"Is this the city lord's manor?" Gao Ren asked, looking at the spacious castle in front of them. "Where are the  guards?"

The entrance was deserted, the guard post empty.

"They may have run away." Li Kun said.

"Let's head in." Mu Chen said. "I can hear sound in that direction." Mu Chen, Li Kun, and Gao Ren rushed past the gate.

Bang! Bang!

Once they entered the manor, the sound became clear. Someone was striking heavily against something.

"It's useless!" A person shouted. "We can't break through the restriction."

"Damn!" Another person said. "Shouldn't the restriction have been exhausted by now? Why hasn't it disappeared?"

"Who knows? Maybe our attacks are too weak?"

Mu Chen and others arrived at the backyard of the manor. Over a dozen people were surrounding a small construction that looked like a teahouse, with their weapons out. They took turns in attacking it. Their weapons flashed with light every time they made a move. But before their attack reached the little house, a spherical curtain of gold-colored light would appear. The attacks would fall on it with a bang, only to be reflected.

The frequent rebounds had razed the area in the vicinity of the little house. A circular pit had formed, revealing the foundation of the house―but the house stood still without a blemish.

"Shit! I am exhausted." A person collapsed on the ground. "Someone take my place."

"Ah! Captain!" A person dressed as a guard helped him move away. "Don't overexert yourself. If you are injured, who will lead us?"

"If we can't break this restriction," The captain gasped, "it won't matter if  I can lead you or not."

"Everyone!" Li Kun shouted. "Move aside! My friend here has a way to break the restriction."

"Which son of―" One of the guards cursed as everyone turned to look at them.

"Shhh! It―it's the Young Master of Purple Clouds Manor!"

"And someone from the Ming Dynasty!"

"So it's Young Master Li Kun, and guests from the Ming Dynasty." The captain was exhausted but still greeted them politely.

"You must be North-Gate Captain." Li Kun said. "As I said, we have a way to break the barrier. Have everyone clear the area."

"You heard it!" The captain said. "Everyone, step back!" The guards stepped back to the edge along with their captain.

Mu Chen stayed behind while Li Kun and Gao Ren moved forward.

Li Kun and Gao Ren stood a dozen feet away from the house. Li Kun looked at Gao Ren and nodded.

Gao Ren took out a strip of paper and held it between his fingers. The piece of paper fluttered loosely in the wind, making the complex pattern of glyphs and markings engraved on it harder to decipher. Gao Ren pinched the piece of paper and infused his spiritual qi into it. The engravings on the piece of paper glittered and it became stiff like a tile, no longer hanging loosely.

"Brother Li." Gao Ren said. "Once the restriction is destroyed, the shock waves it generates will be dangerous."

"Don't worry, Brother Ren." Li Kun said as he fumbled a bit with his robes and pulled out a locket that was hanging around his neck. It was simple in design with just an oblong piece of crystal attached to it. The crystal sparkled in the light and trapped within it, a little bit of purple flickered. He held the crystal locket in front of him.

Gao Ren nodded and looked ahead. He flicked his wrist, throwing the talisman in the direction of the hut. The talisman danced in the air as it slowly floated towards the teahouse like a broken kite at the mercy of the winds. It fluttered above the hut a bit―then dived rapidly towards it and stuck to the invisible wall that was surrounding the hut. The markings on the talisman flashed and a foot thick golden spherical barrier rippled into existence.

Gao Ren took a deep breath as he focused on controlling the talisman. The markings on the talisman flashed incessantly and the talisman sank into the crust of the barrier bit by bit. Once it was halfway through the barrier, it stopped moving.

"Brother Li. Get ready." Gao Ren wiped his brow.

"Go ahead, I will protect you." Li Kun said. The purple light from within the crystal shined even brighter.

Gao Ren didn't speak anymore and focused on the talisman. The talisman glowed with intense light and exploded with a puff. There was a sound of breaking glass as cracks appeared on the barrier and then―

Boom!

A thunderous sound echoed in the backyard. The ground shuddered and gold-colored light flickered blinding everyone. A tidal wave after wave of spiritual qi rapidly spiraled out with the cabin at the center, carrying with it a force strong enough to level a mountain. At the same time, bright blue lightning flickered in front of two figures who stood facing the brunt of repulsive force.

Mu Chen and others who were watching the show had immediately run away at the first sign of trouble. A few moments later the dust settled down.

Mu Chen was the first to return to the scene. The city lord's manor was half destroyed. Stone and mortar laid in waste everywhere. The walls surrounding the backyard had been blown away into bits. But the little cabin still stood intact. Two figures stood kneeling in front of the cabin, covered in dirt.

"You guys!" Mu Chen hurried towards them. "Are you okay?"

"Cough! Cough! I am okay. Brother Li, are you okay?" Gao Ren said, helping Li Kun stand up.

"Cough! I am fi―"

"Nooooooooo!!" A howl reverberated throughout the ruins. The door of the cabin was blasted open and a middle-aged person came out, furious.

"Which bastard?" The City Lord roared, pulling his hair. "Which bastard ruined my breakthrough? Aaargh―" The City Lord noticed Mu Chen, Li Kun, and Gao Ren. "It must be you! How dare you disturb my practice! I will skin you alive!"

"Control your anger, City Lord!" Li Kun said, his voice calm and clear. "Who do you think you are talking to?"

Only then did the City Lord notice Li Kun and Gao Ren's attire and was stupefied. He knew Li Kun and recognized Gao Ren as someone from the Ming Dynasty.

"You―" The City Lord took a deep breath and controlled his anger. "Why did you interrupt my breakthrough? I demand an explanation!"

"We had no choice!" Li Kun said. "We are facing a beast tide. The beasts are attacking the wall even as we speak. We need to activate the city's defense formation―only then can we survive this disaster! But you―the city lord who is supposed to activate the formation in times like this, had completely isolated himself! You didn't even leave behind the key! If not for you not following the proper protocol, we wouldn't have to go to such lengths to disturb your practice. So if you want to blame anyone―blame yourself!"

"Young Master Li is right!" The Captain who had just arrived with the rest of the guards spoke out loud. "We were trying to exhaust the barrier, but couldn't. If not for Young Master Li and his friend here―who knows what would have happened. City Lord, hurry up and activate the formation before it's too late!"

The City Lord was stunned into silence and looked blankly at Li Kun and others.

"The formation, City Lord!" Li Kun said when the City Lord didn't reply."Hurry and activate the formation."

"I―" The City Lord stammered. Then he spat blood and swayed.

"City Lord!" The captain rushed towards the City Lord and supported him. "Are you alright?"

"I…I just suffered a backlash..." The City Lord gasped. Then he took out a palm-sized hexagonal-shaped object from with his robes and handed it to Li Kun. "This is the key to the formation. I have removed my imprint on it. Use it to activate the formation―I need to go back and stabilize my injury before it gets worse."

"Sir City Lord, I am sorry for my words before. I spoke without thinking." Li Kun sighed and took the formation key. The City Lord waved his hand but didn't speak anymore and shambled back towards his hut. The door shut behind him with a heavy thud.

Everyone felt sorry for the City Lord as they looked at the closed door. They knew what it meant to be interrupted during a breakthrough. At best, you would be injured. At worse, not only could you lose your current cultivation, but you could also lose the potential for any future breakthroughs.

"I think we should hurry." Gao Ren reminded everyone. "We don't have much time."

"Yes." Li Kun snapped out of his daze. "Let me study the key."

While Li Kun studied the formation key, Mu Chen turned towards the captain and his guards.

"You guys should return to your posts." Mu Chen said to the Captain. "But send someone to inform everyone about the situation here. The formation will be activated soon, but we still need everyone to hold their posts and prevent the beasts from entering the city."

"Thank you for your help. If you guys hadn't turned up, the city would have faced a disaster." The captain and the guards saluted then left.

"I've got it!" Li Kun said. Mu Chen and Gao Ren looked at him expectantly.

"Fortunately, it's not complicated." Li Kun continued. "This key is just the eye of the formation. We just need to activate it when we are at the center of the city. It's not too far from here. Let's go!"

Mu Chen, Li Kun and Gao Ren left the ruined manor and arrived at the central square. The central square served as the crossroad for transit into different sections of the city and was usually very busy. But currently, it was completely deserted. At the center of the square was a circular basin filled with water. A three-tier structure made up entirely of stone stood in the basin. Water from the geyser spurted from it and fell like a waterfall.

Once they arrived, Li Kun took out the formation key once again and poured his spiritual qi into it. The key floated up and began to spin as it flew high up. Once it was a hundred feet high it stabilized and instead began to spin rapidly. A pillar of gold-colored light emerged from the basin, splashing the water everywhere, and headed towards the formation key. It hit the key and scattered into several thin bands of light that drew a circular arc in the space as they connected to the poles that lined along the wall.

More and more golden colored light began to pour from within the ground into the eye of the formation and the skeletal dome made of light slowly began to fill up.

"Finally!" Li Kun sighed. "The formation has been activated."

Mu Chen, Gao Ren, and Li Kun looked at the dazzling pillar of light and heaved a sigh of relief.

"Mu Chen!" A voice called over. Mu Chen and others turned to look. It was Liu Fengying, Su Rong, and Ye Lanlan.

"You guys!" Mu Chen said. "What are you doing here? How did it go with the Pavilion?"

"We saw the pillar of light." Su Rong said, pointing at the pillar of light.

"The Pavilion has agreed to help." Liu Fengying said. "But they also said that if the situation doesn't change, they will withdraw."

"It will be fine then." Mu Chen said. "We managed to activate the formation."

"How long will it take for the barrier to fully form?" Su Rong asked.

"At this speed," Li Kun said, looking at the skeletal dome of light, "it should take around ten minutes."

"Since the work here is done, let's head back to the South Gate. Liu Ru and others are still there." Liu Fengying said. "We can continue to help with the defense."

"Sounds good. But I don't know if I can be of much help." Mu Chen said.

"It's alright." Liu Fengying said softly. "You can just guard my back."

Mu Chen smiled in response. He understood Liu Fengying was trying to cheer him up. He had been feeling pretty useless throughout the entire ordeal. He could only perform melee attacks. Maybe he should borrow a bow? Mu Chen wondereed. But before the thought could take root―Mu Chen curbed it.

There was nothing wrong with using just the sword. True, it wasn't suited at some tasks, but that didn't mean he should change weapons at the sign of every other inconvenience. He couldn't wallow in self-doubt or he might no longer be able to use his sword intent. Once he realized it, Mu Chen no longer thought of switching weapons.

#

When they arrived at the south gate, the situation was different from when they had left. Seeing the signs of formation activating, a newfound vigor had descended into the defendants. No longer pessimistic about their fate, they had become more calm and coordinated. The rescued cultivators had also been persuaded to contribute to the defense either by some threats or incentives or combination of both.

Mu Chen and others met with Liu Ru, Xia Ping and Yi Hanying and overlooked the defense with the help of the captain. While they helped, the transparent golden colored light barrier continued to cover the sky. Soon the barrier reached the edges of the wall and covered them as well.

The city was now completely covered in a dome shaped barrier muffling the sounds of the beasts. The beasts that hit the barrier, immediately died from the countershock.

"The formation is complete." One of the guards shouted in excitement. Other people defending the wall cheered.

"Haha! Look! Help has arrived! We are saved!" Another guard shouted pointing at the sky. There were several flying boats heading in their direction. Accompanying them, there were hundreds of cultivators, and several flying beasts. Seeing them, everyone cheered even more.

"Everyone! You did well!" The Captain said. "Thanks to your efforts, Falling Stone City can continue to stand erect. Take a break―you guys deserve it." The guards slumped down exhausted, yet happy and satisfied. Their efforts had paid off.

Those in the city were delighted seeing the newcomers, however, the scavengers in the sky felt threatened. Several of them screeched and dived towards them. But before they had even reached a dozen feet, bolts of lightning zapped towards them from within the innocuous looking purple clouds floating above the cultivators. The scavengers were paralyzed, and they fell into the sea of beasts that had gathered below.

"Sect Master has arrived." Li Kun said.

"Ah! My Master is here." Xia Ping said, excited.

"Matriarch is here as well," Liu Fengying said, feeling relieved. "and other sects and clans? Huh? Several of them are unfamiliar―looks Matriarch managed to drum up support from other regions."

"Yeah! Only the Mu Family and Fang Family is missing." Xia Ping said.

Everyone looked at Mu Chen.

"Don't look at me like that!" Mu Chen shrugged. "I am wondering about it too." For whatever reason, reinforcements from Mu Family and Fang Family support hadn't arrived. He didn't care about the Fang Family, but Mu Chen could only hope that everything was fine back at the  Mu Family.

"Wait! Isn't Sir Chen missing too?" Mu Chen asked. It was now Gao Ren and Su Rong's turn to be stared at.

"We have tried to contact Sir Chen, since we came here." Gao Ren said. "But so far we have been unable to."

"You don't think they―?" Li Kun said looking in the direction of the forest.

"Must be the treasure." Mu Chen nodded. The barrier was now complete and even the reinforcements had arrived. Everything was moving as planned, so they felt relaxed and their thoughts wandered towards the treasure.

"Ah! The treasure! I want to see it." Xia Ping said. "Even an Envoy from the Ming Dynasty is drooling over it―it must be truly spectacular."

"Idiot! Don't be so blunt about it." Mu Chen nudged Xia Ping in the ribs causing him to yelp in pain.

"Haha!" Gao Ren didn't mind at all. "It's alright, Brother Chen!" But other than him and Yi Hanying, Su Rong and Ye Lanlan looked a bit embarrassed.

"You think this beast tide is related to the appearance of the treasure?" Mu Chen asked. It was something he was wondering about. It was too coincidental. But because he could no longer sense qi fluctuations, it was hard for him to reach a conclusion.

"Who knows? Too bad we didn't get to see the treasure." Li Kun said. Everyone sighed. Mu Chen and others began to guess what the treasure could be.

"Looks like they are planning to get rid of the flying beasts first." Su Rong said, observing at the cultivators. More and more beasts fell from the sky as lightning and fire flashed in the sky.

"Yes. With the formation protecting the city, the beasts on the ground cannot enter the city anyway. So there is no need to hurry." Liu Fengying said. "But once the flying beasts have been taken care of, it will be easier to get rid of the beasts on the ground from the sky."

"Speaking of the formation." Mu Chen said, narrowing his eyes. "Do you guys think it has become thinner? I think I just saw it flicker―like it's running out of energy?"

"Haha! Brother Chen, you must be joking!" Li Kun said, looking at the formation between them and the beasts. "The formation is designed to last for a week. How can it run out of juice―" But then his face turned white. Besides him, everyone else's faces were filled with shock as well.

Since the completion of the formation, the beasts never stopped attacking it. Just now, several beasts had launched their attack at the formation. The formation which had been stable in the beginning had begun to shake violently. The gold color of the formation became very pale.

Mu Chen and others held their breath. The formation flickered once more, and then―

It disappeared.