FIMA Ch175: Surprise

“Just as you predicted, this is the last wave. If we withstand this attack, the formation will collapse, and the city will fall.”

On a massive spirit boat, a late-stage Golden Core cultivator from the Chaotian Sect, adept at formations, looked at the person beside him, his voice filled with excitement.

“Yes.” Gu Siyuan nodded calmly, his gaze still fixed on the blood sea and corpse mountain below.

Under Gu Siyuan’s calm demeanor, the Chaotian Sect cultivator also restrained his excitement, but his eyes never left Gu Siyuan, full of admiration and respect.

Since half a year ago, the strategy of the Third War Zone, and even the entire righteous alliance, had become more targeted.

It was then that he received the alliance’s orders, and, along with two other formation masters, he came to Gu Siyuan’s side.

At first, he was very skeptical.

His name was Yin Xuezhen, a disciple of the Mingguang Immortal Sect, extremely talented in formations, and considered the sect’s top formation master. Although his cultivation was only at the late Golden Core stage, his status was on par with those veteran Nascent Soul elders.

The other two formation masters who were called had similar statuses.

And Gu Siyuan…

Of course, they knew this most famous rising star of the cultivation world, known for his unparalleled talent in cultivation.

But cultivation was cultivation, and formations were formations.

How could a young guy like Gu Siyuan compare to them in military strategy and formations?

However, after just a few days of interaction.

They completely changed their minds and from then on, followed Gu Siyuan’s every word.

Demonic cultivators practiced brutal and shortcut methods. Initially, their cultivation speed was much faster than ordinary cultivators. However, their unstable foundation and excessive killing resulted in stronger backlash during major realm breakthroughs, with more powerful lightning tribulations and heart demons.

Because the failure rate is too high, the total number of demonic cultivators above the Foundation Establishment stage is always far fewer than that of the righteous path cultivators.

However, everything has its advantages and disadvantages. Because of this, once a demonic cultivator successfully undergoes tribulation, their individual combat power tends to be significantly stronger than that of righteous cultivators.

Thus, in the initial direct confrontations, both the righteous and demonic sides suffered enormous losses.

Until the appearance of Gu Siyuan.

Gu Siyuan ingeniously designed various offensive strategies suitable for cultivators. With proper coordination, these strategies not only allowed them to win with fewer numbers but also to defeat stronger opponents.

Before this, the righteous cultivators already had a significant numerical advantage, and now this advantage was amplified to the extreme.

From then on, the efficiency of the righteous cultivators in killing enemies increased several times.

More importantly, the loss of personnel was reduced by more than half.

And if every battle saw a reduction in casualties by half, then over time, this advantage would expand infinitely. In no time, the united force of the righteous cultivators, with their battle formations and collective strength, almost seemed unstoppable.

In just a few months, the demonic cultivators had lost several cities consecutively.

Especially three months ago, there was the most magnificent battle since the war began.

In that battle, both sides almost committed half of their forces, from Nascent Soul cultivators to Qi Refinement cultivators, all fully engaged in the battlefield.

Gu Siyuan was the overall commander of that battle.

In the end, the righteous path won a decisive victory.

Since that battle, the demonic cultivators suffered severe damage to their vitality and nearly collapsed, gradually being forced into retreat under the relentless pursuit of the righteous cultivators.

And finally, they were forced to retreat to here, to this last city, Xueling City, the last stronghold, which the remaining demonic cultivators protected tightly.

Seven days ago, the entire righteous army assembled and launched the final assault on this city.

Up until now, only one last wave of attack remained before the protective formation would be breached, and this continent-wide war would come to an end, much faster than they had imagined…

Yin Xuezhen couldn’t help but look at Gu Siyuan again.

Gu Siyuan’s gaze was on the distance, everything within his plan, at least until the city was breached, there would be no unexpected incidents.

In his line of sight was a figure in red with a whip having shadows like dragons, arrogant and flamboyant like fire.

Yin Xuezhen exchanged glances with the others beside him, a comforting smile tugging at their lips.

“This looks like a young man indeed!”

“Even watching his lover hesitantly, it’s not easy.”

“He has to keep control of the whole scene…”

Thinking of these, their eyes habitually filled with a sense of pity.

The war’s swift progress was all due to the immeasurable contributions of this young man beside them.

Everyone drew strength from him, then fought bravely and even faced death.

Everyone on the righteous battlefield almost went through the same psychological process as Yin Xuezhen and his peers: from initially underestimating due to his age, to later recognizing, then admiring, and finally deeply pitying and feeling compassion for Gu Siyuan.

It sounded somewhat ridiculous. They were so weak that they needed Gu Siyuan’s strategies and battle formations to survive, yet they ended up pitying and feeling compassion for Gu Siyuan.

But the truth was just that.

Since the start of the offensive battles, Gu Siyuan had almost never truly rested even for one night.

Almost all his energy and efforts were devoted to the battlefield.

Every battle plan he devised always resulted in the least losses and concluded the quickest.

Most importantly, he was the most impartial and calm.

No matter what situation or person he faced, Gu Siyuan could always make the most beneficial and appropriate decisions.

Perhaps due to the relentless pursuit of the righteous path, especially after the pivotal battle three months ago, it seemed to have provoked the madness of the demonic cultivators, desperate struggles of cornered beasts.

At some point, a strange elixir began circulating among the demonic cultivators, capable of instantly enhancing their combat power, making them fearless of injury, pain, or death.

After that, the war became significantly more challenging.

Even though Gu Siyuan tirelessly set up battle formations, striving to incapacitate those insensate demonic war machines as quickly as possible, the second half of the bloody slaughter still saw many righteous cultivators dying.

Every sect experienced this, especially the four major immortal sects, including the Taixuan Immortal Sect, where many of the fallen were disciples of Qingchen Mountain, Gu Siyuan’s direct junior brothers and sisters.

Some even volunteered to become moths to the flame, sacrificing themselves to push forward the battle formations, all under Gu Siyuan’s arrangements.

Watching those familiar young figures fall, many elders of the immortal sects even changed their expressions, contemplating a retreat.

But Gu Siyuan remained unwavering.

Even in an extermination battle where the vanguard was led by Gu Siyuan’s partner, Xie Xueyi, where the enemy deployed their most elite death squads, resulting in an extremely tough and drawn-out fight.

Xie Xueyi’s Golden Core cracked, nearly dying in a bloodbath.

Yet, as the battle commander, Gu Siyuan continued to lead the army forward without a furrow in his brow.

It wasn’t until the extermination battle ended in victory that they saw this always composed battlefield commander rush forward like a young boy, tightly embracing his blood-soaked partner, his voice trembling slightly.

“It’s my fault. I haven’t done enough. I haven’t thought it through thoroughly…”

Everyone was shocked.

How could it still not be enough?

A single person holding back a million soldiers could hardly be more than this, right?

And such events had happened more than once recently.

Because Xie Xueyi was very strong, one of the strongest among his peers, many extremely dangerous vanguard assaults and offensive battle formations had to be led and advanced by him.

As the most outstanding commander and the person who knows Xie Xueyi best, Gu Siyuan naturally knew how to utilize him to the fullest.

At this moment, everyone realized that Gu Siyuan was just like them.

Therefore, even the cultivators who prided themselves on being accustomed to mountains of corpses and seas of blood, who killed without blinking an eye, couldn’t help but admire and feel compassion for him.

All of them relied on Gu Siyuan.

So, who could Gu Siyuan rely on…

Yin Xuezhen and the cultivators managing the formations beside him had a glint of light in their eyes.

Fortunately, it was about to end soon.

After it ended, Gu Siyuan would be able to rest well.

…

Xueling City was situated between the Bloodstained Wilderness and the Icebound Snowfield, with extremely complex terrain. There were mountains in the city, water in the city, and also flat plateaus.

However, at this moment, the gray protective barrier, like a tortoise shell, completely enveloped the mountain city.

According to Gu Siyuan’s calculations, the entrance to the Lingting Secret Realm would remain nearby for the next six months.

Regarding this, Gu Siyuan was quite puzzled.

The demonic cultivators were not fools; they wouldn’t be unaware of the righteous path’s purpose in attacking this line. Given their previous defeats, why didn’t they escape quickly? Why did they insist on holding this place?

Could it be because of attachment to their homeland?

That was too ridiculous.

“It’s open… it’s open!”

“The formation is open!”

Amidst the shouts, the protective barrier over the huge city flickered a few times and then, like a bubble inflated to the extreme, burst with a bang.

Countless righteous cultivators surged toward the city like falling stars, a rain of meteors.

Xie Xueyi, having retreated from the battlefield at some point, stood beside Gu Siyuan, saying, “I want to go in with you.”

Gu Siyuan raised his hand to wipe the blood off Xie Xueyi’s fair skin and said calmly, “Alright, my hero deserves it. You’ve worked hard.”

Xie Xueyi wrinkled his nose adorably, “Hmph, who works harder than you…”

Gu Siyuan held Xie Xueyi’s hand and, along with the sect leaders of the four major sects, entered the city.

Although he was still young and inexperienced, his extraordinary combat power and his contributions in this long war had already placed him on equal footing with these people.

In fact, his prestige among ordinary cultivators had long surpassed these old fellows who had lived for thousands of years.

Contrary to their expectations of a city full of desperate soldiers, Xueling City was very empty. The streets were as clean as new, almost devoid of any signs of life, except for a few low-level demonic cultivators hiding among the tall, sturdy buildings.

They seemed to be under orders to delay time, occasionally launching futile attacks against the righteous army.

The righteous cultivators naturally noticed this, and their attacks became particularly explosive.

With an almost forceful advance, the team arrived at the foot of the famous mountain city.

Then, their expressions changed.

The entire area was filled with corpses, from the foot of the mountain to halfway up, tens of thousands at least, with black hair hanging down, swaying gently in the wind.

People often spoke of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, but witnessing this scene, they truly understood what a mountain of corpses meant.

No wonder the city felt so empty before, all the people were here…

“There’s someone in the mist.”

Someone shouted, and everyone looked up at the mountain of corpses.

The sky was particularly gloomy today, almost no clouds were visible, and the sun was nowhere to be seen. At some point, a thick fog had also arisen.

Not at all like a day to celebrate victory.

And in this dim mist, a group of cultivators in identical black robes emerged, their faces quite similar, their eyes staring at the righteous cultivators with indescribable hatred and hostility.

Xie Xueyi leaned in and whispered, “They are the Xiao family.”

Gu Siyuan nodded slightly, able to guess.

At this moment, the group of black-clad people suddenly parted in the middle like a tide.

A straight path formed in the crowd, and a handsome middle-aged man in a white robe, with black hair lazily draped over his shoulders, slowly walked out.

“You’ve arrived? Much faster than expected.”

He looked at the people opposite him, his tone light, as if welcoming familiar guests and friends.

Gu Siyuan glanced at the mountain of corpses and then at the group of people, getting straight to the point, “You are very pleased with yourself. Do you have a backup plan?”

The middle-aged man was clearly taken aback, then smiled, “Truly a clever person. I’ve long heard of your great name, but it’s a pity we’ve only met today.”

Gu Siyuan’s expression remained indifferent, “That’s your luck.”

“What an arrogant young man,” the middle-aged man said with a smile, shaking his head.

But thinking of something, he soon sighed, “However, with your achievements and talent, a bit of arrogance is deserved. A prodigy like you would stand out even in our spirit realm.”

Gu Siyuan, being no ordinary person, was unfazed by such high praise from an enemy, his expression unchanged from start to finish.

But Xie Xueyi and the righteous cultivators beside him were slightly proud, seemingly more empathetic than Gu Siyuan himself, feeling that someone like Gu Siyuan deserved such praise, no matter how much.

The middle-aged man observed the contrasting reactions, his eyes filled with even more admiration.

Staying calm is not difficult, but remaining so when surrounded by praise is truly hard.

He said to Gu Siyuan, “Before we all perish, I hope you remember my name. I am Xiao Qi. I am very pleased to meet someone like you in this strange world.”

Gu Siyuan’s eyes narrowed slightly, precisely catching the keywords in his speech, “‘We’ all perish? By ‘we,’ do you mean just you, or everyone present?”

Xiao Qi burst into hearty laughter, “Of course, everyone.”

Just then, the group of black-robed figures standing behind him suddenly underwent a drastic change in spiritual power.

Gu Siyuan’s soul and mental strength far surpassed others, so he quickly noticed that these people were self-immolating.

It wasn’t just burning their physical bodies, nor was it ordinary flames.

The flames were extraordinarily peculiar, invisible to the naked eye; only through spiritual power could one detect them. These flames burned the most crucial and profound spiritual power and essence of their bloodline in cultivators.

At the same time, they began to emit a bright light with a faint fragrance.

The faces of the Xiao family cultivators started to pale.

Gu Siyuan narrowed his eyes, “At this rate, they will die. Don’t you want to leave the Canglan World?”

The middle-aged man sighed, “I do want to leave, but perhaps they don’t share my sentiment? They were born in this world, cultivated here… ten thousand years is too long.”

The sect master of Mingguang Immortal Sect spoke softly, “This millennium-long struggle should indeed come to an end.”

The middle-aged man smiled, “The current war is not the same as the one in the beginning. They are fighting for themselves, fighting for their right to exist. Do you really think those defiant demonic cultivators obey me just because they heard that my Xiao family comes from a higher realm and willingly submit to my commands, fearless even in death? Heh, even myths don’t assume such things are so straightforward. In reality… everyone has simply gathered together due to the same enemies.”

“That makes sense,” Gu Siyuan nodded.

As he spoke, he looked at those who were self-immolating, “Your actions seem like a sacrifice, burning down members of your own family. So, who are you trying to summon? Are you calling upon experts from your Xiao family in the spirit realm?”

Xiao Qi once again sincerely exclaimed, “You truly are surprising.”