The two immortals, Immortal Bleeding Fist Luo Ye and Immortal Soaring Mist Xu Kaicheng, flew out of the room and into the air. From this vantage point, they could see a force of two enemy Spirit Lords and a gaggle of lower realm fighters attacking the entrance of the sect. They were making quick work of various boobytraps and defenses as well as members of the sect that were brave and dumb enough to confront them.
Luo Ye turned around and hurried towards the sect's highest point, the rooftop of a nearby pagoda. Once there, he immediately activated the sect-wide defensive array. With a deep thrum of spiritual energy, a white, translucent shield erupted from the roof, arcing down to the inner walls of the sect.
The sound of explosions ceased and a momentary calm fell upon the Mount Brilliance School.
Xu Kaicheng flew up next to the elder immortal, "Lord Luo, are you alright?"
He only asked this because Luo Ye seemed to be visibly struggling. Defensive arrays that protected entire sects were not all created equal. Some relied on vast stores of spiritual crystals, others on the innate advantage of their environment. The Mount Brilliance School seemed to be neither and relied mostly on the spiritual energy of the sect master.
"I can manage…" Luo Ye wheezed, "The attackers are only two Spirit Lords bandits. I can hold for a day at least. Don't worry!"
"Alright, stay put, I will see what they want."
"Okay."
Xu Kaicheng flew to the edge of the protective shell of spiritual energy. On the other side, the outer court of the sect was already in ruins. The disciples there were either dead or captured, they had no time to react. And as outer court disciples, they were intended as cannon fodder for situations like this from the beginning.
"Who are you two?" Xu Kaicheng shouted, "Do you know that it is a crime punishable by death to attack an immortal sect? The Immortal Association will take your heads!"
A pair of roaring laughs met his challenge. Immortal Red Dusk Wang Yipo and Immortal Red Dawn Wang Yibo emerged from the billowing smoke and burning buildings. They were bare-chested, their fists clad in red flames, like two avatars of destruction.
"The Immortal Association has tried for many years and yet we are still alive and well!" Wang Yipo said.
"That's right! Hahaha!" Wang Yibo added.
Xu Kaicheng's eyes narrowed, "I know you two… The Bald-headed Rapist Twins. Your bounties are worth five kilograms of orange spiritual crystal each. I've already sent for help and they will arrive quickly. If you don't want to donate your heads to me, I suggested you leave now."
"Did you hear him, what arrogance!" Wang Yibo answered.
Wang Yipo chuckled and shook his head, "People of the Golden Basin Auction House have certainly grown arrogant in recent years."
"You know who I am?" Xu Kaicheng demanded.
"Hahaha, I know exactly who you are. You are exactly the person we want. Why else would we attack a useless immortal sect like this?"
"You…"
"Alright, enough talk. Resume the attack!"
A roar rose among the bandits. The two immortal bandit lords flew around the defensive array, smashing their fists against various areas and blasting other places with searing flames.
The twenty or so Spirit Initiate Realm bandits also brought out a large pile of metallic orbs and started chucking them at the shield. These were infused with flame spiritual energy from the twins and could explode with tremendous destructive power.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
An incessant firestorm ravaged the surroundings of the Mount Brilliance School. Explosions shook the ground one after another. The protective array groaned under the strain of the combined attack and occasionally even flickered dangerously.
The sect master, Luo Ye, seemed to hold up to the attack but it was a great struggle. The protective array would have had no problem against a single immortal. Two immortals were troublesome but not impossible. But with the addition of such destructive firebombs, it already surpassed what the array was originally designed for.
Xu Kaicheng could only sit there and watch. Staying inside the array was a better choice compared to going out there and facing the ugly twins one versus two. He hoped the Luo Ye would be able to withstand it for another hour until help arrived.
Nobody realized that this incident was wholly Chen Wentian's play. Four immortals and countless mortal disciples were all within his grasp. Their lives were being played by him, the puppet master. Although his main body was not yet present, he had enough souls here to control the situation and guide it in his favor.
He held no idle thoughts about whether any of this was right or wrong. This was merely his Dao, his way of doing things, his play. The Mount Brilliance School was innocent in all of this, he had no quarrel with them. They were simply unlucky. And in this vast world of cultivation, a certain amount of luck was required to survive.
The continued for many tense minutes. While the immortals faced off, so did the mortals. The attacking bandits still had plenty of firebombs. The defending core disciples weren't idle either as they supplied spiritual crystals to replenish the spiritual energy their master and the protective array were continuously expending.
The two living souls under Chen Wentian's control participated on both sides. Red Sun Captain Wang Landi directed the bandits. Senior disciple Huang Ducai organized the disciples. Two souls worked against each other but also together for the prime soul.
The play couldn't work without Wang Landi leading the bandits here. It also couldn't work without Huang Ducai who had perhaps the most important role.
As a senior disciple, Huang Ducai was responsible for one of the anchor points of the protective array. Faced with such a heavy attack, the red spiritual crystals that powered the anchor had to be swapped out rapidly. This was his task which he had to perform without fail or else the entire array would be in jeopardy.
And because he was a senior disciple, he held the utmost trust in the sect. Nobody came by to actually check that he was replenishing the spiritual crystals. Nobody felt the need to, not even the sect master.
"Alright, it's here!" Chen Wentian, in Wang Landi's body, shouted, "This is the weak point."
He and five other bandits arrived in front of an unremarkable section of the inner wall. They carried leather bags full of firebombs.
"Captain Wang, how do you know it's here?" One person asked.
"Shut up and do as I say! Get ready, on three!" Chen Wentian said and raised two bombs in each hand, "One… two… THREE!"
A volley of firebombs infused with immortal flame energy smashed against the protected array.
Boom! Boom!
The spiritual energy shield flickered heavily and then started to crack. This was the exact location of the anchor that Huang Ducai had been responsible for, the one that had already been depleted of spiritual energy!
Ka! Cha!
The protective array started to fail. A great number of jagged fissures appeared, starting from the ground and radiating upward. This was followed by a surge of spiritual energy that swept over the battle as the pale-white dome blinked out of existence.
Atop the central pagoda, the feedback of chaotic energy as the array failed crashed into Luo Ye's body. It happened too quickly for him to react. He couldn't believe that the array had fallen so quickly.
"Gahh!" He let out a gasping cry.
A fountain of fresh blood sprayed out of his mouth as he fell limply from the roof.
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