Chapter 36: Cannon Fire at Peach Blossoms

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The sixth day after the appearance of the Red Glow.

Twenty kilometers northeast of Liangzhou stood an undeveloped low mountain beside the intercity expressway.

With the low mountain at its center, the entire area within a five-kilometer radius had been placed under restriction. A green construction screen had even been erected around it for show, plastered with conspicuous notices reading: “Blasting Operations—Strictly No Entry.”

At a radius three kilometers smaller, a white barrier could be seen covering the surroundings.

This was an isolation formation. In ancient times, such formations were usually created by linking together numerous formation flags. Now, the positions of those flags had been replaced by dozens of spiritual-power devices resembling signal transmitters. Each device was manned by two official cultivators. Not only could they block spiritual power, they also possessed auxiliary functions capable of suppressing all sound and disturbance.

A buzzing arose as several drones swept across the sky. The cameras embedded in their bodies rotated, converting the flow of spiritual power throughout the mountain range into a luminous green image displayed clearly on the screens of the scouts behind them.

The image advanced slowly until it suddenly halted at a certain point. Crimson warning symbols lit up across the entire screen.

“Spiritual-power source located!”

The scout at the desk slammed down the input key. The enormous mass of data froze in an instant, and a torrent of information measured in the trillions poured into the cloud, where it was distributed among the various units.

Two seconds after the data upload, a beam of white light rose from the ground and enveloped the drone in midair. Sparks burst from its body, and amid a crackling hiss, it plummeted to the earth.

At the same time, the thunder of grenade launchers rang out.

White smoke billowed from the cannons mounted on the armored vehicles. Two Spirit-Breaking Cluster Shells shrieked from the barrels, trailing long streaks of light as they plunged into the mountainside, unleashing deafening explosions and a landslide of sand and stone.

The shells’ beams swept across the mountaintop. Amid the flying dust and shattered rocks, countless mangled limbs were flung through the air. Dozens of figures burst from the breach and fled in all directions, only to be torn apart moments later by a storm of bullets.

Amid the spraying blood and flesh, countless peach blossoms rose into the air, gathering into a hazy human shape that shot toward the outer formation.

One kilometer away, the scene was reflected in the binoculars held by Lu Zhenhai. His eyes within the lenses were as hard as iron.

“Golden Core realm... So the core members really are here.”

With a thunderous boom, the peach-blossom-wreathed figure slammed into the formation. The white barrier shook violently, and the enormous shockwaves even made the surrounding low mountains tremble.

Before the second impact could come, Lu Zhenhai’s order had already been issued.

Gunfire merged into a continuous roar. More than a dozen heavy machine guns, already trained on their target, opened fire simultaneously, drenching the figure in the sky beneath a dense curtain of bullets.

As the bullets neared its body, they seemed to strike an invisible mass of cotton. Their kinetic force, sufficient to pierce alloy, was instantly neutralized, becoming a feeble rain of metal that clattered to the ground.

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But it did not matter. This round of gunfire had already slowed the figure’s movements for a moment.

The official cultivators stationed on all four sides exerted their power at once. The luminous green formation suddenly contracted, continuously eating away at the figure’s range of movement and crushing it tightly against the mountainside.

At the same time, a specially made small bottle was thrown into the barrier. The instant it came into contact with spiritual power, it exploded in midair, releasing pale green smoke that filled the entire formation. Anyone below the Foundation Establishment realm would die upon inhaling it; Golden Core cultivators would lose the ability to fight within ten minutes, and even Nascent Soul cultivators would be weakened to some degree.

“Surrender and you will not be killed! Surrender and you will not be killed!”

A mechanical voice rang out overhead, amplified across the entire battlefield by loudspeakers. The peach-blossom figure paused upon hearing it. In the next instant, spiritual light flared around its body once more. Surging spiritual power converged at a single point and shot toward the command post with the force of thunder, intent on breaking through the encirclement.

Yet before that spiritual power could erupt, the shadow of a high-explosive shell fell over its head.

“Boom, boom, boom, boom—!”

Flames surged skyward, and the chain of explosions continued for more than ten seconds before finally subsiding.

Several minutes later, the pale green barrier went out. The armored vehicles on all four sides lowered their cannons, while specialist teams responsible for clearing the battlefield hurried inside to gather the corpses scattered throughout the area.

From the high ground, Lu Zhenhai watched the smoke gradually disperse. He lowered his binoculars, and the furrow between his brows relaxed slightly.

This was the twenty-third Peach Blossom Haven stronghold destroyed by the Liangzhou Sanitation Bureau within a single week.

Ever since the day the crimson clouds had filled the sky, the rats hiding underground had no longer been able to remain concealed. The radiance had made it impossible for them to move stealthily through the city, forcing them to flee collectively into the outskirts. The Sanitation Bureau had taken control of the major transportation routes and caught them one after another.

Within that week alone, they had killed dozens of cultivators at the Golden Core realm or above and captured five alive. The Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators were too numerous to count. In terms of sheer numbers, the haul was equivalent to several years’ worth of performance targets for an ordinary branch office.

“So that’s it? I didn’t even get a chance to act.”

Jiang Ruifeng walked over to his side and gazed at the rising smoke with a sigh.

He had come to oversee the formation in case anything unexpected occurred. He had not expected his own side’s firepower to be so fierce that he never even had a chance to join the battle.

“We owe this excellent battlefield to that senior from your sect,” Lu Zhenhai said, shaking his head. “We couldn’t use tactics like these in the city.”

Against unorthodox cultivators who violated the Cultivator Administration Act, the Sanitation Bureau had never concerned itself with martial virtue. Especially in open terrain, they generally began with a savage bombardment like this. If overwhelming firepower could kill the enemy, they would never send cultivators into battle unnecessarily.

Of course, there was one limitation—not exactly a restriction, but close enough.

It cost money.

Even setting aside the consumption of anti-aircraft shells and other ammunition, the tiny bottle of spirit-dispersing smoke used to weaken the enemy had cost roughly two hundred thousand per gram, making it thirty times more expensive than gold.

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If the enemy had not truly possessed profound cultivation, such that even Spirit-Breaking Cluster Shells could not kill him outright; if Peach Blossom Haven had not been designated a major target by headquarters, with combat funding effectively unlimited, Lu Zhenhai would never have been willing to bring out such an expensive special weapon.

By a rough estimate, the battle just now had consumed nearly a million. It was the most extravagant operation of the period.

“Judging by that fellow’s performance, his cultivation is probably at the peak of the Golden Core realm, only half a step from the Nascent Soul realm.”

Jiang Ruifeng continued chatting with him, speaking as though casually: “Compared with the other vermin we encountered earlier, this man was another level stronger. To eliminate him so quickly, the Sanitation Bureau’s combat power truly grows more refined by the day.”

“You flatter us, Executive Jiang. We merely benefited from favorable timing, terrain, and cooperation.”

Lu Zhenhai conversed with him in an apparently relaxed manner, but inwardly, a string had drawn taut.

Just as Jiang Ruifeng had said, this was the strongest Peach Blossom Haven remnant they had encountered so far.

Or rather, judging from the current situation, every new remnant they encountered was stronger than the one before.

During the previous several raids he had commanded, a single anti-aircraft shell had usually been enough to resolve matters. Yet today, they had needed spirit-dispersing smoke merely to kill their target with difficulty.

This was not a game. There was no rule that made the weaker minor bosses appear first so the players could level up before facing the final boss. The enemies’ strength was now forming what was almost an arithmetic progression. That could hardly be a coincidence.

Lu Zhenhai recalled the Peach Blossom Haven files he had read earlier. A hypothesis gradually took shape in his mind. He was just about to discuss it with Jiang Ruifeng when a specialist interrupted them.

“Captain Lu, the cleanup is complete.”

As he reported, the specialist took out a walkie-talkie. “Also, we just received a signal from the D12-sector team. They say they’ve discovered a suspected Nascent Soul cultivator over there. They don’t have enough firepower and are requesting support.”

Nascent Soul?

Those three words changed the expressions of both men.

Lu Zhenhai pondered for several seconds before reaching out and taking the walkie-talkie.

“Group Four will stay behind and continue clearing the site. Everyone else, come with me to provide support.”

His subordinates acknowledged the order and ran off. Soon, a vehicle stopped in front of them. Lu Zhenhai bent and climbed inside, casting a glance toward the roadside as a trace of tension flashed through his eyes.

He could feel that something was wrong.

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