Chapter 3910 — T021 Double Eleven Special Chapter 8: The Mortal Realm

Lin Dongfang shook his head with a bitter smile. "I thought it would be enough, but now I find it still isn't. The Heaven-Tier Great Perfection realm can at best suppress the Vajra Gu and the Mighty Spirit Gu for a while longer—but without the spirit spring water, the problem will resurface in seven days."

If even the Heaven-Tier Great Perfection realm could not do it, then the only hope of curing the problem at its root lay with the Heavenly Dao. But Lin Dongfang was now trapped in West Star Mountain Village and could not leave; to look toward the Heavenly Dao realm on his own strength alone was far easier said than done.

"This..." Aunt Qing hesitated for a moment, then finally spoke. "On my way here, I caught wind of something—they say a large number of top-tier experts have gathered in East Sea City recently, and it looks as though they mean to move against Wei Zhao's girlfriends and his subordinates."

She had thought that once Lin Dongfang raised his strength to the Heaven-Tier Great Perfection realm, he would be able to solve the problem of being unable to leave the village, and it would not be too late to step forward then. But as things stood now, the matter had become rather thorny.

"Is that so?" Lin Dongfang frowned at the news, then suddenly rose to his feet. "There's no time to lose—let's head to the East Sea right now."

"But aren't you unable to leave the village?" Aunt Qing said in surprise.

"As long as I can make it back within seven days, it's fine. That's time enough to settle the matter." Lin Dongfang smiled confidently.

Meanwhile, East Sea City was now a gathering of heroes. He Dantou and the men of the Iron Garment Sect had successfully awaited the arrival of three Heaven-Tier Great Perfection experts from the Center.

Beyond that, lured by He Dantou's promises of gain, the experts of the Black Horse Society had also come to lend their strength, and for a time morale soared.

If He Dantou and the Iron Garment Sect alone had only a slight edge against Wei Zhao's subordinates and the experts of the Blood Garment Yellow Springs Sect, now that the Black Horse Society had joined them, the matter was all but settled.

Seven Heaven-Tier Great Perfection experts led by He Dantou, four Heaven-Tier Great Perfection experts of the Iron Garment Sect, and the host of Black Horse Society experts besides—with such a vast and formidable array, in this post-Cloud-Tier Island era, to sweep aside a trifling East Sea City was nothing; even contending for supremacy over the world would be more than enough.

Rousing their forces, they returned for another round. He Dantou led the host of experts in a menacing advance, sworn to wipe out Wei Zhao's people in one sweep and wash away their former shame.

In the eyes of He Dantou and his lot, this was to be a battle of vindication, one meant to shock the whole world and show every cultivator on earth the full measure of their strength. So from first to last they made no concealment at all, throwing out an overwhelming formation from the very start.

Word reached Wei Zhao's villa at once. Gathered there were not only Qiu Lingshan and the others who had fought that day, but even several of the Blood Garment Yellow Springs Sect's ancestors, each seated in turn.

Watching the menacing spectacle of He Dantou and his company, every face in the room could not help but turn tense; even the Blood Garment ancestors wore the grave expressions of men facing a great enemy.

"What do we do?" In the end it was Qiu Lingshan who gave voice to the thoughts of all present.

Truth be told, with the strength of everyone present plus the Blood Garment ancestors, even against He Dantou and his company they were not entirely without a chance of victory.

But everyone also understood that if it truly came to a head-on clash, win or lose, more than half of those seated here would likely end up as cold corpses. That much was unavoidable.

And then again, faced with such a situation, those present were not bound to fight with their backs to the river—their task was merely to protect the unconscious women; no one had said they must clash to the death with these people.

Knowing they might die, and knowing it was unnecessary, to choose retreat at such a moment was in truth the wise course, and no disgrace at all.

Every gaze in the room swung to the Blood Garment ancestors. Though these men were not Wei Zhao's subordinates, they were allies and outside aid nonetheless, and in the ways of the jianghu their experience ran far deeper and richer than that of these younger juniors.

But the Blood Garment Ancestor shook his head. "The duty of my Blood Garment Yellow Springs Sect is only to protect you all. As for whether or not to fight—that is for you to decide."

Though they counted themselves Wei Zhao's juniors, to those present they were outsiders after all, and their reputation had never been good. To speak up rashly would court resentment and breed discord within the ranks, so they thought it better to hold their tongues.

At that moment, Feng Tianlong suddenly spoke. "My counsel is—we fight."

Hard on his heels, Chen Yuxuan spoke as well. "Agreed."

Then Yu Bing, Wu Chengtian, Zhao Qilei, Zhao Qiwu, Pi Zhifeng, and Pi Zhitao all nodded in turn, resolved to fight with their backs to the river.

Everyone fears death, but for cultivators like them, there were some things more important than death itself.

If they flinched today, they would indeed pass unscathed and escape the calamity—but a shadow would linger for the rest of their lives, and before He Dantou and his kind they would never again hold up their heads.

If they could not even face the likes of He Dantou, what damned pursuit of the Heavenly Dao was there to speak of?

"Good, then we wait for them to come to our door." Qiu Lingshan drew a deep breath.

In truth, if they were resolved to fight to the bitter end, they could still call in more people—after all, Cheng Yiyi, Xu Shilan, and others were now Heaven-Tier Great Perfection experts as well, more than able to lend a hand.

But those people were needed to protect the unconscious women, and most of them were women besides, not strong in real combat; those present did not wish to drag them into it.

War—let the women step aside. That was the most basic resolve of any man.

In fact, Wu Chengtian and the others had been urging Qiu Lingshan all along to withdraw with them, but she had stubbornly insisted on staying here, and no one could persuade her otherwise, so in the end everyone could only give it up in resignation.

Half an hour later, He Dantou led his host of experts back in a mighty tide.

Seeing them drawn up in strict formation, He Dantou burst into laughter—unbridled laughter. "You actually dared to stay here and wait for us to come to your door! I truly don't know whether to praise your courage, or say that your brains have all gone rotten—surely you don't naively think you can escape calamity again this time?"

"Hmph, last time I don't recall just who it was that escaped calamity. What shameless boasting, President He! Last time we mercifully let you off, and now you dare come back—I wonder who gave you such courage, such audacity!" Feng Tianlong shot back with a cold laugh.

He Dantou's face stiffened. Being forced to retreat last time had been utterly humiliating, and to have it brought up now was like tearing open his scar!