"Fellow Daoist Mu, what do you mean by that? Are you blaming the failure to capture Windy Cool Mountain on us cultivators who were left behind on the Desolate Moon Continent?"
"What do you mean 'hiding'? Don't forget, without our forbearance and survival, opening the two-realm passage from the South Sea, you'd all still be in the Demon Realm."
"After the Devil's Cliff Crevice was sealed, were we cultivators left on the Desolate Moon Continent supposed to fight to the death with the human cultivators here? Is that it?"
The elderly demonic cultivator who spoke wore a yellow robe. He glared at the female demonic cultivator with unfriendly eyes. His features bore a strong resemblance to the yellow-robed elder who had once used a Realm-Breaking Pearl to open the two-realm passage in the South Sea.
"My apologies, Fellow Daoist Wan. My words were not directed at you. I do not deny your endurance and hardship on the Desolate Moon Continent."
"I was merely using this opportunity to enlighten certain self-righteous fools. The cultivators of the Desolate Moon Continent are not the stray dogs they see them as, to be slaughtered at will."
The fiery-figured female cultivator surnamed Mu gave a slight bow to the yellow-robed demonic cultivator surnamed Wan.
The demonic cultivator surnamed Wan was indeed the yellow-robed elder who had been at the Nascent Soul stage, now restored to his original form. He was the one Fairy Red Candle, the sect master of the Red Chan Sect, had referred to as Venerable Wan.
The demonic cultivator surnamed Wan said coldly, "It is precisely because of the generations of our predecessors who were stranded on the Desolate Moon Continent, enduring hardship and biding their time through the long years, that we have today's result."
"I hope that during your arguments, you will not use them for verbal sparring. That is the greatest disrespect to them."
"Moreover, there are over ten thousand demonic cultivators here right now who are the descendants of those 'hiding' on the Desolate Moon Continent. They are currently leading tens of thousands of human cultivators who have surrendered to us, fighting and shedding blood."
At this point, the demonic cultivator surnamed Wan's expression grew even colder. He knew that these kin who had come from the Demon Realm didn't actually hold them in high regard. The reason was that these demonic cultivators, having lost the support of the Demon Realm, not only progressed in cultivation extremely slowly, but their physical toughness had also significantly declined due to the long-term lack of nourishment from demonic qi. Furthermore, the demonic cultivators born on the Desolate Moon Continent showed a tendency to mutate towards human cultivators. Therefore, the combat strength of these demonic cultivators was generally inferior to that of the orthodox demonic cultivators who had just arrived from the Demon Realm.
The elder surnamed Wan and several other Demonic Generals on the Desolate Moon Continent had long seen through this and were very dissatisfied.
This time, after hearing this, the female cultivator surnamed Mu did not speak again. Her intention had indeed been to express her dissatisfaction with the arrogance of some of the demonic cultivators who had just arrived from the Demon Realm. It was precisely because of their arrogance that a surprise attack had turned into a siege.
"What Fellow Daoist Mu said is not entirely true either. In the battle of the South Sea, the sects were nothing more than clay chickens and pottery dogs. Now they are only able to achieve a temporary balance by relying on their numerical superiority. But it is clear that their defensive areas have been gradually shrinking in recent days," a middle-aged demonic cultivator said with a curl of his lip.
The female demonic cultivator surnamed Mu, who had fallen silent, let out a sneer and cast a sidelong glance at him.
"Do you really think the South Sea was so easy to conquer? That was only because a Demon Marshal Lord broke through the main hall of the Supreme Mystery Teachings. Under the suppression of absolute power, the South Sea cultivators had already lost their will to resist."
"Now that the three major sects are prepared, the enemy also has several Spirit Transformation cultivators who have appeared to confront us. The enemy's morale is completely different now. Otherwise, why hasn't your Lord Xi been able to stand on Windy Cool Mountain to this day?"
"We have made some progress in our attacks these past few days, but we are basically still in a seesaw battle of offense and defense within a two-hundred to four-hundred-li range in front of Windy Cool Mountain. How have we even endangered Windy Cool Mountain?"
The middle-aged demonic cultivator was about to retort when Tie Dong frowned and interrupted their argument, speaking coldly.
"Fellow Daoists, that's enough! What's the point of arguing about the combat strength of the Desolate Moon Continent cultivators now? They have withstood our attacks for a month. What Fellow Daoist Mu said still has some merit."
"A perfectly good surprise attack ended up becoming a frontal assault because two groups arrived with such fanfare. Although part of the reason was that our intelligence had already been leaked, it was something that really shouldn't have happened."
"Where were the military tactics you used in the Demon Realm? Isn't this the result of underestimating the cultivators of this continent?"
After a pause, Tie Dong continued, "I just received a voice transmission from Demon Master Tu Tai. Our progress is too slow. After a month of fighting, we are still pinned down in front of Windy Cool Mountain."
"The Demon Marshal Lord demands that we take Windy Cool Mountain within five days. The reinforcements for Windy Cool Mountain are increasing, and they are even willing to trade soldier for soldier, general for general."
"Firstly, they have seen through our weakness in numbers. Secondly, it is certain that the teleportation formation of the Devil's Cliff Crevice is located here, which is why they are defending it at all costs."
"Demon-Swallowing Ridge and Sword-Subduing Abyss, the other two locations, seemed to have more guards than Windy Cool Mountain before, but the intelligence the Demon Marshal Lord received suggests it was just a feint."
"However, the Demon Marshal Lord has also divided his forces to attack Demon-Swallowing Ridge and Sword-Subduing Abyss with full force, also as a diversionary tactic."
"Five days? Given the current situation, it won't be easy. Especially since that group of foreign cultivators has already sent word that they will not participate in every daily attack. They've only promised to send people to help again during the final assault," another demonic cultivator said after some thought.
"This group of foreign cultivators will never be of one mind with us. They are only reluctantly making a move because of our prior agreement."
"However, their combat strength is indeed ferocious. Their unwillingness to participate in the daily attacks now is also reasonable."
"Look at them, they only have a force of over five hundred people. How could those three Spirit Transformation cultivators be willing to endure such prolonged attrition? That would mean the extinction of their clan. It's estimated that the total number of foreign cultivators now does not exceed three hundred and fifty."
Listening to the discussion, Tie Dong raised a hand. "Fellow Daoists, since we know the foreign cultivators will not participate in the outer assaults, the outcome depends mainly on us."
"Now that Lord Tu Tai has issued a death order, I have gathered you all here to discuss whether it is time to bring out the 'Heaven-Shaking Thunder.' We are out of time."
"What? Use the 'Heaven-Shaking Thunder' now? I think it's too early. We'll have no trump cards left for later."
"That's right. This is a magical treasure meant to be used in the final attack on the Devil's Cliff Crevice. Brother Tie, this is improper, very improper!"
"Brother Tie, we brought a limited number of Demon Crystals with us this time. It won't be enough to support the 'Heaven-Shaking Thunder' for long. The Demon Marshal Lord won't agree either..."
Listening to their rebuttals, Tie Dong's head felt as big as a bushel basket. In the Demon Clan, strength was paramount and the hierarchy was strict, but when Demonic Generals of the same rank gathered, the result was mutual defiance, with no one able to convince the others. As expected, his words were met with a wave of doubt. He shouldn't have used a consultative tone just now. He was about to speak again.
At this moment, the female cultivator surnamed Mu swept her crescent moon handguard sabers, creating two streaks of watery light around her. She swayed her devilish figure and let out a sneer.
"You're all too naive. For Fellow Daoist Tie to say this, he must have received an order from the Demon Marshal Lord. The limited Demon Crystals, do you really think we can deploy them as we wish?"
She felt that apart from Tie Dong and the elder surnamed Wan, the rest of them didn't use their brains at all. Although demonic cultivators were all built like brutes, there were plenty who were skilled at scheming. In the end, several of the Demonic Generals here simply looked down on the Desolate Moon Continent cultivators, unwilling to admit their tenacity, thinking that a mere charge by the demonic army could conquer these ants.
Sure enough, after hearing this, Tie Dong took a deep breath. "Fellow Daoist Mu is absolutely right. We will not be using the 'Heaven-Shaking Thunder' at all times, but only at critical moments. The decision to use it also came from Lord Tu Tai. As for the Demon Crystals and the 'Heaven-Shaking Thunder,' Lord Tu Tai has instructed us to send a Demonic General to retrieve them."
Hearing that it was Lord Tu Tai's arrangement, the others immediately fell silent, their faces showing respect. The elder surnamed Wan saw all of this and let out a long sigh in his heart.
Seeing that everyone had quieted down, Tie Dong finally felt some peace.
"Then, Fellow Daoist Mu will be in charge of arranging the attack positions for the 'Heaven-Shaking Thunder.' It must be placed in a location not easily detected by the enemy to avoid it being destroyed. Our losses would be too great otherwise, and we have no way to replenish it here."
Tie Dong felt that the female cultivator surnamed Mu was meticulous. Entrusting her with the defense of such an important magical treasure as the "Heaven-Shaking Thunder" was a safe bet. As for the others, they were sharp weapons for killing on the front lines, more skilled in combat. It was best to use them where they were most needed.
After hearing this, the female cultivator surnamed Mu did not refuse. Her crimson lips parted slightly.
"Then I'll need two hundred men. No need for Demon Lord level. Just Demonic Soldiers and trustworthy human cultivators will do. They will be primarily responsible for deploying the 'Heaven-Shaking Thunder' and handling the surrounding trivial security matters."
At this, the others all fell silent. Since the Demon Marshal Lord had given the order, they just had to follow it. In any case, the "Heaven-Shaking Thunder" was with the Demon Marshal Lord, so they weren't afraid of anyone forging orders; one had to personally go and request it.
Just as Tie Dong thought, they were more willing to fight the enemy head-on. Guarding the "Heaven-Shaking Thunder," besides being a safer position, offered no other benefits. They couldn't even get any spoils of war, so they were happy to let the female cultivator surnamed Mu take on this responsibility.
Tie Dong thought for a moment. "Our own manpower is also tight, and they have to control the South Sea cultivators. So I'll give you fifty Demonic Soldiers. As for trustworthy human cultivators, Fellow Daoist Wan will have to send some over."
"After all, Fellow Daoist Wan has developed many sects on the Desolate Moon Continent. It would be best to add a few Golden Core cultivators for Fellow Daoist Mu. She can't be expected to do everything herself; it's better to have capable people to command."
The elder surnamed Wan heard this and nodded in agreement without another word. This small number of people was nothing to them.
...
Li Yan was already quite familiar with Windy Cool Mountain. After leaving Wei Zhongran's Cave Residence, he immediately flew towards a mountain peak more than twenty li to the west, where the "Green Bat Battalion" was located.
Wei Zhongran had also told him that several squads in the "Green Bat Battalion" had suffered heavy casualties recently, so they had been withdrawn this morning to rest and reorganize. At the same time, new cultivators would be added to their ranks.
From Wei Zhongran's brief words, Li Yan also learned that the Malevolent Spirit Sect's own cultivators had suffered considerable casualties during this period. More than twenty Foundation Establishment cultivators had fallen, including one of the few people Li Yan was familiar with—Chu Weixiong.
He had died in battle ten days ago, when two South Sea cultivators surrounded him and self-destructed. Not even his soul managed to escape. He perished on the spot.
The Heaven-Locking Interlocking Four Symbols Formation he had single-handedly deployed failed to block the terrifying power of two cultivators of the same rank self-destructing. Not even a trace of his body remained.
Chu Weixiong had been a very talkative person with few ulterior motives, one of the few people Li Yan was relatively familiar with.
Upon hearing this, Li Yan felt a wave of indescribable emotion. A month ago, he and Chu Weixiong had gone on a mission together. He hadn't expected that after a month of secluded healing, they would already be separated by life and death. He couldn't help but feel the ruthlessness of the world.