Chapter 251: Chapter 232: A Sword Cultivator’s Anticipation

...

Celestial Cloud Sect.

Inside the main hall of Battle Peak.

The Elders of Battle Peak, having been summoned by Management Elder Miao Qinghong, had all gathered here.

"...That is the situation. What are your thoughts, fellow Elders?"

Miao Qinghong recounted the information she had received in its entirety, also mentioning Elder Cao’s suggestion at the end.

"As Elder Cao said, this is indeed an opportunity to eliminate the Foundation Establishment Demons." An Elder quickly agreed with Elder Cao’s proposal.

If a full-scale war were to break out again between the Celestial Cloud Sect and the Celestial Demon Sect, all the Demon factions, large and small, within the Celestial Demon Sect’s territory would surely participate. Eliminating these four Foundation Establishment Demons, even if they’re all from the Stone Demon Sect, would still weaken the Celestial Demon Sect’s overall strength.

"Somehow, I feel like this is a trap set by the Foundation Establishment Demons to lure us in," another Elder offered a different opinion.

"The possibility of a trap seems low. According to Elder Cao’s report, other parts of the Shen Family’s territory are currently under attack by Demons. The appearance of these four Foundation Establishment Demons at the Shen Family’s ancestral grounds is clearly meant to pin them down and prevent them from reinforcing the other locations."

"If the Demons really are trying to lure us over, we just need to be careful when we provide support." The one who spoke now was Miao Qinghong.

Miao Qinghong herself strongly agreed with Elder Cao’s proposal.

This was indeed an excellent opportunity to eliminate Foundation Establishment Demons.

As the Management Elder of Battle Peak, her stance toward the Celestial Demon Sect had always been to take the offensive, unlike the majority of Elders who preferred a passive defense.

In a situation like this, remaining on the defensive would be rather inexcusable.

Fortunately, a good number of Battle Peak Elders chose to support the mission this time. With the addition of her voice as the Management Elder, the plan of action was quickly decided.

Once the plan was set, Bai Qinying, who was also in the hall, made a move.

She was seen using a Sound Transmission Talisman.

"What are you doing?" Feng Tianrui asked, looking at Bai Qinying in confusion.

He didn’t understand why his disciple would use a Sound Transmission Talisman at a time like this.

To the entire Celestial Cloud Sect, this incident was a minor affair. Matters like these could be handled directly by Battle Peak, which was responsible for external conflicts, without needing to specifically inform any other Elders.

"I’m sending a message to Elder Fang," Bai Qinying replied.

She certainly hadn’t forgotten what she had promised Fang Yun.

She had promised to let him know when support missions to eliminate Foundation Establishment Demons like this one came up.

"What did he say to you?" Feng Tianrui immediately pressed.

"He just expressed hope that he could take on this kind of mission."

"That’s absurd!"

It was one thing for Fang Yun to have such an idea, but for his own good disciple to go along with it was another.

Unlike before, Fang Yun was now crucial to the Celestial Cloud Sect. He would be responsible for completing all important Alchemy tasks in the future.

The early-stage and mid-stage Foundation Establishment Elders of Battle Peak had already felt the full extent of the benefits Fang Yun brought.

The current Fang Yun was no longer suited to carry out these kinds of missions.

"Elder Feng, there’s no need to be like this. It’s not entirely out of the question for Fang Yun to want to undertake such missions." Miao Qinghong interjected, seeing Bai Qinying at a loss for words.

Consider Fang Yun’s current combat record. Whether it was killing an early-stage Foundation Establishment Demon with the help of the Grand Array during his Qi Refining Stage, or killing one single-handedly after reaching the Foundation Establishment Stage...

...unlike the other Elders, Miao Qinghong had never been surprised by either of these feats.

Ever since Fang Yun first participated in the Inner Sect Grand Competition, she had sensed he was different.

Even back then, she felt that if Fang Yun successfully reached Foundation Establishment in the future, even an ordinary one, his strength would likely be no less than hers.

His single-handed kill of an early-stage Foundation Establishment Demon not long after reaching Foundation Establishment only served to prove her initial thoughts correct.

She greatly admired Fang Yun’s attitude toward Demons. ’I must support an Elder like him. Perhaps in the future, his stance against the Celestial Demon Sect will align with my own!’

"With Elder Fang’s Alchemy Talent, he simply doesn’t need to take on missions like this. The risks involved are not small," Feng Tianrui said to Miao Qinghong, stating his reasoning.

"Elder Feng, have you forgotten Elder Fang’s strength?" Miao Qinghong retorted.

Feng Tianrui was temporarily at a loss for words.

Just like his talent in Alchemy, Fang Yun’s strength was also widely acknowledged.

If Fang Yun’s Alchemy Talent hadn’t reached its current level, he, Feng Tianrui, wouldn’t have said anything. He wouldn’t have even objected to Fang Yun wanting to take on such a mission.

Before Feng Tianrui could speak again, Miao Qinghong added, "Besides, we are not forcing Elder Fang to take the mission."

This was all based on Fang Yun’s own volition.

"That’s right, Master. Elder Miao is correct." Bai Qinying also spoke up at this moment. "Besides, Master, if Elder Fang were in the middle of Alchemy or Artifact Refining, he wouldn’t even receive my message, let alone go on the mission."

She had only sent an ordinary Sound Transmission Talisman, not one for an urgent or critical message.

The Sound Transmission Talismans used for those kinds of messages are different. In that case, Fang Yun would have had to stop what he was doing, whether it was Alchemy or Artifact Refining, to receive her message.

Upon hearing this, the other Battle Peak Elders said nothing more.

They all highly recognized both Fang Yun’s strength and his Alchemy Talent.

Persuaded by the two women, Feng Tianrui finally relented. ’Let’s just hope Fang Yun is busy with something right now,’ he thought.

...

Artifact Casting Peak.

Inside Fang Yun’s cultivator’s abode.

When Bai Qinying’s Sound Transmission Talisman appeared, Fang Yun was in the middle of refining and absorbing an Upper-Grade Spirit Ascension Pill.

Less than ten percent of the pill’s medicinal power remained.

The appearance of the Sound Transmission Talisman made Fang Yun stop refining the Spirit Ascension Pill and immediately receive the message within.

The message roughly conveyed that the Shen Family’s ancestral grounds needed support, the goal was to eliminate Foundation Establishment Demons, and there might be an ambush along the way.

’So it’s not an urgent support mission... With this type of mission, the chance of an ambush is quite high...’

After understanding the gist of the information, Fang Yun immediately began his analysis.

Fang Yun reasoned that if it were an urgent support mission, it would mean the Shen Family was in imminent danger. In that case, the Foundation Establishment Demons’ top priority would be to finish off the Shen Family quickly, making it much less likely for them to split their forces for an ambush.

Today was the ninth day of the fifth month.

Five days had passed since his twenty-sixth birthday.

During this time, he had killed another early-stage Second Tier Demon Beast, bringing him even closer to achieving a five-star Combat Talent.

This support mission presented an opportunity to kill early-stage Foundation Establishment Demons.

If he could kill two early-stage Foundation Establishment Demons, his three Combat Talents would definitely reach five stars by the beginning of next month.

This was a certainty. It was impossible for one type of Combat Talent fragment to make up the majority; this was a conclusion Fang Yun had reached through his own testing. The closer he got, the more the acquisition rate of the three types of talent fragments approached one-third each.

An excess of nine fragments out of a thousand was a smaller proportional deviation than an excess of one fragment out of a hundred.

He did not resume his cultivation.

Fang Yun left his abode and flew toward the main gate of the Celestial Cloud Sect.

He would not miss this chance to acquire Talent Points.

If there was a Demon ambush on the way to provide support, it would most likely be set up within the Shen Family’s territory.

Setting up an ambush near the Celestial Cloud Sect would be suicide. As for an ambush midway, the chances of success were too low as long as the target was even slightly cautious.

After all, this was an ambush for Foundation Establishment Cultivators, not Qi Refining Cultivators.

For Foundation Establishment Cultivators who could fly, there were numerous routes they could take.

Considering that the Shen Family’s situation wasn’t urgent, Fang Yun also took other, less likely possibilities into account. Not long after leaving the Celestial Cloud Sect, he switched to his Middle-Grade Spiritual Artifact, the Half-Hidden Spirit Boots, to travel.

While traveling with the Half-Hidden Spirit Boots, the chances of any ambushing Demons discovering him became infinitesimally small.

Fang Yun had no intention of seeking out any Foundation Establishment Demons lying in ambush.

It would be too troublesome for him. Demons lying in ambush showed almost no fluctuations in their Demon Power.