Just when everyone thought the situation was about to turn completely one-sided...
Squad after squad of black-robed cultivators arrived on the battlefield through the teleportation arrays of various provinces.
No one knew where these cultivators came from.
Yet every single one of them was at least in the Nascent Soul realm. Soul Formation cultivators formed the backbone, while Dao Integration cultivators stood at their head.
The combat strength they displayed was terrifying.
It was important to note that the Xuanhuang Realm had not seen any major warfare for centuries.
Yet these cultivators acted as though they were veterans of a hundred battles, radiating an overwhelming aura of slaughter.
Their coordination was seamless, their strikes ruthless.
A squad of just four or five Nascent Soul cultivators could encircle and kill a Soul Formation cultivator.
And when the Dao Integration cultivators leading them struck, they beat the Five Elders Association's Dao Integration cultivators into steady retreat.
The tide of battle turned in an instant.
Hiding in Shilin Province, Li Fan happened to witness these black-robed cultivators making their move.
What left the deepest impression on him was naturally the Dao Integration cultivator at their head.
It was as if the man had gathered the thunder from the heavens and condensed it into a long spear gripped in his hand.
The entire expanse of Shilin Province was illuminated in an instant.
A silver spear like a dragon stirred heaven and earth.
Even Li Fan, watching from afar, was caught in the aftershocks. It felt like being trapped amid tempestuous gales and giant waves, surrounded by the shrill shrieks of rampant, rioting spiritual energy. The spiritual energy inside his body was forced into resonance with it, grinding to a sluggish crawl.
Before the strike had even landed, flocks of Five Elders Association cultivators plummeted from the sky.
In the end, it was a wooden fan that blocked the silver lightning.
Only then was the Five Elders Association spared the fate of total annihilation on that front.
"That technique looks a bit familiar. Wu?" Li Fan narrowed his eyes.
Before he could ponder further, another unexpected development occurred on the battlefield.
Suffering this slight setback, the Five Elders Association immediately chose a coordinated, province-wide withdrawal without the slightest hesitation, as if they had prepared for this eventuality all along.
Aside from the Dao Integration cultivator wielding the wooden fan, another man seated in a wooden wheelchair unhurriedly unfurled an array chart.
In the blink of an eye, he laid down several formations across the battlefield to delay and halt any pursuit by the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals.
The Five Elders Association was well trained. Within moments, they receded like an ebbing tide.
Only a landscape of devastation was left behind, bearing silent witness to the clash that had just unfolded.
"Rather than a full-scale war, this was more like a probe. If they could take it in one fell swoop, all the better; if not, they hit and run," Li Fan murmured thoughtfully, looking down at the traumatized cultivators of the Alliance across the land of Shilin Province, all looking as if they had barely survived a calamity.
As for the black-robed reinforcements, they did not pursue the methodically retreating Five Elders Association.
They stood in midair for a long time, guarding against any feigned retreat and counterthrust.
Only when the frontline defenses were reorganized and fully restored did they turn into streaks of black light and fly away.
Although the timely intervention of the black-robed cultivators had prevented a total collapse, such a swift and humiliating initial rout still provoked immense fury throughout the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals.
First, the defensive grand formations across various territories were swiftly swapped from the Tianyuan Creation Formation to the far more defensively oriented Ten-Thousand-Li Mountains and Rivers Formation.
Then, the Alliance's Formation Planning Hall launched a sweeping, top-to-bottom internal investigation.
Without a doubt, the fact that the Five Elders Association had breached the Alliance's defensive lines so effortlessly was inextricably linked to leaked secrets regarding the defensive grand formation.
An ordinary formation master would only ever know a single corner of the grand formation.
To know every single loophole in the defensive grand formation with such precision...
It could only be someone in the upper echelons of the Formation Planning Hall!
If this traitor was not rooted out, no matter how many times the protective formations were changed in the future, they would be utterly transparent in the eyes of the enemy!
The gravity of the matter could well be imagined.
Formation masters were seen being escorted away for interrogation not only at the Alliance's headquarters, but across the Formation Planning Hall branches in every province.
Though the Five Elders Association had temporarily withdrawn, the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals was thrown into violent turmoil.
On Haixuan Island in the Congyun Sea.
Ji Shaoli was warmly receiving cultivators from across the Congyun Sea who had arrived to attend his gathering.
Most of them served as garrisons on various islands, while others held posts on Wanxian Island.
Even if they were not swamped with thousands of daily affairs, in such a tense environment, everyone was exceptionally busy.
Taking time out to attend today's banquet was already giving Ji Shaoli an immense amount of face.
"What a pity that our fellow daoists from the Formation Planning Hall could not grace us with their presence today," the Ji Shaoli avatar said with a look of regret.
"Heh, they're tearing their hair out dealing with all sorts of interrogations right now. They truly don't have the time," a cultivator immediately sighed and explained.
"I really never imagined that even something as top secret as the protective grand formation could be sold out. You can tell how rotten the upper management of the Formation Planning Hall has become."
"They say that to quell the outrage, the Chief Formation Master of the Formation Planning Hall, Lu Xichan, has already voluntarily resigned. Tsk tsk..."
"If you ask me, it's not just the Formation Planning Hall. The Alliance's entire leadership..."
"Careful, Fellow Daoist Zhang, watch your words..."
Everyone present held an official post within the Alliance's hierarchy. Ji Shaoli's passing remark had sparked a heated discussion among the guests.
Only when the topic began straying into forbidden, sensitive territory did everyone reach a tacit consensus and fall silent.
"Speaking of which, Brother Ji, have you had a change of heart? In the past, you always had plenty of gorgeous female cultivators attending to you. How is it that not a single one can be seen today?"
"Hehe, Brother Ji dismissed a batch of them some time ago. I thought he was just looking for new favorites, but so much time has passed without him making a move. It's truly rather peculiar."
Facing the curious and probing gazes from all around, Ji Shaoli let out a long sigh. "Nothing to it—I simply grew tired of it all!
"After indulging in sensory pleasures, a feeling of emptiness inevitably settles in.
"Especially when war broke out so suddenly a while back, and a good friend of mine in Shilin Province met an untimely death. That gave me a wake-up call.
"Compared to fleeting pleasure, one's own cultivation realm is what truly matters.
"The situation changes day by day right now, and no one knows which way the wind will blow. The higher your realm, the greater your chances of surviving in the future!"
Ji Shaoli's remarks instantly garnered a great deal of agreement.
"Although our Congyun Sea lies on the borderlands, we still border the Five Elders Association's territory. Who knows if they might attack us one day? We cannot afford to be unprepared!"
Yet it also brought worried looks to many faces. "Most of us are only at Foundation Establishment or Golden Core. If a great war truly erupts, I fear we will be like duckweed in a tempest..."
Ji Shaoli seized the moment to sigh, "Life and death are beyond our control!"
That single phrase—life and death are beyond our control—struck a deep chord in the cultivators present.
Their expressions were complex.
Ji Shaoli's tone shifted. "That is also another reason why I invited you all here today.
"As you all know, I once hit the grand prize in fish picking and amassed a considerable fortune."
The cultivators' gazes were instantly drawn to him.
Indeed, had it not been for his immense wealth, why would these people treat Ji Shaoli with such courtesy?
They had simply been hoping that at a critical juncture, they might borrow some contribution points from him to ease their finances.
"And I happen to know a little about investing. Although I spent quite a bit indulging myself over the years, overall, my net worth has actually doubled," Ji Shaoli said, a look of pride crossing his face.
Chapter 819