MTLNOVEL Chapter 192: Seeking Help
"We won!"
"The situation has been decided!"
"The Xuanming Sect had just over a thousand Great Cultivators, possibly with some hidden, but definitely no more than 1,200. Of these, at most 1,200 Great Cultivators, there were just over 300 Third Rank Cultivators, most of whom were in the Eastern Sea. In the East Sea, these Third Rank Great Cultivators were nearly all annihilated by us in two battles. The Xuanming Sect can no longer pose a threat to the East Sea Archipelago."
In the Void Divine Realm, everyone was informed of the outcome of the two battles immediately.
And as Alkaid guided each Sword Cultivator to hunt down the remnants of the Xuanming Sect, Lou Yuyu finally had a moment to address everyone, declaring generously, "Mission accomplished! Our Nine Cauldrons Sect dispatched one hundred sixty-six Great Cultivators from the Nine Heavens Domain, achieving victory in both battles, cutting down exactly three hundred and seven Xuanming Sect Great Cultivators! On our side, we had one severely injured and sixteen lightly injured."
Even though everyone had already prepared themselves mentally, when these numbers were reported, the room still fell silent for several seconds.
Not a single person stirred the slightest wave of Divine Sense.
Despite one severely injured and sixteen lightly wounded...
There were no casualties.
What did this mean?
It meant that in the battle of 166 against 307, the Nine Cauldrons Sect achieved a remarkable score of 307 to 0.
No!
Remarkable is not enough to describe it.
This kind of victory is legendary!
This is a legendary achievement!
Suddenly, everyone's gaze once again fell on Li Qingshan.
They were well aware that such a resounding victory was all thanks to the Dharma Phase Spiritual Treasure provided by Sect Master Li Qingshan.
Without the power of that Dharma Phase Spiritual Treasure to block all information transmission from the Xuanming Sect, even to the extent of altering and deceiving many of the Xuanming Sect's orders, it would have been impossible for them to achieve such success, even if the Xuanming Sect were fully equipped with Third Generation Treasures.
Ultimately, they might have been able to crush these Great Cultivators of the Xuanming Sect, but the cost to themselves would definitely have been steep, possibly reaching as high as 30, 45, or even 60 Great Cultivators.
Li Qingshan glanced towards Alkaid's location, where he sensed her presence.
After a while, he turned to the crowd with a smile, "Why look at me? We owe this achievement to the elders and protectors of our sect who fought bravely to the death! They are the true heroes of the Nine Cauldrons Sect!"
Upon hearing this, the crowd shifted their gaze away from him.
Finally, He Xifeng, the Hall Master of Xingtian Hall, was the first to express his sentiment, "Who would have thought that our Nine Cauldrons Sect could exhibit such astonishing combat power when fighting a force like the Xuanming Sect... With this, we can rightfully say, a single Battle Courtyard can eradicate a mid-sized power."
"This is the threshold of a top-tier Immortal Sect."
Zhou Lijian felt somewhat emotional, "Given our achievements, we're already not inferior to the Six Great Immortal Sects."
The Battle Courtyard refers to combat units larger than teams of four, squads of twelve, or platoons of thirty-six.
A single Battle Courtyard often signifies about one hundred Great Cultivators.
It can have as many as one hundred fifty to even two hundred members.
Likewise, the Nine Cauldrons Sect's most elite Sword Execution Courtyard and the Sea Fortification Courtyard led by Alkaid belong to such units.
"This battle was somewhat special, but I believe that with time, as the sect develops, such situations will become more and more frequent. One day, the state of a single Battle Courtyard suppressing a sect will become the norm. It is only then that our Nine Cauldrons Sect will have truly restored its former glory and splendor, once again standing at the pinnacle of the world," said Li Qingshan.
After speaking, he also glanced over the crowd, "We have achieved an unprecedented grand victory, but the victory on the battlefield is just the beginning. Now, it's time to expand the influence of this victory and take back what belongs to the Nine Cauldrons Sect."
"Mm, and while others from the Xuanming Sect have not yet reacted, we should eliminate and expel as many as possible to weaken the Xuanming Sect's power, to avoid the snake biting back after failing to kill it," said Lou Yuyu.
Li Qingshan nodded his head.
After all, the Cangwu Great World is a Cultivation Immortal World.
The political side of things is not as complicated as those worlds dominated by mortals, like the Alkaid Realm. In the cultivation world, no matter how splendid the politics are played, they cannot escape one core essence— to weaken the opponent and make oneself stronger is the fundamental foundation of all sects.
Therefore, now that they have the opportunity, they naturally want to weaken the Xuanming Sect to the utmost.
...
Elsewhere.
The Xuanming Sect's headquarters.
As the Nine Cauldrons Sect set off for the Nine Heavens Domain, Song You, the Sect Master, had been on full alert, maintaining constant contact with the front-line figures such as Song Xuan and Lv Ming.
In addition, he also reached out to other sects in the Eastern Sea Archipelago from time to time—especially the Great Sun Sword Sect—to express that those in the Eastern Sea Archipelago, who benefitted from the status quo, should stand united.
The Great Sun Sword Sect was happy to let the Xuanming Sect take the brunt of the attack, naturally speaking only pleasing words.
All sorts of empty promises were continually issued.
They also declared with certainty that the Great Sun Sword Sect stood with the Xuanming Sect, staunchly defending their legitimate interests in the East Sea Archipelago.
Of course, Song You understood these were just words to be listened to; if truly believed, one wouldn't know they were sold out until they were counting money for others.
But at least from these attitudes, he could deduce that as long as the Xuanming Sect could withstand the edge of the Nine Cauldrons Sect, forces like the Great Sun Sword Sect, Dayue Dynasty, Ancient Immortal Sect, and Star Sea Sect would not stand idly by.
This result allowed him to breathe a slight sigh of relief.
But now...
His heart, which had just relaxed, tensed up again.
Because, not long ago, he had lost contact with the Great Elder Song Xuan.
Not just the Great Elder, but even the news from Lv Ming, the Hall Master of the Campaign Hall, was inaccessible to him, which gave him an ominous premonition.
He had already issued an order for the Vice Hall Master of the Campaign Hall, located at the rear, to gather the Cultivators skilled in Sword Control and rush to Fangyuan Island to investigate the situation.
No matter what the outcome was, he needed to know at once!
"Sect Master, something terrible has happened!"
Just as Song You was anxiously awaiting the results, a Divine Sense burst in; it was the Lamp Holder from Eternal Brightness Hall.
The Lamp Holder's tone already carried a hint of panic, "Sect Master, just now... the Life Fires of several Elders extinguished simultaneously... No! They're still going out, a large number of Elders, protectors, and True Disciples' Life Fires are rapidly extinguishing... No! No! No!"
By the end, his communication had turned into cries of terror.
"Damn it!"
Song You immediately stimulated his Divine Sense, reaching out to Eternal Brightness Hall. He even left the office area, controlling his sword to fly directly toward Eternal Brightness Hall.
Within the fearful tone of the Lamp Holder, he quickly traversed the distance between the office area and Eternal Brightness Hall.
But by this time...
Inside Eternal Brightness Hall, over a hundred Great Cultivators led by Song Xuan had nearly been wiped out.
Only sixteen lamps still had their Life Fires burning.
"How... how many?"
Looking at the dark snuffed-out Soul Lamps before him, Song You felt his own voice trembling slightly.
"It's... one hundred and thirty lamps..."
The Lamp Holder spoke in a dry tone.
One hundred and thirty lamps!
Hearing this number, even Song You, who was himself a Fourth Rank Great Technique Cultivator, couldn't help but sway, almost unable to stand.
One hundred and thirty!
The entire Xuanming Sect, one hundred and thirty Great Cultivators, more than a tenth of them, just gone like that!?
No!
The cultivators sent to the Eastern Sea were all elite!
It simply couldn't be measured by the literal number alone!
The fall of these one hundred and thirty Great Cultivators meant not just that the Xuanming Sect had lost more than a tenth of its Great Cultivators but also that the Sect's overall strength of Great Cultivators had dropped by at least thirty percent!
"Nine Cauldrons Sect!"
Song You gnashed his teeth as he articulated those three words.
But as soon as he uttered these words, another lamp's Life Fire flickered and rapidly extinguished.
"It's not over?"
Song You's eyes widened.
After this Life Fire went out, an alarming succession of six more Life Fires followed suit.
This scene, which could only be described as a nightmare for Xuanming Sect, caused several Lamp Holders to tremble slightly.
"Hiss!"
Suddenly...
The Life Fire of a lamp on the topmost layer flickered and went out.
As this lamp's Life Fire expired, all the Lamp Holders fell silent as a graveyard.
They stared dumbfounded at the identity of the person represented by that lamp's Life Fire, unable to utter a word.
"Song... Xuan!"
The Great Elder Song Xuan, he had... actually fallen?
Reeling, Song You staggered backward three steps involuntarily.
"Sect Master..."
The Lamp Holder hurriedly stepped forward wanting to support him.
But Song You just waved his hand dismissively, not caring for anything else.
Because he remembered that not only Song Xuan had lost contact but also Lv Ming!
With this thought in mind, he immediately issued an order, "Quick! Mobilize everyone in the Heavenly Palace Hall, use every possible means to get in touch with Lv Ming, I need to know their exact situation!"
Then, he instructed a trusted disciple who was following him, "Contact Lei Meng, Vice Hall Master of the Limitless Star Palace in Heavenly Star Continent! We need his help!"
"Yes."
The disciple who received the command acknowledged and quickly got busy.
Before long, Lei Meng, Vice Hall Master of the Campaign Hall of Limitless Star Palace, sent a communication.
"What's the matter? We have been reallocating personnel to Black Flame Continent recently, so we can't provide much support."
Although only a Vice Hall Master, Lei Meng's attitude towards Song You wasn't particularly considerate; his tone even carried a hint of impatience.
Song You paid no attention to Lei Meng's attitude, politely saying, "Just now, our Xuanming Sect suffered heavy losses. Moreover, we have lost contact with over one hundred and sixty Great Cultivators in East Sea Archipelago. It's highly likely that we've been interfered with and blocked by the Heavenly Palace Cultivators of Nine Cauldrons Sect, so I hope for Vice Hall Master Lei Meng's assistance to borrow the strength of Limitless Star Palace's Heavenly Palace Hall to break through the blockage."
"Nine Cauldrons Sect mobilized Heavenly Palace Cultivators?"
Lei Meng raised an eyebrow, "It seems like they're making big moves."
"Yes, Nine Cauldrons Sect has made such a major move this time, and in the clash with our Xuanming Sect, it has caused us severe losses, which indicates that they must possess some secret technique. It's precisely this kind of secret technique that gave them the audacity to beat the war drums."
Song You quickly said, "Therefore, I earnestly request the assistance of your Sect's Heavenly Palace Hall to help us understand what exactly Nine Cauldrons Sect is relying on to act so boldly!"