The Market.

In a secret room on the third floor of the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion, two men in black finished assembling an Array Plate. They forcefully embedded thirty-six Mid-Grade Spirit Stones into its control hub, each in its designated position.

"Senior Brother Yinn, this Array won’t have any problems, will it?"

Zhi Lang suddenly felt uneasy. Having lived as a Merchant in the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion for over a decade, it had been far too long since he had personally fought and killed.

"Relax. This isn’t my first time setting one up. Once it’s activated from inside the array, I guarantee the Market’s Grand Array will be useless for six hours."

Senior Brother Yinn’s voice was hoarse. In the dim light, one could see that his face was covered in hideous, terrifying scars that looked like crawling centipedes.

"And with the Six Desires Yin Demon we’ll summon using our Sect’s secret technique, it’ll be enough to tie up the two Qingfeng Sect Foundation Establishment Cultivators for a while."

Zhi Lang picked up the Array Plate and walked out of the secret room. He took a greedy look around the third floor of the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion. After today, his peaceful days would be over.

"What, can’t bear to leave? If you ask me, we should just rob the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion before we go. Consider it my payment for being a guard in this damn place for years!"

"Senior Brother, don’t be reckless! The Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion is powerful. If we provoke them, we won’t have any peace even after we return to Hejian County!"

Zhi Lang hurriedly tried to persuade Senior Brother Yinn, afraid that this brutal Cultivator would do something foolish.

It wasn’t that no Tribulation Cultivators had ever targeted the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion, but their ends were always tragic.

"Senior Brother Yinn, will those groups of Tribulation Cultivators you roped in attack on time?"

"Don’t worry. They’re all Loose Cultivators who just came to Black Mountain in recent years. They’re used to running wild outside, and here they’re being strictly controlled by the Qingfeng Sect... As soon as chaos breaks out in the Market, they’ll definitely start looting the shops."

As Senior Brother Yinn spoke, the scars on his face seemed to stretch and contract.

"As long as we complete the mission, we’ll both be rewarded with a Heavenly Demon Blood Slaughter Pill when we return to the Sect. We’ll have a real shot at Foundation Establishment!"

Hearing the words "Heavenly Demon Blood Slaughter Pill," a fierce look appeared on Zhi Lang’s face. "I know what’s at stake. I won’t jeopardize the Sect’s mission... But those Loose Cultivators are just a disorganized mob. Can they really accomplish anything?"

The Heavenly Demon Blood Slaughter Pill was a unique elixir developed by Blood God True Man by improving upon the Foundation Establishment Pill formula. It was already very close to the original Foundation Establishment Pill, only lacking the effect of preserving one’s life upon failing to reach Foundation Establishment.

However, Cultivators who successfully reached Foundation Establishment using a Heavenly Demon Blood Slaughter Pill would find it extremely difficult to break through to later Realms. They would basically be stuck at Early-Stage Foundation Establishment, unable to advance further.

"It doesn’t matter. As long as they can stir up enough chaos to attract the Qingfeng Sect’s attention... We, and even the Mo Family, are just bait."

After leaving the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion, the two of them blended into the crowd and soon arrived near Langhuan Pavilion.

They placed the Array Plate in a secluded corner and shot two pre-prepared streams of Profound Yin Sha Qi into the control hub. Thirty Mid-Grade Spirit Stones simultaneously turned to dust, their immense Spiritual Power churning into a chaotic mass.

BOOM!

A pillar of Demonic Qi shot into the sky and gathered, forming a pitch-black Demon Blade that slashed upwards. With a sharp CRACK, the Market’s Grand Array vanished into thin air.

At the same time, a faceless Demon with sharp bone claws for hands emerged from the Array.

The moment it appeared, it plunged into the densest part of the crowd, followed by several blood-curdling screams.

The sinister wind dissipated, revealing the Six Desires Yin Demon’s body glowing with a bloody light. Over a dozen corpses lay scattered around it.

Having consumed the Cultivators’ Essence Blood, the Six Desires Yin Demon’s ferocity multiplied. It turned and pounced toward another group of Cultivators.

"Let’s go, quickly! In a little while, this Demon won’t be able to tell friend from foe. We can’t get trapped here..."

Senior Brother Yinn grabbed Zhi Lang, and the two of them followed a pre-planned route, quietly slipping away from the Market.

Soon, chaos erupted throughout the Market. Loose Cultivators suddenly attacked and killed people, the light of Magical Artifacts and Flying Swords flared up everywhere, and the shouts of Combat grew louder and louder.

"How dare you, villains!"

A curvaceous Female Cultivator from the Qingfeng Sect flew out of Langhuan Pavilion. A crescent moon shot from her hand, dispatching several Tribulation Cultivators who were besieging a nearby shop. Their bodies were sliced in two.

"Lang Zhongping, organize the Sect Disciples and wipe out these Tribulation Cultivators! Better to kill the wrong person than to let one escape!"

Elder Jin watched the distant Six Desires Yin Demon with great apprehension. He slapped several Insect Beast Bags at his waist, and over a dozen Flying Centipedes and a hundred Fire Ants flew out.

He pointed toward Langhuan Pavilion. The Flying Centipedes landed on the top floor, and the Fire Ants scattered, surrounding the few shops belonging to the Qingfeng Sect.

"Junior Sister Long, with my little darlings here, you don’t have to worry about Tribulation Cultivators targeting the Sect’s properties... Let’s you and I team up and see if we can take down that Six Desires Yin Demon."

"At the very least, we have to pin the Six Desires Yin Demon down. If it breaks through to the outer plaza, at least a thousand people will die!"

"I’ve already called for reinforcements from the Sect. It won’t be long before the Law Enforcement Hall troops arrive... I’d like to see just who is audacious enough to collude with the Ghost Spirit Sect and target our Market."

The sudden turmoil in the Market was clearly the work of the Ghost Spirit Sect.

But while Ghost Spirit Sect Cultivators had infiltrated the Market, the vast majority of those who took advantage of the chaos to kill and rob were undoubtedly Tribulation Cultivators hoping to make a fortune.

Junior Sister Long’s expression was as cold as frost. She nodded silently and summoned her crescent moon Spiritual Artifact. An Illusory Moon rose in mid-air.

Elder Jin had a troubled expression. Most of his skills were related to his Spirit Insects, but they were completely useless against the Six Desires Yin Demon.

The Six Desires Yin Demon could manipulate emotions. With their low intelligence, his Spirit Insects might even turn against him the moment they encountered it.

Elder Jin gritted his teeth, pulled out a Long Whip Spiritual Artifact, and charged forward with his round belly sticking out. He managed to hook the Six Desires Yin Demon with a single lash.

...

This was the first time Bai Zichen had witnessed the Qingfeng Sect’s mobilization capabilities. Three Wind Shuttles were already fully prepared.

Lines of disciples boarded the Wind Shuttles. Crates of Talismans and War Magical Artifacts were being loaded onto the decks, creating a grim and murderous atmosphere.

"Junior Martial Uncle Zhang, are we going on an expedition against the Mo Family?"

After meeting with Elder Zhang and reporting that Mo Changfei had killed a servant disciple and escaped using a Talisman, Bai Zichen had boarded a Wind Shuttle along with everyone else.

"Hmph! We’ve known for a while that the Mo Family was up to something. All their core clan members were recalled... That servant disciple was just unlucky. Mo Changfei was probably in the middle of fleeing the Sect when the disciple got in his way and was killed."

The Moon-Locking Pool was in a remote location, right on the edge of the Sect Grand Array, which happened to be on Mo Changfei’s escape route.

Bai Zichen sighed. ’Naluo Banner’s luck was truly awful.’ "From what I can see, the Sect seems to have been prepared for this. Did you receive intelligence in advance?"

"With so many cultivators in the Fire Phoenix Mo Family, of course not all of them would be of one mind and willing to die for the main branch... There’s a Foundation Establishment Cultivator among them who is loyal to the Sect. He sent a secret messenger with a letter yesterday."

"The Ghost Spirit Sect promised the Mo Family a Tier Three Spirit Vein, two Core Formation Spiritual Objects, and other benefits... in exchange for them moving their entire clan to Hejian County and destroying our Qingfeng Sect’s facilities along the way."

"The Ghost Spirit Sect will also dispatch reinforcements to meet them and ensure the safety of the Mo Family’s core clan members."

A pleased look appeared on Elder Zhang’s face. An internal split within the Fire Phoenix Mo Family was the best possible outcome for the Qingfeng Sect.

They also now had proof of their collusion with the Ghost Spirit Sect, giving them a perfectly legitimate reason to strike.

"Senior Brother Liang is already at the Mo Clan Territory, preventing them from escaping."

’The Mo Clan Leader is certainly audacious,’ Bai Zichen thought. ’To have a hope at Core Formation, he’s willing to abandon his Clan’s centuries-old foundation and countless members.’

Even if their plan succeeded, for a clan as massive as the Fire Phoenix Mo Family, successfully relocating even half of their cultivators would be a great achievement.

All the Cultivators had assembled, and the war supplies were ready. Following a long, melodious horn blast, the three Wind Shuttles slowly ascended into the sky.

Nine Foundation Establishment Elders and nearly three hundred Qi Refining Cultivators set off for Double Ring Mountain, the territory of the Fire Phoenix Mo Family.

Behind them, the Qingfeng Sect’s Tier Three Array activated. Moonlight enveloped the entire mountain range, giving it a grim and profound aura.

The Duality Illusion Moon Array had just revealed a sliver of its power as a Tier Three Top-Grade Array.