Chapter 420: Chapter 317: Fang Yun Strikes
"Senior Sister, I suspect it won’t be long before the Celestial Demon Sect’s Core Formation Demons make their way over here," Fang Yun began, laying out his speculation.
Knowing Fang Yun as she did, the moment he voiced his speculation, Bai Qinying had a good idea of what he was planning.
"Junior Brother, are you going to the Celestial Demon Sect’s territory?"
"Yes. If the Core Formation Demons dare to show their faces in the Celestial Cloud Sect’s domain, I’ll be sure to return the favor."
Within the Celestial Demon Sect’s territory, some of its vassal Foundation Establishment Influences were located too close to the sect itself. Attacking them would be too risky.
However, if the majority of the Celestial Demon Sect’s Core Formation forces came to our side, he could act as he pleased in their territory.
"To do this, I’ll need your cooperation, Senior Sister." After a brief pause, Fang Yun continued, "I need you to provide me with accurate intelligence so I can make my move over there."
’I won’t act unless the majority of the Celestial Demon Sect’s Core Formation Demons are concentrated here.’
"Don’t worry, Junior Brother. Leave it to me!"
Her task was simple: relay information to Fang Yun the moment the Celestial Demon Sect’s Demons appeared.
She was both supportive of and confident in Fang Yun’s plan.
She understood Fang Yun’s stealth techniques better than the other Elders of Battle Peak. With the Celestial Demon Sect’s Core Formation Demons on the move, only Fang Yun could easily enter their territory and launch a counter-attack.
"Alright. There’s no time to lose. My operation can begin."
With that, Fang Yun bid farewell to Bai Qinying.
As he left the sect, the concealment effect of his Half-Hidden Spirit Boots was already fully activated.
Unlike before, this time he didn’t take the most direct route to the Celestial Demon Sect’s territory, but instead made a deliberate detour.
If he went straight there, he would very likely run into a Core Formation cultivator from the Celestial Demon Sect.
That wouldn’t be good for him at all.
Running into an early-stage Core Formation Demon would be manageable, but any other situation would be grim.
With Fang Yun gone, Bai Qinying remained on standby, ready to transmit information to him the moment anything happened.
The upper echelons of the Celestial Cloud Sect.
Before Miao Qinghong left the sect for Red Flame Valley, they all appeared on the summit of the Main Peak.
The Sect Leader and the three Supreme Elders.
"I didn’t expect the Celestial Demon Sect to deploy their Core Formation Demons at a time like this," Supreme Elder Wang Lingwei said, glancing in the direction of the Celestial Demon Sect.
"Indeed. Our Celestial Cloud Sect is far from weak right now," Supreme Elder Zheng Wuji agreed.
The Celestial Cloud Sect wasn’t just strong right now; it was in a period of great prosperity. It boasted five Core Formation experts—two at the mid-stage and three at the early-stage, one of whom was a special Sword Cultivator. In the ranks of the Foundation Establishment stage, their numbers had long ago broken one hundred and were now pushing toward one hundred and ten.
One could say that annihilating the Celestial Cloud Sect in its current state would require paying an immense price.
The Celestial Demon Sect’s recent actions, however, seemed to broadcast their willingness to pay that very price.
’To make such a decision, are the Celestial Demon Sect’s leaders out of their minds?’
"I can no longer understand what’s going on in those Demons’ heads."
"By the way, has there been any movement from the Black Ghost Cave recently?"
"None. They’re still being very quiet."
"I think the Demons’ recent actions are most likely because of Fang Yun." Zhong Yankun brought the topic around to Fang Yun.
They couldn’t think of any other reason besides Fang Yun.
"But they don’t know that Fang Yun has already purified his Spirit Root. From the Demons’ perspective, the chances of him reaching Core Formation are minuscule."
"If the Celestial Demon Sect’s Demons knew everything we do, a decision like this wouldn’t be surprising."
The Core Formation leaders all felt they had done an excellent job of protecting information about Fang Yun. Many details about him were known only to the sect’s mid-to-high-level members.
"In any case, it’s now a certainty that the Core Formation Stage Demons will act. We just need to respond appropriately."
"This time, besides the Core Formation Demons from the Celestial Demon Sect, Core Formation Demons from the Demon Spirit Sect will probably appear as well."
Sect Leader Duan Qingyun agreed. "There’s a ninety percent chance that the Demon Spirit Sect’s Core Formation Demons will appear."
According to historical records, during the Celestial Cloud Sect’s most critical crisis a thousand years ago, the Demon Spirit Sect’s Core Formation Demons didn’t appear. Only Demons below the Core Formation stage cooperated with the attack.
At that time, the Celestial Cloud Sect was weak while the Celestial Demon Sect was at the height of its power, fully capable of wiping them out.
This time was different. If the Celestial Demon Sect’s Core Formation Demons were to act alone, they would struggle to pose a serious threat. Therefore, they must have secured the cooperation of the Demon Spirit Sect’s Core Formation Demons before making their move.
They continued discussing the Core Formation Demons and formulating counter-strategies.
After the response strategy was decided, Sect Leader Duan Qingyun was still somewhat worried about Supreme Elder Miao Qinghong.
As soon as the news about the Core Formation Demons broke, Miao Qinghong had volunteered to head to Red Flame Valley, a Foundation Establishment Influence, giving the other Supreme Elders no chance to object.
Before Miao Qinghong set out, Duan Qingyun had repeatedly reminded her to be extremely careful. He warned that there might be other Core Formation Demons lying in ambush along the way, as they didn’t have much information yet and couldn’t predict the Demons’ next move.
Their most likely prediction was still that the Core Formation Demons would launch a direct assault on the Celestial Cloud Sect’s main grounds.
As long as the sect itself remained secure, the Celestial Cloud Sect’s territory would forever remain theirs, and it would be difficult for the Demons to establish a foothold on this land.
...
Outside Red Flame Valley’s Grand Array.
An early-stage Core Formation Demon was continuously bombarding the Grand Array.
The Demon’s name was Qi Chuqiao. He was one of the Celestial Demon Sect’s Supreme Elders and also its previous Sect Leader.
When the Celestial Demon Sect gained a new Core Formation cultivator, he had stepped down from his position as Sect Leader as per tradition. Even now, his overall strength ranked second to last among the Celestial Demon Sect’s Core Formation Demons.
Comments