Chapter 2377: 2359 Liu Qingfeng Arrives

Xuandiao Island was engulfed in flames, with more than half of it reduced to ruins. Hundreds of mountain peaks had been leveled, and countless bodies lay scattered on the ground.

On a colossal peak, over a thousand zhang tall, Yu Shi'yi was impaled halfway up the mountain by a silver-glowing lightning spear. A bloody hole gaped in his chest, bleeding profusely. His face was etched with horror, and he was lifeless.

Wang Mengbin and the three others looked pale, their magical power evidently severely depleted. With Bai Yuqi's help, they successfully dismantled the formation. Wang Mengbin's refined Blackwater Divine Thunder had played a crucial role, and the Wang family's puppet beasts had also contributed significantly.

"Quickly clean up the battlefield and rendezvous with the Patriarch," Wang Mengbin commanded. The Wang family disciples acknowledged his order and began to clear the battlefield.

Wang Yingjie flew towards the Mysterious Crane Divine Wood, a high-grade type of which is the primary material for crafting flying treasures. A golden light swiftly approached from the distance. Soon, the golden light stopped, revealing Wang Xiao.

"Master wants you to quickly clean up the battlefield, gather cultivation resources, and then head to Qingyu Island to rendezvous," Wang Xiao announced loudly.

"The Patriarch took Qingyu Island?" Wang Mengbin asked, somewhat surprised. Qingyu Island was one of the Golden Roc clan's important strongholds, and its rapid capture was beyond his expectations.

"Of course, Master is no ordinary person," Wang Xiao said proudly. He had contributed to this success; if he hadn't infiltrated Qingyu Island to cause disruption, Wang Changsheng wouldn't have taken it so easily. However, he dared not boast about his contributions in front of others. He understood that the true measure of his contribution rested with Wang Changsheng's assessment, not his own; having once led the East Wilderness demon race, Wang Xiao knew his place.

Wang Mengbin acknowledged. Wang Xiao then departed to notify the other Spirit Transformation cultivators.

Tianpeng Island, the Golden Roc clan's stronghold.

In the main hall, Jin Ao sat on the main seat, his brows tightly furrowed. A tall, thin, slightly pale old man in green robes sat on his left, while Yan Chen sat on Jin Ao's right.

The human cultivators' counterattack was expected, but Jin Ao hadn't anticipated its swiftness. With two Integration cultivators from the Blazing Frost Sect leading the charge, Jin Ao wasn't afraid of a direct confrontation; what he feared were human reinforcements. If they were stalled by the humans until reinforcements arrived, they wouldn't be able to escape.

Jin Ao could escape without issue; human Integration cultivators would find it hard to stop him. The problem was his clan members. If he abandoned them and fled, they would undoubtedly suffer heavy casualties, and the Golden Roc clan would cease to exist in all but name. At its peak, the Golden Roc clan had nearly ten Integration cultivators, but after numerous disasters, only two remained, and the number of clan members continued to dwindle.

Even if Jin Ao had to leave, he wanted to take the elites with him, as they were the foundation of the Golden Roc clan. However, Yan Chen wouldn't allow it—a true tragedy for a minor clan. Yan Chen represented the Essence Flame Clan, and defying her orders meant defying the Essence Flame Clan's orders. The few clans that had done so previously had vanished into the river of history.

"Madam Yan," Jin Ao said with a troubled expression, "the humans are advancing fiercely, and many outer islands have already been captured. There's little point in continuing to fight to the death; it's better to preserve our strength for the future."

"Human reinforcements haven't arrived yet. If you retreat now, will the humans just let you go?" Yan Chen's tone was cold. Her expression then shifted as she continued, "Hold on a little longer, inflict more casualties on the human cultivators, and then it won't be too late to retreat." The order she had received was to inflict as many casualties as possible on human cultivators, and incidentally, weaken the Golden Roc clan's strength.

Every few tens of thousands of years, the Essence Flame Clan would initiate a war for multiple reasons: firstly, to test the strength of the human race; secondly, to train their troops and ensure the survival of the fittest; and thirdly, and most crucially, to weaken the power of their affiliated clans and secure the Essence Flame Clan's dominance. The Essence Flame Clan's rise from a minor clan to one of the five great clans of the Xuanling Continent was, besides the Heavenly Void Jade Tome, also closely related to the destruction of the Void Heaven Clan. After the Void Heaven Clan was annihilated, a large territory became vacant. Various clans fought fiercely to claim it, and the Essence Flame Clan grew stronger through these many conflicts.

Jin Ao breathed a sigh of relief and agreed, knowing that as long as Yan Chen consented to their retreat, it would be acceptable.

"You can arrange for some elites to retreat, but Jin Shuo must remain at the front line," Yan Chen added, as if recalling something. "If he retreats, morale will become unstable." Deserters had already appeared, and though they could still be suppressed for now, if Jin Shuo were to retreat, morale would plummet, and there would be even more deserters.

Jin Ao agreed. He wasn't comfortable moving Jin Shuo to the rear either; Jin Shuo was safer under his direct supervision.

Golden Eagle Island, one of the Golden Roc clan's important strongholds, had already been captured by human cultivators to serve as a frontline command post.

A streak of green light appeared on the distant horizon, swiftly flying towards them. Before long, the green light stopped, revealing a shimmering green flying boat. Wang Changsheng and others stood upon it; after capturing Qingyu Island, they were heading to Golden Eagle Island to report. This wasn't due to Wang Changsheng's kindness; rather, many high-level cultivators of the Golden Roc clan had fled and would undoubtedly report the fall of Qingyu Island. If Wang Changsheng's group delayed going to Golden Eagle Island, they didn't know what accusations the Blazing Frost Sect might levy against them.

A group of cultivators flew over, led by Yang Xuemei. "Fellow Daoist Wang, weren't you supposed to attack Qingyu Island? Why are you back so soon?" Yang Xuemei asked, frowning. She was unaware that Wang Changsheng had captured Qingyu Island and assumed he was fabricating an excuse to retreat.

"We have already captured Qingyu Island and eliminated three Void Refinement stage enemies," Wang Changsheng explained.

Yang Xuemei was stunned. Qingyu Island was, after all, one of the Golden Roc clan's important strongholds; how could it have been captured so quickly? She didn't dwell on it, however, thinking perhaps the Qingyu Island defenders had abandoned the island and fled, or that Wang Changsheng was exaggerating his achievements. Such instances were common, and it was hard to tell immediately.

"Senior Martial Uncle Bai and Senior Martial Uncle Li are discussing strategies against the enemy. You should go over there too! The others can go rest first," Yang Xuemei instructed.

"Madam Yang, we just captured Qingyu Island, and now we have to participate in another battle?" Liu Yumei asked, somewhat displeased.

"This is a time of urgent need for personnel; we are short-staffed everywhere," Yang Xuemei retorted bluntly. "The Liu family suffered heavy losses, yet Liu Tianyan still led his team to battle. The counterattack is Senior Lin of the Azure Mystical Sect's order. Do you intend to defy it?" There was indeed a desperate shortage of Void Refinement cultivators, and the Blazing Frost Sect had already dispatched over ten of them.

"You..." Liu Yumei was greatly annoyed and unsure how to retort.

"You constantly use Senior Lin of the Azure Mystical Sect to pressure our Zhenhai Palace members. Your Blazing Frost Sect certainly wields great power," a blunt male voice suddenly rang out. "Anyone unfamiliar with the situation might think you had annihilated Integration stage foreign tribes."

The sea churned violently, and a blue shark over a thousand zhang long surfaced. Hundreds of cultivators stood on its back, led by Liu Qingfeng. Liu Qingfeng had returned to Piaoyun Island from Xuanguang City, and upon learning that two Integration cultivators and the palace guardian spirit beast had been killed, he was filled with suppressed rage. Just as Xuan Qingzi ordered a counterattack, he led his team here to provide support.

In any case, the Wang family was an affiliated force of Zhenhai Palace, and their territory bordered the foreign tribes. By helping the Wang family, Zhenhai Palace could also benefit. If the Wang family were annihilated during the counterattack, Zhenhai Palace would gain nothing and would still have to dispatch personnel to guard Qinglian Island. Regardless of whether it was the Ascension Faction or the Local Faction, it was simply a matter of resource allocation. Whichever faction was stronger would receive a larger share. If the Blazing Frost Sect intended to monopolize everything, Zhenhai Palace would naturally not agree.

"Greetings, Senior Martial Uncle Liu! Senior Martial Uncle Liu, please speak on our behalf," Liu Yumei and Chen Yihang said, overjoyed to see Liu Qingfeng. "We were ordered to attack Qingyu Island and paid a heavy price to capture it. Not only does Madam Yang fail to reward our merits, but she also demands we immediately participate in another battle."

Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan quickly bowed in greeting, daring not to delay. Liu Qingfeng's gaze fell upon Wang Changsheng. He nodded in approval, praising, "No wonder Junior Martial Sister Chen values you. You are indeed excellent, to have captured Qingyu Island so quickly." His gaze then turned to Yang Xuemei, his expression turning cold. "Young friend Yang," he said, "give me a reasonable explanation."

"Senior Liu, it's a misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding," Yang Xuemei said, greatly alarmed, as she quickly explained.