The Landscape Map

In an effort to breach the protective mountain gate array of the Dao Sword Sect, the Hengduan Mountain Alliance dispatched a team of elite warriors, consisting of a dozen Golden Core cultivators and five hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators. Almost the entire force was wiped out in the attempt.

The cost was staggering. Ten Nascent Soul cultivators perished. Initially, two of the five Nascent Soul cultivators sent were ambushed and killed by the crafty Chasing the Wind. Then, Ao Yi went berserk, slaying two more and severely injuring three others. Liu Baixuan unleashed a devastating burst of power, killing three more. Finally, as Ao Yi breathed his last, he managed to take three more with him.

The mountain gate array was indeed broken, but the price paid by the Hengduan Mountain Alliance was nothing short of catastrophic. Rough calculations suggested that they had lost nearly half of their combat strength.

Late into the night, Qiu Huahui stood at the edge of the cloud ship, her hand resting on the railing, gazing out into the darkness beyond the window, her expression blank.

Unifying the Hengduan Mountains had been her ambition, and she had worked tirelessly, sacrificing much, both physically and emotionally. She had prepared herself for the difficulties and the inevitable casualties. But when the number of deaths became overwhelming, when she saw so many lives extinguished, their bodies reduced to nothing, she began to question the very meaning of life.

The imagined deaths and the actual sight of them were profoundly different.

She wondered, was it worth it to sacrifice so many lives just to destroy the Dao Sword Sect?

She pondered, if they were to proceed and destroy the Boundless Sword Sect next, how many more would perish?

She considered, was it necessary to withdraw now to mitigate further losses?

She questioned, if she were to regret her decisions now, would it be too late?

She thought, returning now to reconsider Qin Ran's proposal of a tripartite balance among the three sects, could it still be possible?

Her thoughts were in disarray. She might have considered many things, or perhaps she had not thought at all.

She simply stared into the darkness, at the piles of corpses below, lost in confusion.

So many had died, far more than she had ever anticipated. The sheer scale of the carnage filled her with fear, hesitation, and a desire to retreat…

"Sect Leader…" Sun Yicheng's voice broke the silence behind her. "What are you thinking about?"

Qiu Huahui did not turn around, nor did she respond.

Sun Yicheng stepped up beside her, following her gaze down to the open space below the cloud ship.

Directly beneath them lay the small market outside the Dao Sword Sect.

This market was a place where Dao Sword Sect disciples, members of other sects, or lone cultivators could trade cultivation resources.

Over time, it had developed into a small village with a street. The central avenue was paved with flat stone slabs, and on either side were platforms for stalls, behind which simple thatched or wooden houses had been built.

In the past, regardless of the time of day, the market would have been bustling with activity—traders, arguments, or casual strolls—there were always people around. Some even lived in the market.

But now…

The streets, the thatched roofs, the wooden houses, the stone platforms—everywhere was stained with blood, littered with severed limbs, and strewn with corpses, transformed into a hell on earth.

Sun Yicheng gazed down, sighed, but offered no further reaction.

"Why didn't the Dao Sword Sect surrender?" Qiu Huahui suddenly asked.

Hearing this question out of nowhere, Sun Yicheng was momentarily taken aback. He turned to look at Qiu Huahui and saw a flicker of reluctance in the eyes of the usually composed sect leader.

He looked back at the darkness below, at the corpses, and slowly spoke:

"They must have had some twisted pride! Surrendering to Zhican Valley would have required them to acknowledge Zhican Valley as their superior, and then they would have been spared the war. They would have received an abundance of cultivation resources. We gain prestige, they gain substance—a win-win situation. But they were just… stubborn.

"They weren't blind to the situation. At least Qin Ran could see clearly from the beginning how it would end, but he was just… stubborn. He stirred up trouble, igniting the flames of war, forcing a situation where both sides suffer, allowing the Boundless Sword Sect to benefit from the chaos."

"Stubborn?" Qiu Huahui gently shook her head, sighing, "It's about integrity, honor, dignity, the very core of their Dao… things like that."

Sun Yicheng lacked these qualities himself, so he remained silent, unable to offer a critique.

"If, I mean if…" Qiu Huahui asked, "what would happen if we withdrew now?"

She had finally voiced the question.

Sun Yicheng looked at the blood in the darkness and smiled, praising, "Sect Leader, you truly are beautiful and kind-hearted."

In the current societal context, calling someone "honest" is akin to labeling them as naive or foolish. Similarly, in the cultivation world, praising someone as "beautiful and kind-hearted" is not necessarily a compliment, especially when said in the midst of a sea of blood and corpses, to the one who orchestrated it all.

Qiu Huahui, the leader of Zhican Valley, was no fool. She understood the implications and shot a cold glance at Sun Yicheng.

Sun Yicheng pretended not to notice and, in the darkness, began to speak slowly, carefully explaining to Qiu Huahui:

"In the previous two battles, because the Dao Sword Sect was on the defensive and benefited from Qin Ran's schemes, their casualties were minimal. However, they still lost over a hundred disciples, including two talented disciples and a formation spirit with the combat power of a Nascent Soul cultivator.

"As for us, the casualties can only be described as severe. We've lost nearly a thousand warriors, including over a dozen Nascent Soul cultivators, hundreds of Golden Core cultivators, and countless Foundation Establishment disciples…

"Although only a small fraction of these were from Zhican Valley, the sect has still suffered significant losses. Other sects have been decimated, with many dead and wounded, making it difficult to calculate the exact toll."

As he spoke of the dead, of the lives lost below them, his tone remained calm,

"War brings casualties, and wounds… The blood feud between the two sides is now irreconcilable.

"Sect Leader, once war begins, it's like an avalanche—there is no turning back."

His voice began to rise,

"You want to know what would happen if we withdrew? I'll tell you.

"Qin Ran would immediately investigate the truth behind our retreat, and then he would launch a counterattack—a frenzied, merciless counterattack.

"Didn't Qin Ran cause a massacre in Zhican Valley? Do you really think he would let this go? If we retreat, every sect that participated in this war would be targeted… until they are all destroyed!"

Qiu Huahui listened in silence, her eyes closing as she reached the end of his words.

After a long while, she opened her eyes again, now devoid of any emotion, cold as a practitioner, as a leader.

She parted her crimson lips and issued a cold command: "Advance into the Dao Sword Sect tomorrow. Follow the original plan to seal off the Dao Sword Sect…"

She added, "At all costs, eliminate Qin Ran!!"

The next day, the cloud ships of the Hengduan Mountain Alliance advanced, shattering the now blackened protective array of the Dao Sword Sect, and entered the sect's inner grounds.

However, as the black array barrier crumbled, revealing the interior of the Dao Sword Sect, the Alliance discovered that there was yet another barrier within!

The Dao Sword Sect was built upon a spiritual vein, so while its main structures were five peaks, there was still a considerable expanse of open land around them.

The protective array had encompassed this open space as well.

Now, with the outer array shattered, within that open space, the five main peaks were still enclosed by a barrier.

A barrier, a majestic landscape painting formed by intertwining black and white sword qi!

The members of the Hengduan Mountain Alliance all looked up and saw, hovering high above the Dao Sword Sect, a sword, and above the sword, a man seated in mid-air.

The man was tall and imposing, with a handsome countenance, dressed in snow-white robes, exuding an air of elegance and charm.

The sword was three feet and four inches long, with a black hilt and a white blade, resembling a brush that painted the mountains and rivers, or the yin-yang dual fish of a Daoist diagram.

The man was Lu Junxing, and the sword was the Mountain and River Sword.