Chapter 155 : The Fall of Scorching Sun

With such formidable strength and vast reserves of Spirit Stone [a mineral that stores and radiates spiritual energy], it far surpassed what Border Province and Heavenly Ruins Mountain could muster. Logically, even under siege by two Demon King [a powerful demon ruler], Scorching Sun Mountain should have been able to hold out until the Beast Tide [a periodic, massive invasion of demonic beasts] subsided.

However, Verdant Sun Sect had utterly lost the hearts of the people. Many cultivators from affiliated clans had forsaken the Green Sun Covenant [a defensive pact] and refused to join the battle. Those clans that did participate dared not commit their full strength.

Rogue cultivators had either fled to Heavenly Ruins Mountain or, over a decade ago, scattered to the other prefectures of Chu Nation.

Amidst this discord and lack of unity within Verdant Sun Sect itself, this disastrous outcome had finally come to pass.

"Now, the Demon Race has crossed Scorching Sun Mountain. It is said the entire Scorching Sun County has fallen, with tens of millions of mortals devoured by the demonic beasts."

"They say in this battle, Verdant Sun Sect lost five Violet Sanctum [the third major cultivation realm] cultivators. The great Immortal Clan [powerful cultivation families] of Solar Province also suffered grievous losses."

"It is said the Scorching Sun County hegemon, the Pan Clan, suffered an unprecedented catastrophe. Of their three Violet Sanctum cultivators, two fell in battle. Even Path Sun Pan, who was at the Violet Sanctum Late Stage, perished at the hands of a Demon King."

"Only Percival Pan escaped with a portion of the clan, abandoning their family Spiritual Vein [a natural conduit of concentrated spiritual energy] and fleeing into Boyang County."

"Now, the spearhead of the Earth Lion Ridge forces points directly at Cloud Sun County and Boyang County."

After Exquisite Jiang finished speaking, the assembled group could no longer remain seated calmly. Continue your cultivation journey at audio‑novel.com.

When the nest is overturned, no egg remains unbroken. If the Demon Race were to conquer Boyang County, then Yu County would directly border Earth Lion Ridge.

Even if they managed to repel the demon beasts' assault, when the next Beast Tide [a periodic, massive invasion of demonic beasts] arrived a century later, Yu County would be caught in a pincer attack from both Heavenly Python Lake and Earth Lion Ridge.

How could the forces of Border Province and Heavenly Ruins Mountain possibly withstand the onslaught from two Demon King [a powerful ruler of a demon beast territory] domains? Furthermore, without Scorching Sun Ridge to share the pressure, Heavenly Ruins Mountain alone, a lone bastion thrust before the Demon Race Territory, would face a sudden and immense increase in strain.

Contemplating this, Eldrin Chen sighed and declared, "No egg remains whole beneath an overturned nest. Though the Verdant Sun Sect is despicable, we must lend them our aid."

"Aid we must provide," Xavier Xu nodded, then inquired, "But now, with the Verdant Sun Sect's Patriarch Xu turtled up in his shell, if we intervene, we risk facing two Demon King directly."

"This..."

Upon hearing this, the expressions of those present shifted subtly.

A single Heavenly Python Demon King already demanded their full and concerted effort. To confront two Demon King simultaneously was a challenge far beyond their current strength.

Exquisite Jiang pondered for a moment before speaking, "Do not envision the situation as overly complicated."

"Though Patriarch Xu is gravely wounded, he remains a Golden Core Cultivator [a master who has condensed a Golden Core, a core of immense spiritual power], and he still possesses the Heaven's Vault Mirror [a powerful enchanted artifact], a Fourth Rank Superior Grade [a high-tier classification for magical treasures] treasure. The Earth Lion Demon King cannot afford to disregard him entirely."

"Furthermore, with the support and containment efforts from our fellow cultivators in the Green Sun Two Prefectures, the forces of Earth Lion Ridge will be significantly divided. We do not necessarily have to face two Demon King [powerful demon rulers] directly."

"Moreover, we do not need to engage them in a head-on clash. We simply need to strike where they must defend, making them perceive the danger of being attacked from both front and rear. Once Earth Lion Ridge senses this peril, they naturally will not dare act recklessly."

"When that time comes, this Beast Tide [a massive, coordinated assault by demonic beasts] will naturally come to an end."

She circled two locations on the map. Eldrin Chen looked over and saw that both marked spots bore prominent symbols.

One was the fallen Scorching Sun Ridge, and the other was Earth Lion Ridge. Capturing the former would cut off the retreat path for the Demon Race [the collective term for demonic beings] army from Earth Lion Ridge, while the latter was the lair of the Earth Lion Demon King.

Xavier Xu revealed a slight smile and nodded in agreement. "Currently, both Golden Core Demon King [demonic rulers at the Golden Core stage of cultivation] are at the front lines. Both Scorching Sun Ridge and Earth Lion Ridge are relatively undefended. This is indeed an excellent strategy."

"And that Earth Lion Ridge sits atop a Fourth-Rank Spiritual Vein [a ley line of the fourth grade, radiating potent spiritual energy]. It likely holds extremely valuable Spiritual Object [objects imbued with or containing spiritual power]. Now is the best opportunity."

"Hmm."

Exquisite Jiang pondered for a moment before finally making her decision. "Earth Lion Ridge lies deep within Demon Race territory. The danger there is likely immense. Leave that to me. As for Scorching Sun Mountain, that will be your mission."

"But..." Eldrin Chen felt a surge of concern and could not help but voice it. "Earth Lion Ridge is the lair of a Demon King. No one knows what hidden reserves or ancient defenses might lie within. For you to go alone... isn't that too perilous?"

"Do not worry about me. With the speed of my Heavenly Ruins Immortal-Slaying Sword [a legendary flying sword renowned for its swiftness], even if those two Golden Core Demon King [powerful demonic beasts at the Golden Core stage] join forces, they will not be able to keep me here."

Exquisite Jiang smiled at Eldrin Chen, then her expression turned solemn. "Remember, this battle is not about a head-on clash."

"Strike once and retreat immediately. Make them feel threatened from both front and rear, so they abandon their assault on Boyang County."

"..."

To achieve a swift resolution, the several Human Race Violet Sanctum [Human cultivators at the Violet Sanctum realm] combatants did not linger. That very night, they flew towards Scorching Sun Mountain, leaving only Tea Rose Su, who had recently broken through to the Violet Sanctum [a major realm in cultivation], behind at Heavenly Ruins Mountain to maintain the defensive Formation [a structured arrangement of energy for defense or attack].

This time, they did not bring any Foundation Establishment Cultivator [cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage]. Covering thirty thousand Li-length [one Li-length equals five hundred meters] in a single day, they reached Scorching Sun Mountain in merely three days. This content originates from audio-novel . com. Please respect copyright.

At that moment, the forces of Earth Lion Ridge were all concentrated at the front lines. Scorching Sun Mountain was garrisoned by only two Violet Sanctum Demonic Beast [demonic beasts at the Violet Sanctum realm]: one Golden Lion Mastiff at the Violet Sanctum Mid Stage [mid-level within the Violet Sanctum realm], and one Azure Wolf Mastiff at the Violet Sanctum Early Stage [early-level within the Violet Sanctum realm]. Its defenses were exceedingly weak.

Caught completely off guard by the sudden assault of six Human Race Violet Sanctum combatants, the Golden Lion Mastiff and Azure Wolf Mastiff were swiftly surrounded and slain in less than a Ke-time [one Ke-time equals fifteen minutes] of combat.

After securing their victory, Eldrin Chen and the others did not linger. They spent one Shichen-time [one Shichen-time equals two hours] plundering the Spirit Herb Garden [a garden cultivating plants imbued with spiritual energy] and storage vaults of Scorching Sun Mountain, then hastily flew back to Heavenly Ruins Mountain.

From start to finish, including the time spent on the journey, the entire operation took only six days.

Upon receiving the news, the Demon King of Earth Lion Ridge hurriedly rushed back from the rear, only to find Scorching Sun Ridge had been thoroughly plundered.

Simultaneously, word arrived from within Earth Lion Ridge itself: Exquisite Jiang had launched a surprise attack on the ridge. Single-handedly, she had slain three Violet Sanctum Demonic Beast and seized the fourth-rank Earth Spirit Pearl nurtured within the ridge's fourth-rank earth vein.

Consumed by fury, the Demon King of Earth Lion Ridge scoured the lands for over ten days, but discovered their quarry had long since departed.

It was only at this point that news of Heavenly Python Demon King's defeat finally reached them.

Realizing that continuing the fight would leave him vulnerable on two fronts, the Demon King had no choice but to withdraw the Demon Race army from the front lines and consolidate their hold on the territory they currently occupied.

Thus, the Beast Tide assaulting Border Province and Solar Province was effectively concluded.

Compared to the great victory in Border Province, Solar Province had suffered a devastating loss, forfeiting the crucial Scorching Sun Mountain and the entire Scorching Sun County.

The toll was staggering: a full nine Violet Sanctum Cultivator had fallen in battle, and over forty percent of their Foundation Establishment and Vital Essence Refinement cultivators had been lost—a defeat unseen for centuries.

"…"

Just as Eldrin Chen and his companions returned to Heavenly Ruins Mountain, far on the other side of the Hundred-Thousand-Mile Great Wasteland, two figures stood silently on the shore beside Spirit Isle Lake.

After a moment of silence, one of the black-robed elders stirred slightly, his eyes glinting as he finally spoke.

"Eccentric Lin, it seems your method has proven ineffective."

"Hmph."

The white-robed figure beside him snorted coldly, his expression turning frosty. "I already sent the distress signal from the Sunward Market to that Silas Chen. I never imagined that girl could still maintain her composure." Dive deeper into the Dao at audio-novel`com.