Xia Houfeng appeared fearless in front of Xiao Jiansheng, but he actually harbored hidden worries.
As one of the few Grand Marshals of the Dali Dynasty, he was considered one of the highest-ranking figures in the entire dynasty. Xia Houfeng had insights into the top-level secrets of the Dali Dynasty, including the ambitious aspirations of the Emperor Ba Wudi.
Ba Wudi led the Dali Dynasty in conquests and expansion, not just for survival space and cultivation resources, but also because it was related to his Grand Dao.
Ba Wudi had lofty ambitions and aimed to reach the peak of the Cultivation World. He also intended to challenge the current order of the Cultivation World, which would undoubtedly interfere with the interests of the Holy Land Sects, inviting their intervention.
Ba Wudi's only chance of winning was to break through to the Return to Emptiness realm, becoming a great power that would exert influence over the entire Grand Dust World.
In the Cultivation World, there were indeed many powerhouses who sought to become Return to Emptiness great powers, but successful individuals were few, apart from cultivators from the major Holy Land Sects, due to their covert interference.
As the true masters of the Cultivation World, the Holy Land Sects naturally didn't want any other Return to Emptiness great powers to emerge and affect their interests.
Throughout the history of the Grand Dust World, there were numerous outstanding cultivators who attempted to break through to the Return to Emptiness realm. However, the vast majority perished on the halfway.
For Ba Wudi of the Dali Dynasty to achieve Return to Emptiness, the difficulties were imaginable.
Originally, according to the Dali Dynasty's strategy, they focused on developing the border areas and the desolate regions, which were considered wastelands by the major sects but had great potential.
The Dali Dynasty made efforts not to provoke the major sects in the Middle-Earth Continent, fearing their attention and early interference.
Ba Wudi's strategy had been quite successful before. The Dali Dynasty had expanded its territory significantly at the edge of the Middle-Earth Continent.
However, as the Dali Dynasty continued to grow and Ba Wudi's cultivation base improved, especially after the Dali Dynasty conquered the Crossing Severing Mountain Range and Ba Wudi achieved the Yang God realm, the Holy Land Sects finally couldn't sit still.
Following the usual style of the Holy Land Sects, they tended to eliminate threats in their early stages.
Today, a World Traveler from the Purple Yang Holy Sect had arrived. If he failed in his mission, would the next one to come be an elder or even a Return to Emptiness great power from the Purple Yang Holy Sect?
Xia Houfeng's loyalty to the Dali Dynasty was beyond question, but when he thought about the thorny path ahead, he couldn't help but feel worried.
In fact, the Purple Yang Holy Sect had acted long before this and sent more than just one World Traveler.
In the direction of the Middle-Earth Continent where the Dali Dynasty faced, their stationed troops suddenly encountered powerful pressure, which was caused by the Purple Yang Holy Sect.
The Grand Crossing Cultivation Circle was willing to send a large army to assist the Jiuqu League because of the actions of the Purple Yang Holy Sect behind the scenes.
The actions of the Purple Yang Holy Sect against the Dali Dynasty had started long ago. They had already set up a vast network, and it remained to be seen whether the Dali Dynasty could escape from it.
Ba Wudi was deep in his thoughts, and there were certain schemes he had that Xia Houfeng was unaware of.
Among the Holy Land Sects in the Middle-Earth Continent, there were also deep-seated conflicts. Whether Ba Wudi could survive in the midst of these conflicts was the key to his breakthrough.
As the leading Grand Marshal commanding the frontlines, Xia Houfeng only needed to focus on doing his own job.
Xia Houfeng, despite his worries about the future of the Dali Dynasty, was not the least bit affected during the battle. He continued to fight fiercely alongside the strength of his personal guard, making it difficult to determine the outcome against Xiao Jiansheng.
Taking advantage of the arrival of reinforcements, the Jiuqu League launched multiple counterattacks under the organization of Sword Cultivators from the Jade Sword Sect.
In response, the reinforcements from the Grand Crossing Cultivation Circle also quickly joined the battle, intensifying their attack on the Dali Dynasty's army formations.
Near the defense line held by the Taiyi Sect, after Meng Zhang provided assistance, the Primordial Spirit True Monarch from the Clever Machine Sect immediately turned around to join the battle.
Together, after a hard-fought half-day, they managed to drive away the Dali Dynasty's marshal, who still displayed considerable combat strength despite being seriously injured.
Both Meng Zhang and the Clever Machine Sect's Primordial Spirit True Monarch, named Li Zhongwei, chose not to pursue further and stopped at their positions.
During this opportunity, they introduced themselves to each other.
Li Zhongwei, the True Monarch Clever Machine, was the first and currently the only Primordial Spirit True Monarch in the Clever Machine Sect, which had been established for over a thousand years. Although he achieved the Primordial Spirit not long ago, he had the misfortune of encountering a battle of this magnitude.
Cultivators from the Clever Machine Sect excelled in creating various Mechanical Creations, but their overall combat strength was mediocre. True Monarch Clever Machine was an exception and was already one of the sect's strongest even before achieving the Primordial Spirit.
After attaining the Primordial Spirit, although he could suppress the entire Clever Machine Sect, when compared to the numerous Primordial Spirit True Monarchs in the Jiuqu League, he was not considered a powerhouse, let alone a weakling.
He had been driven away by the Dali Dynasty's marshal just now, and if it weren't for Meng Zhang's help, he didn't know when he could escape.
Li Zhongwei expressed his gratitude to Meng Zhang repeatedly, thanking him for the assistance.
The Clever Machine Sect was a neighbor of the Taiyi Sect, and the two sects had extensive business dealings. Meng Zhang was willing to strengthen the relationship between the two sects and even form a small circle to help and support each other.
However, with the battle still ongoing, it wasn't the time for detailed discussions.
After a brief exchange, Meng Zhang and True Monarch Clever Machine went their separate ways to reinforce their respective sects.
Since most of the Dali Dynasty's Primordial Spirit forces nearby had been driven away, Meng Zhang's group leveraged their absolute advantage in Cultivation Base to break through one army formation of the Dali Dynasty after another.
Taiyi Sect was the first to resolve the crisis, and after the army formation of the Dali Dynasty was broken, the remaining soldiers lost their fighting spirit and scattered in fear.
Cultivators from Taiyi Sect and the alliance with the Sea of Stars took the opportunity to break out and chased the fleeing Dali Dynasty soldiers, continually expanding their achievements in the battle.
Meng Zhang did not join the pursuit of the fleeing soldiers but went around the area.
He continuously struck the army formations in front of Fire Cloud Sect, Great Wind City, and other locations, driving away the Dali Dynasty's large army.
Meng Zhang didn't know about other areas, but at least near the Taiyi Sect's defense line, their side achieved a great victory and drove away the invaders from the Dali Dynasty.
The defense line of the Jiuqu League extended far beyond the vicinity of the Taiyi Sect.
After resolving the nearby issues, Meng Zhang did not continue to sweep the surrounding areas.
Many of his trump cards had been used up in the previous battle. If he thought the Dali Dynasty was only this weak and continued to attack in all directions without considering the consequences, he would surely encounter formidable opponents from the Dali Dynasty.
By that time, not only would victory be difficult, but even maintaining the current achievements would be challenging.
In any case, Meng Zhang not only defended the defense line but also drove away the enemy, fulfilling the mission beyond expectations. He had no intention of causing unnecessary trouble by seeking further engagements.