CHAPTER 601: CHAPTER 586: DECAPITATION OPERATION

Fame and profit have always been the go-to tools for those in power to win over those beneath them.

Some pursue fame, focusing on the future, hoping to accomplish something significant in their lifetime, remembered and admired by future generations, their deeds sung about for millennia.

Others pursue profit, living in the present, desiring boundless power and wealth, indulging and enjoying life to the fullest.

Cultivators, being human, naturally cannot resist the allure of fame and profit.

Zhouyang praised Zhou Ronghua and a few others who sacrificed themselves for the family’s interests, making their names known for eternity, engraved in history, inspiring countless future Zhou Clan Members with respect and admiration.

This, of course, made Zhou Ronghua and the others extremely excited and grateful towards him.

But that was not enough. Zhouyang not only wanted these people to be grateful, he also wanted to use them as role models, to instill in the Zhou Clan’s younger cultivators the belief that those who wholeheartedly care for the family and its greater good will undoubtedly receive rich rewards from the clan.

These rewards are not only the intangible fame but also real and tangible benefits.

Therefore, his promise to Zhou Ronghua and the others was that as long as they reach the Ninth-Layer Foundation Establishment before the age of two hundred, they would be granted a piece of Purple Heart Jade Marrow for opening their Purple Mansion.

Moreover, if they leave descendants, starting from their children, three generations would receive a Foundation Establishment Pill from the clan free of charge.

Eternal glory, favors for descendants.

This is the example Zhouyang is determined to set for all young Zhou Clan cultivators, using real benefits to tell them not to fear sacrifice, for behind them stands a family that would never shortchange them in the slightest. As long as the family still stands, their sacrifices will not be in vain, they are worthwhile.

The power of example is immense, of this Zhouyang is very aware.

And examples right beside them are even more inspiring to learn from.

In the eyes of the Zhou Clan’s new generation, Zhouyang, the Zhou Clan patriarch, might still seem too out of reach, unable to resonate with them.

But Zhou Ronghua and the others, still under a hundred years old, are among them; many possibly went to school with them, played in the mud together.

Such people, these people around them, suddenly accomplishing heroic deeds and becoming models for the whole clan to emulate, have a huge inspiring effect on those of similar age and even older.

Imagine when other Zhou Clan Members face the same kind of predicament in the future, just recalling what these role models did back then, their minds to emulate them would surely outweigh personal desires.

Having played in the mud together, Zhou Ronghua could achieve it, becoming a hero revered by everyone, why can’t I?

The Zhou Ronghua whom I watched grow up playing in the mud can sacrifice for the family and become a model for younger generations, why should I, as an elder, be inferior to him?

As long as someone has these thoughts at that time, Zhouyang’s purpose of setting examples will be achieved.

Of course, while Zhou Ronghua and the others enjoy the meat, Zhou Shengying and Zhou Shengyu get to sip the soup. To appease everyone, Zhouyang also bestowed some spiritual elixirs and treasures as rewards for their brave battles.

Afterwards, he visited the Ye Yunshan couple and still-living registered disciples like Ren Fei, similarly bestowing treasures for appeasement.

Once these disciples were comforted, Zhouyang returned to his cave abode to continue recovering.

According to his agreement with Lin Yuxian, unless the enemy launches a massive attack, placing the Mountain Protection Array in jeopardy, or it’s necessary to fight back, he would not be involved in daily defending tasks, allowing him time to recuperate.

In stark contrast, Xiao Ying became the busiest Golden Core Cultivator in the Suyun Sect.

Within the Suyun Sect, many cultivators were seriously injured in recent battles, previously relying chiefly on elixirs to aid their healing.

But with Xiao Ying’s arrival, her powerful healing magic quickly became the savior for these injured individuals.

Even on Zhouyang’s suggestion, after Lin Yuxian discussed with other Golden Core Cultivators of the sect, they decided to allocate three Tier Four Spirit Woods from the mountain gate. Xiao Ying used the "Rejuvenating Immortal Bottle" to extract the Yimu Vitality to produce three drops of "Rejuvenating Immortal Dew," using two of them to significantly heal two severely injured Golden Core Cultivators.

With her powerful healing magic, Xiao Ying quickly won the heartfelt gratitude and admiration of all Suyun Sect cultivators, receiving a lot of goodwill and favor.

Such a fierce battleground is the perfect stage for an auxiliary cultivator like her, allowing her skills to be fully utilized, not left unexercised.

Zhouyang was pleased with this outcome.

He and the Zhou family, unless something unexpected occurs, would have to settle within the Profound Purity Dao Alliance in the future, so establishing relationships with a large number of its cultivators in advance would undeniably be extremely beneficial for future cultivation life.

Therefore, even though he saw Xiao Ying exhaust herself every day saving people using her magic, Zhouyang, while feeling pained, persisted without stopping her.

During wartime, every moment of rest is extremely precious.

On this day, Zhouyang finally had to join the battle after gaining ten more days of precious rest.

It turned out that there was a change in the battle situation on the Qiantian Sect’s side, causing the enemy to be able to increase their attacking forces on the Suyun Sect’s side.

"To this day, I still can’t believe Fellow Daoist Wang would betray the Dao Alliance, delivering a fatal blow to the Alliance’s reinforcements at such a critical moment!"

"Why did he do such a thing? Even if the Dao Alliance loses this war and the Chang Country is lost, a traitor like him will definitely suffer endless assassination attempts by the Dao Alliance’s experts after the war. His sect and descendants will also be lifelong targets of the Alliance’s bounty!"

On a magic altar several dozen feet high, Fairy Lin Yuxian looked complexly at Zhouyang, who had come upon invitation to join the combat, as she spoke about the major events happening on the Qiantian Sect’s side.

It turns out five days ago, on the battlefield of the Qiantian Sect, the stationed cultivators and reinforcements of the Profound Purity Dao Alliance launched a fierce attack on the Six Paths Alliance, aiming to completely crush the opponent and reinforce other battlefields.

However, at the critical moment of the attack, Wang Botong, a round, potbellied Golden Core cultivator who had visited Chongxuan Mountain with Xiao Ying to congratulate the Core Formation of Lin Yuxian, suddenly turned traitor, secretly harming a Ninth-Layer Golden Core cultivator from the Profound Purity Dao Alliance side. As a result, the originally advantaged situation of the Profound Purity Dao Alliance suddenly fell into a disadvantage, forcing them to retreat entirely into the mountain gate of the Qiantian Sect, re-entering a stalemate against the Six Paths Alliance.

Zhouyang had only met this person once and did not have much interaction, so upon hearing this, he was astonished but did not feel too much resentment.

But seeing Lin Yuxian harboring deep feelings, she and Wang Botong must have had a close relationship, hence she struggled to come to terms with the betrayal.

Thus, hearing her words, Zhouyang pondered slightly before gently speaking, "It’s hard to judge a person by their appearance; Wang Botong’s betrayal surprises not only Fairy Lin but surely caught the elders off guard. After all, such sudden acts of treachery by high-tier cultivators in a battlefield have not occurred for many years!"

Betrayal at the front might frequently happen in mortal conflicts, but between two superpowers of the cultivation realm, such events are extremely rare.

The cost of such betrayal is simply too high!

High enough that even Nascent Soul Stage cultivators wouldn’t easily bear it.

Wang Botong is currently only at the Fourth-Layer Golden Core stage; Zhouyang couldn’t comprehend how he would face the endless assassinations from the colossal Profound Purity Da Alliance after such battlefield betrayal.

Not to mention how "Since the Six Paths Alliance had planned his betrayal, they would certainly protect him" — that’s nonsense.

Cultivators have such long lifespans; the Six Paths Alliance can protect him for ten, a hundred years, but could they continually dispatch experts to protect him for hundreds of years?

Of course, these aren’t Zhouyang’s concerns.

His concern is that due to the failure on the Qiantian Sect’s battlefield, pressure on the Suyun Sect’s side is drastically increased, making the previously considered safe place now unsafe.

And now, he needs to strive alongside the stationed cultivators within the Suyun Sect to beat down the enemy’s advantage once again.

After listening to him, Lin Yuxian, unsure whether she truly heard him or not, shook her head slightly, avoiding further discussion on this matter, and instead seriously talked about the reason for inviting him to fight.

"This time, our objective is the enemy’s newly arrived Tier Five War Giant Beast. As long as we kill that beast, our Mountain Protection Array can continue to hold on, allowing us to maintain the gate until the Dao Alliance sends a Tier Five Array Master to aid us. Even if the enemy reinforces, we can keep our mountain gate!"

"To slay that beast, we’ll rely entirely on Fellow Daoist Zhou and Senior Sister Liu. We will do our utmost to buy time for you two to act."

Senior Sister Liu mentioned by Lin Yuxian is Liu Yunxiang, the Grand Elder of the Suyun Sect, and currently the highest-ranked Golden Core cultivator within the sect, with cultivation reaching the Eighth-Layer of the Golden Core stage.

But after hearing her words, Zhouyang shook his head and resolutely said, "That’s inappropriate; the enemy has a Ninth-Layer Golden Core cultivator in their midst. Without Fellow Daoist Liu keeping them occupied, none of you, even with those life-or-death secret techniques, will manage to delay them for too long. It’s better to let me alone slay that beast!"

"If you alone take action, how confident are you in succeeding?"

"That Tier Five War Giant Beast is a Barbaric Exotic Species known as the Earth-Splitting Divine Elephant, draped with armor refined from Breaking Materials like Silver Gang Stone and Tier Four Spiritual Gold—Star Pattern Iron. Even with a treasure such as the Profound Sun Purple Sky Divine Thunder Jade Talisman, it’s hard to kill it in one blow!"

A cool voice suddenly came from behind Lin Yuxian; Zhouyang looked towards it, seeing a woman with cold beauty dressed in a silver magical robe approaching, holding a silver treasure sword in her hand.

Suyun Sect is a sect dominated by women; among the four Golden Core cultivators in the sect, only one is a male cultivator, and the disciples are over seventy percent female.

This cold beauty calls Zhouyang "Fellow Daoist Zhou," evidently aware that he is not "Qingyun Wanderer."

This non-secret secret, with the passage of time, had already spread across the battlefield.

And when he heard this cold beauty’s questioning words, Zhouyang’s brow furrowed as he responded in a deep voice, "I indeed no longer possess a treasure like the Profound Sun Purple Sky Divine Thunder Jade Talisman, but as for one Tier Five Lower Grade Barbaric Beast, I am confident in killing it, provided Fellow Daoist Liu and your group can grant me sufficient time!"

Upon hearing this, the cold beauty’s expression didn’t change as she continued to ask, "How long is sufficient time?"

"At least half an hour!"

Zhouyang pondered for a moment before answering her question in a deep voice.

Upon hearing his confident words, the cold and elegant woman arched her eyebrows, then immediately shouted, "Very well, we will risk our lives to delay the enemy for you for half an hour!"

After speaking, she gazed deeply at Zhouyang, crossed her arms over her sword, and gave him a salute, saying, "If you truly can accomplish this task, then you will be a great benefactor to our Suyun Sect. Liu Yunxiang and everyone in the Suyun Sect will forever remember your kindness!"

Her attitude changed so significantly that Zhouyang was stunned for a moment before responding with a salute of his own, saying, "Fellow Daoist Liu, no need for such politeness. We are all fighting for the Dao Alliance and for ourselves, there is no need to talk about gratitude."

These words seemed somewhat insincere, and Liu Yunxiang merely smiled, not taking them seriously.

If Zhouyang can truly kill that Tier Five War Giant Beast, the Earth-Splitting Divine Elephant, along with his previous contributions to aiding Suyun Sect, and his Dao companion Xiao Ying’s diligent healing of the injured disciples in the Suyun Sect, it would indeed be reasonable for everyone in the Suyun Sect to regard him as a great benefactor.

She shook her head slightly, not wanting to discuss this further, and softly said, "The time is about right, the other fellow Daoists are ready, let us take action now!"

Outside the Suyun Sect, the cultivator army of the Six Paths Alliance continued their relentless attack on the Mountain Protection Array.

It was fortunate that when Zhouyang came to aid previously, he defeated the enemy’s Golden Core-stage cultivator, allowing Suyun Sect several days of respite to maintain the Mountain Protection Array, otherwise it might have already collapsed under the continuous fierce assault.

However, now, with the addition of that Tier Five War Giant Beast, the Earth-Splitting Divine Elephant, to the attacking ranks, the Mountain Protection Array once again faced a crisis.

Zhouyang stood on the mountain looking down, observing outside the gate array, a giant elephant over fifty zhang in height and over a hundred seventy zhang in body length, constantly leading three other Tier Four War Giant Beasts to charge the Mountain Protection Array.

The giant elephant had four tusks that shone with a platinum luster, each tusk over twenty zhang long, resembling four giant sabers inverted in its mouth.

Every time it charged, the tusks like giant sabers would slash out tangible platinum blade auras toward the front like actual treasure sabers.

The platinum blade auras were extremely sharp, carving long trenches into the ground wherever they landed; this was how the Earth-Splitting Divine Elephant earned its name.

And every time this colossal creature crashed into the Mountain Protection Array, the protective shield it formed would violently tremble, causing the cultivators inside supplying magical power to the array to endure immense rebounding pressure.

Since this colossal creature began its assault on the Mountain Protection Array, in less than two short days, over thirty Foundation Establishment cultivators had died from the recoiling power of the array, and the number of injured was ten times that!

Precisely because of the immense damage caused by this colossal creature, Liu Yunxiang and Lin Yuxian, along with others, were forced to make the risky decision to go out of the formation to slay it.

At this time, after Liu Yunxiang and others prepared, they immediately left one person to host the array, and the rest, including two Tier Five Demon Beasts, the Golden-winged Thunder Eagle, and the Seven-Colored Peacock, all took advantage as the colossal creature once again crashed into the array, suddenly rushing out to attack it.

Seven Golden Core-stage cultivators and two Tier Five Demon Beasts attacked together, creating a truly terrifying momentum.

Unfortunately, the enemy was already prepared for this tactic; every time the Earth-Splitting Divine Elephant charged, it was accompanied by as many as seven Golden Core-stage cultivators for guard.

Therefore, as soon as Liu Yunxiang and the others made their move, the enemy’s Golden Core-stage cultivators promptly stepped in to protect and intercept, resulting in only a few attacks successfully landing on the colossal creature.

These few attacks naturally couldn’t inflict real harm on the fully armed Earth-Splitting Divine Elephant, instead enraging it to roar and raise its head, slashing out four massive platinum blade auras toward Liu Yunxiang and others.

According to the plan, Liu Yunxiang and others ignored the colossal creature and, after the joint attack failed, each intercepted an enemy Golden Core-stage cultivator to create an opportunity for Zhouyang to truly attack.

Zhouyang made his move!

He controlled his sword, and with a wave of his hands, a silver long saber and a purple long spear slashed and thrust directly toward the enraged Earth-Splitting Divine Elephant.

The sharpness from these two Tier Five High-Grade Spiritual Artifacts seemed to make the Earth-Splitting Divine Elephant feel the danger, prompting it to cry out, instantly summoning a platinum spiritual light that transformed into a massive platinum battle armor enveloping itself.

This, plus the magical artifact armor draped over it, gave it double-layered defense.

The purple long spear, moving faster, hit the giant elephant, immediately tearing through the platinum spiritual armor defense and pierced its ear hole fiercely.

Such a colossal creature as the Earth-Splitting Divine Elephant had ear holes large enough for a human teenager to fit in!

This was one of its few weak spots, a place most likely to be severely injured or slain by same-tier cultivators.

But unfortunately, this weak spot was now specially protected.

Cultivators of the Six Paths Alliance specifically crafted two ear gates for it, which could pop out from inside the ears to block the ear holes when encountering danger.

Therefore, although the purple long spear successfully jabbed its ear hole, it couldn’t truly follow through to strike all the way in for a fatal blow.

However, the impact force from the spearhead hitting the ear gate inside its ear, and the subsequent eruption of purple flames, caused it some minor injuries, forcing it to cry out in pain.

And at that moment, the silver long saber also struck its flexible elephant trunk, severing it into two sections.

If it were an ordinary elephant, with its trunk severed, even eating would be a problem, and surviving would be very difficult.

However, the Earth-cracking Divine Elephant is a Tier Five Barbaric Beast, and limb regeneration is not difficult; the fact that its trunk was cut in two is more of a humiliation to its dignity than actual physical harm.

The remaining half of its trunk swung, and its eyes, as large as water jugs, glared at Zhouyang, the whites instantly turning red.

Aggression is the nature of all Barbaric Beasts, and being injured only makes them fiercer.

The Earth-cracking Divine Elephant immediately stopped attacking the Mountain Protection Array of the Suyun Sect and charged directly at Zhouyang.

Its colossal body, as large as a mountain, charging at a human less than ten feet tall, seemed quite awkward.

Watching the giant elephant charging at him like a mountain, Zhouyang finally understood why such creatures as Barbaric Beasts were eliminated in this world.

They were eliminated not because, like those giant beasts in his previous life, they suffered from food scarcity and environmental changes, but because they encountered their natural nemesis—the cultivators.

The small and agile bodies of cultivators render the massive physical strength of most giant Barbaric Beasts useless; if you can’t hit the target, no matter how strong you are, even if you could topple a mountain thousands of feet high, what’s the use?

In contrast, the magical artifacts crafted by cultivators can flexibly strike the weak points on these Barbaric Beasts, causing them significant harm.

In front of cultivators, the large size of the Barbaric Beasts becomes their weakness instead; the stronger the Barbaric Beast, the more apparent this weakness becomes.

Compared to Barbaric Beasts, Demon Beasts are much better; upon reaching Tier Five, Demon Beasts can generally master the Divine Technique of "Wishful Size," being able to shrink their bodies from dozens of feet to just a few feet. At Tier Six, they can even transform into human form, refining magical artifacts and elixirs like cultivators.

This is why Demon Beasts can still occupy territories like the Broken Cloud Mountain Range and the Endless Snowfield in the Spirit Realm, whereas Barbaric Beasts can only barely preserve some of their bloodlines under the shelter of the Barbaric Alien Race in the Wilderness Jungle.

Moving agilely, Zhouyang dodged the Earth-cracking Divine Elephant’s charge and landed directly on its head.

Of course, the Earth-cracking Divine Elephant was unwilling to be ridden, and immediately a massive force surged from its body, wanting to fling him off.

In the aspect of utilizing physical strength, Barbaric Beasts with natural gifts are even more formidable than the intelligent cultivators.

They are not limited to using their limbs as power conduits; any part of their body can be used to channel their immense strength.

Zhouyang, having never engaged in close combat with a high-tier Barbaric Beast before, lacked a deep understanding of this aspect and took a significant hit, being flung away by the giant elephant’s power and spitting out a mouthful of blood.

It’s fortunate that his physical strength is equally formidable, comparable to a Demon Beast of the same tier. Otherwise, if it were an ordinary Mid-Stage Golden Core Cultivator, they would have been severely injured if not killed!

Generally, those aware of the situation would avoid close contact with a Barbaric Beast of the same tier, as it would be seeking one’s own demise.

"Oh dear, this time I’ve really been put in a dire situation by this kid!"

Witnessing this scene while engaged in magical combat with an enemy Ninth-Layer Golden Core Cultivator, Liu Yunxiang’s face turned livid with disappointment, feeling she had trusted the wrong person.

Other Golden Core Stage Cultivators of the Profound Purity Dao Alliance who saw this were equally disappointed, their expressions extremely unpleasant.

"Damn beast, I truly underestimated you!"

Zhouyang spat out the remaining blood from his mouth, looking at the giant elephant with a face filled with shame and anger.

Just moments ago, he was reflecting on how the enormous size of Barbaric Beasts was all for show, outdated by the times, only to be taught such a lesson in an instant; it felt like a slap in the face.

"Come again!"

He growled softly, lunging at the giant elephant once more.

However, this time he learned his lesson, no longer landing on the giant elephant to emulate Lu Zhishen fighting a tiger, but instead flew directly above the elephant’s head, releasing large swathes of golden flames down onto the elephant, attempting to incinerate it.

Boosted by the Qianyang Treasure Pearl, the Qianyang True Flame’s power needed no further elaboration. Once the golden flames touched the elephant, the armor covering its body quickly began to melt in the fire.

This specially crafted armor relies purely on the material’s properties, with perhaps some "Weak Technique" and "Solid" magic bans engraved at most, unable to be infused with magical power to exhibit various wonders like a cultivator’s magical artifact.

Therefore, once subjected to the persistent burning of the Qianyang True Flame, a Supreme Yang True Flame, it easily melts away as if it were raw material.

Of course, only a Supreme Yang True Flame like the Qianyang True Flame could quickly melt down a battle armor crafted from Tier Four Spiritual Gold, Star Pattern Iron, and injure the Earth-cracking Divine Elephant.

If it were an ordinary Golden Core Stage Cultivator’s True Flame, it would take no less than half an hour to burn through the thick layer of armor, let alone injure such a Tier Five Barbaric Beast as the Earth-cracking Divine Elephant.