Chapter 295 - 254: More Support

They didn’t have to wait long.

The Spirit Destruction Hall Master received another message.

This time, the eyes of every Celestial Demon Sect Elder present were fixed on the Spirit Destruction Hall Master.

"At the Spring Spirit Sect, the reinforcement from the Celestial Cloud Sect was the Spirit Refiner Miao Qinghong. Both Elder Fan and Elder Wei died at her hands."

"Miao Qinghong! That Sword Cultivator from the Celestial Cloud Sect!"

"No need to shout. Yes, it was her."

"I remember that after Miao Qinghong broke through to the Late-stage of Foundation Establishment, she never left the Celestial Cloud Sect. I never thought she’d show up now."

On the Celestial Demon Sect’s bounty list.

Killing Fang Yun of the Celestial Cloud Sect offered the highest reward.

The reward for killing Miao Qinghong was ranked second.

"Years ago, she was hailed as the number one person in the Celestial Cloud Sect below the Core Formation Realm. Her ability to kill Elder Fan proves she is truly powerful."

"You might not be familiar with the Sword Cultivators among Spirit Refiners. They are acclaimed as the strongest weapons within any given Realm, possessing the most powerful Attacking Methods."

"Sigh, Elder Fan’s luck was just terrible. They originally had a high chance of taking down the Spring Spirit Sect, but they ended up running into Miao Qinghong, who hadn’t left her sect in years."

As the Elders of the Soul Destruction Hall discussed, the atmosphere grew somber.

So far, none of the news they’d received had been good.

「Less than an hour later.」

The Spirit Destruction Hall Master once again received a message.

This time, his expression relaxed.

He had finally received good news.

White Crane Castle, a vassal Foundation Establishment Influence of the Celestial Cloud Sect, had been annihilated.

The Spirit Destruction Hall Master felt he had made excellent arrangements this time. If White Crane Castle had also been a failure, he might have actually coughed up blood.

According to his original plan, three of the Celestial Cloud Sect’s vassal Foundation Establishment Influences were supposed to be destroyed. Now, only one had fallen. The other two operations had run into major problems, costing them one Elder at the Peak of Foundation Establishment and two at the Late-stage of Foundation Establishment.

Overall, the Celestial Demon Sect had definitely come out at a loss from this large-scale operation.

"Hall Master, what’s the news?" Seeing the Spirit Destruction Hall Master’s change in expression, an Elder dared to ask.

’It can’t be bad news this time.’

"We have destroyed White Crane Castle."

"Thank goodness. Elder Hu was leading the team; he didn’t disappoint."

"We finally destroyed one of the Celestial Cloud Sect’s vassal Foundation Establishment Influences, but why does it feel like such a struggle?"

"I wonder how the Demon Spirit Sect’s operation went?"

"Soon, I will personally visit the Demon Spirit Sect and have a talk with their Sect Leader." Speaking of the Demon Spirit Sect, the Spirit Destruction Hall Master revealed his plans.

...

Demon Spirit Sect.

This was the quickest Jiang Yingtian, the Spirit Destruction Hall Master of the Celestial Demon Sect, had returned for another visit.

As usual, he was received by the Demon Spirit Sect Leader.

"Sect Leader Luo, did you manage to kill any of the Celestial Cloud Sect’s Elders this time?"

"Fellow Daoist Jiang, the Elders of the Celestial Cloud Sect aren’t so easy to kill," the Demon Spirit Sect Leader replied leisurely, glancing at Jiang Yingtian.

He had already made his arrangements for the four locations the Demon Spirit Sect was responsible for.

The moment reinforcements from the Celestial Cloud Sect arrived, his people were to withdraw immediately and avoid any prolonged engagement.

As for the other two locations where they were cooperating with the Celestial Demon Sect, he had sent only Foundation Establishment cultivators from their vassal forces. That way, if anything went wrong, the Demon Spirit Sect’s own losses would be minimal.

After the operation, he quickly received reports from the Foundation Establishment Demons of his vassal forces.

At the two locations of the Celestial Cloud Sect’s vassal powers, the attack was poorly coordinated. Once the Celestial Cloud Sect’s Elders arrived as reinforcements, his forces retreated without holding on for long.

"What about the other Spirit Refiners, the ones not from the Celestial Cloud Sect?"

"We never broke through their Grand Array. They were all hiding inside, so we couldn’t kill them," the Demon Spirit Sect Leader replied matter-of-factly.

"So, what did your Demon Spirit Sect accomplish in this operation?"

"You want to talk results? We helped your Celestial Demon Sect by dividing the Celestial Cloud Sect’s attention."

"Pressure? Sect Leader Luo, you jest. The Celestial Cloud Sect is at a disadvantage against us. If their combined strength surpassed ours, they would have been the ones to attack."

"Fellow Daoist Jiang, if you are so confident, why do you still need our help?"

This time, the Demon Spirit Sect Leader didn’t bother saving Jiang Yingtian’s face. Seeing his smug expression, he retorted with a question of his own.

"Sect Leader Luo, I’d prefer to call your Demon Spirit Sect’s ’help’ a mutually beneficial partnership. If the Celestial Cloud Sect is truly annihilated, both our sects will get a share of that vast territory!"

"Hahaha, now that’s what I like to hear."

At the mention of mutual interest, the Demon Spirit Sect Leader’s attitude shifted once more.

’He might like hearing those words, but he knew that whether Jiang Yingtian was sincere or not, it was the only thing he could say.’

’After a Spirit Refiner power like the Celestial Cloud Sect was truly destroyed, the Celestial Demon Sect wouldn’t have the strength to occupy the Celestial Cloud Earth Realm by themselves. Not with the Black Ghost Cave right next door.’

’Of course, the same was true for his Demon Spirit Sect; they couldn’t occupy it alone either.’

’Taking the Celestial Cloud Sect’s Earth Realm was a mutual interest. The real point of contention between them would be how to divide the spoils afterward.’

’In the Demon Spirit Sect Leader’s opinion, the division would be simple: whoever was stronger would take the larger share.’

’The one who contributes more gets the larger share? If Jiang Yingtian were to suggest that, he would verbally agree with him, of course.’

"Fellow Daoist Jiang, you’ve been asking all the questions. Now it’s my turn. How many Foundation Establishment Spirit Refiners did your side manage to kill in this operation?"

Jiang Yingtian didn’t answer the question directly. Instead, he said, "White Crane Castle, a vassal Foundation Establishment Influence of the Celestial Cloud Sect, has been annihilated by us."

"Oh? Not bad," the Demon Spirit Sect Leader said with a nod.

"But overall, our Celestial Demon Sect suffered the greater losses in this operation."

"How so?"

Jiang Yingtian then recounted the full story of their losses: three Elders, all of them at Late-stage Foundation Establishment or higher.

Even if he didn’t say anything, it wouldn’t be difficult for the Demon Spirit Sect to find out about it if they just asked around.

For the Celestial Demon Sect, it was clearly a loss of face. But this loss of face could also be leveraged as a tool to secure more help.

"It seems your Celestial Demon Sect was just unlucky."

After hearing Jiang Yingtian’s account, the Demon Spirit Sect Leader couldn’t help but comment.

Running into the number one person in the Celestial Cloud Sect below Core Formation was bad enough, but there was also that mysterious Elder from the same sect, about whom they still had no concrete information.

’To be honest, he was also quite concerned about this mysterious Celestial Cloud Sect Elder. But if the Celestial Demon Sect had no concrete information, then his own sect naturally had even less.’

"I suppose you could call it bad luck." Jiang Yingtian sighed softly, then immediately turned to the Demon Spirit Sect Leader. "The Celestial Cloud Sect now has not only Fang Yun and Miao Qinghong, but also a mysterious and formidable Foundation Establishment cultivator among their Elders. I hope that in your future arrangements, Sect Leader Luo, you can provide us with more substantial support."

’Here it comes.’

’The Demon Spirit Sect Leader knew it. All of Jiang Yingtian’s preamble was just to lead up to this.’

’He could read between the lines. Jiang Yingtian wasn’t just asking for more support; he was asking for more *committed* support.’

The Demon Spirit Sect Leader was not in a position to refuse.

He also knew that the situation with the Celestial Cloud Sect was exactly as described; there were now three extraordinary individuals among their Foundation Establishment Elders.

"Fellow Daoist Jiang, you know the circumstances our Demon Spirit Sect faces. As for the matter of support you’ve raised, I will do my best to arrange for more."

"Hearing you say that, Sect Leader Luo, puts my mind at ease."

The way Jiang Yingtian was acting, one would think he placed immense trust in the Demon Spirit Sect Leader.

He had been very blunt this time.

’He believed that a man like Luo, who had managed to become a Sect Leader, would surely know how to weigh the pros and cons.’

"Fellow Daoist Jiang, if you have any future plans for dealing with the Celestial Cloud Sect, just let me know. I will cooperate as the situation dictates."

"Good."

...

Celestial Cloud Sect, Artifact Casting Peak.

Within Fang Yun’s cave residence.

It was now late in the ninth month, not long before the start of the tenth.

There had been no movement from the Demons since their large-scale invasion.

’From the looks of it, the Demons will probably lay low for a while before launching another major offensive.’

’Anything could happen, really.’

’For Fang Yun, this period of silence from the Demons was a good thing. He could focus on his own growth with some peace of mind.’