Among these three, one was a peerless sword cultivator who had grasped Sword Intent and carried a blood-stained wooden sword.
One was a demonic woman, smiling brightly while shrouded in thick demonic energy.
One was a stern, burly man whose physical body radiated a horrifying pressure.
The three hailed from the Seven Star Sword Sect, the Demon-Trance Sect, and the Sky-Fire Pavilion, respectively. These three sects were massive powers that stood on equal footing with the Qingyuan Sect. These three individuals were renowned genius disciples within their respective sects, possessing combat power that looked down upon all other Qi Refinement cultivators.
Their primary objective in gathering was to slay Meng Yan! By doing so, they would clear all of the Qingyuan Sect's "nails" within Qingshi County and seize control of the region.
Though they didn't know the specific reason why Qingshi County was so special, they knew it was a direct order from the sect's high-level leadership. They were to take control of the county at all costs and eliminate any Qingyuan Sect disciples or threatening individuals with influence there!
Facing these orders, the three could guess that the sect leaders had discovered something hidden in Qingshi County. However, such secrets were not for disciples of the Qi Refinement or Foundation Establishment stages to know.
Regardless, they had no choice but to follow orders.
As for enemies above the Foundation Establishment stage, they weren't particularly worried.
This was because the high-level leaders of the various sects had previously sworn the most rigorous Heavenly Oaths. No matter the method, if the combat treaty were violated, all leaders and their entire sects would face terrifying punishment from the Heavenly Dao.
Furthermore, it seemed the leaders of each participating side held certain trump cards and were confident that they would emerge as the ultimate winners. Thus, after brief consultations, the combat treaty had been finalized.
Now, the old monsters of the various sects sat firmly on their high thrones, manipulating their disciples to execute their battle plans. They remained incredibly calm even when their Qi Refinement or Foundation Establishment disciples died.
The only ones sacrificed were the disciples. After fighting for so long, countless young people who had been full of dreams for the immortal path had become nothing but corpses—pawns and casualties in a mysterious war.
To those old fellows with thousands of years of life, the survival of a batch of disciples was not important. Young geniuses were things that were produced every year. As long as the foundation of the human population remained, there would be no shortage of them! Once a few decades passed, countless more would be born!
Unless one was a once-in-a-thousand-years super genius, they all had to serve the sect's strategy!
That was the inherent cruelty of the world.
During times of stable development, when the sect and its territories were prosperous, the high-level leaders were naturally willing to formulate policies that benefited the prosperity of their lands to maximize their gains. But if something appeared that far exceeded those gains, prosperity was no longer important. Everything had to step aside for that treasure!
The current chaos in the Qingtian Domain was exactly like this.
The economy and industry could be sacrificed. After all, in a few decades or a century, they could be rebuilt through various policies. How much memory did the low-level cultivators have? As long as things weren't done too excessively, they could just find a scapegoat and be done with it.
The lives of rogue cultivators and family cultivators could be sacrificed. When they were gone, new families and rogues would appear. They were like wheat—as long as the environment was suitable, you just had to throw some seeds and they would grow back, no matter how hard they were harvested before.
Even the lives of their own sect disciples could be sacrificed. They were also things that could grow back at any time; in the end, they were just a slightly better grade of wheat.
Only by becoming a Golden Core or Nascent Soul expert did one gain the right to sit at the dining table. Anyone below that was just a pawn!
Mass slaughter was forbidden in the world of cultivation largely because the "soil" for growing the wheat could not be destroyed. This was a treaty jointly established by countless top-tier experts...
...
Roughly an hour after the sword cultivator, the body cultivator, and the demoness discovered Meng Yan's trail, Qi Ping suddenly opened his eyes from his meditation.
A faint ripple had just been transmitted from the bees he had scattered outside. Because the distance was great, he couldn't receive specific information, only a weak pulse.
However, given his familiarity with the swarm, this ripple was enough.
Once the enemies had drawn considerably closer, Qi Ping alerted Meng Yan.
"Brother Meng, the enemies are likely here..."
"They're here? Where?"
Meng Yan was startled. He hadn't sensed a thing, and the warning formations he had set up hadn't been tripped. That was the most terrifying part!
"They're still some distance away, but they are approaching fast. Stay alert, Brother Meng. I'm going to hide..."
"Good! Thank you for the warning, Brother Qi!"
Meng Yan breathed a sigh of relief. If the enemies had closed in without him noticing, it would have been truly frightening. If they were still some distance away, it was manageable. But he was inwardly shocked—to be able to precisely discover the enemy from such a distance, Qi Ping's scouting ability was far superior to his own.
A short while later, the warning formation Meng Yan had set was triggered. Immediately after, three figures appeared with incredible speed.
"It's actually you three?"
The moment he saw them, Meng Yan's gaze narrowed, becoming incredibly solemn. He knew about all three of them; they were geniuses from their respective sects with reputations no less than his own.
"Oh? You don't seem surprised by our arrival? It seems you were the one who leaked the information..." the woman from the Demon-Trance Sect said with a playful smile, instantly spotting the anomaly.
"But where is your courage? Surely you don't think these formations alone are enough to deal with the three of us? Are you truly that naive? Rumor has it you're quite formidable; surely you have more than this?" the Sky-Fire Pavilion disciple challenged arrogantly, his body radiating an oppressive force.
As a body cultivator with a fire-attribute combat physique, his style was exactly like this—arrogant, using his physical strength to suppress all else!
"Cut the crap! Die!"
Before the Seven Star Sword Sect disciple had even finished speaking, he struck. The blood-stained wooden sword on his back transformed into a streak of light, carrying a terrifying Sword Intent as it shot toward Meng Yan.
This strike was aimed directly for Meng Yan's head! With the lethal aura of that Sword Intent, if it landed, even Meng Yan's physical body would be decapitated.
It was the Slaughter Sword Intent, renowned for its killing power!
However, facing the sword cultivator's attack, Meng Yan showed no panic. A perfected Rank One interference formation instantly covered the field!
Within this formation, anyone who hadn't refined a specific token would be hindered by the formation's full power. The fewer the enemies, the stronger the interference!
As the formation activated, Meng Yan's Flame Intent surged. A perfected Explosive Flame Net rose before him. Then, a thunderous explosion rang out!
To Qi Ping's surprise, the wooden sword's momentum was actually broken by the terrifying explosive impact of the net. The spiritual energy and Sword Intent on the blade were depleted by half, forcing the sword cultivator to recall his blade.
'Impressive. Dao-Heart Intent? And an Earth-Core Blaze?' Qi Ping was shocked.
It seemed Meng Yan's improvement during this period was also terrifying. Not only had he fully clarified the first stage of the Dao-Heart, but he had even refined an Earth-Core Blaze!
When the Slaughter Sword Intent first appeared, Qi Ping had broken into a cold sweat for Meng Yan, but the man had blocked it effortlessly. This truly shocked Qi Ping.
"I didn't expect your strength to be even more fearsome than the intelligence suggested. But if I drink your blood, I'm sure my Life-Sword will become even stronger..."
Seeing his attack blocked, the Seven Star Sword Sect disciple wasn't too shocked. Instead, an evil smile touched his lips, and a terrifying killing intent erupted from his eyes!
At the same time, the disciples from the Demon-Trance Sect and Sky-Fire Pavilion prepared to move, but a man and a crow blocked their path.
Qi Ping stood before the Sky-Fire Pavilion body cultivator, while Ya Ya squared off against the demoness.
This was Ya Ya's own request. She claimed that with her current strength, he could leave the demoness to her.
Qi Ping had agreed. He also wanted to see how strong Ya Ya had become. After evolving into a Sun-Fire Crow and undergoing such long, diligent training—refining fire-attribute spiritual honey, absorbing and sensing the power of the sun, mastering Flame Intent, and refining the Beast King's Flame—how would she fare against the genius demoness of the Demon-Trance Sect?