The martial path of the world.
Ranked sixth!
Chen Sanshi ultimately realized that his knowledge of intelligence from the cultivation world was still far too shallow. This was also the first time he had learned that breathing methods were actually ranked on a list.
"This Yin Gui Nether River Breathing Method can, during the course of battle, gradually and temporarily seal an opponent's mana or true force," Huang Laojiu explained. "Because of this, anyone who obtains this breathing method can almost be said to be invincible within the same realm. Unless one can completely overwhelm the opponent and win in a very short time, dragging the fight out will inevitably lead to defeat."
Hearing this, Chen Sanshi immediately understood.
This so-called Nether River true force had a similar effect to his own Unrivaled effect.
The difference was that he accumulated battle intent to strengthen himself, while the opponent weakened his enemy during combat—and the effect was even more domineering.
"Troublesome, truly troublesome!" Huang Laojiu stared nervously at the formation outside the city and said. "Let alone now—even if someone were to break through to mid-stage True Force, they would probably still not be his match."
Chen Sanshi did not speak. He quietly gazed beyond the barrier.
After he had withdrawn back into the city-protecting formation, the Lin family's old ancestor had joined forces with the Shengyun Sect cultivators to attack the barrier.
Mid-stage True Force.
Equivalent to Foundation Establishment.
Correspondingly, this meant a second-tier formation!
Others might be unable to cause any effective damage to the formation.
But Ling Kui could.
Each time his Yin Gui Netherworld Sword fell, it produced a tremendous impact on the Black-Armored Xunwind Formation, forcing it to consume massive amounts of spiritual energy to repair itself.
"Ahiyo!" Huang Laojiu watched as various spirit stones were consumed at an astonishing rate, his face twisting in pain.
He formed hand seals and chanted incantations. The mottled, ancient wine gourd at his waist floated into the air, streams of firefly-like wood-attribute spiritual light flowing out from within, like small brooks cascading onto the Guiyuan Sect cultivators on the city walls who were currently locked in magical combat with the enemy.
With the blessing of this spiritual light, the Guiyuan Sect cultivators were shocked to discover that the speed at which their mana recovered had increased dramatically, and the wounds of some injured individuals were also healing much faster.
Amid the chaos, Chen Sanshi once again used his Qi Observation Technique to examine the farmer-like cultivator.
Under normal circumstances, this man's cultivation realm was completely concealed, making him appear almost no different from a mortal. Only now, as he cast spells, did fluctuations of mana become visible.
The strength Huang Laojiu revealed was roughly at Qi Refining Perfection.
But to Chen Sanshi, something still felt off.
Because he still could not see through the other man's dantian!
Qi Refining Perfection was merely a judgment based on spell fluctuations, not the opponent's true strength.
Since he was already taking action, why continue hiding his cultivation?
Unless…
This man's true realm exceeded Qi Refining Perfection.
Foundation Establishment?
Or even higher?
Chen Sanshi could not be certain.
But there was another point that supported his suspicion.
That was "respect."
Most cultivators verbally addressed Huang Laojiu as "Senior Huang," yet did not truly treat him with the etiquette due to a junior facing a senior—except for three people.
Qian Qiren, Cui Zichen, and Prince Yan Cao Zhi.
These three showed Huang Laojiu genuine respect, respect that came from the heart.
This meant they knew more of the inside story.
Chen Sanshi remained puzzled.
If this Huang-surnamed cultivator truly possessed something extraordinary, why would he remain here instead of directly charging toward the capital? Why wait for an opportunity, or was there some hidden reason?
Given the current situation, he had no time to ponder deeply. Once the "Yin Gui true force" within his body had been fully expelled, he lifted his spear again and charged out beyond the barrier, fending off the enemy army that swarmed like ants.
The first wave of the siege lasted roughly two hours, from dusk until night fell, before the Chang'an forces sounded the gongs and withdrew.
With the support of the city-protecting formation, the court army suffered more than 1,500 casualties, while the Kunyang defenders lost fewer than 200 men. From the court's perspective, the losses were catastrophic. If this situation could be maintained, Kunyang could be held indefinitely.
But the situation soon changed.
At around 1 a.m. that night, the court launched another attack.
This time, instead of continuing to rely on human-wave tactics to storm the city, the court concentrated all its crossbows, ballistae, trebuchets, and battering rams. After receiving the golden radiance enhancement, they began pounding the city-protecting formation day and night—without actually assaulting the walls.
By itself, this was naturally insufficient to break the formation.
However, it steadily consumed the spirit stones within Kunyang.
With both sides using second-tier formations, what they were competing over was "financial strength"!
"Buzz, buzz, buzz!"
Within the city-protecting formation, dull reverberations echoed constantly overhead.
The spirit stones in the various formation disks were replaced who knew how many times within half a day. Middle-grade spirit stones alone were consumed to the tune of a full four pieces.
"This won't do, this won't do!" Huang Laojiu looked as though his heart was bleeding. With a bitter expression, he said, "Fellow Daoists, if this continues, at most half a month will be enough to exhaust all the spirit stones we brought this time."
"What do you mean by that, old Huang?" Wang Zhi strode over with his blade and said bluntly. "You're using spirit stones, but the enemy is using them too! How can they keep bombarding us endlessly while you're already saying you can't hold on?"
"Aiyo, General, you don't understand!" Huang Laojiu pointed helplessly at the pitch-black sea of enemy troops outside the city. "That Shengyun Sect has mines!"
Wang Zhi shot back, "And you don't?"
"Sigh…"
Guiyuan Sect cultivator Hu Hua sighed softly. "We used to have one, but ten years ago, it was exchanged by our Supreme Elder for resources from others, and after that, it was gone."
"Yes," another cultivator immediately echoed. "These past ten years, our sect's expenditures have been extremely tight. Even our monthly stipends have been cut significantly!"
"And pills as well."
"Magical tools too…"
"Isn't that so?"
As they spoke, the cultivators grew increasingly resentful.
"That was a first-tier supreme-grade spirit mine! You could even frequently dig out middle-grade spirit stones from it!"
"Exactly."
"If we can't find a new spirit mine within fifty years, the Guiyuan Sect will have completely exhausted its foundation."
"Who knows what the Supreme Elder traded it for…"
"Such prodigality…"
"Otherwise, when dealing with the Shengyun Sect this time, how could we have ended up short even on spirit stones?"
"Enough!" Cultivator Qian Qiren frowned and scolded them. "What use is there in complaining here?!"
"Senior Huang," Cui Zichen stepped closer and asked, "what should we do next? We can't possibly shut down the formation, can we?"
"We can only reduce the coverage of the formation to lower its consumption," Huang Laojiu replied.
He raised his head and pointed at the barrier above with the donkey-driving whip in his hand. "In a moment, this old man will contract the formation. Its power will not decrease, but most of the time it will no longer cover the entire city. Only by doing this can we conserve spirit stones."
In truth.
There was no other choice.
Under his control, the Black-Armored Xunwind Formation gradually began to contract.
The original formation had been like a massive blue-green glass dome enveloping the city from the outside. After contracting, however, it clung tightly to the surface of Kunyang's city walls, turning the entire city jade-green in color.
The defensive power remained at the second tier.
The soldiers standing atop the walls still received the enhancement of wind-attribute mana.
The only difference was that the barrier above their heads had disappeared.
But this also meant that the enemy was no longer blocked and could charge directly onto the walls to seize the initiative—what followed would be brutal close-quarters combat!
"The formation is closed!"
"Brothers!"
"Charge!"
"First to climb the wall shall be enfeoffed as a marquis—"
Minister of War Zhu Ming roared as he drew the sword at his waist and issued the order to assault the city once more.
Just like before.
After several rounds of long-range exchanges.
The black tide of enemy troops began climbing the city walls.
Icy, bone-piercing sword qi swept in, and viscous Nether River true force poured forth in a rolling torrent.
Flames erupted abruptly as a divine dragon tore through the black waterfall and collided head-on with the suddenly descending sword edge. Shockwaves rippled outward. Chen Sanshi's legs planted into the ground like iron pillars, yet his body was still forced backward for dozens of yards. His flame-wreathed legs scraped across the green-brick ground empowered by the city-protecting formation, spraying sparks everywhere, before his back slammed heavily into the wall of the battlements.
There was no chance to catch his breath—Ling Kui's sword fell again.
Chen Sanshi no longer met him head-on. Stepping onto a flying sword, he shot into the air, activating a Swift Flight Talisman and a Wind-Avoidance Talisman in rapid succession, his speed surging sharply.
With one strike missing, Ling Kui crushed a talisman of his own. Streams of radiant light formed wings behind his back as he flew into the sky in pursuit of the white-robed figure, though his flying speed was clearly slower.
By the time he finally caught up, the weakening effect from the Nether River true force had already been fully purged. After a single exchange, the opponent once again swiftly pulled away.
Thus the cycle repeated.
Despite possessing combat power that clearly overwhelmed his opponent, Ling Kui found himself unable to truly land a hit. He could only chase Chen Sanshi through the skies, full of strength with nowhere to use it.
The moment he slipped even slightly, Chen Sanshi would dive straight down onto the battlefield, targeting enemy commanders directly. Within less than a quarter of an hour, he succeeded twice—slaying one Martial Saint and one late-stage Qi Refining cultivator.
"You damn scoundrel!" Ling Kui quickly realized he was being toyed with. He decisively stopped the pursuit, turned back toward the city walls, and drove his sword straight at the second-tier formation master Huang Laojiu, repaying in kind.
In a sense, this formation master was even more important than the white-robed warrior.
Once the formation master died, the city's defenders would lose all ability to resist.
This battlefield between mortals.
Had already begun to resemble a sect war from the cultivation world!
"Daoist Chen, save me!!!"
Huang Laojiu wailed as he swung the donkey-driving whip in his hand. Blue-green spiritual light flared and collided with the broadsword, but he was instantly sent flying, smashing heavily into the wall.
Chen Sanshi, wielding his flame-wreathed spear, rushed in just in time and was forced to engage the Ling family's old ancestor head-on atop the city wall. The Nether River true force quickly contaminated both the Jingshen within his body and the weapon in his hands.
"I'll help you!" The injured Huang Laojiu scrambled back to his feet. From his wine gourd poured torrents of dark green spiritual light like surging rivers, all of it falling onto the white-robed figure to help him accelerate the removal of the Nether River true force. He then formed seals and chanted incantations, concentrating part of the Black-Armored Xunwind Formation's power onto Chen Sanshi, and continued casting various spells without pause.
With his full support, the negative effects brought by the Nether River true force were mitigated as much as possible.
Even so, this merely slowed the speed at which the true force was being sealed.
Chen Sanshi was relying entirely on his near-peerless spear technique to forcibly endure the battle. Under the Fire-Attribute Breathing Method, the Jingshen within his body was pushed almost to its limit.
If the fight continued, he would have no choice but to abandon protecting Huang Laojiu—otherwise, even he would collapse.
"Activate the formation!"
At the critical moment.
Huang Laojiu's hoarse, trembling voice rang out. He formed hand seals with both hands and muttered incantations as the Black-Armored Xunwind Formation was fully activated once more!
A dark green, arc-shaped barrier descended from the sky like an enormous inverted bowl, sealing the city within.
The abruptly reappearing formation created a wall of isolation.
The court army was once again forced to attack the barrier, unable to directly climb the walls, while the enemy troops already on the walls became "isolated forces."
This sudden, unanticipated change threw the court's side—both soldiers and cultivators—into chaos as they were immediately beset by heavy encirclement attacks.
After only a few exchanges, two cultivators died under the encirclement. Their fellow sect members were blocked outside and unable to enter, forced to watch helplessly as they were slain.
After dealing with these people, the Guiyuan Sect cultivators surged en masse toward the Ling family's old ancestor.
Ling Kui narrowed his eyes slightly. In the end, he chose not to take the risk of fighting many alone. After shaking the white-robed figure back with a single sword strike, he used a flying talisman to withdraw from the city-protecting formation.
Chang'an sounded the gong and withdrew its troops.
The second round of the siege was declared over!
This time.
It should originally have been the Kunyang defenders who suffered heavier losses.
However, Huang Laojiu's critical use of the formation to "close the door and beat the dog" caused a drastic reversal of the situation. After tallying everything, it was instead the court's side that suffered even heavier casualties.
"Many thanks to Brother Chen for saving my life!"
Huang Laojiu clasped his fists toward the white-robed figure and bowed deeply. "This old man truly isn't skilled in combat. If Brother Chen hadn't intervened in time just now, I fear I would have died on the spot!"
"You flatter me, Senior Huang," Chen Sanshi replied aloud, though inwardly he was unconvinced.
Huang Laojiu had clearly planned this long in advance.
He had played Ling Kui and the others on the city wall.
Earlier, the formation had remained in a contracted state, yet under this man's control it could be redeployed in such a short time. That alone showed extremely deep attainment in formations, reaching the level of moving them as easily as one's own limbs—utterly different from the clumsy appearance he had shown before.
After two rounds of siege.
An entire day had already passed.
The soldiers gathered weapons and carried away corpses, moving back and forth to clean the battlefield, constantly prepared to receive the next assault.
"Brother Chen's spear technique is astonishing. If it were an ordinary True Force Early Stage martial artist, I'm afraid they wouldn't last even a single move before Ling Kui," Huang Laojiu said in a very respectful tone. "Moreover, this old man sees that Brother Chen has reached the Qi Refining Middle Stage in just two or three years. Your spiritual root aptitude must be quite good!"
"Unparalleled in martial path, extraordinary in spiritual roots."
"Why must Brother Chen struggle bitterly in the mortal world? Why not join my Guiyuan Sect?"
"With your aptitude, you would enter as a true disciple. A Foundation Establishment Pill would certainly be allocated to you in the future."
"Thank you for Senior Huang's kindness. I accept it in my heart," Chen Sanshi replied calmly. "However, with a great battle imminent, such matters are better discussed another day."
Chen Sanshi did not reject him outright.
He did not wish to offend the formation master he still had to rely on at such a critical juncture.
"This old man was too abrupt. I hope Brother Chen will forgive me. I merely wished to cherish talent on behalf of my sect," Huang Laojiu said.
He did not pursue the matter further, instead casually lifting the wine gourd at his waist and savoring a sip of crude mortal yellow wine.
After roughly seven to eight hours.
The enemy army launched the third round of siege.
This time.
Their formation changed.
One hundred li away, Shan Liangcheng danced the Mysterious Jade Golden Radiance Bamboo, its clanging sound seeming to descend from beyond the nine heavens.
The so-called "Six Ding Six Jia" grand formation was naturally not limited to a single Heaven Gate golden radiance array.
"Third decree—Thunder Shakes the Heavens' Soldiers! Fourth decree—Li Fire Burns Evil Demons!"
At the very front of the million-strong army, the power erupting from the celestial pillars underwent a drastic transformation.
On several stone pillars, lightning like silver serpents coiled around them. All soldiers passing through the Heaven Gate found their weapons infused with surging thunder!
On several other pillars, blazing flames ignited. All siege engines that passed through the Heaven Gate seemed to transform into ferocious beasts of fire!
With spirit stones insufficient, Kunyang City could only briefly activate the full formation at critical moments. Facing such a spectacle now, the defenders could only grit their teeth and meet it head-on.
This siege.
Lasted a full two days.
The Kunyang defenders…
Began to fall into a grave disadvantage.
They lost over ten thousand soldiers, two battle generals, and three Qi Refining cultivators.
Only at the mao hour of the third day did the court temporarily sound the gong and withdraw.
"Shan Liangcheng."
Ling Kui arrived at the central command position. "Speed up the siege. Take them down as soon as possible."
"Oh?"
Shan Liangcheng, seated cross-legged and suspended in midair, opened his eyes. "Is Senior Ling worried about unforeseen complications?"
"Yes," Ling Kui nodded. "That Chen brat is about to break through."
He could sense that the opponent lacked only the final Jingshen to break through to the True Force Middle Stage. At present, only that last step remained.
Though he was not afraid.
Even if the opponent succeeded in breaking through, he still could not handle the Nether River true force.
Still, it was best not to invite unnecessary complications.
"True Force Middle Stage?"
Hearing this, Shan Liangcheng showed slight surprise. "That speed is probably even faster than Senior Ling was back then."
"Rest assured, Old Ancestor Ling."
"Shan has long been prepared."
He paused, then raised his voice and ordered the several messenger generals beside him, "Pass down the order—starting today, cease the siege!"
"Cease the siege?"
Ling Kui frowned slightly, clearly not understanding.
"Hehe, Senior Ling's swordsmanship is extraordinary, but you likely are not versed in military strategy," Shan Liangcheng explained patiently. "There is a saying in the art of war: 'Attacking the city is inferior; attacking the heart is superior.'"
"After several consecutive days of siege, the enemy is in a state of extreme tension. To abruptly stop now, then apply a few minor stratagems—there may be unexpected results."
Ling Kui said with a half-smile, "Let's hear it."
"This first stratagem is called 'Encircle the army, but leave a gap.'"
Encircle the army, but leave a gap!
As Shan Liangcheng spoke, he waved the Mysterious Jade Golden Radiance Bamboo. The enormous formation disk rotated, and stone pillars one after another descended outside Kunyang City from a hundred li away.
"What is this now?!"
Inside the city.
The defenders felt the earth shake and the mountains tremble.
Before everyone's eyes, thick earth-yellow radiance was summoned from the depths of the ground. Between pairs of stone pillars, curtains of earth-colored light formed one after another.
But this was not an attacking formation—it was a defensive formation.
Similar to the Water-Controlling Grand Formation and the Black-Armored Xunwind Formation, it was likewise a one-way defensive array. Only now, the thick-earth defensive formations surrounded Kunyang City on three sides, becoming a cage imprisoning the city!
If the rear wall and the airspace above were sealed as well, the entire Kunyang City would be trapped within a second-tier grand formation.
A city holding two hundred thousand troops had become a great jar filled with old soft-shelled turtles!