After the Fire Cloud Sect cultivators retreated and entrenched themselves at Feihong Mountain, they rarely ventured out. Only Daoist Master Scarlet Fla and Daoist Master Dark Cloud would occasionally take turns to scout the enemy.
Initially, ng Zhang and Fei Shi, along with their Daoist Master, intended to set up ambushes outside, attempting to severely harm or capture them. However, Daoist Master Scarlet Fla and Daoist Master Dark Cloud were both extrely shrewd and seasoned in their ways, with each appearance at different tis and unpredictable routes, making it impossible for ng Zhang and the others to catch their whereabouts.
After several failed attempts to probe them, ng Zhang's group gave up and realized they had to forcefully attack Feihong Mountain, where the Fire Cloud Sect cultivators were holding their ground, showing no intention of retreating. Moreover, Flying Swan City was situated not far from the mountain's base, and with the flying boats' speed, it would be reachable almost instantly.
Both Flying Swan Sect and Taiyi Sect lacked sufficient military strength, so they had no plans to besiege Feihong Mountain. However, Fei Shi, the Daoist Master, mobilized all the forces of Flying Swan Sect to prepare for a forceful assault.
ng Zhang didn't have much faith in Fei Shi's actions and was reluctant to let Taiyi Sect cultivators expend lives to support the mountain's great formation. Nonetheless, as Fei Shi insisted on the aggressive approach and no better alternative was available, they had to go along with it.
Due to the orders of True Monarch Tian Zhu, ng Zhang couldn't back down on the battlefield and had to participate in the fight. Taking advantage of the opportunity for the army to rest and regroup after defeating the Fire Cloud Sect and reclaiming Flying Swan City, ng Zhang conducted a screening among the Taiyi Sect cultivators.
Cultivators with weaker survivability were selected by ng Zhang, claiming that they were needed to gather attack supplies and sent back to Taiyi Sect.
Though Fei Shi, the Daoist Master, was eager to defeat the Fire Cloud Sect, he knew that capturing Feihong Mountain would not be a task accomplished overnight. There were many preparations to be made before launching the attack.
Fei Shi organized all the surrendered cultivators into groups and strictly managed them. Furthermore, squads of Flying Swan Sect cultivators departed from Flying Swan City and headed towards various locations in the Endless Sea of Sand.
Except for mbers of the Endless Sea of Sand Alliance, all other cultivation forces in the area were forcibly driven away by Flying Swan Sect and summoned to join the battle here.
Having ruled the Endless Sea of Sand for so many years, Flying Swan Sect possessed a comprehensive understanding of the region and had a better grasp of the situation of various cultivation forces, far surpassing what the Fire Cloud Sect could achieve. When Fire Cloud Sect initially recruited cultivators from various sects and clans to form their army, they faced challenges due to insufficient ti and understanding of the situation, and many sects and families managed to deceive them with false information.
Now, when Flying Swan Sect attempted the sa thing, the outco was entirely different. No sect or family could escape their scrutiny, and all had no choice but to obey the summons. Flying Swan Sect's coercion left them with no room for resistance.
Having experienced a devastating defeat and fallen from their throne as rulers of the Endless Sea of Sand, Flying Swan Sect no longer cared about their reputation. If they couldn't reclaim Feihong Mountain, they would have no future. Thus, they didn't consider the consequences of their actions at this point.
Consequently, except for the Endless Sea of Sand Alliance, Flying Swan Sect nearly emptied all other places of cultivation forces, including the recruitnt of over four thousand cultivators in less than half a month, comprising the elite mbers of various sects and clans.
As ti passed, Flying Swan Sect continued to forcefully recruit more and more cultivators, and an unending stream of them converged at Flying Swan City. Not only were cultivators from various sects involved, but even lone cultivators from different regions, once spotted by Flying Swan Sect cultivators, were driven to Flying Swan City.
In a mont, the entire Endless Sea of Sand was in turmoil. Capable and qualified cultivators fled, leaving those who remained in a state of constant anxiety. Seeing Flying Swan Sect relentlessly gathering cannon fodder, ng Zhang was initially amused by the spectacle. After all, he wouldn't allow the Taiyi Sect cultivators to fight on the front lines, at most, they would assist from the sidelines.
However, Jin Li, the Daoist Master, arrived at Flying Swan City with strict orders from True Monarch Tian Zhu. She summoned the four Gold Core Daoist Masters in the city and spared no dignity in telling them that True Monarch Tian Zhu was very dissatisfied with the current situation.
True Monarch Tian Zhu had issued the strictest command: the three forces must recapture Feihong Mountain within six months and drive the Fire Cloud Sect out of the Endless Sea of Sand. If, after six months, the Fire Cloud Sect still occupied Feihong Mountain, Flying Swan Sect, Taiyi Sect, and Northern Desert Qi Family could forget about establishing themselves in the Cultivation World.
Jin Li was not one to speak empty words, and the will of a Primordial Spirit True Monarch must not be defied. Everyone felt the heavy pressure in her calm words.
After the eting, ng Zhang initially planned to speak privately with Jin Li to gauge her stance. However, before he even left the Taiyi Sect's residence, Jin Li took the initiative to visit him.
ng Zhang and Jin Li were very familiar with each other, and their relationship had always been good, thanks to Jin Qiao'er acting as a bridge between them.
Upon seeing ng Zhang, Jin Li's face lacked the usual amiability and wore a stern expression. Without any small talk, she went straight to the point.
Jin Li inford ng Zhang that the gamble between True Monarch Tian Zhu and the Fifth Rank great power had reached a crucial point. Since Flying Swan Sect lost its status as the ruler of the Endless Sea of Sand, True Monarch Tian Zhu was gradually losing the upper hand in the gamble.
If this continued, True Monarch Tian Zhu's advantages from the past hundreds of years would be lost, and all his plans would be in vain. At that point, nobody knew what terrible things he might do. Sects like Flying Swan Sect and Taiyi Sect, which had perford poorly, might even face annihilation.
When Jin Li went to et True Monarch Tian Zhu, she distinctly sensed that he was almost losing control of his anger. As a loose cultivator, True Monarch Tian Zhu had earned a trendous reputation in the Cultivation World, and no one dared to provoke him easily, partly because of his ruthless style and a touch of madness.
Jin Li had been warned by her master many tis about True Monarch Tian Zhu and had always been cautious about him. If it weren't for desperation and having no other choice, she wouldn't have sought refuge with him.
She had a certain fear of True Monarch Tian Zhu and treated him with great respect, never daring to offend him in the slightest. Jin Li firmly reminded ng Zhang that Taiyi Sect could no longer hide in the shadows and must go all out. Even if they sacrificed all the elites of Taiyi Sect in this battle, they must capture Feihong Mountain within the given ti fra.
Otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable.
If True Monarch Tian Zhu failed, all agreents would be invalidated. Without True Monarch Tian Zhu taking action, she might be forced to target Taiyi Sect herself, or even completely massacre the Endless Sea of Sand.
ng Zhang knew that if things were not so urgent and without any room for retreat, Jin Li would not be so rciless. With the situation having co to this point, despite his reluctance, he had to prepare for the worst.
After Jin Li finished her instructions, she hastily departed. Besides privately eting with ng Zhang, she also warned Flying Swan Sect and Northern Desert Qi Family.
After Jin Li's departure, all three forces seed to have gone mad, preparing for battle with all their might and enhancing every ounce of their fighting strength. Flying Swan Sect continued to plunder the entire Endless Sea of Sand and forcibly conscripted cannon fodder. Even Qi Nanfei, the Daoist Master, had to exhaust all resources and thoroughly plunder Northern Desert Qi Family to form a barely usable army of cultivators.
ng Zhang also put away his tender and affectionate deanor and completely squeezed out the potential from the newly joined cultivators in Taiyi Sect, pushing them to their limits to find the last usable cultivator among them. While wielding the stick of authority, he didn't forget the carrot in the other hand.
He explicitly told these newly joined cultivation forces that if they wholeheartedly devoted themselves and perford well in the upcoming battle, they would be accepted into the Hanhai Alliance as official mbers after the war.
As for the original mbers of the Hanhai Alliance, ng Zhang equally compelled them to draw all usable cultivators and send them to Flying Swan City to receive orders.
Ever since the establishnt of the Secret Hall, its outward achievents had been few, but its internal surveillance and control were remarkably successful. Secret Hall's ears and eyes didn't miss any information about the mbers of the Hanhai Alliance, uncovering their secrets and backgrounds.
Ard with precise intelligence, ng Zhang could exert focused pressure and accurately extract their last ounce of strength. Moreover, when Flying Swan Sect planned to exterminate Northern Desert Qi Family, Taiyi Sect had secretly contacted a group of cultivators, mainly from the Jiuqu League's scattered Cultivation Base, intending to hire them to support Northern Desert Qi Family.
Though these cultivators were ultimately not used, Taiyi Sect maintained communication channels with them. Now, with a need for a large number of cannon fodder, ng Zhang ordered no expenses to be spared and hired these cultivators to join the battle in Flying Swan City.
Although the upcoming battle was obviously highly dangerous, as long as they were willing to spend spirit stones, no matter how high the price, cultivators could be hired. In the Cultivation World, there were plenty who valued money over their lives, or those who had no other choices but to fight to the death.
While ng Zhang was sowhat stingy with spirit stones, when it ca to necessary expenses, he never hesitated. Compared to the lives of Taiyi Sect disciples, spirit stones and other material possessions were insignificant. If spending more spirit stones could reduce the casualties among his disciples, he would readily accept it.
Ti was tight, and there wasn't much preparation ti left for everyone. Taiyi Sect brought out all the hidden resources from its treasury, ready to be invested in this battle. Even ng Zhang personally went to Great Wind City, using Gu Yue Huaidie's connections to contact the higher-ups of Gu Yue Family. He borrowed a large sum of spirit stones from Gu Yue Family, using various resources from Demon Wind Gobi as collateral.
With this infusion of spirit stones and the help of Gu Yue Family, the progress of hiring cultivators from Jiuqu League accelerated.
Additionally, they scavenged all sorts of magic tools, talismans, and other items that could be used to attack the mountain-protecting formation.
True Monarch Tian Zhu had set a deadline of only six months, and the three forces had spent half of that ti making their final preparations.
Now, whether or not their preparations were complete, everyone had to act imdiately. At ng Zhang's strong request and with so conditions agreed upon with Fei Shi, the Daoist Master, the first cannon fodder on the frontline would be the cultivators recruited by Flying Swan Sect.
Flying Swan Sect had a wealth of experience in driving servant cultivators and effectively utilizing cannon fodder. The nearly five thousand cultivators, with varying Cultivation Base levels and mixed qualities, were divided into dozens of squads. Behind each squad, cultivators from each of the three forces ford supervision teams.
Even if cannon fodder was ant to be sent to their deaths, the way they were handled had to be carefully considered. If the cultivators knew it was a dead-end and had no return, with no rewards, they would lose their morale. They would lack fighting spirit, be only interested in preserving their lives, and so daring individuals might even turn on Flying Swan Sect in the heat of battle.
Flying Swan Sect's approach was straightforward, relying on a combination of favor and authority, surprisingly effective. Flying Swan Sect led the effort, and the three forces all made nurous empty promises, pledging countless benefits.
As long as these cultivators fought valiantly and bravely pushed forward, they and their affiliated forces would receive generous rewards and nurous benefits after the big battle.
For these low-level cultivators with scarce opportunities for advancent, even if they knew that the promises from the three forces might not be reliable, they couldn't help but be tempted. The battlefield was bound to be risky, but if they fought hard and managed to achieve ritorious deeds, it might lead to a bright future for themselves, their families, or their sects.
Besides showing kindness, the three forces also placed great importance on using intimidation.
Any defiance or retreat on the battlefield would lead to imdiate execution. Even the cultivator's affiliated family or sect would be implicated.
For the unaffiliated loose cultivators, the three forces had various thods of control. It mainly involved traditional thods such as coercion and persuasion.
After so ti of reorganization, these cannon fodder cultivators finally had so fighting capabilities and could play a role in the upcoming battle. On the day of the battle, cultivators from the three forces ford an army formation and drove the servant cultivators with great montum, charging towards Feihong Mountain.
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