Rise of the Wang Clan: Starting with a Portable Farm

Chapter 186: The Curtain Falls

There was no time for hesitation.

With a long, mournful sigh, Du Guangchao spun the giant yellow bowl in his hands, aiming it once more at Sha Dingshan and his allies.

A sandstorm erupted from the vessel, forming a massive, gritty barrier that ground against the incoming attacks, dissipating the power of the two hostile Dharma Treasures.

CRACK!

The Heavenly Thunder chose that moment to strike.

The bolt slammed directly into Du Guangchao, blasting him dozens of meters away. He crashed into the ruined earth, his body seizing with uncontrollable tremors, his white hair and beard standing on end from the residual charge.

The Boundless Whisk, which had been wrapped around him, absorbed a portion of the blast. While it had restricted his movement, it had also saved his life—for now. He was gravely injured, but not dead.

“My Whisk!”

Wen Ruixin hastily recalled his Dharma Treasure. Seeing the scorched, ruined bristles of the Boundless Whisk, he felt a pang of heartache mixed with bitter regret. He had actually done the foolish thing of blocking the lightning for his enemy.

Du Guangchao coughed up a mouthful of blood. His face was twisted with profound unwillingness.

Four hundred years of cultivation. Countless hardships. He had mobilized the entire Sect’s resources to find the precious spiritual items needed for this moment.

He had been so close.

One step. He had been one single step away from the Nascent Soul realm.

Du Guangchao looked up at the men who had destroyed his path. The despair in his eyes calcified into a terrifying, hollow rage.

“You…” His voice rasped like a vengeful ghost clawing its way out of hell. “You all deserve to die!”

“Fellow Daoist Wen, run! Let him play with the Tribulation alone!” Sha Dingshan shouted, retreating frantically.

“Agreed!”

The surviving Golden Core invaders didn’t care about their dignity or injuries. They burned their blood essence, urging their spiritual power to flee toward the periphery.

But how could Du Guangchao let them go?

“Want to leave? You haven’t asked for my permission!”

He staggered to his feet, his gaze dark and sinister. With a flick of his wrist, three pitch-black beads shot out.

Boom! Boom!

The beads detonated on impact, instantly killing the two already-injured Golden Core cultivators who were too slow to escape.

“Sha Dingshan!” Du Guangchao roared, locking eyes with the Blazing Heaven Sect Patriarch. “You have the most hope of forming a Nascent Soul, don’t you? Then I will show you the taste of a shattered Dao!”

Du Guangchao burned the last of his life force. His figure blurred, flickering across the battlefield to appear directly in front of Sha Dingshan.

He didn’t use a technique. He drove a fist, heavy with the weight of a dying star, straight into Sha Dingshan’s chest.

Sha Dingshan’s face went pale with horror. What kind of speed is this?

He desperately tried to dodge, but the blow landed.

Crunch.

Shockwaves rippled through Sha Dingshan’s body. Several major meridians shattered instantly, and deep cracks formed in his cultivation foundation.

“How does it taste? Bitter, isn’t it?” Du Guangchao sneered, raising his hand for the killing blow.

ROAR!

A massive shadow lunged from the side—the Two-Headed Python. It had returned just in time to intercept the strike.

Sha Dingshan was a decisive man. Seeing a sliver of hope, he ignored the agony of his ruined meridians and forcefully teleported away, putting distance between himself and the madman.

“Vile beast!” Du Guangchao cursed, but he did not chase.

With the python protecting Sha Dingshan, a quick kill was impossible.

Instead, Du Guangchao pivoted on his heel and slammed a fist into Zhu Neng.

Zhu Neng, merely at the mid-stage of Golden Core, stood no chance against the desperate blow of a pseudo-Nascent Soul entity.

Bang!

His chest collapsed. His eyes went dim instantly as his life force was extinguished.

“You die too!” Du Guangchao spun toward Wen Ruixin, preparing to execute the Headmaster of the Infinite Palace.

BOOM!

The Heavens were not done. Another bolt of lightning crashed down.

Du Guangchao launched his attack at Wen Ruixin, but the lightning struck him simultaneously. The power of his fist shadow was drastically reduced. It struck Wen Ruixin, sending him flying and vomiting blood, but it failed to kill him.

Seeing this, Sha Dingshan’s eyes turned cold. He barked a mental command to his python: Kill Jin Heng!

If the Qingyuan Sect lost its last surviving Golden Core, it wouldn’t matter if he and Wen Ruixin were injured. Their disciples could wipe out the leaderless sect easily.

The Two-Headed Python hissed and lunged at Jin Heng.

“Beast! Where do you think you are going?”

A streak of light arrived from the horizon. Master Canghai stepped in, blocking the python and shielding the heavily injured Jin Heng behind him.

“Heh.” Du Guangchao let out a breath, a smile of relief touching his bloody lips.

“Fellow Daoist Canghai… the Qingyuan Sect is yours. This old man… can die without regrets.”

In his final death throes, he had single-handedly killed three Golden Core enemies and severely maimed two others. With Master Canghai, a late-stage Golden Core expert, acting as guardian, the Sect would survive.

Even if Canghai left after a few decades, it would be enough time for the Qingyuan Sect to recover. As for what happened after that… Du Guangchao could no longer care. He had done everything he could. He could face the ancestors with his head held high.

With the last embers of his strength, Du Guangchao raised his head and looked at Wen Ruixin.

“Headmaster Wen. Today, all three of our sects are broken. But Sha Dingshan… he still has hope of reaching the Nascent Soul. You are a smart man. You know what needs to be done. Cough… cough…”

Wen Ruixin clutched his chest, his expression complicated. The Infinite Palace had suffered devastating losses. And Du Guangchao was right—the balance of power had shifted. His greatest threat was no longer the Qingyuan Sect, but the Blazing Heaven Sect.

“Alas… Fellow Daoist Du, I have failed your trust. I am ashamed,” Master Canghai said, looking at the dying patriarch.

There was no resentment in Du Guangchao’s eyes, only a profound exhaustion. “Say no more… Fellow Daoist Canghai, I only ask that you keep your promise. Protect the Qingyuan Sect for fifty years. Preserve our legacy.”

“Rest assured. What I promise, I deliver.”

Master Canghai had his own calculations. The original deal was messy: help him reach Nascent Soul in exchange for servitude. But a deal with a Golden Core sect was vastly different from a deal with a Nascent Soul powerhouse. If Du Guangchao had succeeded, would he have truly honored such an unfair arrangement?

This outcome was perfect. He didn’t just get a mountain; he got a complete Sect. He was effectively the new Headmaster. All the resources were his to command. This was far better than being a hired gun for a Nascent Soul ancestor.

Suppressing his internal joy—centuries of rogue cultivation had made him a master of poker faces—Canghai turned to the invaders.

“Fellow Daoists, why are you still here? Do you wish to exchange moves with this old man?”

Sha Dingshan was speechless. He had schemed and bled, only for Master Canghai to swoop in and steal the fruit of victory.

But he was crippled and outnumbered. He could only sigh.

“Fellow Daoist Canghai… the mountains and rivers do not change. We will meet again.”

With a wave of his hand, Sha Dingshan had his python grab the one surviving Golden Core elder from his sect and a handful of disciples. They transformed into a streak of light and fled.

However, during the earlier panic, the Blazing Heaven Sect’s forces had scattered. The python only grabbed the nearest few. Dozens of Foundation Establishment disciples were left behind on the battlefield.

With Sha Dingshan gone, Wen Ruixin dared not stay a second longer. He fled without a word, abandoning his own disciples entirely.

Du Guangchao watched them leave. Slowly, his eyes closed.

On the peak, True Monarch Jin Heng stared blankly at his Senior Brother’s corpse. Tears streamed down his face.

“Blazing Heaven Sect! Infinite Palace!” Jin Heng screamed at the sky, his voice cracking with grief. “I, Jin Heng, swear on my soul! I will not rest until you are destroyed! Undying hatred!”

“Undying hatred! Undying hatred!”

The surviving Qingyuan Sect disciples roared in unison, their sorrow turning into bloodlust.

Master Canghai watched, moved despite himself. However, he was a free spirit; he wouldn’t stay here forever. He was just borrowing the land to advance his cultivation. Of course, once he reached Nascent Soul, he would need minions. If the Qingyuan Sect proved useful, he wouldn’t mind taking care of them.

“Don’t let them leave! Kill the invaders! Avenge the Headmaster!”

A shout tore through the mourning. The Qingyuan disciples snapped out of their grief, turning their gazes toward the abandoned Foundation Establishment cultivators from the enemy sects.

These people, discarded by their patriarchs, were now the only outlet for the Qingyuan Sect’s fury.

Wang Hao and his group exchanged dark glances.

“We have to go back,” Wang Longyou said, his voice grim.

“Fellow Daoist Wang is prudent,” Qian Jiatao agreed, wiping blood from his face. “The Qingyuan Sect still stands. We are vassal families rooted in this land; we cannot run anymore. If we do, the Sect will settle accounts with us later.”

Wang Hao nodded, his eyes cold. “Then let’s prove our loyalty.”

He summoned his Magical Artifacts. “Kill them all.”