As the Lu Family advanced east, the major powers of Eastwater Prefecture steadily raised the stakes.
The remnants of the Xiang Family, who had retreated north of the East River, drew their forces in ever tighter.
Originally, they had merely holed up in a few important county towns, such as Tai County and Xin'an County. Now they had abandoned most of those towns outright, holding only Tianshui County near the river mouth, looking ready to flee out to sea at any moment.
This left the alliance of Peace City and the surrounding powers as the main force resisting the Lu Family's eastern advance.
As a result, the situation along the East River went from bad to worse.
As the battle at Heavenbright Peak approached, the fighting on the Yunsong River grew fiercer. The Jiang Family's navy retreated again and again, abandoning the main channels for narrow tributaries, where they relied on the terrain and fortified river stockades for defense.
Yet however urgent the messages from Peace City became, Jiang Jingnian remained as unmoving as a mountain, firmly ensconced in Lin'an.
Each day, he went back and forth between several local powers, suppressing the wavering sentiments within the city and probing for local strongmen who might change sides on the eve of battle.
Only as dusk approached did Jiang Jingnian return to his temporary lodgings.
Inside the meditation chamber.
Coiling-Dragon sandalwood incense curled through a corner.
Jiang Jingnian sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion. Wisps of smoke blurred his figure, making him difficult to see clearly.
Once he had refined and devoured all the special items before him, his [Life Essence] suffered a decline and began to waver.
[Archetype: Grandmaster (Second Heaven of True Astral Force 100%)]
Before the battle at Heavenbright Peak, he had finally reached second heaven