A few days of delay due to various matters, traveling from Ganzhou to Guangzhou, and then sorting things out. Most of the time was spent flying overhead. After arriving in Chengdu, I stayed for two days, then got busy handling several important issues, which delayed the update. For this, I am deeply apologetic.

I'm online tonight. Many book friends have been urging me to update daily, to release more chapters. I stayed up until the late hours of the night hammering out this chapter. At seven in the morning, I still have to get up and rush off to Shanghai.

I ask for the understanding of all my readers.

Once I finish these matters over the next couple of days, I will strive to maintain a stable daily update schedule, ensuring both quality and speed.

Furthermore, this book has signed three contracts. I will adhere to the contracts and complete the narrative according to the outline. Therefore, this book will not be abandoned, nor will it have a shoddy ending; otherwise, the editors would hunt me down to the ends of the earth.

Although my updates are slow, I am consistently adhering to the established main outline and plot, meticulously conceiving the details to complete this creation. You should all be able to notice that I write every chapter with seriousness and detail, never being perfunctory. Despite the current update speed being as slow as a tortoise, I am still writing diligently. This book will only cover the protagonist's Qi Condensation stage (completed) and the Foundation Establishment stage (currently underway); there is still a long way to go, at least another year, perhaps even two.

I implore all readers not to speculate excessively, nor to worry that the book will be dropped. It is merely due to my personal reasons that the updates have been temporarily delayed, and I will strive to improve this situation.

(The main text chapter below is 3,000 characters.)

Peng Hong was scolded fiercely by the cultivators of Spirit Mist, and he left in shame. Since a small group of cultivators from Sky Dome Plain had been repelled, and the disciples of the Beast Spirit Gate had been successfully retrieved, the mission was considered complete. Ye Qin, along with Yan Ying, Zhou Hongyang, and the other Foundation Establishment cultivators, lingered no longer on the perilous Gobi desert. Together, they flew on their swords back toward Spirit Mist City.

Upon reaching Spirit Mist City, Ye Qin was slightly startled. He noticed that the defensive grand formation protecting the city was not active. Many sections of the massive bluestone walls of the magnificent and imposing Spirit Mist City showed signs of collapse and damage, seemingly shattered by magical attacks.

A faint sense of foreboding stirred in Ye Qin's heart. Although Yan Ying had already informed him of the brutality of the warfare between the cultivation worlds, the scene before his eyes still made him gasp in shock.

At the city gates, he and several dozen Foundation Establishment cultivators landed. After rigorous inspection by over ten high-level Foundation Establishment cultivators stationed at the gate, who used their Spirit Sight Technique to confirm their identity tokens held no disguise, the group of cultivators returning from the mission were finally permitted to enter Spirit Mist City.

Walking through the city, the situation Ye Qin witnessed became even more shocking.

On the streets inside the city, cultivators at the Qi Condensation stage were gathered in twos and threes near taverns, pavilions, and private residences. Most bore injuries, their gazes dull and vacant, or they were buried in their own affairs. An unspoken atmosphere of sorrow permeated the city. The city was almost silent, a stillness that was suffocating.

Only a minority among them were cultivators from the established sects of the Spirit Mist Realm; the majority were rogue cultivators or members of small family cultivators from across the entire Spirit Mist Realm. These were mostly low-level cultivators who had fled into the city to escape the turmoil of the war between the three great cultivation realms. Seeing this, Ye Qin couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

These low-level Qi Condensation cultivators who had sought refuge in Spirit Mist City were undoubtedly the most pitiable and helpless group in the cultivation world. Outside the city, they had nowhere to hide and could be wantonly killed by enemy cultivators at any moment. The idea of finding a place undisturbed for quiet cultivation was utterly fantastical. Areas suitable for cultivation were fiercely contested by cultivators. Areas unsuitable for cultivation offered no real sanctuary.

For the vast majority of ordinary cultivators, their only recourse was to flee to Spirit Mist City, the largest defensive stronghold in the Spirit Mist Cultivation World, to preserve their lives.

However, to remain within Spirit Mist City, they too had to pay a heavy price. They used their lifelong savings to purchase a small foothold within the city. Those who could afford to buy a small house within the city were considered fortunate. Those low-level rogue cultivators with almost no wealth could only find an open space in the city and lie down where they were. Cultivators like this were visible everywhere in the city.

This was not all. They were also required to defend the city and be dispatched on missions. They had to earn merit through desperate, bloody battles to secure the right to remain safely within the city for several months; otherwise, they would not be allowed to stay.

What filled all low-level cultivators with the deepest despair was that this protracted war between cultivation realms showed no sign of ending. It might last for years or even decades. The longer the war dragged on, the greater the possibility of their demise became.

After this brief moment of reflection, Ye Qin's emotions settled back into calmness. Compared to these low-level cultivators, his own situation was not much better. Just completing one mission to the Cold Lake Forest had nearly cost him his life. He, too, was exchanging his life for what he needed. In Spirit Mist City, there were the spirit stones and other items he required; he couldn't remain indefinitely in a place like the Vast Wilderness Ridge, which was infested with demonic beasts.

Yet, returning to Spirit Mist City inevitably meant participating in battles or being assigned missions again. He had no time to pity those low-level Qi Condensation cultivators.

"Cultivators from Sky Dome Plain are launching a massive assault, quickly prepare defenses!"

On the northeastern city wall, a Foundation Establishment cultivator on watch spotted a dazzling "cloud" of light appearing in the distant sky and hurriedly shouted, letting out a piercing cry.

"Quickly, activate the city defense formation! Don't let them break through."

"Hurry and inform the Ancestors! The enemy realm cultivators are attacking again!"

Almost instantaneously, the entire somber Spirit Mist City erupted into chaos. The rogue cultivators sitting cross-legged in the open spaces, and the small family cultivators sitting in taverns and pavilions, all leaped up in alarm, scrambling out and looking around in panic, even interspersed with a few cries. The few timid low-level cultivators were almost paralyzed with terror.

Of course, there were also many cultivators of considerable strength who remained unmoved, dismissing the enemy report without even bothering to lift an eyelid. If enemy cultivators arrived, they would simply fight; what was there to be so agitated about?

"Without the Ancestor's command, no one is allowed to open the city defense formation arbitrarily!"

Lü Zhangyou, Qin Shanjun of the Earth Depths Sect, Huangfu Rui of the Green Pill Sect, and the other Core Formation Ancestors emerged from the Spirit Mist Hall. Lü Zhangyou's authoritative command echoed throughout the entire city, jolting the panicked and disorderly low-level cultivators back to attention.

"What are you all panicking about? Quiet down! Listen to my orders, guard your respective positions, and do not act without authorization."

Lü Zhangyou's deep gaze swept over the cultivators outside the hall; not one dared to meet his eyes.

Subsequently, Lü Zhangyou gracefully ascended the city wall, followed by the other Ancestors.

With the several Core Formation Ancestors present, the confidence of the assembled cultivators surged; they had found their backbone.

Cultivators at the eighth and ninth layers of the Qi Condensation stage, holding spirit blades and spirit spears, strode onto the ramparts, standing ready with nervous tension. Meanwhile, the thousands of Foundation Establishment cultivators within the city began tossing out their flying swords, soaring into the air above the battlements.

Ye Qin was naturally no exception.

Among the Foundation Establishment cultivators of Spirit Mist, his palms were slightly sweating, and he couldn't help but feel nervous. This was his first time experiencing a battle of such massive scale.

Ye Qin looked around. Above the entire Spirit Mist City, there was also a dense, dark mass of Foundation Establishment cultivators—so numerous they were impossible to count. Thousands of magical artifacts were unleashed, dazzling to the eye. There were Black Gold Swords, Scarlet Blood Blades, Ghost Scythe Halberds, Soul Seizing Rings, Flying Fire Wheels, and a considerable portion of other bizarre artifacts Ye Qin had never even seen, let alone knew the names of.

The distant approaching cloud of light stopped about ten miles outside Spirit Mist City.

The two major factions faced off across the city boundaries. The Core Formation Ancestors of the Spirit Mist Realm—Lü Zhaoyou, Qin Shanjun, Huangfu Rui, and others—met with the Ancestors from the Sky Dome Plain and Wan Yue Lake, such as Zen Master Tian Meng, in the space between the two arrays.

No one knew what they were furiously arguing about; the voices of the Ancestors were shielded by magical techniques, so the cultivators outside could not hear a single word. However, the Ancestors from Sky Dome Plain and Wan Yue Lake appeared rather arrogant as they spoke, while the Ancestors like Lü Zhaoyou grew enraged, chastising them passionately.

The atmosphere on the entire battlefield was strange and grew increasingly tense. The cultivators in both camps waited patiently for the outcome. Based on the sheer size of the dense, cloud-like masses of cultivators hovering in the sky on both sides, it was clear that the Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Sky Dome Plain and Wan Yue Lake were noticeably more numerous than those from the Spirit Mist Realm.

After more than half an hour, it was evident that the Ancestors of the two sides could not agree on anything; the Spirit Mist Realm Ancestors returned angrily, brushing their sleeves, abruptly halting their discussion with Zen Master Tian Meng.

Undoubtedly, this meant the battle was inevitable.

"Kill!"

Someone let out an earth-shattering roar, and the Spirit Mist cultivators soaring on their swords above Spirit Mist City charged forward. The cultivators from Sky Dome Plain and Wan Yue Lake also began to surge out of their formations, charging toward Spirit Mist City. The immense torrents of thousands upon thousands of Foundation Establishment cultivators and their gathered flying swords violently collided.

A surge of heat rushed through Ye Qin's mind, and he charged forward along with the other Foundation Establishment cultivators.

On the Gobi desert floor, the endless Qi Condensation cultivators from Sky Dome Plain and Wan Yue Lake swarmed towards Spirit Mist City, engaging in a bloody battle with the Spirit Mist Realm Qi Condensation cultivators guarding the city walls.

The Core Formation Ancestors of both major factions did not directly engage in the fighting. Instead, they coldly observed the ebb and flow of the battle from within their respective formations, issuing commands to adjust deployments, trying their best to gain an advantage.

After fighting intensely for a day and a night, the Spirit Mist cultivators, suffering from being outnumbered, began to retreat, falling back into the airspace above Spirit Mist City. Furthermore, hundreds of enemy Foundation Establishment cultivators managed to break into the city.

"Activate the city defense formation!"

Seeing their side on the verge of defeat, the Core Formation Ancestors of Spirit Mist finally gave the order to raise the city defenses. The city had very limited spirit stone reserves, and the grand formation was only activated at critical moments.

Four thick pillars of light shot up from the four corners of Spirit Mist City. Then, a continuous light curtain slowly rose from the city walls, completely enveloping the entire Spirit Mist City and protecting it securely.

The leading Foundation Establishment cultivators from Sky Dome Plain and Wan Yue Lake, upon seeing the light screen ascend, quickly retreated to avoid being trapped inside the formation. Being stuck inside without a way out, surrounded by enraged Spirit Mist cultivators, would surely mean certain death.

The cultivators of Sky Dome Plain were equally helpless against this powerful city defense formation. They also lacked sufficient spirit stones to unleash area-of-effect curse spells to attack the city. Transporting spirit stones from distant locations was even more difficult for them than for the Spirit Mist cultivators.

This siege having failed, they eventually withdrew reluctantly, retreating to their strongholds within the territory of the Southern Liang Kingdom.

The major battle gradually subsided, with only sporadic skirmishes continuing outside the city.

After the battle, Spirit Mist City now housed a large number of heavily injured cultivators. Almost everyone was busy treating the wounded. However, the means of treatment were limited; the city's various spiritual resources were severely depleted, and life-saving medicinal elixirs were extremely scarce. Cultivators with severe physical injuries could only fend for themselves.

After Ye Qin returned to Spirit Mist City, there was a small battle roughly every twenty days, and a rather significant engagement every two to three months. After each battle, Spirit Mist City showed a little more decay, and no one had the inclination to repair the damage.

Perhaps due to the consideration of Elder Yan, Ye Qin was never again assigned to missions outside the city, only participating in the battles alongside the other cultivators.

The most eye-catching figures on the entire battlefield were undoubtedly the Eighteen Fiends of Sky Dome Plain, the dozen or so powerhouses from Wan Yue Lake, and the twenty-odd top cultivators from the Spirit Mist Realm. This small group of Foundation Establishment cultivators either possessed extremely potent magical artifacts or treasures, or their cultivation of spells was so outstanding that they were virtually unmatched.

In the Spirit Mist Realm, these included Huangfu Bing'er of the Huangfu family of the Green Pill Sect, Qin Yan of the great Qin family of the Earth Depths Sect, Wei Tianqin of the Wei family of the Moon Deficient Sect, and about ten other cultivators from major families.

In addition, seven or eight cultivators from small rogue families, possessing cultivation at the eighth or ninth layer of the Foundation Establishment stage, displayed the most striking strength. This small echelon of top-tier Foundation Establishment cultivators from Spirit Mist continuously demonstrated their prowess on the battlefield, slaying countless enemies and growing in prestige.