Rise of the Wang Clan: Starting with a Portable Farm

Chapter 172: The Lei Family Under Attack

With three families defending together, they were safer. If Maple Leaf Market split its forces, it could not break their array. Even if it attacked with everything, the Lei family could hold for several days, enough time for the Wang and Li families to arrive. No one wanted a war at their own doorstep, so Wang Hao was pleased with this arrangement.

Ji Shuguang led eighteen Foundation Establishment cultivators and eight hundred Qi Refining cultivators from four families across the border and straight toward the Lei family.

They had originally planned to split into three groups and attack three families separately.

But they no longer had enough strength. News of their advance had also leaked, and the Green Bull families were on guard. They had seen spirit beasts and birds scouting them several times.

Their own scouts had grown more careful after the Ye family’s earlier experience and had learned of the Zhao and Cheng families’ movements. Those two territories might still yield some resources, but attacking them would accomplish little.

Ji Shuguang cared about the Burning Heaven Sect’s mission rather than Maple Leaf Market’s profits. He ordered everyone to attack the Lei family together.

He called it revenge for the Gu and Si families.

Gu Lizhan welcomed the decision. The other families complained at first, but fell silent when he promised that the Gu family would take only what it had lost; they could keep the rest.

The Qingyuan Sect still made no move.

Burning Heaven Sect attacks were not limited to Green Bull Market. Other families were under assault as well, and the Qingyuan Sect’s inaction left them little hope. Some small families withdrew, joining others or moving to Qingyuan Market.

The Qingyuan Sect accepted them and arranged places to stay. With war looming, it needed every available hand.

The Wang family, however, had no intention of fleeing to the central market. At least, not yet. To run there was to shackle oneself to the Qingyuan Sect’s war chariot. Once those chains were on, their fate would no longer be their own.

The sect did not compel its subordinates to fight, but it had begun paying generously to hire rogue cultivators. Many joined despite knowing they might be used as cannon fodder: the techniques and pills offered by the sect were normally beyond their reach.

Several days later, Ji Shuguang’s army reached Thunder Roar Mountain.

Under cultivators skilled in battle formations, the eight hundred Qi Refining cultivators formed eight groups of a hundred, each attacking an array node. The Foundation Establishment cultivators stood ready to restrain Lei Liheng and his allies.

Thunder Roar Mountain was a second-rank, high-grade spirit mountain defended by a second-rank, high-grade Five Elements Four Images Array.

It had nine array nodes. An attack on one drew a combined response from all nine. The attackers had little choice but to strike from several directions at once so the array could not respond to every point.

At Ji Shuguang’s urging, the eight hundred Qi Refining cultivators advanced in tight ranks.

They attacked the protective barrier with an assortment of magical artifacts.

Even without the Foundation Establishment cultivators, the assault shook Thunder Roar Mountain. Without the array, they might have leveled its summit.

Inside the barrier, Lei Liheng watched the bombardment with a stoic expression.

The enemy had twice as many Foundation Establishment cultivators and more than three times as many Qi Refining cultivators. Lei Liheng remained calm. With the array and the preparations made in advance, he believed they could hold. For now, only the Qi Refining cultivators were attacking.

Gu Lizhan and the others saw that the Qi Refining attacks were ineffective and had to step in.

But whenever they attacked, Lei Liheng and his allies intervened, denying them a chance to break the array.

A spirit vein supplied the array inside, while the attackers had to replenish their spiritual energy with pills. The vein could barely sustain the three families in addition to the array, but it still gave them an advantage.

The siege dragged on for half a month.

Ye Jingshan and the others tried many ways to break the array. Once, an Array Breaking Talisman opened a gap, but a smaller array lay behind it. Before they could breach that second defense, the main array repaired itself.

The Maple Leaf cultivators were growing exhausted. They had come to seize resources, not squander their own.

“Elder Ji, this cannot continue,” Ye Jingshan asked bitterly. “When will the sect act? Can you give us a definite answer?”

The Ye family had sent the most people and spent the most. Fifty years of savings had gone into the siege. Without any gains, it might not be able to cultivate another Foundation Establishment cultivator for decades.

Ji Shuguang was confused too. The sect’s Golden Core ancestor had told him they would act at the same time. He did not know what had happened.

He could only put them off. “The sect has its own considerations. Focus on taking Green Bull Market. The cost may be high, but these spirit mountains could earn it back in a few years. Green Bull Market is closest to Severed Origin Mountain and has more rogue cultivators; even small businesses there earn several times as much as at Maple Leaf Market.”

They had believed Ji Shuguang’s promises at first. Now they knew that Green Bull Market’s riches were worth nothing unless they could actually take it.

“The Lei, Zhao, and Cheng cultivators have all gathered at Thunder Roar Mountain,” He Junyi said. “Taking it would cost too much.”

Xu Minglang frowned. “Who expected the Zhao and Cheng families to abandon even their spirit mountains and mortal kin?”

“What is the use of saying that now?” Gu Lizhan complained. “Will you give up and waste half a month’s resources?”

Ye Jingshan narrowed his eyes. “Do not worry, Brother Gu. We must attack Green Bull Market, but brute force will not work. We need another approach.”

They looked at Ji Shuguang. As the sect elder, he would make the final decision.

Feeling guilty, Ji Shuguang did not want to force them into another attack on Thunder Roar Mountain. “I am not inflexible. If you have a sound plan, let me hear it.”

They began discussing alternatives.

Xu Minglang thought for a moment. “If the Lei family is difficult to take, why not attack the Wang or Li family instead?”

“The Lei, Zhao, and Cheng families have held us off together. The Wang and Li families have not appeared; clearly there is friction between them.”

“If we switch targets, those three may not reinforce them. One family should be easier to fight than three together.”