Chapter 251: What Does Li Qun's Great Reputation Have to Do With Me?

Chapter 251: What Does Li Qun's Great Reputation Have to Do With Me?

"Brother Gong, what's wrong?" asked Fu Lihong anxiously, noticing the strange expression on Gong Yuyuan's face.

Elder Luo also looked concerned. "What did Chu Ning say? Did the Yin Demon Sect take their territory?"

Gong Yuyuan had just recovered from his initial shock. Hearing their questions, he burst into laughter, causing the strange expression on his face to disappear.

"The Yin Demon Sect taking territory? Ha! You have it backwards. It was Chu Ning who led the sect's disciples to take the Yin Demon Sect's territory!"

"What?"

"Brother Gong, did you mishear?"

Not only were Elder Luo and Fu Lihong astonished, but Elders He and Yi Wenliang, who were standing behind them, also wore looks of surprise.

Before arriving, they had already been informed of the purpose of their visit—to set up formations outside the territory guarded by the Jiuhua Sect to prevent further ambushes from the Demon Path Alliance.

Moreover, according to Yi Wenliang's information, the Jiuhua Sect was not in a favorable situation. The Youluo Sect was powerful, and once they launched an attack, the Jiuhua Sect would face immense pressure.

It was for this reason that upon receiving the news, they had prepared quickly and rushed over without delay.

However, they were now being told that not only had the Jiuhua Sect not lost any territory, but they had actually taken land from the Yin Demon Sect. This was certainly surprising news.

Before they could recover from their astonishment, Gong Yuyuan laughed again and said, "I didn't mishear. That's exactly what Chu Ning said in his sound transmission note.

They didn't just take a small piece of territory; they took over more than a hundred miles of land that was under the control of the Yin Demon Sect.

And that's not all—they also seized nearly half of the territory belonging to the Demon Spirit Sect."

"..."

The group, who had been surprised before, was now stunned into silence by Gong Yuyuan's words.

After a long while, they seemed to finally accept that Gong Yuyuan was not joking.

A joyful expression appeared on Elder Luo's face.

Fu Lihong murmured, "How did they manage that?"

"How they did it is not our concern for now," said Gong Yuyuan, his dignified face filled with a smile.

"The urgent task at hand is for you, Brother Yi, to lead the formation masters to the location immediately.

Hurry and set up the formations before the other forces of the Demon Path Alliance arrive."

"Yes, Brother Gong!" Yi Wenliang replied promptly, and without further ado, over a dozen people flew towards the address indicated in Chu Ning's sound transmission note.

After seeing Yi Wenliang and the others off, the few Golden Core elders turned their gazes back in the direction they had left.

Gong Yuyuan's expression gradually faded, and a gleam flashed in his eyes. "If what Chu Ning said in his sound transmission note is true, then our Jiuhua Sect will have gained great face this time!"

"Indeed!" Elder Luo immediately agreed. "Among the three alliances, our Cloudsoar Alliance occupies the least amount of territory.

Now that our Jiuhua Sect has suddenly gained control of an additional hundred or so miles, it will be a great help to the alliance.

These junior disciples have truly exceeded everyone's expectations."

As they chatted, about an hour later, they received another sound transmission note. It was from Chu Ning, informing them that Yi Wenliang and the formation masters had initially set up the formation restrictions.

With this, the first line of defense had been officially established, even though the formation still needed further refinement. It would not be easy for the people of the Demon Path Alliance to retake this piece of territory.

The few Golden Core cultivators received this news and smiled at each other, feeling greatly relieved.

Gong Yuyuan immediately said, "Since that's the case, I'll send a sound transmission to inform the sect about this development.

I presume that from now until the spiritual realm is fully formed and the spirit plant appears, our sect will be responsible for this territory.

With the expansion of our territory, although we have the protection of the formation, we still need to station disciples here. Let's see how the Grand Elder and the Sect Master plan to arrange this."

As Gong Yuyuan spoke, his eyes narrowed, and he reached out to catch a sound transmission note that flew towards him. After reading it, he turned to the other three Golden Core cultivators and said, "Let's go. The alliance has urgently summoned all the sects for a discussion. We should go and see what it's about."

Without further ado, the few Golden Core elders of the Jiuhua Sect flew out of the nameless small peak and headed towards the Cloudsoar Alliance's base camp in the area.

The Cloudsoar Alliance was a union of various sects, and decisions within the alliance were made by the Nascent Soul cultivators from each sect. However, there was also an Alliance Master and five Deputy Alliance Masters.

The Alliance Master was the cultivator with the highest cultivation level in the alliance, currently held by Qin Changkong, a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator from the Return to Origin Sect.

The Return to Origin Sect was also the largest sect in the Cloudsoar Alliance, boasting five Nascent Soul cultivators.

Now that the Nascent Soul cultivators were away, the one who had summoned everyone was Jiang Cheng, a late-stage Golden Core cultivator from the Return to Origin Sect. He was considered one of the cultivators in the alliance with the highest potential to advance to the Nascent Soul stage, alongside the Alliance Master.

As Gong Yuyuan and the others entered the large cave that had been temporarily prepared as a meeting hall, they saw Jiang Cheng standing in the center.

Jiang Cheng was not particularly tall, and he wore a white robe. His eyes were clear as water, and his aura was not as sharp as Gong Yuyuan's.

However, upon seeing Jiang Cheng, Gong Yuyuan's heart couldn't help but tremble slightly. "This late-stage Golden Core cultivator from the Return to Origin Sect seems to have improved again. No wonder he is considered, along with the Alliance Master, one of the cultivators in the alliance with the highest chance of reaching the Nascent Soul stage.

We are both at the same cultivation level, but at this moment, he gives me a feeling that I can't see through him.

I wonder which of the two of them will be the first to become a Nascent Soul cultivator."

As these thoughts flashed through his mind, Gong Yuyuan cupped his hands and greeted the other cultivators in the room.

At the same time, he vaguely sensed that the atmosphere in the stone chamber was somewhat unusual. He couldn't help but turn to a familiar late-stage Golden Core cultivator standing beside him and asked, "Fellow Daoist Qiu, what's going on?

However, as a result, our Cloudsoar Alliance, which initially had only about 20% of the total territory, now has even less than that."

Upon hearing this, Gong Yuyuan's eyes flickered slightly, but he didn't immediately share the news about the Jiuhua Sect.

He knew that the reason for gathering everyone here was most likely to discuss this very matter.

As expected, after all the sects had assembled, Jiang Cheng spoke up, "Fellow cultivators, you have all probably heard by now that the territories of Biyun Zong and Heishi Valley, two sects within our alliance, have been seized by the other two alliances.

Let's also hear from the other sects about their situations. Then, we can report back to the higher-ups in the alliance and decide on our next course of action."

As soon as Jiang Cheng finished speaking, the Golden Core cultivators from Biyun Zong and Heishi Valley, whose expressions had already been somewhat unpleasant, looked even more displeased.

At this moment, Ao Langtian from the Daluo Sect stepped forward proudly and said, "Our Daluo Sect controls the second-largest territory, second only to the Guiyuan Sect, and everything is under our control.

We have already set up the necessary formations, and the situation is stable."

Hearing Ao Langtian's words, the Golden Core cultivators from Biyun Zong, who had been looking unhappy before, now glared at him angrily.

Among them, a dark-skinned, black-haired elder spoke up, "Ao fellow cultivator, how can you say such shameless things?

The territory under your Daluo Sect's control doesn't border the other two alliances.

Last night, when the Demon Path Alliance launched a sneak attack on Biyun Zong's territory, our sect disciples asked for your support, but you completely ignored us.

How could we not lose territory when our Biyun Zong had to fight against two sects by ourselves?"

Ao Langtian smiled at the black-haired elder, Wu, and replied, "Fellow cultivator Wu, are you forgetting that after your sect's disciples retreated to our Daluo Sect's territory, we protected them? If we had sent our people, we might have lost even more territory."

Elder Wu's expression turned even more unpleasant as he heard these words, and he was about to say something when Wang Cheng suddenly spoke up, "Alright, fellow cultivators, there's no need to argue. We're here to discuss the situation, not to point fingers.

Let's clarify the details, and I will report to the alliance. The higher-ups and the elders will decide on the next steps."

Upon hearing Jiang Cheng's words, the two elders fell silent.

The other sects then proceeded to share their respective situations.

Most of the sects had managed to hold their ground, with only one or two losing some territory, but not a significant amount.

This came as a relief to everyone present, as the combined loss of Biyun Zong and Heishi Valley amounted to only about a hundred miles, which wasn't a substantial loss for the alliance.

As the Jiuhua Sect and the Tianyin Pavilion were responsible for territories at the outermost edges, they were the last to report.

A black-haired female cultivator from the Tianyin Pavilion, who appeared to be in her fifties, smiled and said, "Our Tianyin Pavilion has successfully defended our territory.

Moreover, we have seized control of nearly 50% of the Demon Spirit Sect's territory, amounting to an area of about seventy miles."

Upon hearing this, the Golden Core cultivators in the room looked at each other in surprise.

Even Jiang Cheng's face showed astonishment as he asked, "Fellow cultivator Xu, are you sure about this?"

"Of course!" replied the female cultivator Xu. "And we have the Jiuhua Sect to thank for this. If they hadn't restrained half of the Demon Spirit Sect's cultivators, we wouldn't have been able to achieve this.

By the way, the Jiuhua Sect should have also taken over a portion of the Demon Spirit Sect's territory."

As soon as Fellow Cultivator Xu mentioned the Jiuhua Sect, everyone's eyes turned towards Gong Yuyuan and the others.

Their gazes were filled with suspicion.

"Isn't the Jiuhua Sect dealing with the Yin Demon Sect? How did they end up restraining the Demon Spirit Sect and even taking over their territory?"

Gong Yuyuan smiled at the group and said, "I was just about to share this news with all of you.

Last night, we successfully captured all of the Yin Demon Sect's territory, as well as half of the Demon Spirit Sect's territory.

We have already begun setting up the initial formations."

"What?"

"Are you sure about this?"

"Have we really taken over the territories of both the Yin Demon Sect and the Demon Spirit Sect?"

Gong Yuyuan's announcement left the Golden Core cultivators in the stone chamber astonished.

Jiang Cheng's face lit up with joy, and he was about to ask for clarification when Ao Langtian interrupted with a questioning tone, "Gong Yuyuan, are you joking?

How could the Jiuhua Sect possibly take over the territories of both the Yin Demon Sect and the Demon Spirit Sect? They must have a considerable number of Foundation Establishment cultivators. How could they let their territory be occupied?"

Gong Yuyuan met Ao Langtian's gaze and retorted, "Why, is the Daluo Sect, which has been hiding and refusing to lend a hand these past few days, jealous that other sects have achieved something? Didn't Fellow Cultivator Xu just confirm it?"

"You..." Ao Langtian was about to say something when Jiang Cheng, looking slightly annoyed, spoke up, "Fellow Cultivator Ao, let's hear Fellow Cultivator Gong from the Jiuhua Sect explain the situation."

Ao Langtian glanced at Gong Yuyuan but didn't say anything further.

Although his Daluo Sect held a relatively high position within the alliance, it couldn't compare to the Guiyuan Sect.

In terms of personal strength, there was also a noticeable gap between Ao Langtian and Jiang Cheng.

However, his gaze remained filled with suspicion.

Gong Yuyuan continued, "We don't have the full details yet, but we're about to summon one of our disciples to get a clearer picture.

"One of our disciples returned to the pavilion and gave a rough account of what happened.

Apparently, the Demon Spirit Sect split their cultivators in half to reinforce the Youming Sect. They intended to take advantage of the Youming Sect's initial attrition against the Jiuhua Sect, and then join forces to seize the Jiuhua Sect's territory.

However, the Foundation Establishment cultivators from our Jiuhua Sect somehow anticipated their move and swiftly annihilated the Youming Sect cultivators.

When the Demon Spirit Sect cultivators arrived as reinforcements, they were also held back and ultimately wiped out."

As she spoke, Xu gave a grateful glance to Gong Yuyuan and continued, "Fellow Daoist Gong, if it weren't for your disciples promptly sending this information to our pavilion's disciples and holding back that group of Demon Spirit Sect cultivators, our Tianyin Pavilion wouldn't have had such a smooth time.

We truly have your Jiuhua Sect to thank for this."

Upon hearing this from Xu, the group of Golden Core cultivators finally understood what had transpired.

Everyone turned to look at Gong Yuyuan and the others, their gazes filled with newfound respect.

Jiang Cheng smiled and said, "Fellow Daoist Gong, it seems your Jiuhua Sect has greatly contributed to our Cloudsoar Alliance this time.

Not only have we maintained our territory, but we've even expanded it.

I wonder which talented individual from your sect is leading this battle. I really want to meet them."

"Brother Jiang, I was just as clueless as you until Fellow Daoist Xu mentioned it just now," Gong Yuyuan replied with a hearty laugh.

The four Golden Core elders of the Jiuhua Sect couldn't help but feel a sense of pride on their faces.

On the other hand, the elders from the Daluo Sect, who had always looked down on the Jiuhua Sect, especially Ao Langtian, felt increasingly displeased.

Among them, a black-haired elder named Wu from the Biyun Sect intentionally made remarks like, "It seems that the Jiuhua Sect and the Tianyin Pavilion have a broader perspective," which only added to Aolang Tian's frustration.

Overall, with the knowledge that the Cloudsoar Alliance's controlled territory had not diminished, the atmosphere in the stone chamber lightened significantly.

The group of Golden Core cultivators discussed the subsequent plans and then dispersed.

As for Chu Ning and his team, after setting up the formations at the frontlines, the pressure they faced lessened considerably.

Thus, Chu Ning was summoned back immediately.

Upon returning to the base, the first thing that happened was that Gong Yuyuan and the others pulled him aside to inquire about the details of the battle.

Chu Ning didn't hide anything and gave them a rough account of what had transpired.

As they listened, the four Golden Core cultivators' eyes lit up with excitement.

While they felt a sense of relief that it was all over, they were also delighted that Chu Ning had led the group of cultivators to achieve such remarkable results without any casualties.

Naturally, they couldn't help but praise Chu Ning once again.

"Chu Ning, I'm afraid that after this battle, Li Qun's reputation will spread throughout the entire Cloudsoar Alliance," Fu Lihong said.

Hearing this, Chu Ning's eyes flickered, and he smiled. "Li Qun's fame has nothing to do with me."

The four Golden Core cultivators exchanged glances and burst into laughter.

Gong Yuyuan joined in, "It's better if the other sects don't know. From the outside, our Jiuhua Sect seems to be producing one genius young cultivator after another."

At this moment, Chu Ning was more concerned about another matter.

"Elder, I'm curious about the alliance's or the sect's plans for the next steps," he asked.

Chu Ning was indeed interested in this matter.

Logically, after setting up the formation, they wouldn't need so many cultivators stationed here.

It was unrealistic to keep such a large number of cultivators idle for a decade or two.

For Chu Ning, he naturally hoped to return to the sect as soon as possible to focus on his cultivation.

After all, even if the Jiuhua Sect obtained a spot to enter the spiritual realm, only Golden Core cultivators would be qualified to enter.

And Chu Ning was still far from reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, so he needed to dedicate himself to his cultivation.

"I was just about to discuss this with you," Gong Yuyuan said.

"According to the alliance's plan, we intend to set up a grand formation to defend our entire territory.

Subsequently, each sect will only need to leave a small number of people to maintain their presence.

However, before the formation is fully established, we must remain vigilant against possible attacks from the other two alliances.

So, you'll likely have to remain here for another month or so."

Hearing that he only needed to stay for another month, Chu Ning felt relieved.

For someone at his current stage of cultivation, a month was indeed a negligible amount of time.

From now on, his progress would be measured in years, if not decades.

Having returned to the base, Chu Ning didn't rush back to the frontlines. Instead, he retired to his own cave abode.

Chu Ning took out a stack of storage bags.

During the battle against the Yin Demon Sect and the Demon Spirit Sect, quite a few cultivators had perished at his hands.

There were over ten late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, not to mention the even larger number of mid-stage and early-stage cultivators.

These storage bags were the personal spoils of war.

Although Chu Ning didn't lack resources within the Jiuhua Sect, he didn't treat these items lightly.

He opened each storage bag one by one, taking out various strange and exotic items, sorting them into different categories.

In the end, five items that Chu Ning had carefully selected remained in front of him.

A silver material the size of a fist, a bowl-sized crystal stone glowing with fiery red light, two unnamed beast eggs as large as goose eggs, a short sword emitting a greenish glow and an aura of coldness, and several seemingly ordinary spirit plant seeds.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end