Chapter 234 Clipping the Wings

Qingxuan Sect is located in the southern wilderness with harsh conditions. Their foundation-building cultivators are in a much more dangerous situation than Hongshan Sect. However, after hardships and trials, although their foundation-building cultivators are few in number, their chances of advancing to the Purple Palace are higher than Hongshan Sect.

Thousands of years ago, their power was not as prosperous as Hongshan Sect. A few hundred years ago, they were able to keep pace with Hongshan Sect in terms of Purple Palace cultivators. Now, relying on the alliances of Patriarch Jin, they have left Hongshan Sect cultivators far behind.

Counting Liang Taixu and his disciples, Qingxuan Sect now has 15 Purple Palace cultivators and two Golden Core cultivators. Although there is one less Golden Core than Huanshui Sect, it can be compared with Huanshui Sect in terms of Purple Palace cultivators.

On the Hongshan Sect side, two of the eleven Purple Palaces were killed in the previous battle, and Mu Huaishan was seriously injured and could not contribute at all. Wang Boxiong was equivalent to defecting and disappeared without a trace. Wan Qingyuan was surrounded by Qingxuan Sect cultivators in Zhemei Mountain. You don’t need to look to know that there is no way to survive.

Soon after Zhang Zhixuan and his companions arrived at Yuntai Mountain, they were dispatched by Sun Changgeng to attack the mountain gate near Zhemei Mountain.

Among the three counties controlled by Hongshan Sect, Luyang County was the weakest. There was no fourth-level spiritual vein in the county, and there were only six immortal cultivation families. Four of them had already surrendered to Qingxuan Sect. The remaining two families had no time to surrender, and were wiped out by the local guides and Qingxuan Sect cultivators.

Except for a part of the immortal cultivation families in Jiangnan County who fled with Wang Boxiong, the rest surrendered to Qingxuan Sect, and Qingxuan Sect took over the two counties almost without bloodshed.

Except for the families who surrendered early and saved their own spiritual mountains, the rest of the cultivators in these two counties had their mountain gates broken by Qingxuan Sect and their Taoist traditions destroyed.

These destroyed families also left seven third-level spiritual veins empty. After the war, Qingxuan Sect will reward these seven spiritual veins and give them to the scattered cultivators who have made military achievements.

Among the three counties of Hongshan Sect, the most difficult one is in Hongshan County. This county is closest to Taihong Mountain, and the cultivators in the county have the deepest relationship with Hongshan Sect. They almost rise and fall together.

Because Wan Qingyuan of Zhemei Mountain chose to defend the mountain gate, the foundation-building cultivators in this county still have something to rely on.

Only two families not far from Jiangkou County chose to surrender. Most of the remaining families gathered their main forces in Zhemei Mountain, preparing to rely on formations to resist the invasion of Qingxuan Sect cultivators.

On Yuntai Mountain, Qingxuan Sect cultivators have occupied the vast majority. Four purple mansions watched Wan Qingyuan, and the remaining foundation-building cultivators were divided into three teams, each with 20 people, to start clearing out the foundation-building families in Hongshan County and attacking their mountain gates.

The cultivators of Taicheng County formed a team and cooperated with eight Qingxuan Sect foundation-building disciples to act together. In order to facilitate leadership, Han Yan was also assigned to this team and served as the leader of this team of foundation-building cultivators.

Their team of cultivators is strong and powerful. Not only are there Zhang Zhixuan and Su Heng, two late-stage cultivators who did not take the foundation-building pill to build their foundation, but also Han Yan, the clan leader, and Wu Xiangwen, who are at the eighth level of the foundation-building. In addition, a Qingxuan Sect cultivator at the seventh level of the foundation-building also acted with them. Among the twenty people, there are more than six late-stage cultivators, seven middle-stage cultivators, and only seven early-stage cultivators.

This lineup can also compete with cultivators like Mu Huaishan who have not been in the purple mansion for a long time. If the early-stage purple mansion cultivators are inexperienced and fall into the formation they formed carelessly, they may even die on the spot.

Twenty years ago, the Hongshan Sect cultivators invaded Chaoyin Mountain, and the Taicheng County cultivators trembled. The Zhang and Liu families were like frightened birds, and they gave up their family sacred mountains in panic.

This time the battle was reversed, and it was the Qingxuan Sect that had the upper hand.

In the last war, Hongshan Sect suffered heavy losses in its foundation-building monks, while Qingxuan Sect obtained the Chaoyin Mountain Spirit Stone Mine, and its strength was growing. In addition, it merged with the disciples of Heishan Liang Laozu and Shuangjiao Mountain You Nianwei.

As one grew stronger, the other grew weaker. Before the war, the number of foundation-building monks in Qingxuan Sect was no less than that of Hongshan Sect.

Hongshan Sect had dozens of vassal families with hundreds of foundation-building monks. When Chaoyin Mountain was defeated and Jiangkou County was lost, it had already lost more than ten people. Now another 28 people surrendered, and there were 16 foundation-building monks who abandoned the mountain gate and fled. Eleven foundation-building monks disappeared with Wang Boxiong, and 26 family foundation-building monks who fled into Zhemei Mountain. Now there are less than 20 foundation-building monks who are still defending the mountain gate.

The troops allocated by Qingxuan Sect have already occupied an overwhelming advantage in terms of numbers.

After Han Yan led the team to leave Yuntai Mountain, they first came to Fengcheng Castle, where a foundation-building family settled, with two foundation-building monks in the family.

Fengcheng Castle is located in a dangerous position. It is built on a steep cliff. One man can block the pass and ten thousand men cannot open it. Once the passage is blocked, except for the foundation-building cultivators who can fly in the air, low-level cultivators can't climb up at all.

There is a third-level spiritual vein in the castle, and 40 acres of spiritual fields have been opened up on the mountain, which is enough to support the cultivation of 70 or 80 cultivators of the Feng family.

There is also a mountain protection formation on the mountain. If the Feng family is determined to hold on, even if ten foundation-building cultivators join forces to besiege, they can still hold on for a long time.

It was very urgent to come out of Yuntai Mountain. When I arrived at Fengcheng Castle, it was already dark.

In this unfamiliar environment, Han Yan was very cautious and did not attack rashly, but patiently waited for the sky to brighten.

Zhang Zhixuan sat cross-legged on the top of a tree that several people hugged. He looked around and saw that the trees on the cliff were lush and there was a faint light.

In the entire Fengcheng Castle, except for the singing of insects and frogs, there was no sound at all, as quiet as a ghost den.

Everyone took out spirit stones to replenish their mana. When the sky was about to brighten, Han Yan came over with a third-level formation master. There were also several late-stage foundation-building cultivators around her.

Han Yan looked at the formation master and asked, "Brother Huang, what do you think?"

This man is called Huang Peng. He has been building his foundation for more than a hundred years. Although his cultivation is only at the sixth level of the foundation, his formation level has exceeded the third-level middle grade.

He wore a black and gray Taoist robe, which was covered with dust. He was also a little unkempt, with a messy beard over a foot long, like a sloppy country old man.

Huang Peng frowned and said, "Yesterday, the sky was dark, and the Feng family did not escape. There must be a formation on the mountain. According to the current information, we don't know what kind of formation has been arranged. Now that the sky is bright, we will attack first and try to see what kind of formation it is."

"Okay, we will divide into four teams and besiege the formation from the four directions of southeast, northwest, and northeast. Since the Feng family dares to resist the sect's troops, we will let them destroy their family."

Han Yan gave an order and led Zhang Zhixuan, the clan leader, Qingchan and a Qingxuan Sect cultivator in the early stage of foundation building to attack directly.

The five were all foundation-building cultivators who were already able to fly. They flew up the cliff and immediately used their flying swords to attack the gate of Fengcheng Castle.

A light curtain rose from the castle, easily blocking several sword beams. At the same time, a white light shone from the castle gate, and a giant sword more than three meters long slashed directly at the weakest cultivator of the Qingxuan Sect who was in the early stage of foundation-building.