Chapter 3860: War Escalation

With the death of the Changyuan Tribe's True Immortal cultivators, the remaining members surrendered without a fight. The vast disparity in strength made unnecessary resistance pointless.

The Bai family lost five True Immortal cultivators, including Bai Jianghe. The Water Demon Tribe lost eighteen True Immortal cultivators, and the Xia family lost five. The Wang family, however, only had Yue Lei injured. If Wang Qiulin hadn't divined a bad omen for Yue Lei and his companion, Wang Qingling might have led her team in pursuit. After all, Fu Yan and others had genuinely been killed, with their Nascent Souls self-detonating, which was difficult to fake.

Wang Meng proved invaluable in this battle. She utilized the Law of Dreams, causing any True Immortal cultivator who inadvertently fell into her dream to perish. Wang Qingling and Wang Qingjing, having merged, significantly boosted their strength. Wang Lihe, Wang Xiulong, and Wang Xiuling also performed exceptionally well. Even without their Chaos Armor, when they fought together, the True Immortal cultivators of the Changyuan Tribe were no match for them, proving their years of training had not been in vain.

"Fellow Daoist Wang, did you know about the ambush?" Xia Sibing asked with a frown. The Changyuan Tribe had used dozens of True Immortal cultivators as bait. Out of caution, she had used an Immortal Puppet Talisman to create a false body and led some True Immortal cultivators into Scarlet Rainbow Island, only to suffer significant losses. The Wang family's minimal losses were primarily due to them not rushing onto the island. If they hadn't known about the ambush, after the formation was breached, the Wang family's True Immortals would have charged onto the island to eliminate enemies, and their losses would certainly not have been small.

"No, I was just being cautious," Wang Qingling said with a frown. "Who would have thought that the Changyuan Tribe's True Immortal cultivators would use themselves as bait? Besides, the intelligence was wrong! They had over thirty more True Immortal cultivators." They had lost twenty-eight True Immortal cultivators but had killed over eighty. According to their intelligence, the Changyuan Tribe, even with its affiliated forces, didn't have that many True Immortal cultivators in total.

"It's not surprising that the Changyuan Tribe hid some experts," Xia Sibing said dismissively. Many affiliated forces of the Nine Immortal Sect hid a considerable number of True Immortal cultivators; otherwise, they wouldn't be able to bear the Nine Immortal Sect's frequent conscriptions. The Qi family was similar; they initially hid many True Immortal cultivators, only gradually revealing their true strength after Golden Immortal cultivators emerged.

"Madam Xia, Fellow Daoist Bai, Madam Tong, regarding the distribution of resources?" Wang Qingling asked, bringing up the main topic. According to their prior agreement, the first force to break into Scarlet Rainbow Island would receive thirty percent. If Wang Qingling hadn't broken the formation in time, the Bai family and the Water Demon Tribe could have been completely wiped out.

"Madam Xia, Fellow Daoist Wang, how about your two families each take thirty percent, and our Bai family and the Water Demon Tribe each take twenty percent?" Bai Yilong suggested, his tone somewhat weak. He knew his place; a prior agreement was one thing, but the actual situation was another. Tong Ruoshui also had no objections, as most of the Water Demon Tribe's fallen True Immortal cultivators were from affiliated forces, with few losses among their direct clan members. Xia Sibing had no objections either, though she suspected Wang Qingling wasn't telling the whole truth. The Wang family must have received some intelligence or had spies within the Changyuan Tribe; otherwise, there would be no reason for Wang Qingling not to land on the island.

After settling on the resource distribution and designated areas, they each activated a space-type Profound Heavenly Treasure and released a group of Void Refinement and Integration Stage cultivators to collect cultivation resources. Scarlet Rainbow Island was breached, and while some True Immortal cultivators of the Changyuan Tribe remained, they were no longer a significant threat. Wang Qingling and others used their Immortal Transmission Mirrors to contact their clan members, dispatching large forces to completely occupy the Changyuan Tribe's territory. The Wang and Xia families took the larger shares, while the Water Demon Tribe and the Bai family took smaller ones. All four families were satisfied with this distribution method. They were somewhat relieved that the Changyuan Tribe had no Grand Completion True Immortals; otherwise, they wouldn't have captured Scarlet Rainbow Island so easily.

At Qinglian Peak on Qinglian Island, Wang Ruyan, Wang Qiulin, Wang Rumeng, and Wang Yongqian sat together in a green stone pavilion, sipping tea and chatting.

"Excellent. Qiulin, you've rendered a great service this time. If not for your warning, Qingling might have pursued them all the way to Scarlet Rainbow Island," Wang Ruyan said with a smile. Yang Chunqiu and Yue Lei were both injured, though not severely, proving the accuracy of Wang Qiulin's divination. Years of preparation paid off in a single moment. Wang Qiulin smiled, pleased to have contributed his part.

"Ancestor, with the Celestial Beast Sect and the Changyuan Tribe successively destroyed by us, the Hao Yue Alliance will surely take action, right? Perhaps by sending other forces to deal with us?" Wang Yongqian asked with some concern.

"That's for sure. The Hao Yue Alliance won't allow us to expand unchecked. However, it depends on the extent of the conflict between the Nine Immortal Sect and the Hao Yue Alliance. I wonder if Golden Immortal cultivators will get involved," Wang Ruyan said, her face full of curiosity.

According to her conjecture, the Nine Immortal Sect deliberately created public opinion to portray themselves as victims. Then, at the request of their affiliated forces, they would dispatch troops to counter the Hao Yue Alliance, placing the Qi family at the forefront to weaken their strength, while forces like the Wang, Xia, and Bai families were merely there to make up the numbers. The situation developed as Wang Ruyan had predicted: the Nine Immortal Sect sent Golden Immortal cultivators to participate, and the Qi family also dispatched Golden Immortal cultivators to accompany them. Currently, only True Immortal cultivators had made a move; Golden Immortal cultivators had not yet acted.

"For Golden Immortal cultivators to get involved, there must be something valuable at stake, right? Materials to open the seven apertures? Or special refining materials? Or high-grade immortal artifacts? Or Dao Elixirs?" Wang Qiulin speculated.

"That's unclear. We just need to do our part, strengthen our defenses, and strictly guard against enemy sneak attacks," Wang Ruyan instructed. Wang Yongqian and the others acknowledged, then rose and departed.

On Hao Yue Island, at the headquarters of the Hao Yue Alliance, two men and one woman sat conversing within a green stone pavilion in a secluded estate, complete with pavilions, towers, and garden corridors.

"I've verified it," said a corpulent old man in white robes, his face stern. "None of our affiliated forces sent anyone against them. This is merely a play orchestrated by the Nine Immortal Sect themselves, giving them an excuse to act against us without justification." This was Leng Hao, a Golden Immortal at the early stage.

"They truly take us for soft targets. If they want a fight, then let's give them one!" A voluptuous young woman in a purple dress said, her tone stern. "I've already contacted Fellow Daoist Sun of the Beast Spirit Sect; they will join us in dealing with the Nine Immortal Sect." This was Yan Xuan, a Golden Immortal at the middle stage.

"Are we really getting personally involved over such a small matter?" A thin old man in purple robes frowned. This was Chen Yan, a Golden Immortal at the early stage.

"Of course not. Soldiers fight soldiers, generals fight generals. Since they sent their affiliated forces, we'll send ours too. However long they want to fight, we'll accompany them to the end, to see who can outlast whom. If the Nine Immortal Sect's Golden Immortal cultivators don't make a move, neither will we. Who doesn't have affiliated forces?" Yan Xuan sneered. The Nine Immortal Sect made their move, and they would simply counter it. Having affiliated forces fight each other was not a new tactic, and it could also subtly weaken the strength of those forces.

Leng Hao and Chen Yan had no objections and agreed. Soon, the orders were relayed, and the Hao Yue Alliance's affiliated forces began mobilizing personnel to counter the Nine Immortal Sect's affiliated forces. The Heavenly Ghost Sect, the Sun family, the Xie family, and the Xu family received orders to target the Wang, Xia, Bai, and Water Demon families and reclaim the lost territories.