Barbarian Ancestral Court, Holy Mountain.
The solemness felt different from before. Now, an air of desolation and despair filled the place.
“Within just a few days, we’ve had three divisions crumble in battle and lost over fifty percent of their army and forty percent of their territory. Furthermore, they exterminated the Moonview tribe of the three main tribes!”
Fang Yuan sat cross-legged, thinking about the situation. “The cooperation between the cultivators and the demon cultivators is no trivial matter. They’ve already begun targeting the barbarian’s Holy Mountain!”
This was not good news to him either.
If the barbarians were destroyed, even if he escaped, he would lose the support of a large race. How would he survive in the cultivation world in the future? It would simply be a joke!
No matter where they went, the survivors of a fallen nation would suffer.
“If the barbarians are truly defeated, I can only change my appearance and pretend to be an outside cultivator. Fortunately, after the lightning tribulation, there’s not much difference.”
Under the lightning tribulation, all life was equal. After transcending the tribulation, even their magical powers were extremely similar.
Even the Fey could assume a genuine human appearance after their heavenly tribulation!
He looked around and saw the dense army at the foot of the Holy Mountain. The battle patterns and arrays were directly visible in the air, and the Holy Mountain had become a massive military camp.
“The next battle will be here.”
Fang Yuan took a deep breath.
The Barbarian Ancestral Court was the Holy Land to all barbarians. If this place also fell, the blow to the barbarians would be unimaginable.
“Even if they’re only second or third-rate forces, the joint forces of the cultivators and the demon cultivators are much stronger than the barbarians. How could they resist?”
Fang Yuan looked at the peak of the Holy Mountain, where the palaces of several barbarian patriarchs were.
After some time, Mo He appeared beside Fang Yuan and asked casually, “So? Are you scared?”
The deteriorating aura on him had thickened, as though he was approaching death’s door.
“You…” Fang Yuan narrowed his eyes.
“The Agonizing Eagle Gorge fell. I had no choice but to go all out. Cough… Considering our race’s fate, this is nothing!” Mo He had a carefree attitude about his life and death. “But I need to tell you something. The patriarchs aren’t optimistic about this war, and they’ve made plans for the ‘core seeds’ to escape.”
“Looks like I’m not a part of this!” Fang Yuan answered thoughtfully.
“That’s right. The true core seeds of a great race are far beyond your imagination. A first-grade totem and superior comprehension ability… are the most basic requirements. The resources placed on them are the last hopes of the barbarians,” Mo He said with a sigh.
Fang Yuan was certain that these core seeds probably had a few immortal artifacts on them!
After all, they were the hope and future of the barbarians.
As long as one peerless genius could rise to prominence, they could rebuild the race in the future!
This was the Heavenly Dao of this world and universe. The strong decided everything!
Wait, that Bamboo must be one of them… Fang Yuan’s heart trembled. At first, it was just a materialization similar to the Torch Dragon. But if there are treasures that a race has accumulated, these resources are probably the best for survival and cultivation. I also need them badly…
If the barbarian patriarchs knew that giving these resources to these core seeds would bring them disaster instead, he wondered what expression they would make.
However, in front of outsiders, Fang Yuan would not expose himself. He said calmly. “My talent isn’t exceptional, nor can I bring hope to the race. It’s natural for the higher-ups to think this way.”
“Oh? Is that what you truly think?” Mo He’s eyes glowed.
“After a hundred years or so, I’ll come back and see what’s changed!” Fang Yuan declared heroically.
“Great! That’s my disciple!” Mo He nodded happily. “Don’t worry. Master has already made arrangements for you. Even though you’re not a core seed, you still have a mission to carry out. You don’t need to participate in the final battle at the Holy Mountain.”
The final battle at the Holy Mountain was bound to be incomparably cruel and have a staggering number of deaths.
Many wished they did not have to participate in this battle.
“Oh? What is it?”
However, Fang Yuan was not particularly excited. There was no such thing as a free lunch in this world. Being able to avoid this did not mean that he could avoid the following.
“The barbarian patriarchs arranged for the core seeds’ escape. Those at my level aren’t qualified to participate…” Mo He said solemnly. “But besides these core seeds, there are a few important troops for misleading the enemy. Since you have the right cultivation base at the Materialization realm, you can be one of them!”
“A decoy, huh? This danger isn’t that much different from being at the Holy Mountain. It’s even higher!” Fang Yuan smiled bitterly.
“If you remain on the Holy Mountain, you’ll face near-certain death. But you might be able to survive on this mission. What’s your choice? It’s your call!” Mo He waved his sleeve.
“In that case, I’ll be a decoy!” Fang Yuan nodded as his gaze turned introspective.
A peerless genius at the Materialization realm, huh. The likelihood of both shouldn’t be high, so it might be that young man named ‘Bamboo’!
If so, I must join the mission and at least inquire about some information!
…
The peak of the Holy Mountain.
The five barbarian patriarchs gathered together, all with gloomy expressions.
Other than Brutal Emperor, Brutal Child, and Brutal Extinction, Patriarch Dark Essence and Patriarch Rising Sun were present as well.
The black-robed Patriarch Dark Essence said, “The Revenant Soul Sect’s Immortals are really powerful, and they are refining a treasure. It’s a shame Patriarch Rhino fell to them…”
The other patriarchs felt equally sorrowful. “Seems like the outside cultivators are planning to thoroughly eliminate us!”
Immortals that transcended the lightning tribulation shared lifespans as eternal as the heavens. Could you fathom what kind of carefree existences they were?
And those who presided over an entire clan or became a sect’s grand elder, how prestigious and honored were their statuses?
But at this time, they were about to suffer defeat. The cultivators were clearly determined to eliminate the barbarians!
“The Hundred Thousand Mountain is our root. These damned outsiders want to take it all…” Patriarch Brutal Extinction gritted his teeth. “I will defend the Holy Mountain to my last breath!”
“No, no! At this time, we must preserve our vitality!” Patriarch Rising Sun said. “Each of us has selected two ‘core seeds’, and we’re ready to send them out. By using several diversion teams, we should be able to retain some of our vitality. But a race’s rise depends solely on the strongest!”
“Rising Sun, your words indeed ring true!” Patriarch Brutal Child continued, “Before considering victory, we must consider defeat first. At the very least, we can’t suffer a fatal blow and must have the possibility of turning the tables. But our barbarian spirit is here. We will defend the Holy Mountain!”
If these Immortals wanted to escape, not many could stop them. They could even take their disciples with them.
However, give up the Holy Mountain without a battle? The barbarian spirit would inevitably fall to an unimaginable level. If that happened, they would not be able to recover no matter what.
Furthermore, the barbarians had some hidden cards as well. They might end up in a stalemate with the cultivators.
As such, no matter how many preparations they had made for their defeat, the barbarian patriarchs were unwilling to leave. They did not wish to leave their native land and roam the world.
“Good! We’ll let go and kill for once!” Brutal Extinction laughed heartily.
“In that case, we’ll do as you say, Brutal Child!”
Rising Sun and Dark Essence did not object. In any case, they were confident in their life-saving abilities. If things turned south, they were certain they could escape.
“So, why don’t we open that seal?” Brutal Child looked around with a hint of mystery on his face. “The outside cultivators think that this is a blessed land where they can escape the Demonic Tribulation. Haha, they don’t know how wrong they are!”
“Sss…” The patriarchs sucked in a cold breath at the same time. To elicit a reaction like this, it had to be a horrifying secret. “If we do that… the barbarians’ Hundred Thousand Mountains will turn into a paradise for otherworldly demons!”
“If the Hundred Thousand Mountains is still going to be where the barbarians live, then whoever does this would be a sinner!” Patriarch Brutal Child stepped forward. “But if the Hundred Thousand Mountains is going to change hands, why should we think for the people afterward?”
He seemed to understand the importance of the matter and was not obstinate about it. “But… it all depends on how the battle unfolds. If we can enter a deadlock or attain a small victory, I naturally won’t do it. But we won’t have any other considerations the day we’re close to extermination.”
“It’s feasible. But before that, we should threaten the outside cultivators with it. We might be able to turn the situation around!” Brutal Emperor said.
The true threat was not in the future, but the present!
The Immortal Patriarchs understood this truth.
…
Seven days passed by in a flash, and the nightmares continued.
Both the cultivator army and the demon cultivator army advanced like a hot knife through butter. Finally, they met at the foot of Holy Mountain. Cultivators filled the battlefield like locusts. There was no less than two hundred thousand.
When the barbarians on the Holy Mountain saw this scene, their expressions darkened, and their hearts seemed to accept their deathly fate.
“Tsk… With a two-hundred-thousand-cultivator army surrounding tens of thousands of barbarians, rivers of blood will flow on the Holy Mountain!”
In the distance, Fang Yuan could not even see Holy Mountain, but he could sense the terrifying aura surrounding it and could not help sighing.
“That’s not certain…” Gold Ingot’s voice came from the white jade ring. “You can cut off the food and water of mortal soldiers, but cultivators don’t have such worries. Unlike the previous camp, the Holy Mountain has been the barbarian’s ancestral ground for thousands of years. Its defensive arrays are well fortified and without a single flaw. Even if cultivators want to invade, it’s troublesome… Furthermore, do you think the barbarians have ruled the Hundred Thousand Mountains for so long with only five or six Immortals?”
“That’s right. There must be something else. We just don’t know if it’s enough to stop the cultivators outside!” Fang Yuan smiled. “The final defense on the Holy Mountain is a chance for survival. And for us, it will also be a narrow escape! But I prefer to take the initiative and at least be in control of my life and death!”
