My Army Had Lost

"What? What? Our army has been defeated? Our army has been defeated?"

Li Fan gloated as he joined the Blue Fatty to watch the spectacle.

The Blue Fatty glared at Li Fan, giving him a look that said, "Who the hell are you? Who's your ally?!"

However, at this moment, the attention of the other cultivators had been drawn to the changes at the front line. As soon as Li Fan spoke, the others joined in, calculating and discussing the situation one after another.

"Victory and defeat are common occurrences in war. It was nothing more than the Western Imperial Guards being attacked at night, suffering a minor setback, and retreating a hundred miles."

"There's still no news of Junyi Godly Monarch, but he might not necessarily have been killed in battle. Perhaps he's seriously injured and hiding away; we never know."

"The four armies of the Immortal Palace were originally divided into camps and arrayed in formation. This western expedition was also carried out step by step, camp by camp. A defeat here and there will not lead to a complete collapse. We can just regroup and fight again."

"However, with the Imperial Guards retreating, the Thunder Department has been separated and surrounded by a large force! The Divine Cult's strategist is using a series of interconnected schemes. Their next move is to take advantage of the situation to annihilate Wen Tianjun's vanguard force, right? I'm afraid they have other tricks up their sleeves!"

"The Thunder Department is a battle-hardened elite force; how could they be so easily surrounded and annihilated, especially with three large armies coming to their rescue from outside?"

"But how could the Divine Cult possibly muster so many troops to simultaneously block three reinforcements and annihilate Thunder Department? Where did they come from...?"

"Although the Imperial Guards was inflated, the Divine Lord's camp was still the central command post, responsible for the overall situation. How could it be defeated in a single battle? Where did this powerful force come from...?"

Li Fan interjected, "Weren't they from Kunlun? Did they borrow a route from the Qingyang Sect or something?"

The cultivators all turned to look at Li Fan, or rather, at the fat man in blue standing next to Li Fan.

Blue Fatty didn't have time to argue with Li Fan right away, and just shook his head and said, "I've already asked the commanders above. In the past two years, all Nine Great Xuan Sects have sent people to Kunlun. There are people listening in the sky and on the ground. As for how many troops the Divine Sect has transferred from the west, even if we don't say we have complete control, there's no way such a large army could have sneaked in under the noses of so many spies."

Li Fan said, "You mean these people came from the north?"

Blue Fatty frowned. "No, I didn't..."

Everyone shook their heads repeatedly, "That's even more impossible, the Dui Country is already in such a state of chaos."

"The Divine Sect has set up the Ten Ultimate Formation, and the Profound Sect has also deployed the Taiyi Hun Tian Myriad Manifestation Formation. Let alone living people, even their primordial spirits can't fly over."

Blue Fatty angrily retorted, "So I didn't..."

Li Fan asked curiously, "The Ten Absolutes God Sect has set up the Ten Ultimate Formation? Aren't they still missing a Saintess?"

"So what? Can't one person set up two formations? Besides, even the Nine Deadly Formations are not easy to break!"

"But we've already broken through seven formations."

"They've already broken through the seventh formation after only three years of fighting! How could it be so fast? Didn't they entangle themselves for over twenty years last time?"

"That's because they were holding the main altar to the death, and the one leading the team was the Beichen Sword Sect Sword Ancestor Xuantian, who disliked scheming the most, so he just charged straight in."

I heard that a powerful strategist from the south came to help, and even personally led his disciples to defeat the Divine Sect. He seems to be a rogue cultivator from the Li Country ..."

"Can such a powerful strategist emerge from among the rogue cultivators?"

Li Fan hurriedly asked, "Could it be Guanzhu Feng of Ink Bamboo Mountain Lou Guan Dao? I wonder what their casualties are?"

"So it was the ancient sect of Lou Guan Guandao who used the technique of 'Gazing at Qi from the Tower.' No wonder they were so skilled in divination and calculation. I heard they suffered no injuries and easily broke through the first formation of the Ten Ultimate Formation, making quite a splash."

"I see. It seems the Divine Cult is also about to lose control of the Xuanmen cultivators, and it's even less likely they'll be able to draw manpower from the north."

Blue Fatty cried out, "That's why I didn't say I came from the north!"

Li Fan waved his hand, "Alright, alright, it doesn't matter if I miscalculated for a moment. The key is where did the extra troops of the Divine Cult come from? Could they be local rogue cultivators and Demon Race from Kun Country who have joined the Divine Cult?"

"Me!" The Blue Fatty glared at Li Fan, but still put the 'important matter' first and said in a low voice, "... Cultivators can't reach the Golden Core Nascent Soul Stage or Nascent Soul stage in a year or two (Li Fan looked at him), the most likely outcome is that he'll be guarding the Kun Country and watching over the Devil Domain Sengu's defection in the Eight Banner Immortal Palace."

"The Eight Banner Immortal Palace Sengu, it's quite normal for them to rebel. I heard they've been stationed in Kunlun for years, responsible for suppressing rebellions by local chieftains and tribal leaders. They've been fighting fiercely for years but haven't received any reinforcements from the Immortal Palace, so they're running low on resources."

"I've also heard that they don't even have a Divine Transformation commander to back them up. I originally thought that they, along with the Kun Country, had been wiped out by the Divine Sect in one fell swoop. Do they really still have such a strong military force? And after all, it's an Immortal Army passed down from the Immortal Venerable era. Have they really surrendered to the Divine Sect?"

Li Fan was utterly speechless. "Have the Immortal Palace of the outer kingdoms betrayed us again? How many times has this happened? Are this generation of Three Enclosures so unpopular?"

"The Grand Tutor who is currently in power in the Three Realms is from the Immortal Clan faction. He rose to power by wiping out the Grand General's family in a coup, so it's no wonder that the various Immortal Army factions are dissatisfied with him."

"Could it be that the Western Imperial Guards are being so disobedient, sending only weak troops on expeditions, because they are not of one mind with the Grand Tutor?"

"It's hard to say. The Three Enclosures can't control the outer vassal states, but they still have strong control over the four regional guards of Si Prefecture. If we really lose this battle, won't the warlords of the Western Imperial Guards be subjected to suppression and purges by the Grand Tutor?"

"Hmm... it seems that regardless of victory or defeat, Mikaki is sitting on the sidelines..."

"Furthermore... Wen Tianjun currently enjoying great influence and prestige, and he commands a powerful and formidable army. I've heard that one faction within the Immortal Army of the Three Enclosures intends to promote him as their leader and have him return to the capital as a Guardian General. If Wen Tianjun were to encounter misfortune in the Kun Country..."

"It shouldn't be that bad... The Three Realms have been preparing for so long, borrowing so much money from their allies. If they don't take over Kun Country, they'll go bankrupt. Then the world will be in chaos. Besides, with the help of the Nine Great Xuan Sects, the Divine Cult won't stay in Kun Country for long..."

The Blue Fatty frowned. "Don't get sidetracked. This round is about the changes on the battlefield, not the overall situation of the world."

So the topic was brought back, and the group of cultivators took out some new chess pieces to represent the 'Hachiman Army'. They started pointing and scheming, pushing the pieces around. Although Li Fan's arithmetic was only at a beginner level, he could understand the cultivators' calculations with the help of the chess pieces.

Although this was somewhat unexpected, resulting in a minor victory for the Divine Sect, it doesn't affect the overall situation. In fact, if the Divine Sect couldn't even win a single match, the Immortal Palace wouldn't have bothered to raise an army that completely outclassed them on paper just to deal with them.

It's likely that the upper echelons of the Three Enclosures also had some idea of the unpredictable combat strength of the Imperial Guards and were wary of any possible conspiracy behind the Church's risky operation, which is why they quickly assembled seven armies.

Therefore, even if the Imperial Guards suffered a defeat, according to the calculations and deductions of the cultivators, the remaining armies could still completely solve the problem. The Immortal Palace spent three years preparing various military supplies, and there was also a continuous supply of military provisions and provisions from Jiujiang. In contrast, the Divine Sect's supplies had to be transported over a long distance across Kunlun, leaving them with absolutely no chance of turning the tide.

It can only be said that the Divine Cult still has its elite troops and its fighting strength is intact. Even if it has pre-prepared surprise attacks and ingenious schemes, and can win once, twice, or even a dozen times, it is impossible to fundamentally turn the tide. As long as they fight once or twice, reveal their trump cards, and exhaust their main forces, or wait for the Xuanmen to press in from the north, then the Divine Cult will still be the one to lose this game.

Even the Three Great Sects cannot fight two against one; the outcome was predetermined once the war began.

Li Fan watched for a while but then gave up. Based on the information available to them, these cultivators could only deduce that the Divine Sect had been defeated. They were just waiting for clearer and more specific battlefield intelligence, and trying to confirm the testimonies of the defeated and reorganized Imperial Guards, hoping to figure out what tricks the Divine Sect had used to launch a surprise attack and break through the Western Guard camp.

The cultivators from Ink Bamboo Mountain, Li Fan was more concerned about, along with Asha Kunbao and other cultivators undergoing the Tribulation of Slaughter, should be assisting the Li Country's army in attacking and occupying territory on the edge of the battlefield. Although the Nangong Family was quite disgusting, judging from the map, they were also on the main battlefield side. At most, they would only involve a few thousand members of the Divine Cult's army as bystanders. They shouldn't be so foolish as to turn around and attack the Li Country's army.

As for the abbot and the others on the Xuanmen side, they were even more relaxed. Although the Ten Ultimate Formation were dangerous, since the Profound Heaven Sword Intent had broken through them once with unwavering resolve, there really wasn't anything to worry about, right?

However, with these people so enthusiastically calculating the war situation, Li Fan couldn't get a word in edgewise. After waiting for a while, he saw a series of random messages coming in. Their calculations were still inconclusive.

It was even more inappropriate to risk leaking information about the Heavenly Book by asking everyone about the 'Purple Hairpin' in front of so many people. So he simply flew away from the platform and wandered around.

Near the dueling arena, you can see many ruins of the Beichen Sword Sect.

What?! The ruins of the Beichen Sword Sect's Sword Casting Pool, the ruins of the Beichen Sword Sect's Ten Thousand Swords Pavilion, the memorial hall for the daily necessities of the Beichen Sword Sect's past leaders, and so on. Li Fan was speechless. It was like a tourist attraction...

Okay, to be fair, although the Beichen Sword Sect is a bunch of lunatics, they have a big name, a great reputation, and high prestige. They used to be one of the top powers among the Nine Great Xuan Sects, and they even sacrificed for the common people. The Nine Great Xuan Sects even occupied their headquarters, so of course they have to be worshipped high. Of course, the real Sword Casting Pool, Scripture Pavilions, and sword tombs were definitely divided up and only ruins remained. Fortunately, the personal belongings of the past sect leaders were all unwanted junk, so they were left to be used to build a cenotaph memorial hall. They even built a small fairy island specifically for the memorial hall of the past sect leaders, but it's just the size of an ordinary ancestral hall, without any magic arrays or barriers, and there isn't even a guard nearby.

Since Li Fan rarely gets to travel, he naturally wanted to go inside and take a look. The first thing he saw at the entrance was, needless to say, a white jade statue of the Xuan Girl of the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden holding a sword. Li Fan performed the disciple's rites of three kowtows and three prostrations. Then, entering the shrine, the second statue was a monkey...

"What...?" Li Fan narrowed his eyes, carefully examining the monkey's description. It said that when the Xuan Girl of the Nine Heavens Maiden was teaching swordsmanship, a white ape who had observed the learning process was deemed the most skilled, surpassing all the first-generation disciples. It was thus made the eldest disciple and respectfully called "Yuan Gong." It had taught swordsmanship to several generations of disciples, but during the years of war with the Immortal Palace, it was severely wounded while protecting its disciples and died. Therefore, the Beichen Sword Sect posthumously recognized it as their patriarch...

Then Li Fan glanced at the statue of an ancestor next to him. The inscription below also read "Master Yuan," but he was a grand-disciple of the previous Yuan Gong. His parents had both followed the Profound Maiden in their rebellion against the Immortal Emperor. Because his parents died in battle when he was young, he and a large group of orphans without surnames were raised by white apes. After surviving the bloody battle against the Immortal Emperor, he founded the Beichen Sword Sect and became the second-generation sect leader, Master Yuan...

Well, okay, it really is a legitimate and well-documented lineage...

So Li Fan, along with the First Ancestor, bowed three times and paid homage three times, performing the duties of a disciple. He continued bowing until he reached the seventeenth ancestral master statue, where he finally saw his old acquaintance.

"The Sword Ancestor Xuantian..."

To be honest, the image of the Profound Heaven Sword Intent in Li Fan's mind was actually the disguise of the Li Yaoshi he was currently creating—that kind of flamboyant, arrogant, and haughty handsome old man. But the image before him, how should I put it... seems a bit off?

Even just a jade statue reveals a tough man with a strong and resolute aura. His features are not particularly handsome, but they are well-proportioned and angular. His eyes are extremely sharp and murderous. Rather than a sage-like cultivator, he is more like a seasoned swordsman or assassin. Just standing there, he exudes a chilling aura.

Although Li Fan felt that Xuan Tian's appearance didn't quite match his interactions with him, it was only five hundred years ago, and there should still be many people in the Xuanmen who were old acquaintances of Sword Ancestor Xuantian, so it was unlikely that even the appearance was wrong.

And you know what, if you only look at his background, he really is a ruthless character who fought his way up from an orphan, relying on his achievements on the tip of his sword and the blood of Demon Race and cultists on his hands, all the way to the leader of the Nine Great Xuan Sects. That's probably the general impression people have of him, right?

Probably not many people know that this guy is a closet pervert...

So Li Fan also bowed and kowtowed three times earnestly, performed the master's ceremony, and offered incense to all the ancestors of the Beichen Sword Sect.

"Oh my, what are you doing! Even if you admire the Beichen Sword Sect, don't mess around like this! You know these Mind-Concentrating Incenses cost money!"

Li Fan frowned, staring at the boy who had rushed into the ancestral hall and interrupted him. This person seemed to be a mortal soul in the Qi Refining Stage. "You are...?"

"I am Jia Gui, a trainee disciple of Yuntai Peak. Today it's my turn to clean the side hall," Jia Gui said, glancing at Li Fan was still kneeling there. "This venerable one admires the Beichen Sword Sect very much, right? It's a pity that the Sword Sect's lineage has been severed for a long time. However, I have the <<Beichen Sword Sect Master's Secret Records>> here, which records many unknown secrets of the Sword Sect. Perhaps after careful study, you can find the secret inheritance of the Sword Sect and even revive it! How about it? If you're interested, I'll sell it to you for just five Spirit Coins?"

Li Fan's lips twitched. "Sect Leader's Secret Records... how come you made it up?"

Tong Jia Gui said, "How could I have made this up? These are all true records that I copied from the main volumes of the Yuntai Peak Library! They are all secret stories personally told by the leaders and elders of the Nine Great Xuan Sects, so their authenticity is reliable!"

Li Fan asked curiously, "The Yuntai Peak Library? Have you copied any other scriptures, secret records, notes, logs, or anything like that?"

The boy laughed and said, "You're a connoisseur, Master. Although I don't have access to any divine skills, I've read and written quite a few of these miscellaneous notes. Five yuan a book, no questions asked."

As he spoke, he climbed down to the bottom of the shrine, took out a bundle, and showed Li Fan several books, including "<Beichen Sword Sect Master's Secret Records>," "The Untold Story of the Sword Ancestor and the Saintess," "Top Secret! The Split Between the Sword and Qi Sects Was Actually Because of Her!" and "Sword Love Record! Also Known as, The Beichen Sword Sect Disciples Battle the Evil Cult Li Fan."

"... I never imagined that the Beichen Sword Sect had fallen to the level of a protagonist in an unofficial history... Speaking of which, even if I buy these books, they'll be hard to take with me, right? And how do I exchange the Spirit Coins and Divine Astral Coin?"

While pretending to be curious, Li Fan casually flipped through those unofficial histories, all the while forcibly memorizing them using his photographic memory.

"Ah? How come this is your first time visiting Yuntai Peak, Master? Do you have your own sect or did you fly here yourself?" Jia Gui asked.

"Oh, I came to the auction with the Xiao Family's Xuanmen sect, but it's all junk that I don't care about, so I just came out to browse around," Li Fan said curiously. "Speaking of which, how are you going to take the things you bought at Yuntai Peak with you?"

"It's very simple, just transfer it directly to your sect's Storage Jade pendant," the boy explained. "The righteous disciples officially certified by the Three Great Sects and issued Daoist certificates all have a Storage Jade bound to their Daoist title. The space connected to that Storage Jade is the same as the treasure mountain of Yuntai Peak. As long as you have a righteous identity recognized by the Three Great Sects, any magical treasures and items you buy on Yuntai Peak can be directly sent to that Storage Jade pendant and retrieved directly."

Of course, it might be a bit more troublesome for independent cultivators. It's best to have trustworthy friends, or at least an official seal and title bestowed by one of the Twelve Countries. After all, celestial registers and official seals are certified by the Immortal Palace. But independent cultivators who can't even handle these things probably don't have the spare money to come to Yuntai Peak to buy things...

Jia Gui looked at Li Fan with some suspicion, but seeing that he was indeed a genuine Nascent Soul Stage and had come with the Xiao Family, he simply assumed that Li Fan was a retainer of the Zhen Country and said, "The Spirit Coins and the Divine Astral Coin cannot be exchanged for each other. They are usually used to exchange for pills. If we were to compare them using the hard currency from the Immortal Palace, usually one high-grade Foundation Establishment of level seven or above can be exchanged for one Spirit Coins."

Of course, if you are proficient in other crafting techniques such as weapon crafting and talisman making, you can also exchange magic weapons and talismans for warding Spirit Coins. In short, the more exquisite and superior the quality, the more Spirit Coins you can get. Heavenly Treasure materials used to be quite scarce, but now they are somewhat abundant and there is little demand for them."

Li Fan asked curiously, "How much Spirit Coins can you exchange for the Mysterious Purple Gold Pill and the Donghua Changchun Pill?"

The boy was taken aback, then immediately fawned over him, "You've actually heard of these two pill formulas! Things like the Mysterious Purple Gold Pill, the Donghua Changchun Pill, and the Dan Ying Divine Fetus Pill—those are life-saving elixirs that only grandmasters of alchemy can refine! These are incredibly rare treasures, and even low-grade ones are worth a premium! Moreover, with each refinement, their value increases tenfold!"

Li Fan opened his mouth, but remained speechless for a long time. Damn it, it seemed he had lost out again...