Sage of Humanity

The Qin family's mountaintop defense squad rushed to the edge of the battlefield, and after only a glance from a distance, they hastily retreated. It wasn't that they were cowardly or afraid of trouble, but the difference in numbers was simply too great.

About a dozen of them had arrived, and originally, if they could have linked up with the assault team, they would have had the fighting strength to even counterattack.

But the assault team had died too quickly, and by the time they reached the spot, only a few members of their own assault team remained. In such a circumstance, even if they had forced an attack, it wouldn't have led to any good outcome, and choosing to retreat was the wise move.

The thirty-some people from Mount Qingyu didn't rush in to pursue; instead, they spread out, encircling the few members from the Qin Clan's assault team.

At this moment, these few formed a circle, back to back with each other, in utter despair.

But no one begged for mercy, because everyone knew that begging was useless. With the opposing sides standing firm and years of grudges between them, begging for mercy would only invite ridicule from enemies.

"Kill!" Among the survivors was one from the Level 5 realm, but he was already seriously wounded. Crying out loudly, he led the remaining clan members in a charge toward one direction.

Facing such desperately fighting enemies, naturally, no one was foolish enough to confront them directly, lest they carelessly get dragged down to die together in a futile exchange.

What greeted them were a series of magic and spells.

After reaching the Level 5 realm, cultivators could usually determine their own sect, and at Level 4, they were already preparing for their future path. So, cultivators at this level who wanted to walk the path of a magic cultivator had often begun studying magic and spells.

However, due to their low cultivation and lack of proficiency in casting, it was very difficult for them to perform a complete spell in the midst of fierce battle. But since they had started preparing to cast their spells before the Qin family members made a move, the spells were ready to go at the perfect moment.

Less than ten spells, each shining with multicolored lights of various element signs, among which an especially large firebird was the most eye-catching.

The spells struck down, and several Qin Clan cultivators died on the spot, leaving only the one from the Level 5 realm. Covered in wounds, he threw himself in front of an independent cultivator recruited by Mount Qingyu, unable to summon his protective spirit force.

Laughter erupted from the man who was saying, "I deserve to strike it rich," as he thrusted his spear straight through, piercing the Level 5 realm cultivator completely.

The nearby few looked at him with envy, mainly because the killer, a mere Level 3 cultivator, had now acquired the merits of fifteen points for slaying one from the Level 5 realm. Along with Mount Qingyu's reward, this spear thrust had earned him forty Spirit Stones!

For independent cultivators, forty Spirit Stones was a considerable fortune, enough to cover two or three months of cultivation needs for those with lower cultivation levels.

"Still got the strength?" Xie Jin turned his head to look at Lu Ye who was nearby, wiping his blade clean of blood on a corpse at his feet, and Lu Ye nodded silently in response.

He then looked toward the other members of the hunting team.

Song Xie coughed as though he was about to die any second, gasping hard as he said, "I can't do anything else… but I still have the strength to kill!"

Tao Tiangang naturally looked up to his senior brother as a leader, and Qiao Qiao'er snorted, "If all you several men can, of course, a woman like me can too!"

The logic behind this was unfathomable.

Xie Jin then smiled, "If everyone still has the strength, then let's chase!"

The battle, naturally, wasn't going to end so simply; for the people from Mount Qingyu, it had only just begun.

The five called over their own mounts, and Xie Jin signaled to one of his own Level 5 realm cultivators, then led Lu Ye and the others toward the opposing mountain peak.

Immediately following, that Level 5 cultivator led the remaining members of his assault team to quickly catch up.

Fortunes of war can change in an instant; just moments ago it had been the Qin family attacking Mount Qingyu, and now it was Mount Qingyu's turn to counterattack.

The cultivators moved quickly, and it was only when Lu Ye and the others reached halfway up the mountain that they saw the figures of the Qin Clan disciples ahead, hearing the commotion behind them, the Qin clan members all turned back and were shocked and disorganized for a moment.

The foremost one from the Level 5 realm immediately roared, "Don't panic, form up the array, they're only five, it's the hunting team from Mount Qingyu."

It must be said, his response was not incorrect; scattering in disarray at this moment would only give Lu Ye and the others the chance to pick them off one by one, and the mobility of the hunting team was undoubtedly stronger than theirs.

However, Xie Jin had no intention of charging to fight, pulling the reins of his mount from dozens of yards away, simply watching the foremost Level 5 realm from a distance.

As their eyes met, the Level 5 cultivator's heart skipped a beat, roughly understanding Xie Jin's plan.

The hunting team was obviously stalling them; with the assault team from Mount Qingyu coming from behind, if they stood their ground here, they wouldn't be able to escape once Qingyu's assault team arrived.

"Retreat slowly!"

With this thought, the Level 5 realm bellowed again.

The mountaintop defense squad retreated in an orderly fashion.

Just as they started to move, Xie Jin led Lu Ye and the others toward them.

"Hold steady!" The Level 5 realm shouted again, and the Qin group immediately got into position to meet the incoming attack. However, the five riders from Mount Qingyu made a circle from thirty paces away and disappeared without a trace.

As they were preparing to retreat, the five riders reappeared, watching from a distance.

After several such occurrences, Qin family's men were being toyed with to the extreme, and the cultivators at Level 5 realm's complexions were as dark as the bottom of a pot, cursing Xie Jin to a bloody mess in their hearts. It was very uncomfortable to be led around by the enemy like this.

Fortunately, just moments ago, he had received a message that the mountaintop defense squad left behind on the peak had come down to support them. As long as they could join forces, there was a high probability they could resist the attack from Mount Qingyu.

Hold firm and wait for reinforcements! He made up his mind.

However, the transmission that followed sank his heart to the bottom.

Because the assault team from Mount Qingyu did not come towards them but circled around them, heading straight for the top of the mountain!

They themselves were part of the mountaintop defense squad, just that they had been ordered to support their own assault team. Unfortunately, they couldn't be of much help before retreating.

In other words, the defense squad for this mountain peak was divided into two groups, one was them and the other was on their way to support them. Each group had about a dozen people, totaling around thirty.

And the assault team from Mount Qingyu was heading straight for that group!

All three forces had Level 9 cultivators monitoring the Shadow Moon Disc, so the movements of each family's cultivators couldn't be concealed from others. However, there would definitely be a slight delay in time through the transmission of messages.

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Also because of this, during the Dragon Spring Meet, the casualties among the cultivators from the three families were under control. When the situation looked bad, Tang Wu and the others would make certain adjustments; they wouldn't let their cultivators go to their deaths lightly.

However, the previous battle was the first to break free from the control of the Level 9 cultivators. Qin Wanli, who was in charge of the Shadow Moon Disc, had not expected his own hunting team to lose four members so quickly, and by the time he ordered the assault team to retreat, it was already too late.

One mistake led to a cascade of others.

At this moment, Mount Qingyu's assault team was heading straight for the summit, with less than thirty people, and on their side, only a dozen. The difference in numbers was significant; if an engagement occurred, casualties for the Qin family would be inevitable.

"Where are those guys?" The Level 5 cultivator from the Qin family looked around but could no longer see Xie Jin and the others.

A clan member beside him spoke up weakly, "They haven't shown up at all."

"This is bad!" The Level 5 cultivator suddenly realized something, fearing that those five people might also have gone to attack the other part of the mountaintop defense squad. If so, the situation would be terribly unfavorable, "Hurry up and move out!"

At the same time, he transmitted a message to inquire about the five people's whereabouts.

In just 5 breaths, he received a reply, "Above you!"

No sooner had he checked this message than he heard the sound of demon beasts charging. Looking up, he saw the five riders from Mount Qingyu charging down towards them with an overwhelming force!

"Activate the talismans, we must block them!" he bellowed.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, in an instant, seven or eight Spirit Talismans were triggered, hurtling towards the enemy above, each exploding with the power of the talismans, ferocious in their might.

But Lu Ye and his companions were well-prepared, and as the talismans were activated, they swiftly scattered, relying on the swiftness of their mounts to avoid the barrage of talisman attacks.

After the first volley of talismans finished, except for Song Xie, who was rather unlucky and got blown off his mount, the other four managed to avoid danger. Even Song Xie quickly got up, appearing to be fine.

"Again!" Following the bellow of the Level 5 cultivator, another volley of talismans was unleashed.

However, this time the attack was even less effective than before, as Lu Ye and the others had taken cover behind trees well in advance.

As the second wave of talisman attacks ceased, Lu Ye and his comrades reemerged. The fluctuation of spirit force emanated from them, each holding a Spirit Talisman in hand.

The Spirit Talismans were provided by Xie Jin, and it must be said that Mount Qingyu was quite generous with their supplies.

With five Spirit Talismans activated, fire serpents, Wind Blades, and ice spikes all smashed towards the Qin family cultivators at once. Qiao Qiao'er triggered a Golden Wheel Talisman, a basin-sized golden round disc in front of her, bombarding the Qin family's side with a frenzied bombardment, laughing wildly.

Although the Qin family cultivators tried to dodge, without mounts, they naturally didn't have the maneuverability of Lu Ye and his party. When the barrage of talismans hit, one was killed instantly, and several others were injured.

The scene of chaos unfolded, and before the Qin family side could catch a breath, they heard the sound of demon beasts charging again. The leading Level 5 cultivator looked up, only to see Lu Ye and his party charging down again.

At this time, the originally tight formation had become a complete disarray. In the haste, they could hardly organize to face this charge that had the advantage of the terrain. It was genuinely difficult for the Qin family to resist.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

As they passed by each other, Lu Ye's blade flashed, severing a large head that flew into the air. Song Xie's giant scorpion tail pierced another figure, who screamed continuously. Qiao Qiao'er's long whip wrapped around a cultivator, dragging him to the ground, though he broke free soon after.

Xie Jin and Tao Tiangang had no kills, but the former blocked the Qin family's Level 5 cultivator, while the latter tied up a portion of the enemy's forces and attention.

The five riders broke through the ranks and, under Xie Jin's lead, circled around only to return above the Qin Clan disciples. The second round of charging began.