Chapter 2357: The Attack at Zhenhai Palace

Wielding the Myriad Beast Flute with his mid-Integration stage cultivation, Liu Yilong rarely encountered a demonic beast that would disobey his commands. He fully activated the Myriad Beast Flute; even Sixth-tier demonic beasts couldn't resist and instead turned to attack the Essencefire Race. Coupled with the cooperation of human cultivators, the allied alien forces suffered heavy losses, with over twenty Void Refinement cultivators falling on the spot. Human morale surged, and they intensified their assault.

Attentive individuals noticed that beyond a hundred thousand li from Xuanguang City, high-tier demonic beasts were not significantly affected.

Yan Ji saw this scene and her delicate brows furrowed.

"The Myriad Beast Flute!" Tiger Roar frowned and said. "The Myriad Spirit Sect actually brought one of their seven major sect-guarding treasures." He added that the Beastkin Race excelled at raising spirit beasts, and a significant portion of the hundreds of millions of demonic beasts were raised by them.

"If we retreat beyond a hundred thousand li, the impact will be minimal," Wood Sen said with a troubled expression. "But that would mean we can't attack Xuanguang City."

Wood Sen had a troubled expression. Currently, only the Myriad Spirit Sect had used one of their sect-guarding treasures. If other major human sects also used their trump card treasures, their losses would be even greater. Xuanguang City, built by humans at immense cost and refined over many years, would not be easily taken.

"Withdraw the demonic beasts; let's retreat for now!" Yan Ji commanded.

"Retreat? Immortal Yan Ji," Wood Sen frowned and said, "We've attacked many times and haven't gained much advantage. If we retreat again now, and attack again after some time, we still won't be able to take Xuanguang City. The outcome will be similar to today's." Wood Sen explained that the number of human cultivators was vast; even if millions were killed or wounded, they could recover their strength with a little more time. The Spirit Race was different; it was not easy to give birth to a clansman. Since the war began, the Spirit Race had lost over five hundred members, with over twenty Void Refinement stage clansmen among them. His heart bled; if the fighting continued, the Spirit Race's losses would be even greater.

"I said, retreat! Execute the order!" Yan Ji's tone was stern, leaving no room for defiance.

Wood Sen and the others dared not speak out, though they were angry; they could only agree.

The allied alien forces retreated in an orderly fashion, covering each other. A huge golden fireball lit up high in the sky, becoming very conspicuous. The human allied forces then focused on eliminating or capturing the demonic beasts controlled by the Myriad Beast Flute, to prevent them from being used by the alien races.

Outside Xuanguang City, the ground within a hundred thousand li radius was dyed red with blood. Large numbers of corpses lay on the ground, including human cultivators and alien creatures. Some human or alien cultivators were still alive; human cultivators received treatment, while alien cultivators were captured on the spot and taken back for soul-searching and refinement to extract secrets. A large number of weapons were scattered on the ground, along with many storage rings. The cultivators profited greatly from the dead. Wang Qingshan acquired over ten storage rings, all collected with the help of the stone figures.

More than an hour later, the cultivators gradually retreated back to Xuanguang City. Upon returning to their quarters, Wang Qingshan took a headcount. Of the 111-person team, only 81 remained. One Spirit Transformation cultivator had fallen, twenty-nine Nascent Soul cultivators had fallen, three Fifth-tier puppet beasts were scrapped, and a hundred Fourth-tier puppet beasts were scrapped. This was just the beginning. The longer the war lasted, the greater their losses would be.

Wang Qingfeng and Dong Xueli's cooperation was skillful, and they killed seven Spirit Transformation alien cultivators. Wang Lihe, Wang Lijiao, and Wang Lihe formed a small team and eliminated four Spirit Transformation alien cultivators. Their cultivation levels were not high; otherwise, their achievements would have been greater.

"You all rest well," Wang Qingshan instructed, his voice heavy. "Take the alien identification tokens or corpses to exchange for cultivation resources. Exchange for more healing elixirs or life-saving treasures."

Wang Qingfeng and the others agreed in unison, their mood somewhat heavy. Losing so many clansmen in the first engagement, even with the use of puppet beasts, was significant. If they hadn't used puppet beasts, the casualties would likely have been much higher. Wang Qingshan gave a few more instructions and sent them back to their respective residences to rest.

Floating Cloud Island, the headquarters of Zhenhai Palace.

In a secluded azure estate, Song Yiming and Song Yuchan were talking in an azure bamboo building. Song Yuchan's face was pale, seemingly having lost a significant amount of vital energy.

"The power of the Grand Heavenly Tribulation is immense," Song Yiming said gently, "but since this is your first time undergoing it, you're fine. You must cultivate diligently and strive to advance to the late Void Refinement stage before the second Grand Heavenly Tribulation arrives."

Song Yuchan was currently at the mid-Void Refinement stage, and her cultivation speed was very fast. She possessed a spiritual physique, and with Song Yiming's support, it was difficult for her cultivation speed to be slow.

"I understand, Father," Song Yuchan replied, her voice somewhat weak.

Just then, an alarm blared loudly, and a deafening beast roar came from Song Yiming's body. He quickly took out a shimmering blue spell disk, which had an exotic beast pattern on its surface. He infused it with a spell, and a panicked male voice rang out: "Sect Master Uncle, something bad has happened! Over ten Integration-stage alien cultivators have attacked our sect, and they are currently blocked by the sect-protecting formation."

Hearing this, Song Yiming's face darkened. He had already anticipated this. Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan obtaining a Profound Heavenly Item was both a blessing and a disaster for Zhenhai Palace. As early as when the alien races invaded, Song Yiming had sensed that something was amiss; the alien races were very likely targeting Zhenhai Palace to find the Profound Heavenly Item.

"Over ten Integration cultivators?" Song Yuchan exclaimed, her beautiful face turning pale.

"I understand," Song Yiming commanded. "I'll go over immediately, activate all restrictions of the sect-protecting formation, and summon Junior Sister Chen and the others to jointly resist the enemy."

"Yes, Sect Master Uncle."

Song Yiming put away the spell disk, looked at Song Yuchan, and said, "Don't heal yourself for now. If the situation goes south, immediately teleport to the mainland." Zhenhai Palace has many branch strongholds on the mainland; as long as Song Yuchan lives, the lineage of Zhenhai Palace will not be extinguished. Of course, this is the worst-case scenario. There are still four Integration cultivators at Zhenhai Palace's headquarters, while other Integration cultivators have either gone to the front lines to fight the alien races or are out traveling. Once at the Integration stage, it's difficult to advance purely through arduous cultivation, so Integration cultivators usually travel extensively.

"I understand, Father," Song Yuchan replied, her face full of worry.

Song Yiming gave a few more instructions and flew out.

Outside Floating Cloud Island, a colossal tidal wave, over ten thousand zhang high, lay horizontally on the sea surface. Twelve Integration cultivators stood atop the colossal wave. A graceful young woman in a golden dress and a burly man in a green robe stood in the center, and the other Integration cultivators treated them with deference. Both the young woman in the golden dress and the burly man in the green robe had flame-like spirit patterns on their faces, with long ears and high noses. Both were at the late Integration stage and belonged to the Essencefire Race. The young woman in the golden dress was named Jin Zhuan, the great-great-granddaughter of the Essencefire Race's Grand Priest. The burly man in the green robe was named Qing Xiao. The two were dual cultivation partners.

According to reliable intelligence, a Profound Heavenly Item had appeared in the Profound Spirit Grotto and was obtained by a Zhenhai Palace disciple. The high-ranking members of the Essencefire Race were not easily convinced, as Spirit Transformation cultivators had limited discernment and might have mistaken the treasure. The best way was to produce solid evidence. If a Zhenhai Palace disciple obtained a Profound Heavenly Item, they would certainly hand it over. By performing soul-searching on Zhenhai Palace's Integration cultivators, they should be able to confirm it. The Essencefire Race launched a major war, which mobilized a group of Zhenhai Palace's experts. The Integration cultivators remaining at Zhenhai Palace's headquarters should know the inside story. Logically speaking, even if Zhenhai Palace obtained a Profound Heavenly Item, it would most likely be handed over to the Mysterious Azure Sect. However, the Mysterious Azure Sect had a Mahayana cultivator presiding over it, so the Essencefire Race's Integration cultivators dared not attack their headquarters; that would be courting death.