Chapter 3531: Infiltration

Tianming Continent is one of the seven continents in the Azure Cloud Realm, which is home to five major clans, including the Xie Clan.

The Xie Clan dominates Tianming Continent. Their ancestral land is the Tianming Mountain Range, located in the southwestern part of the continent. This mountain range stretches for hundreds of millions of miles, featuring countless perilous peaks and an abundance of spiritual energy.

Chi Lei has cultivated for over 30,000 years and is currently at the late Integration Stage, responsible for guarding the main entrance and exit of the Tianxie Mountain Range.

A golden streak of light approached rapidly from the distant horizon. Soon, it halted, revealing a completely golden centipede with a beautiful young woman in a golden dress standing on its back.

"Madam Jin, by the Ancestor's command, we are heightening our vigilance," Chi Lei said. "All cultivators entering and exiting the Tianming Mountain Range must undergo thorough inspection. We appreciate your understanding."

As he spoke, Chi Lei produced a small, glittering golden mirror. Its astonishing spiritual energy indicated it was a high-grade Heaven-Reaching Spirit Treasure. This was the Golden Xie Mirror, a high-grade Heaven-Reaching Spirit Treasure and a replica of the Tianxie Mirror, the Xie Clan's revered clan-protecting treasure. It possessed the ability to see through concealment techniques.

The Golden Xie Mirror emitted a dazzling golden light, casting a brilliant golden mist over the young woman in the golden dress and the golden centipede. No cultivators were detected.

"All clear," Chi Lei announced, waving his hand. "You may proceed!"

The young woman in the golden dress formed a hand seal, and the golden centipede swiftly flew onward. Not long after, it decelerated. Ahead, a multitude of buildings, cultivators, and exotic birds and beasts came into view.

The golden centipede hovered above a massive valley enclosed on three sides by mountains. Within the valley lay a sprawling estate, shielded by a gigantic golden light barrier. The young woman in the golden dress produced a golden circular token. With a slight flick of her wrist, a golden light shot out, merging with the golden light barrier. The barrier flickered intensely before dissipating.

The golden centipede descended into the estate, and immediately, the golden light barrier reappeared, enveloping the entire property. She dismissed the golden centipede, then entered a three-story golden pavilion. She proceeded to a secret room and activated its protective enchantments.

A flash of white light illuminated the space beside the young woman in the golden dress, revealing Xuan Qingzi, Heavenly River Sword Master, Shi Yan, Tong Xi, Yun Yan, and Ye Xuanfeng. Ye Xuanfeng held a shimmering white banner that emanated astonishing spiritual energy fluctuations. This was the Profound Cold Banner, a Profound Heaven Fragmentary Treasure known for its exceptional concealment abilities. Being merely a high-grade Heaven-Reaching Spirit Treasure, the Golden Xie Mirror naturally failed to detect them.

Shi Pan led a small contingent through the Heavenly Origin Realm, primarily to mislead the Xie Clan and make them lower their guard. Meanwhile, Ye Xuanfeng and his group of cultivators entered the Azure Cloud Realm, while Ye Yunfei and others converged in the Celestial Dome Realm.

Major clans often have allies and kin by marriage, offering mutual support. The Medicine Clan, for instance, possesses several staunch allies, not all of whom reside in the Celestial Dome Realm. The Xie Clan in the Azure Cloud Realm is merely one of the Medicine Clan's allies. If their entire force were to converge on the Celestial Dome Realm to confront the Medicine Clan, the Medicine Clan could easily contact their allies via cross-realm communication arrays for reinforcements. This would allow the Medicine Clan to mobilize their forces quickly, a speed their opponents could not match.

They divided into three forces. One group created diversions in other realms to tie down the Medicine Clan's allies. For example, Shi Pan led a small contingent through the Heavenly Origin Realm, claiming their destination was Tianxie Continent in the Azure Cloud Realm. The Xie Clan also has adversaries within the Azure Cloud Realm. There isn't just one spatial node connecting the Heavenly Origin Realm to the Azure Cloud Realm; some of the Xie Clan's enemies control other nodes leading to the Heavenly Origin Realm. This means the Ye Family and the Stone Cocoon Clan could still arrive from the Heavenly Origin Realm, though it would take time.

The Xie Clan's primary objective was to buy time; as long as the enemy did not appear on Tianming Continent immediately, their plan would hold. The Xie Clan's stronghold possesses a spatial node linked to the Medicine Clan's stronghold in the Celestial Dome Realm. If the Xie Clan comes under attack, they can immediately use a cross-realm communication array to contact the Medicine Clan for assistance. Similarly, if the Medicine Clan is attacked, they can request aid from their allies.

Wang Qingshan and his group were tasked with attacking the Xie Clan, thus tying down a portion of their Mahayana cultivators. Meanwhile, Ye Yunfei and other Mahayana cultivators would either engage the Medicine Clan's staunchest allies or directly confront the Medicine Clan. Had they all gone to the Celestial Dome Realm, it would have been time-consuming. Furthermore, since the Celestial Dome Realm is the Medicine Clan's home territory, they could mobilize more Mahayana cultivators quickly, putting the invaders at a disadvantage.

Instead, they entered the Azure Cloud Realm via a different spatial node, landing in a perilous area on Tianxie Continent. Void Refinement and Integration cultivators acted as scouts, and only after confirming safety did the Mahayana cultivators proceed. Upon arriving at Tianming Continent, they immediately established a cross-realm communication array to contact Ye Yunfei in the Celestial Dome Realm—a testament to the power of a major clan. Ye Yunfei and seven other Mahayana cultivators were already in the Celestial Dome Realm. Additionally, a contingent of Mahayana cultivators was assigned to confront the Azure Lin Clan, another staunch ally of the Medicine Clan, to prevent them from providing support.

They had considered sending more Mahayana cultivators to the Celestial Dome Realm, but all known spatial nodes were either sealed or under the control of other major clans. They attempted to forcibly open several spatial nodes using realm-breaking treasures, an effort that cost them over ten Void Refinement cultivators. Beyond these nodes, they might encounter forbidden lands, lairs of eighth-tier demonic beasts, or even spatial storms. This approach was purely a gamble; opening realm passages and sending Void Refinement cultivators to scout often resulted in immediate death upon passage, with no information about the other side. It was essentially sending them to their deaths. While the loss of over ten Void Refinement cultivators was not significant in itself, the failure to obtain any useful intelligence, coupled with the risk of exposing their own situation, led them to abandon further attempts.

Borrowing a path from the Xie Clan's sworn enemies was even more difficult. Who could guarantee their target was the Medicine Clan and not the very forces providing passage? There were precedents for this: several major powers from various realms, under the guise of targeting the Xie Clan in the Azure Cloud Realm, allied with over ten Mahayana cultivators. They sought passage from the Heavenly Rainbow Sect, a prominent sect in the Heavenly Origin Realm, intending to use the spatial node it controlled to reach the Azure Cloud Realm. The Heavenly Rainbow Sect, harboring animosity towards the Xie Clan, readily granted their request. Unexpectedly, over twenty Mahayana cultivators emerged from the Azure Cloud Realm and directly annihilated the Heavenly Rainbow Sect. Since then, no major power easily lends spatial nodes under their control to outsiders; they maintain a policy of non-interference and self-preservation.

Shi Pan's feint in the Heavenly Origin Realm, primarily to mislead the Ming Clan, had succeeded. He then used a secret spatial node to enter the Azure Cloud Realm and rendezvous with Ye Xuanfeng and his group.

Xuan Qingzi, Heavenly River Sword Master, Shi Yan, Tong Xi, Yun Yan, and Ye Xuanfeng—six Mahayana cultivators—were tasked with infiltrating the Tianming Mountain Range. Simultaneously, Wang Qingshan and eight other Mahayana cultivators launched an external assault on the same mountain range. Wang Chuanming and his team were responsible for attacking key strongholds of the Ming Clan, primarily as a diversionary tactic. This would likely cause the Xie Clan to close teleportation arrays leading to these crucial strongholds, preventing enemies from using them to reach the Tianxie Mountain Range.

"We're finally in," Ye Xuanfeng stated gravely, his face filled with killing intent. "Once Fellow Daoist Shi and his group assault the Tianming Mountain Range, we'll launch a sudden strike, aiming to kill several Mahayana cultivators."

Truthfully, infiltrating the stronghold of a major clan carried significant risks. "During the last opening of the Thousand Spirit Secret Treasury," Yun Yan remarked with a tone of regret, "a Mahayana cultivator from the Shadow Charm Clan obtained the Spirit-Shattering Divine Crystal from an eighth-tier Heavenly Fei Beast. If we had that material to refine a high-grade formation-breaking treasure, breaking formations would be much easier for us."

"I've brought a Profound Heaven Treasure," Shi Yan said confidently. "Fellow Daoist Ye has achieved minor completion in his spiritual domain, and the two Fellow Daoists Lin have entered the spiritual domain. Even if the Xie Clan has an ambush, we have nothing to fear."

"Even so, we must remain cautious," Xuan Qingzi stated solemnly. "I have a feeling things have been too smooth." As it was his first time participating in a realm war, he felt a degree of nervousness; after all, the Xie Clan was a major power, boasting numerous experts and profound foundations.