A few days later, news of the Wu Army's disastrous defeat in its surprise attack on the Xuanmiao Sect spread in all directions.
The commanding general, Divine Martial General Xie An, had fallen in battle. Four Buddha Lords of the Hall of Buddhist Worship, including Dinyan Buddha Lord, had also died.
The army retreated in disarray. Had the Xuanmiao Sect not had so few people, the Wu Army would surely have suffered catastrophic losses this time.
This surprise battle came swiftly and ended just as swiftly.
It began without rhyme or reason, and ended without rhyme or reason.
All the commanding officers had been beheaded, leaving only some mid- and low-ranking generals to lead the retreat.
Once this news spread, not only was Wu State greatly shaken, even the Great Yuan allied forces were left in an exceedingly awkward position.
The allied forces had proposed that the Xuanmiao Sect relocate, yet the sect had not only failed to move immediately, it had also repelled the Wu Army's surprise attack head-on with the strength of a single sect.
The situation in Haizhou changed abruptly, immediately drawing Wu State's utmost attention.
Before they could figure out what exactly was going on with the Xuanmiao Sect, the Wu Army withdrew to the vicinity of Zhentao City, preparing to set up camp and recover while awaiting reinforcements.
Yet on the very night they made camp, several formation nodes responsible for maintaining the formation were assassinated again, and the key artifacts of the star formation vanished without a trace.
The Wu Army had no choice but to retreat once more.
But even so, the army continued to lose several hundred to over a thousand men every night.
This went on for more than ten days, until the Wu Army retreated to its main camp at