The Three Mountains Alliance made no effort to hide its movements.
They were clearly preparing for a major battle, planning to launch a direct assault.
A large number of experts had gathered on their side. Their combined aura could be sensed from far away.
As a result, news of their movements spread easily.
The first to receive the news were naturally the Ten Great Sects.
Yet for one reason or another, no one stepped forward to intervene.
If a foreign race had attacked Jingyun Sect, there would have been no question about it. Whatever their private motives, the other sects would have had to make some show of support.
Even if it was only a token gesture, they would have at least raised their voices in support.
But this was an internal conflict among the human race, and it did not violate the Ten Thousand Alliance Treaty.
So the great sects, each with their own motives, sat back and watched the tigers fight.
They seemed to turn a blind eye.
This gave the Three Mountains Alliance tremendous confidence.
As long as the other Ten Great Sects did not interfere, then with their strength, this battle was all but certain to go their way!
There were more than ten thousand people, most of them cultivators.
Even without anything else, they could simply charge forward and overwhelm Jingyun Sect by sheer force of numbers.
Inside the command tent, the three leaders suddenly received a message.
"Jingyun Sect's forces on the front line are rapidly returning?"
"Though Jingyun Sect's Sect Master isn't a Xiantian expert, she is still a Ninth Grade peak powerhouse. With a Xiantian spiritual artifact, she could probably rival someone who has crossed the threshold into Xiantian."
"If she joins the fight, there could be a lot more variables."
The Universe Gate Master frowned, finding the situation troublesome.
"What are you afraid of?"
Ghost Candle, the lord of Ghost Head Mountain, let out a cold laugh. "To return from the front line, she'll have to bring the entire force back with her. Even if they hurry, it'll take two or three days. By then, we'll have completely taken Jingyun Sect!"
"Exactly!" Lin Family Head smiled as well.
"But Fairy Ziyun is undeniably powerful..."
The Universe Gate Master still had his doubts.
Fairy Ziyun was the current Sect Master of Jingyun Sect, a powerhouse just one step away from fully entering the Xiantian Realm.
"Hmph. Since when did the dignified Universe Gate Master become such a coward?"
Ghost Candle was displeased.
Lin Family Head stepped in to smooth things over with a smile. "It's fine. Don't forget, we have that person backing us. Even if Fairy Ziyun returns, she'll just be one more ghost in the grave."
"Heh. I've seen Fairy Ziyun. I can't speak to her strength, but she's certainly a beauty..." Ghost Candle's eyes glinted with a strange light as he thought of something.
Seeing how unconcerned the other two were, the Universe Gate Master began to think he might have been worrying too much.
"Don't be so concerned!" Lin Family Head said with a smile. "Whatever happens, the three of us are Ninth Grade peak powerhouses. We may not have Xiantian spiritual artifacts, but we're not much weaker than Ziyun. Even if we run into her, we can hold her off until that person acts. Then she'll be as good as dead."
"Besides, there's a very good chance she won't make it in time for this battle. We should be thinking about what comes afterward."
"Once we've seized Jingyun Sect and reaped the rewards, who knows which way the wind will blow when we face that woman?"
After hearing Lin Family Head's words, the Universe Gate Master nodded slightly.
He accepted the plan.
Lin Family Head continued, "Our most important goal is to take Jingyun Sect as quickly as possible!"
Ghost Candle chuckled darkly. "Jingyun Sect only has two Ninth Grade experts now: Sun Gan and Mo Yuan. The latter is nearly a hundred years old, and his body is decaying. His combat strength can't be all that high."
"Universe, you hold Sun Gan off. Old Lin and I will try to kill Mo Yuan as quickly as we can."
"Then we'll come help you right away!"
"Once we've dealt with those two Ninth Grade experts, the rest of the broken troops will be easy pickings."
Ghost Candle gave a sinister chuckle and licked his lips. A glint of red flashed in his eyes.
A chilling killing intent churned within him.
"Haha, looks like Old Ghost can hardly wait. Good. We should avoid letting things drag on and creating more trouble. We'll rest for the night and attack Jingyun Sect first thing tomorrow morning!"
Lin Family Head revealed a cruel smile as well.
"Then it's settled!"
The Universe Gate Master hesitated. He couldn't shake the feeling that they were overlooking something important. But faced with the other two's fixed gazes, he could only grit his teeth and agree.
Still, without realizing it, his unease had grown stronger.
Once the Three Mountains Alliance's leaders had made their decision, the people below had nothing to say about it.
One by one, they grew excited, their killing intent soaring.
Pairs of bloodthirsty eyes stared straight toward Jingyun Sect, their greed no longer concealed.
That included the elders and disciples who had once belonged to Jingyun Sect.
By now, no one bothered hiding their true motives.
People would die for wealth, just as birds would die for food.
"Every man for himself, and the heavens will destroy those who aren't. For the sake of my path to immortality, I can only ask my fellow disciples to forgive me... I'll be going ahead of you!"
Elder Xu Gang stood silently beneath the night sky, his expression shifting between light and shadow.
There was not the slightest trace of pity or reluctance at the slaughter to come. He was filled with nothing but feverish excitement.
The other elders and disciples were no different.
In an instant, the entire camp fell quiet. The noise and shouting died away.
Silence settled over everything, broken only by the occasional sound of blades being sharpened and heavy breathing.
Everyone was waiting.
The moment the first ray of sunlight appeared on the horizon, Jingyun Sect would be destroyed!
The Three Mountains Alliance was poised to attack.
Jingyun Sect, which had received the news early, was equally on guard.
But events had unfolded somewhat differently than expected.
They hadn't thought the enemy would skip all underhanded tactics and launch a direct assault on Jingyun Sect.
It was completely different from what the elders had predicted.
"This is a serious problem."
When Zhang Feng heard that the Three Mountains Alliance planned to attack head-on, his brows furrowed. He pressed his fingers to his temples and shook his head. "The leaders of the Three Mountains Alliance aren't fools. They must know that if they keep fighting like this, both sides will suffer heavy losses and someone else will reap the benefits."
Jingyun Sect might have only two or three hundred people left.
Quite a few of them were even ordinary people.
But among the elders and disciples who remained were plenty of Seventh and Eighth Grade experts.
With the sect's grand formation, they could hold off enemies dozens of times their number.
They might even be able to kill them!
And they had three Ninth Grade experts.
Though Meng Tangtang had only recently reached the Ninth Grade, her combat strength was probably no worse than that of veteran Ninth Grade experts—and might even surpass them.
If the enemy dared to charge straight at them like this,
they must have something to rely on.
"Could there be a Xiantian expert stationed among the Three Mountains Alliance?" someone asked suspiciously.
Zhang Feng shook his head. He didn't know either.
According to the intelligence, there wasn't.
If they really had a Xiantian expert, the enemy wouldn't need to go through all this trouble.
They could simply send that expert over.
Jingyun Sect, as it stood now, couldn't withstand an attack from a Xiantian powerhouse.
"Have all those pills been distributed?" Zhang Feng asked, a thought occurring to him.
He remembered that the Young Sect Master had somehow obtained a large number of high-quality pills. Many of them were meant to help everyone adapt to the demands of war.
They were perfect for the present situation.
There were more than ten thousand pills. Even after Meng Tangtang had used some, around nine thousand remained.
That was enough to give every member of the sect thirty pills.
Especially with the sect's grand formation. As long as it remained intact and its spiritual energy didn't run dry, Jingyun Sect would be safe.
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