Chapter 4122: Loss

His strength would not have increased so significantly if his natal immortal artifact had not merged with a Hongmeng spiritual treasure. Wang Qingshan and the others could not have restrained a seven-colored chaotic beast by themselves, primarily because their cultivation levels were too low, only in the early Golden Immortal stage. Even mastering the Aperture Merging Technique, it would take a great deal of effort for several of them to work together to eliminate a seven-colored chaotic beast.

If their cultivation levels were higher, eliminating the seven-colored chaotic beasts would be much easier. Wang Yingjie was also injured, but fortunately, he was a peak true spirit, so his injuries were not severe.

Ye Haitang and Wang Qingfeng were both injured, and their injuries were relatively serious.

Not long after, Wang Qingshan and his three companions returned; they had successfully eliminated the seven-colored chaotic beast. "Husband, are you alright?" Liu Hongxue asked with concern, taking out a golden porcelain bottle and handing it to Wang Yingjie. "I'm fine; I just need to recuperate for a while. I've already taken an immortal pill," Wang Yingjie replied.

"Send people to clear the battlefield, strengthen our defenses, and contact the Qi family and the Ghost Spirit Sect," Wang Qingshan instructed.

Upon returning to Xuanyu City, everyone gathered in the council hall. Wang Qingshan took the main seat, while Wang Qingfeng and the others sat on either side.

"In this battle, forty-five True Immortal cultivators were killed or injured, seven Golden Immortal cultivators were wounded, and four Golden Immortal-stage puppet beasts were destroyed. We are fortunate that we only had to defend one Xuan City; otherwise, our losses would have been much greater," Wang Qingfeng remarked with some relief. Xuanyu City boasted over twenty Golden Immortal cultivators, eighteen mid-grade Immortal Extermination Cannons, a mid-grade Immortal Extermination Arrow, and several Golden Immortal-stage puppet beasts. With Wang Qingshan and his companions mastering the Aperture Merging Technique, defending a single Xuan City was still relatively easy. However, defending multiple Xuan Cities would have resulted in significant losses.

"It's thanks to Seventh Brother's foresight in only requesting one Xuan City. It seems Seventh Brother was right; Immortal Luo Shui knew the last tribulation was not the true Immortal Tribulation, but this one is," Sun Yuejiao said.

"Indeed! At first, I didn't understand, thinking it a waste for Fellow Daoist Wang to only occupy one Xuan City with so many Golden Immortal cultivators. Now I see that I was short-sighted. Fellow Daoist Wang possesses remarkable foresight, and I, Lan, am truly impressed. Henceforth, whatever you say, I will not question it," Lan Fukong's face was full of flattery as he showered praise on Wang Qingshan. Wang Qingshan had insisted on defending only one Xuan City, a decision Lan Fukong and the others hadn't initially understood, finding him overly cautious. After advancing to the Golden Immortal stage, they had wanted to request another Xuan City from the Cao family, but Wang Qingshan had vetoed the idea. Ultimately, they followed his advice. It was now clear that if they had stubbornly insisted, though they might have acquired vast cultivation resources in the short term, they would certainly not have survived this Immortal Tribulation.

"That's right! If we had taken even one more Xuan City, we wouldn't have been able to defend it, and might even have perished," Chen Yueying wholeheartedly agreed.

"Fellow Daoist Wang truly has foresight. From now on, if Fellow Daoist Wang says to go east, I, Ni, will never go west," Ni Tianlong echoed.

"It's not entirely my foresight; the Murong family's actions were somewhat abnormal. If not for that, I wouldn't have insisted on defending just one Xuan City and would have, like other forces, requested several more," Wang Qingshan stated, a shiver of post-fear running through him. Had it not been for the intelligence gathered by Wang Chuanming, which confirmed his suspicions, he might have followed the crowd, changed his mind, and requested more Xuan Cities.

Wang Qingfeng picked up a red-glowing dharma plate, infused it with a spell, and said with a frown, "All of the Ghost Spirit Sect's Xuan Cities have been breached and their forces annihilated. Golden Crocodile City has also fallen again, though Lady Qi was not present at the time. Haoyue City and Jiuxian City have been breached once more, and a large number of immortals have been captured." At this news, all the Golden Immortal cultivators present revealed expressions of shock.

"What about the Murong family?" Wang Qingshan pressed.

"It's not clear yet," Wang Qingfeng replied.

"Intensify vigilance, and use the corpses of the chaotic beasts to refine Immortal Extermination Arrows and Chaos Armor," Wang Qingshan ordered. Wang Qingfeng and the others acknowledged the orders, then departed one by one to attend to their respective tasks.

In Chiyan City, more than half the city had fallen, with numerous buildings collapsing. Inside Chiyan Hall, Murong Zhengxian sat in the main seat, his right arm gone and his face ashen. Immortal Luo Shui, Murong Tianbao, Murong Yuhong, and others sat on either side, their expressions grim. With seven-colored chaotic beasts leading the assault on the two Xuan Cities controlled by the Murong family, the Murong clan was simply unable to withstand the attack. They had deployed the high-grade immortal artifact, the Sky-Burning Wheel, to eliminate some Golden Immortal-stage chaotic beasts. However, the Sky-Burning Wheel was already severely damaged and beyond repair, and it was ultimately destroyed by a seven-colored chaotic beast. The seven-colored chaotic beasts had breached Chiyan City and captured many immortals. Murong Zhengxian used a Tier-3 immortal talisman, the Immortal-Locking Talisman, to momentarily restrain the seven-colored chaotic beast, allowing them to teleport away. Even working together, they could not kill the seven-colored chaotic beast, so being able to escape was a great stroke of luck.

"In this battle, we lost five Golden Immortal cultivators and two hundred fifty-five True Immortal cultivators. If this Immortal Tribulation has not yet concluded, our losses will be even greater," reported Murong Yuhe, who had already advanced to the Golden Immortal stage. The scale of this chaotic beast tide was even larger than the previous one. Logically, the Murong family should have suffered much greater losses. However, because they had made extensive preparations and utilized the Immortal-Locking Talisman and Sky-Burning Wheel from their treasury, their losses were comparatively small. Had Immortal Luo Shui not divined a bloody calamity for the Murong family's territory, they would not have deployed these two precious items, as accumulating such resources was no easy feat.

Murong Zhengxian looked towards Immortal Luo Shui, who frowned and said, "According to the divination, there will be more battles in this area. We should abandon these two Xuan Cities and retreat to the Tianchen Sea Region. We can return later. The Cao family's losses must be considerable, and as long as we possess sufficient strength, they will grant us Xuan Cities again." Abandoning Xuan Cities was easy, but it would not be easy to persuade the Cao family to grant them cities again in the future. Without enough Golden Immortals, the Cao family would not be able to defend so many Xuan Cities themselves.

"It appears this Immortal Tribulation will last for a considerable period!" Murong Tianbao said, frowning. He had used his transformation technique but still couldn't defeat the seven-colored chaotic beast.

"It seems we've returned at just the right time!" A deep male voice resounded. No sooner had the words faded than Murong Yilong, Murong Yilei, and Du Yan walked in. Seeing the three of them, Murong Zhengxian and the others' faces lit up with joy.

"Greetings, Old Ancestor!" Murong Zhengxian and the others quickly stood up and spoke in unison.

Murong Yilong approached the main seat and sat down. His gaze swept over Murong Zhengxian and the others as he kindly said, "You've all worked tirelessly these past years."

"This is our duty, Old Ancestor. Your return is perfectly timed." Murong Zhengxian then provided a detailed report on the family's recent changes and major events within the North Sea Immortal Domain.

"The Green Lotus Wang Family! It seems a new power has emerged during our travels," Murong Yilong commented.

"Old Ancestor, did you not return to the Tianzhan Sea Region?" Murong Zhengxian asked, perplexed.

"No, nothing significant can happen in the Tianchen Sea Region. I was concerned about potential issues on the Chaos Continent, so I came here first. It seems my return was indeed timely," Murong Yilong explained.

Murong Zhengxian recounted the situation of the current Immortal Tribulation. Towards the end, his face filled with shame as he said, "Old Ancestor, we used up the Immortal-Locking Talisman, and the Sky-Burning Wheel was destroyed; only then were we able to escape."

"If they're used, they're used. What matters is that you are all safe," Murong Yilong said. "Give orders to strengthen vigilance and firmly defend both Xuan Cities."

"Old Ancestor, the Immortal Tribulation is led by seven-colored chaotic beasts," Murong Tianbao reminded him.

Murong Yilong smiled calmly, full of confidence. "I have cultivated to the peak true spirit stage," he said. "Even if a mutated seven-colored chaotic beast comes, I can still contend with it." Hearing this, the Murong family cultivators were all overjoyed. They unanimously agreed to the orders and dispersed to attend to their respective duties.