Chapter Fifty: The Onslaught

Cao Yun returned to his cave abode and, guided by the Soul Devouring Curse’s resonance, sent a summons to He Dong with a mere thought.

Before long, He Dong arrived, bowing his head respectfully as he stood before Cao Yun.

“He Dong, we have exterminated all the righteous cultivators who attacked this time. They will likely learn of this soon and may dispatch Foundation Establishment stage cultivators to the mining site. You must report our elimination of the righteous cultivators to the Heavenly Star Wolf Sect so that they can send Foundation Establishment stage cultivators to guard here for a while,” Cao Yun said calmly, issuing his instructions.

“Yes, Senior Brother Cao. I will depart for the sect today to report this matter to the Sect Leader,” He Dong replied with a slight bow.

“Hmm, you earned the greatest merit in this battle. Go,” Cao Yun said slowly, waving his hand at He Dong.

He Dong nodded upon hearing this and turned to leave, fully understanding the deeper meaning behind Cao Yun’s words.

After He Dong left, the mining site returned to its usual calm. Mortal miners continued to dig desperately for spirit ore, while incidents of death caused by division of labor, greed, and conflict kept occurring. They seemed tireless in this grim pastime. No matter the environment, this peculiar “hobby” remained unchanged.

The cultivators, however, paid no heed to their lives or deaths.

At this moment, Cao Yun sat quietly on the meditation mat in his cave, pondering his future plans. The war between the righteous and demonic paths had escalated, with Foundation Establishment stage cultivators frequently appearing. Though he no longer feared cultivators of his own rank, facing Foundation Establishment stage cultivators meant only fleeing for his life. He had yet to test whether his Killing Intent Threads could wound or slay cultivators of that level. Even if they could, it would likely exhaust the Killing Intent Threads he had painstakingly refined. If the danger persisted, it would merely delay his death.

Increasing his strength had become an urgent matter. Yet, his current guarding mission was a ten-year term, and only after completing it could he obtain three years exempt from participating in the righteous-demonic conflict.

“It seems I must remain here until the mission is complete before strengthening myself. This worthless spirit root can only advance cultivation through pills; it has no means to improve on its own,” Cao Yun said helplessly, shaking his head.

Apart from the barren mountain mining area, no resources were available here. Except for the annual delivery of cultivation pills and spirit stones by the Heavenly Star Wolf Sect, supplies of cultivation materials were nearly impossible to acquire.

Such a desolate place allowed only prodigies like He Dong to steadily improve their cultivation; even cultivators with true spirit roots found it difficult to make progress.

Therefore, Cao Yun hoped the righteous path would send more Foundation Establishment stage cultivators to break his formation. Though their lower-ranked cultivators were poor, their higher-ranked ones were extremely wealthy. Looting a few might help him break through the bottleneck of early Foundation Establishment.

However, half a month passed with no renewed attacks from the righteous path and no reinforcements from He Dong. Cao Yun closed his eyes slightly and sent his divine sense into He Dong’s mind to inquire about the delay.

He Dong explained that the Sect Leader, upon learning of the extreme danger here, had kept him at the Heavenly Star Wolf Sect to manage sect affairs. The elders had been informed of the situation, and they were currently awaiting their response.

This was somewhat troublesome. The Sect Leader’s refusal to release He Dong suggested the Heavenly Star Wolf Sect might be shelving the matter, indicating the war had entered a white-hot phase. Yet, just as the sect could not spare personnel, the righteous path might likewise be unable to send reinforcements.

Thinking this, Cao Yun felt somewhat reassured.

Indeed, a few days later, Cao Yun received a message from He Dong via disciple token. Recently, the righteous and demonic paths had fought several large-scale battles, with hundreds of Foundation Establishment stage cultivators perishing and several strong Foundation Core stage cultivators wounded or killed. Judging by the current situation, the demonic path seemed to be gaining the upper hand.

Upon hearing this, Cao Yun anticipated that soon the legendary Nascent Soul stage cultivators would join the fray, heralding cataclysmic destruction and widespread suffering. Possibly, several nations in the northern region would become casualties of this war.

Time flew like a fleeting horse. More than half a year had passed since Cao Yun last slew righteous cultivators. Just as he thought the righteous path had forgotten this place, a communication talisman silently flew into his cave.

Cao Yun lightly flicked his sleeve, causing the talisman to obediently fall into his hand. He softly circulated his spiritual power and heard a hurried voice: “Senior Brother Cao, a large number of righteous cultivators have gathered outside Mining Area Seven!”

Cao Yun’s eyes sharpened, his expression grave as he stepped outside his cave. Transforming into a streak of light, he sped toward Mining Area Seven.

There, the site was bustling with voices as a large group of Heavenly Star Wolf Sect cultivators gathered. Seeing Cao Yun’s azure light approaching, all eyes turned to him. As his form appeared, several Qi Refining stage cultivators in charge quickly surrounded him, bowing and reporting: “Senior Brother Cao, the righteous path has deployed five Foundation Establishment stage cultivators and twelve Qi Refining stage cultivators here. The strongest Foundation Establishment cultivator, revealed by the Astral Phenomenon Mirror, has reached the peak of Foundation Establishment stage; the other four are all mid-Foundation Establishment or above.”

Cao Yun nodded slightly. As long as no Golden Core stage cultivators were involved, there was no immediate danger. Yet, he knew well that wiping out these men here would surely attract true Foundation Core stage cultivators, making life and death uncertain.

For over half a year, Cao Yun had awaited a reply from the Heavenly Star Wolf Sect, but no news had come. Spirit ore was one of the most vital resources for cultivation sects, and the sect had no reason to ignore it. The lack of communication left Cao Yun full of questions.

Facing so many Foundation Establishment cultivators, he pondered deeply: to fight or not to fight?

With the power of the Heavenly Gang Five-Star Formation, he should be able to withstand the assault of five Foundation Establishment cultivators. However, the enemies were clearly prepared; if they had cultivators familiar with formations, dismantling his defense would be much easier.

“Senior Brother Cao, that woman in red seems to be an inner disciple from the Daoist Formation Pavilion. This Heavenly Gang Five-Star Formation probably won’t last much longer,” the person in charge at Mining Area Seven said anxiously.

“Bringing a formation master was expected,” Cao Yun said calmly. “You all maintain the formation here. I will deal with them.”

“Senior Brother Cao, they have a Foundation Establishment cultivator at the peak stage. If you go alone, it’s risky—” The person in charge began, but Cao Yun waved him off.

In a flash, Cao Yun transformed into a streak of light and dashed out of the Heavenly Gang Five-Star Formation, stopping ten yards from the righteous cultivators.

The five Foundation Establishment cultivators fixed their sharp gazes on the approaching light. A mere scan of their divine senses revealed Cao Yun was only at the early Foundation Establishment stage. Nevertheless, they did not relax; their expressions grew serious, filled with caution and vigilance.