Raise a sword!

On the northern slope, outside the Cangshan market town.

Song Lian, a newly promoted Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Song family, is currently dealing with two Foundation Establishment Tribulation cultivators from the Flying Swallow Tower.

With the market formation behind him, he made his move without much hesitation.

On the other hand, the two cultivators who were his enemies, wielding the Flying Swallow Pavilion's twin swords, had many of their abilities blocked by the formation, and seemed to be hindered at every turn.

Despite having a numerical advantage, they were still stopped by Song Lian, a person who had only recently established his foundation.

"Flying Swallow Tower is truly audacious! There are many mortals coming and going in the Cangshan market, yet you dare to cause trouble here... Cultivators are not allowed to attack mortals; this has been a rule in the Southern Mountain Region for many years! Even those notorious evil cultivators wouldn't dare to openly harm mortals!"

Song Lian repelled a cultivator with a single sword strike, coldly rebuking him, "Do you think the Cangshan Sect is powerless? How dare you be so insolent!"

"Heh heh, in the midst of a great battle, who has time to concern themselves with such trivial matters?" The masked cultivator chuckled strangely. "After all, this is a cultivator's market. So what if there are a few mortals here? How can we cultivators let such a small matter hold us back?"

Song Lian frowned, knowing that arguing was pointless, and his gaze swept towards the direction of the northern foothills and forests during their exchange.

More than an hour had passed since the market had erected its array to block the enemy, yet no reinforcements from the sect had appeared.

Including Song Lian, there are only three Foundation Establishment cultivators in the market, and they are all in the early stage of Foundation Establishment.

However, at this moment, there were as many as five Foundation Establishment cultivators besieging the market.

The cultivator on the other side clearly noticed Song Lian's gaze.

One of them immediately said coldly, "Boy, can't understand why the Cangshan Sect cultivators haven't come to our aid yet? No need to speculate, the Cangshan Sect has already been blocked at the gate by my True Person and can't get in or out! The ownership of this Cangshan Market will change hands today!"

"Just as you three sects of the Northern Foothills have been conquering cities and seizing strongholds in my Chen Kingdom, the wheel of fortune turns, and now it is our turn to cause trouble in your Northern Foothills."

Song Lian was startled upon hearing this.

Therefore, the enemy's Golden Core cultivator is actually very close to Cangshan Market at this moment.

Thinking of this, Song Lian took a deep breath and immediately sent a message to the other two Foundation Establishment cultivators in the market. The three of them quickly returned to the formation and stopped going out to fight.

"The cultivators from Chen Kingdom and the tribulation cultivators from Feiyan Tower, led by a Golden Core True Person, have already blocked the entrance to the sect... This matter is no longer something we can resolve simply by dealing with these few tribulation cultivators outside."

Song Lian calmly said, "Don't go out to fight anymore. Retreat to the market and wait for the higher-ups to resolve this matter."

The other two were both Foundation Establishment ancestors of families in the market, whose status was not as high as Song Lian, a direct descendant of the Cangshan Sect. Therefore, they followed his lead and immediately agreed.

The cultivators outside the market were not surprised to see this.

They also knew that the future of Cangshan Market had little to do with whether they could break through the market's formation.

When a Golden Core cultivator personally participates in a major battle, the outcome of the subsequent battles becomes less important.

"Hey guys, the fellow Daoists from Cangshan Sect are acting like cowards again." The Tribulation Cultivators mocked them wantonly outside the formation.

Once someone started it, the others, thinking they had nothing better to do, chimed in with insults.

For a moment, many independent cultivators in the market could hear the unbridled mockery of the upper sect by the tribulation cultivators outside the formation.

Inside Cangshan Pavilion.

Song Lian and two others who had reached the Foundation Establishment stage were stationed here, along with the manager of Cangshan Pavilion.

Seeing the enemies outside humiliating the sect, the Cangshan Pavilion manager frowned and said, "Should we use an array to block the outside situation?"

"Why engage in such self-deceiving behavior?" Song Lian shook his head and said, "The rogue cultivators in the market are not stupid. Do you think they wouldn't know that the sect is being attacked by enemies after the formation is in place?"

Song Lian sighed softly, "If the sect cannot resolve this matter with swift and decisive measures, it is certain that morale will collapse, and the business of the market will naturally suffer as much as before."

"This matter is beyond our control. We just need to protect the market as much as possible. As for the rest, we can deal with it later."

Just as Song Lian was speaking, a commotion suddenly broke out outside.

The scattered cultivators in the market, who were not focused on the formation, exclaimed in surprise.

Song Lian was taken aback and quickly walked out of Cangshan Pavilion to investigate. He then saw two familiar figures.

"It's Senior Brother Jiang and Senior Sister Sun?"

The visitors were Jiang Peng and Sun Yinxi.

Just as Song Lian was about to remind the two of the current situation, he suddenly saw two corpses lying next to them.

At the same time, Jiang Peng also saw Song Lian.

"The two of us ambushed and killed two of them, and the remaining three fled when they saw that things were not going well," Jiang Peng explained casually.

Song Lian breathed a slight sigh of relief, then quickly said, "Senior Brother Jiang, what about the sect..."

Before he could finish speaking, Jiang Peng waved his hand and said, "If the sky falls, there are tall people to hold it up. Besides, in this situation, it's far from the time when the sky will fall... Junior Brother, stay here and keep things under control in the market. Senior Sister Sun and I will go back to the mountain gate first."

"Be careful, both of you. The journey may not be peaceful," Song Lian said.

After Jiang Peng and Sun Yinxi responded, they immediately fled together towards the mountain gate.

At the same time, two other Foundation Establishment cultivators from the market came up behind Song Lian.

"Are they Elder Sun from Rainbow Peak and Elder Jiang from Azure Mist Peak? They truly deserve to be called the top cultivators of their sects. These two can easily deal with enemies that we can only deal with by relying on formations."

"Elder Song is also quite extraordinary. He has only recently established his foundation, yet he is able to fight two opponents at once without being at a disadvantage."

Song Lian turned to look at the two Foundation Establishment ancestors from these aristocratic families.

"You two don't need to flatter me." Song Lian shook his head slightly, his tone full of admiration. "Before I reached the Foundation Establishment stage, I dared to call myself a genius, but after I reached the Foundation Establishment stage, my horizons broadened, and I realized just how talented you two are."

"How could Song be compared to them?"

Song Lian waved his hand and said, "It's just that I'm worrying unnecessarily, and I've made you two laugh... The situation is still unclear, so I would appreciate it if you two could continue to stay in the central command and protect the market."

"It is only right," the two patriarchs of the established families replied.

Just as they were talking, a loud noise suddenly came from the forest on the northern slope in the distance.

The deafening roar echoed through the sky, reaching the entire market area.

The three Foundation Establishment cultivators quickly climbed to a high place and looked in the direction from which the loud noise came.

But then a figure dressed in a black robe fell from mid-air.

At the same time, the man even roared out in anger.

"Lu Dehong! Is this all the Cangshan Sect is capable of? They dare not deploy their formations to fight, resorting only to sneak attacks?"

Master Lü's response also rang out at the opportune moment.

"Interesting. These three Golden Core cultivators first ambushed and injured my sect's True Person Shen, and now they've joined forces to swagger around in front of my sect... You surnamed Fang, are you telling me to abandon the convenience of the sect's formations and just tie my own hands and feet, waiting to be slaughtered?"