Besieged City

The elders of the sect hadn't come out to receive visitors, the formation masters were still busy working within the formations, and the cultivators guarding the formation spaces couldn't leave their posts.

At this moment, only Qin Ran, mounted on his white tiger, was there to face the so-called Hengduan Mountain Alliance.

The shadow of the massive cloud ship, as tall as a mountain, loomed over them, along with the oppressive presence of thousands of cultivators.

They were like ants facing a mountain.

Fortunately, the tiger beneath him was a true tiger indeed. Even when facing thousands of murderous cultivators, he held his head high and chest proud, not losing an ounce of his majesty.

Against the enemy's overwhelming pressure, his form rapidly expanded. Within a few breaths, he transformed into a massive white tiger over thirty feet tall at the shoulder.

This was a Profound Underworld Spirit Tiger that treads in darkness!

In this moment, revealing his true form, he was truly magnificent and domineering!

He withstood the enemy's terrifying pressure, raised his head, narrowed his eyes, and looked down upon the thousands of powerful cultivators.

The wind came from the tiger!

The wind that had been suppressed by the enemy army now blew from him!

A fierce gale arose!

He stood amidst the raging wind.

His tail, more terrifying than a steel whip, lashed back and forth in the wind. His fighting spirit soared, ready to slaughter the enemy forces at any moment!

"Don't be afraid, Father, I'll protect you!" he declared.

Somehow, that silly, muffled tiger voice had become deep and authoritative.

Qin Ran didn't scold him, but smiled and reached out to stroke his neck, running his hand through fur smoother than silk.

"Are you afraid?" he asked.

Chasing the Wind shook his massive tiger head, looking at the enemy forces with contempt before replying, "With Father here, I'm not afraid!"

"Good boy!" Qin Ran said softly, "Let's protect our home together."

The cloud ship approached and stopped.

Sun Yicheng led several disciples down from the cloud ship, walked out from the ranks, and stood in the air not far from the father and son duo.

He displayed the powerful cultivator army behind him and asked Qin Ran with a smile:

"Was it worth it? You exhausted yourself scheming in Zhican Valley, plotting and calculating, vainly attempting to wear down Zhican Valley's strength.

"What use was it? Destroying the Dao Sword Sect will still be as easy as turning over our palms."

"Whether it was worth it or not, I believe you know better than I do," Qin Ran replied with a smile.

"As for your strength, I've said from the beginning that you're just bloated, your power is false. And now I'll say it again - these thousands of cultivators behind you are nothing but clay chickens and pottery dogs. If I wish, I can toy with you all in the palm of my hand at any time."

Qin Ran's voice made horrific scenes flash through Sun Yicheng's mind: spirit fields exuding death energy, skies raining blood and body parts, buildings burning and exploding.

Looking at Qin Ran's smile, he still felt fear in his heart.

Steadying himself, he continued smiling and said, "Elder Qin's eloquence remains impressive as always. It must be exhausting to maintain such a calm facade. Before absolute power, all schemes and tricks are but floating clouds."

"All floating clouds, you say?" Qin Ran asked puzzled, "Then why have you chosen this approach, throwing everything at us at once? Is Zhican Valley... is your Hengduan Mountain Alliance unable to find anyone capable of devising an effective strategy?"

Why go all-in?

Because they didn't want to give Qin Ran any more time for his schemes and tricks.

Why not devise a strategy?

Because they feared any strategy would be thoroughly defeated by Qin Ran, resulting in greater losses.

So having no strategy was better than having one.

Sun Yicheng's smile grew cold as he asked, "Then may I ask if you still have the opportunity to employ those little tricks of yours now?"

"Yes! I do!" Qin Ran nodded with a smile, gesturing to the Eight Trigrams Formation of Gods and Demons behind him, "Look, this is the welcoming gift I've prepared for you. Are you ready to unwrap your present?"

"A formation?" Sun Yicheng sneered, "You have considerable achievements in the Dao of Pills. Could it be that in formations you're also..."

He swallowed the last word "powerful."

"Hahaha..."

Seeing Sun Yicheng's outwardly strong but inwardly weak appearance, Qin Ran burst into loud laughter.

His laughter was wild, soaring to the clouds!

The thousands of cultivators opposite watched him laughing coldly but didn't make a move.

Because they all knew, to varying degrees, that the horrific tragedy that occurred in Zhican Valley days ago was the work of this man before them.

No one made a move, allowing Qin Ran to laugh freely.

Because they were afraid!

They cleverly gave themselves an excuse - Qin Ran's power wasn't worth mentioning, they were just worried about traps and ambushes.

Still laughing, Qin Ran turned around on Chasing the Wind and slowly walked into the formation behind him.

"You want the Dao Sword Sect? Come and take it!"

These words carried through his laughter.

Then, his figure mounted on the tiger disappeared into the formation, leaving only his wild laughter echoing in the sky.

Thousands of powerful cultivators watched him disappear, and even after his laughter had subsided, not one of them moved. They didn't even step forward to test how much substance there was to the formation surrounding the Dao Sword Sect's Guardian Mountain Formation.

The world remained silent.

But in this silence, there was something strange, something awkward, something... fearful.

One man's laughter had intimidated an army of thousands!

At the main peak of the Dao Sword Sect, in the square, Sect Leader Gu Yueming and the sect's elite forces watched this scene unfold.

"What exactly did that kid do in Zhican Valley?" Liu Boxian asked in amazement.

He knew about Qin Ran's three-step plan and knew it had succeeded, but he didn't know what the final effect of this plan had been.

What kind of experience would cause cultivators to show such fear?

"I don't know the details," Gu Yueming shook his head and said, "He only reported to me that through death or flight, the Hengduan Mountain Alliance lost at least five hundred Golden Core cultivators."

"Five hundred Golden Core cultivators?!" Liu Boxian exclaimed in shock.

But then he looked at the army of cultivators outside that blocked out the sky and asked in confusion, "Even after losing five hundred Golden Core cultivators, there are still so many?"

He Daoguang looked up at the scene outside, his eyes flickering with emotion. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, whether mockery or praise, but he remained silent.

"It's the Boundless Sword Sect..." Qin Ran's voice came as he descended from the sky riding his white tiger. He explained, "The Boundless Sword Sect ultimately sided with Zhican Valley. Among the cultivators outside, the Boundless Sword Sect contributed at least fifty Golden Core cultivators, not to mention those at Foundation Establishment and Core Formation stages."

Liu Boxian looked at Qin Ran and saw that his face wasn't smiling anymore, but full of gravity.

"The force that has come to the Dao Sword Sect is still beyond our expectations," Qin Ran said solemnly. "Uncle Liu, Sect Leader, prepare for street fighting."

"Street fighting?" Liu Boxian frowned.

"We have three lines of defense: the Eight Trigrams Formation of Gods and Demons, the Guardian Mountain Formation, and the Mountain and River Sword, but these certainly won't stop them," Qin Ran said. "When we no longer have formations to rely on, we'll have to fight within the sect.

"Sect Leader, we need to both minimize sect losses and preserve our fighting strength for the final battle."

"I understand," Gu Yueming nodded.

Seeing this, Qin Ran swept his gaze across the Core Formation cultivators in the sect square, took a deep breath, and cupped his fists in salute to them, saying, "What I could do ends here. The rest is up to you."

Gu Yueming returned the salute solemnly and sighed, "You've already done more than enough."

"We cultivators, why fear a battle?" Liu Boxian declared boldly.

"Hahaha!" Qin Ran laughed once, riding Chasing the Wind toward Dan Peak.

"We cultivators, why fear a battle indeed!" he replied.