I am about to die of old age, and I have awakened the character of longevity.

Chapter 278 The war begins!
After Xie An led everyone into the ancient city of Kongsang, he immediately activated the city's protective formation.

To prevent the formation's core from being damaged, he personally took up residence in the main hall on the mountaintop, guarding it day and night. Su Yuqing, who usually disliked showing her face, also took up residence there.

After all, Xie An had released the Iron Spirit Kunmu again, placing it right next to the array's core to continuously provide energy to the formation. It also served to meet the cultivation needs of Xie An and Su Yuqing.

A good thing that has the best of both worlds.

Moreover, Xie An had thoroughly studied the city-protecting formation over the past decade. He had gained considerable understanding of its activation, casting, dismantling, and even repair and adjustment.

Thanks to this skill, Xie An also made some adjustments to the magic array, which resulted in a relatively rich spiritual energy permeating the entire Kongsang Ancient City, allowing each Taoist disciple to cultivate anytime and anywhere within the city.

call!
Su Yuqing sat cross-legged on a futon in the center of the main hall, close to the core of the city-protecting array, guarding the array at all times to prevent any accidents.

Xie An, meanwhile, was tending to the five-colored lotus flowers nearby.

According to Bai Yujing, the Five-Colored Lotus is not of this world, but comes from beyond the Milky Way. It is the only peerless treasure capable of breaking free from the constraints of this world. For many years, Xie An has been studying the Five-Colored Lotus.

Unfortunately, they couldn't figure it out.

But it does have some effect.

At the very least, the lotus flower would produce droplets, and Xie An's consumption of it would greatly enhance his cultivation progress.

Moreover, the droplets of these five-colored lotus flowers can revitalize the Iron Spirit Kun Wood, ensuring its continued prosperity.

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside the main hall.

But Jin Yuping hurried in, and said listlessly, "Third Master, everyone outside is talking about you."

Xie An sat cross-legged on the futon, holding the five-colored lotus flower in his hands, carefully examining and studying it. He casually asked, "What are they talking about me about?"

Jin Yuping said, "They say you are heartless and ungrateful, not as good as Bai Yujing."

Xie An merely hummed softly, clearly unconcerned.

He was well aware that the tens of thousands of disciples who had followed him had many complaints about him.

The main issue is that the escape was too rushed, resulting in the abandonment of many weak disciples and some accompanying family members.

The scene was extremely chaotic. Many high-ranking members of the Taoist academy felt pity and repeatedly requested Xie An to bring everyone along, but Xie An strongly opposed this. In the end, Xie An overruled the objections, prioritizing speed, and took all the disciples and family members he could bring.

If it weren't for Xie An's extraordinary abilities, coupled with the full support of Zhang Shuibo and Song Qingfeng, this organization would probably have run into serious problems long ago.

Seeing that Xie An had not expressed his opinion, Jin Yuping could not stand it any longer. "Third Master, you can't let them keep talking like this. They have to say something eventually. I feel sorry for you."

Xie An disagreed, saying, "People have mouths; what they say is their business. There's no need to try to discern it."

Jin Yuping then fell silent.

Just then——

Boom!

The entire city of Kongsang suddenly began to shake violently, with the ground trembling wildly.

Jin Yuping was startled, her face turning pale. "What happened?"

Xie An and Su Yuqing immediately stood up and hurriedly walked outside.

Just as he arrived at the door, Song Qingfeng rushed over. "Brother Xie, something terrible has happened. Someone is attacking the city with flying swords."

"Understood. Don't panic, tell everyone to prepare for battle." Xie An left these words, then he and Su Yuqing transformed into two streaks of light and sped towards the city gate at the foot of the mountain.

Along the way, I saw countless disciples from the Taoist academy and listened to their discussions.

"In the end what happened?"

"Someone is using flying swords to attack the city." "What?! One person using flying swords shook the entire city-state? What level of expert is that?"

"Idiot, it's the founder of martial arts. The one who killed Bai Yujing."

"So, Xie An told us to speed up our journey and abandon the weaker, those who couldn't keep up. Otherwise, we would have died long ago."

"Xie An was truly wise; otherwise, countless people would have died."

"..."

Xie An listened to everyone's words, but he didn't feel happy about being understood. Instead, he felt a bit heavy-hearted.

At Xie An's level, he no longer cared what others thought of him. He only focused on doing the right thing.

If you make the wrong choice, what's the point even if everyone understands and praises you?

After running all the way to the top of the city wall, Xie An, Su Yuqing, and Jin Yuping finally saw the people attacking the city outside the gate.

He was a man dressed in a golden dragon robe, with a dignified and extraordinary bearing. The flying sword in his hand was as if it were an extension of his own arm, carrying the power of mountains and seas, and repeatedly crashing into the city's protective formation.

Each impact on the magic array caused the entire city to shake, and the people were filled with fear.

Jin Yuping stared in disbelief, "What a powerful cultivator! He can shake an entire city-state with his own strength?!"

Jin Yuping has encountered many experts along the way. But she has never seen anyone this monstrous before.

Not to mention Jin Yuping, even Xie An and Su Yuqing were dumbfounded.

One man, one sword, and the power to shake the entire city.

This was also the first time Xie An had ever seen it.

Is this the opponent Master faced back then?
Emperor Jing?

Although they were far apart, Xie An clearly felt that he was still as insignificant as an ant in front of Emperor Jing.

How to fight this?
Xie An suddenly thought of something, turned to look at Su Yuqing beside him, and found that Su Yuqing's expression was very complicated, which made Xie An feel bad.

Su Yuqing watched as her father was possessed, possessing his appearance but no longer being her father.

Thinking of this, Xie An reached out and held Su Yuqing's hand tightly, whispering, "Don't overthink it, he is no longer your father."

Su Yuqing grasped Xie An's hand and nodded emphatically, "Yes. I know. What should we do now?"

“Master said that this city-protecting formation is not so easy to break, even if the opponent is a Foundation Establishment stage expert. As long as I activate the Five-Colored Lotus, I can resist it.”

Xie An immediately made a decision, "You stay here and watch over things. I'll go to the main hall to activate the magic array. We'll hold out for as long as we can."

After saying that, Xie An leaned close to Su Yuqing's ear and whispered, "If the city gate is breached by the enemy, don't worry about the others, you run first. Come to the main hall and meet me there."

Su Yuqing said, "Okay."

Watching Xie An's departing figure, Su Yuqing felt extremely nervous.

Bai Yujing and Ye Nantian were killed by Emperor Jing at Yujing Mountain.

Now, the grudges of the previous generation have fallen on their own shoulders.

A great battle that will determine the fate of this magical world is about to begin.

Even someone as composed as Su Yuqing couldn't help but feel excited, filled with anticipation and trepidation for what was about to happen.

(End of this chapter)