After receiving Xia Houfeng's command, his subordinates, the various marshals and generals, who were originally commanding the army in battle, began to slowly gather and prepare to retreat.
Although Xia Houfeng was seriously injured, he had not lost his ability to resist.
In his rage, he showed a trace of desperate determination.
Being injured made the beast even more ferocious, a truth that Xiao Jiansheng could not ignore.
The more critical the situation, the more cautious he became.
His identity was noble, and he had a bright future ahead of him; he couldn't afford to stumble in this place.
Not to mention being taken down by Xia Houfeng and buried with him, he absolutely wouldn't accept being wounded in a counterattack by him even if he were about to die.
Xiao Jiansheng showed a slight intention to retreat, and Xia Houfeng keenly sensed it.
As a seasoned veteran, he acted like a crazy tiger, completely giving up defense, adopting a stance of mutually assured destruction with Xiao Jiansheng.
Xiao Jiansheng could only temporarily slow down his attack and first block Xia Houfeng's desperate onslaught.
Among the many generals of the Dali Dynasty, Xia Houfeng was not just favored because of his royal background. He had many flaws, but they couldn't hide the fact that he was an outstanding commander.
His pre-war plans were very comprehensive, and many of his subordinates could resolutely execute them without hesitation or doubt.
Already having the upper hand in the battle, he not only had the freedom to come and go, but he also held the initiative. The Dali Dynasty's army began to orderly retreat, preparing to leave the battlefield gradually.
In the distant sky, True Monarch Qing Gu and True Monarch Jade Sword were engaged in a fierce battle.
The fight seemed intense, but both of them knew that they couldn't determine a winner in such a battle.
After just a brief exchange, they made judgments with their keen eyes.
If it were a peaceful martial arts contest, relying on his deeper cultivation base, True Monarch Qing Gu might gain a slight advantage in one or two moves.
But if they fought to the death without external interference, the most likely result would be mutual destruction.
True Monarch Qing Gu was someone who treasured his life greatly, as he was willing to betray his sect for his own path. How could he possibly choose to die with someone else?
On the other hand, Sword Cultivators like True Monarch Jade Sword, who showed no fear of life and death in their usual behavior and were willing to risk their lives, were often called "sword maniacs."
To reach their current level of cultivation base and status, how could they really be maniacs?
Even if True Monarch Jade Sword wasn't afraid of death, as the Sect Master of Jade Sword Sect, he couldn't easily die.
With the dire situation that Jade Sword Sect was facing, without True Monarch Jade Sword at the helm, there might be a real danger of collapse.
Carrying such a heavy burden, True Monarch Jade Sword didn't rashly fight to the death with True Monarch Qing Gu.
Since both sides knew they couldn't defeat each other, the following battle naturally entered a stalemate.
The fight looked intense, but it didn't have much impact on either of them. The main effect was to hold each other back and prevent them from reinforcing other areas.
After receiving a secret message from Xia Houfeng, True Monarch Qing Gu stopped engaging with True Monarch Jade Sword.
He quickly evaded and left the battle, flying towards Xia Houfeng's direction.
Seeing True Monarch Qing Gu leave, True Monarch Jade Sword, knowing that chasing him would be meaningless, gave up the pursuit and went to help other Jade Sword Sect cultivators.
Finally, with the appearance of True Monarch Qing Gu, Xia Houfeng finally breathed a sigh of relief.
True Monarch Qing Gu's cultivation base was not below his, and he possessed many Divine Ability secrets of the Azure Origin Sect. Even if he wasn't Xiao Jiansheng's match, he could at least temporarily resist him.
After True Monarch Qing Gu and Xia Houfeng joined forces, Xiao Jiansheng knew in his heart that he had lost the best opportunity to kill Xia Houfeng.
In this situation, even if he felt unwilling, he couldn't force it.
On the other side, the Dali Dynasty's army, which was already slowly disengaging from the battle, had to accelerate its retreat when faced with the approaching Jade Sword True Monarch.
Jade Sword True Monarch's back-and-forth movements greatly reduced their own casualties and spared many Jade Sword Sect cultivators from harm.
In the intense battle, safely leading the army to withdraw from the battlefield was a very difficult task that put the commanding skills to the test.
Fortunately, although Xia Houfeng couldn't personally command, the various generals under him were all exceptionally capable and could perfectly execute the plans and fulfill their responsibilities.
The various armies of the Dali Dynasty began to orderly retreat and withdraw from the battlefield.
The joint forces of the Jiuqu League and the Grand Crossing Cultivation Circle were already at a disadvantage, and now that the enemy took the initiative to retreat, it was what they had hoped for, and there was not much motivation to pursue them.
The recent battle had been a meat grinder, causing countless cultivators to fall in battle.
During the fierce fighting, nobody felt the impact, but now that the battle was ending, the survivors were filled with lingering fear and were not willing to continue fighting desperately.
Having managed to preserve their lives, they naturally cherished them and were not willing to put them at risk again.
As the Dali Dynasty's army began to withdraw, the tense atmosphere that had been hanging over them began to dissipate, and many lost their will to fight.
Faced with this situation, even the resolute high-ranking members of the Jade Sword Sect had no choice but to accept it.
As a World Traveler of the Purple Yang Holy Sect, Xiao Jiansheng still had to maintain some face in public. With his proud personality, he couldn't bring himself to chase and kill ordinary soldiers of the Dali Dynasty.
Jade Sword True Monarch had the intention to sneak attack and weaken the Dali Dynasty's forces as much as possible.
However, Xia Houfeng mustered his spirits and, together with True Monarch Qing Gu, held the rearguard.
Even if Jade Sword True Monarch joined forces with Xiao Jiansheng, it would be difficult for them to break through their interception.
Moreover, Xiao Jiansheng might not even be willing to join forces with Jade Sword True Monarch against a common enemy.
In this way, the Dali Dynasty's army orderly left the battlefield without major chaos.
One army formation followed another, one queue closely followed another queue, and the army retreated in an orderly manner.
Even after a temporary setback, the Dali Dynasty's army maintained this appearance, which astonished the high-level officials of the Jiuqu League and the Grand Crossing Cultivation Circle, making them even more wary of the Dali Dynasty.
The cultivators stationed and the reinforcements of the Jiuqu League had fought hard for a long time, suffering heavy casualties, and the survivors were also very exhausted.
With the Dali Dynasty's army leaving, they began to busy themselves with saving and treating the wounded, assisting their companions, recovering their strength, and getting back in shape.
The reinforcements from the Grand Crossing Cultivation Circle, led by White Sun Valley, had Bai Zhengyu True Monarch, a mid-Primordial Spirit cultivator, as their commanding officer.
Seeing that the battle had temporarily ceased, Bai Zhengyu True Monarch flew towards Xiao Jiansheng.
White Sun Valley responded to the call of the Purple Yang Holy Sect and made a considerable effort to assist the Jiuqu League in order to please this Holy Land Sect in the Middle-Earth Continent.
Jade Sword True Monarch had originally planned to express his gratitude to the cultivators from the Grand Crossing Cultivation Circle, but when he saw Bai Zhengyu True Monarch flying towards Xiao Jiansheng, he quickly followed suit.
As a Sword Cultivator, he had to lower his proud head in front of a Holy Land Sect like the Purple Yang Holy Sect.