One day later
"That kind of situation was never something small sects like ours could interfere with. It's already a blessing it hasn't affected us here at Changcui Mountain… Go on back. If anything new happens, just let me know."
Li Ye reassured the slightly anxious and regretful Lan Xinyi, sent her on her way, and then carefully reviewed all the collected intel on the battle.
He couldn't help clicking his tongue in amazement.
"Good thing I didn't go. With that kind of lineup, any one of those Foundation Establishment cultivators could've swatted me like a fly…"
The battle couldn't be kept secret not in a place like the Tengyun Market, which was full of rogue cultivators. By the following day, word had already spread throughout the Chidi Mountains.
As Li Ye had expected, both the Chang and Luo families, as well as Xu Pingyang, had their hidden cards.
Chang Zhixin of the Chang family, Luo Yuping of the Luo family…
Who knows how long they'd been scheming in silence, but they suddenly revealed themselves as Foundation Establishment cultivators!
Still, they weren't reckless. Instead of storming Pingyang Mountain directly, they chose a more careful route setting up the Tengyun Market as a trap, luring Xu Pingyang away from his mountain and the costly second-tier formation protecting it, and attempting to ambush him there.
They probably intended the market's quasi-second-tier formation to play a role in the ambush.
But Xu Pingyang shattered it with a single move, forcing them to act immediately.
Still, both were early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators working together, they should've had the upper hand over Xu Pingyang.
But Xu Pingyang wasn't to be underestimated.
No one knew when or where he found a helper, but he had secretly brought along another Foundation Establishment cultivator.
When the Chang and Luo duo launched their attack, Xu Pingyang only put up a show of resistance before his ally emerged from the crowd and ambushed Luo Yuping catching him off guard and severely wounding him on the spot!
With one of them injured, the tide turned. The Chang and Luo pair were forced into a desperate retreat with no breathing room.
In the end, Luo Yuping was killed on the spot. As for Chang Zhixin badly wounded and unable to escape, he self-destructed in a final act of defiance.
That suicidal strike seemed to have dealt significant damage to both Xu Pingyang and his mysterious ally.
However, most of the rogue cultivators who witnessed the battle couldn't gauge the depth of Foundation Establishment power, so the exact condition of the victors remained unclear in the reports.
After the deaths of both Chang and Luo Foundation Establishment cultivators, their allied forces fell apart. Xu Pingyang and the other mountain lords achieved an overwhelming victory.
Following the battle, every member of the Chang and Luo families in the Tengyun Market was wiped out, and all of their possessions were confiscated.
As for the other families, those who resisted fiercely were executed. Those who surrendered quickly managed to survive barely.
Still, unlike the Chang and Luo families who were the main targets, a few members of the lesser clans did manage to escape.
But their wealth? Not a coin was left untouched.
Those who died or fled were completely cleaned out, and those who surrendered had to hand over the majority of their wealth just to keep their lives.
When all was said and done, everyone who survived on Xu Pingyang's side came out rich beyond imagination their spoils so excessive it was as if their pockets couldn't even hold it all!
"This money came faster than picking it up off the ground. So enviable…"
Li Ye sighed with a mix of admiration and amusement.
But no matter what he said ask him again if he'd have gone, and Li Ye would still say no.
Sure, they made a fortune, but you also had to look at how many went in and how many made it out…
From the battle reports, even after breaking the formation at the start, Xu Pingyang's side still suffered 30–40% casualties.
A lot of those were caused by desperate last stands from doomed family cultivators taking enemies down with them.
While Li Ye might not have been killed in such chaos, getting involved in a fight involving multiple Foundation Establishment cultivators would've been insanely dangerous especially since he'd played a key role behind the scenes in breaking the market's formation.
There was no doubt the Chang and Luo cultivators would have seen him as a threat, and if they'd had the chance, they absolutely would've targeted him.
Even Xu Pingyang wasn't someone he could trust entirely.
If Li Ye had gone, who knows when one of those Foundation Establishment types might've taken him out just to tie up loose ends…
No matter how tempting the rewards, unless he had over 90% confidence in surviving, he'd never get involved in something that deadly.
Once he finished organizing all the intel, Li Ye's expression turned more serious.
"The Chang and Luo families are still clinging to their mountain strongholds, but their first-tier defensive arrays even with Tu Zhiyong's enhancements won't hold up against a forbidden-breaking talisman. It won't be long before their clans are destroyed…"
"And Xu Pingyang and that mysterious Foundation Establishment cultivator haven't shown themselves since the battle. Even the attack on the Chang and Luo families is being led by Xie Yushu now… They're probably not in good shape."
"Once those families are wiped out, the Chidi Mountains' resources will be up for grabs. Huge swathes of territory and industry will become available…"
"That'll keep the victors busy for a while. Might even spark a few smaller conflicts."
"Plus, with Xu Pingyang needing time to recover and consolidate the loot, they probably won't have the time or interest to bother with someone like me, who took no part in the spoils…"
"In fact, for places where forbidden-breaking talismans aren't suitable, they might still need my help to dismantle arrays. Though I doubt they'll be very polite about it… but who cares? I'm done dealing with them anyway."
Having weighed everything out, Li Ye was more than satisfied with the current state of the Chidi Mountains.
A smile crept across his face.
"And during this long period where no one's paying attention to me, that's the perfect window for me to cultivate to peak Qi Refinement and push straight into Foundation Establishment in one go!"
....
No sooner said than done.
Ever since the battle at Tengyun Market, Li Ye already a bit of a recluse had gone out even less than before.
Though he had played a pivotal role in breaking the formation and gained considerable fame for it, his refusal to participate in the actual battle had ultimately crossed a line. After a subtle warning from Xie Yushu, the rest of the alliance began to treat him with a cold shoulder.
Even those who previously sought him out to dismantle formations stopped coming. With Xu Pingyang's attitude clear for all to see, they'd rather go to Tu Zhiyong, who had proactively surrendered and joined their side.
Li Ye, however, was more than happy to be left alone.
The only ones who suffered from this situation were the Lan family, who had once relied on his influence. In the past, others had shown them some respect for Li Ye's sake.
But now, with Xu Pingyang's stance made obvious and Li Ye's name no longer carrying any weight, that courtesy vanished. People no longer held back, often exploiting and bullying the Lan family.
Li Ye remained indifferent, never stepping in on their behalf, much to the anguish of the Lan family elders.
When they finally realized that nothing they did would make Li Ye stand up for them, they gave up and stopped bothering him choosing instead to distance themselves and seek favor from other factions.
Days passed like this, and even Lan Xinyi began visiting less and less.
Isolated and ignored, Li Ye remained secluded within his great formation, growing ever more solitary.
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