Mortal: I have a Spirit Gathering Cauldron

"stop!"

A fierce roar came from the mountainside.

An elderly man with white hair and a youthful face rushed out of the alchemy room halfway up the mountain. He was wearing a blue Taoist robe and holding a whisk in his hand. His cultivation level was the eleventh level of Qi Refining, which was considered top-tier among the Qi Refining cultivators of the Liu family.

He had just witnessed his two grandsons being killed by flying swords and talismans. Their bodies still lay in the bamboo forest, their blood staining the soil red.

"I'll fight you to the death!"

The old man's eyes were bloodshot. He suddenly swung his whisk, and countless silver threads transformed into a sky full of sharp spikes, shooting towards the nearest elite Qi Refining disciple.

The elite Qi Refining disciple remained expressionless, his figure flashing as he dodged most of the silver threads. The remaining few thorns struck his spiritual energy shield, only causing a few sparks of spiritual light, without causing any damage.

The old man's attack missed, and just as he was about to activate his whisk again, a throwing knife flew from the side, too fast for him to react. He instinctively used his whisk to block, and the throwing knife struck the handle of the whisk, sending sparks flying.

But the other flying sword was faster.

The flying sword grazed his neck as lightly as a breeze. The old man's head flew up, spun halfway in the air, and saw his headless body still standing in the same spot, a jet of blood spurting from his neck.

Then, everything went dark.

All resistance from the Qi Refining cultivators of the Liu family was in vain.

They grew up under the protection of their families and had almost never experienced real life-or-death battles. When they occasionally went out to train, they only hunted low-level monsters in safe areas.

The one hundred elite Qi Refining disciples of the Seven Sects were veterans who survived the battlefield of Jingu Plain.

The gap between these two cannot be bridged by cultivation level.

Within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, almost all the Qi Refining cultivators of the Liu family below the mountainside were slaughtered.

Bright red blood flowed down the mountainside, forming tiny streams along the ravines and crevices of the rocks.

The air was thick with the pungent smell of blood, which mingled with the fresh scent of bamboo leaves to create a strange and nauseating odor.

mountain top.

The battle between Foundation Establishment cultivators also erupted at the same time.

Liu Qinglan hovered above the mountaintop, her white hair fluttering in the wind, her aged face filled with determination.

Behind him, two elders at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage stood guard on opposite sides. The white-bearded elder held a bronze mirror in his hand, its surface shimmering with spiritual light; the burly middle-aged man held a crimson giant axe, its surface wreathed in flames.

"Stop them." Liu Qinglan's voice was low and calm.

The two elders nodded silently, saying nothing more. They both knew that today, no matter what, they had to hold off these cultivators from the seven sects to buy time for Liu Yunwu to escape through the secret passage.

Liu Qinglan took the initiative to greet the two senior brothers, Chen and Xiao, who had the highest cultivation levels.

Seeing this, Senior Brother Chen didn't waste any words. He summoned a golden flying sword, its light flashing like a bolt of lightning, and slashed towards Liu Qinglan. Senior Brother Xiao waved his hand, and the two winged snakes pounced on Liu Qinglan from the left and right.

Instead of retreating, Liu Qinglan rose up.

A small black banner appeared in his hand, its surface covered with dense runes, shimmering with spiritual light. He suddenly shook the banner, and black mist surged out, transforming into countless black threads that coiled towards the golden sword and the giant serpent.

The golden sword struck the black threads, producing a hissing sound. The giant snake, its wings also entangled by the black threads, let out an angry hiss.

Liu Qinglan fought two opponents alone and surprisingly did not lose ground.

But his expression was grim. Simultaneously activating the small banner to fight two late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators was incredibly taxing on his spiritual energy. He couldn't hold out much longer.

On the other side, the white-bearded elder of the Liu family greeted Han Tianya and Ye Shimei from the Yanyue Sect.

Junior Sister Ye was a mid-Foundation Establishment female cultivator from the Hidden Moon Sect. She was in her thirties, with delicate features but sharp eyes. Her magical weapons were a pair of silver curved blades, which danced in the air, transforming into two silver crescent moons as they slashed towards the clan elder.

As soon as Han Tianya opened his folding fan, a beam of green light shot out from the fan surface, as fast as lightning, heading straight for the elder's face.

The bronze mirror in the elder's hand shone with golden light, forming a golden shield of light in front of him. The silver crescent blade struck the shield, sending sparks flying; a blue light hit the shield, causing it to shake violently, but it remained steadfast.

The elder's face paled slightly.

Clearly, the light shield was not holding up well against the combined attack of two mid-Foundation Establishment cultivators. At the same time, he also released a cyan flying sword to attack the two, obviously to hold them back.

Lin Feng and Nie Ying faced off against the burly middle-aged man.

The burly man was at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, wielding a massive crimson axe with flames swirling around its surface, radiating intense heat. He was more than a head taller than Lin Feng, with a broad back and thick waist, and a body full of flesh, making him look more like an ordinary martial artist.

Nie Ying made the first move.

The pristine white sword transformed into a streak of white light, shooting towards the burly man's chest. The sword's momentum was fierce, its light carrying a chilling aura that seemed to freeze the very air.

The burly man snorted coldly, swung his crimson giant axe, and a pillar of fire shot out from the axe surface, crashing into the white light.

"boom--"

The white light collided with the pillar of fire, exploding into a burst of spiritual light. Nie Ying's pure white sword was deflected by the pillar of fire, tumbling several times in the air. Nie Ying's expression changed slightly, and with a wave of her hand, the sword shot out again from another direction.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the burly man raised his crimson giant axe and swung it at Lin Feng.

The flames on the axe blade distorted the air, and a fiery blade over ten feet long flew out from the axe blade, carrying intense heat, and slashed towards Lin Feng's face.

Lin Feng did not take the hit head-on.

He vanished in a flash. The fiery blade struck the spot where he had just stood, leaving a deep scorch mark on the ground, sending shards of stone flying and sparks flying everywhere.

Lin Feng approached from the side, thrusting out his Wind-Breaking Spear. The golden spiritual light on the spear tip condensed into a single point, sharp and fierce, piercing straight into the burly man's ribs.

The burly man reacted quickly. He held his crimson axe horizontally to his side, blocking the spear tip.

"clang--"

The spear tip pierced the axe, sparks flying. The sharpness of the Wind-Breaking Spear, enhanced by the spiritual power of the Golden Light Technique, left a shallow dent on the giant axe of the burly man.

The burly man's expression changed. His Crimson Flame Giant Axe was a top-tier magic weapon, made of incredibly hard material; ordinary magic weapons wouldn't even leave a mark on it. What kind of magic weapon was this Foundation Establishment mid-stage cultivator from Yellow Maple Valley using?

He didn't have time to think much before Nie Ying's white light sword arrived again.

The sword light attacked from behind, silent and stealthy, like a venomous snake lurking in the shadows. The burly man turned to block, his crimson-flamed giant axe deflecting the white light, but the Wind-Breaking Spear thrust in from the side.

One in front, one behind, one on the left, one on the right, the two worked together seamlessly, forcing the big man to retreat repeatedly.

Although the burly man's cultivation level was at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, he was a strength-based cultivator, skilled in head-on confrontations but not adept at fighting two opponents at once. Lin Feng's hit-and-run tactics and Nie Ying's sneak attacks left him overwhelmed, causing the veins on his forehead to bulge and his breathing to become rapid.

"You—" the big man roared, and swung his crimson giant axe out, a ring of fire blade flying out from the axe blade and spreading in all directions.

Lin Feng and Nie Ying retreated simultaneously, avoiding the sharp edge of the fire blade.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the burly man retreated several feet, creating distance between them. His chest heaved violently, his spiritual energy greatly depleted, but the fighting spirit in his eyes did not diminish.

"Again!" he roared, and the flames on the Crimson Flame Axe burned even brighter, engulfing him in flames like a fire god.

Lin Feng and Nie Ying exchanged a glance and went to meet them.