Ringing the Bell for a Hundred Years, I Became the Sect’s Ancestor – Chapter 95

Chapter 95: Dao Lineage Continuation Plan

It was already deep winter.

As Xuan Province was located in the north, the temperature was bound to be very low once winter arrived.

The surface of the wide Qishui River, which used to flow endlessly, had already been covered by thick, solid ice.

However, the land on both sides of the Qishui River was now covered with a dense army in distinct armor, and a chilling atmosphere pervaded the air, adding to the cruelty of this cold winter month.

“Beat the drums, assemble the formation.”

A cold shout suddenly rang out from within a formation of blue-armored troops.

Even though the army was spread out over an area of several kilometers, the sound reached the ears of every soldier and commander.

Dong dong dong.

The heavy sound of drums rang out.

All the soldiers and commanders felt their spirits lifted and began to move slowly following the command of the flags.

Except for the middle and high-ranking commanders, all the soldiers had standard equipment: shields, long sabers, long spears, bows and arrows, and so on.

Pang Bai, standing in the ranks, felt his blood boiling. This was his first time participating in a battle since joining the Martial Arts Legion. He wasn’t nervous or afraid at all but was filled with excitement, wishing he could charge out and fight immediately.

It wasn’t just him; everyone in the battle formation felt the same way. Even the lowest-ranking soldiers were fearless.

The intangible morale of the army condensed, and a surging battle intent pervaded the entire army.

Soon, the entire Martial Arts Legion had formed a complete battle formation.

As the army moved, the battle intent grew stronger and stronger, until it reached its peak, attracting endless Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi. Above the entire army, a gigantic shadow of a white tiger gradually condensed.

At the same time, on the opposite shore, a powerful battle intent also gathered in the enemy’s battle formation, stirring the Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi and transforming into a giant serpent shadow coiling in place.

If the white tiger shadow represented offense,

then the coiling serpent shadow represented defense.

In an instant, before the two Martial Arts armies even made contact, the terrifying shadows of battle intent collided, causing the Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi to surge violently.

“Kill!”

As the Legion Commander shouted, the White Tiger battle formation suddenly accelerated, stepping across the thick ice surface of the river and charging towards the opposing formation with a fierce momentum.

Crack crack.

The confrontation between the two powerful forces affected the heavens and earth, causing the ice layer on the river surface to crack and collapse rapidly, revealing the turbulent river water beneath.

But strangely, all the soldiers and commanders who stepped onto the river surface did not fall into the water. Instead, they walked as if on flat ground, stepping on the turbulent river water and broken ice, and charged to the opposite shore.

Moreover, a thick, strange Qi membrane covered the armor worn by every soldier.

Even the weapons in their hands were plated with a layer of sharp edges.

Even the most ordinary Martial Apprentices seemed to possess the ability to project Internal Qi like Postnatal Martial Artists at this moment.

The moment the two massive battle formations collided, the bloody and brutal fight began.

At the same time, on a hilltop several kilometers away from the battlefield,

a group of people were observing the battle.

“General Luo, it seems that you are about to lose.”

A black-clothed woman wearing a veil said.

“Respected Holy Maiden, we still need your esteemed cult’s assistance to defeat Prince Ye’s Martial Arts Legion in one fell swoop. Then, the entire territory of the Divine Sword Sect will be under the control of your Moon Worship Cult.”

Commander Luo Tiange, holding a horsewhip in his hand, pointed to the distance and said.

“Since our Holy Religion is cooperating with Prince Luo’s Residence, we naturally won’t stand idly by.”

The black-clothed woman chuckled lightly.

Suddenly, she waved her hand gently, and a large number of black-clothed people emerged like a tide, perhaps over a thousand of them.

Such a number seemed insignificant compared to the massive battle formations engaged in fierce combat.

However, as these black-clothed people charged towards one of the battle formations, their running speed became faster and faster. A tyrannical aura emanated from them, and their bodies rapidly expanded and transformed, bursting through their clothes. Finally, they turned into hideous monsters with muscular bodies, standing over two meters tall.

The aura emanating from each of them was almost comparable to that of an ordinary Grandmaster.

And now there were over a thousand of them.

This army of monsters also seemed to have formed a battle formation, and the fierce aura they gathered condensed into a gigantic werewolf form in the air.

Soon, this monster legion, carrying a terrifying might, fiercely charged into the opposing White Tiger battle formation, instantly tearing a huge opening in the White Tiger formation, which had been at its peak.

These monsters were incredibly ferocious, and ordinary attacks could not break through their defenses at all.

On the contrary, anyone touched by them was instantly torn to shreds.

In a very short time, the situation was reversed.

The Serpent battle formation, which had been on the verge of defeat, immediately launched a fierce and vicious counterattack.

“Is this your esteemed cult’s Half-Demon Legion?”

Luo Tiange’s pupils constricted as he witnessed this scene.

As far as he knew, even during the Moon Worship Cult rebellion ten years ago, the Moon Worship Cult had never deployed the Half-Demon Legion, even until the very end when it was suppressed.

Moreover, the existence of Half-Demons had always been known only to a few high-ranking experts in Great Chang.

Because the last time Half-Demons appeared was at the beginning of the founding of Great Chang. Since then, they had seemed to vanish without a trace.

Such a long history had made people forget about the Half-Demons that had once terrified countless people.

Suddenly, he looked in another direction and saw several figures rapidly flying towards them from the distant sky.

It was the Celestial Beings from Prince Ye’s Residence making their move.

“It’s time for us to act as well.”

Luo Tiange sneered.

As long as they could completely defeat Prince Ye’s Martial Arts Legion, it would mark the beginning of Prince Luo’s Residence’s official counterattack.

The next moment, he led the Celestial Beings from Prince Luo’s Residence to meet the enemy.

Seeing the flying Celestial Beings, the black-clothed woman revealed a hint of envy in her eyes.

These were Celestial Beings!

They were precisely the top-level experts that the Moon Worship Cult lacked the most.

She thought of the four maps they had obtained before. One of them was completely fake, preventing the Holy Religion from finding the legendary Taiping Sacred Cave, which made her extremely depressed.

Without finding the Taiping Sacred Cave, the Moon Worship Cult’s most powerful demon transformation secret technique could not be used at all.

This time, as long as they assisted Prince Luo’s Residence in defeating Prince Ye’s Residence and occupying the Divine Sword Sect’s territory, the Holy Religion might have a chance to find the fourth map.

Divine Sword Sect.

Time Bell Pavilion.

Li Qian sat cross-legged, holding a fist-sized Demon Stone in his hand, absorbing the Demon Essence within it.

The blood and Qi in his body were boiling, surging through every cell, making him extremely uncomfortable.

Dong dong dong.

Only when the sound of the Time Bell in his mind rang out could he alleviate this discomfort.

After a long time, when the absorbed Demon Essence was completely refined, the golden blood and Qi in his body finally calmed down.

Phew!

He opened his eyes, revealing a hint of fatigue in them.

He could feel that the rudimentary form of the Blood and Qi Sanctuary had become slightly stronger.

◈◈◈

At this time, it had been more than seven months since his Immaculate Holy Body had reached Perfection.

Suddenly, with a thought, he summoned the system interface to check the latest information.

Host: Li Qian.

Cultivation Level: Innate True Elixir （Middle Stage 13/100）.

Sacrificial Instrument: Time Bell （Law 4855/10000）.

Martial Arts: Sword-Piercing Fist （Perfection）, Heartless Sword Manual （Perfection）, Immaculate Holy Body （Perfection）, Soul-Chasing Sword Technique （Perfection）.

Martial Intent: Heartless Sword Intent （True Image 50/100）.

Divine Ability: Blood and Qi Sanctuary （Rudimentary Form 8/100）.

Secret Techniques: Myriad Transforming Sword Qi, Blood Burning Technique.

His current cultivation level had reached the middle stage of the True Elixir Realm.

Since his Immaculate Holy Body had reached Perfection, even after entering the middle stage, he could still increase his progress by one point every five days.

In just over a year, he would be able to enter the late stage of the True Elixir Realm.

As for the rudimentary form of the Blood and Qi Sanctuary, it took a longer time to improve. It took almost a month to increase the progress by one point.

And this was under the condition that he absorbed Demon Essence to the maximum extent almost every day.

One could imagine how difficult it was to improve the rudimentary form of the Blood and Qi Sanctuary.

At the current rate, it was estimated that it would take more than seven years for the Blood and Qi Sanctuary to truly take shape.

However, it was still faster than improving his Sword Intent.

Suddenly, Li Qian saw a figure flying towards him from the foot of the mountain.

“Senior Brother Li, the Sect Master has ordered all martial artists above the Innate level to immediately gather at the Divine Sword Hall for a meeting.”

The figure arrived beneath the bell tower and cupped his hands towards Li Qian.

“Alright.”

Li Qian nodded, but he was very puzzled.

What had happened?

Why would they even summon Innate martial artists like him to a meeting?

Under normal circumstances, even if there was a major matter to discuss, at least elders would be qualified to participate.

Therefore, Li Qian picked up Sword Eighteen, and with a movement of his body, he floated down from the bell tower and flew rapidly towards the inner sect.

Inside the Divine Sword Hall,

numerous Peak Masters, elders with real authority, Sword Envoys, and even all eleven True Disciples were present.

Everyone’s expression was extremely solemn.

Not long ago, news came from the front line that Prince Ye’s army had been defeated, and Prince Luo’s army was approaching the Divine Sword Sect.

Moreover, they had received crucial intelligence that the Moon Worship Cult had joined forces with Prince Luo’s Residence and had suddenly deployed the Half-Demon Legion, which was the main culprit behind Prince Ye’s Residence’s crushing defeat.

Under these circumstances, the Divine Sword Sect would definitely not be able to hold out.

But they had to defend, they had to buy time for Prince Ye’s Residence to regroup and resist.

Therefore, while preparing for defense, the Divine Sword Sect had activated the Dao Lineage Continuation Plan, relocating a small number of the most elite core disciples to the Kunwu Circuit.

“The list for the Dao Lineage Continuation Plan has been finalized. When the time comes for evacuation, the eleven True Disciples will personally notify those on the list. As for everyone else, including all the elders, Peak Masters, Sword Envoys, and myself, the Sect Master, we will all coexist and perish with the Divine Sword Sect.”

Sect Master Feng Shaoyu said in a solemn tone.

In the Dao Lineage Continuation Plan, True Disciples were the first priority for evacuation and would definitely be on the list.

As for the others…it depended on their potential.

Moreover, apart from those present, no other ordinary elders or disciples of the Divine Sword Sect were aware of this finalized list.

This matter had to be kept confidential to avoid causing panic and affecting morale.

In the plaza outside the Divine Sword Hall, hundreds of people had gathered, all of them experts above the Innate level.

However, many of them were still injured, clearly having retreated from the battlefield in recent months.

There were also many with gray hair, mostly retired elders.

Everyone was talking amongst themselves, wondering why all martial artists above the Innate level had been suddenly summoned for a meeting.

They all felt that something was amiss.

Li Qian also arrived at the plaza.

The scene was chaotic, with everyone whispering and discussing.

He stood silently to the side, so low-key that it was difficult for anyone to notice him.

Suddenly, the doors of the Divine Sword Hall opened, and a group of people walked out, led by Sect Master Feng Shaoyu.

However, there were eleven people among them that surprised everyone present.

Because these eleven were the True Disciples who had been cultivating in the True Transmission Hall.

Under normal circumstances, True Disciples rarely appeared in public.

Their sudden appearance this time was intriguing.

“Not long ago, news came from the front line that Prince Ye’s army had suffered a crushing defeat. The rebels of Prince Luo’s Residence are now approaching our Divine Sword Sect.”

Sect Master Feng Shaoyu said in a heavy tone.

“How is that possible?”

“Didn’t they say the situation was excellent? Breaking through Prince Luo’s Residence’s Qishui River defense line was only a matter of time, how could it suddenly be reversed?”

“Yes, this is too sudden!”

“After such a long stalemate, how could they suddenly be defeated?”

After a brief silence, everyone present erupted in an uproar.

Li Qian was also shocked.

Because he knew that the Divine Sword Sect’s Martial Arts Legion had already rushed to the front line more than a month ago, preparing to gather their strongest forces and defeat Prince Luo’s Residence’s defending army in one decisive battle.

“Next, we must make all necessary preparations to resist the attack of the rebels from Prince Luo’s Residence. If we can’t hold out, our Divine Sword Sect will face the danger of annihilation.”

Sect Master Feng Shaoyu continued.

Once Prince Luo’s Residence captured the Divine Sword Sect, the entire Taixing Circuit would fall under their control, and their power would immediately surge.

Moreover, Prince Luo’s Residence would be able to block the passage between the Taixing Circuit and the Kunwu Circuit, allowing them to attack the Kunwu Circuit or defend the Taixing Circuit.

Everyone’s faces turned solemn.

Because they knew that the moment of life and death had arrived for the Divine Sword Sect.