NOVPUB
Chapter 774: Chapter 780: Abandon
"Sect Leader, is this really necessary? We haven’t laid a hand on the Li family. Why do we have to leave Profound Ice State?" an Elder shouted in dissatisfaction.
"Do you really think the Li family hasn’t noticed us?" The Sect Leader turned around and glared at that Elder, his eyes sharp as swords, silencing him.
They didn’t realize how powerful Nascent Soul Cultivators were, but if they could vaguely see the battlefield near Wanxian Island from here, how could the other side possibly not have noticed?
"Let’s go!"
As the Sect Leader said these two words, the expression in his eyes turned to nothingness, becoming sorrowful and numb, his body seeming to stoop a little more.
The Profound Ice Sect, passed down for thousands of years, in the end, had to leave its ancestral land on his watch.
And the thoughts of the cultivators in the great army also started to drift, harboring other intentions.
When the great army returned to the Sect, chaos erupted as they began to collect Spiritual Objects and Methods, some cultivators took advantage of the disorder and left Profound Ice Mountain.
"Sect Leader, are we really going to let these people leave?"
An Elder said indignantly, "The Sect has never mistreated them. The calamity has not yet struck, and they already avoid it at all costs! Running off in panic! And they even took a good deal of Sect property with them!"
"Let them go," the Sect Leader said, disinterestedly waving his hand, "Perhaps the legacy of the Profound Ice Sect can flourish in their hands."
Most importantly, the difficulty of migrating the entire Sect in such a hurry was too great. It was better to let some disciples leave on their own, lightening the burden.
Behind the Sect Leader’s tacit approval and hastened relocation efforts, in just a short three days, the once bustling and spiritually vibrant Profound Ice Mountain had turned into a desolate and lifeless barren hill.
----
Meanwhile, the numerous members of the Li family began cleaning up the battlefield under the leadership of Li Wenli.
Because the Great Array was intact, not a single family member had perished; the heaps of corpses across the battlefield were all left by the Devil Race.
After deploying the Fifth-order puppet, the Devil Race’s army collapsed instantaneously, losing all will to fight, only thinking of escaping to save their lives, while the Li family cultivators did everything they could to extract Mana, resulting in a large number of Devil Beasts.
The most noteworthy were the corpses of a few Fourth-order Great Devils!
Even in death, their imposing aura prevented low-level cultivators from approaching. And although Golden Core cultivators could get close, they were helpless against the formidable bodies and could only ask Da Qing and others to step in and dismember the corpses.
After all, the flesh of a Fourth-order Great Devil is a treasure from head to toe. Once processed, the meat can be consumed, its abundant Spiritual Energy and vitality not only augmenting Mana but also strengthening the body.
Materials like fur and sharp claws are top-quality Spirit Materials for crafting Magical Treasures.
Given the mounds of flesh and blood piling up like small hills, Li Wenli and the Elders discussed and decided to distribute all of them to the family members. These were the spoils of their courageous fighting, and besides, the quantity was immense, making it impossible to preserve well.
As for the Spiritual Objects harvested from the Devil Beasts, the family members were allowed to pick two each that matched their cultivation level. The rest were stored in the treasury.
By the time everything was taken care of, seven days had already passed.
"Mother, the Profound Ice Sect was also keeping watch that day. Why didn’t we take advantage of the situation to take them down too, eliminating a Sect that harbored malicious intentions?" Li Chengshuo asked, puzzled.
"Things are not as simple as you think," she replied.
Jiang Fengwu shook his head and explained softly, "On that day, the Devil Race was the main enemy, so naturally, we had to think of ways to eradicate them first. And since the Profound Ice Sect retreated right away, should we abandon the Devil Race and go after them?"
The Li family simply didn’t have the strength to do that, having relied on fifth-order puppets to deal with the Devil Race.
"Then why didn’t we head straight for the Profound Ice State after the battle? We don’t have to wipe them out completely, but at least we could have severely weakened them, preventing them from engaging in these petty actions," Li Chengshuo relentlessly pursued, holding no good impressions of the Profound Ice Sect. 𝓃𝓸𝓋𝓅𝓾𝒷.𝒸ℴ𝓂
Long ago, when the Li family was still a Golden Core family, Yuanming Sect had agreed with the Profound Ice Sect to attack the Great Void Province together. But they were betrayed by the Profound Ice Sect, which forced Li Shiqing to burn his lifespan just to save Li Zhirui and others’ lives at that time.
The recent events were when the Devil Race’s army suddenly pressed into their lands, and the Profound Ice Sect just so happened to appear in the distance. To say that they had nothing to do with it, even a fool wouldn’t believe.
"The activation of fifth-order puppets requires a large amount of high-quality Spirit Stones, but after the battle with the Devil Race, the family’s remaining high-quality Spirit Stones were not enough to support a prolonged war," he explained.
Fifth-order puppets are indeed extremely powerful, but this is all predicated on the presence of a large amount of high-quality Spirit Stones!
However, most of the Li family’s high-quality Spirit Stones were placed in the Spirit Vein beneath Mount Wanxian to accelerate its progression towards a Fifth-Order Spirit Vein, leaving not much in reserve.
Of course, it’s also possible to use mid-grade, or even low-grade Spirit Stones, but the space for placing Spirit Stones in the puppets is limited, and not many can fit.
If the grade of the Spirit Stones isn’t high enough, the puppets could deplete all the Spiritual Energy after casting a spell or two. Faced with such a situation, how could Jiang Fengwu dare to venture out recklessly?
"Furthermore, the cultivators of the Profound Ice Sect are not fools. After returning, they would activate the Mountain Protection Array at the first opportunity. Even with fifth-order puppets in hand, wouldn’t we just be targets? Casualties would be inevitable at that point." This was the main reason Jiang Fengwu refrained from taking action.
After listening to all these reasons, Li Chengshuo pursed her lips and stopped insisting on attacking the Profound Ice Sect.
But she was still somewhat unwilling to let it go, secretly inquiring about the Profound Ice Sect’s situation, only for the results to greatly surprise Li Chengshuo.
"The Profound Ice Sect has actually relocated the entire sect and abandoned the Profound Ice State, disappearing without a trace?!"
She took this news back to her family, and even people like Jiang Fengwu were surprised.
"Such decisive action! If it hadn’t been for Jiu’s breakthrough to Divine Transformation, our family would have eventually submitted to the Profound Ice Sect," Da Qing exclaimed with many emotions.
But Da Qing couldn’t fathom the view the Profound Ice Sect held of the Li family, which was to destroy them, not to subjugate them.
"They’re nothing but cowardly rats, afraid of death," Li Chengshuo said disdainfully, curling her lip.
Da Qing shook his head silently, not bothering to argue with an outsider.
"Now that the Profound Ice State is without a ruler and the Devil Race has been greatly weakened, is it not possible to reclaim the Great Void Province, connect it with the Profound Ice State, and expand the family’s territory?" Li Chengsheng suddenly spoke up, diverting the topic.
Even though the Profound Ice State is cold and unsuitable for agriculture and the settlement of mortals, it has one advantage—the unique environment has nurtured many unique Spiritual Objects and an abundance of Spirit Material resources.
If the Li family could take over this region, it would be extremely beneficial for the family’s development.
The Great Void Province is slightly inferior, not much different from other regions in Wanxian Province, but it has a third-order Secret Realm!
This is a treasure trove; the Li family occupies such a vast territory but only controls one second-order Secret Realm, which doesn’t match its status.
If it could be cultivated properly, it would surely become a pillar for the rise of the Li family!
