Chapter 446: Chapter 45: First Steps onto the Battlefield (Part 2)
Li Ji’an stood at the peak, watching the army depart in the distance.
Among them were several familiar figures.
As Sect Leader Qiao of the Odd Stone Forest and the ancestor of the Yan Family of the Desert, Xiaoqiao and Yan Qingwan could no longer avoid such situations.
Qin Henian, the ancestor of the Fake Pill Clan, although only had twenty to thirty years of life left, was unable to escape earlier and followed Xiao Changfeng along with other True Pill Elders to the frontline as a main force.
As for those loose cultivators at the forefront of the army, they were even more helpless.
At such times, most of them were forced, not only to join the war but also to be integrated into the front lines as cannon fodder.
Faced with the pressure of the True Man, faced with the threat of killing the chicken to frighten the monkey, they could only seek a glimmer of life on the battlefield.
The great trend crushes all, with no one spared.
"Only wish for peace under heaven!" Li Ji’an murmured, laughing at himself.
The next day, Dongli Sect became particularly quiet.
While waiting for the army’s aid, Dongli Sect, which has suffered greatly due to its years-long tug-of-war with the Celestial Sound Pavilion, endured heavy casualties. Without the protection of the Sect’s Grand Array, they would have abandoned the sect and fled.
The sect once guarded by five True Pills now saw the fall of three True Pills, and more than half the Fake Pill Elders and Foundation Establishment disciples were dead or injured.
Not until the Ascendant of Ten Thousand Laws Palace led reinforcements from Biyun Sect and Glazed Sect True Man, were the demon cultivators forced back thousands of miles.
At this point, the cultivators remaining in Dongli Sect were only the Pill Masters responsible for front-line pill medicine supply, Talisman Masters, and Physicians for the wounded, as well as the few escort teams led by Li Ji’an.
"Ping’an, Master calls you!" Just after recovering the magical power exhausted on the way, Guo Wanzhi sent a message.
Li Ji’an conferred with the Fake Pill Leader from Ten Thousand Laws Palace and hurried to Dongli Sect’s Pill Peak.
Master Jade Pill and Guo Wanzhi, as Pill Masters from the Biyun Sect, were allocated a Tier Three Dao Field.
"It’s done, haha, this old man has finally succeeded!" Before entering the Alchemy Room, Master Jade Pill’s laughter echoed throughout.
Li Ji’an nodded slightly, a trace of relief appearing on his face.
Master Jade Pill was able to refine the Ancient Soul Pill before his lifespan ended; he should be able to smile in the underworld.
"Congratulations, Master, for achieving Great Success in Divine Pill, once again reaching new heights in Alchemy Dao!" Li Ji’an and Guo Wanzhi simultaneously congratulated.
"Hahaha, good, good, come, you must take a good look. This is the Ancient Soul Pill from Ancient Times, the Six Gods Condensing Essence Pill, which can nourish the Divine Soul and increase Divine Sense. Even if you use it frequently, your Divine Sense will surely exceed your peers by ten to twenty percent." Master Jade Pill handed a shiny, black pill before Li Ji’an and Guo Wanzhi.
"Hiss~ Enhancing the Divine Soul! This... truly is a Divine Pill!" Guo Wanzhi exclaimed with delight.
"Obviously, Wanzhi, make sure to never run out of this pill, take one every three months. It may allow you to glimpse the potential of a Tier Three Pill Master even at the Foundation Establishment Stage!" Master Jade Pill was flushed with excitement.
"Xiaoli, Xiaoli, if you were still alive when I refined this pill, it would surely push your Alchemy Skill further, alas, alas." Then he looked towards the sky, shaking his head with compassion.
"Master, if Master knew from below, he would surely be pleased for you!" Li Ji’an comforted.
"Ping’an, the first pill, I gift to you. If not for your master’s insights before his death, this pill may have cost me many detours." Master Jade Pill generously handed the pill to Li Ji’an.
"Thank you, Master, for the gift of the pill!" Li Ji’an received the pill and bowed in gratitude.
After sensing it briefly, it barely reached Middle Grade.
This was indeed Master Jade Pill’s exceptional performance.
Just as he was about to spend more time with Master Jade Pill, Yao Rui sent a message; the escort team was needed on the frontline.
Upon returning to the escort team, Li Ji’an learned that the reason for the urgency was due to the capture of a loose cultivator by domain patrolling cultivators.
And this loose cultivator turned out to be a Tier Two Late Period Array Master.
Array Masters play a significant role during the war, and the frontline was in great need.
Thus, the person needed to be sent to the frontline immediately.
However, what slightly surprised Li Ji’an was that the task of escorting this person fell onto himself, Yao Rui, and another True Inheritor from the Biyun Sect.
He perfunctorily glanced around the escort team.
Last night he already knew the escort team members were either True Inheritors or relatives of sect influential figures.
And during wartime, those patrolling capture cowardly or deserter cultivators were all Holy Palace core disciples.
Fortunately, merely escorting someone posed not much risk.
Besides, since the army had just departed yesterday, there wouldn’t be immediate intense battles.
Li Ji’an received the order, taking Yao Rui and Guo Feng to escort the Array Master to the frontline.
"Fellow Daoists, please, show mercy. My partner is gravely injured, waiting for rescue, and my son has just turned one month old. Without me to care for them, my wife and child might not survive!" Outside the Dongli Sect’s main camp, Array Master Wang suddenly pleaded bitterly to the three.
"Demonic cultivators have invaded, with formidable adversaries before us. If we cultivators in the domain all shirk like you, wouldn’t the domain fall into despair once demonic cultivators occupy it, leaving families shattered?" Guo Feng, who joined the sect ten years before Li Ji’an, sported a square face, thick beard, and appeared righteous.
"I... I... I’m not a sect person, nor do I use domain resources. All my Spiritual Talents come from arduously arranging arrays..." the Array Master became anxious.
"Hmph, once you’re within the domain, then you’re a person of the domain. What’s the difference between sect and loose cultivators?" Guo Feng snorted coldly.
Li Ji’an sighed softly, feeling powerless, silently keeping his silence throughout.
Yao Rui attempted to comfort several times, but it ultimately proved futile.
"If you must blame, blame it on those never-quiet demonic cultivators!" Guo Feng concluded, sealing his mouth, ignoring further pleas.
Three days later, they arrived safely at the frontline.
At this time, the Demon Cultivator Alliance from the Boundless Domain had already camped at a Lower Grade Spirit Vein Land, appearing to have a strategic and steady approach.
The Celestial Cyan Domain army was stationed opposite, still yet to engage.
However, sensing the Boundless Domain’s army formation from afar, Li Ji’an sensed a disparity in strength.
Over a century ago, the righteous-demonic war between just one Boundless Domain could equal Celestial Cyan Domain, and now, with an added Yellow Heaven Domain, Celestial Cyan Domain had consumed internal strife over decades, vastly weakened.
Thus, the Boundless Domain army could calmly set camp, with an assured stance of having conquered Celestial Cyan Domain.
Prospects are grim!
After handing over the Array Master, Li Ji’an and the others quickly returned.
"Senior Brother Li, do you think we can win this time?" Yao Rui, earlier observing the situation, looked seriously at Li Ji’an.
Li Ji’an glanced at her, shaking his head slightly, "This is my first time participating in a cultivator war, I cannot judge."
"Then, Senior Brother, if demonic cultivators win, will Celestial Cyan Domain’s cultivators really be as the Sect Leader claimed?" Yao Rui asked again.
Li Ji’an raised his brows slightly, not wishing to answer.
Because the actual situation in the cultivation realm is such that even if the Celestial Cyan Domain were occupied by demonic cultivators, the major affected would still be ruling powers, with Ten Thousand Laws Palace bearing the brunt, surely facing extermination.
Others affected would be established interests being cleansed, and common cultivators, even family cultivators, might not be greatly affected.
Three thousand years ago, Corpse Puppet Sect and other Demon Sects were driven from Celestial Cyan Domain to the Boundless Domain.
At that time, the Boundless Domain had no Tier Four Spirit Vein Dao Field, and the highest cultivator strength in the domain was only Mid-stage Core Formation True Man, and the leading sect then was the present Blood Spirit Sect.
The Boundless Domain was merely a lower-medium cultivation domain.
Corpse Puppet Sect was forced to flee to Boundless Domain, violently clashing with local forces, even slaughtering the upper hierarchy of Blood Spirit Sect.
And with the occupation of Blood Spirit Sect, other small families and sects within the domain surrendered.
During the following years, having seized the Three Tier Dao Field of Blood Spirit Sect, Corpse Puppet Sect extensively exploited domain relics and wilderness, eventually discovering a major hidden vein of Ancient Times.
Which became Corpse Puppet Sect’s current Tier Four Spirit Vein Dao Field.
Subsequently, it further stimulated the entire Boundless Domain into unearthing numerous Ancient Ruins and tombs, boosting the domain’s overall strength to a medium-large cultivation domain.
After all, the primary resources in the cultivation realm lie in Spirit Vein Dao Fields, and one sect entity having one Spirit Vein Dao Field suffices, unlike mortal wars where land is limited with excessive people, leading to frequent city massacres and exterminations.
