Mortal: I have a Spirit Gathering Cauldron

Fifty humanoid archer puppets were arranged in three rows, with the front row crouching, the middle row kneeling, and the back row standing. Their movements were uniform, like a well-trained army of ordinary people.

The sound of bowstrings vibrating filled the air as fifty fine iron arrows transformed into fifty streaks of cold light, piercing through the dark red light barrier and shooting into the formation.

The arrows landed among the puppets, clanging and clattering. Some were deflected by the armored puppets, while others embedded themselves in the joints of the wolf-shaped puppets.

The number of puppets within Jin Nantian's three-person formation is decreasing at a visible rate.

The suppressive effect of the Earthly Fiend Locking Yuan Formation is too obvious.

The spiritual energy within the formation was drained, replaced by earth-evil energy surging from the ground. This black aura permeated the formation like mist, clinging to the surface of the puppets and eroding the formation patterns on them.

Jin Nantian's puppet moved noticeably slower in the formation, and its attack power was greatly reduced. Instinctively, it could only smash the opponent's armored puppet with a single claw, leaving only a shallow scratch mark on the opponent's body.

The puppets outside the formation are unaffected.

Lin Xingjian's leopard-shaped puppet rampaged through the formation, Huang Long's giant tiger puppet moved as if it were nothing, and Lin Bingcheng's gecko puppet splattered venom everywhere.

The three puppets clashed with Jin Nantian's puppets, with various colored light arrows, light pillars, venom, and claws intertwining within the dark red light shield, violently shaking the array's light curtain, like a pot of boiling porridge or a flag torn apart by a gale.

In the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, nearly 40% of Jin Nantian's more than 100 puppets have been lost.

The ground within the formation was littered with broken parts, dim spirit stone cores, and severed puppet limbs. Some puppets were still struggling, dragging their broken bodies forward, before being riddled with arrows by the next volley.

Seeing this scene, Lin Xingjian felt much more at ease.

A slight smile appeared on his lips. The smile contained smugness, satisfaction, and a hint of inexplicable sorrow.

"Jin Nantian." His voice wasn't loud, but it was very penetrating, carrying into the formation through the light barrier. "Back then, my father nurtured you so much, yet you repaid kindness with enmity, secretly harming my father and seizing the position of sect leader that my Lin family had held for a thousand years. Today, I can finally take my revenge."

Inside the formation, Jin Nantian stood in the center of the puppet group, surrounded by a layer of golden spiritual light.

His expression remained unchanged.

He didn't look at the puppets being destroyed, nor at Su Mei and Tie Xiong who were struggling to hold on. His gaze pierced through the dark red light barrier, through the flying arrows and puppet remains, and landed directly on Lin Xingjian's face.

Then he laughed.

It wasn't a sneer, nor a mockery, but a heartfelt laugh filled with endless irony.

"To cultivate me?" Jin Nantian's voice echoed within the formation, drowning out the noise of the colliding puppets, "Hahahaha—"

He laughed wildly, bending over with mirth, as if he had heard the funniest joke of his life. His golden brocade robe trembled slightly with his laughter, and the pearls and jade on his purple-gold crown jingled.

Lin Xingjian's smile froze on his face. He asked in astonishment, "What are you laughing at? If it weren't for my father's cultivation, how could you have established your foundation? Could it be that you've gone mad knowing you have no way to escape today?"

Jin Nantian's laughter stopped abruptly.

His gaze sharpened, like two drawn swords.

"I joined the sect at the age of six." His voice was deep, and he spoke slowly and deliberately, as if telling a long-forgotten story. "I guarded the mine for more than ten years, slaughtered countless sand beasts, fought to the death against the Gu Poison Sect many times, and fought several desperate battles, all in the midst of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, fighting against fate."

"After more than fifty years of fighting and bloodshed for the sect, and exhausting half of my life's cultivation, I finally managed to obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill."

His voice echoed within the formation, each word like a heavy hammer blow striking the hearts of everyone present.

"And you—" Jin Nantian's gaze swept over the four people outside the formation, finally landing on Lin Xingjian, "You scions of noble families are born to have sect resources at your disposal, and you can discard pills and magical artifacts at will. If you occasionally show a little favor, you consider it a huge reward for those of us without a background."

Lin Xingjian's expression changed slightly, but he quickly regained his composure: "Serving the sect and acquiring resources is the rule of my Thousand Bamboo Sect. What right do you have to complain?"

"Rules?" Jin Nantian repeated the word, his sarcasm deepening. "The rules you speak of are nothing but a fig leaf for aristocratic families to monopolize resources and oppress lower-level disciples. They're nothing but illusions nurtured by sucking the blood and sweat of us lower-level cultivators and exploiting the spiritual treasures of heaven and earth!"

His voice grew louder and louder until it was almost a shout.

"Your Lin family has held the position of sect leader for thousands of years! The sect leader's son is the sect leader, and the protector's grandson is the protector! What hope is there for us lowly disciples?"

Jin Nantian took a deep breath, his voice returning to calm, but the suppressed anger was even more chilling than when he roared it out.

"Ten thousand years ago, my Thousand Bamboo Sect was a major Nascent Soul sect, dominating the entire far west. And now? We don't even have a Core Formation cultivator! Why? Because you aristocratic families have drained all the sect's resources! You've crushed all the talented lower-level disciples!"

His gaze was fixed on Lin Xingjian, and he spoke slowly and deliberately: "And I, Jin Nantian, am here to rid my Thousand Bamboo Sect of you parasites who have been feeding on the sect for thousands of years. I will use swords to cut down the blood-sucking families that have been sucking our blood for thousands of years. I will make sure that my disciples are promoted based on their talents, and that their status and resources are determined by their merits, so that every disciple at the bottom has a real way out."

Outside the formation, Lin Bingcheng's expression turned very ugly.

Huang Long's hand, gripping the ghost-head broadsword, trembled slightly.

Lin Xingjian's face turned ashen, his lips trembled, and he finally managed to squeeze out only one sentence: "Hmph, all talk and no action! No matter what you say, today is your death day."

He turned to Huang Long and Lin Bingcheng and shouted, "Give it your all! Their puppets can't hold on much longer!"

The number of puppets in the formation is less than half of what it was initially.

Armored golems lay scattered across the ground, the remains of wolf-shaped golems lay strewn across the Gobi Desert, and fragments of bee-shaped golem wings fluttered in the air. Su Mei's pink silk robe was covered in golem debris, and Tie Xiong's crimson axe blade was chipped.

Su Mei and Tie Xiong stood back to back on either side of Jin Nantian, panting heavily.

Their spiritual energy was greatly depleted, and they were all injured. Su Mei's left arm was grazed by a fine iron arrow, leaving a bloody gash. Tie Xiong had a deep claw mark on his chest, left by the leopard-shaped puppet, which had almost damaged his heart.

Su Mei gritted her teeth, turned to look at Jin Nantian, and a resolute glint flashed in her eyes.

"Master," her voice was no longer soft and gentle, but carried an unprecedented firmness, "the two of us will risk our lives to cover your escape. As long as you are alive, there is still hope for the sect."

Tie Xiong also said in a muffled voice, "Master, Su Mei is right. We'll hold them off, and you break out of the formation. This Earthly Fiend Locking Yuan Formation can't trap you."

Jin Nantian glanced at them but didn't say anything.

Outside the formation, Lin Xingjian heard Su Mei's words and sneered, "Don't worry, none of you will escape."

He raised his voice: "Old Hu, increase the suppression of the formation! Take care of those two small fry first!"

Old Hu responded and activated the array plate to strengthen the array's suppressive power.

The fighting within the formation intensified.

Jin Nantian remained standing in the same spot, motionless.

His gaze pierced through the dark red light barrier, looking at Lin Xingjian outside the formation, a hint of mockery flashing in his eyes.

Just then, something unexpected happened.