“No wonder I felt a little strange when I tested the earth vein here. So that’s the reason.”
Xu Quan from the Heaven and Earth Hall earlier was not really unskilled. Instead, he had been disrupted by the arrangements of the Hundred Tempering Mountain and had missed a main vein. He had even misjudged the location when he was measuring the subsidiary vein branch.
Originally, it was very difficult to find the earth vein. Now that it was specially moved away, it was even harder to find.
If not for Jiang Li’s presence, the battle plan would have definitely collapsed. With this major problem, who knew what this battle would end up like.
The Hundred Tempering Mountain was truly capable. Most likely, when they did those demonic deeds, they had already expected such a day to come, so they made these preparations in advance.
However, with so many arrangements, the other party definitely would not have guessed that they would be able to find the location of the earth vein so quickly.
This way, the alliance army might be able to catch them off guard!
Jiang Li brought a group of cultivators and flew around the outer area of the Hundred Tempering Mountain. The vein probing needles he brought out had just been used up, and the two main mountain veins and 173 branches were all pointed out.
After Dongfang Guangling and the other elders praised Jiang Li endlessly, they brought their disciples to start setting up arrangements at the various earth vein nodes.
As a combatant, Jiang Li returned to the ship to recuperate.
Above, the cannon fire of the 33 flying ships slowed down and continued to attack in an orderly manner.
Losing a few spirit stones was nothing, but they could not let the other party discover anything amiss. If they were prepared, then their advancement would naturally be even more difficult.
The Shu Mountain’s Five Elements Sword Formation had exhausted too much spiritual qi. At this moment, it had already stopped.
However, they did not idle. On the mountaintop closest to the Hundred Tempering Mountain below, they relied on a large number of spirit stones to build a temporary Spirit Gathering Array.
Such an array formation would help the Shu Mountain sword cultivators maintain the sword array for a longer period of time.
An entire day later, the cannons of the 33 warships lit up again. The surging energy was gathered by the array formations on the ships, gathered together, ready to shoot out at any time.
Flying swords that flickered with cold lights flew into the sky in an orderly manner. An even larger Five Elements Sword Formation gathered in the sky.
This time, the scale of the flying swords was no longer just 150, but a total of 500 Shu Mountain flying swords.
The three sects’ alliance army was already prepared to attack.
At a certain moment, Elder He waved the flag.
Boom!
On the ground, 175 spiritual qi bombs were detonated at the same time.
Amidst the muffled explosion, a large-scale earthquake and collapse suddenly occurred in the mountains surrounding the Hundred Tempering Mountain.
By directly destroying the earth vein, when it reacted to the outside world, there would naturally be a catastrophic reaction of mountains and rivers collapsing and the earth pits caving in.
This kind of obstruction method was not the best, and it was impossible to permanently cut off the earth vein. However, directly igniting the spiritual qi bomb was the fastest method.
The only problem was that they needed to break into the Hundred Tempering Mountain and destroy their array formation node within an hour.
Otherwise, if the earth vein flow recovered, their array formation would also recover.
After this earth vein was broken, the Hundred Tempering Mountain volcano that was still spewing out thick smoke and fire stopped abruptly.
The formation light membrane that covered the Hundred Tempering Mountain immediately dimmed. Its might was less than 50% of its original strength. Moreover, it could not be sustained for long.
On the mountaintop, 500 sword cultivators sat cross-legged on the Spirit Gathering Array. They formed hand seals in their hands, and 500 sword lights immediately surged towards the Hundred Tempering Mountain.
The 33 flying ship warships that had been waiting also fired their cannons.
The terrifying attack that could destroy a mountain immediately bombarded the array formation’s light membrane.
The layer of light membrane immediately caved in and deformed violently. Due to the absence of the earth vein’s support, the originally dispirited spiritual light quickly turned worse.
One second, two seconds, three seconds… Boom! With a loud bang, the huge Hundred Tempering Mountain Array suddenly shattered!
The sword array and spiritual pillars that did not lose momentum bombarded the Hundred Tempering Mountain Sect, wiping out a large number of buildings.
The pill furnaces that had been working all year round exploded when they were affected. The top sect, the Hundred Tempering Mountain, immediately turned into a sea of flames.
“The blood of our fellow disciples has yet to dry! We can’t sleep in peace! Disciples of the Scripture Storage Valley! Now is the time to take revenge!”
“Exterminate the demons and defend righteousness! Our swords will slay this evil mountain! Shu Mountain disciples! Sword Kinesis!”
“We have a blood feud! This is Buddha’s Wrath! Benevolent Travel Temple’s monks! Purify them!”
The array formation shattered, and the three flatlands at the foot of the Hundred Tempering Mountain suddenly exploded.
More than a thousand figures immediately surged out!
This was an underground tunnel dug by the Earth Dust Scripture cultivators and other earth attribute cultivators in a short period of time.
The disciples of the three sects hid in the tunnel and launched a surprise attack while their top-notch combat strength was restricted, and Jiang Li was among them.
Moreover, because of his enormous contribution earlier, his extremely high reputation in the sect, the modesty of his fellow disciples, and Elder He’s intentional push, the temporary leader of the Scripture Storage Valley’s surprise attack team was him, Jiang Li!
Jiang Li was the first to leave the tunnel. His figure turned into an afterimage as he rushed towards the other party’s mountain gate.
The pitch-black chains locked around his right fist, forming a giant round fist.
Terrifying spiritual qi gathered in his fist. Borrowing the momentum, he punched the stone door!
A large number of cracks began to spread out from the middle of the mountain gate carved from crimson rocks. Dark green spiritual light erupted from the cracks again, and then a large number of tree roots and vines grew out from within, directly crushing the entire stone gate.
Although the grand entrance of the Hundred Tempering Mountain had lost the enhancement of the array formation and its defense was greatly reduced, it should not be shattered so easily by a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Even if a Golden Core cultivator attacked with his full strength, it might not be so easy.
Behind the stone door, the disciples of the Hundred Tempering Mountain looked at the suddenly broken mountain gate in confusion. Before they could react, hundreds of earth spikes suddenly pierced through the ground, turning them into bloody human skewers.
Elder Lin, who followed closely behind Jiang Li, originally wanted to help him, but he did not expect Jiang Li to suddenly erupt with such strength.
Why did he feel that the punch earlier was not inferior to his own?
Originally, Elder He had only asked Jiang Li to lead the team in name and had even arranged for Elder Lin, a Golden Core cultivator, to assist from the side. However, he did not expect that his existence seemed to be unnecessary now.
“Follow Jiang Li! Slay the demons!”
Jiang Li was the fastest, and he took the lead to open the other party’s gate with a punch.
The disciples behind him were also excited as they followed him into the Hundred Tempering Mountain.
The Hundred Tempering Mountain had made so many preparations. Never in their dreams did they expect that the alliance army could break through their array so quickly.
Immediately, they were caught off guard.
When the Hundred Tempering Mountain disciples patrolling the mountain discovered them, they saw a powerful spell technique attacking them.
These people were all elites. Most of them were cultivators above the Core Formation realm. Jiang Li, the leader, had the lowest cultivation level.
However, no one would look down on him because of this, because the results of Jiang Li’s slaughter were practically more exaggerated than ten Core Formation cultivators.
He used the Demon Awakening Technique continuously. Large numbers of Wood Demons of various colors twisted their wooden bodies and quickly rushed towards the enemy group.
Under Jiang Li’s feet, countless thick tree roots and branches broke out of the ground, forming a living sea of trees that pushed forward. He was like a surfer, riding a green tsunami forward with unstoppable momentum.
The members of the three sects were divided into three groups.
Jiang Li led his men and directly attacked the supplies warehouse of their Hundred Tempering Mountain, destroying their logistics support.
Benevolent Travel Temple’s target was the other party’s spaceport. They wanted to avenge their sect’s warships!
The goal of the Shu Mountain Five Elements Peak was the earth fire core. That was the place to maintain the supply of earth fire in the entire Hundred Tempering Mountain.
Jiang Li led the group up the mountain. At this moment, his combat style had changed slightly.
In a complicated battlefield, the speed of fighting enemies through close combat was unsatisfactory. It was more practical to use large-scale crowd control techniques.
For example, by using the green wave of roots below his feet, those cultivators below the Core Formation realm could not escape. They would easily be swept into the roots that constantly stretched out and be instantly crushed into pieces.
Soon, the fellow disciples realized that they actually did not need to rush into the enemy to fight. As long as they jumped onto Jiang Li’s green wooden tide, they could safely stand there and attack. Such terrifying roots would even take the initiative to help them block the spell techniques that attacked.
Among the three teams, with Jiang Li’s large-scale control of the field, their speed was the fastest, and the casualties were the lowest.
The Shu Mountain team had the least number of people. Their bodies were the most fragile, and they seemed to be in the most danger.
However, that was not the case. There were 500 flying swords of various colors surrounding them at all times, their power peerless.
Sword cultivators were all long-range fighters. The 500 sword cultivators sitting on the mountaintop in the distance were actually the main force.
They had only come here to observe the enemy. As long as their gazes locked onto them, the Five Elements Sword Formation would suppress all dissent.
The slowest to progress was the Benevolent Travel Temple.
In the previous battle, they had suffered heavy injuries, so they were naturally a little short on manpower. However, they also relied on the Buddhist Golden Light Array to steadily set off towards the target location.
In the sky above the Hundred Tempering Mountain, the aftermath of an intense battle between top-notch cultivators had already appeared. However, Jiang Li was not worried. Now, it was a battle of three top sects against one. In terms of the number of high-level combatants, it was completely impossible for them to lose.
After burying a batch of self-destructing medicine men with the green roots wooden wave, they passed through the poisonous and withered woods and were stopped by the other party when they reached the warehouse of the Hundred Tempering Mountain.
What blocked the path of the surprise attack team was a Golden Core stage cultivator and two other True Core stage cultivators.
The Golden Core in the lead carried a pill furnace, and the two True Cores beside him each held a gourd.
The pill furnace collapsed, and a large amount of flames immediately surged out.
Then, from the gourd in the other two’s hands, one spat out wood-attribute spiritual qi, and the other spat out gusts of wind.
At this moment, the wood spiritual qi fueled the fire, and the wind assisted in spreading it. The surging flames immediately increased by ten times and collided with the green wave.
The tree roots and branches were constantly burned to ashes but continued to grow. The trees that were formed from the high purity of the Nine Nether spiritual qi were not as afraid of fire burning on ordinary wood.
The two waves collided, and in a short period of time, they were evenly matched.
This was merely a spell technique executed by Jiang Li alone, but it was actually on par with the Golden Core and True Core cultivators who were using artifacts!
“We need to capture the leader! Let’s kill that kid first.”
When the three Hundred Tempering Mountain elders saw that the flames could not take down the other party for a long time, they thought that this group of cultivators was working together to cast the spell, so they gritted their teeth and said this.
However, when they raised their heads again, they noticed that Jiang Li who was originally standing at the front of the wave had already vanished.
They hurriedly released their spiritual perception and scanned the surroundings. Only then did they realize that there was a figure rapidly approaching in the sea of fire that the three of them had joined forces to create!
Relying on his defense and resistances, Jiang Li did not avoid the terrifying high temperature of the burning flames at all. He directly broke through the thick flames and charged towards the three of them at a high speed.
A Foundation Establishment disciple actually dared to charge towards a Golden Core and two True Core cultivators alone? What was the difference between this and courting death?
Most importantly, this was Jiang Li, the damned disciple who caused their plan to fail in the Misty Mountain Range’s Cultivator Competition!
The killing intent of the three Core Formation elders surged, but Jiang Li did not care.
He raised his fist and swung out with his Dragon Scale Arm!
Boom!
Jiang Li exchanged blows with the Golden Core elder in the lead, and the other party’s pupils instantly constricted. He took three steps back while a line of blood flowed from the corner of his mouth.
His expression was one of fear, as if he had discovered an unbelievable truth.
“You—you’re actually a Golden Core cultivator?!”
He sensed the overbearing spiritual qi in Jiang Li’s hand. That cold and sinister force directly shattered his fire attribute spiritual qi, and it even pierced straight into his internal organs and meridians, causing him to spit out a mouthful of blood.
This level of spiritual qi! He was definitely a Golden Core!
“Why do you care if I’m a Golden Core cultivator or not? If these are your last words, then you can die already.”
The fist of Jiang Li’s right hand was wrapped with the Dragon Imprisoning Lock. When the two fists separated, the shackles on the other end had already attached onto the other party’s wrist.
With only one wrist, the Dragon Imprisoning Lock could not completely suppress the other party, but it was enough to make him unable to escape.
Moving the Immortal Slaying Flying Sword with a single thought! Go!
With a thought, a dark light flashed between Jiang Li’s brows.
Before the enemy could react, the Immortal Slaying Flying Sword had already pierced through his head.
In the back, the people in the Scripture Storage Valley were dumbfounded.
That was a Golden Core cultivator, right? That was definitely a Golden Core cultivator! The Golden Core in his body had already been dug out from his Qi Sea by Jiang Li. It could not be fake!
How could such an important figure die so easily!
Xu Quan and the others gulped.
Previously, they thought that the sect had exaggerated the matters of this person too much. How could a Foundation Establishment cultivator defeat a Core Formation cultivator?
Now, it seemed that the sect was still too humble. What had happened just now? They had not even seen clearly how a Golden Core cultivator had died!
This was the Golden Core elder of the Hundred Tempering Mountain, not some rogue cultivator. His strength would not be low.
Even a Golden Core cultivator was killed in two moves. If it were them, wouldn’t they have no chance at all?
Fortunately, they had not displayed the dignity of a senior brother in front of this junior brother earlier. Otherwise, they would really be too ashamed to face others in the future.
At this moment, Jiang Li’s might was terrifying, and practically no one below the Nascent Soul realm could resist him.
However, with his cultivation and strength, he should be above the True Core stage and below the Golden Core stage.
Although he had improved during this period of time, there had not been any qualitative change. If he wanted to kill the Golden Core cultivator, he could rely on the Immortal Slaying Flying Sword to sneak attack, but it was extremely difficult to gain the upper hand in a head-on collision with the spiritual qi of a spell technique.
Today, he had done it.
That was because Jiang Li was wearing a wooden close-fitting light armor under his white disciple uniform.
This light armor was none other than Jiang Li’s Nine Nether clone, Green Mountain Ascetic!
Green Mountain Ascetic turned into a wooden armor and stuck it on his body. It was equivalent to another top-notch Golden Core cultivator lending him their full cultivation and strength.
Moreover, the second Parallel Mind worked together in Jiang Li’s body. He could perfectly unleash the power of Green Mountain Ascetic’s cultivation!
This was Jiang Li’s strongest state under this current situation. His various abilities were superior to ordinary Golden Cores.
Therefore, that Golden Core cultivator was defeated by Jiang Li so easily.
Jiang Li put away the Golden Core that he had just dug out. Beside him stood two Hundred Tempering Mountain elders.