whoosh! whoosh! whoosh!
Before Lai Li’an even opened his eyes, a barrage of crackling explosions blasted his ears into a dull ringing.
The roar of colliding spiritual power, the angry shouts of cultivators—all sorts of sounds intertwined and surged wildly around him.
He felt as if he’d been thrown from a great height. The moment his feet hit solid ground, his knees buckled, and he nearly went down.
“Where the hell did this dump me? Am I even still in the same world?”
The words slipped out before he could stop them. Realizing no one here would understand a thing he just said, he immediately shut his mouth.
He steadied himself, looked up, and froze.
Dozens of streaks of escape light crisscrossed the sky. Multicolored spiritual lights exploded like fireworks, each collision followed by a deafening boom.
The ground below was utter chaos—shattered walls and rubble scattered everywhere. What should have been a mountain gate was now nothing but scorched earth.
Two words surfaced in Lai Li’an’s mind.
A battlefield.
“Shao Jiao, I’m going to kill you.”
Lai Li’an mentally cursed out every swear word he’d ever known.
But his face remained perfectly blank.
He’d long since gotten used to keeping that mask steady no matter what crisis dropped in front of him.
Because that face was his only weapon.
At that moment, the chaos around him suddenly ground to a halt.
Dozens of gazes snapped toward Lai Li’an in unison.
One single question flashed through everyone’s mind:
Who the hell is this guy?
Lai Li’an stood in the exact center of the battlefield. Scorched earth and debris surrounded him. Above him hovered dozens of bloodthirsty cultivators. He felt like a little white rabbit that had wandered into a wolf den.
Why is everyone looking at me? Just keep fighting, can’t you? Can’t you just ignore me?
Treat me like some random extra. Is that too much to ask?
But no one could hear his inner plea.
Silence hung for a moment.
Then a voice erupted from the Wuyue Sect crowd.
“Reinforcements! It’s Senior Brother Shao’s reinforcements!”
The voice carried barely suppressed ecstasy.
“You’re all doomed! Hahahahaha!”
That shout was like a spark hitting gunpowder. Hope blazed back to life in the eyes of Wuyue Sect’s remaining disciples.
“Reinforcements! They really are reinforcements!”
“Senior Brother Shao didn’t abandon us!”
“I knew it! I knew Senior Brother Shao would bring someone back!”
Cheers rose from the scorched ground. Faces that had been on the edge of despair reignited with the will to live.
The Blood Lotus Sect’s side, on the other hand, was not looking so good.
Several cultivators who had been mid-battle pulled back their techniques and retreated, watching this sudden newcomer with wary eyes.
The leader’s brows furrowed. His gaze swept over Lai Li’an repeatedly, trying to sense the man’s cultivation level.
Mid Golden Core.
But how could a mid Golden Core cultivator dare to waltz alone into a battlefield of this scale?
And the way he’d appeared was far too strange—popping into the exact center of the battle out of thin air.
That was not a technique any Golden Core cultivator could pull off.
The leader’s face darkened. He raised his right hand and made a stop-attack gesture.
The Blood Lotus Sect cultivators were confused, but they still withdrew their techniques and fell back into their own formation.
The clamor of battle died in an instant. Only the howl of wind remained.
Neither side dared to make the first move.
Lai Li’an stood dead center between the two opposing armies, feeling like a fish being roasted over an open flame.
He didn’t move. No one else moved.
If he moved, everyone might follow.
Then… he’d just stand still.
Lai Li’an clasped his hands behind his back, sweeping his gaze across the field with calm composure. That unhurried, unruffled bearing stunned everyone present.
Just then, a figure shot out from the Wuyue Sect side and landed beside Lai Li’an.
It was an old man with graying hair and beard, wearing a daoist robe that was more than half destroyed.
The old man stopped before Lai Li’an and respectfully bowed.
“Junior Wuyue Sect Elder, Wu Zhengyang, greets Senior.”
His tone was formal and reverent, carrying a hint of excitement.
He had already carefully probed this person with his spiritual sense a moment ago.
Mid Golden Core cultivation. Not high, not low.
But this man, standing under the scrutiny of dozens of cultivators, remained perfectly unruffled and at ease. That calm could not be faked.
And Shao Jiao—that boy—he’d watched him grow up.
That kid was stubborn and never asked for help easily. Someone he’d risk his life to summon as reinforcement could not possibly be some ordinary Golden Core cultivator.
Wu Zhengyang had already made his judgment, so he kept his posture extremely humble.
Lai Li’an gave a slight nod, his tone flat.
“Mhm. No need for formalities. Report the situation.”
Wu Zhengyang straightened up and quickly organized his words, giving a brief summary of the current crisis.
“Senior, the Blood Lotus Sect launched a night raid on our Wuyue Sect mountain gate. They brought one mid Nascent Soul Stage cultivator, five Golden Core cultivators, and dozens of Foundation Establishment cultivators.
On our side… we have four Golden Core cultivators and dozens at Foundation Establishment. This old man is the only one at peak Golden Core.
The mountain gate has already been breached. The Mountain Protection Array was dismantled from within by a traitor. Our remaining disciples have fallen back to the rear mountain, barely holding the line with terrain advantage. If no reinforcements come… I fear we won’t last the night.”
Lai Li’an listened without a single change in expression. Internally, he was a boiling pot.
One mid Nascent Soul.
Five Golden Cores.
Dozens of Foundation Establishment.
Our side: four Golden Cores, dozens at Foundation Establishment. The strongest is this old man at peak Golden Core.
This is a hopeless disadvantage by every metric!
We’re outnumbered in Golden Cores, outclassed in top-tier power, and they even have a Nascent Soul!
Damn you, Shao Jiao!
I was being nice, chatting with you, counseling you, and this is how you repay me?
You threw me into a death trap.
Shao Jiao’s face flashed through Lai Li’an’s mind again. If dozens of eyes weren’t boring into him right now, he’d have screamed to the heavens:
“I’m innocent!”
But he couldn’t.
If he showed even a crack of weakness, Wuyue Sect’s morale would collapse instantly, and Blood Lotus Sect would launch their all-out assault.
At that point, forget saving anyone—he couldn’t even save himself.
Lai Li’an took a deep breath and shoved down the urge to scream bloody murder.
His mind raced at full speed, searching for a viable plan.
Fighting was out of the question.
Forget the Nascent Soul—if those five Golden Cores all rushed him at once, he’d be done for.
Running was also impossible.
He didn’t even know how to fly yet. Where would he run to?
That left only his oldest trick—bluffing.
Bluff hard enough that the enemy wouldn’t dare make a move.
Bluff until the end of time.
Lai Li’an subtly swept his gaze toward the Blood Lotus Sect. The System Panel silently materialized, tagging the enemy lineup one by one.
[Target: Gong Jiwang, Mid Nascent Soul Stage, High-grade Fire Spirit Root]
[Target: Yin Wuji, Early Golden Core, High-grade Gold Spirit Root]
[Target: …]
Lai Li’an’s gaze lingered on the name “Yin Wuji” for a split second.
Hahahaha!
Heaven hasn’t abandoned me!
Yin Wuji! An old acquaintance!
The Blood Lotus Sect elder who had fled in terror from him outside that bamboo grove was now standing in the enemy ranks, face pale as ash, staring right at him.
A faint, barely perceptible curve tugged at the corner of Lai Li’an’s lips.
If I can spook Yin Wuji, get him to whisper some sweet poison into that Nascent Soul’s ear, maybe I can buy some time.
Even if that doesn’t work, at least it’ll make them more cautious.
He quickly ran the numbers in his head, then took a step forward.
His robes drifted gently in the night wind. His face was an emotionless mask.
Wu Zhengyang blinked, instinctively moving to follow, but Lai Li’an stopped him with a single hand gesture.