Wu Province, Hengzhang City.
This city is quite old. It used to be the location of several important branches of the Heart-Eroding Stronghold. Later, it was successively transformed by the Empty Sword Sect and the Jade Spring Sect, which cleaned it of all kinds of filth. Now it has become the Jade Spring Sect's main camp in Wu Province.
Shi Yan sat in the second seat, while Chen Shuangbai sat in the first seat.
It wasn't that this True Person Shi didn't want to compete; it was simply that he lacked the ability to do so.
He had surrendered and was a demonic cultivator, while Chen Shuangbai was a Golden Core True Person of the sect and Dao Child. Unless he wanted to experience the methods of True Lord Qingchen, he had to obediently give way.
Not long ago, Chen Shuangbai wiped out the countless corpses that the other side had released, and the other side didn't send any more; instead, they retreated.
Chen Shuangbai sat in the main seat, surrounded by many Foundation Establishment from the Jade Spring Sect.
He was reading battle reports, detailing the recent engagements with the opposing side.
Judging from the battle reports, the enemy is still mainly probing, constantly releasing corpse demons, mixed with a small number of insect beasts, attempting to break through the Jade Spring Sect's three lines of defense with a large number of them.
The first two attempts were successful, but this time the enemy sent out twice as many ghouls, which nearly caused the first line of defense to collapse.
Chen Shuangbai frowned slightly.
Such are the methods of the demonic path: disregarding costs and human lives, winning through sheer numbers, and aiming to wear down the enemy.
Those corpse demons and insect beasts were nothing more than disposable consumables to the Transformation Sect; once a batch died, another batch would be refined.
However, the disciples of the Jade Spring Sect are living, breathing people, and every casualty or injury is a loss to the sect.
This is the biggest disadvantage for righteous sects when fighting against demonic cults.
Chen Shuangbai put down the battle report, tapped her fingertips lightly on the table, and fell into deep thought.
Shi Yan, however, kept his eyes downcast and remained silent.
In reality, he was secretly observing Chen Shuangbai, feeling quite envious.
So young, and Supreme-Grade Golden Core... He's probably unmatched among his peers... Just think about himself, enduring so many years in the Heart-Eroding Stronghold, going through countless hardships, only to barely achieve the sixth grade of the Golden Core. In the future, he'll be limited to the Middle Golden Core Stage realm at best, then become mediocre and eventually turn into a handful of dust.
The thought of this made his heart ache even more.
Chen Shuangbai sighed softly and said, " True Person Shi."
Shi Yan raised an eyebrow slightly, not expecting Chen Shuangbai to call him. He looked over and saw the young Dao Child looking at him with his jade-like eyes, asking:
" True Person Shi, what is the connection between Heart-Eroding Stronghold and the Transformation Sect? In your opinion, what is their true intention behind these actions?"
Shi Yan's heart tightened; he wondered what Chen Shuangbai wanted to ask.
Testing my attitude towards the Transformation Sect?
But his own soul was under a restriction placed by Bo Chengyun; how could he betray him?
Shi Yan thought for a moment, then said in a slightly conservative tone, " The Transformation Sect is a thousand-year-old demonic sect native to the Xu Kingdom, and it has Nascent Soul cultivator in charge. They are cunning and ruthless in their actions. It seems that their war with the Hanging Wall Gate is gradually coming to an end."
"The territory of the Xu Kingdom is still too small, far less vast and rich than that of my Jing Kingdom. Therefore, it is understandable that they have set their sights on this place."
Chen Shuangbai couldn't help but find it amusing to hear his timid and hesitant words.
This surrendered general was terrified of True Person Bo, so he lost all his vigor and didn't dare to breathe loudly in front of his junior.
Seeing that she couldn't get anything useful from Shi Yan, Chen Shuangbai stopped pressuring him, turned to ask Zhu Xiu about his recent situation, and then ended the conversation.
The struggles between cultivators are very different from those between mortals.
The strength of an individual unit is often the key factor in determining whether a war will be won or lost.
With Chen Shuangbai stationed in Hengzhang City, the attacks from the corpse demons opposite were no longer as large-scale as before. Instead, they emerged sporadically from remote mountains and forests along the border, attempting to put the Jade Spring Sect in a difficult position.
Before Chen Shuangbai could intervene, the Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Jade Spring Sect stationed there had already made arrangements.
Huo Min methodically arranged his disciples, dividing them into several small teams to defeat them one by one. Not a single corpse demon was allowed to cross the border, proving that everyone has their own expertise.
Chen Shuangbai also understood that the most taboo thing on the battlefield was for someone who was not good at warfare to command the battle.
He entrusted Huo Min, his Martial Uncle Huo, with full authority to command the battle, while he himself remained in Hengzhang City, both to stabilize morale and to guard against a sudden attack from the Golden Core True Person on the other side.
But Chen Shuangbai wasn't completely idle.
He erected the [ Clear Waves Reflecting the Moon Banner ] at the highest point of the ancient city, and this sacred banner enveloped the entire Hengzhang City in a soft, watery moonlight.
When cultivators return from exterminating the undead outside and enter this gentle light, the toxins and injuries on their bodies will be gradually removed and they will slowly recover.
The cultivators who go out to exterminate the corpse demons will also have an extra mark on their bodies. That mark is applied by Chen Shuangbai using this spirit banner. It can give them a blessing similar to the Sweet Dew Incantation for a short time. Not only can their injuries be healed quickly, but their Law Power will also be greatly enhanced.
People were immediately excited.
This is the significance of his presence in Hengzhang City.
Even those Foundation Establishment cultivators, under the protection of the spirit banner, found that not only did their cultivation speed increase, but they also found it easier to enter a meditative state. For a time, praise for Chen Shuangbai, this Dao Child, could be seen everywhere inside and outside the city.
Chen Shuangbai took it all in.
Shi Yan stood on the city wall, looking at the spirit banner hanging high above the city, his eyes filled with envy.
Heart-Eroding Stronghold was originally the poorest of the five sects in the Jing Kingdom. When he was Golden Core True Person, he only had one Low-Grade Spirit Artifact, which he dared not easily take out, for fear of being laughed at by the other Golden Core True Person.
After joining the Jade Spring Sect, I have accumulated some wealth over the years, but I still don't have a suitable Spirit Artifact... Moreover, generally speaking, the most suitable weapon for Golden Core True Person is Law Treasure.
Shi Yan... there's too much to say, it's all tears.
With such a large commotion on the Jade Spring Sect's side, it was impossible for the Transformation Sect not to have noticed.
Xu Kingdom.
Black Miasma Ridge.
Countless ferocious and cruel ghouls and insect beasts roam among the towering mountains, turning this place into a lair of evil creatures, and deep within the lair stands a pale palace.
He Chong, draped in a black feather cloak, sat on a skull throne. His subordinates, all clad in black robes, exuded an aura of Evil Qi and Blood Qi, clearly pure Devil Cultivator.
Within Shadow Shadow beneath him, swaying like ripples on water, two black crows suddenly emerged. The crows transformed into two servants, reporting in a noisy and unpleasant voice.
"My lord, that Dao Child from the Jade Spring Sect has arrived."