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Chapter 874: Chapter 880: Unwillingness
Not far away, Li Zhirui turned his head and said, "They’re here, let’s go back."
They wanted to break the stalemate, but there was no need to put this group of cultivators in jeopardy.
Just as the Li family members had withdrawn from their station, other cultivators hastily redeployed forces to fill in the gaps to prevent the Water Devils from breaching the defense line.
Only now, the roles had reversed, and the Li family had become the support team.
Those Divine Transformation cultivators who were persistently resisting the Fifth-order Water Devils didn’t give Li Zhirui and his companions a warm welcome—after all, had they not abruptly retreated, how could they have fallen into such a dire situation?
But they failed to consider that had they not stood by idly from the start, why would the Li family have resorted to such desperate measures?
After days of fierce battle, relying on their superiority in strength, they finally managed to repel the Water Devils that were frantically surging toward Li Family Island!
However, in this round of battle, the cultivators did not achieve the same overwhelming advantage as they had in the first.
As time went on, the Sea Clan still had a steady stream of reinforcements arriving, whereas the cultivators who occupied the advantageous terrain were seeing their advantage gradually diminish.
This was, after all, the Boundless Sea, the Sea Clan’s territory. Their backup was closer, and speaking of sheer number of Low-Rank creatures, the cultivators were no match.
This, at least, alleviated the pressure on the Li family.
The Flood Dragon race, seeing the hope of breaking through the island defense line, no longer targeted the Li family.
Fortunately, the eastern region’s Profound Origin Realm received the news and quickly dispatched a group of cultivators to the scene. They managed to stabilize the defense line just in time, narrowly averting disaster.
The war thus entered into a standoff, a state of attrition.
The Devil Race suffered heavy casualties, and a significant number of cultivators also perished, as the formations on some islands were breached!
Thankfully, the islands were not overrun by the Water Devils and were soon retaken by the cultivators.
But this meant the cultivators had suffered heavy losses.
The cultivators of the Li family, however, benefited from the misfortune. Because the Middle Stage Divine Transformation cultivators of the central region turned a blind eye, the Li family had left the island, and when they returned to the battlefield, they stayed on the Spirit Boat without incurring any casualties.
The cultivators now had a chance to breathe, and then a few of those Middle Stage Divine Transformation cultivators came to accuse them.
"Why did you give up the station on the island? Do you realize the grave consequences of your actions? If it weren’t for your sudden retreat, giving the Sea Clan an opportunity, such heavy casualties wouldn’t have occurred..."
The moment they began, they pinned the cause of all the current troubles on the Li family.
"Are you done talking?" Li Zhirui interjected coldly, showing no respect and cutting the person off midstream.
"If you hadn’t stood by as the Flood Dragons led their army to attack the island, why would we have needed to retreat? Should we have stayed and waited for death?"
Li Zhirui sneered and continued, "Moreover, how do you know we didn’t have a backup plan?"
"Right beneath this island, we laid out a Fifth-order Killing Array. If those Sea Clan members had come in, they would have suffered heavy losses! Didn’t you see that we didn’t move the Spirit Boat too far after leaving the island? It was to ’lure the devils into the pot, catching the turtles in the jar!’"
There was more Li Zhirui wanted to say, but he kept silent, though the cultivators present understood.
"You!" The faces of the few Divine Transformation cultivators turned extremely ugly, not expecting Li Zhirui to so thoroughly turn the tables and shift all the blame onto them.
But upon reflection, wasn’t the root cause of all this their belief that the Li family was disrespectful and failed to show them proper reverence?
"The might of the Sea Clan is formidable, and this is considered their home ground. If we can’t unite against the Sea Clan, this war will only end in defeat!"
Li Zhirui remained composed and said, "So, I hope everyone can put aside past grievances and join hands to fight against the Sea Clan, for the future of the human race and all cultivators, instead of being distracted by infighting among us."
"Let this matter rest; go back!"
A ethereal voice suddenly descended from above.
The mighty beings who had been sitting cross-legged above in the clouds had spoken!
The existence of these influential beings was meant to deter the Fifth-order, late-stage, and perfection-stage Water Devils of the Sea Clan.
So although they did not participate in battle, they were the true decision-makers.
"Yes!" Once such mighties spoke, even if those Divine Transformations were dissatisfied, they had no choice but to leave.
However, before leaving, they all glared fiercely at Li Zhirui and the others.
Lifting his head to glance at the cloud layer, which showed no signs of being different, Li Zhirui’s gaze became profound, and it took him a long time to withdraw it.
One must know that they had activated formations on the island! Yet none of this prevented the superior beings from observing them covertly.
Most importantly, Li Zhirui was completely unable to detect any trace of this superior being; as if he didn’t exist at all.
However, Li Zhirui knew—he had always been there!
Because the pressure exerted on him had not yet dissipated!
It didn’t feel particularly intense, but it made Li Zhirui feel utterly powerless to resist.
"Jiu, are you okay?" Da Qing noticed something was off with Li Zhirui.
The pressure vanished in an instant, as if it had never been there.
"I’m fine." Li Zhirui’s forehead was covered with a slight cold sweat, which he evaporated with a thought.
’Just a small realm or two short, and yet the gap is so vast?’
Those mighty beings were at most at the Divine Transformation Completion Stage. There shouldn’t be a qualitative change in strength, and the disparity shouldn’t be this vast.
He had broken through from the early to the middle stage of Divine Transformation, with little change in strength.
What was the reason for all this? Li Zhirui brooded with a furrowed brow.
’Is it because I just broke through and my Primal Qi and Laws haven’t strengthened much? Or is it because I haven’t undergone the Internal Tribulation?’
If it were the former, Li Zhirui would know the answer after a few more years.
But if it were the latter, it wouldn’t be something he could find an answer to anytime soon.
"Which mighty being warned us?" Xiaoqing’s eyes flashed with a hint of anger.
He had previously thought the mighty beings were impartial, but now he realized he was being naive!
Indeed, they were ultimately all on the same side, and the Li family was the outsider.
That’s just how it is; the familiar aren’t estranged.
"Let’s turn the page on this matter," Li Zhirui, wary of further discussion, chose not to dwell on it.
Li Zhirui was not content to let it lie, but what could he do?
The Profound Origin Realm was a place where strength reigned supreme!
No matter how cunning your plans, they can be undone by sheer force!
When you’re outmatched in strength, all the schemes and tactics in the world are useless.
"Focus on cultivating," Li Zhirui said before returning to his temporary Cave Mansion to rest and recover.
—
"The war is now at a standstill; without any new developments, we can only keep piling up bodies, depleting the cultivators’ Mana bit by bit," a Flood Dragon said gravely.
"Then summon more Low-Order Demon Beasts to join the battle," a Great Devil stated nonchalantly.
"It’s not as simple as you think. The situation on other fronts is also not favorable; they need support too."
So the number of Low-Order Demon Beasts that could be assigned to their side was limited.
"Is the situation on other fronts also very unfavorable?"
