Chapter 278: Attack and Defense

The Haotian Alliance's counterattack preparations were complete. Ji Yan had dispatched personnel to scout the Ten Thousand Devil Ridge's current location, and they now had promising leads.

After another half-day of rest, they would commence their operation.

Originally, Ji Yan felt somewhat uncertain. Although Lu Ye and Ju Jia had joined their ranks, the Ten Thousand Devil Ridge still held a slight numerical advantage. It was unclear who would suffer if a real fight broke out.

However, he now knew that Lu Ye commanded over thirty spirits, including five special ones. This completely nullified the numerical discrepancy between the two sides.

Furthermore, these spirits could be replenished even if lost, which was a significant advantage.

This meant that as long as Lu Ye remained alive, they would have an endless supply of personnel. Even if they lost this battle, there would be another chance. By gradually wearing down the enemy's strength in this manner, the Ten Thousand Devil Ridge would eventually be unable to withstand the pressure.

Initially, with Gu Canyang imprisoned by the Immortal Essence Guards and the Spirit Concealment Palace leaderless, coupled with the potential alliance between Blazing Sun Mountain and Windflower Pavilion, Ji Yan had already braced himself for martyrdom. He never expected the situation to develop into such an unexpected and pleasant surprise.

It was clear that after this, his standing within the sect would significantly improve, and various rewards were guaranteed.

His only regret was for Gu Canyang; he wondered about the Senior Brother's condition in the dungeon.

Half a day later, the news of the counterattack against the Ten Thousand Devil Ridge spread. The loose cultivators began calling their friends, gathering those who hadn't joined earlier.

Their numbers increased by about thirty. While there were undoubtedly more loose cultivators hidden away, there was nothing they could do if those individuals chose not to reveal themselves.

Those loose cultivators likely believed the Spirit Concealment Palace was outmatched and thus wanted to protect themselves.

While they were gathering loose cultivators, the Ten Thousand Devil Ridge was certainly doing the same, and likely mobilizing even more, as the loose cultivators generally perceived the Ten Thousand Devil Ridge to have the upper hand. It was uncertain how their morale would be after the next battle.

Lu Ye found a spot to meditate and recover, simultaneously deciphering the restrictive locks on the storage bags. Amber also needed to recover; the Specter Spirits had consumed so much of its energy that it seemed to have thinned down in the past few days, much to Yi Yi's distress.

Ju Jia, having received careful medical treatment, came over to Lu Ye. He sat down shirtless next to him, silent.

Lu Ye turned his head and raised an eyebrow.

After the previous series of battles, Ju Jia was covered in scars, with many wounds where flesh was torn and exposed, looking horrific. Yet, now those injuries were almost entirely gone.

Medical cultivators alone couldn't heal injuries that quickly. This guy's self-recovery ability was incredibly abnormal.

Lu Ye took out a large piece of beast meat from a storage bag and handed it over. Ju Jia took it and began eating voraciously.

An hour later, Lu Ye had deciphered all the restrictive locks on the storage bags, extracted the useful items, and then selected a few things, placing them into a single storage bag. He handed it to Ju Jia, saying, "This is for you."

This simple-minded fellow didn't even have a storage bag while following Sima Yang. Lu Ye wondered how he had managed all these years.

When Lu Ye previously chatted with the Eighth-Level soldier cultivator, they discussed Ju Jia, and Lu Ye learned some information.

Many knew that Sima Yang treated Ju Jia as a cash cow, which caused nearby cultivators, whether loose or from sects, to have a poor impression of Sima Yang. Such exploitation of an honest person was truly inhumane.

Some had privately advised Ju Jia, but he never paid attention, continuing to follow Sima Yang. It seemed to him that as long as he had something to eat, he desired nothing else in this world.

Faced with such a simple-minded Ju Jia, the sympathetic loose cultivators were helpless.

It was said that Ju Jia was not from the Nine Provinces but was born on the Spirit Creek battlefield. He embarked on the path of cultivation because of Sima Yang's guidance. In his early years, Sima Yang, then only at the second or third level of Spirit Creek, encountered Ju Jia in a wilderness. Recognizing his extraordinary talent, Sima Yang taught him some cultivation techniques, which is why Ju Jia had remained loyal and inseparable from Sima Yang all these years.

Holding the storage bag, Ju Jia visibly froze, then turned to look at Lu Ye.

Lu Ye patted his own waist.

Ju Jia grinned foolishly, revealing a set of white teeth. Then, mimicking Lu Ye, he tied the storage bag to his waist.

"There's a defensive spiritual artifact inside; you can refine it and use it!" Lu Ye reminded him.

Ju Jia's physique was indeed incredibly strong. With his current strength, Lu Ye could effortlessly kill an ordinary Ninth-Level Body Cultivator. Qiaoyun from Windflower Pavilion was considered one of the best Ninth-Level Body Cultivators, and even she required some effort for Lu Ye to defeat.

However, compared to Ju Jia, Qiaoyun seemed insignificant.

Lu Ye subtly suspected that Ju Jia might possess an exceptionally unique physique.

Yet, no matter how strong a physique, one could still get injured. Ju Jia had sustained many injuries previously, and a defensive spiritual artifact would make it easier for him to withstand encirclement.

Half a day passed in a flash.

At Ji Yan's command, over a hundred cultivators divided into more than ten small teams and began to move.

Figures leaped and moved silently across rooftops and streets, stealthily approaching the gathering point of the Ten Thousand Devil Ridge cultivators.

An hour later, they reached their destination.

Simultaneously, the Ten Thousand Devil Ridge cultivators responsible for vigilance discovered the presence of the Haotian Alliance group and quickly raised the alarm.

It wasn't that the Haotian Alliance's concealment was imperfect; it was simply difficult to hide over a hundred people moving together.

An incense stick's time later, both sides engaged from a distance. Streams of spiritual techniques and flying artifacts collided in mid-air, emitting intense spiritual energy fluctuations.

Ghost cultivators stealthily concealed themselves, infiltrating the enemy's formation in search of suitable targets to assassinate.

From time to time, brief screams abruptly ceased.

Ji Yan, observing the situation, secretly wiped away a cold sweat. He had believed that recruiting an additional thirty loose cultivators earlier would close the numerical gap with the enemy. However, upon engaging in battle, he realized that the Ten Thousand Devil Ridge's numbers had also increased.

If not for Lu Ye's dozens of spirits in this engagement, this battle would have been very difficult to fight.

Amidst the chaos, he turned to look at Lu Ye's side, and seeing the spirits displaying their might, his heart settled.

From the information gathered from the Eighth-Level soldier cultivator, he now knew that it wasn't Lu Ye himself who commanded the spirits, but his beast companion.

These spirits were undoubtedly a game-changing asset, which Ji Yan valued greatly. Before the battle, he had already allocated a group of people for one purpose: to protect Lu Ye and his beast companion.

At this moment, besides Ju Jia, three burly Body Cultivators stood in front of Lu Ye and Amber, while five Dharma Cultivators stood behind them, constantly casting spells to intercept attacks from the opposing side. Furthermore, Lu Ye and Ju Jia weren't just standing idle; they were also fending off incoming spells and flying artifacts.

Because of the presence of Chu Qing's group, Lu Ye had already instructed Ju Jia before the battle not to act rashly, and not to attack even if enemies approached, to avoid falling into a trap. It would be unfavorable if he were targeted by Chu Qing and died on the spot.

The tragic state of the dozen or so people who had previously accidentally injured Ju Jia was still fresh in everyone's minds.

Across the entire battlefield, Lu Ye's side created the most commotion. The Immortal Essence Guards continuously launched Binding Spirit Chains, and the five special spirits each displayed unique abilities: the Pipa Lady cried softly as she played her pipa; Liu Sanbao controlled artifacts to kill enemies; the scholar held a foot-long brush, using his spiritual energy to write characters in the air—each character glowing as it descended into the Ten Thousand Devil Ridge's formation; the blind fortune teller constantly tossed his ancient coins used for divination—he wasn't seen killing enemies directly, but whenever his coins aligned in a straight line, some unfortunate soul from the Ten Thousand Devil Ridge would let out a scream.

Only the Butcher stood quietly by, holding his boning knife, guarding Amber without moving an inch.

According to Amber's feedback, this Butcher was likely a soldier cultivator, which meant he couldn't play a direct role in this type of battle for now.

However, if the enemy's defensive line could be broken and close-quarters combat ensued, the Butcher's time to shine would come.

This kind of offensive and defensive battle wasn't inherently perilous because both spiritual techniques and artifact attacks had predictable trajectories. As long as one had good eyesight and quick reactions, there was always room to dodge.

This was also why the Haotian Alliance had been able to hold their ground against the Ten Thousand Devil Ridge's offensives previously.

But with Lu Ye joining with a large group of Specter Spirits, things changed. The Pipa Lady's mental interference was too lethal, and combined with the Immortal Essence Guards' Binding Spirit Chains, even a slight oversight in the melee could lead to one's demise.

Half an hour into the battle, over forty cultivators from the Ten Thousand Devil Ridge side had fallen, and their morale was low.

Although the Haotian Alliance suffered some losses, their casualties were less than thirty percent of the Ten Thousand Devil Ridge's. The numerical disparity was completely erased, and the Haotian Alliance fought with increasing vigor.

After another half an hour, the Ten Thousand Devil Ridge's defensive line completely collapsed, and they retreated in disarray.

Ji Yan did not order a pursuit. Instead, he had his people rest where they were and clean up the battlefield.

The reason for not pursuing the victory was twofold: firstly, everyone was greatly exhausted after the fierce battle, and secondly, there was a fear that the Ten Thousand Devil Ridge might launch a desperate, cornered counterattack.

The situation was now highly advantageous for their side. All they needed to do was maintain stability and gradually expand their lead.

As the cultivators rested, Lu Ye popped a few spirit pills into his mouth, fed some to Amber, and then let it absorb some vitality from the scales to help it recover quickly as well.

Half a day later, most people had recovered.

Lu Ye opened his eyes to see Ju Jia staring at him intently.

'?' Lu Ye was puzzled.

'Revenge!' Ju Jia said concisely.

Lu Ye understood his meaning, pondered for a moment, and nodded, saying, "I'll arrange it."

Ju Jia clearly wanted to take revenge personally, but he also knew that with the red-dressed woman's restriction, he couldn't kill anyone from the Windflower Pavilion. Therefore, to enact his personal revenge, he would first need to remove that restriction imposed by the red-dressed woman.

A moment later, the rested Haotian Alliance cultivators, led by the Spirit Concealment Palace, continued to advance.

Lu Ye sought out Ji Yan and spoke a few words to him; Ji Yan nodded.

Although Immortal Essence City was large, a group of nearly a hundred people was still difficult to conceal. Moreover, when the Ten Thousand Devil Ridge had retreated earlier, Ji Yan had already dispatched his ghost cultivators to follow and investigate the enemy's movements. Thus, Ji Yan knew precisely where the Ten Thousand Devil Ridge currently was.