The second group of Qi Refining cultivators included Jiang Ying, Jiang Bin, and Jiang Ling. The talented members of the Jiang family’s younger generation were now standing atop the wall. Most of its Foundation Establishment cultivators had also joined the melee. If the Jiang family did not set an example, the independent cultivators of Wuti City would be even less willing to fight.
“Ah!” A scream rang out as the first cultivator to die at the claws of a demonic beast fell from a height and was torn apart below.
It was like a signal. Before long, cultivators began losing their lives to the beasts one after another.
The remaining fighters changed color. One timid Jiang disciple even tried to flee back inside the defensive formation, only to be killed by a Jiang cultivator at Meridian Condensation.
Jiang Tianxing looked coldly down at the crowd. “The hatred between our cultivators and demonic beasts is irreconcilable. Once the beasts breach the walls, no one in Wuti City will escape. You are Jiang family disciples, supported by the people of this city. Anyone who shrinks from battle will share his fate!”
His words rang with unmistakable authority. The dead man had belonged to the Jiang family, yet the independent cultivators present all felt a chill. More than a few who had considered quietly escaping abandoned the idea. At least until the city showed signs of falling, none dared run.
Jiang Tianxing swept his gaze across the younger disciples around him. Many lowered their heads guiltily when his eyes passed over them. He sighed inwardly. The next generation of the Jiang family had scarcely experienced any real hardship, and the scale of this battle was overwhelming.
Ordering the death of the fleeing disciple had been a desperate measure. Much of the city’s defense depended on ordinary independent cultivators. The four great families might lead Wuti City, but they could not hold it with their own members alone; their disciples served chiefly as the spearhead. If even Jiang cultivators deserted, the independent cultivators would surely turn and run.
The Jiang family’s strength would undoubtedly shrink greatly after this battle. On the other hand, those who survived would be the elite of the elite, sifted out like gold from sand. If he nurtured those survivors properly, Jiang Tianxing was confident he could rebuild the Jiang family in three to five years, perhaps even stronger than it was now!
He watched the battlefield calmly. Nearby, an old man was looking at him with a gaze full of resentment.
Jiang Tianxing frowned slightly, suddenly recalling that the disciple he had just ordered killed seemed to be a descendant of this elder. His eyes dimmed. He leaned over to whisper a few words to a middle-aged man, who quickly left. As the fighting grew crueler and more cultivators joined the battle, the elder was assigned to a five-person team ordered to intercept a late Meridian Condensation demonic beast…
The beast was an exceptionally powerful giant python, more than thirty zhang long. A yellowish-brown fleshy swelling crowned its head, pulsing as though something might burst through it at any moment.
The python’s scales were so tough that ordinary attacks barely tickled it. It could also spit venom, and more than ten Foundation Establishment cultivators had already died at its jaws.
Jiang Tianxing had sent the Meridian Condensation team to kill the python not merely to eliminate a potential personal threat. Given its enormous size and formidable attacks, allowing it near the city wall would place a terrible burden on the defensive formation.
The elder joined forces with four other cultivators at early Meridian Condensation to attack the python. But it did not fall into their trap. Instead, it used itself as bait and annihilated all five cultivators.
After swallowing the last Meridian Condensation cultivator in a single gulp, the python raised its enormous head and stared toward Jiang Tianxing on the wall. Its huge tail cracked against the ground, and an ugly, openly mocking smile spread across its serpentine face.
“Patriarch! I request permission to fight!” A powerful-looking man snorted and bowed respectfully to Jiang Tianxing.
Jiang Tianxing considered the request for a while, but could only shake his head. The man was one of merely three late Meridian Condensation cultivators in the Jiang family. The python was formidable, but it plainly was not the commander of the attacking force.
No matter how powerful a beast might be, it could not compare with an intelligent demon cultivator. If he sent the man out now and the demon cultivators launched an all-out attack, Jiang Tianxing and the family’s remaining late Meridian Condensation cultivator might not be able to hold the wall.
More infuriating still, the Jiang family probably had another insider. Jiang Tianxing had to keep watching the gate below at all times and could not leave his position.
Deeply disappointed, the man struck a fist into his palm and watched the python crawl slowly through the beast horde, grinding his teeth. Anything that blocked its way, human or beast, was swallowed whole.
Jiang Tianxing watched the python deliberately slow down to taunt him and grew increasingly anxious. His available manpower was limited. If he could not dispose of the python before it reached the wall, the consequences might be no better than an insider throwing the city gates open.
“Patriarch Jiang, why not let me try my hand against it?”
Just as Jiang Tianxing was wracking his brains for someone who could remove the python, a clear voice sounded behind him.
“You?” Patriarch Jiang stared in surprise. The speaker was Xu Ziyan, the very man who had discovered the approaching beast horde.
Jiang Tianxing’s brow furrowed with obvious disapproval. This young man was the disciple of a Nascent Soul Dao Lord from the Flowing Light Sect. Although Xu Ziyan had discovered and warned him of the impending siege, Jiang Tianxing had never once considered allowing him onto the battlefield.
What a ridiculous idea!
If Xu Ziyan fought here, all would be well if nothing happened. But if he were injured or killed, those demonic beasts would eventually be slain or driven off, and the Nascent Soul Dao Lord would certainly turn his vengeance toward the Jiang family.
Jiang Tianxing knew full well that exalted Nascent Soul Dao Lords could be amiable and might even help others frequently. But once the life of someone close to them was at stake, nobody could remain rational.
He had not interacted much with Dao Lord Luo Yun and could not be sure of the man’s disposition. For safety’s sake, he had decided from the beginning that Luo Yun’s disciples must leave Wuti City alive and unharmed.
Even if the city fell, he would risk his own life to get the brothers and the Jiang disciples needed to preserve the family line out through a secret passage.
“Fellow Daoist Xu, the battlefield below is already chaotic, and that python has reached late Meridian Condensation. It is far too dangerous for you. If you want to slay demonic beasts, you can always go to the Far Western frontier when you’re stronger. Why take such a risk here?”
Xu Ziyan smiled. “Patriarch Jiang, you’re worrying unnecessarily. If I want to attack that beast, I won’t necessarily have to leave this wall.”
“Oh?” Jiang Tianxing’s puzzled gaze moved to the longbow on Xu Ziyan’s back. He had already recognized it as a magical artifact, but apparently one of the lowest grade, suitable only for Qi Refining disciples.
Moreover, Xu Ziyan had not used the bow when he fought at Liuyun Pavilion. Jiang Tianxing had assumed he simply liked bows and carried this one as an ornament.
“Then… give it a try.” After hesitating, Jiang Tianxing agreed. Xu Ziyan would be attacking from within the protection of the defensive formation, so there should be no danger… right?
Xu Ziyan smiled with an air of innocent honesty and drew the longbow. As he held it ready, spiritual power surged wildly around him. With a crisp crack, the outer layer of the bow’s grip burst apart, revealing a gleaming, multicolored metal beneath.
“Five-Colored Giltgold!” exclaimed the sturdy man beside Jiang Tianxing.
Xu Ziyan smiled faintly. Holding the bow in his left hand, he drew back the string with his right. A dark-purple arrow gradually took shape between his fingers, flashing with dazzling lightning.
Jiang Tianxing was surprised by the technique and secretly thankful. He had once considered selecting a better longbow from the Jiang family treasury to give Xu Ziyan as a gesture of friendship. In his eyes, it was rather embarrassing for the disciple of a Nascent Soul Dao Lord to carry such a shabby bow, even merely as decoration.
Fortunately, the moment the idea had occurred to him, Xu Ziyan’s warning about the beast siege had distracted him so thoroughly that he forgot the gift. Otherwise, Jiang Tianxing would have made a complete fool of himself.
Five-Colored Giltgold was an exceedingly rare metal, prized above all for its ability to strengthen attacks.
An attack that originally carried three parts of spiritual power could attain the force of five after being enhanced by Five-Colored Giltgold. For an aggressive fighter like Xu Ziyan, a magical artifact that amplified offensive strength was ideal.
Xu Ziyan had deliberately added the bow’s plain exterior to keep the Giltgold hidden. Wealth should not be flaunted. Back when he had been an inexperienced young cultivator with no backing and only Qi Refining strength, parading a longbow made from such valuable metal would have been like writing kill me across his forehead.
Things were different now. He had attained late Foundation Establishment and was the disciple of a Nascent Soul Dao Lord from the Flowing Light Sect. If he continued being excessively modest, people might actually mock him.
Xu Ziyan himself did not care what others said, but he could not allow them to criticize his master. So he chose this occasion to reveal his Giltgold Horn Bow. Anyone considering stealing the weapon or killing him for it would first have to decide whether they could withstand the wrath of a Nascent Soul Dao Lord.
Although all that took time to explain, only an instant actually passed. As Xu Ziyan poured spiritual power into the arrow between his fingers, its color deepened from dark purple to pitch-black. Crackling lightning coiled so densely around it that scarcely a gap remained.
Jiang Tianxing was stunned by the pressure radiating from the arrow. Whatever Xu Ziyan’s actual cultivation level, the destructive power of this single shot had already reached at least late Meridian Condensation. It was astonishing.