Chapter 516: The War Begins
Chapter 516: The War Begins
Meng Zhang remembered the threat from Daoist Master Scarlet Flame during their last encounter. That old fellow was clearly bluffing. Despite his innocent appearance, he could lie without batting an eye. When Daoist Master Scarlet Flame first tried to recruit Meng Zhang, he claimed that the Gold Core Daoist Master's injuries had already healed. Later, Daoist Master Fiery Cloud and Daoist Master Dark Cloud indeed appeared in the Endless Sea of Sand and joined the battle, securing victory.
When Daoist Master Scarlet Flame visited again, he used the threat of Daoist Master Firecloud and Daoist Master Blueflame to intimidate Meng Zhang. With a mix of truth and lies, he almost scared Meng Zhang. If it weren't for Jin LiDaoist Master revealing the truth today, Meng Zhang would still be worried about Daoist Master Firecloud and Daoist Master Blueflame.
Truly, deception is a common tactic in war, and half-truths are the hardest to uncover. Since Daoist Master Firecloud and Daoist Master Blueflame cannot enter the Endless Sea of Sand to join the battle, from the perspective of the Gold Core Daoist Master, the alliance between Taiyi Sect and Flying Swan Sect is now on par with the opponents. The mid-stage Gold Core Fei ShiDaoist Master, the early-stage Gold Core Wu Mingwei, and Meng Zhang, who is also in the early stage of Gold Core, are evenly matched against Daoist Master Scarlet Flame in the mid-stage of Gold Core, and Daoist Master Dark Cloud and Daoist Master Fiery Cloud in the early stage of Gold Core.
However, it is unknown whether Fei ShiDaoist Master has fully recovered from his injuries. Jin LiDaoist Master informed Meng Zhang that with the help of the elixir bestowed by True Monarch Tian Zhu, Fei ShiDaoist Master's injuries have almost healed, and he can join the battle at any time. Furthermore, she also told Meng Zhang that the Northern Desert Qi Family will stand with the Flying Swan Sect and participate in the battle against the Fire Cloud Sect.
Meng Zhang couldn't help but sigh. Qi Nanfei, together with Hong Siming, killed Fei JiangDaoist Master, creating a blood feud between the Northern Desert Qi Family and the Flying Swan Sect. The Flying Swan Sect even came close to exterminating the Northern Desert Qi Family. But in the blink of an eye, the Flying Swan Sect and the Northern Desert Qi Family have become allies on the same front. It is unknown whether there will be any awkwardness when the high-level members of both factions meet.
The transformation of alliances and enmities in the Cultivation World is sudden and unpredictable, unaffected by personal emotions. For the Northern Desert Qi Family, joining the Flying Swan Sect is not beneficial and even a thankless task. However, the will of the Primordial Spirit True Monarch overrides the interests and emotional inclinations of the family.
Next, the atmosphere in the entire Endless Sea of Sand became tense. The sects such as the Flying Swan Sect and Taiyi Sect openly prepared for war. Jin LiDaoist Master shuttled back and forth, acting as a mediator between the three factions to coordinate their differences.
Other cultivation forces within the Endless Sea of Sand keenly sensed the approaching storm. Unfortunately, they are weak and powerless in such a tempest, like floating duckweed in the wind and rain.
Apart from a few Guardian Spirit Generals in Taiyi Sect who are currently refining the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Object, the entire sect has mobilized its forces. The members of the Hanhai Alliance have enjoyed many benefits since its establishment, and now it is their turn to contribute to the alliance.
With the issuance of Meng Zhang's conscription order, every faction within the Hanhai Alliance has sent out their elite forces, deploying the majority of their sect's cultivators. With Taiyi Sect cultivators as the core and the cultivators from various factions within the Hanhai Alliance as their support, a large army of cultivators has been formed.On the side of the Flying Swan Sect, they lost more than half of the Endless Sea of Sand due to their previous failure. Not only did their cultivators suffer heavy losses, but they also lost almost all of their subordinate families. The major cultivation forces that were once subservient to the Flying Swan Sect now have a new master.Fei ShiDaoist Master knew that True Monarch Tian Zhu was extremely angry because of the previous actions of the Flying Swan Sect. Despite the past glory and beauty of the Flying Swan Sect, without the support of True Monarch Tian Zhu, they were nothing. True Monarch Tian Zhu could easily crush the Flying Swan Sect whenever he pleased. This was the last chance for the Flying Swan Sect. If they couldn't make amends, they would have no future.
Therefore, the Flying Swan Sect mobilized all their cultivators to form a somewhat presentable army. On the other hand, the Northern Desert Qi Family, using the excuse of suffering heavy losses in the Demon Wind Gobi, couldn't send too many cultivators to join the battle. Qi NanfeiDaoist Master only brought a dozen or so clan members with him and headed to the battlefield on a flying boat. Regardless, it was a good thing as long as he was willing to participate.
At least on the level of Gold Core Daoist Masters, the Flying Swan Sect had the advantage. In this battle, the Flying Swan Sect took the initiative to attack. After the Flying Swan Sect's army of cultivators left Yellow Sand Ridge, they directly headed towards the former Feihong Mountain, which was originally the Purple Gold Sect's mountain gate called Zijin Mountain. After the Purple Gold Sect's demise, it became the new mountain gate of the Flying Swan Sect and was renamed Feihong Mountain. It fell into the hands of the Fire Cloud Sect, but they hadn't had the chance to rename it yet.
This place was the best cultivation environment in the entire Endless Sea of Sand and the core of its rule. The mountain was situated on a Third Rank spirit vein, abundant in spiritual energy, and surrounded by rich resources. Feihong Mountain had suffered heavy losses during the surprise attack by the Gold Core Daoist Masters of the Fire Cloud Sect and had been completely reduced to ruins. Although the Flying Swan Sect had rebuilt the place, it was far from its former glory.
During the previous attack, the Fire Cloud Sect not only broke through the protective mountain formation but also destroyed most of the buildings on the mountain. The Fire Cloud Sect occupied the area for a short time and hadn't had the opportunity to rebuild extensively. The Gold Core Daoist Masters of the sect only set up a Third Rank protective mountain formation as their last line of defense.
The Flying Swan Sect, Taiyi Sect, and the Northern Desert Qi Family had a history of harming each other. Although they were forced to come together as temporary allies due to the will of the Primordial Spirit True Monarch, there was no trust between them. Even though they knew that the other side wouldn't dare to defy the will of the Primordial Spirit True Monarch and betray them during the battle, they were still cautious and guarded against each other.
Since there was no trust between the three factions, it was impossible for them to merge their forces. They decided to split into three completely independent teams, maintaining an appropriate distance from each other. This distance allowed them to have some trust in each other and provide mutual support and assistance when necessary.
On the side of the Fire Cloud Sect, instead of relying on the Third Rank protective mountain formation to defend Feihong Mountain, they deployed their main forces and actively confronted the invading enemy. In addition to their own army of cultivators, the Fire Cloud Sect also mobilized a large number of subordinate cultivators as auxiliary forces. The former subordinate families of the Flying Swan Sect and other cultivation forces in the Endless Sea of Sand had changed their allegiance and now obeyed the orders of their new masters.
Facing the powerful army of cultivators from the Fire Cloud Sect, they were powerless to resist and reluctantly became enemies of their former master, the Flying Swan Sect.
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