Chapter 133: Chapter 132: I Actually Almost Beat Him?

’There was a good reason some of the Elders disagreed with choosing Feiyue Lake as our reclamation target... Fighting in an aquatic environment is just too inconvenient for Cultivators!’

Bai Zichen watched helplessly as a squad of Cultivators had their formation shattered by a volley of Water Arrows from an Iron Crocodile, which then proceeded to rampage through their ranks.

But the River Clam Spirit in front of him had astonishing defenses. Not only could his Sword Light not break through its shell...

...but when its two halves snapped shut, they would generate an immense suction force that made his Sword Light waver, almost breaking his control.

Tied down by this Clam Spirit, Bai Zichen had been unable to save that squad of Cultivators in time.

’Damn it! It clearly has the Spiritual Power fluctuations of a Tier Two Low Grade creature, yet it’s even harder to deal with than a Tier Two Mid Grade Demon Beast... Why are there so many strange Demon Beasts and Spirit Monsters in these waters!’

Bai Zichen grumbled. Conquering Feiyue Lake was indeed far more difficult than Cyan Bull Valley.

At the very least, Cyan Bull Valley was home to a single species of Demon Beast. They were simple and direct, which made dealing with them much easier.

After dozens of exchanges, his Sword Light finally wore down the Spirit Light on the clam’s shells until it grew dim and the suction force became nearly nonexistent. With a final slash, he cleaved the River Clam in two.

He spotted a glittering object below and, with a sweep of his Sword Light, brought it up into his palm.

It was a Clam Pearl the size of a grape, perfectly round and flawless. A gentle warmth seeped into his hand as he held it, a very comfortable sensation.

Bai Zichen put the Clam Pearl away and glanced toward where the Iron Crocodile had been wreaking havoc. Two Foundation Establishment Cultivators had already arrived.

Unfortunately, the squad had already suffered heavy casualties, and less than half its members were still able to move.

’Was that Five-Colored Armor Ancestor Ge Cang just activated his Five Crystal Glaze Body? He can clash directly with a Tier Three Demon King... I wonder when I’ll be able to cultivate it to the third layer...’

Bai Zichen gazed toward the area concealed by Array Banners and layers of spatial distortions. The image of Master Ge Cang meeting the Flood Dragon’s attack with his fists had left a deep impression on him.

Catching up to the Cultivation Realm of a Core Formation True Man was not something that could be achieved in a short time.

But in terms of the Five Crystal Glaze Body, it wasn’t entirely impossible.

The higher the layer of this Body Refining Technique, the more pronounced his advantage in cultivation speed would become.

By this point in the war, the reclamation army’s front lines had become stretched thin and scattered.

This was due to Feiyue Lake’s terrain. With its crisscrossing waterways and several branching rivers, the only way to continue pursuing and exterminating the Demon Beasts was to break the army into smaller units.

Fortunately, the Qingfeng Sect had a deep foundation and had made thorough preparations. All their Battle Arrays, Talismans, and Magical Artifacts were designed to counter Water Element Demonic Beasts; otherwise, the casualties would have been far more severe.

Countless flashes of Spirit Light flickered and Magical Artifacts clashed. The sky was nearly dyed red by all kinds of Fire Element Talismans.

The entire Feiyue Lake was like a gigantic cooking pot set over a fire, its waters steadily heating up.

The Wind Shuttle overhead suddenly changed direction, aimed at a certain spot, and gathered Thunder Radiance. All three Nine Heavens Thunder Light Cannons fired simultaneously.

’There’s a troublesome Demon Beast over there!’

The purpose of the three Wind Shuttles and the Five-Colored Ship wasn’t to kill Demon Beasts, but to maintain a high vantage point for a complete overview of the battlefield.

If any area fell into a difficult situation, they would provide long-range support with their War Magical Artifacts.

At the same time, it served as a signal, guiding Cultivators like Bai Zichen, who had strength to spare, to provide reinforcements.

’It’s Bai Clan Members!’

Using Sword Control, Bai Zichen crossed the Lake Heart Island to the other side of Feiyue Lake, where he immediately spotted several familiar figures below. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

...

Five golden rings in front of Bai Xianzhong relentlessly smashed against an Iron Turtle, but they only produced a shower of sparks, failing to cause any substantial damage.

The Paper Crane Daoist took out a stack of Talisman Paper, blew on it lightly, and transformed it into a flock of Flying Cranes that pecked fiercely at the Iron Turtle.

Not only did they fail to cause any damage, but the Iron Turtle simply shook its body, and two of the Flying Cranes were struck, popping like bubbles and reverting to Talisman Paper.

The Paper Crane Daoist’s face paled. His prized talisman technique had become a joke in front of a Tier Two Low Grade Iron Turtle.

In truth, the art of Talisman Paper transformation still had its merits.

Although the individual bodies of these Flying Cranes were fragile, their combined offensive power was close to the Qi Refining Great Perfection Level.

An ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator, if suddenly faced with a dozen of them, would inevitably be flustered for a moment.

Unfortunately, against the Tier Two Iron Turtle whose defenses they couldn’t breach, they were nothing more than decorations.

"Fellow Daoist Bai, what are we going to do..."

The Paper Crane Daoist’s voice trembled, a hint of retreat in his tone.

"Hold on! Reinforcements will be here soon!"

Bai Xianzhong rallied their morale. Behind him were over a hundred Clan Cultivators, including members of his own Ink Bamboo Bai Family, the Fragrant Pig Chen Family, and the Red Leaf Fang Family...

If he retreated, these Cultivators would face certain death.

Moreover, the Qingfeng Sect’s punishment for deserters was severe, and the post-war reckoning could even bring trouble upon their entire Clan.

Even if it meant dying in battle, Bai Xianzhong could not abandon his troops and flee.

"But there are two of them! How can the two of us possibly stop them?"

The two Iron Turtles before them, one large and one small, seemed to crawl slowly, but in reality, their limbs moved with incredible speed.

Several Fire Serpents materialized from the Battle Array and shot toward the Iron Turtles’ heads and limbs, but the beasts either endured the flames directly or spat out a ball of water to extinguish them.

Aside from slightly slowing the Iron Turtles’ advance, they caused no damage whatsoever.

The Paper Crane Daoist’s eyes darted about. ’In any case,’ he thought, ’the few descendants I have in the Battle Array behind us aren’t ones I particularly care for.’

’Even if they died, I wouldn’t be too heartbroken.’

RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE!

Three bolts of lightning, each as thick as a bowl, struck down. The light arrived before the sound, blasting the smaller of the two Iron Turtles straight into the ground.

A moment later, the Iron Turtle shakily climbed out of the deep crater.

Aside from charring its left hind leg, causing it to droop uselessly and making the beast limp, the Nine Heavens Thunder Light Cannon had failed to inflict any further damage.

"Golden Scale Celestial Dragon Slash, cleave it open!"

Bai Xianzhong bit the tip of his tongue and summoned the Top-Grade Spiritual Artifact he had obtained from the Qingfeng Sect. A stream of golden scales linked together, forming the upper half of a dragon.

The dragon’s head formed the blade, its tail the hilt, which Bai Xianzhong gripped firmly in his hand.

Spurred on by his Essence Blood, the draconic form solidified further as he viciously slashed down, delivering a full-power strike against the lightly injured Iron Turtle.

With a piercing screech of metal on stone, the dragon’s head and the turtle’s shell met in a stalemate. The Iron Turtle was pinned to the ground, letting out a pained howl.

"Impressive, Fellow Daoist Bai! I’ll back you up and lure away the other Iron Turtle!"

Seeing this astonishing slash, the Paper Crane Daoist’s confidence returned. He took out a jade flute and began to play, sending piercing sound waves into the other Iron Turtle’s ears and causing it to spin in place.

Bai Xianzhong cried out inwardly. The Golden Scale Celestial Dragon Slash was stuck fast on the Iron Turtle’s shell, unable to advance or retreat.

The accumulated force of the blade gradually waned, and it ultimately failed to withstand the Iron Turtle’s counterattack. A dim gray Spirit Light flashed across the shell, and the draconic form disintegrated. It broke apart into countless golden scales that flew back into Bai Xianzhong’s hand like birds returning to a forest.

PFFT!

The Magical Power in Bai Xianzhong’s body roiled, and he suffered some internal injuries. Just as he was about to muster his Magical Power to activate the Spiritual Artifact with his Essence Blood once more...

SWOOSH!

A brilliant beam of Sword Light filled the world, consuming Bai Xianzhong’s entire field of vision as it pinned the Iron Turtle directly to the ground.

In the center of the shell was a sword hole the width of a finger. There were no cracks spreading outward from the smooth-walled aperture.

"All of you, fall back. Leave this to me!"

Bai Zichen’s clear voice rang out. His Sword Light pulsed, having already extinguished the life of the smaller Iron Turtle.

"Brother Chenn, be careful..."

Bai Xianzhong was overjoyed. He had just started to call out a warning when he realized with astonishment that Bai Zichen had already dispatched one of the Iron Turtles with a single strike.

At the same time, the other Iron Turtle was also enveloped by Sword Light.

After just a few strikes, the dim gray shell—which had seemed like an unbreakable Iron Wall to them—began to look precarious.

’It’s a pity I can’t use Sword Qi Thunder Sound. Otherwise, an ordinary Demon Beast like this would be finished in three to five strikes...’

That’s right. In Bai Zichen’s eyes, an Iron Turtle that only had defense and no special Divine Techniques was just an ordinary Demon Beast, not even worthy of a second glance.

It was far less troublesome than the River Clam from before, which had at least given him some minor difficulty.

However, both Liang Yu and Senior Brother Zhang had reminded him not to use Sword Qi Thunder Sound in front of so many people, to delay its exposure for as long as possible.

There was a world of difference between the shock caused by a Swordsmanship genius and that caused by a peerless Swordsmanship genius who had mastered Sword Qi Thunder Sound while still in the Early-Stage Foundation Establishment.

If the Ghost Spirit Sect learned of the former, they would merely list Bai Zichen as a key person to monitor.

If they learned of the latter, however, they would most likely view him as a kill-on-sight target and dispatch forces to ambush and assassinate him during his travels.

A peerless Swordsmanship genius who mastered Sword Qi Thunder Sound so early and also had the potential to reach Core Formation... once Bai Zichen fully matured, which of the Ghost Spirit Sect’s Foundation Establishment Cultivators could possibly withstand a single one of his strikes?

Wouldn’t he be another Ancestor Ge Cang in the making?

If Bai Zichen was allowed to reach Core Formation, things would be even more troublesome. The Ghost Spirit Sect’s Core Formation True Men might lose their lives the moment they stepped outside their Sect.

To eliminate this possibility, taking action in advance—even at great cost—would be worth it.

According to Liang Yu, if Bai Zichen could hide this for a few years, he could finish his travels, return to the Sect, and remain in seclusion, cultivating straight through to the Late-Stage Foundation Establishment.

Even if the Ghost Spirit Sect decided to send a Core Formation True Man to bully a junior, they couldn’t possibly attack the Qingfeng Sect’s Mountain Gate just to kill him, could they?

However, Liang Yu had said this with a joking tone; he didn’t actually mean it.

To cultivate from the Early-Stage to the Late-Stage Foundation Establishment, it had taken Ancestor Ge Cang, who possessed a Celestial Spiritual Root, forty years. For Wei Dao, who possessed an Abnormal Spiritual Root, it had taken over sixty years.

The aptitude Bai Zichen had revealed was merely that of Three Spiritual Roots. Even considering a hidden Spirit Body, the consensus among the Sect’s upper echelons was that it would take him between eighty and one hundred years to reach the Late-Stage Foundation Establishment.

Hiding away in the Sect for nearly a hundred years... he would really turn into a turtle.

Liang Yu had also considered that for a Sword Cultivator, being confined to one place and suppressing their innate nature for an extended period could hinder the progress of their Sword Dao Realm.

So, there was never really a plan for that.

As long as Bai Zichen could cultivate safely to the Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment, he could then go to the Secret Hall, pick a treasure left behind by a Core Formation Ancestor, and would then have more than enough power to protect himself.

Even with Bai Zichen intentionally holding back, the Iron Turtle didn’t last much longer—

Sword Qi Thunder Sound primarily enhanced a Sword Cultivator’s sustained combat ability and made it possible to wield Dual Swords simultaneously.

With a single Flying Sword, his killing power was reduced, but the difference wasn’t enormous.

On his twelfth strike, Bai Zichen found a Spiritual Power node on the dim gray shell, finally broke through its defenses, and slew the beast.

In the Battle Array behind him, a Female Cultivator in simple robes, her skin as white as snow, watched the elegant young man slay the two Demon Beasts in just a few strikes—the same beasts that had left a hundred Cultivators, their Clan Leader, and the senior Paper Crane Daoist completely helpless. Her red lips were parted in astonishment, and she couldn’t seem to close them.

"He’s Bai Zichen... No, wait. Is that Elder Bai from your clan?"

Beside Bai Ling, Chen Xiu—a man with red lips, white teeth, and features so handsome they were almost feminine—looked on wistfully and asked in a tone of utter disbelief.

When Bai Ling nodded, Chen Xiu stared blankly at the sky.

’I... I actually narrowly lost to him once? I was so close, I even thought I had a chance to win?’

A feeling welled up in Chen Xiu’s heart: this would become the greatest boast of his entire life.