Zhongyuan City.
Originally a city of mere mortals, it had undergone a complete rebuilding of its walls, reforged with precious Black Iron by Heavenly Gate Sect cultivators since the war against the Incense Dao began.
The walls were also densely covered in Armor-Fixing Talismans, which Talisman Masters personally replaced each day after they withstood the Incense Dao cultivators' bombardment.
Outside the walls, a great formation provided further protection.
It was as impregnable as a city of metal with a moat of boiling water.
Outside Zhongyuan City, the other side was hardly outdone.
In a short time, the Incense Dao cultivators had built a small city from the ground up, modest in size but scarcely inferior in defensive strength.
Battles between cultivators rarely took such a cumbersome, rigid form.
Either they struck straight at the enemy's heart, destroying their homes and sects;
Or they destroyed their enemies a thousand miles away, maneuvering freely.
But now both sides had fought themselves into a fury, showing every sign of refusing to stop until one side was dead.
In particular, Pang Xiao, Grand Elder of the Mountain-Sea Sect, had advanced to Nascent Soul only to be slain by the Heavenly Gate Sect's Sect Master. This poured oil onto the fire, directly drawing the Chen Kingdom's Four Sects into the fighting.
The war instantly escalated as well.
Yet after nearly half a year of fighting, their evenly matched strength meant that, aside from losses on both sides, little progress had been made.
With victory remaining elusive, Tsering Puntsok, Sect Master of the Great Sun Gate and overall commander of the Incense Dao and the Chen Kingdom's Four Great Sects, had begun to harbor thoughts of retreat.
After all, no one could bear to keep draining themselves like this.
The Heavenly Gate Sect's long-term threat certainly