Chapter 821: First Clash with the Immortal Alliance
Just when it seemed the battle was about to turn into a rout...
Wave after wave of black-clad cultivators arrived on the battlefield, pouring through the teleportation arrays of various provinces.
Their origins were a mystery.
Yet every one of them was at least at the Nascent Soul realm. The core of their forces were Soul Transformation cultivators, led by those at the Dao Integration stage.
The combat prowess they displayed was nothing short of terrifying.
The Xuanhuang Realm had not seen a major war in centuries.
And yet, these cultivators fought as if they were seasoned veterans, their every move radiating a heavy aura of slaughter.
Their coordination was flawless, their attacks swift and lethal.
And when their Dao Integration leaders joined the fray, they forced the champions of the Five Elders Council into a steady retreat.
The tide of battle turned in an instant.
Li Fan, who was hiding in Shilin Province, witnessed the black-clad cultivators' assault firsthand.
What left the deepest impression on him was their leader, a Dao Integration cultivator.
He seemed to have forged a long spear from the very lightning of the heavens, holding it firm in his grip.
In a flash, the whole of Shilin Province was bathed in brilliant light.
The silver spear moved like a dragon, churning the very fabric of heaven and earth.
Even Li Fan, watching from a great distance, felt the shockwave. It was like being caught in a tempest, surrounded by the piercing shriek of rampaging spiritual energy. The spiritual power within his own body was forced into a sympathetic resonance, its circulation slowing to a crawl.
Before the attack was even launched, its sheer power caused droves of cultivators from the Five Elders Council to plummet from the sky.
In the end, it was a simple wooden fan that intercepted the silver lightning.
Only then was the Five Elders Council spared the fate of total annihilation.
“That move... it looks familiar. Martial?” Li Fan murmured, his eyes narrowing in thought.
Before he could dwell on it further, the battlefield shifted once more in an unexpected way.
Having their advance momentarily checked, the Five Elders Council immediately chose to execute a full retreat.
There was no hesitation, no wasted motion; it was as if they had planned for this contingency all along.
In addition to the Dao Integration cultivator with the wooden fan, another man in a wooden wheelchair calmly unfurled an array diagram.
In moments, he deployed several formations across the battlefield, slowing and obstructing the pursuit of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance.
The forces of the Five Elders Council were remarkably disciplined. In a matter of moments, they had receded like the tide.
They left behind nothing but a scarred landscape, a silent testament to the recent battle.
“Less a full-scale war and more of a probing attack,” Li Fan mused. “If they could win in a single stroke, great.”
“If not, they would disengage and withdraw immediately.” He observed the surviving cultivators of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance, their faces etched with shock and relief, and fell into thought.
As for the black-clad reinforcements, they did not pursue the orderly retreat of the Five Elders Council.
They remained poised in mid-air for a long while, guarding against a potential counterattack.
Only when the front lines had been fully reorganized did they vanish in streaks of black light.
Although the timely arrival of the black-clad cultivators had prevented a total collapse, the swiftness of the initial rout sent shockwaves of fury through the entire Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance.
First, the protective grand arrays across the land were swiftly switched from the Heavenly Origin Vitality Formation to the more defense-oriented Mountain and River Formation.
Following that, the Alliance’s Array Strategy Hall initiated a sweeping top-to-bottom internal investigation.
There was no doubt that the Five Elders Council had been able to breach the Alliance’s defenses so easily because details of the protective array had been leaked.
An ordinary array master would only know of a small section of the grand formation.
To have such intimate knowledge of its every vulnerability...
The leak had to have come from the highest echelons of the Alliance’s Array Strategy Hall!
If this traitor wasn't found and eliminated, then no matter how they altered the defensive formations in the future, they would be as transparent as glass to the enemy!
The gravity of the situation was impossible to overstate.
Not only at the Alliance headquarters but in the Array Strategy Halls of every province, array masters were being led away for questioning.
Though the Five Elders Council had withdrawn for now, the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance was plunged into a state of intense turmoil.
In the Cong Yun Sea, on Haixuan Island.
Ji Shaoli was warmly greeting the cultivators from across the Cong Yun Sea who had come to attend his gathering.
Most were guardians stationed on various islands, while others held posts on Ten Thousand Immortals Island.
While perhaps not swamped with a thousand tasks a day, they were all exceptionally busy given the current tense climate.
That they had managed to find the time to attend today’s banquet was a considerable show of respect for Ji Shaoli.
“It’s a shame, however, that our friends from the Array Strategy Hall couldn’t grace us with their presence today,” Ji Shaoli remarked with a look of regret.
“Heh, they’re up to their necks dealing with all the investigations. I doubt they have a spare moment,” a cultivator explained with a sigh.
“To think that something as top-secret as the Protective Grand Array could be betrayed... It just goes to show how rotten the leadership of the Array Strategy Hall has become.”
“I heard that to quell the scandal, the Chief Array Master of the Array Strategy Hall, Lu Xichan, has already volunteered to step down. Tsk, tsk...”
“If you ask me, it’s not just the Array Strategy Hall. The entire Alliance leadership...”
“Careful now, Brother Zhang...”
Everyone present held a position within the Alliance system. Ji Shaoli had merely started the conversation, but it quickly drew everyone into a heated discussion.
But as the topic veered into more forbidden and sensitive territory, the group fell into a tacit silence.
“Speaking of which, have you had a change of heart, Brother Ji?” someone teased. “In the past, you always had a bevy of beautiful female cultivators at your side. Why don’t I see a single one today?”
“Heh, he dismissed a group of them a while back. I thought he was just clearing the way for new company, but it’s been quite some time and still nothing. It is strange, isn’t it?”
Facing the curious and inquisitive gazes from all around, Ji Shaoli let out a long sigh. “It’s nothing, really. I’ve just grown tired of it all.”
“After a life of indulgence, I’ve found it all feels rather empty.”
“The sudden outbreak of war was a particular wake-up call. A good friend of mine in Shilin Province was killed unexpectedly, and it served as a stark warning to me.”
“Compared to fleeting pleasures, one’s own cultivation is what truly matters.”
“The situation changes daily, and no one knows where things are headed. Every step up in cultivation is another step toward survival!”
Ji Shaoli’s words immediately resonated with many in the crowd.
“Though we’re on the frontier, the Cong Yun Sea borders the territory of the Five Elders Council. They could attack at any time. We must be prepared!”
But his words also cast a shadow of worry over many faces. “Most of us are only at the Foundation Establishment or Golden Core realm. If a full-scale war breaks out, we’ll be like duckweed in the wind...”
Ji Shaoli sighed at the opportune moment. “Our lives and deaths are not our own to command.”
His words—*Our lives and deaths are not our own to command*—struck a chord with every cultivator present.
A mix of expressions played across their faces.
Then, Ji Shaoli changed tack. “Which brings me to the other reason I’ve invited you all here today.”
“As you all know, I once won the grand prize in the Fish Gambling, and I’ve amassed a considerable fortune.”
The eyes of every cultivator in the room were instantly fixed on him.
Indeed, if not for his immense wealth, why would any of them be so courteous to him?
Weren’t they all hoping that, at a critical moment, they might borrow some contribution points from him to get by?
“And since I have a knack for investment, even after spending a great deal on my pleasures over the years, my net worth has more than doubled.”
Ji Shaoli announced, a smug look on his face.
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