I run a casino in the immortal realm.

The screams from Sunset Valley didn't last long.

Fourteen Golden Core cultivators spread out in a fan shape, blocking all escape routes from the market to the main peak.

Li Jianfeng flicked the blood off his sword and stepped over the mangled corpses on the ground. Behind him, thirteen former members of the Qingyun Sect were expressionlessly cleaning up the battlefield.

No one was spared; anyone wearing Hu family attire or the uniform of a Xuantian Sect outpost was instantly killed with a single sword strike.

"Senior brother, this group is on the outer patrol. The three strongholds inside the market haven't been touched yet."

A disciple put away his magical artifact and walked to Li Jianfeng's side.

"continue."

Li Jianfeng raised his eyes and looked towards the direction of the main peak of Qingyun Sect. His sword emitted a clear sword sound: "Kill them until they come out."

Fourteen streaks of light sped along the ground and rushed directly into Qingyun Market.

On East Street, at the Hu family's newly established spirit stone exchange stall, two Hu family stewards, both at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, were tallying the day's profits.

The gate shattered with a crash.

Li Jianfeng kicked open the door, and the array plate in his hand shone brightly.

Four beams of spiritual energy from the Golden Core stage shot out from the array plate, instantly piercing the chests of the two managers. Before they could even unleash their magical artifacts, they collapsed into pools of blood.

"Take the spirit stones and burn down the stronghold."

Li Jianfeng turned and walked toward his next target.

In less than half an hour, flames soared into the sky in Qingyunfang. The eighteen stalls, three sentry posts, and two separate residences set up by the Hu family were all uprooted.

More than one hundred members of the Hu family and their affiliated rogue cultivators stationed in the market were slaughtered.

Thick smoke shot straight into the sky, obscuring half of the sky.

The main peak of Qingyun Sect.

"Thump—thump—thump—"

The urgent alarm bells rang throughout the mountain gate, and the sect's protective formation was fully activated, with a thick layer of cyan light covering the main peak and several surrounding mountains.

Inside the main hall.

Hu Lie suddenly stood up from his throne, his face ashen.

The communication array in front of him was flashing wildly, filled with distress signals from the market, but these signals would only stay lit for a few moments before going completely dark.

This means that the person who sent the message is dead.

"Sect Master, the market town has been attacked!"

A law enforcement officer scrambled into the main hall, kneeling on one knee: "The newcomer is extremely powerful and ruthless. All our forces in the market have been wiped out!"

"Did you see who it was?"

Hu Lie demanded an explanation in a stern voice.

"No...no."

The deacon trembled: "They were too fast, and they were all disguised. All I know is that there are at least a dozen Golden Core cultivators."

More than a dozen Golden Core cultivators!

Hu Lie's eyelids twitched suddenly, and his body involuntarily took half a step back.

In the Southern Wilderness Region, the only forces capable of producing more than a dozen Golden Core cultivators at once are the Xuan Tian Sect and the Tian Mo Sect, as well as a few other sects in the surrounding area. However, these forces have no reason to attack the Qing Yun Sect without cause.

A name flashed through Hu Lie's mind.

Xu Tianyang!

Only Xu Tianyang would be so familiar with the terrain and strongholds of the Qingyun Sect, and only Xu Tianyang would be so ruthless towards the Hu family.

"He's back..."

Hu Lie gritted his teeth, the veins on the back of his hand bulging. The cracks in his golden core were throbbing with pain, the hidden injuries inflicted by Xu Zhengkun and Su Chenyuan working together.

He dared not go out.

Xu Tianyang was at the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm, while he was only at the peak of the Golden Core realm. Once he stepped out of the sect's protective formation, he would surely die.

"Pass on the order!"

Hu Lie steadied himself and looked at the deacon: "The Enforcement Hall will mobilize all its forces, and we will also gather three hundred disciples from the Sword Pavilion, led by Deacon Liu and Deacon Ma, to go down the mountain and suppress the rebellion!"

Deacon Liu and Deacon Ma were two mid-stage Golden Core experts left to him by Qin Cang.

"Sect Master, aren't you going yourself?"

The deacon mustered his courage and asked a question.

Hu Lie slammed his hand down, shattering the tea table beside him: "The sect leader must remain at the central command to guard against any enemy diversionary tactics! Order them to descend the mountain immediately, ascertain the enemy's strength, and if any Nascent Soul cultivators appear, retreat back into the great formation at once!"

"yes!"

The deacon scrambled out of the main hall.

Half an incense stick later.

The gates of the Qingyun Sect were wide open.

Deacon Liu and Deacon Ma flew at the forefront on their swords, their faces grim. Behind them followed more than three hundred Foundation Establishment disciples from the Law Enforcement Hall and Sword Pavilion, who surged out of the protective light barrier of the Qingyun Sect.

"You ignorant fool, daring to cause trouble right under the nose of the Xuantian Sect."

Deacon Liu snorted coldly and spread his divine sense outward, trying to pinpoint the attacker's location.

Just as they had completely broken free from the great array's light barrier.

From the dense jungle below, an extremely subtle yet terrifying pressure suddenly erupted.

"who!"

Steward Ma reacted extremely quickly, drawing his long sword and unleashing a crimson blade of light as he slashed downwards.

no respond.

His response was a thick, black beam of spiritual energy, as thick as a water tank.

The beam of light pierced through the crimson blade light silently and struck Steward Ma precisely in the chest.

Before Deacon Ma could even utter a scream, his protective aura shattered inch by inch, and he was blasted dozens of feet away, crashing heavily against the mountain wall. His fate was unknown.

"Ambush! Form ranks!"

Deacon Liu was greatly alarmed and immediately began to perform a magic incantation.

But he was a step too slow.

Su Chenyuan's figure rose from the forest. He wasn't wearing a Dharma robe, just a black outfit, and the pressure of a Golden Core Perfection cultivator was released without reservation.

His withered hand clenched suddenly in mid-air.

The surrounding spiritual energy instantly solidified. Deacon Liu felt as if the air around him had turned into iron, squeezing him tightly in mid-air, making it extremely difficult to even move a finger.

"Su Chenyuan! You're not dead!"

Deacon Liu recognized the face, his eyes filled with horror.

"I'm incredibly resilient."

Su Chenyuan's tone was icy, and he pointed his right hand, fingers joined like a sword, directly at Deacon Liu's brow.

at the same time.

"kill!"

Li Jianfeng's roar shattered the silence in front of the mountain gate.

Fourteen beams of light, each at the Golden Core stage, shot into the sky from all directions, directly cutting into the formation of the three hundred Foundation Establishment disciples.

This was a one-sided massacre with no suspense whatsoever.

Fourteen Golden Core cultivators faced off against three hundred Foundation Establishment disciples. Without the support of an array or the command of a high-level cultivator, these three hundred people couldn't even put up the most basic resistance under the pressure of the Golden Core cultivators.

Li Jianfeng charged ahead. He didn't use any fancy sword techniques, just the simplest slashing, hacking, and thrusting. His Golden Core stage spiritual power was infused into his longsword, and each swing brought forth a shower of blood.

The Foundation Establishment disciples' shields were extremely fragile under Li Jianfeng's sword.

A disciple of the Enforcement Hall frantically raised a mid-grade defensive magic weapon, attempting to block Li Jianfeng's strike. The sword fell, cleanly cleaving the weapon and the disciple's body in two. Internal organs and blood splattered everywhere.

"Devil! They are devils!"

"Run! Back to the sect!"

In just one encounter, the 300-strong force collapsed.

The killing efficiency of the Golden Core cultivators was too high. In just a dozen breaths, nearly a hundred corpses were already lying on the ground.

The remaining two hundred or so disciples completely lost their will to fight. They screamed and turned to run wildly toward the gate of the Qingyun Sect.

"Trying to leave?"

Li Jianfeng's eyes flashed with murderous intent, and his figure transformed into a streak of light, clinging tightly to the back of the fleeing crowd.

Inside the mountain gate.

The gatekeeper, who was in charge of controlling the formation, was so frightened by the hellish scene outside that his legs went weak.

"Quick! Shut down the formation! Shut down the formation!"

A manager shouted at the top of his lungs.

The gatekeeper disciples frantically poured spiritual energy into the control hub, and the cyan light screen began to slowly close.

But too many disciples were fleeing, and in order to survive, they desperately squeezed towards the narrowing gap.

Some people were trapped between the light curtains, letting out piercing screams; others even drew their knives on their own people in order to grab a spot to go in first.

The gap was blocked by the crowd, preventing the light curtain from closing completely.

This was the opportunity Li Jianfeng had been waiting for.

Without slowing down, he stepped on the shoulders of two fleeing soldiers, using the momentum to leap into the air. His longsword drew a blinding white light in mid-air, slashing fiercely at the array's core within the mountain gate through the gap in the light barrier.

"boom!"

The array's core nexus let out a mournful cry, and its core crystal shattered on the spot.

The cyan light screen that was closing in flickered violently a few times, emitting a piercing friction sound, and then, like shattered glass, turned into countless cyan light spots and completely dissipated.

The gates of the Qingyun Sect were wide open.

The routed soldiers poured into the mountain gate and fled towards the main peak like headless flies.

Li Jianfeng landed steadily on the bluestone plaza inside the mountain gate. He did not continue to pursue the Foundation Establishment disciples, but turned around to look at the thirteen companions who were landing behind him one by one.

Fourteen Golden Core cultivators stood inside the gate of the Qingyun Sect, their bodies stained with blood, their murderous aura soaring to the sky.

Outside the mountain gate, Su Chenyuan carried the severed head of Deacon Liu and slowly walked in. He casually tossed the head to the ground, his gaze sweeping across the plaza and landing directly on the magnificent main hall of the Qingyun Sect's main peak.

"The great formation has been broken."

Su Chenyuan's voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears.

Li Jianfeng gripped the sword hilt tightly, his chest heaving violently. Eight months of pent-up emotions were finally released at this moment.

He stood on the sacred ground of the sect, which he once looked up to, with the corpses of the disciples of the Enforcement Hall beneath his feet.