The White Elephant let out a painful cry.
There was backlash from the destruction of his Yin God and regret that the flying sword had been destroyed.
However, before he had made his move against Gu Jinlai, he had anticipated this outcome. The sect had already promised that if either of their flying swords were damaged, they would compensate for the loss.
For a moment, he could only suppress the pain from the collapse of his Yin God and quickly turned to Wuchenzi, "How did it go!?"
Wuchenzi’s face was somewhat pale, his eyebrows carrying a hint of disbelief, "He held on!"
The White Elephant’s eyes widened.
Wuchenzi said, "He possesses a Great Demon Body, and the Spiritual Artifact Armor he wears not only has the trait of Big and Small Ruyi but definitely also enhances defence. The power contained in the flying sword tore through the armor but could not completely tear him apart or blast him into pieces. In the end, although my sword pierced through his body, it did not kill him."
"Spiritual Treasure Armor, Great Demon Body..."
The White Elephant muttered these points, then added, "And the Soul Secret Technique! He employs an area-effect Soul Secret Technique that disturbed the spirituality in our Spiritual Artifacts, causing flaws in our sword control technique and also affecting its power."
Wuchenzi nodded heavily.
The impact of the Soul Secret Technique was also quite startling.
This round of combined attacks returned unaccomplished, all because of the Soul Secret Technique.
"That brilliant and splendid Soul Secret Technique, like the Great Sun in the sky..."
Wuchenzi sincerely exclaimed, "Truly worthy of being a Heavenly Monarch in this world!"
The White Elephant nodded, his eyes still seeming to contain fear.
But more than that, there was reluctance.
"Can you still strike with your sword?"
"Although I can strike, he combined a Short Range Defense Cannon into a Spiritual Artifact and is also able to empower another Short Range Defense Cannon with True Spirit. The interwoven firepower of the two cannons prevents me from breaking through," Wuchenzi said, pausing slightly, "The key seems to be, my Shadow Sword appears completely visible in his eyes... Could it be due to the Heavenly Monarch True Spirit’s extremely sensitive perception to the spirituality of Spiritual Artifacts?"
Upon finishing, he could not help but frown.
The White Elephant, thinking about how close he came to breaking through alone, said with resentment and relentlessness, "If it were Elder Brother Juan Yue who came today, he would undoubtedly be dead."
Wuchenzi pondered for a moment but did not speak.
The Elder Brother Juan Yue mentioned by the White Elephant was another Peak Divinity Transformation Cultivator of Cold Moon Sect, known as the first Divinity Transformation in Blue State.
His Sky-shattering Sword was a high-grade Spirit Sword.
It possessed both sharpness and sky-breaking traits.
Moreover, his own swordsmanship had also reached Cultivation Perfection.
Most importantly, he had mastered Sword Intent.
Sword Intent, together with the flying sword, amounted to Man and Sword as One, which essentially is fearless against any impact of Soul Secret Technique on Spiritual Artifacts.
He truly might have been able to break through and strike down Gu Jinlai with one sword.
"We should have also tested Gu Jinlai’s limits by now. Next, it’s either to call Elder Brother Juan Yue from the borders of Blue and Mu States to deal with Gu Jinlai, or to give up on managing cities like Sunset and Lingxiao, or to discuss further with the elders and Venerable Daoists before making a decision," Wuchenzi said.
"Is there still need for discussion? This probing has already almost started a war; why not call Elder Brother Juan Yue to finish him with one blow? Otherwise, in his fury and shame, he might directly invade our Blue State, repay us with our own methods, and don’t we then face enemies on all sides?" the White Elephant said with a frown.
Wuchenzi confidently said, "As long as Gu Jinlai has the slightest bit of sense, he should know what consequences it would entail if he truly angered us at Cold Moon Sect. He has been very well-behaved this whole time because he knows his place."
Speaking, he paused, "Moreover, while inviting Elder Brother Juan Yue might indeed kill Gu Jinlai, ultimately Gu Jinlai still carries the identity of Purgatory Sect. There’s the fear that the folks from Purgatory Sect might step in afterwards, benefiting from the fisherman’s gain."
Wuchenzi’s words calmed the White Elephant down.
Gu Jinlai wouldn’t dare retaliate against Cold Moon Sect, neither Wuchenzi nor he doubted.
That Gu Jinlai, he didn’t have the guts.
What he just mentioned was merely an impulsive outburst from resentment.
Calming down, he involuntarily thought of Tan Qingquan stationed at Baihe City.
This elder from the Purgatory Sect was much closer to Lingxiao City and Changjun City than their Cold Moon Sect was to these two cities.
And Yuanhua City was right next to Red State.
"Then let’s stick to the plan and retreat."
The White Elephant said, "Notify Zhuang He and the two elders to retreat. Leave the rest to Zhou Chi and those protectors and stewards... They themselves have at least some issues, or they might as well be trying to make amends for past crimes. Let them confront the Chain Fire Guns, gather more data about the Chain Fire Guns, and prepare tactics targeted for the next battle."
Their attack this time was mostly experimental by nature.
If Gu Jinlai could hold them off, Cold Moon Sect would stand by.
There was nothing more to say.
Sunset, Lingxiao, and the other four cities, they would gladly accept.
The two elders made decisions quickly, issued orders, and promptly retreated.
Receiving the order, Zhuang He and the other two Refining God elders also followed suit.
Only one elder named Zhou Chi was left behind as a sacrifice, leading various protectors, stewards, and three thousand soldiers to intercept Gu Luochen, Gu Qingmei, and over a hundred others.
Under the firepower coverage of chain fire guns, as well as rockets and explosives, their fate was already sealed.
Roaring and flames filled the city.
The battle, from start to finish, ended in less than an hour.
During that time, Gu Jinlai thought about pursuing Wuchenzi and White Elephant, the two Divinity Transformation Great Cultivators.
Carrying the short-range defense cannons, his speed was undoubtedly affected, unable to catch up with the few who were retreating.
If he didn’t use the short-range defense cannons, facing Wuchenzi who could still summon his flying sword, it would be difficult to resist.
In the end, he could only watch helplessly as two Divinity Transformation and three Refining God Cultivators, after testing him, withdrew calmly.
"The reach... the advantage is too great,"
Gu Jinlai sincerely uttered.
This battle made him aware of several shortcomings in himself.
With his current abilities, he was indeed able to intercept the flying swords of Divinity Transformation Great Cultivators...
He had just intercepted a collective strike from two Divinity Transformation Great Cultivators.
But intercepting flying swords was one thing, defeating Divinity Transformation, let alone slaying a Divinity Transformation Great Cultivator, was another matter entirely.
Just like ancient infantry and mounted archers, they could kite you to death relying merely on speed and range advantages, and you could do nothing about it too.
Divinity Transformation fighting against Refining God was similar.
Some Cultivators with overflowing talent and a profound understanding of the Mental Realm could also withstand the sword strikes from Divinity Transformation but still couldn’t manage a Great Cultivator in Divinity Transformation.
It wasn’t because this Refining God wasn’t strong, but...
He couldn’t reach them.
Forcing a Divinity Transformation Great Cultivator to abandon their flying sword and fight head-on, they may not suppress a Refining God at the peak who understood profound Mental Realms.
Even ordinary Refining Gods, if three to five of them coordinate well and are proficient in battle formations, could still collectively defeat a Divinity Transformation.
But if you can’t hit the opponent, all of this is nothing but talk.
"Often, a little advantage, once extended, can be infinitely magnified... like Hugging Pill and armies, in theory, three hundred elites could surround and defeat one Hugging Pill, but if the troops don’t have someone who can delay the Hugging Pill’s speed for a month or two, not just three hundred elites, but even three thousand elites would face a massacre before that Hugging Pill,"
Gu Jinlai exhaled deeply, "In terms of speed, my movement technique Crossing the World isn’t slow, but it’s hindered by two short-range defense cannons and the heavy armor and war sword I carry. If I could comprehend the complete Mental Realm, I could entirely abandon the short-range cannons and the heavy load... or alternatively, I could train a Mechanical Tyrannosaurus to shift the burden onto the mount..."
Of course, he could also develop rocket artillery.
Rocket artillery, due to its size, often fires rockets slower than the speed of sound, making them easy to intercept by the opponent’s flying sword.
Whether it could successfully breach defenses was problematic.
Sunset City was quickly reclaimed.
An elder from Cold Moon Sect, along with dozens of protectors and stewards, became sacrifices.
Of course, once they realized something was wrong, these people escaped quickly, and their losses did not exceed half.
However, it was the ordinary soldiers who suffered numerous deaths and injuries.
In this battle, Gu Jinlai did not intervene.
He bathed in the sunlight, using his Spiritual Sense, which could also replace Divine Thought, to stimulate his body, allowing his large, bowl-sized wound to recover rapidly.
Soon, Gu Luochen returned, "Patriarch, Sunset City is now completely under our control."
Speaking, he paused, "Only... it seems like Cold Moon Sect never intended truly to occupy Sunset City. In the few days after capturing Sunset City, they quickly plundered the city, to the point that now, Sunset City’s civilian life is greatly deteriorated. It might be necessary to transport some resources from Lingxiao City..."
He looked at Gu Jinlai, wondering whether to suggest simply abandoning Sunset City.
" Gu Jinlai declared emphatically, "If Lingxiao City doesn’t offer support, many residents in Sunset City might starve to death in the streets. Now that they are under our rule once more, I cannot simply stand by and let this happen."
"Understood, I’ll immediately have someone send a message, signaling for resources to be gathered from Lingxiao City,"
For the following period, Gu Jinlai stayed in Sunset City to maintain order.
However, Sunset City was just a small city, and Lingxiao City was their main priority.
Once he confirmed that White Elephant, Wuchenzi, and the others had returned to Blue State, he didn’t stay long in Sunset City and quickly returned to Lingxiao City.
And as various factions’ scouts who were keeping an eye on the battle did likewise, with his return, they promptly relayed the information back to their respective powers.
Regarding this, Gu Jinlai did not interfere.
Nor could he interfere.
Back in Lingxiao City, he tended to his injuries, relying on the Great Demon Body’s astonishing recovery abilities and the Eternal Furnace’s properties, and within just three days, he had almost fully healed.
And just when Gu Jinlai was about to compile all kinds of sword techniques, planning to learn through them, hoping to understand the Transformation Realm by comprehending numerous changes, a message brought by Gu Junxiu prompted him to come out to Qiushan Mountain outside Lingxiao City.
"Yes, after staying quiet for so long, news has finally come."
The timing of this connection was just right.
He could now consider calling in some technology to deal with the increasingly severe situation in Star State.