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Chapter 1055: Chapter 996: Outburst_2 Brief
Some forces, distant from the Devil Race’s territory, naturally became dissatisfied, and for a good reason: in such a rush, it was impossible to prepare adequately for the war.
Sitting to one side, Li Xunda observed the quarreling scene in front of him, his brows slightly furrowed, but he didn’t open his mouth.
Because he knew before summoning the various mountain powers to discuss this matter that it would turn out like this, it wasn’t beyond his expectations at all.
With no leader among the dragons, without a powerful force to unify them, these hundreds of large and small forces simply could not exert their full strength.
Li Xunda didn’t want to attend this time-wasting meeting. With the time spent arguing, it would be better if he helped at home. The entire Li family was very busy in preparation for the grand battle, and even a little help from him was good.
However, the Li family was the host who called everyone together. Li Zhirui and other Lianxu Cultivators couldn’t spare time to attend, having more important tasks at hand.
But someone of sufficient weight had to be sent. Arranging for an Elder to go would seem like the Li family wasn’t giving the matter enough attention, and it would also be disrespectful to other Nascent Soul Powers. That only left Li Xunda, the leader of the clan.
’Zhang Family, come quickly!’ Li Xunda thought to himself.
For the first time, he was so eager to see the Zhang Family cultivators, because only they could break the current deadlock and unify all the forces.
Although the Li family’s strength had increased significantly over the years, without an Integration Cultivator, those Nascent Soul Powers wouldn’t truly be convinced.
Perhaps Li Xunda’s silent pleas really worked, as on the next day, the Zhang Family dispatched a vanguard of more than three thousand cultivators to the Li family.
Leading them was an Integration Cultivator. He had no intention of entering Mount Wanxian, standing atop the giant Spirit Boat, looking down from high above, he arrogantly commanded: "Each clan must send a different number of cultivators according to their abilities to Nine Bend Gorge within three days."
After speaking, he tossed a Jade Slip down to the people below and then steered the Spirit Boat away.
Such an attitude that disregarded everyone caused great anger in their hearts, but lacking in strength, they could only suppress their rage.
Li Xunda stepped forward to display the content of the Jade Slip, noting down the number and strength of the cultivators the Li family had to send, then turned back to Mount Wanxian and reminded, "Everyone hurry back to prepare."
After returning to his clan, he immediately summoned all the Elders.
"The Zhang Family demands that our family sends two thousand cultivators, including at least ten who are at the Lianxu level, and three hundred at the Divine Transformation stage."
"What!"
The Elders were shocked, not by the enormity of the numbers but because it was far below their expectations.
They had predicted that the Zhang Family would call upon at least fifteen Lianxu, five hundred Divine Transformation, and as for Nascent Soul and Golden Core, two to three thousand each.
Given the previous war at the East Sea, the Zhang Family preferred to stay in the rear and hardly ever engaged in frontline combat.
It was natural for the Li family Elders to assume that the Zhang Family was likely to use these forces as cannon fodder, weakening the Devil Race’s strength, and only intervening themselves as a last resort.
"Has the Zhang Family suddenly changed its approach, planning to act as the main force to resist the Devil Race?" one Elder wondered aloud.
"Regardless of what the Zhang Family is thinking, this is far less than we expected, and it could greatly reduce the family’s losses. That is good enough for the clan."
Li Xunda didn’t want to dwell on this matter, as he still harbored a smoldering rage inside him.
"The Zhang Family has only given us three days. Let’s deal with this first."
After assigning tasks to the Elders, Li Xunda personally reported the matter to Li Zhirui.
"I understand. I’ll be there on time."
Li Zhirui hadn’t left; he was hurrying to craft a batch of Precious Pills.
Li Xunda then went to find the other Lianxu predecessors, explaining to some why they weren’t needed to participate in the battle.
The Li family had mobilized early and according to the numbers they had predicted, but now that the Zhang Family wasn’t summoning as many people, the Li family naturally needed to reduce some. There was no need to show off in this matter.
However, the preparation of Spiritual Objects was still not sufficient. Given the urgency of time, despite drawing plenty from the clan’s reserves, some objects were lacking, so they could only continue to craft them now and then deliver them to the battlefield.
——
"You should stay with the family this time and re-deploy the Mountain Protection Array, right?" Before leaving, Li Zhirui met with Jiang Fengwu.
Jiang Fengwu nodded and said, "I didn’t expect this proposal would tie my own hands and make me miss this great battle. After so many years of secluded cultivation, I had hoped to test my strength."
"The family ultimately needs someone to hold the fort."
Li Zhirui smiled and solemnly said, "I entrust Mount Wanxian to you. The Devil Race has too many numbers, and even if we strike first, we won’t be able to trap them all."
"When the time comes, they are very likely to launch attacks on the clan lands and sects of various powers, as many cultivators will be pulled away. So you will still have the opportunity to test your strength."
"Don’t worry, I will protect our family well," Jiang Fengwu promised.
Two days later, Li Zhirui set off for Nine Bend Gorge with a large number of clan members.
The journey was silent, and after a few hours, they successfully arrived in the valley.
This area was concealed by a large-scale, seventh-tier Illusion Array laid by the Zhang Family, which prevented it from being discovered by the Devil Race.
"You all seize the time to rest. Tonight, we launch the attack on the Devil Race!"
The Zhang Family cultivator, who was in charge of receiving them, led the Li family members to a rudimentary camp and left in a hurry after delivering this message.
"Such a rush?" Xiaoqing frowned.
"Strike unexpectedly."
After all, who knows when the Devil Race will launch their attack? The Zhang Family didn’t want to be passive, so the sooner they act, the better.
"Alright, everyone go and take the time to rest and recover. Tonight’s battle will be anything but easy," Li Zhirui cut off everyone’s conversation and led the way into a quiet chamber.
After the Li family, many other powers arrived one after another, and with only a very few powers running late, all the mountain forces had assembled.
"Advance!"
With a command from the Zhang Family, tens of thousands of cultivators struck at once. Various Spirit Lights illuminated the sky, turning night into day.
The Devil Race had not anticipated that the cultivators would strike first. They had dispersed their forces to avoid exposure, but this tactic now brought them considerable trouble.
Because they were not in a large force but rather scattered into small teams, the cultivators took advantage of this and dealt heavy lessons to them. The battle had barely begun, and the Devil Race suffered significant casualties.
"Damn it! What the hell happened, allowing the cultivators to know ahead of time and even strike first?" a sixth-tier Great Devil roared furiously.
"Figuring this out won’t solve anything. Right now, the most important thing is to drive the cultivators back and seize the super large, sixth-tier Fine Gold vein!"
"That’s right! So now, immediately summon our fellow kin, let those ignorant cultivators witness our power!"
The discovery of the sixth-tier Fine Gold vein was the fundamental reason for the Devil Race initiating this great war!
This vein lay on the border between the Devil Race and a certain force, with the trend of the vein moving towards the cultivators’ side, meaning that the Fine Gold on the cultivators’ side was better and more abundant, and there might even be seventh-tier Fine Gold.
As everyone knows, Fine Gold is an extremely precious Spiritual Object. When added to the forging of Magical Treasures, it renders them exceptionally durable and also enhances their lethality.
Seventh-tier Fine Gold can even be used in the forging of Immortal Grade Magical Treasures, indicating its high value. 𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙥𝒖𝒃.𝒄𝒐𝒎
Faced with such a priceless vein, how could the Devil Race possibly give up?
They even planned to skip mining their own side of Fine Gold and directly drive all cultivators out of the mountain territory. If successful, they could mine the vein as they pleased without worrying about being discovered by cultivators.
But who could have anticipated that the cultivators not only became aware of their unusual actions in advance but also struck first, disrupting the Devil Race’s plans.
