Chapter 157 Scheming with a Tiger Ends in Calamity

"No, the spiritual energy from a second-grade, lower-tier spirit vein is insufficient. It won't hold."

The Third Elder's expression abruptly shifted, and without hesitation, he retrieved 3,000 spirit stones from his storage pouch.

Back in the days before the beast tide invasion, considering Pingyang City's insufficient spiritual energy which would limit the formation's power, the clan had specially allocated Elder 3 a substantial sum of 10,000 spirit stones.

At this critical moment, the preparation finally proved its worth. Several 1000 spirit stones instantly turned to dust, causing the spiritual energy in Pingyang City to surge dramatically. The formation's power reached its zenith, successfully blocking the assault of the Blood-Transmuting Demon Blade (Magic Treasure).

Seeing that the formation couldn't be breached immediately, Elder Hong the Demonic said with a darkened expression, "We cannot afford to stall. If you have any means left, now is the time to use them."

Lin Mocheng’s expression shifted slightly, yet he had long been prepared. With a swift motion, he retrieved 3 crimson-white talismans.

That treasure talisman was a third-grade superior Metal God Thunder Rune, specially purchased by Lin Mocheng from the Qingyang Sect. To acquire these 3 talismans, he had expended a full 10,000 spirit stones, dealing a substantial blow to the Lin family's finances.

As he activated these 3 precious talismans, they instantly transformed into 3 divine thunderbolts that soared into the sky before crashing down upon Pingyang City with earth-shattering force.

Witnessing 3 bolts of lightning descend, Lior’s expression shifted slightly as he raised a hand to activate the Li Fire Divine Lightning Net.

After being refined into an array artifact, this Net of Blazing Fire Divine Thunder could now unleash 9 divine thunderbolts consecutively. With Lior's cultivation at the Foundation Establishment, Mid Stage, simultaneously activating 3 divine thunderbolts was already his absolute limit.

He channeled his power and unleashed 3 bolts of Crimson Fire Divine Thunder, intercepting the 3 bolts of Geng Gold Divine Thunder. The 6 thunderbolts collided with a deafening roar, erupting in a massive shockwave before dissipating into nothingness.

"How could there be a Net of Fiery Thunder?"

Lin Mo was greatly taken aback when he noticed Lior (Person Name) summoning the Li Fire Divine Thunder once more to strike at him.

This time, Lior (Person Name) consecutively summoned 6 divine thunderbolts, striking directly toward the Blood-Transmuting Demon Blade (Magic Treasure).

The Pure Yang Divine Thunder was inherently the bane of demonic cultivators. 6 consecutive strikes left the 2 struggling to withstand its force. The demonic blade grew dim and listless, severely damaged, while both cultivators also sustained significant injuries.

However, their cultivation levels all surpassed the ninth layer of Foundation Establishment. Surprisingly, there were no casualties; instead, they still had strength to spare to assault the grand formation.

Fortunately, after being struck by the Crimson Fire Divine Thunder, their magical treasures and supernatural abilities had suffered considerable damage, and their means had been greatly reduced. They finally found it difficult to breach the formation in a short time.

"9 divine thunderbolts have been unleashed in succession. This formation has exhausted its offensive capabilities."

"Moreover, the spiritual energy consumption is immense. We only need to expend most of a day's effort to breach the formation."

After enduring 9 divine thunderbolts, Lin Mocheng feared that the Eldrin would retreat, so he declared in a resounding voice.

Unable to breach the grand formation by force, the 2 could only continuously drain its energy. Before they knew it, half a day had slipped by.

As dusk began to fall and the formation’s power had diminished by more than half, a streak of light shot over from the distance.

"Audacious fiend, how dare you!"

The newcomer was none other than Meng Xinghe (Person Name). While still at a considerable distance, he raised his hand and summoned his Life-Bound Magical Tool, then immediately unleashed a Second-Rank, High-Grade Treasure Talisman straight toward him.

"How did they arrive so quickly?"

Lin Mocheng’s heart sank. Both of them were severely injured, and their successive assaults on the formation had already drained over half of their true essence.

The formation had yet to be breached, and with the arrival of Meng Xinghe, a Foundation Establishment, Late Stage cultivator, it was uncertain whether they could prevail against the combined forces of Meng Xinghe and Lior.

Meanwhile, Hong Laomo on the other side sensed imminent peril. His vital artifact, the Blood-Transmuting Demon Blade (Magic Treasure), had been damaged, and he knew continuing the fight would yield no advantage. Without hesitation, he outright abandoned Lin Mocheng and fled.

Clearly, the Crimson Fiend had prepared an escape plan from the very beginning, lacking Lin Mocheng's unwavering resolve to fight to the end.

"Old Fiend Hong."

Seeing Old Fiend Hong abandon him and flee for his life, Lin Mocheng let out a furious roar. He, too, prepared to make his escape.

But before he could react, Lior had already charged out. The Third Elder, protected by a top-grade Rank 2 defensive treasure seal, summoned his natal immortal sword and slashed toward Lin Mocheng, forcing him back.

That delay marked the difference between life and death. With his magical power depleted by 70 to 80 percent and his body severely wounded, Lin Mochen could barely hold out for a quarter of an hour against the 2 assailants before his energy was completely drained, like a lamp burning out its last drop of oil.

In the end, his magical power depleted, he was slain by Meng Xinghe (Person Name) on the outskirts of Pingyang City.

Meanwhile, Eldrin (Person Name) immediately returned to Pingyang City with the old clan leader upon receiving the message.

The 2 of them arrived at Pingyang City in just 3 days, only to find that the matter had already been resolved.

And during these 3 days, another incident shook Yu County—the Lin Immortal Clan (Organization), having made a pact with the tiger, ultimately reaped the consequences of their folly.

After escaping, the Crimson Demon went straight to Lin City of the Lin Immortal Clan (Organization), where he actually performed a blood sacrifice of several 100 1000 living beings.

It turned out that the Eldrin had long planned to ambush the Lin family. He secretly dispatched disciples to infiltrate Lin City, coordinating from within to attack the city together with his external forces.

Lin Moqin, the guardian of Lin City, found himself besieged from within and without. It was only then he discovered the patriarch's soul lamp had been extinguished. In a panic, he abandoned Lin City and fled alone to save his own life.

The last Foundation Establishment, Early Stage cultivator of the Lin Immortal Clan desperately rushed to reinforce Lin City, only to find upon arrival that the city had already fallen. Hundreds of thousands of mortals had been slaughtered by Elder Hong the Demonic.

In a fit of rage, he fought desperately against Eldrin, only to be slain by the Blood-Transmuting Demon Blade (Magic Treasure).

From that day onward, the Lin Family was nearly wiped out, with only Lin Moqin (Person Name) managing to escape from Lin City.

Fearing retaliation from the powerful enemy Chen Immortal Clan, this man returned to Verdant Ink Mountain, seized all of the Lin family's assets, then abandoned his clan and fled alone. His whereabouts remain unknown, clearly intending to live as a rogue cultivator.

With his enemies' entire clan already wiped out and no trace of Eldrin to be found, he could only let the matter rest.

After some discussion, the 2 decided to have the old clan leader continue overseeing Pingyang City while Eldrin returned to Celestial Ruins Mountain.

With the beast uprising at Celestial Ruins Mountain (Location) now quelled, Lyra (Person Name) was refining Foundation Establishment Pill (Spiritual Object) and required alchemists like Eldrin (Person Name) to assist in preparing ingredients, thereby saving her time in initiating the alchemical process.

Upon returning to Celestial Ruins Mountain (Location), Eldrin (Person Name) proceeded directly to the alchemy chamber and began assisting Lyra (Person Name) in refining the Foundation Establishment Pill (Spiritual Object).

This time, the harvest could truly be called an overwhelming victory. In the battle of Yu County, they slew 3 Zifu-level demonic beings; in the battle of Feng County, another 5 Zifu-level demonic beings fell; and after deploying troops to Celestial Ruins Mountain (Location), they eliminated 3 Zifu-level members of the Golden-Horned Savage Bull tribe in a single engagement.

In addition, 2 more were slain during the surprise assault on Scorched Sun Mountain. By this count, the group had eliminated a total of 13 demonic Zifu cultivators. Combined with the 7 demonic Zifu cultivators Lyra had previously slain, this battle had astonishingly claimed a total of 20 demonic Zifu cultivators.

A full 20 Purple Mansion demon pills, including the Purple-Spotted Wolf King (Demon Beast) core that could be divided into 2 separate cauldron refinements—this time, Celestial Ruins Mountain (Location) had astonishingly ignited 20-1 cauldrons for refinement in a single batch.

To refine these 20-1 batches of Foundation Establishment Pill (Spiritual Object), not only did Lyra (Person Name) personally take charge, but she was also assisted by 6 or 7 second-tier master alchemists including Eldrin (Person Name), Su Mingwei, and Mu Xuanming.

With their combined efforts, they could refine 1 batch in merely 5 days, yet it still took over 3 and a half months to complete all 20-1 batches of Foundation Establishment Pill (Spiritual Object).

Chapter 1: Rebirth of the Immortal Sovereign The sky tore open with a flash of crimson lightning, illuminating the ashen-faced youth kneeling atop the Celestial Summit. Blood trickled from the corner of his lips, yet his eyes burned with unwavering defiance. "Chu Tian, hand over the Primordial Chaos Codex, and we might spare your soul!" roared a white-robed elder hovering mid-air, his voice echoing like thunder across the peaks. 30-6 supreme elders from the 9 Heavens Alliance had surrounded him, their combined spiritual pressure enough to crush mountains. Chu Tian laughed, a bitter yet triumphant sound. "You want the codex? Then come claim it from my corpse!" For 3 1000 years, he had cultivated in solitude, overcoming 90-9 heavenly tribulations to reach the fabled Immortal Sovereign realm. Yet now, betrayed by those he considered allies, his millennia of perseverance was about to end in this bloody confrontation. "Since you choose death over surrender, don't blame us for being merciless!" The elder raised his hand, gathering swirling cosmic energy that distorted the space around them. Just as the final assault was about to descend, Chu Tian's vision darkened. When he reopened his eyes, he found himself in a modest room, sunlight filtering through wooden windows. The scent of medicinal herbs hung in the air. "Brother Tian, you're awake!" A girl of 15 or 16 rushed to his bedside, her eyes red-rimmed from crying. "You've been unconscious for 3 days after the fall in the back mountains." Memories flooded his mind—this was his 15-year-old self, a lowly outer sect disciple of the Azure Cloud Sect. The original owner of this body had died from injuries sustained during a mission, and now the soul of Immortal Sovereign Chu Tian inhabited it. He examined his current condition: meridians mostly blocked, spiritual energy thinner than mist, barely at the 3rd level of Qi Refining. In his previous life, he could shatter planets with a thought. "Don't worry, little sister," Chu Tian said calmly, his voice containing the wisdom of millennia. "From today onward, no 1 will ever bully us again." The girl stared at him in confusion, wondering why her brother suddenly seemed... different. His gaze held the profundity of ancient stars, his presence carrying the weight of countless epochs. Chu Tian closed his eyes, sensing the familiar yet distant spiritual energy around him. The Heavenly Emperor Scripture, the supreme cultivation method he had created in his previous life, began circulating automatically. The surrounding spiritual energy swirled toward him like a vortex. "Since heaven has given me a second chance," he murmured inwardly, "I shall reclaim everything that was mine and make all who betrayed me pay the price." Outside, the wind picked up, carrying fallen leaves that formed a swirling dance in the courtyard—as if nature itself was bearing witness to the rebirth of a legend.