Chapter 161
As Dan Seol-Young thought, the three families forces grew wary of the enemy when the Qingdao Sect called in the warriors at Black Spirit Island and prepared for combat instead of running away. The three families assumed that the Nine Celestial Demons Sect had sent a large number of martial arts masters to the Qingdao Sect as reinforcement. Considering they were not aware of the Soul-Burning Invincibility Pills existence, it was the most reasonable inference.
They chose to stand their ground instead of retreating, which is clear evidence that the Nine Celestial Demons Sect has sent them a large number of martial arts masters. Fighting them in this situation would be unwise, Celestial Sword Saint Namgung Hwang of the Great Namgung Family said.
Still, we cant just turn tail and retreat after coming all the way here, can we? Hebei Peng Familys Heavenly Qiankun Sabermaster Peng Mun-Hyuk replied.
Losing face because we retreated now is better than losing our forces, Namgung Hwang insisted.
Even if the Nine Celestial Demons Sect mobilized their Demonic Monarchs, they could probably only send five of them at most. This battle would have been difficult if the Qingdao Sects two Absolute-Realm masters were still alive and well. However, they are already dead, which means it is unlikely for their forces to be superior to ours. Even if they have the upper hand, their advantage will be small enough for us to overcome with our skills. Heavenly Qiankun Sabermaster Peng Mun-Hyuk spoke with confidence.
I would have agreed if the Nine Celestial Demons Sect did not make a move. Unfortunately, our enemies do not do anything half-heartedly. Moreover, the Nine Celestial Demons Sect has lost quite a few Demonic-Monarch-class masters because they only ever mobilized the minimum required personnel. Hence, if they did send reinforcements now, they most likely mobilized an excessive number of forces instead of just the bare minimum needed to secure victory, Great Huangfu Familys Sky-Shocking Tyrant Fist Huangfu Jian countered.
So you want to retreat without even putting up a fight? Mun-Hyuk frowned.
If you know the enemy and yourself, then you will win a hundred battles. It will not be too late to fight after we determine the size of their forces first, Huangfu Jian replied.
You make it sound so easy. Mun-Hyuk sounded frustrated.
The Qiankun Heavenly Sabermaster is right. It will be difficult to determine how large their army is without fighting their high-ranking combatants, Namgung Hwang agreed.
Exactly. Thats why we should try to fight them for now. If we conclude that we cannot take them, then we can simply retreat, Peng Mun-Ho, the Heavenly Iron Blood Sabermaster of the Hebei Peng Family, pompously said.
That is easier said than done. By then, retreating will be basically impossible. After all, the Nine Celestial Demons Sect will never let us go unscathed if they learn that we are at a disadvantage. Even if it means they have to chase us to the very end, they will do whatever it takes not to miss such an opportunity. If we fight them and only find out were outnumbered then, we will bear huge losses. Not even our safety will be guaranteed. Huangfu Jian stood firm.
If we step down without a fight, why did we even waste our time coming all the way here? If I knew this would happen, I would have just rested comfortably at our sect, Mun-Ho said in irritation.
I am not saying that we back down. I just think we should figure out how many we will be facing before deciding if we should stay and fight.
How do you plan to do that? Mun-Hyuk asked.
Why dont we ask for information from the organization that informed us about the deaths of the Qingdao Sects Patriarch and Vice Patriarch? Great Namgung Familys Lightning Sword Saint Namgung Hae suggested.
Will they even have such top-secret information? Mountain-Splitting Blast Fist Huangfu Gang asked.
It would be great if they know the size of our enemy, but even if they do not, we will not lose anything by asking. Namgung Hae shrugged.
The Lightning Sword Saint is right. At the very least, their information network is better than ours, so we should try leaving this to them, Huangfu Jian agreed. The other Absolute-Realm masters did not oppose the idea either. It was the most practical method available at that moment, after all.
The Absolute-Realm masters immediately called for the Heavenly Secret Halls informant, who was staying in the three great families campsite to facilitate smooth information, and requested confirmation about how many Absolute-Realm masters gathered at the Qingdao Sect. In response, the Heavenly Secret Halls informant immediately reported their request to his superior.
The forces of the three families held off their advance to the Qingdao Sect and waited for intel from the Heavenly Secret Hall. At the same time, they remained fully prepared to retreat at a moments notice because the enemy could launch a preemptive attack.
Meanwhile, before the three families even requested it, the Heavenly Secret Hall was already trying to figure out how many high-rank forces were in the Qingdao Sect. Based on the information collected through their spies in the Qingdao Sect, the enemy had around four or five Absolute-Realm masters. The information was not completely accurate since it was not directly confirmed but rather inferred through available information. Nevertheless, the real number likely would not deviate much from their conclusion.
The Heavenly Secret Hall informed Baek Mu-Gun of their findings first. After hearing about it from Dan Seol-Young, Mu-Gun could not help but harbor some suspicions. If the Heavenly Secret Halls findings were right, then the Nine Celestial Demons Sect only deployed two Demonic Monarchs at most. Even if they still had the Qingdao Sects two assassinated Absolute-Realm masters, their numbers would still have been too small.
It would have been better not to send any reinforcements at all than to send an inadequate one. He also found it suspicious that the Qingdao Sect and the three outlaw groups chose to stand their ground instead of retreating. If they fought the three families with their current forces, they would definitely lose. The enemy forces were certainly not dominant enough to turn the tide, but they were not worthless enough to simply give up on either.
Furthermore, if they decided to fight, the Qingdao Sects forces should have at least evacuated to Black Spirit Island to induce a naval battle. That would have increased their chances of winning. There was no way the Nine Celestial Demons Sect would not be aware of such a simple strategy. Considering they still chose to act recklessly instead, Mu-Gun thought that there had to be something he was missing but what could it be?
The Soul-Burning Invincibility Pill suddenly crossed Mu-Guns mind as he pondered whether he missed anything. It was a forbidden pill that burned the consumers Innate True Qi to allow them to exert a much stronger power than their current martial realm. If the Qingdao Sect and the three outlaw groups consumed one each, even their Upper-Peak-Realm masters would be able to display Absolute-Realm-level strength. If so, the forces gathered at the Qingdao Sect alone would be enough to wipe out the three families forces.
However, as far as Mu-Gun knew, the Soul-Burning Invincibility Pills concoction method was already a long-lost art. He never even came across one throughout his eight reincarnations and only knew about it because of the Thunder Gods Secret Records, which documented the history of the Heavenly Descent Thunder God Sect. Nevertheless, he could not rule out the possibility that the Nine Celestial Demons Sect managed to rediscover how to make the pills. Otherwise, their current behavior would be hard to explain.
He knew he could be wrong, but if he wasnt, then the forces of the three great families were in danger. Right now, it would be better for them to retreat. Hence, he told Seol-Young, Can you pass on a message to the three families for me? Tell them that they have to retreat immediately.
Why should they? Seol-Young asked.
According to the records of the Heavenly Descent Thunder God Sect, the Nine Celestial Demons Sect used to have a forbidden pill that burned the users Innate True Qi to increase their martial realm. I suspect that they have discovered how to produce those forbidden pills again.
If that is really the case, wouldnt it be impossible to defeat the Nine Celestial Demons Sect? Seol-Young asked in shock.
The Innate True Qi is similar to ones life force. To burn the Innate True Qi means to burn their life force, Mu-Gun explained.
So consuming it would increase ones martial realm but ultimately kill them?
Yes. The Nine Celestial Demons Sect used it on the forces of murim that they control rather than consuming it themselves.
... They wont find a better subject to use that forbidden pill on than the Qingdao Sect and the three outlaw groups.
That is correct. Thats why we have to inform the three families about it and tell them to retreat immediately. If they really did succeed in restoring production of that forbidden pill, they could get completely wiped out. Mu-Gun urged Seol-Young.
Understood. I will relay this information to them as quickly as I can. Seol-Young immediately left due to the urgency of the situation.
However, despite how much she rushed the informants, it still took time for the information to be delivered from Shaoxing to Shandong Province. The Nine Celestial Demons Sect was not kind enough to wait that long. As soon as they got word that the forces of the three families stopped advancing again, the Nine Celestial Demons Sect immediately concluded that their enemy was already onto them. Hence, they decided to launch an attack before the three families could retreat.
After making all the necessary preparations, the Qingdao Sects martial artists and the three outlaw groups departed and quickly advanced toward the three families camp. News about it quickly reached the three families Absolute-Realm masters.
After an hour of discussion, they decided to retreat because they had not heard anything from the Heavenly Secret Hall yet. The fact that the Qingdao Sect and the three outlaw groups launched a preemptive attack showed that they were confident of victory. Hence, the three families judged that it would be best to retreat for now since they had no intel on the enemys forces.
Having prepared for this situation in advance, the three families quickly began to retreat toward the Great Huangfu Familys manor. As they did, they also requested reinforcement from the Great Huangfu Familys Absolute-Realm masters so they could push the Qingdao Sect and the three outlaw groups if they kept chasing after them.
Under the command of the Death Shadow Demonic Monarch, the Qingdao Sect and the three outlaw groups continued chasing after the three families forces. They still had not consumed Soul-Burning Invincibility Pills yet. The pills effects had a time limit, so it was more efficient to consume it right before a fight.
The Qingdao Sect and the three outlaw groups were initially afraid to fight the elite forces of the three families, but they gained a boost in fighting spirit when they received word that the three families ran away before even putting up a fight. Now thinking that they were superior, they fiercely chased after the three families martial artists.
However, the three great families martial artists were individually stronger and faster than the forces of the Qingdao Sect and the three outlaw groups. Moreover, they could travel longer distances before having to rest due to their relatively high amounts of internal energy and movement arts. Hence, the distance between them and their opponents only grew as time passed.
Meanwhile, having received a letter from the three families forces, the Great Huangfu Family immediately sent them two Absolute-Realm masters. They intended to fight the Qingdao Sect and the three outlaw groups. With the two Absolute-Realm masters they sent, the three families forces would have ten Absolute-Realm masters in total. Hence, they judged that they would still have a good chance of winning even if the Nine Celestial Demons Sect intervened.
The two Absolute-Realm masters departed from the Great Huangfu Familys manor to quickly join up with the three families joint forces. Two days later, the Heavenly Secret Halls information about the Soul-Burning Invincibility Pill reached the Great Huangfu Family. Since the three families joint forces were on the move, it became difficult to deliver the news to them directly. Given the urgency, the Heavenly Secret Hall sent the information to the Great Huangfu Familys manor instead.
The intel surprised the Great Huangfu Family. If the Soul-Burning Invincibility Pill truly existed, then ten Absolute-Realm masters could prove insufficient to defeat their enemies. In the worst-case scenario, they could even get wiped out. The Great Huangfu Family immediately sent a messenger to inform and instruct the two Absolute-Realm masters who departed earlier to tell the three families forces to make a full retreat to the Great Huangfu Familys manor.
Unfortunately, the Great Huangfu Familys two Absolute-Realm masters were moving as fast as they could to join up with the three families joint forces as soon as possible. Ordinary martial artists could never catch up to Absolute-Realm masters, especially if they were using their movement arts. With that in consideration, the Great Huangfu Familys messenger chased after the two Absolute-Realm masters on horseback. Unfortunately, it was still hard to catch up to them because they had a two-day headstart.
In the end, their fear ultimately came true. The two Absolute-Realm masters joined up with the three families forces before the Great Huangfu Familys messenger could catch up to them. Having received reinforcements, the three families forces stopped retreating and began to advance toward the forces of the Qingdao Sect and the three outlaw groups.
Receiving word about their enemys movements, the Death Shadow Demonic Monarch smiled with satisfaction. He could guess why the three families forces were now advancing toward themthe Great Huangfu Family probably reinforced them with Absolute-Realm masters. However, that made no difference to him. Rather, it benefited them because they could now deal even greater damage to the three families.
The Death Shadow Demonic Monarch issued an order to charge at full speed toward the three families joint forces. When the two factions were just about an hour away from each other, he instructed the three outlaw groups to consume the Soul-Burning Invincibility Pills they received earlier.
The three outlaw groups knew that the Soul-Burning Invincibility Pill was a spiritual pill that temporarily raised their martial realm, but they were not aware that it would ultimately kill them in return. If they did, they would not have consumed it.
Not long after, the three families joint forces reached them.
Charge! Show them your power! the Death Shadow Demonic Monarch shouted toward the three outlaw groups martial artists. As ordered, the three outlaw groups dashed toward the three families martial artists. They were in high spirits due to their heightened power.
The Qingdao Sects martial artists followed behind them.
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