362: United against the enemy

To be honest, the shock caused to them by the Outer Realm Heavenly Demons was immense.

The territory of the Light Mark Great World was not small, spanning as many as over forty state regions, and in terms of size, it was only about twenty to thirty percent smaller than the Sword and Blade Plane.

It turned out they had all been secretly observing the battle in the Inner State Region, wanting to ensure their own interests were not harmed.

But the development of the situation was truly unexpected.

The Inner State Region ranked in the upper-middle among the twenty state regions of the Star Soul Clan. Star Nether Hall had never been a minor player; it not only possessed many Star Power Great Expert level powerhouses but also hundreds of thousands of Disciples with strong talent and cultivation.

Old Ancestor Star Nether was even the number one person below the Star Moon True Spirit rank, the existence with the most hope of attaining the same realm as them in the future.

Besides that, the Inner State Region had tens of billions of Cultivators and countless ranked cultivation forces.

With such a configuration, even if they couldn't push back the Outer Realm Heavenly Demons, they should at least have been able to hold out for a few years.

During this period, it would have also allowed them to gather more intelligence on the Outer Realm Heavenly Demons and study their weaknesses.

Additionally, the number of top-level Cultivators among the Outer Realm Heavenly Demons was unknown, so they could not and did not dare to act rashly.

Unfortunately, the speed at which the front lines of the Inner State Region collapsed was far too fast, so fast that these people could no longer sit idly by.

Countless Star Soul Clan Cultivators died in battle, and countless Star Soul people were killed by the Outer Realm Heavenly Demons; the situation had become extremely critical.

Star Nether Hall was gone, next the Inner State Region would be lost, and if the Inner State Region was lost, the next would be the Star Soul Clan, the Human Race, and the entire Light Mark Great World.

Watching the show was fine, but it would be no fun if the fire spread to their own territory.

"In this seat's view, the right course is to mobilize the army as soon as possible to suppress them."

The first to break the silence was a Human Race old man wrapped in crimson lightning patterns, rubbing the rusty bronze sword at his waist.

"But, as you all know, a once-in-a-millennium Spiritual Qi tide just erupted in the ancestral land of my Chixiao Sword Sect. It might be difficult to draw away powerhouses at this moment..."

Before he finished speaking, a sneer came from the Star Soul Clan camp.

"Dao Lord Moxiao, stop crying poverty here!"

A middle-aged Cultivator wearing a Star Crown stepped forward, the Star Wheel on his forehead flickering; he was surprisingly a Star Moon True Spirit of the Star Souls.

"It's nothing more than the movement of the three Quasi-Saint Swords hidden by your Chixiao Sword Sect. Do you really think others don't know?"

"After all these years, no Disciple has been able to subdue them?"

"On the other hand, my Qingluan Royal Court needs to suppress a group of rebels recently..."

"Yes, it's also inconvenient for me here..."

"Same for me..."

Peilan True Spirit watched this buck-passing coldly, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the jade flute at her waist—it was a Magical Artifact that had belonged to her Dao Companion during his lifetime.

As the 'youngest' among these people and a top-level Cultivator with relatively weaker forces under her, she didn't say much, only chuckling to the side.

The leader, who looked like a scholar, had eyes full of hard-to-detect mockery, while his face was full of worry.

"Everyone, with a great enemy before us, how can you convince the public with such a farce?"

"In my humble opinion, since one-third of the Inner State Region has already fallen, it proves the Outer Realm Heavenly Demons are incredibly powerful. If we don't act, we will likely be the ones to suffer in the future..."

"I propose that the overlord-level forces of the Human Race and the Star Soul Clan first form a joint army and move to the front line!"

"The urgent priority is to block the Outer Realm Heavenly Demons before planning a counterattack."

"Dao Lord Rongqian's words are true. The scourge of the Outer Realm Heavenly Demons must be suppressed as soon as possible."

Dao Lord Zang Lian finally looked up, the half-withered green lotus in his palm trembling slightly.

Dao Lord Rongqian's proposal received approval from many top-level Cultivators. After all, given the strength the Outer Realm Heavenly Demons had shown, they could no longer afford not to treat them with caution.

"Alright, everyone."

"Let's use the old method and vote as we did before."

Dao Lord Rongqian scanned the people present indifferently and spoke slowly.

"I agree with Fellow Daoist Rongqian's suggestion."

Dao Lord Zang Lian did not object, and then Dao Lord Rongqian's gaze turned toward Peilan True Spirit and the other top-level Cultivators.

Perhaps each of their strategic considerations differed, but none of them were short-sighted.

Given the terrifying strength currently displayed by the Outer Realm Heavenly Demons, if they didn't act now, their interests would be threatened in the future.

Therefore, there could be no more delay.

"Agreed."

"Seconded!"

"Approved!"

...In the end, the top-level Cultivators reached a consensus.

"Since everyone agrees, then let us each go and prepare."

When the meeting adjourned, it was late at night.

Peilan True Spirit watched the other Cultivators turn into streaks of light and scatter.

She knew that this so-called 'joint resistance' was merely a temporary compromise between parties who each had their own schemes.

But regardless, eliminating the Outer Realm Heavenly Demons was the top priority.

Some time later, a piece of news spread in all directions.

The various overlord forces of the Human Race and the Star Soul Clan issued a statement, forming a joint Cultivator army to head toward the Inner State Region and collectively attack the Outer Realm Heavenly Demons.

The actions of the overlord-level forces were swift. In a very short time, they organized a Cultivator army of a million people and tens of thousands of Spirit Boat warships.

With banners fluttering, the Cultivator army advanced toward the Star Soul Clan and the Inner State Region.

And these millions of Cultivators were merely the first wave of the vanguard, hastily organized by several Star Soul Clan state regions adjacent to the Inner State Region.

More and more elite Cultivator armies from both races were still in the rear.

The army was vast and mighty, stretching as far as the eye could see, with a momentum that seemed capable of crushing the Outer Realm Heavenly Demons.

However, what no one knew was that this war would be far more cruel than imagined.

Just as the Cultivators of the Inner State Region were in full retreat, the first wave of the vanguard, one million Cultivators, arrived.

"Heh, are you the Cultivators from the Inner State Region?"

"Trash! All trash!"

"Just watch how we crush the Outer Realm Heavenly Demons!"

When the Cultivators in the vanguard saw these fleeing Cultivators from the Inner State Region, they all sneered with disdainful tones.

But soon, they could no longer laugh.

Because the Outer Realm Heavenly Demons had attacked... a million Cultivators, a vanguard army of a million, were completely vulnerable under the fierce assault of the Outer Realm Heavenly Demons.

Spirit Boats crashed, and a large number of Cultivators died in battle.

The Outer Realm Heavenly Demons, like a swarm of locusts, attacked so fiercely that they were hard to withstand.

"Retreat! The army retreats!"

After gritting their teeth and defending for a short while, the vanguard army suffered heavy losses and immediately joined the ranks of those fleeing in disarray.

It didn't matter if a million Cultivators couldn't hold out; as time passed, more armies from the Light Mark Great World arrived.

Millions, tens of millions, a hundred million!

What the Light Mark Great World had most was Cultivators, and what it lacked least was also Cultivators.

Subsequently, the powerhouses of various overlord-level forces arrived, making up for the gap in high-level Cultivators between the two sides.

Finally, in the fifth month of the Outer Realm Heavenly Demon invasion, after two-thirds of the Inner State Region had fallen and a huge price had been paid...

The Light Mark Great World blocked the offensive of the Outer Realm Heavenly Demons...