The Hengshan Sect had fled, the Mount Tai Sect had withdrawn into its shell, the Mount Hua Sect only talked without acting, and the Mount Song Sect and Mount Heng Sect were on their way to Guanzhong to form an alliance. They seemed to be gathering forces to strike back against the Demonic Cult, but all the great powers knew the truth: the Five Mountains Sword Sects had chickened out this time.
By the conventions of past battles between the righteous and the demonic, the Mount Hua Sect's main forces should already have been sent out, charging at the forefront of the fight against the Demonic Cult.
Everyone knew it, but aside from shutting their doors and cursing the Five Mountains Sword Sects as a bunch of cowards, they could do nothing.
It was true that fighting the Demonic Cult was the righteous thing to do, but had the others actually said they wouldn't fight it? Although the Mount Hua Sect had taken no real action, it had still raised the banner of resistance.
As for their sluggish response, that was not something to discuss with outsiders. The great martial sects, including Shaolin Temple and Wudang, were all shouting slogans.
With no great righteous sects stepping forward to stop them, the Demonic Cult advanced smoothly. Without so much as breaking a sweat, they swept through San-Jin and half of Qilu, their spearhead pointed straight at the Central Plains and Jianghuai.
The gangs and martial families along their route either temporarily avoided their sharp edge or joined the Demonic Cult. Those stubborn enough to resist could only wait eighteen years for their next chance.
Unrestrained, the Demonic Cult was like a snowball, growing larger with every step.
It was clearly just a martial arts sect, yet the spectacle it raised was