When the Jiuqu League was in chaos, the Dali Dynasty's army had long since left the battlefield.
With the power of Fourth Rank warships and Third Rank warships, the Dali Dynasty possessed absolute aerial superiority.
As long as the enemy didn't organize a team of Primordial Spirit True Monarchs to conduct a surprise attack, they couldn't threaten the flying boat fleet.
To be honest, Primordial Spirit late-stage cultivators like Jade Sword True Monarch and Xiao Jiansheng did not show up, and other Primordial Spirit cultivators did not have the courage to venture deep into the Dali Dynasty's fleet and risk attacking their main flying boats.
When Meng Zhang once wiped out a small fleet of flying boats, he nearly fell into the trap set by True Monarch Wen Dong and Marshal Wang.
Who knew what hidden killing moves lay within the Dali Dynasty's main flying boat fleet?
Previously, most of the Gold Core cultivators who rashly attacked the flying boat fleet were annihilated by the ambushing hunting teams.
After the Dali Dynasty's army withdrew from the battlefield, the flying boat fleet shuttled back and forth, transporting the entire army back.
This time, Xia Houfeng retreated quite far, leading the army to withdraw more than a thousand miles away before stopping and establishing a camp.
This place used to be the gate of a small sect.
When the Dali Dynasty's army swept through the southern region of the Jiuqu League, this small sect surrendered obediently and became a minion of the Dali Dynasty.
It was a Foundation Building sect with only a Second Rank spirit vein at its gate.
However, with the vast number of spirit stones and various spiritual treasures carried by the army, they still managed to set up protective formations nearby.
After the army settled down, Xia Houfeng finally had time to carefully check his injuries.
One-time magic tools like the Divine Execution Nail were extremely precious within the Purple Yang Holy Sect.
If Xiao Jiansheng weren't a World Traveler and didn't need to wander around the Cultivation World, he might not have been qualified to obtain it.
The life-saving item bestowed by Ba Wudi back then had saved Xia Houfeng's life. However, his Primordial Spirit was severely injured, and it would be difficult to recover in a short time.
Although he had suffered a defeat and almost lost his life, Xia Houfeng had no complaints.
Xiao Jiansheng wouldn't have been able to do anything to him on his own. It was only with the help of external forces and the Divine Execution Nail, a magic tool that specifically targeted Primordial Spirits, that he won this battle.
Xia Houfeng had no grievances. As a soldier, he understood that, for the sake of victory, one had to resort to all means and go to any lengths. Using the Divine Execution Nail was simply a minor matter.
When it came to using various external tools, the Dali Dynasty used them much more. They had numerous Mechanical Creations, various puppets, and all sorts of flying boats...
The only thing that Xia Houfeng was worried about was that he needed to go into seclusion and heal his injuries immediately. Although his subordinates could command the army on his behalf, there was a lack of real powerhouses among the troops.
He had never been at ease with Qing Gu True Monarch, a Primordial Spirit late-stage cultivator.
However, he could no longer delay his injuries. His Primordial Spirit was on the verge of collapse and needed immediate treatment.
Helplessly, Xia Houfeng had no choice but to use a special channel to send a message to the ruler of the Dali Dynasty, Ba Wudi, hoping that he would send reinforcements in time.
As for himself, he had to focus all his attention on healing his injuries.
Xia Houfeng did not misunderstand Qing Gu True Monarch.
Originally, Qing Gu True Monarch had wholeheartedly joined the Dali Dynasty for the sake of his own path, but after seeing the involvement of the Purple Yang Holy Sect, he had been feeling uneasy all along.With his identity and position, Qing Gu True Monarch had a deeper understanding of the terrifying nature of the Middle-Earth Continent's Holy Land Sect.
The Dali Dynasty was strong, and Ba Wudi was a powerful ruler. However, when facing a Holy Land Sect like the Purple Yang Holy Sect, the only outcome was failure.
Qing Gu True Monarch began to consider whether he must hang himself on the tree of the Dali Dynasty or if there was still a way to change allegiances.
Because of his actions, he had become the biggest criminal in the Jiuqu League and couldn't turn back.
Since he couldn't go back to the Jiuqu League, were there any other choices?
Of course, before truly changing allegiances, he had to maintain loyalty to the Dali Dynasty. Ideally, he could obtain the secret method from Ba Wudi on how to survive the tribulation and advance to the Yang God stage.
The Dali Dynasty's army remained stationed here, facing off against the Jiuqu League from a distance.
On the Jiuqu League's side, due to unclear enemy situations and internal issues, they missed the opportunity for a counterattack and were also in a standoff with the Dali Dynasty.
The rare calm allowed all cultivation forces to lick their wounds.
Meng Zhang finally had an idea and found an excuse to send the heavily injured soldiers back to the sect for healing.
Taiyi Sect had performed well in the previous battle. They not only defended their own positions but also provided assistance to the surrounding allies.
Jade Sword Sect was quite satisfied with this and readily agreed to Meng Zhang's request.
Meng Zhang sent about half of the remaining Taiyi Sect cultivators back to the sect.
Taiyi Sect's flying boat fleet had been transporting supplies from the rear and had not participated in the battle, so they had managed to escape the calamity.
Although a large part of their forces had been requisitioned by the Jade Sword Sect, it was still barely sufficient.
Among the cultivators returning to Taiyi Sect, there was also the veteran elder of Taiyi Sect, Delicate Water Spirit General.
Before her departure, Meng Zhang specially instructed her to inform Niu Dawei, who was in charge of the sect, to secretly transfer personnel and resources to Maple Leaf Mountain City.
During the transfer, she must not be hasty and ensure utmost secrecy.
Once she returned to Maple Leaf Mountain City, she would be in charge of the overall situation there.
To outsiders, they would say she was seriously injured, affecting her foundation, and had to go into seclusion to heal.
In fact, Meng Zhang had made careful arrangements for Maple Leaf Mountain City.
In previous years, due to the pressure from the entire Jiuqu League by the Dali Dynasty, Meng Zhang had deliberately selected some disciples to secretly send to Maple Leaf Mountain City.
These disciples were the cream of the crop among the Foundation Building cultivators and had the potential to break through to the Gold Core stage.
After arriving at Maple Leaf Mountain City and with the help provided by the sect, three of these disciples had successfully reached the Gold Core stage.
Only a few people within Taiyi Sect knew of the existence of these three Gold Core Daoist Masters, let alone outsiders. Naturally, they were not on Jade Sword Sect's recruitment list for Taiyi Sect.
These three Gold Core Daoist Masters had been stationed in Maple Leaf Mountain City all along, responsible for both guarding the area and serving as the last reserve of Taiyi Sect.
If the Taiyi Sect in Demon Wind Gobi suffered a disastrous fate, they would be responsible for guarding the remnants of the sect and continuing the Taiyi Sect's legacy.
Although Taiyi Sect had withdrawn nearly half of their cultivators back to the sect this time, most of their Gold Core Daoist Masters remained, and their combat strength had not weakened significantly.
With the Cultivation Base of Gold Core Daoist Masters, they could promptly withdraw if the situation changed.
Most of the cultivators from the Hanhai Alliance remained, and there was no shortage of low-level cultivators for their tasks.
Being able to withdraw nearly half of the cultivators and Delicate Water Spirit General was already the limit. Any more, and Jade Sword Sect would grow suspicious.
With these arrangements in place, Meng Zhang could sit on the defensive line with a little more peace of mind.