shifts. Today felt heavier—probably a fresh Foundation Establishnt joining.
“Reinforcents!”
Wei Minming’s shout carried from the pavilion. Three pre-assigned disciples rushed in. The array stabilized—for now.
“Sect Leader, go rest. Once they commit it’ll be hours before they stop.” Shen Chang gently steered Qi Xiu toward the grass hut, then hurried back inside himself.
Bai Muhan was already feeding spirit stones into the core. Their eyes t—mutual exhaustion. Both sat, palms flat, channeling power.
Years ago the Scripture Pavilion battle had wrecked Immortal Grove Hollow’s original array. Ironically, that forced the replacent: second-tier low-grade Primordial Heavy Earth Array—earth-aspected, defense-specialized. Perfect for a last stand.
The cruel joke? Qi Xiu had bought it from Artifact & Talisman City.
…
Next night.
Qi Xiu had recovered most of his strength. He stood on the main hall roof, staring into the dark. Kong Wen drifted up beside him.
“Bright moon tonight. Not a good on.”
Qi Xiu looked up. Full moon washed the landscape silver. Outside the array nearly fifty rogues had gathered around campfires, ditating in unusual silence. The quiet felt wrong. His Blood Premonition talent prickled nonstop. Kong Wen must carry so similar foresight gift—otherwise why co warn him out of the blue?
“Jie… jie…”
Ugly cackles split the night. Twenty-odd figures streaked in fast. Unlike the black-cloaked locals who hid their faces, these newcors showed themselves openly. The reek of blood rolled ahead of them.
Their leader: late-stage Foundation Establishnt. Full beard, hawk eyes, long knife scar down his left cheek. Pure nace.
“Done for…”
With fresh blood joining, holding was impossible. Qi Xiu closed his eyes. Faces flashed through his mind—disciples laughing, wives warm against him—then drowned in red.
Before despair could settle, shouting erupted outside. Two groups arguing. First arrivals versus newcors.
Qi Xiu’s heart leapt. A sliver of light.
He strained to see. Scarface and the previous late-stage leader were locked in heated words. Everyone else stood tense, weapons half-drawn.
“If they turn on each other—”
Hope died fast. The two late-stage rogues weren’t fools. After a brief standoff they reached terms. Their followers pulled back to separate sides. Both sides gave the order. Seventy or eighty magic treasures lit the sky. The array scread in protest—wouldn’t last long now.
“Support! Everyone to support!”
Yu Denou bellowed from the duty shift. Almost every cultivator sprinted for the pavilion. Kong Wen glanced at Qi Xiu, sighed, and followed.
“Only chance is to exploit the fact they’re not unified.” Qi Xiu hardened his heart. They’d prepared contingencies. “Muhan! Switch tactics!”
“Which one?”
“Close the door and beat the dog. Two peaches kill three warriors!”
“Understood!”
…
Scarface—nad Ou Bao—had earned his nickna “Scar-faced Madman” across White Mountain for sheer ruthlessness. He’d carved a bloody path through Shandu territory, reaping heavily. Yesterday he’d sacked the Mao family gate. Today he brought followers to Immortal Grove Hollow. Easy pickings.
The array flickered weakly several tis, then went dark.
“Sothing’s wrong! It wasn’t broken—they shut it off!”
An array specialist shouted warning. Ou Bao ignored him. He dove straight in.
“Idiot! Earth arrays are the sa inside and out—built for defense!”
He knew his business. In monts he reached the main hall—only to slam into a fresh inner barrier.
“Damn it! Nested arrays! This place has money!”
Then he saw it.
Two crimson-robed Qi Refining cultivators dragging a large tree behind them. They vanished into the new array too late—the tree stayed outside. Azure light shimred across jade-like bark.
“Second-tier! At least five hundred years old!”
Greed flashed through Ou Bao’s mind. He veered toward the tree. Branches still green—vitality intact even after being uprooted.
Living things couldn’t fit in storage bags. Make it dead, then.
He summoned his usual second-tier spirit blade and chopped.
Clang!
A long gash appeared. The blade rebounded. The tree lived.
“Mine!”
A flying sword stabbed toward his back. The other late-stage rogue—seeing the treasure slip away—had acted first.
“Dream on!”
Ou Bao roared like a jackal, spun to shield the tree, parried the sword. His natal phantom erupted—a snarling forest leopard, massive spiritual claws raking toward his rival.
“Everyone—together! Split the loot!”
The rival seed wary of Ou Bao. He called in followers—including one early-stage Foundation Establishnt. They surrounded man and tree, pressing the attack.
“Reinforcents!”
Ou Bao shouted. No one ca. He glanced back—his own followers were already fighting the other group over spiritual plants in the field. Chaos.
No choice. He split focus: one hand draining the tree’s life, one directing the leopard phantom to block the rival late-stage, the rest fending off lesser nuisances.
Inside the spiritual field pandemonium reigned. Dozens fought over Wood Sunflowers and lesser herbs. Low-value items—no one died for them yet. An early-stage Foundation Establishnt cultivator hovered above, gleefully plucking ginseng roots one after another with precise sword flicks.
The field was small. Soon it was stripped bare.
Then two black treasures flew out from the defensive array—one pavilion, one bottle. Black water gushed from the bottle mouth; black fog poured from the pavilion. Both flooded the field.
“What the hell is that sll? Like Black River!”
“That is Black River!”
“They’re poisoning the field—stop it!”
Cultivators scrambled to block the flood. Then the Primordial Heavy Earth Array reopened. Crushing gravity slamd everyone downward. Spiritual power slowed. Black water sprouted countless shadowy black vines—entangling anyone too weak to resist.
“Live together, die together—protect Chu Qin!”
From the backup array twenty crimson-robed figures—old, young, even children—charged out like a red tide. Flying swords reaped lives. Blood sprayed. Screams rose.
“Final rally—die!”
The three Foundation Establishnt still fighting turned furious. Three of them rushed the Chu Qin line. Qi Xiu swung the Azure Jade Ruyi to block one. Wei Minming and Yu Denou tead up against another. Kong Wen chanted steadily—golden Buddhist light flaring around him—barely holding the third.
Clang!
Three exchanges. The Azure Jade Ruyi was knocked flying, connection severed.
The strongest cultivator in Chu Qin—defeated first. Without a proper treasure he couldn’t match a White Mountain rogue of equal realm. Zhan Chou’s spiritual power ran dry next—he crumpled. The Black Obsidian Purity Bottle flew back into his arms automatically. Black water stopped. Qin Weiyu’s Black Stem Marsh Orchid Array flickered and died soon after.
Chu Wuying reacted fast. Multi-Shadow Pavilion expanded—covering everyone. The enemy’s counterattack hit only air.
“Fall back!”
Bai Muhan cradled Zhan Chou, heart breaking. She ordered retreat. They fell back into the Scripture Pavilion. No one dead. Thirty-odd low-to-mid Qi Refining enemies killed. But the six Foundation Establishnt outside were barely scratched. Backup array and pavilion wouldn’t hold long.
“Hmph. Courting death.”
Chaos shifted again. A late-stage Qi Refining cultivator tried to sneak the fallen Azure Jade Ruyi. The rogue who’d beaten Qi Xiu noticed—casually bisected him with one sword stroke.
Turned out the dead man was the nephew of another Foundation Establishnt. Inside the array, the two groups turned on each other again.
“I… I’m useless…”
Qi Xiu stared at Zhan Chou’s closed eyes, at the exhausted juniors sprawled on the floor. Sha burned hotter than fear.
“Heh. Sect Leader Qi should train harder in the future…”
Kong Wen’s shoulder oozed from a deep gash. He’d barely stanched the blood—yet still found the energy to tease. Ten-plus years of unpaid labor for one monkey, and now probably death. Poor bastard.
Qi Xiu managed only a bitter smile.
Outside the enemy finished brawling, breached the backup array, and—still slowed by heavy earth pressure—lurched toward the pavilion.
Inside, every bookshelf and rosewood desk Bai Xiaosheng had left had been thrown out as barricades. Now the space held mortal relatives and servants—packed so tight breathing felt difficult. Won sobbed. Children wailed. n cursed. Qin Jì—Qin Sigao’s father—leaned against the wall, staring blankly at his son, lost in thought.
“That bastard took the tree and ran!”
Outside the siege suddenly thinned. Ou Bao had finally killed the Azure Jade Spirit Tree, stuffed it into his storage bag, and bolted—classic White Mountain rogue behavior. His rival late-stage chased after him in fury.
Total collapse.
Qi Xiu seized the mont. “Wei family reinforcents!”
Panic spread like fire through dry grass. Rogues scread “Run!”—killing each other even as they fled. In monts the field emptied.
They didn’t forget to loot every corpse on the way out.
Chu Qin people stared at each other—dazed. Like waking from a nightmare.
The ground outside was silent again. Only blood and wreckage remained.
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