Two teams parted ways.
Once the cultivators from Purgatory Sect had left, Xin Tianqi approached Gu Jinlai, "Governor, I’ve heard about what happened on the road. You were ambushed by Dragon Sparrow Manor?"
Gu Jinlai glanced forward.
Despite the dust and smoke ahead, the number of people was clearly only in the hundreds or thousands.
They were far from having the strength to completely overthrow the tens, even hundreds of thousands of troops occupying Jiangzhou by Dragon Sparrow Manor.
"Are we really going to start a war with Dragon Sparrow Manor now? The Heavenly Swords in your hand..."
Xin Tianqi gave Gu Jinlai a glance.
They had discussed the issue with Dragon Sparrow Manor before, and at that time, Gu Jinlai said they would attack once they had gathered more than six "Heavenly Swords" Spiritual Artifacts.
"Dragon Sparrow Manor’s foundation surpasses that of Star State, or rather, surpasses our own. We can’t outlast them, Dragon Sparrow Manor has clearly realized our threat and is prepared to fight a decisive battle, putting all their stored precious resources into use by their Elders and Supreme Elders, aiming to cultivate more Divinity Transformation and even Primordial Spirit True Monarchs. In this way, within the next one or two years, Dragon Sparrow Manor’s strength will inevitably increase substantially."
Gu Jinlai spoke solemnly, "Although this growth will slow down over time, and time will eventually be on our side again, Dragon Sparrow Manor will not sit and wait for death. Therefore, we must strike them down with overwhelming force before they can convert these materials into strength."
"Crushing them... might not be so easy..."
Gu Jinlai said, "Don’t forget, we have only one True Monarch on our side, and only a few Divinity Transformation Cultivators. If these Divinity Transformation Cultivators scatter and wreak havoc throughout Star State, how can we withstand them?"
Xin Tianqi fell silent.
Although both he and Gu Jinlai were not weak, Divinity Transformation Cultivators of that caliber...
Gu Chifeng and others, relying on Short Range Defense Cannons, could block the flying swords of Divinity Transformation Cultivators, but in situations of infiltration and assassination by these Divinity beings, they might not be able to react in time.
After all, these Refining God and Divinity Transformation masters now knew how to avoid the radar detection of Short Range Defense Cannons.
"Our strength at the level of Divinity Transformation is too scarce."
Gu Jinlai said, "We can only engage Dragon Sparrow Manor with a positional war, forcing them to confront us head-on."
Seeing that Gu Jinlai had made up his mind, Xin Tianqi no longer persuaded him, "I understand, I have already made the necessary arrangements during this period. Thanks to Heavenly Monarch Gu for continuously judging those with heinous crimes previously, coupled with north-south connectivity and those sects capable of causing chaos fleeing, the situation within Star State is still stable. After consulting with Qi Renwang, Gu Chaoyang, and others, we in Star State are just barely able to wage a full-scale war."
"Being barely able to wage war is enough. We aren’t prepared, and neither are they. Moreover... when in this world is anything ever completely perfect?"
Xin Tianqi nodded, "Without compromising the order in Star State at the very least, we can deploy thirty-three Refining God Immortals, two Divinity Transformation Cultivators, and a single Primordial Spirit True Monarch, which is me."
Thirty-three Refining God Immortals, two Divinity Transformation Cultivators, and one Primordial Spirit True Monarch.
You see, sects like the Purgatory Sect, Netherworld Sect, Cold Moon Sect, each have nearly a hundred Refining Gods and more than ten Divinity Transformation Cultivators.
And as for the Six Great Immortal Sects, renowned for their prestige, they have even more Refining God Immortals and Divinity Transformation Cultivators.
Despite the losses Dragon Sparrow Manor faced in the battle of Lingxiao City, losing four Divinity Transformation Cultivators and recently losing three more led by Ye Dongliu in an ambush, they still maintain no less than twenty Divinity Transformation Cultivators.
This number is nearly twice that of the Purgatory Sect.
As for the number of Refining God Immortals, Hugging Pill, Gang Condensation, and Qi Refining Realm experts, they have even more.
From this alone, the six Immortal Sects, though only numbered at six, can stand on equal footing with the ten households of the Ten Great Demon Sects... even surpassing them somewhat, one can see the difference.
Of course, in terms of quantity, the mid-level masters of the Ten Great Demon Sects are not as many as those of the Six Great Immortal Sects, but in terms of quality...
The fiercely competitive and harsh environment of the Ten Great Demon Sects obviously has a slight edge.
Thus, sects like the Purgatory Sect, Netherworld Sect, Cold Moon Sect that truly clash with Dragon Sparrow Manor and Yellow Sky Sect, even if numerically disadvantaged, will not be too far behind in the end.
"Two Divinity Transformation Cultivators?"
Gu Jinlai looked at Xin Tianqi, "Did you not consider the people from the Purgatory Sect?"
Xin Tianqi was somewhat surprised, "Are they willing to go to war with Dragon Sparrow Manor for your sake?"
"We have to try, don’t we?"
Gu Jinlai said with a light laugh, "After all, I am now a Supreme Elder of the Purgatory Sect, and I can mobilize a part of the Purgatory Sect’s forces. These forces, if not used, would be a waste."
After saying that, he added, "If we could persuade Liu Jingtiao, Zhang Liefeng, or even Lu Zhanxian, one of the three great Primordial Spirit True Monarchs, to take action, that would be best."
"Dragon Sparrow Manor ultimately still has Ye Qianqiu, Long Xiangtian, and Sparrow Sword Immortal Huo Yuqing, three great Monarchs, a lineup not inferior to Purgatory Sect’s Liu Jingtiao, Zhang Liefeng, and Lu Zhanxian."
Xin Tianqi noted, pausing in his speech, "Even stronger than the trio of True Monarchs from Purgatory Sect. Given that there isn’t much for them to gain by taking down Dragon Sparrow Manor, they might not be willing to make a move."
"Then it depends on their decision."
Xin Tianqi nodded at this, but still asked, "Among the three Primordial Spirit True Monarchs of Dragon Sparrow Manor, Ye Qianqiu and Long Xiangtian aside, the key is Huo Yuqing. How do you plan to deal with this Sparrow Sword Immortal?"
"Can you assist me in pinning her to the ground?"
Gu Jinlai said, adding, "At least to allow us to fight on the ground?"
"If Ye Qianqiu and Long Xiangtian weren’t interfering, I could give it a try, but if both of them are present..."
Xin Tianqi said, shaking his head.
"Then we’d have to stake it all on flying swords, taking out their swords in advance. Without their flying swords, Primordial Spirit Monarchs naturally lose their long-range attack capabilities."
Gu Jinlai spoke calmly.
"Stake it on flying swords?"
Xin Tianqi was stunned, "With the number of Divinity Transformation Cultivators at Dragon Sparrow Manor outnumbering ours, relying on flying swords to fight for an advantage... it’s difficult."
"In terms of numbers, we indeed can’t compare, but... in terms of range, we have the absolute advantage."
Speaking softly, Gu Jinlai smirked, "What I’ve used to match their flying swords isn’t Divinity Transformation Cultivators, but Artillery and Sword Heavy Cannons!"
"I want to use cannon shells to flatten Dragon Sparrow Manor!"
Gu Jinlai declared emphatically.
"In this battle, I will let everyone know that in a head-on confrontation, we in Star State are not inferior to any top-notch power, and can even obliterate a top Sect from the face of existence."
Gu Jinlai spoke, asking, "Has the army from Lingxiao City arrived at Baihe City yet?"
"They have; they’ve already gathered in Baihe City,"
"Good, let’s head to Baihe City directly."
The movement of tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of people from Star State and Dragon Sparrow Manor couldn’t be hidden from watchful eyes.
When added to the survivors from Dragon Sparrow Manor’s ambush on Gu Jinlai returning from Aries Star Palace, the news spread quickly by word of mouth.
With the already tense situation between Star State and Dragon Sparrow Manor, this move...
had escalated things to a fight to the death.
In such a situation, regardless of whether Gu Jinlai had prepared, a battle with Dragon Sparrow Manor was inevitable.
Otherwise, without the advantage in mobility or top-tier masters, once Dragon Sparrow Manor applied decapitation tactics, they would hardly hold out and Gu Jinlai could be relegated to an ineffective commander."
Realizing this, Yellow Sky Sect, Cold Moon Sect, Netherworld Sect, and Purgatory Sect all sent forces to Jiangzhou State, wanting to grasp the situation firsthand.
And when necessary, they could do something else.
Should Gu Jinlai be defeated, the once stabilized Star State would certainly fall into chaos again, and the state of Star State might even revert to what it was a year ago.
Then, they wouldn’t mind re-entering Star State, reclaiming the cities they had once ceded.
As for Dragon Sparrow Manor’s defeat...
Yellow Sky Sect and Cold Moon Sect, sharing a border with Dragon Sparrow, also stood a chance to gain something.
But this possibility wasn’t significant.
Compared to Gu Jinlai, who had unified Star State less than a year ago, Dragon Sparrow Manor’s foundation was much more robust.
Unless Purgatory Sect was willing to provide all-out assistance to Star State, otherwise...
The chances of Star State winning this battle would be less than thirty percent.
As for whether Purgatory Sect would intervene...
Right then, there was heavy debate within Purgatory Sect too.
When Sect Master Lu Dengxian learned that Gu Jinlai planned to wage full-scale war against Dragon Sparrow Manor, he was momentarily speechless.
This was the first time he realized that during his term, various issues had never ceased.
However, given that Dragon Sparrow Manor had attempted to ambush Gu Jinlai twice, his counterattack was a choice made out of necessity, and Lu Dengxian expressed his understanding.
After receiving the call for help from Gu Jinlai, he had informed the duty officer, Liu Jingtiao. Now, they were just waiting for Zhang Liefeng and Lu Zhanxian, the two Venerable Daoist Supremes, to arrive and make a final decision.
The Elders debated fervently about whether to join the battle against Dragon Sparrow Manor.
Venerable Daoist Liu Jingtiao, the officer in charge, had arrived early at the scene but remained silent, just listening.
Waiting for the other two Venerable Daoists, or rather, the truly decisive presence in Purgatory Sect—First Venerable Daoist Lu Zhanxian.
However, before Lu Zhanxian could arrive, a Divine Thought descended first: "There’s no need to wait any longer. We Purgatory Sect can’t be involved in this war."
Suddenly, Zhang Liefeng arrived on a flying sword from outside: "Venerable Daoist Lu has just discerned through Devas Telepathy that the Netherworld Sect’s You Quan Ancestor has stepped over our Red State border! Netherworld Sect’s forces have taken action!"