Cultivation: Immunity to Negative Effects

"No!"

A Golden Core Peak Powerhouse was instantly pierced by a Sword Light. He screamed and fell from the sky. Only then did the Sword Light dissipate, revealing a Nascent Soul Cultivator in white robes—it was none other than Lu Daoyi.

When he was young, Lu Daoyi had dreamed of obtaining the legendary Spirit Sword from the Sword Testing Valley. Because of this, he had always practiced the Sword Control Technique. Although he never acquired that Spirit Sword in the end, his Sword Control Technique had become exceptionally powerful.

Killing a cultivator of the Same Tier might be difficult, but crushing Golden Core Peak Cultivators was as easy as turning over his hand.

Under the assault of his Sword Light, the Golden Core Peak Cultivator didn’t even have time to summon his personal Corpse Puppet.

"Lu Daoyi, you’re courting death!"

The Celestial Corpse Old Demon roared in fury. With a wave of his great sleeves, a powerful force shoved the four Golden Core Cultivators aside.

He then immediately rushed to meet his opponent.

ROAR!

At the same time, along with a terrifying roar, a green-faced, tusked Celestial Corpse suddenly appeared, joining him in a pincer attack against Lu Daoyi.

ROAR!

Meanwhile, the four Golden Core Peak Cultivators did the same. Not daring to advance themselves, they each released their Corpse Puppets to join the battle.

Their Corpse Puppets were all Tier Three Peak Celestial Corpses. Although they were no match for a Nascent Soul Powerhouse, their strengths lay in their powerful defense, strong recovery abilities, and their Celestial Corpse Evil. Therefore, they had no fear of Lu Daoyi, even when surrounding him.

However, the expressions on their faces were grim.

First, the Celestial Corpse Sect’s Tier Four Celestial Corpse was near the end of its life and couldn’t be easily deployed.

This time, even their Sect Leader was using a Tier Three Peak Celestial Corpse.

Second, Lu Daoyi was too difficult to deal with; they couldn’t take him down in a short amount of time.

Finally, and worst of all, the Cangwu Sect had clearly been prepared. Not only had their sneak attack failed, but they now seemed to be fish in a barrel.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

As the Nascent Soul Powerhouses clashed, colossal, dazzling shockwaves radiated outward with deafening explosions.

The Golden Core Powerhouses didn’t even dare to get close.

Fortunately, neither side wanted to destroy the Spiritual Vein, so they fought tacitly in the high sky. Otherwise, Nine Peaks Lake and the surrounding area would have been turned directly into ruins.

"ROAR!"

"Kill!"

All across the Cangwu Sect, the sounds of battle now shook the heavens, punctuated by the terrifying roars of Corpse Puppets.

The Qi Cultivation Disciples had all gone into hiding. The Foundation Establishment Cultivators, however, formed groups of three to five, using various Magical Artifacts and Magic to fight the Corpse Puppets, taking advantage of the familiar terrain.

Many of these Corpse Puppets were only Tier Two, so while it was a struggle, they could still hold them off.

As for the Golden Core Elders, they had all mobilized, specifically seeking out the Celestial Corpse Sect’s Golden Core Cultivators and Tier Three Corpse Puppets.

Most importantly, beams of white light continuously descended from the Grand Array’s light curtain in the sky. When they landed on the Cangwu Sect’s Cultivators, they were instantly revitalized, their Combat Power and defense soaring.

But when the light fell upon the Corpse Puppets and the Celestial Corpse Sect’s Golden Core Cultivators, it had a suppressive, weakening, and even immobilizing effect.

Fortunately for the Celestial Corpse Sect, their invading force was composed of Golden Core Cultivators, and they outnumbered the Cangwu Sect’s. Otherwise, they would have suffered a miserable defeat right then and there.

Even now, the two sides were at best evenly matched, and that was only because the Celestial Corpse Sect had a large number of Corpse Puppets.

"Damn it, how did it turn out like this?"

The Celestial Corpse Sect’s Golden Core Cultivators were all filled with fury and dread.

’So many Demon Cultivators from the Celestial Corpse Sect came? Are they launching an all-out attack to wipe out our Cangwu Sect’s legacy? Thank goodness the Sect Leader and the Supreme Elder saw through their plot long ago. Otherwise, the Cangwu Sect would have been truly finished!’

The Cangwu Sect’s Cultivators were equally astonished. While immensely relieved, they didn’t dare to let their guard down for a moment.

Because not even the Sect Leader and the other higher-ups had expected the Demon Sect’s invasion to start with such a massive offensive, with even Nascent Soul Cultivators being deployed right from the beginning.

Had they known their enemy was this reckless, they would have activated the Grand Array far in advance to keep the invaders out.

"All disciples, hear my command! Retreat!"

"Lu Daoyi, you just wait! The Celestial Corpse Sect will not let you or the Cangwu Sect off the hook!"

The Celestial Corpse Sect’s Sect Leader quickly calmed down and gave a decisive order. The many Demon Sect Golden Core Cultivators immediately gathered together, commanding their Corpse Puppets to charge toward the Array Light Curtain in the sky.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The Corpse Puppets exploded on impact, and the Array was instantly blasted to the point of collapse.

At the same time, another group of Corpse Puppets charged toward the pursuing Cangwu Sect Cultivators.

Seeing this, the Cangwu Sect Cultivators hastily slowed their pace, afraid that the enemy would choose to take them down together.

After all, the enemy was sacrificing Corpse Puppets, while they were living people.

The Celestial Corpse Sect’s Sect Leader went a step further, commanding several Tier Three Corpse Puppets to charge directly at the Grand Array’s light curtain.

BOOM!

Dazzling golden light immediately erupted, and a huge hole was instantly torn open in the Grand Array’s light curtain.

Then, the Celestial Corpse Sect’s Sect Leader led his many Golden Core Disciples out, transforming into streaks of black smoke and bloody light as they fled.

"Where do you think you’re going!"

"Leave your lives behind!"

The Cangwu Sect Cultivators gave chase, but in truth, they weren’t pushing themselves too hard.

For one, they were afraid the enemy would use their Corpse Puppets to take them down in a mutual-destruction attack.

For another, they were also wary of other plots and schemes, such as an ambush lying in wait for them.

In fact, the vast majority of the Cultivators secretly breathed a sigh of relief that the enemy was fleeing.

"Enough! Don’t pursue a desperate foe!"

The Sect Leader gave another decisive order, leaving half of the Golden Core Cultivators and all disciples below Golden Core to guard the Sect.

The other half of the Golden Core Cultivators immediately split up and rushed toward the nearby Marketplace, Medicinal Garden, mines, and other such locations.

This time, although the Sect Headquarters had suffered some losses, they were still within a controllable range.

And the Celestial Corpse Sect’s losses were far greater than their own.

But as for the surrounding Marketplace, Medicinal Garden, and other territories, their fate was uncertain.

’Thankfully, we received advance warning from Celestial Star True Monarch and that mysterious person, or we’d really be in deep trouble!’

’Even so, our preparations were insufficient. First, we had too little time, and second, we underestimated the severity of this invasion!’

’Indeed. We should have activated the Mountain Protection Array ahead of time!’

’But it’s a good thing Junior Brother Zhang Chi is safe. Otherwise, our losses would have been truly great.’

’Yes, I hope the outlying Marketplaces and such are all right. And the other Major Sects... I wonder how they’re faring.’

While giving the orders, everyone from Lu Daoyi to the Sect Leader and the other higher-ups felt both immense relief and fury.

Before, they could have actually taken down more of the enemy’s Golden Core Cultivators, and perhaps even heavily wounded that Nascent Soul old demon.

But if they had, the Cangwu Sect would have suffered a great blow to its Vitality, and large parts of the sect would have been reduced to ruins.

After all, many of their Golden Core Elders weren’t at the headquarters, and the enemy’s willingness to sacrifice their Corpse Puppets made them extremely troublesome to fight.

What they didn’t know was that the Demon Sect had dispatched the Celestial Corpse Sect to tie down the Cangwu Sect precisely because they valued the advantage of the Celestial Corpse Sect having disposable Corpse Puppets.

—

「White Cloud Marketplace」

The defensive Grand Array had long been fully activated. A transparent white light curtain enveloped the entire Marketplace, but all the Cultivators within wore expressions of fear and tension.

Among them were two Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

One of the two Foundation Establishment Cultivators was named Liu Menglong. He was the guardian of White Cloud Marketplace and had been here for many years.

Even with the period he was forced to leave after being punished by the Sect due to his involvement with the Song Family, his absence hadn’t been very long.

The other was a tall, graceful, and veiled young Female Cultivator—it was Qin Susu.

She had received a message from Zhang Chi and immediately notified Liu Menglong. Liu Menglong had been in seclusion cultivating a new Magic, but upon receiving the news, he wisely and immediately activated the Grand Array.

After all, Liu Menglong had long since found out that Qin Susu was Zhang Chi’s woman.

But even so, because Liu Menglong had been in seclusion, the activation of the Array was a step too slow.

Moreover, the enemy arrived too quickly. The Array had just been activated when they were already outside.

Even if Qin Susu had wanted to leave, she didn’t have time.

Of course, before seeing the enemy for herself, she hadn’t wanted to leave right away.

Because White Cloud Marketplace was Zhang Chi’s property, and as his woman, she had naturally long since come to regard it as her own business.