Cultivation: When you take things to the extreme

Chapter 427: Chapter 271: Sudden Change_1

Iron Heart Fortress, Earth Yuan Mountain, two great Divine Martial heritages joining through marriage, aiming to merge their families into one, thus establishing the Righteous Path’s seventh Sacred Place and laying the foundation for the future world order.

Such a grand event, naturally, should be known to all, with guests from all sides coming to offer congratulations.

Aside from the Evil Path’s Demon Sect, the various branches of the Righteous Path’s Divine Martial heritages, as well as numerous factions from the Iron and Earth Domain, all sent distinguished representatives to witness the union of the two families.

Therefore, at this moment, Iron Heart Fortress was full to bursting with people.

Guests from all sides took their seats, and the newlyweds stepped onto the stage.

“Bow to heaven and earth!”

“Bow to the high hall!”

“The couple bows to each other!”

“The ceremony is complete!”

As the newlyweds on stage performed the rituals, the guests below started the feast, toasting and dining happily, though there were also hushed private discussions.

“What a spectacular scene, so lively!”

“Truly worthy of the Divine Martial heritage!”

“Iron Heart Fortress, Earth Yuan Mountain, the families joining, becoming one, the Righteous Path gaining strength, sure to sweep away the Evil Demons, clarifying the universe, and stabilizing the chaotic world.”

“Hmph, in these years, that scourge Zhou, the false emperor, has taken advantage of the strife between good and evil, using the power of the Demon Path to stir trouble, causing chaos in the world, leading to countless deaths and suffering. Now that the Evil Demons are about to be extinguished, let’s see what he can do!”

“It’s a pity Elder Ancestor Chen’s lifespan is approaching its end; otherwise, he could have joined Venerable Zhou to study the Heavenly Calamity Slaying the Wolf and Earth Yuan Unlimited Cultivation Technique together. Perhaps there was a chance for two more ultimate powerhouses to emerge on our Righteous Path, completely eradicating the Demon Sect and its monstrous evils.”

“The Divine Martial Venerables, though all of them possess extraordinary talents, there will always be someone stronger among the strong, and there is always a higher peak. Within the Divine Martial, Elder Ancestor Chen and Venerable Zhou are among those with unparalleled talents. The Heavenly Calamity Slaying the Wolf and Earth Yuan Unlimited Cultivation Technique are perfectly suited for them. Now with the powerful joining forces, they are bound to reach the pinnacle.”

“With Iron Heart Fortress taking the lead, perhaps it will encourage Evergreen Palace and Pavilion of Heavenly Mechanism to join our Righteous Path alliance.”

“If the demon stands high, the righteous shall stand higher. Who can withstand the momentum of the Righteous Path? The wise will naturally make the wise choice!”

“The newlyweds have completed their bows, but why haven’t the two Venerables shown themselves yet?”

“The Divine Martial Venerables, what esteemed statuses they hold! How could they attend to such a minor affair of the younger generation?”

“But this is not merely a wedding of the younger generation; it is an alliance between two families. It would be somewhat inappropriate if the Divine Martial Venerables do not make an appearance.”

Even though most of the attendees were from the Righteous Path, there were still rumors and gossip during the feast that shook people’s hearts.

Meanwhile, outside Iron Heart Fortress, amidst the clouds in the sky.

Two individuals sat facing each other, overlooking the grand scene below.

“Brother Chen, after today, you and I will become one family. We should celebrate and drink to the fullness of this cup!”

One person spoke out with a hearty laugh and raised his cup. He appeared to be around thirty years old, with a burly figure like a stalwart mountain, and a forthright smile, much like a bold and generous wanderer of the Martial World.

It was none other than the Divine Martial Venerable, the Lord of Earth Yuan, the World’s Number One Mountain—Zhou Buji!

In contrast to him, the person sitting opposite was at the other extreme, with withered hair half gray, half white, an eerily thin body, quite short in stature, and an overwhelming sense of twilight years that could not be concealed, resembling a decrepit old man on the brink of death.

Given such a visage, no one would guess without being told that he was the famed master of Iron Heart Fortress, the first among the Twelve Divine Martial—Chen Tianjie!

Facing the heartily laughing and cheerful Zhou Buji, Chen Tianjie took a long time before finally speaking, “How many years has it been since our friendship began?”

“…”

Zhou Buji’s gaze darkened, then returned to normal as he calmly stated, “Our friendship has been for a thousand years!”

“A thousand years?”

“Half a lifetime, ah!”

Chen Tianjie sighed, then looked back at Zhou Buji, his eyes as still as ancient wells, with only depth to be seen as he murmured, “A millennia-old friendship, half a lifetime of acquaintance, I thought I had a true friend, but it turns out you can know someone’s face and not their heart, how tragic, how lamentable!”

“Hmm!?”

Such words caused Zhou Buji’s expression to change immediately, but being the Divine Martial Venerable, he soon regained his composure and said calmly, “Brother Chen, what do you mean by this?”

“After all that has happened, are you still putting on an act?”

Chen Tianjie’s expression was cold as he met Zhou Buji’s gaze, “That old ghost Zhou Jingfan, he didn’t use the War God’s Atlas and took on my SLP Heaven Calamity head-on. Even with the robust body cultivated by Earth Yuan Unlimited, it must have been tough, right? He didn’t come with you today; is he hiding in Earth Yuan Mountain, licking his wounds?”

“…”

Once he said this, Zhou Buji fell into silence.

Chen Tianjie, however, didn’t care and continued, “In fact, when I first arrived at Earth Yuan Mountain, you two should have taken action. Unfortunately, both of you were cowardly, daring to scheme and plot, yet not daring to confront this old man directly, leading to today’s reversal where you’ve fallen into my trap, here at Iron Heart Fortress, atop the Blood Tribulation mountain!”

“…”

Hearing these words, Zhou Buji remained silent.

Instead, a sigh echoed through the void.

“Brother Chen, you truly are brave and cunning, with extraordinary intellect!”

A sigh sounded, and in the void, ripples suddenly appeared.

A figure materialized, crowned and with his hair tied up, his wide sleeves fluttering, his face like jade with a long, handsome beard. In his cold eyes lay the sun, moon, and rivers, and between his broad chest, the entire land and its people—his Confucian presence unmatched in the world!

It was…

“Zhang Longyuan?”

Chen Tianjie’s expression didn’t change as he spoke coldly, “So it was you scheming behind the scenes. I didn’t expect that the Sea Reading Pavilion, the true lineage of Confucian Gate, would have such a Pavilion Master. Or is this the great virtuous influence of the Confucian Gate?”

To this sharp and mocking statement, Zhang Longyuan’s face remained unchanged as he said calmly, “To plan for the world, for all its people, I can only proceed like this, out of necessity. I hope Brother Chen can forgive me!”

“Hmph, shamelessly brazen!”

Chen Tianjie snorted coldly, “But you are brave, to dare ascend the Blood Tribulation mountain along with the others. Do you look down on me that much?”

Zhang Longyuan shook his head and spoke calmly, “Brother Chen is so confident, surely it’s because you’ve received the support of the Demon Sect. I don’t know what they’ve offered you, but whatever it is, we are willing to offer the same, Brother Chen. After all, the great mistake has not yet been made, and there’s still a chance for both of us to turn back. Why listen to the words of the Evil Demon?”

His words were earnest and sincere.

“Hmph!”

Chen Tianjie snorted coldly and laughed grimly, “Even if you anticipated this situation, it’s nothing more than your speculation without evidence. How much effort can you spare, and how much dare you spare?”

Zhang Longyuan’s expression remained unchanged, “It seems Brother Chen has made up your mind. If that is the case, then I must state my stance.”

With that, he raised a hand and pointed, shooting out like a sword, the Yuan Qi of heaven and earth erupted wildly, forming an immense and boundless sword, thrusting straight up to the dome of the sky.

However…

“Hmph!”

Chen Tianjie snorted as the open blue sky suddenly blackened, and three blood-red stars appeared hauntingly, with the combined forces of the Heavenly Punishments and Earthly Evils sealing the heavens and the earth.

“Boom!!!”

“Bang!!!”

The heavens and earth shook, and the boundless sword shattered and broke, unable to penetrate the sinister, star-empowered, and endless dark curtain that had solidified between heaven and earth.

Despite this, Zhang Longyuan remained calm—as if he had expected as much, while Zhou Buji, standing by, furrowed his brow in worry.

This was a trap, a cunningly plotted trap!

But who was plotting against whom?

It was originally his Earth Yuan Mountain, according to the plan of Sea Reading Pavilion, plotting against Chen Tianjie, plotting against Iron Heart Fortress.

But now it seems…

“Brother Chen, I indeed did wrong in this matter, but it was also a necessary evil for the greater good of the world,” Zhou Buji said to Chen Tianjie. After apologizing, he attempted to persuade him, “Leng Aotian is not dead yet, and the Demon Sect has great ambitions. If we let their scheme succeed, there will be no survivors when the nest is overturned. Brother Chen must not believe their words!”

“Demon Sect?”

“Hahaha!”

Chen Tianjie burst into laughter and stood up, “If one can achieve the Dao, what does it matter if it’s the Demon Path?”

“…”

Zhou Buji fell into silence.

Zhang Longyuan then sighed deeply, “It seems Brother Chen has long been on the Demon Path. I didn’t expect Brother Chen to have such patience, to win our trust over decades and plan for today’s situation!”

“What does a mere few decades count for to us?”

Chen Tianjie laughed loudly again, casting a cold glance at Zhang Longyuan, “Cang Sea Unlimited Sword, two copies of War God’s Atlas, how many did you bring today?”

Zhang Longyuan’s expression remained indifferent, neither confirming nor denying, “To face the Heaven’s Calamity Slaying the Wolf, which Cultivation Technique must one master to not fear Earth Yuan Unlimited?”

“Don’t you already know?”

Chen Tianjie retorted, his body suddenly bursting with a surge of blood light, causing his withered and frail body to rapidly expand. A set of dark and lightless Mysterious Iron armor swiftly formed on him, akin to a mighty Demon God appearing.

Meanwhile, inside Iron Heart Fortress…

“Kill!”

“Disciples of the Chen Clan of Iron Heart Fortress, heed my command!”

“Those not of our clan must be exterminated!”

While the guests were still surprised by the commotion that just occurred, they saw a cold glimmer of blades approaching from all sides. The Iron Armor Blade Soldiers came bearing down ferociously.

“This…”

“What’s going on?”

“Mysterious Iron Divine Weapons?”

“Iron Heart Fortress?”

Seeing this scene, let alone the bystanders, even the disciples of the Chen Clan from Iron Heart Fortress were taken aback, not knowing what had happened.

The Mysterious Iron Divine Weapons, however, showed no mercy, wielding their blades and charging into the fray, starting a massacre.

“Damn it!”

“Iron Heart Fortress!”

Although people didn’t understand the cause, they didn’t wait passively to be slaughtered and drew their swords to fight the Mysterious Iron Divine Weapons.

What was once a festive banquet quickly devolved into chaos and a slaughter, with killing shouts shaking the heavens.

In the midst of the chaos, some began to grasp the situation.

“That is…”

“Seven Massacre Chen Bubai?”

“The Seven Massacre star from the previous generation of Iron Heart Fortress, the seventh-ranked Chen Bubai on the Heaven List?”

“Wasn’t he said to be dead?”

“How could this be!?”

“Iron Heart Fortress, Chen Tianjie, they’ve joined the Demon Sect and plotted against us!”

“Damn it!”

“We must fight our way out!”

The more chaotic the situation became, the clearer the circumstances.

“As expected… Let’s go!”

In the turmoil, Ning Xinghe sighed softly and with a leap, led the people of Freewheeling Peak to break out.

Plot upon plot!

The wisest may err, but a Cultivator in thought does not.

Because once Cultivation reaches a certain level, wit supported by power, there is barely ever a mistake in calculation, like a precise calculating machine that can predict and strategize for all possibilities and outcomes.

But predicting is one thing, being able to deal with it is another.

Take this moment, for example!

The alliance between Iron Heart Fortress and Earth Yuan Mountain seemed unbreakable, but the solution to the dilemma lay within the situation itself.

Chen Tianjie!

This Divine Martial Venerable, whose life was nearing its end, with unmatched combat prowess, was both the greatest obstacle to resolving the dilemma and the best means to do so.

If one could make him sever ties with Earth Yuan Mountain, then this seemingly unsolvable situation could easily be resolved.

But how could he be swayed to sever ties with Earth Yuan Mountain?

Ning Xinghe didn’t know, but looking at the current situation, the Demon Sect had done it!

If not for siding with the Demon Sect, Iron Heart Fortress would never dare to act in such a way, to challenge the entire Righteous Path alliance on its own.

So, this was a trap, a trap set by Iron Heart Fortress in alliance with the Demon Sect for the Righteous Path!

For this, Chen Tianjie used decades to create an illusion, to gain trust, and to lure in forces like Earth Yuan Mountain from the Righteous Path.

All previous actions, whether forming good relations with Earth Yuan Mountain or the conflicts with the Demon Sect, even the dispute over the Holy King’s Relic, all were part of his constructed façade.

Although the Righteous Path foresaw this possibility, as before, knowing is one thing, coping is another.

Without solid evidence, how could you be certain that this marriage alliance was a trap laid by Chen Tianjie and the Demon Sect?

Guesses are just guesses. The Righteous Path couldn’t possibly mobilize all its forces based on an unsubstantiated suspicion. What about defenses in other areas?

They could only do their best to reallocate resources.

The Demon Sect was different. As the orchestrator with an information advantage, as long as they remained undetected, they could mobilize forces without concern.

With this advantage, the Demon Sect had the upper hand in this situation!

The Righteous Path was helpless and could only attempt to break free according to previously laid plans.

Fortunately, the Righteous Path was strong and had drawn many forces to protect the marriage alliance. Even if they couldn’t reverse the situation, they wouldn’t be utterly defeated.

In fact, Ning Xinghe was more concerned about the actions of “that person” than the threat of the Demon Sect.

In this battle of light and dark, both sides had their vulnerabilities. With “that person’s” modus operandi, how could they not take action?

How will they intervene, and in the current situation, where could they possibly make their move?