Rout

"Old Demon Ye's entire army was routed?" Qin Sang's face filled with astonishment. It seemed almost inconceivable. Back in the Ice Crystal Palace, after extensive deliberations, the group had rejected one risky gambit after another—regardless of how brilliant the potential results—and settled on the safest, most prudent plan. Everyone knew that completely wiping out Sin Abyss was impossible. According to the plan, they would leverage their superior strength to advance steadily and surely, driving Old Demon Ye and the others back to their lair to secure a period of peace. Over the years, the Celestial Alliance had suffered catastrophic losses and could not afford any more missteps. Recovering lost territory and recuperating was what every faction within the Celestial Alliance desperately needed right now. The Xiaohan Realm was flourishing, brimming with vigor and an abundance of rising talents. Time was on their side, making them even less willing to take unnecessary risks and invite a fatal misstep. Nascent Soul cultivators never plotted for short-term gains. Qin Sang and Qingjun had not dared hope they could breach Mount Shuangjing in a single battle either, intending instead to wait until Qingjun thoroughly grasped every shift and nuance of Mount Shuangjing's grand formation before launching the general offensive. Never had they expected Daoist Zhenyi to achieve victory in a single stroke, securing such an astounding result. "The Daoist only sent a brief message, so the exact details are still unclear. It is said that when he learned Daoist Canghong was in the camp outside Wangdong City, he was certain that after the upheaval, Sin Abyss would dispatch emergency reinforcements to the other two locations. Thus, he secretly held back Fellow Daoist Xiang Qing and the others, keeping them out of sight and lying in ambush along Sin Abyss's inevitable path. Unexpectedly, they managed to ambush Old Demon Ye himself, fighting desperately to pin him down until the Daoist arrived. After a fierce battle, Old Demon Ye coughed up blood in full view of everyone, throwing the Sin Abyss forces into total disarray. Shan and Song must have been traveling with Old Demon Ye, but he had sent them both to Mount Shuangjing, giving the Daoist the opening he needed." Jing Lin was thrilled. Faced with Sin Abyss's aggressive onslaught, the Celestial Alliance had endured frustration for far too long, and now they had finally achieved an unprecedented victory. "Even with the Daoist personally stepping in, driving Old Demon Ye away could not have been easy, could it? And for Fellow Daoist Xiang to pin down Old Demon Ye must have been perilous beyond measure. How are their injuries?" Qin Sang asked in quick succession, guessing that the situation back then must have been extraordinarily brutal. Old Demon Ye's reputation as the foremost cultivator of the Beichen Realm was by no means unearned. Jing Lin's smile faded slightly as he hesitated. "The Daoist didn't mention it, so the casualties ought to be within acceptable bounds. Oh, right—in the letter, the Daoist specifically expressed his gratitude to you, Fellow Daoist Qin. When Old Demon Ye detonated his incarnation, the backlash he suffered was far more severe than we had anticipated!" "This..." Qin Sang was at a loss for words. He had not expected the fallout from the battle at the blood pool to keep developing, let alone yield such surprising results. Daoist Zhenyi was truly a wily old fox. He had laid out their deployments publicly in the Ice Crystal Palace, yet had secretly held back Xiang Qing and the others to set an ambush, keeping even him and Qingjun in the dark. Having fought for so many years, mutual infiltration between the two sides was only natural. Thinking back on it now, had old Daoist Zhenyi assigned the people he suspected to assist him and Qingjun? Fortunately, when he and Madame Luo swapped identities, the people around them had all been trustworthy. "What does Fellow Daoist Leng say?" Qin Sang's thoughts raced, immediately grasping the strategic value of this intelligence. With one major encampment lost in a disastrous rout, Sin Abyss's morale would inevitably waver. Presumably, Mount Shuangjing had already received the news as well! Qin Sang raised his head, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. His gaze was like a sword, seeming to pierce through the grand formation and behold his panicking adversaries. *** Mount Shuangjing. After the battle ended, Fairy Qiuzhi had begun mapping out their retreat, organizing troops and ordering the storehouses inventoried to categorize every resource, taking what could be carried and destroying as much of the rest as possible. Just as the mountain was bustling with frantic activity, an urgent dispatch came down like a basin of icy water poured over their heads, chilling everyone to the bone. Inside the grand hall. Fairy Qiuzhi and the others sat with ashen faces, utterly silent. The atmosphere was stifling to the extreme, enveloped in a deathly hush. "Elder Ye was presiding in person... How could they possibly be routed..." Cultivator Song muttered repeatedly, unable to accept the reality. "Enough! What is done is done; lamenting it serves no purpose. I summoned everyone here to discuss what we should do next!" Fairy Qiuzhi said coldly. When she had first received the report, her reaction had been just like Cultivator Song's, suspecting it might be false intelligence. But once confirmed, she instantly realized that Mount Shuangjing was in mortal danger! Before her words finished echoing, an urgent alarm suddenly rang out across the camp. *** At the same time. Wangdong City. This was a monumental city second only to Tianxing City in the Celestial Alliance, a mighty fortress whose defensive power was in no way inferior. The eastern wall of Wangdong City was built atop a sheer precipice that rose straight up, leaving not a single foothold below. The Celestial Alliance factions along the eastern foothills of Wangdong City had all had their mountain gates destroyed by Sin Abyss and had been driven here. Behind them lay Tianxing City; there was nowhere left to retreat. As the saying went, an army burning with righteous indignation was bound to triumph; the Celestial Alliance cultivators fought with desperate resolve. Ever since Sin Abyss had launched its invasion, Wangdong City had stood impregnable, never once breached. Countless phantom ward-sigils floated densely in a dazzling display, coalescing into a jade-bowl-shaped light barrier inverted over Wangdong City. The city walls were layered with even more concentrated restrictions, where thick black ice fused seamlessly with the masonry, rendering it extraordinarily solid. Crowds jostled atop the hundred-zhang-wide ramparts. Outside the city, a dark, surging sea of figures could be seen, along with towering Nether Crystal Pagodas rising from the ranks, carried into midair by the combined power of low-level cultivators. The glow of the Nether Crystal Pagodas mingled with the radiance of magic treasures and Daoist arts, bombarding Wangdong City in a frenzied onslaught. A fierce battle raged between the two sides. Wangdong City truly lived up to its name as a rare, formidable stronghold. Though subjected to terrifying, tidal assaults and trembling beneath the impact, neither the city-protecting grand formation nor the walls showed any sign of cracking, bolstering the confidence of the cultivators within. Unlike the other two fronts, here Sin Abyss was the side assaulting the city, while the Two Domains Alliance stayed holed up inside. Little did onlookers know that this battle had already raged for a long time, and the tide had undergone a dramatic reversal. In midair. Daoist Canghong glared fixedly at Wangdong City, his fury barely concealed. He had been persuaded by Old Demon Ye to retreat. During that time, he had received intelligence from the other two camps and knew of the Two Domains Alliance's deployments. Thus, when Demon Monarch Tongyou and Dongyang Bo came knocking at his doorstep, he had not taken it to heart and had continued preparing for the withdrawal. Never had he imagined that Demon Monarch Tongyou's moves were merely a feint. Only upon receiving the urgent dispatch that Old Demon Ye's camp had fallen and his entire army had been routed did Daoist Canghong suddenly realize they had been duped! The Two Domains Alliance had been bold enough to divert forces away from Wangdong City. Had this great city, which had stood here for thousands of years, fallen into Sin Abyss's hands, they could have held it securely, threatening the heartland of the Celestial Alliance and eliminating any need to retreat. Wangdong City had been left vulnerable—an extraordinary opportunity—yet Daoist Canghong had been bluffed by Demon Monarch Tongyou. A momentary lapse in judgment had led to a grave blunder. In truth, Daoist Canghong could hardly be blamed. At its root, they had simply placed too much trust in Old Demon Ye, the foremost cultivator in the Beichen Realm. Not only was Old Demon Ye's cultivation profoundly deep, but his intellect and cunning were peerless; no one expected him to walk right into a trap. Even if Mount Shuangjing had fallen, Daoist Canghong would not have been so shocked. Earlier, Daoist Canghong had noticed something amiss with Old Demon Ye, but he had never imagined the injuries were this severe. As matters stood, only by capturing Wangdong City did they still have a chance to turn defeat into victory!