As the twilight glow descended, it bathed the entire world in a warm golden hue. Luo Chen scanned the surroundings, his gaze sharp and watchful, yet he saw nothing out of the ordinary.
Could I be overthinking it...?
Behind him, Sima Huiniang stepped forward. “President, let’s set up camp at Gaoling Plains tonight.”
"Gaoling Plains?"
“Yes. That area sits high above the surroundings, with dense stone pillars. It’s excellent for concealment, reduces the risk of ambush, and is easy to patrol.”
"That sounds reasonable." Luo Chen nodded.
The Skyhawk Flying Boat glided steadily toward a towering plain that jutted out from the surrounding landscape. As they drew nearer, the terrain came into clearer view—rugged and uneven, scattered with jagged boulders. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of massive stone pillars rose from the ground like ancient sentinels.
At first glance, it resembled the ruins of a fallen palace, the stone columns standing like the fractured beams of a once-grand structure.
But as they drew nearer, an unsettling feeling began to take root in Luo Chen’s heart. The scene before them, once seemingly ideal, now felt inexplicably off. A vague sense of unease stirred within him, growing sharper with each breath.
High vantage point... Dense cover...
Wait—something’s wrong.
Suddenly, Luo Chen’s eyes locked onto the plains below, sharp and unblinking.
In that very instant, three devastating attacks erupted out of nowhere, howling through the air as they raced straight toward the Skyhawk Flying Boat.
“Damn it!” Luo Chen barked. “Duan Feng, activate the defensive formation!”
Buzz!!!
A deep, resonating hum filled the air as the ship’s defensive formation surged to life. A translucent jade-blue barrier rippled outward, wrapping around the entire boat in a cocoon of defense.
This was the Skyhawk’s built-in formation, a defensive measure meant to barely withstand a single full-force strike from a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
But what they were facing... was three!
Without hesitation, Luo Chen swept his sleeve, unleashing a surge of overwhelming spirit power. He targeted the fiercest of the incoming strikes, a blue flood dragon charging straight for the boat. Under his sweeping force, the dragon let out a mournful screech before shattering into glowing fragments.
Though the residual spirit energy still rippled outward, Luo Chen’s continued motions dispersed it into little more than a passing breeze and scattered drizzle.
To Luo Chen, it caused no harm whatsoever. Yet the familiar style of that spell stirred a faint suspicion in his mind—he had seen this technique before.
At that moment, a crimson tornado erupted from the flying boat, colliding with a black-red beam of energy.
Boom!
As the forces clashed, Wang Yuan’s expression darkened slightly. All around them, several narrow beams of black and crimson energy spiraled through the air before flowing back down, vanishing into the heart of the Gaoling Plains below.
That accounted for two of the attacks.
But the third, unintercepted and roaring with deadly intent, was still hurtling straight toward the Skyhawk Flying Boat.
At the helm, Duan Feng’s face turned pale. “Foundation Establishment-level strike! Max out the defensive formation!”
The azure barrier encasing the ship flared and thickened, struggling desperately to absorb the oncoming impact.
Bang!
The sound echoed across the sky like a mountain collapsing. The final, earthen-yellow beam struck with immense force.
At the last second, the yellow light bounced off—the source revealed to be a small, stamp-shaped enchanted treasure. Somehow, they had blocked it.
But before anyone could celebrate, the Skyhawk Flying Boat began to lurch violently, spiraling into an uneven descent.
“President, the formation’s core has been destroyed!”
“Land immediately—prepare for battle!” Luo Chen ordered, his voice cold and steady.
He remained standing mid-air, his expression grim as he looked down at three figures now emerging atop the massive stone pillars.
"Huo Hu!
"Tu Shan!
"Wang Haichao!"
He practically ground his teeth saying the last name.
A treacherous, backstabbing wretch. Even after parting ways, he still clung like a rabid dog, utterly revolting.
As if blind to Luo Chen’s gaze of contempt and disgust, Wang Haichao laughed heartily and said, “What is that technique of yours, anyway? Twice now, you’ve shattered my Water Dragon Twist after it launched. Not bad.”
Luo Chen didn’t respond. He merely shot Wang Haichao a cold glance before shifting his focus to the other two.
"I can understand Tu Shan making a move on me; this is all for the Clear Origin Mystical Pill Method, after all.
"But Huo Hu... aren’t you worried this move will make enemies for the Huo family?"
As soon as those words left his mouth, Wang Haichao and Tu Shan both tensed, their expressions slightly shifting.
Generally speaking, Foundation Establishment cultivators from noble families avoided direct conflict with rogue cultivators of the same realm. Because if they failed to kill their target, the consequences could be endless.
Especially if that rogue cultivator had no moral restraint. They might never touch the family’s heirs, but instead pick off Qi-Refining juniors who ventured out. And who could guard against that forever?
A single rogue cultivator could wear down even a powerful family in less than a century.
The warning in Luo Chen’s tone was unmistakable. If Huo Hu faltered now, the other two would be in a very awkward position.
But Huo Hu merely gave a cold smirk. "If we kill you, then there’s no enemy left to worry about, is there?"