Chapter 478

Upon receiving the news of a great victory over the demon beasts from Mount Huoyun, the hearts of everyone in Jinshan Market finally settled.

Although the forces at Mount Huoyun had temporarily blocked the vanguard of the southward-advancing demon beast army, they were facing another six or seven hundred beasts gathering to head south. Cao Rongxue and her people on the mountain had fewer than three hundred cultivators in total, most of whom were the old, weak, sick, and disabled left behind. The disparity in strength was still vast, and they could only barely rely on the Mount Huoyun mountain-protecting array to hold them off.

Fortunately, Song Yuanfang had just arrived nearby with dozens of cultivators from Qinghe County who were transporting supplies. He arrived at Mount Huoyun in time to provide support, which bought the Mount Huoyun cultivators time to summon family cultivators from the south to help Cao Rongxue and the others slowly stabilize their footing.

Compared to the constant minor skirmishes between the main forces at Jinshan Market, the situation at Mount Huoyun grew increasingly intense. After several major battles, both sides suffered significant losses. Even Song Yuanfang, who was originally responsible for transporting supplies, was very unlucky and suffered serious injuries in this great battle.

Including the arriving Song Yuanfang, the Mount Huoyun side had only five Foundation Establishment cultivators. Even though Cao Rongxue and the others had used a stratagem to kill one, the demon beast side still had nine Level 2 demon beasts. Not only was the number of low-level cultivators on Mount Huoyun far inferior to the demon beast side, but there was also a huge gap in high-level combat power between the two sides.

After Song Yuanfang arrived at Mount Huoyun to provide support, Cao Rongxue immediately threw him into the battlefield. Although Song Yuanfang had successfully reached Foundation Establishment a few years ago and possessed two Level 2 magic tools, he did not have much experience in actual combat and was considered relatively weak among Foundation Establishment cultivators.

After clashing with the demon beasts a few times, the weaker Song Yuanfang was quickly targeted by a mid-stage Foundation Establishment demon beast. During the chaotic battle, he was ambushed from behind by this beast, which swiped him to the ground, and he was nearly roasted alive on the spot by the true fire spewed by that beast.

Fortunately, Song Yuanfang still had a Level 2 mid-grade defensive talisman given to him by Song Qingming, which helped him absorb most of the damage in time, preventing him from losing his life on the battlefield and allowing him to escape back to Mount Huoyun in time.

Although he managed to save his life, this injury directly damaged several important meridians in Song Yuanfang's body. Even if Song Yuanfang could slowly recover in the future, it would greatly affect his cultivation progress, and if things went poorly, he might have no hope of Core Formation in this lifetime.

It was precisely because he knew Song Yuanfang had just reached Foundation Establishment and lacked combat experience that Song Qingming had specifically kept him in the relatively safe rear of the family. He had not expected that this arrangement, which was intended to look after the weaker Song Yuanfang, would coincidentally lead him into the even more dangerous battle at Mount Huoyun.

Thus, the two battlefields of Jinshan Market and Mount Huoyun fell into a stalemate once again. The demon beast army led by the White Lion Demon King dared not continue south without conquering these two strongholds, lest they penetrate deep into human territory and have their rear cut off by the Jinshan Market cultivators.

After the Mount Huoyun cultivators, led by Cao Rongxue, fought several major battles against the demon beast side, although they suffered some losses, they ultimately did not disappoint Song Qingming and the others far away at Jinshan Market. They gritted their teeth and held this important position, preventing the demon beasts there from continuing south.

The low-level demon beasts with low intelligence below could die if they died, but high-level demon beasts like the White Lion Demon King were not foolish enough to take such a risk, so they could only remain in a standoff with Song Qingming and the others at Jinshan Market.

In this way, the two sides remained in a stalemate near Jinshan Market for more than half a year. During this period, the human cultivators and the demon beast army fought several more major battles, but neither side could do anything to the other. After several duels between Song Qingming and the White Lion Demon King, although he could gain some upper hand, he had no great way to deal with this cunning demon king.

After all, although the White Lion Demon King's combat ability was no longer as good as Song Qingming's current level, its cultivation base was still slightly higher than his. The gap in strength between the two was not that large, and it was still somewhat impossible for Song Qingming to kill it head-on by himself.

——

Carefree Sect, inside the Carefree Hall on Mount Guyang.

After receiving the news that Song Yuanfang had been seriously injured and sent back to Mount Funiu, Song Qingming, who was at Jinshan Market, also showed a look of helplessness. Living in this world of cultivation filled with crises, there was almost no place that could enjoy eternal peace.

Even someone like Song Yuanfang, who was very lucky to be born into the Song family, which was already awe-inspiring in one region, and who had successfully reached Foundation Establishment under the care of Song Qingming, the family's Golden Core ancestor, would still encounter these sudden crises. To continue cultivating better, every cultivator had to find ways to strengthen themselves as quickly as possible.

Li Mufeng stood above the great hall, listening to the worried-looking True Person Guangling report on the war situation at the various front lines in Wei Guo.

More than half a year had passed since the demon beast unrest in the Northern Frontier began. Apart from Jinshan Market, which was still in a stalemate with the White Lion Demon King, the situation on the other battlefields in Wei Guo was even worse.

At Guiyun Market, Bai Yu led the main force of the Carefree Sect cultivators. Although they relied on the mountain-protecting array to block the siege of the many demon kings from Mount Jinyu, they could only hide in the market and take a passive beating, completely lacking any power to counterattack.

Although the Level 3 spiritual vein of Guiyun Market, which was very important to the sect, was still in the hands of the Carefree Sect, over the past six months, in order to hold this spiritual vein, the Carefree Sect had not only lost thousands of Qi Refining disciples, but even forty or fifty Foundation Establishment cultivators had died in battle.

These low-level cultivators were the extremely precious fresh blood of the Carefree Sect. Once the losses in dealing with the demon beast unrest were too great, the overall strength of the Carefree Sect in the future would inevitably be greatly affected.

What was even more worrying was that on the Carefree Sect side, two Golden Core Elders had already been injured in the battle at Guiyun Market and had temporarily lost their combat effectiveness, returning to the sect to recuperate. Although Chen Xuanxin, who was used as a reserve force within the Carefree Sect, had already rushed to Guiyun Market to help, there was still a significant gap in Golden Core-level combat power between the two sides on the battlefield.

This time, a total of ten demon kings from Mount Jinyu came to attack Guiyun Market, more than in the last demon beast unrest. Just the powerful great demon kings at the late Golden Core stage numbered three. In comparison, there were only five Golden Core cultivators from the Carefree Sect who could come out to fight in Guiyun Market now.

After the demon beast army surrounded Guiyun Market, several demon kings had already led some demon beasts to cross Guiyun Market and enter the several counties south of Guiyun Market. Recently, True Person Guangling had also been taking the important mobile forces left in the sect to put out fires everywhere in the north of Wei Guo.

Although with the support of True Person Guangling and others, the Carefree Sect side held onto many important spiritual mountain strongholds, most of the counties in Gaoyun Prefecture south of Guiyun Market had fallen into the hands of the demon beasts. For a time, this place, like Pingyang County back then, immediately turned into a scene of devastation where life was ruined.

As for Feng Yangde at Mount Tuoyun, although it had always seemed precarious, no one knew what powerful trump card Feng Yangde had used, but he had actually managed to injure that cloud crane and temporarily resolve the crisis.

Although Mount Tuoyun was still under heavy siege by demon beasts and the situation was very critical at any time, they were currently still firmly holding the spiritual mountain and had not allowed the demon beasts there to cross Mount Tuoyun on a large scale.

Although there had been no news from Iron Immortal Castle, the Carefree Sect could judge that the Ma family was still resisting because they had not seen large groups of demon beasts crossing Iron Immortal Castle. As for the specific situation inside Iron Immortal Castle, they were not clear.

Now, the Carefree Sect was already struggling to deal with the main force of demon beasts at Guiyun Market and had no extra power to help them. Even if the Carefree Sect knew their difficulties now, they were powerless to help.

"Uncle-Master Li, although the losses on Junior Sister Bai's side are currently very large, they can still hold on for a while. However, our losses in Gaoyun Prefecture are truly too great. Now that two demon kings have appeared in Gaoyun Prefecture, it is truly difficult for me alone to deal with them."

"Guangling, I understand what you mean. Are you planning to go to the treasury to take away that Level 3 puppet beast of the sect this time when you come back?" After hearing True Person Guangling's complaints, Li Mufeng calmly spoke out the thoughts in his heart.

The Level 3 puppet beast Li Mufeng spoke of was the only Level 3 puppet beast in the Carefree Sect. This puppet beast had already reached the Level 3 mid-grade, and under the control of two Foundation Establishment cultivators, the strength it could exert in a short time could rival that of an early-stage Golden Core cultivator.

Seeing Li Mufeng directly point him out, True Person Guangling was embarrassed for a moment before nodding and saying: "Although this disciple has the heart to defend the sect's territory, I am also suffering from insufficient strength and truly have no confidence that I can block those two demon kings."

After turning his face and thinking for a moment, Li Mufeng turned around and spoke slowly to True Person Guangling with a calm expression: "I know your difficulties, but I have already planned other uses for this puppet beast. I cannot let you take it to Gaoyun Prefecture now. You will have to think of a way to deal with the situation there yourself."

"This... Uncle-Master Li, the situation in Gaoyun Prefecture is so critical now, and Junior Sister Bai's side at Guiyun Market can still hold on. This disciple truly does not understand why you still want to take this puppet beast to Guiyun Market?"

Looking at the puzzled look on True Person Guangling's face, Li Mufeng hurriedly shook his head and said: "I am not taking this puppet beast to Guiyun Market, but intend to transfer it to Jinshan Market to help Qingming's side defeat the demon beasts at Jinshan Market first, so that they can free themselves up to support Guiyun Market later."

"Support Jinshan Market? Hasn't Junior Brother Song already blocked the demon beast army in the east? Even if they can free themselves up, with just Junior Brother Song and those people at Jinshan Market, they won't be of much use when they go to Guiyun Market."

After hearing Li Mufeng's explanation, True Person Guangling looked even more confused than before, truly unable to guess what Li Mufeng's intention was.