Chapter 252 - 182: Dragon Blood Ginseng (Part 2)

Song Changsheng calmly put away the Dragon Blood Ginseng and said with a smile, "Elder Li, please rest assured. We have already contacted the Wang Clan.

"Clan Leader Wang and Senior Wang Wanzhou are already on their way and can set out at a moment’s notice. Has your side devised a strategy yet?"

Upon hearing this, Li Tiancheng’s expression brightened considerably. He nodded and asked, "How many people can the Young Clan Leader commit this time?"

Song Changsheng smiled and said confidently, "The Song and Wang Families will dispatch eight Foundation Establishment Cultivators for this battle, personally led by our clan’s Grand Elder. Is Elder Li satisfied with that?"

"Eight?" Li Tiancheng was inwardly shocked. After their last defeat, the four-clan alliance had only seven Foundation Establishment Cultivators left at their main camp on Cliff Peak.

’And yet the Song and Wang Families could mobilize eight?’

He glanced at Song Changsheng, his expression a mixture of shock and doubt. ’Has the Song Clan really become this powerful?’

"Does Elder Li find that number too high?" Song Changsheng asked, watching Li Tiancheng with a faint, unreadable smile.

"No, no, not at all. I was just surprised. Before I came, our Grand Elder instructed me that once your forces are in position, they will launch an attack. Then our two sides can join forces and annihilate them," Li Tiancheng said, shaking his head quickly. ’Are you kidding? The more people the Song and Wang Families send, the better.’

"If that’s the case, then let’s prepare to set out."

Song Changsheng’s decisiveness left Li Tiancheng in disbelief. He had assumed Song Changsheng would use various excuses to delay and had already steeled himself for it, never expecting things to proceed so smoothly.

He breathed an inward sigh of relief. ’Looks like that two hundred thousand wasn’t spent in vain.’

Little did he know, that was precisely Song Changsheng’s original plan. But he was worried that if he delayed too long, the four-clan alliance would collapse first, making the battle much more difficult to win.

In order to shed less of his own clan’s blood, Song Changsheng had no choice but to abandon this tempting idea.

With a single command, everyone assembled in an instant.

Li Tiancheng was instantly unsettled, for he saw two new faces among the Song Clan’s ranks: a man and a woman, one at Mid-stage Foundation Establishment and the other at Early-stage Foundation Establishment.

’Why does the sect have no records of these two? Could the Song Clan have been training them in secret? It seems we’ve all underestimated the Song Clan,’ Li Tiancheng mused with a frown.

Song Changsheng, who had been watching him closely, saw the subtle change in his expression and smiled to himself. ’That’s right. I let you see them on purpose.’

In total, the Song Clan was sending six people into battle: besides Song Changsheng and Song Xianyun, there were Song Luhuai, Xia Wanyun, Song Yulong, and Song Yushi.

As for the others, Song Luzhou and Song Luyao were tasked with acting as guardians for the clan members in seclusion, while Song Lutong would continue to oversee the clan’s interests in the Mortal World.

Among those going, Song Yushi and Song Yulong had volunteered for battle, their reason being that everyone was family and should share in both blessings and hardships.

This, in turn, created Li Tiancheng’s misunderstanding.

Song Yulong and Song Yushi would be leaving sooner or later, but Li Tiancheng didn’t know that. He assumed they were assets secretly cultivated by the Song Clan, and his apprehension toward the clan instantly rose to a new level.

This was undoubtedly a good thing for the Song Clan, as what they needed most right now was a period of stability.

"Fellow Daoist Li, let’s depart."

As soon as the words were spoken, the group transformed into streaks of light, shooting toward the Liuyun Mountain Range...

Li Tiancheng never could have imagined that in the one or two days he had been gone, the situation would change so drastically.

First, their position on Cliff Peak had fallen. Fortunately, Du Huating had been decisive, leading his people in a retreat to the Li Clan’s main camp to mount a defense.

However, the enemy seemed determined to settle things in one fell swoop this time. They launched a relentless assault and quickly breached the Li Clan’s Clan Protection Array.

The Li Clan was overrun. More than half of its three hundred-odd members were killed in the fighting. Only Li Siyang, protecting a portion of the elite disciples, managed to escape with Du Huating and the others.

The fate of those who came before serves as a lesson for those who come after.

With the Li Clan’s fate laid bare before them, the Qiu Clan understood that their own Grand Array could not hold. Clan Leader Qiu Tianyang gave a decisive order: the entire clan was to migrate, retreating to Baiyun Peak of the Earth Fire Sect.

Because of Qiu Tianyang’s decisiveness, the Qiu Clan’s losses were minimized. Nevertheless, their strength was still greatly damaged—after all, they had abandoned their main encampment.

By the time Song Changsheng and his party arrived, the battle had already reached a fever pitch. The four-clan alliance had concentrated all of its forces on Baiyun Peak, holding out with the help of an Array.

The enemy, in turn, had surrounded Baiyun Peak and was relentlessly bombarding the Array, locking the two sides in a temporary stalemate.

Li Tiancheng was burning with anxiety. Upon reaching the Liuyun Mountain Range, he immediately sent a message to Du Huating.

When they learned that reinforcements had arrived, everyone heaved a collective sigh of relief. Hearing that there were eight Foundation Establishment Cultivators made them ecstatic.

Du Huating surveyed the crowd and said, his voice filled with excitement, "Everyone, the enemy’s numerical advantage is gone! All we need to do is charge out in a single, concerted effort and tie them down. Once the Song Clan’s forces close in, we can certainly annihilate them!"

As soon as he spoke, a dead silence fell over the group. Everyone instinctively avoided Du Huating’s gaze. From the looks on their faces, it was clear they had no intention of cooperating.

Du Huating frowned and turned to Li Siyang first. In his mind, the Li Clan had suffered the most devastating losses and should have been the most supportive of his proposal.

But to his surprise, Li Siyang simply closed his eyes, as if he hadn’t heard a word.

It was true that the Li Clan’s losses were severe, but for that very reason, Li Siyang wanted to preserve what strength they had left.

Yu Cheng Mountain also lowered his head. His Yu Clan had suffered the lightest losses, and now that the immediate danger had passed, they had no desire to fight to the death. After all, the Yu Clan’s roots were not in the Liuyun Mountain Range.

Taking in everyone’s reactions, a speechless fury surged within Du Huating. ’These people... even at a time like this, all they can think about is preserving their own strength!’

Just then, Qu Jinsheng, still not recovered from his severe injuries, spoke up. "Senior Brother Du, with Senior Brother Li and the Song and Wang Families, they already have nine people. We’ve shed so much blood; it’s their turn. We just need to wait until both sides have wounded each other and then emerge to clean up the mess."

His words immediately resonated with most of the people present, but Du Huating only felt his heart grow cold. Faced with such a perfect opportunity, they were still harboring their own selfish motives and scheming against one another. ’Are their heads filled with paste?’

In his view, regardless of their past grievances with the Song Clan, they were allies now. They should be united against a common foe, focused on total annihilation!

Twenty years ago, when the Song Clan had called on them for aid, the Song Clan had always held the front lines, never retreating a single step.

Twenty years later, when they were the ones asking the Song Clan for aid, all they could think about was letting both sides suffer grievous losses so they could reap the benefits.

In that moment, the difference in their character was clear as day.

A bitter smile appeared on Du Huating’s face. ’No wonder we could never defeat the Song Clan. The gap between us was never just about our foundations...’

One hundred li from Baiyun Peak, Song Changsheng watched as Du Huating and the others delayed, making no move to follow the plan. His eyes narrowed. "Fellow Daoist Li," he said coldly, "this isn’t quite what you described."

Li Tiancheng hadn’t expected this situation either. Faced with Song Changsheng’s pointed question, he could only bite the bullet and say, "Well... Young Clan Leader Song, perhaps they haven’t received my transmission yet.

"How about this? We’ll just close in on our own. As long as we pin the enemy down, the Grand Elder and the others will naturally come out to coordinate with us once they realize what’s happening."

Song Changsheng gave him a long look, an enigmatic smile gracing his lips. "Fine. We’ll do as you say."

The auras of nine Foundation Establishment Cultivators erupted simultaneously, instantly drawing the attention of everyone outside Baiyun Peak.

"It’s the Song Clan! Clan Leader Liu, didn’t you say there was no way they’d interfere?" a long-bearded man demanded, his face turning grim as he stared at the approaching streaks of light. He turned to the white-haired elder beside him.

Clan Leader Liu’s expression was equally grim. He had never expected the Song Clan to send so many forces to aid his bitter rivals. But his mind was still clear. "Clan Leader Chen," he said bluntly, "this is a lost cause. We must retreat to the Marketplace immediately."

The long-bearded man glanced resentfully at the crumbling Array. If they could have just captured this location, it would have been enough for them to establish a new foothold. But things had gone against their wishes.

"Break through!"

In an instant, twenty Foundation Establishment Cultivators clashed, and the sky instantly lit up with a kaleidoscope of colors...