https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-419-Terrifying-Eye-Technique-The-War-s-End-Overseas-Defeat-Part-2-/12968655/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-420-A-Thousand-Years-Later-Ten-Die-and-None-Survive-But-Now-It-s-Even-Worse-Part-2-/12968657/
Chapter 420: A Thousand Years Later, Ten Die and None Survive, But Now It's Even Worse?! (Part 1)
Chapter 420: A Thousand Years Later, Ten Die and None Survive, But Now It's Even Worse?! (Part 1)
Victory?
Indeed, it was a victory.
However, the aftermath on their side was equally devastating, with corpses littering the battlefield.
From a proportional standpoint, it might not seem significant, but analyzing the casualty count revealed an equally fierce and tragic battle.
Silence.
No one cheered, nor did anyone leap with joy.
Everyone fell silent, and soon after, they quietly tended to the battlefield or treated their wounds. Some wept silently for their fallen friends, Dao companions, fellow sect members, and family.
As the saying goes, "When the country prospers, the people suffer; when the country falls, the people suffer."
For cultivators, it was much the same.
It wasn't a matter of prosperity or decline; these grand battles, regardless of victory or defeat, always left deep scars. These scars required time to heal.
And yet, such battles were unavoidable.
Retreating would only lead to greater troubles in the future.
The nine great holy lands decided to continue their pursuit.
The Star Mother Gu, the leader of the Ten Thousand Flowers Holy Land, took charge, utilizing the power of the Sky Gazing Mirror to hunt down and eliminate as many overseas cultivators as possible. They would not stop until their enemies were driven into madness, fleeing in fear, never daring to show their faces again.
"In this battle, we must inflict pain and fear upon these barbaric overseas cultivators," the Supreme Pavilion Lord said coldly. "Even if we can't wipe them out in one go, we will ensure they never dare to cause trouble again."
"That's only natural," Star Mother Gu nodded in response.
"Otherwise, with their wolfish ambitions, they will never back down. Perhaps, in a few years, they might return, again and again, endlessly. If we don't stop them now, it will be an endless source of trouble."
"While we are still here, we can suppress them. But who knows what the situation will be like in a few years? If they must be eliminated, we will do it, no matter the hardship, no matter if others call it a slaughter."
"Pursue and kill them!"
"..."
They reacted swiftly.
Less than half an incense stick's time after the battle ceased, the elite forces set out, led by Star Mother Gu. They ventured into the boundless ocean, hunting down and clearing out the overseas cultivators.
Meanwhile, the cultivators in the northwest domain, after cleaning up the battlefield, immediately began reinforcing the north and west regions.
However, the overseas cultivators weren't fools.
Upon learning of the devastating defeat in the northwest and the absence of any chance of victory, they abandoned all thoughts of fighting. They discarded their armor and fled in panic.
As a result, the cultivators sent to provide support mostly arrived to an empty scene.
Subsequently, they left a portion of their forces to guard against any possible counterattacks from the overseas cultivators. The rest dispersed, returning to their respective sects while also eliminating any overseas cultivators who had infiltrated the inland regions and...
Dealing with the forces that had been infiltrated by the overseas cultivators over the years.
If they were going to do it, they would do it thoroughly.
They would ensure the overseas cultivators were thoroughly scared and defeated, cutting off their escape routes! This was a battle for themselves and for future generations. Few hesitated or feared, even in the face of danger. They were ready to face the challenges head-on.
At this point, Lu Ming found himself with some free time.
Accompanied by Wen Ruyan and Lai Wu, who had transformed into an ordinary turtle, they began their journey home.
At the same time, in a special place overseas...
A group of powerful cultivators gathered through secret projection techniques.
Each of them appeared to be composed of colorful light, which should have made them look sacred. But at this moment, they all seemed lifeless, their expressions grim, as if they had lost their parents.
Some were even worse, with only half a body remaining or missing limbs...
"How could this be?!"
Finally, someone spoke, but it was more of a roar, filled with anger and frustration.
"The Astrologer Daoist said that acting now would result in ten deaths and no survivors. Why, when we acted immediately and with all our strength, did we end up in this situation?"
His words opened the floodgates for the others.
They burned with rage, and their anger found an outlet in their words.
"It's more than that!"
"This isn't just ten deaths and no survivors. This battle has directly destroyed our overseas foundation. It will likely take millions of years to recover, even without the inland cultivators wiping us out!"
"If they had exterminated us, we overseas cultivators... Even if they didn't kill every last one of us, we would be completely driven out, never to fight again!!!"
"Unless... Unless there's infighting among the inland cultivators, to the point where their combat strength is reduced to nothing. Then, perhaps, we'd have a million years to develop in peace and have another chance to challenge them?"
"It's simply..."
"Astrologer Daoist!!!"
"Damn that Astrologer Daoist, he's caused us so much harm!"
"So many of our fellow cultivators have perished because of him. He's guilty of countless deaths!"
"Indeed! He also said that acting now would result in ten deaths and no survivors. He even urged us to fight immediately. Well, it's not ten deaths and no survivors now, but it's ten deaths and no survivors for millions of years to come, and our entire clan has been exterminated!!!"
"He deserves to die a million deaths!"
"He truly deserves to die!"
"..."
Everyone was cursing the Astrologer Daoist.
"Just you wait, I'm not far from where he's buried. I'll dig up his bones and whip his corpse!"
"I'll skin him, extract his bones, and burn him with lantern oil. I'll make sure he's restless even in death. I'll turn his skin into an evil Dao artifact..."
Hearing this, no one tried to stop them; instead, they cheered!
"Yes, that's what he deserves!
"So many of our fellow cultivators have been reduced to bones, and he's resting in peace? How delusional!"
"He must pay the price for his actions."
"In my opinion, he's a traitor!!!"
As the crowd's emotions intensified, someone slightly more rational spoke up, "Fellow cultivators, please listen to me for a moment, will you?"
"I... I have something to say!"
"Are you trying to plead for him?"
"Are you a traitor too?"
The man sighed helplessly, "When you want to add more charges, there's no lack of accusations. I know we suffered a great defeat, and everyone's hearts are heavy. But I must continue to vent, yet this matter... it might not have been the fault of the Astrologer Daoist, and it might not have been his intention to harm us."
"Among those who went to pressure the Astrologer Daoist for a divination... I was one of them. At that time, we all believed that after a thousand years, there would be no survival. So, we thought we should take action immediately."
"But now, as I think about it carefully, the scene from that time is still vivid in my mind."
"What kind of situation?!"
Anxious and angry, but not to the point of biting anyone in sight.
After all, they were people of strength and status, and they were willing to give this person a chance to explain.
"At that time..."
The man bitterly smiled, "After the divination ended, the Astrologer Daoist suffered heavenly punishment and was nearly killed. By the time he spoke those words about taking action after a thousand years, he was already on the brink of death, struck by heavenly thunder."
"So, in reality, he didn't say how much of a chance we had if we took action now."
"He only said, 'But if we take action now...'"
"Before he could finish, he died, his soul dissipating."
"But we naturally thought that since he revealed heavenly secrets, he was punished by the heavens and died. So, when he said 'But if we take action now...', combining the context, we naturally assumed that taking action now would give us a chance, or even a complete victory."
"But in the end, these are all our speculations, without evidence..."
"Just now, everyone was blaming the Astrologer Daoist, and I suddenly wondered, could it be that we misunderstood his meaning?"
"Or, is it that the Astrologer Daoist suffered backlash and died not because he revealed the heavenly secret about the great battle after a thousand years, but because he was about to reveal the true secret of the 'battle now'?"
"Or perhaps, the true heavenly secret he wanted to reveal would have caused him to suffer intense backlash, leading to his soul's shattering and death?"
"Moreover, is it possible that what the Astrologer Daoist originally wanted to say was something like, 'But if we take action now, it will be even worse'?"
"So, is it possible that his divination result was: After a thousand years, taking action would lead to certain death, and if we take action now, it would be even more disastrous."
"Or, if we take action now, our foundations would be completely destroyed, leaving no chance at all?"
The crowd: "!!!"
"..."
These words silenced all the powerful figures overseas.
After a thousand years, taking action would lead to certain death—they had all heard it, and they all knew it was the Astrologer Daoist's divination result.
So, everyone naturally thought that they should take action immediately, without any hesitation, gambling everything and going all out.
Even though they vaguely felt something was amiss, knowing that their own strength might be slightly lacking, they still had the Astrologer Daoist's divination as a foundation. How could it be wrong?
The result!!!
"You're saying he didn't finish his sentence?!"
He didn't even clearly state what would happen if we took immediate action?
Damn it!
Is this a setup?
"Is this true?" Someone's heart was in turmoil, yet they couldn't quite believe it.
The man sighed, "Among the fellow Daoists who went together, surely not all of them are dead. If you don't believe it, you can try to contact the others and ask."
The crowd: "..."
Silence.
In this secret realm, everyone was stunned.
They were all shocked.
"I don't care!"
Finally, someone spoke up, an evil cultivator roared, "A thousand mistakes, a million mistakes, they're all the Astrologer Daoist's fault! If what you say is true, why did he waste his energy talking about certain death after a thousand years?"
"If he said we couldn't take action, would we have ended up like this?"
"He deserves to die a million deaths! I still want him to die without closing his eyes. I'll turn his skin into a drum and use it to control Gu worms..."
The crowd: "..."
"..."
The explaining cultivator sighed, "Indeed, he might have known that taking action now would be even worse. But in the face of everyone's fervent desire to fight, who would believe it?"
"In the end, the Astrologer Daoist understood people's hearts and human nature better than us."
"He knew that if he said it like that, the only outcome would be death, and it would be at our hands. Moreover, he would leave behind a tarnished name until his dying breath."
"Perhaps it was precisely because of this that he tried to be roundabout, but he never expected that even with his roundabout phrasing, the backlash would be so intense. And he couldn't bear it, his soul shattering and dying."
"..."
"What do you mean, Xiong?" The evil cultivator suddenly burst into anger. "Are you determined to make excuses for the Astrologer Daoist? Who are you? What's your relationship with him?"
"Ah!"
A human-shaped figure began to flicker intensely and screamed, "It's the Ten Thousand Flowers Saintess Gu Xinglian, Gu Xinglian is leading people to hunt us down, I..."
Suddenly, his figure shattered and disappeared, his voice abruptly cutting off.
"Damn! They're catching up."
"Even though we're already 'desperate fugitives,' they still don't want to give up?"
"Scatter! Immediately activate the emergency plan. Everyone, disperse and head deeper into the ocean. As for how many will survive in the end, and who will make it, well..."
"We can only leave it to fate."
After a brief moment of shock, they realized that this time, it was truly over.
Counterattack?
Don't even think about it!
Fight to the death? Those who are fearless can try, perhaps they can kill enough to break even.
But for the others...
They still had to find a way to survive.
And the only way to survive was to disperse, continuously head deeper into the ocean, and constantly change directions, buying time.
Surely, Gu Xinglian and the Sky Gazing Mirror wouldn't stop chasing them for ten thousand years, a hundred thousand years, or even a million years?
As long as they didn't go crazy like that, then...
There would always be a chance, there would always be someone who could survive.
No one knew how many would make it in the end.
"Sigh!"
A sigh echoed.
"Scatter."
Within the secret realm, the final words rang out, and immediately, all the figures twisted and disappeared...
Overseas...
Complete chaos ensued, and panic spread.
All cultivators embarked on a journey of escape.
As for counterattacking the continent, plotting and scheming...
They wouldn't plot anything now!
First, they had to plan for survival.
In fact, a significant portion of them didn't want to live a life of turmoil and preferred surrender, even if it meant swearing a Heavenly Dao Oath and truly pledging allegiance, rather than dying.
For such people, the Nine Great Sacred Lands were also willing to give them a chance to live.
As long as they swore a strict Heavenly Dao Oath, they could survive.
Furthermore, they wouldn't be excessively enslaved.
Instead, they would be allowed to return to their 'normal lives' and cultivation. However, in the future, 70% of the resources obtained overseas would have to be offered to their chosen allegiance...
In addition to cultivation, they would also have to dedicate half their time to gathering various resources overseas. In simple terms, swearing a Heavenly Dao Oath was equivalent to signing a contract of servitude.
Although they wouldn't be overly interfered with, their 'work' couldn't be neglected in the slightest.
As they say, to each their own.
Some chose to die rather than surrender, while others were willing to give up everything for survival.
Everyone had their own thoughts and ways of life, and in this regard, no one could be blamed. As long as they didn't raise the butcher's knife against their own people, their choices only represented themselves.
...
The great battle overseas continued.
Lu Ming had already returned to the Moon Holding Sect, and their identities were swapped. The original Lu Ming returned to his identity as Lin Fan, while Lu Ming was replaced by an incarnation from the Immortal Flower.
This battle yielded abundant gains.
To prevent some overseas cultivators from losing their temper and causing trouble, Lin Fan decided to let Su Yan sell these items in the group or exchange them for points.
This was to avoid attracting the attention of those overseas fanatics.
Lin Fan believed that there were definitely such 'fanatics' overseas, and they wouldn't be the only ones for a long time to come. So, if they could avoid being targeted, then they should.
Even though he wasn't afraid, what about the Moon Holding Sect?
Even though the Moon Holding Sect wasn't afraid, the ordinary disciples were.
So, the crisis had to be nipped in the bud.
Lin Fan sold the items in the group at slightly lower prices, just a tiny bit less, but it wasn't a big issue.
...
"You!!!"
Lai Wu, transformed into a turtle, lay on the ground, looking up at Lin Fan with a deep gaze. "You've been hiding so deeply, never revealing your true self until now?!"
It couldn't see through the Seventy-Two Transformations Technique, but it could sense its true spirit in someone's hands.
(End of Chapter)
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