Chapter 40: The Mystery of the Peach Blossoms, a Breakthrough in the Face of Battle! (Bonus Chapter for Monthly Votes)

At 4:55 PM, the southern entrance of Liangzhou City was completely sealed off.

Above the toll station, an electronic display read: "Highway under maintenance, please detour." Uniformed police officers blocked the flow of traffic, and the lanes were jammed with vehicles. Drivers honked their horns incessantly, cursing from their seats.

Sixty kilometers southwest along this road, one could see massive craters spewing smoke, exposed on the pavement. Shrapnel, sword marks, gunpowder residue, and the scorched iron shells of destroyed vehicles lay scattered about—varying in size and intermittent, they stretched for miles like deep scars upon the earth.

The further one traveled, the denser the scars became. Even the mountains on either side were affected; slopes once covered in lush greenery looked as if they had been slashed by a giant blade, leaving behind jagged, ghastly stone teeth.

Where a mountain range met the highway, the string of scars abruptly ended. In their place stood a massive rift spanning the entire road, covered by a luminous green barrier. It acted like a colossal soundproof wall, completely muffling the roar of the artillery fire within.

By the time Lu Zhenhai and his team arrived, the battle had reached its climax. Over a hundred agents surrounded the barrier, their gunfire and spells weaving a dense, impenetrable net, pinning everything within a hundred-meter radius inside.

"The prisoner transport vehicle exploded 35 kilometers outside the city center. The escaped prisoner fled along the highway toward the east, based on their trajectory."

"After receiving the distress signal from the escort team, nearby combat squads arrived one after another. They intercepted the enemy 50 kilometers out and, after a kilometers-long skirmish, drove them into the containment barrier."

Lu Zhenhai listened to the report from the field commander while scanning the surroundings.

Following the line of fire, he saw a white figure standing atop a mountain peak. The figure was dozens of meters tall, its features blurred and ethereal, appearing to be a Dharma body composed of pure spiritual energy.

According to the reports, this was the prisoner who had broken out of the transport vehicle. Yet, his aura now bore no resemblance to his previous state; even through the barrier, one could feel an astonishing sense of oppression.

Before the Dharma body, over a dozen cultivators in the robes of the Jiuli Sect hovered in mid-air, their spells and spiritual artifacts flying in tandem with a barrage of bullets, striking the enemy and erupting in dazzling light.

When their spiritual powers collided, the residual shockwaves slammed into the surrounding barrier, causing it to vibrate violently. Several agents maintaining the barrier were knocked to the ground; their teammates immediately dragged them to the rear and filled the gaps.

Another thunderous boom, another collision—the Dharma body was forced back dozens of steps, and the dozen cultivators in the air were similarly repelled, forced to descend to the ground.

Jiang Ruifeng, standing beside Lu Zhenhai, recognized the group and flew forward, calling out to their leader.

"Seventh Elder!"

As he had surmised, these cultivators were elites from the Jiuli Sect.

Upon receiving word about the "Peach Blossom Spring," the Jiuli Sect had dispatched several waves of reinforcements to the Environmental Protection Bureau, including elders—a testament to the gravity of the situation.

During the past week’s campaign against the Peach Blossom Spring, these elites had proven their worth. Of the five remnants captured alive, four were taken by Jiuli hands, highlighting the clear advantage of cultivators.

An hour ago, when the news of the transport vehicle explosion arrived, various squads from the Bureau responded immediately, and the Jiuli cultivators stationed within the Bureau were alerted as well.

The Seventh Elder of the Jiuli Sect had arrived at full speed with his most elite forces, intercepting the enemy mid-flight and engaging in a standoff, which provided the Bureau the time needed to deploy the containment barrier.

But the term "standoff" suggested that the Jiuli side had not gained much of an advantage.

Seeing the new reinforcements arrive, the Elder did not engage in small talk with Jiang Ruifeng, but instead looked at Lu Zhenhai behind him.

"Supervisor Lu, the situation with that creature inside is unusual."

The Seventh Elder’s expression was grim. "When we first encountered it, its cultivation was below mine. But during our exchange, it actually broke through its realm mid-battle. Its cultivation is still rising even now. If this continues, it may spiral out of control. We must kill it immediately."

Lu Zhenhai was stunned to hear this.

He knew that the dozen people before him were all Golden Core elites on par with Jiang Ruifeng, and the Elder himself was a Nascent Soul cultivator. Such a team was capable of taking on an entire armored battalion.

In the Bureau's database, the Peach Blossom Spring remnant being transported was only at the Golden Core stage. Under normal circumstances, he should have been powerless against this lineup, yet the two sides were currently locked in a stalemate.

To have his cultivation climb so rapidly in just a few hours...

He recalled Jiang Ruifeng’s earlier speculation regarding "devouring," and considering the reports of other Peach Blossom Spring members having their souls extracted, a chill ran down his spine.

Collating the intelligence, he realized the enemy was likely boosting his cultivation by devouring the souls of his comrades. All the remaining forces of the Peach Blossom Spring in the city were converging here.

Previously, everyone, including himself, had assumed that transporting the members separately would be sufficient. But it appeared the enemy could execute a "devouring" even from a hundred miles away!

This was a situation that had never appeared in any historical records. Had the Peach Blossom Spring evolved after all these centuries?

"I intend to activate the Demon-Suppressing Grand Array here to slay the fiend in one blow. While I am opening the array..."

The Seventh Elder looked toward Lu Zhenhai. The latter understood immediately and said in a deep voice, "We will provide fire support."

The Elder nodded slightly and turned to his elites. "Assist me in opening the array. Jiang Ruifeng, you join as well."

Including Jiang Ruifeng, the Jiuli members rose into the air simultaneously. Several streams of spiritual power surged out, intertwining to form a ten-meter-wide azure light array. As the halo shimmered, surging spiritual energy pulsed within, creating ripples that felt almost tangible.

Beneath the array, artillery fire erupted.

The cannons on the armored vehicles spewed smoke, shells screaming toward the peach-blossom-shrouded figure, detonating in massive fireballs and deafening roars, kicking up clouds of dust.

As the dust settled, a smoking crater appeared on the mountain peak. The Dharma body, wreathed in peach blossoms, hovered in the smoke, surrounded by white light that acted like a gentle breeze, neutralizing the searing impact.

Anti-aircraft fire could not inflict effective damage!

Even though he had anticipated it, witnessing the scene firsthand was truly shocking.

To withstand the power of anti-aircraft shells—even among Nascent Soul cultivators, this was no mediocre feat. As a regional executive supervisor, Lu Zhenhai had been an agent for over twenty years, yet he could count the number of enemies of this caliber on his fingers.

He took two seconds to regain his composure, raised his walkie-talkie, and quickly issued a new round of orders.

Because the explosion had been sudden, all squads had arrived in a rush with incomplete equipment. Coupled with the enemy's unfathomable strength, it was difficult to maintain a coherent military formation.

Lu Zhenhai knew this well. Thus, he abandoned the traditional encirclement, instead organizing the agents into small groups centered around heavy weapons, taking turns to provide fire coverage.

Wave after wave of artillery fire erupted. Armored anti-aircraft guns and infantry rocket launchers fired simultaneously; before the smoke from one wave could dissipate, the next arrived.

Though they could not deal fatal damage, the sheer kinetic energy forced the Dharma body to retreat step by step, carving a trench dozens of meters long into the ground until he stumbled, forced into the crater created by the previous explosions.

At that exact moment, a drone flew overhead, dropping small canisters of Spirit-Dissolving Smoke into the pit. Thick fog billowed out, filling the crater. Combined with the continuous artillery fire, the figure was pinned firmly within the smoke.

According to previous data, this combination of firepower should have been enough to kill him ten times over. Yet, on the spiritual energy monitor, the Dharma body's readings only fluctuated slightly, remaining firmly locked on the screen.

This meant the target was still alive.

Lu Zhenhai watched from afar. Within a dozen minutes, the Bureau's weapon reserves had been largely depleted, buying only the result of suppressing the enemy's spiritual energy and mobility to the maximum extent.

After this...

A violent azure light swept across the entire road, causing everyone present to tremble.

Looking up, the massive array in mid-air had taken shape. The dozen Golden Core elites stood on the sides, acting as the array's anchors, surrounding the Elder in the center. He slowly extended a hand and, with the majesty of a judge, struck downward.

A shrill sound pierced the air. All the azure light merged into one, descending upon the crater like Mount Tai. The sheer pressure sent nearby agents reeling, their faces turning pale as they gasped for air, instinctively retreating.

But at that same moment, another force rose.

A pink-and-azure whirlwind erupted from the mountains, forming a massive eye that violently devoured everything in its path. Invisible spiritual energy condensed into peach blossom petals in the air, gathering toward the center, causing the hurricane's momentum to skyrocket, directly challenging the azure array in the sky.

With a thunderous boom, the peach-blossom-enveloped tornado surged upward, meeting the descending azure array. The two massive forces collided, shaking the heavens and the earth. The rocky mountain peaks on both sides were leveled, and the very ground beneath them trembled.

The earth quaked, and shattered rocks rained down. Many on the perimeter instinctively ducked for cover. Lu Zhenhai barely managed to steady himself, raising his binoculars.

Through the lenses, he saw the Spirit-Dissolving Smoke in the crater being blown away by the gale. Through the flying debris, he could faintly see the giant figure in the eye of the wind kneeling on the ground, slowly rising to his feet against the fierce, descending azure light.

No!

Lu Zhenhai’s pupils constricted. He dropped his binoculars, grabbed his headset, and roared.

"Increase the barrier's energy output! Boost to maximum!"

Boom—

A massive explosion drowned out his shout. The wind eye, compressed to the extreme, erupted, instantly shattering the Demon-Suppressing Array in the sky. It slammed into the surrounding containment barrier, and with a sickening sound of fracturing, the luminous green formation shattered like glass!

Spiritual light scattered, and screams erupted. Amid the shouting and running, the aftermath of the gale swept the area. Trees as thick as a man were uprooted, mixing with flying gun barrels and launchers, raining down shards like hail.

...

Liangzhou City, east of the Stele Forest District.

Outside the antique market, the sky was growing dim. The market was winding down, and people trickled out of the exits, many pushing carts or carrying bags—clearly having made quite a haul.

Zhou Qing walked among the crowd. He hadn't bought anything all afternoon, merely wandering through the market, glancing at the old trinkets, and sorting through the fragments of his memories. That was all.

Memories were like wine—a little was pleasant, but drowning in them was harmful. He had long since passed the age of being obsessed with such things.

As he reached the market entrance, he heard a peddler hawking in the style of a Qin opera.

"Sugar paintings for sale! Made fresh~"

An iron pot steamed with heat, and the vendor, wearing an apron, stirred the semi-solid syrup with a ladle. Several samples were stuck to the side of the pot: a soaring dragon, a golden rooster, a butterfly... attracting many onlookers.

Zhou Qing paused with interest. By his reckoning, sugar painting was an art form that had been passed down for centuries, incorporating techniques from shadow puppetry. Unlike pure antiques, these were much more practical—at least they were edible.

He was currently tempering his heart in the "Red Dust" to stabilize his soul, and a key part of this was integrating into the lives of the people, of which the cravings of the palate were an important component.

"How much for the dragon?"

"Five yuan. Give it a try, it's delicious."

"I'll take one."

The plump boss agreed and began scooping syrup from a wooden bowl. Zhou Qing watched from the side, but a moment later, he looked up, as if sensing something, toward the edge of the city.

A powerful aura was climbing at a distance of about a hundred miles?

Sensing carefully, he felt the aura fluctuating—it was in the midst of a battle. It must be those people from the Environmental Protection Bureau.

But looking at the rate of the creature's expansion, the Bureau didn't seem to be getting the upper hand. If this continued, not only would they suffer heavy losses, but the nearby county town would also be caught in the crossfire.

He had originally thought these juniors had enough autonomy and didn't want to over-interfere with their operations. But looking at things now, he really ought to step in, just a little.

"Boss, I have something to attend to," he said, turning to the vendor. "Keep making that sugar painting; I'll come back to get it in a bit."

"Sure thing, I'll save it for you."

The boss nodded readily, adding, "But you'd better come back soon. This doesn't keep well, or the sugar will catch the wind and lose its taste."

"It's fine, it won't be long."

Zhou Qing smiled and turned, walking in the opposite direction of the crowd.

As he rounded an empty corner, he flickered slightly and disappeared from the spot, leaving only the willow branches swaying in the wind, rustling and startling the birds into flight.