268: This is absolutely absurd!

The Bone Fiend Sect held off the first wave of the Beast Taming Sect's offensive due to the unique nature of their Sect.

The border Sects in other directions were not as lucky; several Golden Core Sects had already had their mountain gates breached, and their Golden Core True Person Sect Masters had fled.

Through the Cloud Top Sect, Chongming Sect, and Heavenly Sword Sect—three Nascent Soul Sects—the Beast Taming Sect continuously sent troops to the Peach Blossom Sect, with armies of millions and tens of millions of Cultivators advancing into the hinterlands of the Peach Blossom Sect.

The Beast Taming Sect Cultivators only accounted for a small portion; the majority were ordinary Cultivators from the territories of the three Sects who followed to fight for a share of the Opportunity.

Thanks to the smooth progress of the war, although there were heavy casualties, many Cultivators also gained Opportunities.

The large swaths of territory seized from the Peach Blossom Sect, the fallen enemies and allies, some captives... all of these were the spoils of war.

Just as everyone's morale was high, the Peach Blossom Demon Lord somehow managed to persuade the Demon Court to suddenly dispatch over a dozen Nascent Soul level Yao Race reinforcements.

The terrifying Yao Beast army, carrying an unstoppable momentum, annihilated the Beast Taming Sect armies that had penetrated deep into the Peach Blossom Sect hinterlands in a short time.

Countless Yao Beasts and Cultivator armies perished, and a thick, pungent smell of blood permeated a large area within the Peach Blossom Sect.

The Beast Taming Sect was not panicked; they continuously contracted their battle lines and retreated to the borders to defend. Regardless, these were just vanguard troops, and such casualties were normal.

The Beast Taming Sect's true target was the Demon Court. In any case, they would eventually have to clash with the Yao Race of the Demon Court, so the impact was actually minimal.

The Beast Taming Sect was continuously reinforcing their troops with the Azure Profound Sect backing them up; the Demon Court could not outlast them in terms of manpower. The fall of the Peach Blossom Sect was only a matter of time.

...

White Crane Lake.

The Beast Taming Sect suffered a major defeat on the front lines, and countless Beast Taming Sect Disciples retreated to Yongning to defend. White Crane Lake was one of the defensive nodes.

A Third-grade thunder beast flying ship hovered above White Crane Lake, and Qin Mo looked down at the entire White Crane Lake below.

"One Peak Foundation Establishment, one Mid-stage Foundation Establishment, one Early Foundation Establishment Stage, and one Mid-stage Foundation Establishment spirit bee Yao insect. To think such a small place would have so many experts!"

Just as he was about to send someone to inquire about the Family background of this place, a young Daoist nun wearing Daoist robes with cloud patterns and holding a whisk suddenly appeared on the flying ship.

"Senior Sister Yun Xian?"

Qin Mo bowed in greeting, "With Senior Sister here to assist, this Junior Brother feels much more at ease!"

The Yao Race had suddenly sent a large army to support, chasing them all the way to the border. If no one had come to support, Qin Mo would have been genuinely panicked.

"I have come under the orders of Senior Brother Yunhe. Junior Brother, there is no need for such formalities!"

Daoist nun Yun Xian's tone was flat, without sorrow or joy, as if all things in this world had nothing to do with her.

Qin Mo did not mind; the Cultivation Technique that Yun Xian cultivated required the dilution of emotions and desires, so this demeanor was normal.

"The Yao Race is stationing troops at the border. It doesn't look like they intend to counterattack into the Red Pine Sect, but we cannot let our guard down. We need to make preparations in advance and arrange for a retreat."

Qin Mo was not at all worried about the Yao Race counterattacking into the Red Pine Sect; if that actually happened, it would instead be beneficial to them.

They were fighting for their lives at the front while the Red Pine Sect was making a fortune at the back; he had long since found that intolerable.

If it weren't for the alliance between the Beast Taming Sect and the Azure Profound Sect, and the fact that the superiors forbade any action, attacking the Red Pine Sect would have been easier for them than attacking the Yao Race.

Previously, there had been no Opportunity or excuse, but once the Yao Race counterattacked into the Red Pine Sect's territory, the room for maneuvering would be vast.

The defense was just for show; as soon as the Yao Race army struck, he would immediately take his people and retreat toward the Red Pine Sect.

If the Red Pine Sect couldn't hold them off, they would retreat to the Heavenly Sword Sect. It would be best if he could drag the Heavenly Sword Sect into the mess.

"Junior Brother Qin, handle the arrangements as you see fit. I am going to look around!"

After Yun Xian finished speaking, she flicked her whisk, and her figure disappeared.

Lake Heart Island.

Zi Lan had already received news of the Beast Taming Sect's retreat and had already sent people to prepare for evacuation at any time.

After quickly issuing a series of orders, she personally led her subordinates to fly to the space above the lake to pay respects to the Beast Taming Sect Golden Core True Person on the thunder beast flying ship.

"Junior Zi Lan, a Liu family member of the Red Pine Sect, greets the Seniors of the Upper Sect!"

"Junior Gong Wang, a retainer of the Red Pine Sect Liu Family, greets the Seniors of the Upper Sect!"

Wang Qiao also flew over from the market at the lakeside and saluted together.

"Junior Wang Qiao, chief Disciple of True Person Xiao of the Red Pine Sect, greets the True Person of the Upper Sect!"

Qin Mo felt a bit strange after hearing this. Weren't they supposed to be Liu family members of the Red Pine Sect? Why was there not a single person surnamed Liu among the three Foundation Establishment Cultivators?

And this Wang Qiao, a Peak Foundation Establishment Cultivator, looked more like a bodyguard.

"Which one of you is in charge here?" Qin Mo asked.

Zi Lan stepped forward and saluted, "It is this Junior. Does the True Person have any instructions?"

"You?" Qin Mo had assumed it was Gong Wang, who was at Mid-stage Foundation Establishment. He hadn't expected it to be Zi Lan, who was only at Early Foundation Establishment Stage. The expression on his face became even more curious.

Seeing Qin Mo's confusion, Zi Lan explained, "White Crane Lake is the property of my husband, Liu Xuan. This wife is following my husband's arrangements to oversee it."

Liu Xuan?

The figure of that handsome young man who had been beside An Yunxi of the Red Pine Sect's Artifact Refining Hall appeared in Qin Mo's mind.

When he was in Feiyu City, he had investigated a lot of information about Liu Xuan, knowing that he had several Foundation Establishment Dao Companions, as well as countless women and children.

'This kid is a bit uncanny!'

It was one thing for the Red Pine Sect to rely on Xiao Changfeng to control the Sect's power, but even in a border region like Yongning, he still had his forces. How exactly did he manage to do it?

A mere Qi Refining Cultivator was actually able to make him, a dignified Golden Core True Person, constantly shocked. No wonder he could deceive An Yunxi completely.

"The military formation arrangement requires utilizing the Spiritual Vein here. You will control the grand formation later to coordinate with the Formation Master of the army."

Qin Mo had originally intended to forcibly requisition this place, seize all kinds of supplies, and then make them stay to block the Yao Race's advance.

But since this place was related to Liu Xuan, and Liu Xuan was currently in a close relationship with An Yunxi, he thought for a moment and dismissed this idea.

An Yunxi was foolish; if she really took revenge for Liu Xuan later, it would be a loss that outweighed the gain.

"As you command!"

In front of a Golden Core True Person, Zi Lan could only obey.

The White Crane Lake Spiritual Vein was only First-grade Medium Grade, and the Water Dragon Formation was only at the Foundation Establishment level; it didn't matter if it was turned on or not.

Lake Heart Island.

Water Pavilion beehive.

True Person Yun Xian was somewhat curious about the Black Crystal Bees she had never seen before. Her Divine Sense probed into the interior of the hive, and the scale of the swarm far exceeded her expectations.

'Such a huge swarm of bees, and with Divine Sense disruption capabilities; ordinary Late Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivators would not be a match!'

'Spirit bee Yao Beasts have the most violent temperaments. This should be the life-bound spirit insect of that Peak Foundation Establishment Cultivator named Wang Qiao.'

"Hmm?!!"

Suddenly! She discovered a human figure cultivating inside the swarm. Judging from his cultivation state, it was exactly the auxiliary cultivation method of the Beast Taming Sect's core secret technique, the Heavenly Scripture of Beast Taming.

'Could this person be the master of these Black Crystal Bees?'

Upon carefully examining the young man's cultivation level, the face that had not had an emotional fluctuation for many years became sluggish for a moment, then turned into deep curiosity.

Qi Refining Third Layer!

The person who could use Mid-stage Foundation Establishment spirit bees to Cultivate the Heavenly Scripture of Beast Taming inside the beehive was actually just a small Cultivator at the Qi Refining Third Layer, not even at the Middle Stage of Qi Refining!

A Mid-stage Foundation Establishment spirit bee being the life-bound spirit insect of an Early Stage Qi Refining Cultivator—this is simply too absurd!