"How is the battle between the Cave Abyss Sect and the Sea Clan?"
After some pleasantries, Li Zhirui began to ask about the matter he was most concerned with.
"The Cave Abyss Sect won the final victory," said Feng Buming.
"Oh? From what youâre saying, it seems the great war between the Cave Abyss Sect and the Sea Clan wasnât smooth,"
Feng Buming nodded, organizing his words, and said, "At the outbreak of the war, the Sea Clan came on aggressively; the Cave Abyss Sect could still resist with their defenses, but as the Sea Clanâs reinforcements grew more numerous and stronger, the Cave Abyss Sect started to struggle."
"They were even once forced to break their defense line, fleeing in panic with everyone, and I originally thought the war ended there, intending to immediately return to inform you, but halfway through the flight, I received news from clansmen who stayed behind to understand both sidesâ losses."
"Only then did I learn that the previous setbacks and defeats were all disguises by the Cave Abyss Sect, aimed to draw the Sea Clanâs army into a trap they had set, then to massacre most of the Water Devils in one fell swoop, nullifying the Sea Clanâs offensive and severely crippling their strength."
"In the end, less than three out of ten Water Devils escaped with their lives, the low-level ones fared the worst, almost all becoming corpses."
After listening, Li Zhiruiâs eyebrows slightly raisedâalthough Feng Bumingâs account was brief, it wasnât hard to guess that to enact this ploy convincingly, the Cave Abyss Sect truly sacrificed a great number of cultivatorsâ lives.
If not, how could they easily lure the Sea Clan into a trap and slaughter tens of thousands of Water Devils?
This ruthless and merciless attitude, even for a person like Li Zhirui who had witnessed much life and death, felt somewhat chilling.
However, considering that the cultivators used as bait by the Cave Abyss Sect should not be their disciples, otherwise such a costly tactic, even if it temporarily achieved victory, when the Sea Clan reinforcements arrive, they couldnât possibly hold, since reliable cultivators would have been wiped out, what could then resist the Water Devils?
But the Cave Abyss Sectâs actions may cause them to lose the peopleâs heart.
Perhaps those powers to which the cultivators belonged fear the Cave Abyss Sectâs strength and dare not rebel for now, and cannot even show a hint of resentment despite their grievances.
But once the Cave Abyss Sect appears weak, these forces might immediately pounce for revenge!
Li Zhiruiâs thoughts whirled, but he quickly cast them aside; what does the Cave Abyss Sectâs outcome have to do with them?
"Youâve worked hard these days, Fellow Daoist Feng. Thereâs nothing major upcoming; please go back and rest for a while,"
Feng Buming acknowledged and turned to leave.
Withstanding the first wave of the Sea Clanâs counterattack, there shouldnât be any conflict breaking out in the short term, just in time for everyone to rest well and unwind for a while.
Thus, besides dispatching a great number of scouting cultivators to monitor the Sea Clanâs movements, the cultivators and Spirit Beasts within the defensive line were left free to arrange themselves so long as they didnât leave or cause trouble.
"Itâs finally over!" A loose cultivator who received the news instantly breathed a sigh of relief, feeling much more relaxed.
"Ha! Over? Itâs far from over! How could this territorial war possibly end so quickly and easily?" A nearby loose cultivator couldnât help but sneer upon hearing this.
"Wars like this, unless both sides fight to the death, one suffering unbearable losses affecting their very foundation or being utterly indefensible, thereâs no end in sight."
"Alas! If I had known it was this perilous, I might as well have left Shanhai State, perhaps evading this disaster."
"Stop dreaming, this war against the Sea Clan involves every Immortal Dao influence, wherever you go, you canât escape being conscripted. You should feel fortunate because the Li family of Shanhai State is the most benevolent towards loose cultivators; at least they havenât forced us to become cannon fodder."
Initially, it might have been the Cave Abyss Sect inviting the Yumen He Family, Xiaxian Sect, and Immortal Dao influences like the Li family on the coast, to seize the moment during the Sea Clanâs Ten Thousand Clansâ contentious period, while the coastal regionâs power was vulnerable.
But now, as the Immortal Daoâs advantage grows, the bountiful result of seizing the entire coastal area is likely to fall back into Immortal Dao hands once more.
Those powers originally not planning to join the battle naturally became anxious, wanting to grab a share of the spoils.
And these three top-tier powers, the Cave Abyss Sect, didnât stop them, because only by gathering all the Immortal Dao forces can they hold the coastal region.
The Li family is no short-sighted group either, so as more forces showed up wanting to occupy a coastal area, the Li family showed no sign of obstruction, instead providing some assistance, like maps of nearby sea regions or the Sea Clanâs gathering spots.
After all, these are beneficial things at no cost, and it earns goodwill, so why not?
Moreover, once these forces arrived, the areas they opened up were in front of the Li family, henceforth the Li family was no longer on the frontline fighting the Sea Clan, and the pressure they faced lessened significantly.
Nevertheless, Li Zhirui had worrying matters on his mind, notably Xiaoqing and Cangâtheir relentless battles earlier left them with severe injuries!
Even now, they remained unconscious.
Had their breaths not been strong enough, showing no signs of fatal risk, Li Zhirui might have felt even worse.
Initially, of his five contracted Spirit Beasts, Mu Yuan successfully broke through the Individual Immortal Realm; Shenling had no issues with bloodline; a stable progression is all thatâs needed now.
Xiaoqing, having previously used its body to withstand countless attacks during the beast tide to protect the Twin Gorge Immortal City, was left gravely injured, still in a mystical state between life and death, and no one knows if it can survive.