When he heard the words "Mutual Destruction Ridge," Li Yan couldn't help but be taken aback. He knew that this entire area was supposed to be a subsidiary mountain range of Windy Cool Mountain , and it shouldn't have had any other names. Besides, this name sounded incredibly inauspicious.
He and Bai Rou's Ninth Squad had carried out missions nearby before, so he was relatively familiar with the terrain in this region.
At the same time, behind him, Gong Yuantai and some of the others suddenly trembled, their expressions growing tense.
All of this was observed by the lanky cultivator and the buxom female cultivator. They exchanged a glance, and this time, the female cultivator spoke.
"We heard long ago that the Green Bat Battalion's Sixteenth Squad fought at the nearby 'Bone-Grinding Mountain' for half a month. It seems some of you survived. In that case, we won't need to give you a detailed introduction to the situation at 'Mutual Destruction Ridge' or its importance here."
When she spoke the last few words, "its importance," anyone could hear the resentment in her tone.
Before Li Yan and his group could process this, the lanky cultivator immediately interjected, "This is the compass that controls the 'Yin-Yang Realm River Formation' outside this mountain, along with its control manual. Fellow Daoist Li , please take it."
As he spoke, he flipped his hand, and the ancient bronze compass he had been holding, along with a newly appeared pristine white Jade Slip , was passed to Li Yan.
After handing the items to Li Yan, he continued, "There are ten cave residences on this mountain. The one we are in now is the largest and also serves as the gathering place for the cultivators who can still fight. The Demonic Cultivators' attacks are erratic. If our cultivators are spread out, it's difficult to command them, so it's more convenient to gather here. The entrances to the other eight caves you saw outside are for the heavily wounded cultivators who can't retreat to the rear to meditate and heal. Each cave can accommodate at least fifty people. As for the last cave, it's located deep in the rear of this one, a cave within a cave. It houses the core mechanism and Spirit Stone storage for this mountain's 'Yin-Yang Realm River Formation' . Nine cultivators stand guard there every day. They need to constantly use their Divine Sense and Spirit Power to control the grand formation and ensure a steady supply for its Spirit Stone consumption. The Spirit Stones there have detailed usage records, which I will lead Fellow Daoist Li to inspect later..."
Soon, Li Yan learned about the situation at "Mutual Destruction Ridge." Stationed here currently was the Second Squad of the Heavy Peak Battalion . The lanky cultivator's surname was Fang, and he was the captain here. The buxom female cultivator's surname was Yang, and she was the vice-captain of the Second Squad.
The Heavy Peak Battalion currently had fifty-six members, seventeen of whom were severely injured, leaving thirty-nine able-bodied fighters. "Mutual Destruction Ridge" was the most forward position relative to Windy Cool Mountain , with its rear flanks spreading out horizontally like "wings."
The other cultivators garrisoned at Windy Cool Mountain were positioned on six peaks on either side to engage the enemy. Further to the east and west were the defensive perimeters of two other strongpoints. The place where the Green Sixteen Squad had previously fought the enemy was on one of these "wings."
Due to its special geographical location, "Mutual Destruction Ridge" provided a huge advantage for Windy Cool Mountain . Its effect on the invading Demon Clan army was like a cone-shaped penetration.
This was also the most critical direction for the Demon Clan's main assault. If the demon army were to push north, it would be akin to leaving a nail embedded in their own heart, ready to detonate their core at any moment.
Thus, taking "Mutual Destruction Ridge" became the Demon Clan army's top priority. The fighting here was exceptionally fierce, and the position had nearly been lost several times. Every day here was a grinding struggle, paid for with the flesh and blood of cultivators.
In just one month, Li Yan's group was already the third batch of cultivators sent up as replacements.
Initially, Li Yan felt a slight sense of relief upon hearing this. It sounded like the casualties here were not as severe as what the Green Sixteen Squad had faced before. The Green Sixteen Squad had suffered a casualty rate of over seventy percent in half a month. Although the price was steep, the losses here seemed comparatively lower.
When Cultivator Fang noticed Li Yan's expression, he added with a humorless smile, "We've been here for half a month as well. The Second Squad has received reinforcements on the battlefield four times, each time replenished to a hundred men. Of the first batch of the Heavy Peak Battalion's Second Squad, only six remain. The rest are all survivors from the successive replenishments. Moreover, the first captain was also a Malevolent Spirit Sect cultivator. He died in battle five days ago. I was appointed as the temporary captain, but my qualifications were clearly insufficient, so Fellow Daoist Yang became the vice-captain to help defend against the enemy."
Hearing Cultivator Fang's flat, emotionless words, not only was Li Yan startled, but behind him, apart from the old members of the Green Sixteen Squad whose faces twitched uncontrollably, the rest drew in a sharp breath of cold air. The complexions of many cultivators turned ugly.
By this calculation, at least two to three hundred cultivators had died here in half a month. Didn't that mean a death probability of around fifteen people every day? How many days could their hundred-strong group withstand such attrition?
Some cultivators had already lost their earlier composure. Their eyes began to wander, sizing up their surroundings. They were either trying to confirm the truth of what Fang had said or thinking of ways to save their own lives. Some had even begun to entertain thoughts of escape.
Li Yan himself fell silent for a moment, his mind racing as he pondered the situation he was about to face.
Seeing the expressions on Li Yan's group, Cultivator Fang glanced wearily at his comrades in the cave, those who had faced life and death with him. He tugged at the corner of his mouth, revealing what might pass for a smile.
"You've arrived at a good time today. At least you didn't run into a demonic attack. Perhaps this is the best send-off for us. We're broken, and our morale is so low we can't fight anymore. This is the main reason the higher-ups sent you to relieve us, just like when we came to take over. I imagine, Fellow Daoist Li , that since your arrival, you've already sensed a different atmosphere here, haven't you?"
"An aura of death. Numbness."
Li Yan's train of thought was interrupted, but he quickly replied in a low voice. Everyone he had seen since arriving here seemed completely indifferent to everything around them.
They didn't care about their appearance, nor about how others saw them. Likewise, they didn't care about the feelings of others. Their expressions were vacant, their bodies suffused with a thick aura of death. They were apathetic to their surroundings, apathetic to life itself.
Cultivator Fang let out a heavy sigh.
"Yes, death and dejection. Everyone here faces death every day, watching their companions fall and vanish one by one. We are powerless. We can only do our best to preserve ourselves, to survive by the skin of our teeth. Then comes the endless cycle of killing and being killed. We roar until our voices are hoarse, blood flies and splatters, then rains down again. We exhaust all our Spirit Power to kill as many of those damned enemies as possible, struggling to ensure we don't die. Eventually, every attack becomes like that of a puppet, just a numb motion, until one side falls. Last time it was the enemy who fell; next time, it could be me. Hehehe, the seniors have finally sent someone to relieve us. Otherwise, we really don't know how much longer we could have held on!"
Amidst his deep exhaustion, Cultivator Fang laughed softly, but anyone could hear the profound weariness and helplessness in his laughter.
Following this, another period of silence descended.
Afterward, Cultivator Fang took Li Yan alone to the core mechanism of the "Yin-Yang Realm River Formation" and presented all the Jade Slips recording Spirit Stone consumption.
At this point, the handover was more or less complete. Then, after a moment of contemplation, Cultivator Fang personally informed Li Yan about the important aspects of the "Yin-Yang Realm River Formation" .
For instance, the yin-yang reversals between the various Gates of Death and Gates of Life, the sectors most frequently attacked by the enemy, and so on. This would at least save Li Yan a considerable amount of time in understanding the mountain's grand formation.
For this, Li Yan felt that Cultivator Fang was being very responsible, and his favorable impression of the man grew a little more.
When Li Yan and his group stood on the crude platform again, he saw all the cultivators of the Heavy Peak Battalion's Second Squad, including some unconscious ones being carried in Flying Magical Treasures .
In total, fifty-six members of the Heavy Peak Battalion's Second Squad remained. As they left, Li Yan saw tears in the eyes of many, despite their numb expressions. Their Divine Senses swept over every part of the mountain, every nook and cranny, again and again.
These people still didn't bid farewell to Li Yan's group. Only Cultivator Fang and Female Cultivator Yang offered a quiet goodbye before Li Yan activated the formation, allowing them to lead their people and depart into the sky.
Just as they were leaving, a voice transmission from Cultivator Fang entered Li Yan's Sea of Consciousness . 'Fellow Daoist Li , you must be wary of a premeditated attack from the Demon Clan. For the past two days, the intensity of their attacks has been much weaker than before. However, the scope of their attacks has spread wider. I feel like they are always probing for something. Is it the ultimate defensive strength of our grand formation? Or the actual number of cultivators defending 'Mutual Destruction Ridge'? I don't know! I have a feeling the Demon Clan is brewing a very large-scale attack. Today, for example, is very strange. There hasn't been any movement from the other side for a full three double-hours.'
With that, the voice in Li Yan's mind abruptly stopped. Cultivator Fang and his group were already far away.
A sharp glint flashed in Li Yan's eyes. No one knew what he was thinking as he watched the departure of the Heavy Peak Battalion's Second Squad.
On the faces of those departing cultivators, they saw no joy from leaving, only more indifference.
Perhaps in some corner of this place lay their sect brothers, their partners, and their own memories.
In truth, many of them understood that after a short while, once the Heavy Peak Battalion's Second Squad had recovered its combat strength, the vast majority of them would be sent back to the front lines to clash with the Demon Clan army once more.
Death was perhaps just a matter of time. Many had likely already lost hope for the so-called eternal life of cultivation.
Li Yan once again waved the compass in his hand, and the restriction of the "Yin-Yang Realm River Formation" activated again.
He continued to gaze at the sky, not turning back. Behind him, the crowd was also silent. Even the usually meddlesome Bu Luo had realized the gravity of the situation after the brief contact with the Heavy Peak Battalion's Second Squad.
"Now you know why this place is called 'Mutual Destruction Ridge,' don't you? The peaks we defend originally had no names, but now they all have their own."
Gong Yuantai's voice rang out. He didn't speak loudly, but everyone here was a cultivator and heard him clearly. Many of them shuddered slightly and looked towards Gong Yuantai .
"The place we were stationed at before was like hell. We called it---'Bone-Grinding Mountain.' Every day, who knows how many cultivators' flesh, blood, and bones were ground into nothing but scattered dust, without a single trace left. To have one's bones pulverized and scattered to the winds—the most vicious curse in the Mortal Realm —that was the place we stayed in day after day. We had heard of this 'Mutual Destruction Ridge' long ago. Its level of bloodshed is far beyond what 'Bone-Grinding Mountain' can compare to. The cultivators from both sides who come here rarely leave alive, as if they are in a constant state of mutual destruction with the enemy. To think that I, Gong Yuantai , would be so fortunate in this life to participate in battles at two such perilous locations against the Demon Clan, and this time, to be sent to the very forefront of the front lines."
Gong Yuantai's voice was calm, suddenly devoid of its previous emotion, as if he had resigned himself to his fate.
His words caused the expressions of the veteran members of the Green Sixteen Squad to become complex—a mix of pain, reminiscence, fear, and cold indifference.
Li Yan stood at the front, not stopping Gong Yuantai's speech. Gong Yuantai's words could shatter a squad's confidence.
But Li Yan just stood there, his eyes narrowed to a slit, listening quietly, letting him continue without interruption.