54: Chapter 54: Cooperation

Half a day later.

The outskirts of Mist Valley.

Xiao Ran restrained his aura and hid within a rock crevice, observing the situation at the valley entrance.

Three groups of people were already in a standoff at the entrance.

On the left were seven Cultivators dressed in blood-red robes; their leader was at the Great Perfection of the Golden Core stage, exuding a fierce aura.

In the middle were five Sword Cultivators from the Heavenly Sword Sect, all dressed in white with swords on their backs, their Sword Intent cold and awe-inspiring.

Their leader was a cold-faced young man at the last stage of Golden Core.

On the right was a temporary Alliance formed by more than ten Loose Cultivators.

Their cultivation levels were uneven, but they had the advantage in numbers.

In the center of the three parties, three dark red token fragments floated in a triangular formation, with faint light connecting them.

"It seems there really is an attraction between the fragments... These three are so close that they've formed a small resonance, which is why so many people were drawn here."

Xiao Ran thought to himself.

At the valley entrance, the standoff had reached a breaking point.

"Fellow Daoists of the Heavenly Sword Sect, my Blood God Sect discovered this Mist Valley first. Please, make things easy for us."

The leader of the Blood Fiend Sect spoke coldly.

The young Sword Cultivator from the Heavenly Sword Sect snorted coldly.

"The Ancient Battlefield is an ownerless land; what talk is there of who arrived first?"

"My Heavenly Sword Sect wants these three fragments."

Within the Loose Cultivators Alliance, a one-armed old man said raspily,

"You two, why don't our three parties each take one, so we don't ruin the harmony..."

"You think you're worthy?"

The Blood God Sect and the Heavenly Sword Sect shouted almost simultaneously.

The one-armed old man's face darkened, and the Loose Cultivators behind him also looked angry.

But just as tensions were at their peak,

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!

Four more streaks of light descended from the sky.

Four female Cultivators wearing pink gauze clothes and possessing enchanting looks stepped out from the light.

Their eyes rippled with allure, their charm natural and seductive.

The Hehuan Sect!

The leading female Cultivator covered her mouth and chuckled, "Oh, so lively? My Hehuan Sect wants these three fragments too."

As soon as she finished speaking,

The three women behind her simultaneously performed charm techniques. An invisible pink mist spread out, and the eyes of many lower-level Loose Cultivators instantly became blurred, their breathing rapid.

The Disciples of the Blood God Sect and the Heavenly Sword Sect also felt their minds waver, and they hurriedly circulated their Cultivation Techniques to resist.

"Vixens of the Hehuan Sect, stop showing off your charms here!"

The young Sword Cultivator from the Heavenly Sword Sect suddenly bit his tongue, and his eyes instantly cleared.

Then his Sword Intent erupted, slashing the pink mist to pieces.

"Tee-hee, Sword Cultivators really don't understand romance."

The Hehuan Sect Cultivator giggled and dodged.

However, her gaze swept over the three fragments, greed flashing in her eyes.

The situation had turned from a three-way standoff into a four-way free-for-all.

And Xiao Ran was still observing from the shadows.

He was waiting.

Waiting for the most suitable moment to act.

"Since none of you are willing to back down, then... let everyone rely on their own abilities!"

The leader of the Blood God Sect suddenly lunged, a large blood-colored hand grabbing for the nearest fragment!

"Move!"

Sword light bloomed from the Heavenly Sword Sect, pink mist surged from the Hehuan Sect, and the Loose Cultivators Alliance also attacked at the same time!

The chaotic battle erupted instantly!

Sword light, blood palms, pink mist, Magical Artifacts... various attacks intertwined and collided, the sound of explosions constant.

The seven members of the Blood God Sect formed a Blood Fiend Grand Array, and blood light soared into the sky.

The five members of the Heavenly Sword Sect deployed a sword formation, with Sword Qi crisscrossing the area.

The four women of the Hehuan Sect moved erratically, using both charm and poison techniques.

Although the Loose Cultivators Alliance was disorganized, they had the advantage of numbers, throwing out all sorts of Talismans and Magic Treasures.

For a moment, they were evenly matched.

In the chaos, the three fragments were blown away by the shockwaves, and one of them happened to fly toward where Xiao Ran was hiding!

"Opportunity!"

Xiao Ran's eyes flashed, and he activated the Blood Shadow Escape.

His figure flitted out like a phantom, snatching the fragment into his hand before it could hit the ground!

Then, with extreme speed, he tucked the other two tokens into his pocket as well.

"Who is it?"

Everyone in the chaotic battle noticed instantly and looked toward Xiao Ran in unison.

"Eternal Night Demon Sect... Xiao Ran!"

The young Sword Cultivator from the Heavenly Sword Sect's face darkened.

The Hehuan Sect Cultivator's eyes rippled as she said coquettishly,

"So it's Demon Son Xiao. Why don't we cooperate to eliminate these nuisances first?"

"Afterward, we can split the tokens equally, and the four of us will be yours to pick, how about it?"

Xiao Ran put the fragments away, his expression calm.

"No thanks, maybe next time!"

"I'm taking the tokens; you guys... can keep fighting."

After saying that, he turned and dashed into Mist Valley.

"Stop him!"

The Hehuan Sect and the Heavenly Sword Sect attacked almost simultaneously, a cloud of pink dust and a sharp Sword Qi pincer-attacking him from front and back!

Xiao Ran didn't even look back, striking out with a palm behind him.

"Guixu Demonic Light!"

Two streaks of grayish-black demonic light erupted from his palm, transforming into two phantom demonic dragons.

They swallowed the dust and Sword Qi in one gulp and, with momentum undiminished, blasted back at the two parties!

Boom! Boom!

The Disciples of the Hehuan Sect and the Heavenly Sword Sect each retreated several steps, their faces unsightly.

In that brief delay,

Xiao Ran had already charged into Mist Valley, his figure swallowed by the thick fog.

"Chase him!"

The leader of the Blood God Sect gritted his teeth and led his people in pursuit.

The young Sword Cultivator of the Heavenly Sword Sect hesitated for a moment before leading his team in as well.

The Hehuan Sect woman giggled and licked her lips.

"Interesting, let's go join the fun too."

The Loose Cultivators Alliance looked at each other, and finally, the one-armed old man gritted his teeth.

"Wealth is found in danger, enter!"

The four parties poured into Mist Valley one after another.

...

Inside the valley, the mist was dense, and Divine Sense was severely obstructed.

After entering, Xiao Ran immediately took out the synthesized token to sense it.

The token pointed deep into the valley, and the fluctuations were several times stronger than they were outside.

This meant there were even more fragments in the valley!

His figure sped along, weaving through the mist.

Visibility in the fog was barely thirty meters.

Faint roars of beasts, wails of ghosts, and... the sounds of fighting echoed from all around.

Clearly, other Cultivators were already active in the valley.

After traveling about five miles, Xiao Ran paused.

A corpse lay in the mist ahead.

It was a middle-aged man dressed as a Loose Cultivator; his chest had been pierced by a Sharp Weapon, and the blood had not yet congealed; he had died recently.

"A sword wound... clean and efficient, it's the Heavenly Sword Sect's style."

Xiao Ran's gaze swept over the corpse, and without stopping, he continued deeper.

The further he went, the more corpses there were.

There were Loose Cultivators, Disciples from small Sects, and even the corpse of a female Cultivator from the Xuan Yin Cult, which had been frozen into an ice sculpture and then shattered.

Clearly, the struggle inside the valley was even more brutal than outside.

After another three miles, Xiao Ran stopped again.

Intense fighting sounds came from ahead, along with... familiar Sword Qi fluctuations.

He approached quietly and looked through the mist.

In a relatively open clearing, two groups were fighting.

One side was three Sword Cultivators from the Heavenly Sword Sect; their auras were currently erratic, and they were clearly injured.

The other side consisted of five Cultivators wearing black robes and ghost-faced masks.

Judging by their Cultivation Technique aura, they were people from the Nether Hall.

The Nether Hall was a secretive Demonic Path Sect in the Northern Region, specializing in ghost paths and assassination.

In the center of the two parties, five fragments were floating!

"You Nether Hall scum, you dare to snatch things from my Heavenly Sword Sect!"

The Heavenly Sword Sect youth shouted in anger.

"Jie jie, treasures of the Ancient Battlefield belong to those who are capable."

"Kill them!"

The leader of the Nether Hall laughed strangely.

The five of them attacked simultaneously, their ghostly energy sinister as it transformed into five ghost shadows to pounce and kill!

The sword formation of the three Heavenly Sword Sect members had already been broken, leaving them to fight individually in a perilous situation.

Xiao Ran hid in the mist, his gaze falling on those five fragments.

Five fragments appearing at once.

This Mist Valley was indeed an area rich in fragments.

He didn't act immediately but continued to observe.

Although the three from the Heavenly Sword Sect were at a disadvantage, the combat power of Sword Cultivators was formidable, and they wouldn't be defeated for a while.

The five from the Nether Hall were clearly holding back, as if they were on guard against something.

"What are they waiting for?"

The thought had just crossed Xiao Ran's mind.

Ssh!

A dark green bone spike shot out from the mist without warning, aimed straight for the back of the Nether Hall leader's heart!

"White Bone Scholar?"

The Nether Hall leader dodged in horror; the bone spike grazed his shoulder, bringing a spray of blood.

A second later, the mist parted.

The White Bone Scholar fanned his bone fan and walked out slowly, followed by four True Disciples of the Eternal Night Demon Sect.

"Fellow Daoists of the Nether Hall, these five fragments... my Eternal Night Demon Sect wants them."

The White Bone Scholar smiled gently, but the dark green ghost fire dancing in his eyes was filled with killing intent.

The faces of the five Nether Hall members were unsightly.

The Heavenly Sword Sect was already hard enough to deal with, and now there was the Eternal Night Demon Sect.

Moreover, their leader was the Second Demon Son of the Eternal Night Demon Sect at the Late Nascent Soul Stage.

"Retreat!"

The Nether Hall leader made a prompt decision, and the five of them turned into five streaks of black smoke, vanishing into the mist.

The three from the Heavenly Sword Sect also breathed a sigh of relief, but their gaze toward the White Bone Scholar was full of wariness.

The White Bone Scholar didn't even look at them, walking straight toward the five fragments.

"Senior Brother Bai, what a coincidence."

Xiao Ran's voice came from the other side of the mist.

He walked out slowly, Guixu Demonic Light circulating around him.

The White Bone Scholar paused and turned to look at Xiao Ran, his smile unchanged.

"Junior Brother Xiao, it is indeed a coincidence."

"I happen to need these five fragments..."

"What a coincidence indeed; although I arrived first, if Senior Brother wants them, then I shall give them to you."

Xiao Ran smiled and said.

The gazes of the two met, and the air seemed to freeze.

Seeing this, the three from the Heavenly Sword Sect quietly retreated, preparing to slip away.

With these two Demon Sons facing off, they didn't want to be caught in the crossfire.

But the White Bone Scholar suddenly laughed.

"Since Junior Brother saw them first, how could I, your Senior Brother, possibly snatch your things?"

He raised his hand and waved his bone fan.

The five tokens instantly appeared before Xiao Ran's eyes.

"Senior Brother, how could I be so bold as to accept this!"

Xiao Ran said so with his mouth, but in reality, he had already tucked the five tokens into his pocket.

"It's nothing."

"Just a mere five tokens."

"I just sensed a violent resonance of fragment fluctuations in the center of the valley; at least thirty fragments are gathered there."

"And they seem to be being pulled toward a single point by some kind of force."

The White Bone Scholar pointed toward the depths of the mist and spoke slowly.

Xiao Ran's pupils constricted slightly.

Thirty fragments gathered?

That's almost enough to synthesize a complete fallen immortal token!

"Who is at the center of the valley?"

He asked in a deep voice.

"Not sure."

The White Bone Scholar shook his head.

"But to trigger such a large resonance, either someone has already collected a massive amount of fragments, or... there's something at the center of the valley actively absorbing them."

He looked at Xiao Ran, the ghostly light in his eyes flickering.

"Junior Brother Xiao, why don't we temporarily join forces and head to the center of the valley to investigate?"

"As for the gains... we'll each rely on our own abilities, how about it?"

Xiao Ran pondered for a moment upon hearing this and immediately nodded.

"That would be for the best, of course."

"After you, Senior Brother!"

Although the White Bone Scholar was a man of deep schemes, the current situation in the valley was unclear; rather than fighting individually, it was better to cooperate for now.

As for turning against each other afterward... that would have to wait until there was an 'afterward'.

"Straightforward."

The White Bone Scholar smiled.

Then the two of them sped toward the center of the valley.

The three from the Heavenly Sword Sect looked at each other, gritted their teeth, and followed.

If there were thirty fragments at the center, even if they only got one or two, it would be worth it!

The mist surged, and killing intent was hidden within.