Rebuked by Chisongzi, the First Seats of the three battle courtyards—Shenfeng, Shenmu, and Shenshan—quieted down and behaved.
No matter how confident they were, they understood deep down just how dire a disadvantage they would face against three elite battle courtyards backed by a Dharma Idol cultivator.
Under these circumstances, the three battle courtyards had no choice but to begin their retreat.
Yet the Nine Cauldrons Sect clearly had no intention of indulging them.
The Qingfeng Courtyard and Shenwei Institute pursued them relentlessly, harassing their rear and slowing the three battle courtyards' disengagement to a crawl.
At this rate, they would never manage to withdraw back to Great Sun Sword Sect territory before Yaoguang caught up at the head of the Zhenhai Courtyard.
"The Nine Cauldrons Sect goes too far! We have already decided to retreat—what more do they want?! Do they really think they can keep all three of our battle courtyards here?!" Chisongzi raged.
Without hesitation, he waved his hand and commanded, "Deploy the warship Yunwu! Mobilize my Chisong Battle Courtyard to accompany me! I will personally go to escort the Shenfeng, Shenmu, and Shenshan Courtyards!"
It was also at this moment that an assistant hurried over to Long Zechuan.
He brought word that numerous life flames in the Changming Hall had been extinguished.
Long Zechuan had already prepared himself mentally for this outcome, but when it actually came to pass, an unspeakable ache still gripped his heart.
"The Vajra is gone."
As for why news from the Changming Hall had only just arrived...
The life flames were sensed through the Virtual Spirit Realm.
For power at the Dharma Idol level, interfering with such a connection was all too easy.
The enemy was capable of destroying the Vajra; even if the Yunwu, merely a second-generation sky-patrol warship, were sent to reinforce them, it would hardly fare any better.
Of course, the Great Sun Sword Sect could continue mobilizing more forces from their homeland to reinforce the front, but if they did...
It would equate to all-out war between the Great Sun Sword Sect and the Nine Cauldrons Sect.
Given the current situation, leaving aside whether they could even win, even if they were on the verge of victory, that old bastard from the Nine Cauldrons Sect possessed zero martial scruples and would undoubtedly strike without hesitation in the end.
Perhaps after wiping out the Great Sun Sword Sect, the Nine Cauldrons Sect's Golden Core cultivator would perish as a result, but...
Trading away the entire Great Sun Sword Sect just to take down that rule-breaking Golden Core cultivator of the Nine Cauldrons Sect would have forces like the Wuji Astral Palace and the Immortal Alliance leaping with joy.
Yet the Great Sun Sword Sect was not willing to be that sacrifice.
"Old bastard!" Long Zechuan cursed inwardly.
"Golden Core! Golden Core! Golden Core!"
He repeated those two words over and over in his mind.
Finally, with resolute eyes, the Sect Master of the Great Sun Sword Sect issued an order to Chisongzi: "Have the Shenshan Courtyard, who excel at defense, bring up the rear! Have the Shenmu Courtyard and Shenfeng Courtyard withdraw at full speed!"
"Sect Master?!"
Chisongzi froze, a flash of unwillingness crossing his eyes.
Ordering the Shenshan Courtyard to cover the retreat was, in truth...
tantamount to abandoning the Shenshan Courtyard entirely.
"Sect Master, if we do this, the Nine Cauldrons Sect will surely push their advantage! When that happens, our interests across the entire East Sea will probably..."
"The Nine Cauldrons Sect possesses combat power at the Dharma Idol level. Going to war with them right now puts us at too great a disadvantage, unless we can forge a closer partnership with the Wuji Astral Palace and secure support from their Dharma Idol! But the Wuji Astral Palace's Dharma Idol currently has his eyes set on the Black Feather Sect, so... we must wait until their attention turns away from the Black Feather Sect before we can contest the Nine Cauldrons Sect again. Until then..."
Long Zechuan fell silent for a moment before finally stating, "Our interests in the East Sea can be temporarily set aside."
"Give up the East Sea?!"
Chisongzi's eyes widened sharply.
"That will be all."
Long Zechuan terminated the transmission.
Turning immediately to his assistant, he said, "Connect me to the Nine Cauldrons Sect's master, Li Qingshan..."
"Yes, Sect Master," the assistant answered.
Shortly after, the assistant reported, "The Office of the Nine Cauldrons Sect Master stated... that they will connect your call in one hour."
"One hour."
Long Zechuan made a quick calculation.
He soon realized what that meant.
The Shenshan Courtyard could not be saved.
...
On the other side.
Leading the Zhenhai Courtyard, Yaoguang flew out of the Jiuxiao Domain on their flying swords and headed straight for the East Sea battlefield. By the time he arrived, however, the fighting here was already winding down.
Assigned to hold the rear, the Shenshan Courtyard had suffered catastrophic casualties under the pincer assault of the Qingfeng Courtyard and Shenwei Institute.
And the moment the Zhenhai Courtyard arrived...
In just a few minutes, every last sword cultivator of the Shenshan Courtyard's rearguard was wiped out.
Right then, he received a message sent by Li Qingshan through the Virtual Spirit Realm: "This battle should end here. If we keep pushing, it will turn into an all-out war to the death... Given the Great Sun Sword Sect's existing strength, even if we emerge victorious in the end, I fear we would completely lose the capacity to cope with the turbulent era ahead."
Hearing this, Yaoguang ordered the Zhenhai Courtyard to halt.
In total, the Great Sun Sword Sect originally possessed six sky-patrol warships, eight elite battle courtyards, thirteen main battle courtyards, plus dozens of standard garrison courtyards.
Over this recent stretch of clashes with the Great Sun Sword Sect, two of their warships had been taken down and two elite battle courtyards crushed, but their remaining strength was still nothing to scoff at. After all, the Nine Cauldrons Sect currently possessed only two sky-patrol warships of their own.
As for elite battle courtyards, the sect originally had four: the Sword-Bearing Institute, Jiulong Courtyard, Shenwei Institute, and Qingfeng Courtyard. Now, they could add the Zhanlu Courtyard, Chunjun Courtyard, and Zhenhai Courtyard to that list.
In this regard, the Nine Cauldrons Sect held the advantage.
Yet when tallying everything up, the two sides were still evenly matched.
On paper, the Great Sun Sword Sect even held a slight edge.
If not for the presence of Yaoguang, this "Dharma Idol cultivator," securing even a pyrrhic victory would have been grueling.
"We can hold off on the pursuit, but the East Sea that belongs to us must be taken back," Yaoguang said.
"Naturally. The Sect Master of the Great Sun Sword Sect attempted to contact me not long ago, likely hoping to leverage their interests in the East Sea to save the Shenshan Courtyard. But in the current situation, it is no longer a matter of whether they are willing to yield the East Sea Archipelago; it is a question of whether they can even hold it! Unless they pull all their forces confronting the Myriad Beasts Sect at the Sea of Storms and fight us to the death in the East Sea, we will take the archipelago island by island even if he refuses to surrender it. When that happens, he will have only himself to blame if our swords show no mercy," Li Qingshan said.
Yaoguang nodded. "The same goes for the Dayue Dynasty, Astral Sea Sect, and Ancient Immortal Sect..."
As he spoke, he seemed to sense something and gave a faint smile. "Soon enough, all of these sects will dispatch envoys to visit our Nine Cauldrons Sect to discuss returning the East Sea Archipelago."
Li Qingshan knew that Yaoguang had undoubtedly learned this in advance through his monitoring of the Virtual Spirit Realm.
With a laugh, Li Qingshan said, "This is entirely your doing. If not for you, who knows how long it would have taken us to reclaim the East Sea Archipelago? Why, three or four decades from now, when the Cangwu Great World undergoes forced unification, whether we could even retain our current seat in the restructured Cangwu League would have been a serious question."
"It is the result of everyone's combined efforts."
The Cangwu League was an alliance forged back then to resist the invasion of the Moon Demon Empire.
The Ten Great Immortal Sects all held director seats.
Treaties such as the current "Cangwu League Convention on Diplomatic Relations" and "Joint Regulations of the Cangwu Great World" had been jointly signed during that era by the Ten Great Immortal Sects alongside the large and medium-sized sects of the time.
Naturally, the Nine Cauldrons Sect still remained a member director of the Cangwu League, though they rarely spoke up.
After all, without strength, nobody paid attention even if one voiced an opinion; why bring humiliation upon oneself?
It was enough to occasionally make their presence known.
However, once the agreed deadline arrived in thirty to forty years, the Cangwu League would inevitably be reorganized. What weight one would carry and what voice one would possess within it would depend entirely on respective strength.
Furthermore, unlike in the past, the restructured Cangwu League was bound to select a single faction to serve as President, ending the governance system of ten directors voting collectively. When that time came, any sect without a voice being swallowed by the faction serving as President would merely be a matter of time.
"Next, let Hall Master Lou, First Seat Shen, along with the Zhanlu Courtyard, Chunjun Courtyard, and two sky-patrol warships that will arrive shortly, ensure the handover of the East Sea Archipelago proceeds smoothly. After all, we don't want to inherit an archipelago reduced to scorched earth; those factions must behave themselves when they evacuate," Li Qingshan said.
Yaoguang nodded, then seemed to think of something. "Right, should we disguise the Chunyu? Otherwise, wouldn't it announce to the world that this sky-patrol warship belongs to the Great Sun Sword Sect? Besides, it would be troublesome if it provoked the Great Sun Sword Sect too much."
"That's exactly the effect we want," Li Qingshan chuckled. "Capturing a sky-patrol warship is far harder than sinking one. The fact that we managed to capture the Vajra is proof of our strength in itself."
Here, he paused. "Still, we should consider avoiding unnecessary provocation to the Great Sun Sword Sect. How about this: we'll alter the hull designation of the Chunyu and change what we call it. Let's name it... the Luori."
"Hahaha, that way everyone saves face," Yaoguang chuckled.
Li Qingshan nodded slightly.
"I'll be heading back now; there is still plenty to study on the Vajra." Yaoguang added, "Does the sect want this warship?"
"We do. Of course we do, but..." Li Qingshan smiled wryly. "I don't know how we could afford it."
They were poor.
The Nine Cauldrons Sect truly had no good treasures left to offer.
And for a third-generation sky-patrol warship, even if Yaoguang had only paid a certain "labor cost" to acquire it, selling it too cheaply wouldn't grant him much [Merchant] experience.
"Give whatever you see fit," Yaoguang said. "My cultivation focus lately has shifted toward qi refining. For body refining, I have treasures like the Soul of the Stars; for spirit refining, I have the Hunyuan Bell. What about qi refining?"
Hearing this, Li Qingshan seemed to recall something. "Give me some time. There actually is one item, though I don't know if it will meet your requirements."
Yaoguang was somewhat surprised.
This Nine Cauldrons Sect...
Truly lived up to being a sect established on the inheritance of the Artifact Sect; its foundation ran deep indeed.
"Then I will await good news at the Third Sky-Patrol Research Institute."
"Heading to the research institute already? Next, we should hold another grand conferment ceremony..."
"Having you, the Sect Master, make an appearance shows far more sincerity than having me show up."
"Alright then. Leave the rest to us."
Li Qingshan did not insist.
When it came to authority...
If Yaoguang wanted it, they were never stingy.
If he did not, they would not force it upon him.
A genius like him would stand at the pinnacle of the world one day; there was no need for them to meddle excessively under all sorts of pretexts.
Chapter 222