At last!
The eight-year standoff between the cultivator armies of the Twelve Great Sects finally drew to a close. Cultivators across the world rejoiced; at last, they no longer had to live in fear day and night. Most rogue cultivators and small lineages remained far more cautious, however, and dared not show themselves lightly. Meanwhile, the market districts of the great sects reopened one after another, and Great Illusion finally began to bustle with cultivators again.
Li Xiaoya still had plenty to do. First, the Second Army had to withdraw gradually to the Heavenly Dao Sect. He also had to oversee the accounting and reporting of its supply expenditures, military merits, and other affairs over the years. He was busy indeed.
The army did not withdraw to the Heavenly Dao Sect all at once, but in batches. After all, the Righteous and Demonic Paths had signed no agreement; they relied solely on the guarantees of the Four Great Spirit Communion Rogue Cultivators. Still, those guarantees were a highly effective restraint. If any sect broke the arrangement, the Four Great Spirit Communion Rogue Cultivators had promised to take action against it. Their divine abilities were no weaker than those of the twelve spirit communion cultivators of the Righteous and Demonic Paths, and one of them even rivaled Old Dragon Head, High Person Qianshan. Naturally, their guarantees carried considerable weight.
But it was not the ten thousand likely outcomes one feared, only that single unforeseen possibility. What if some sect harbored malicious intentions, or the so-called Heaven-Shaking Great Emperor sent cultivators to stir up trouble again? Thus, both the great sects and the Second Army under Li Xiaoya withdrew cautiously. Whenever a contingent of the Cultivator Army departed, Li Xiaoya personally led the grand elders to escort it halfway before feeling reassured