As soon as Hou Yuxiao emerged from the Ten Thousand Demons Cave, he realized that the flow of time inside was much slower compared to the outside world. He and the lords of the various Holy Lands spent at most five or six days inside, but outside, a full year and three months had passed.

During such a long time, clearly many things had happened in the outside world.

Fortunately, the situation in his own home was still within his planned expectations.

This was enough. Hou Yuxiao was certainly eager to know the situation of the other Holy Lands, but with demons running rampant, he couldn't feel assured about Jianye Prefecture City even if he had the strength to travel to other provinces. So he could only stay focused on managing Jianye with peace of mind.

The great king's flag changes at the cityhead of Qinjian Villa. What will happen after Zhao Yulong and Li Tingzong return?

Can the Bailu Academy, Wanjian Holy Sect, Ziqing Holy Sect, and Haoran Holy Sect, along with the Four Families of Hedong, still unite as one against the demons of the world?

All three emperors of the Great Jin Dynasty are scattered outside, and in a short time, they are certainly unable to continue the war. They can only defend their stations to resist the demon onslaught. Although all three forces still possess strength, if things remain as they are, accounting for the Three Northern Provinces, wouldn't the Great Jin Dynasty be divided into four?

If the situation doesn't change quickly, once the demon matter passes, all the Holy Lands will suffer a severe blow to their Yuan Qi. If the three forces outside are attacked by others, it would be dangerous.

Sikong Yue has calculated thoroughly, releasing millions of demons, achieving her goal. After resisting this wave of demons, what will the New Moon Cult do next? Will they cooperate with their allies to resist Jin, or establish themselves as a powerhouse in the world?

...

Hou Yuxiao had many confusions in his heart, but mostly focused on after this demon chaos. The most urgent task at present is to defend Jianye Prefecture City well, and then gradually clear the other areas of the prefecture, saving the people of each county and district.

These tasks are not easy.

Currently, demons are all over Shenzhou, and even just Jianye Prefecture City can attract seven Second-Rank Demons, not to mention Third-Rank and Fourth-Rank ones, let alone other places.

With tens of millions of Red Flame Army, the Upper Hou Gate, Lower Hou Sect, and all the Martial Artists of the Hou Clan, almost none have leisure. Under the leadership of Hou Yucheng, Hou Yuling, and Hou Yujie, they have been meticulously clearing the surrounding demons of Jianye Prefecture City. With nearly twenty million Martial Artists participating, clearing an area of twenty miles around Jianye Prefecture City took over a full year.

In this process, the three counties of Jiuchi, Yeyun, and Fuyang were also recovered one after another. Among the five counties of Jianye Prefecture City, only Pengkang to the east and Xiapi to the west have yet to be reclaimed. This is because these two counties are adjacent to Zhongyuan Road in the east and Xingnan Prefecture in the west. To the east is the New Moon Cult, and to the west is the Great Jin, so Hou Yuxiao deliberately maintains a distance from the two sides.

Hou Yucheng had already approached him, voicing his concerns about cooperating with the Great Jin. Considering the previous momentum of the Great Jin, if the Hou Clan truly allied with them to suppress the New Moon Cult, the Great Jin would indeed become invincible worldwide.

Upon learning this, Hou Yuxiao felt both comforted and conflicted.

Firstly, he was comforted that even though the Second Elder had this thought in mind, he didn't act on his own and waited for his return. Secondly, he was comforted by Hou Yucheng's growth. Being able to understand this demonstrates that the Second Elder, Hou Yucheng, now possesses strategic foresight beyond just a leadership role within the Hou Clan.

As for the conflict, it's about himself being uncertain about what decision the Hou Clan should make. Instinctively, he feels Sikong Yue is the hardest to deal with, but the current situation also compels him to be wary of the Great Jin Dynasty.

The Great Jin is truly too powerful.

To know that, up to now, the Great Jin has only deployed the three emperors plus a Zhuge Yuan. Emperor of Jin, Yuwen Dongdu, only showed his face briefly in the Ten Thousand Demons Cave and hasn't really taken action. Moreover, there is a former emperor, Yuwen Hongzhang, who hasn't even appeared yet.

The Great Jin is waging war on three fronts, utilizing the three emperors and three disciples of Zhuge Yuan. If the two generations of the Jin emperors and Zhuge Yuan acted personally, what would the situation be like?

Collaborating with the Great Jin at this time would be akin to making a deal with the devil, wouldn't it?

Today, with the strength of the Hou Clan, whether it's Hou Yuxiao or the millions of Martial Artists under the Hou Clan's command, their desire is definitely not just survival. From the moment he returned to Jianye Prefecture City and showcased the power of a Saint, the Hou Clan had already qualified as a Holy Land.

As a Holy Land, there is no qualification to bow down and become vassals.

Currently, the Hou Clan is no longer just the five of them.

To put it broadly, the Hou Clan now counts among their ranks major Heavenly Level forces such as the Jiangbei Alliance, Lu Family, Canglan Sword Sect, Dragon Mountain Heavenly Sect, Dong Clan, Shen Clan, Red Moon Sect, and Divine Origin Sect; on a smaller scale, aside from these eight, there are fourteen Earth Level forces, over ninety Influential forces, and more than seventeen million Martial Artists. It is no longer the time when Hou Yuxiao alone can decide everything.

The Hou Clan has clearly become a vast coalition, and any decision by Hou Yuxiao will have a profound impact on this coalition. Even a small mistake could lead to unrest, and in worse cases, cause fragmentation and disintegration, let alone such a significant choice affecting the Hou Clan's future direction.

In fact, all five of Hou Yuxiao knew in their hearts.

The forthcoming choice is only one: to compete for dominance over the world.

If this major premise is set, then it basically rules out the path of allying with the Great Jin. Even if Hou Yuxiao is inwardly apprehensive of Sikong Yue, it can't be helped. With the current strength of the Great Jin, if Sikong Yue falls, the alliance made up of the seemingly cooperative but actually conflicted Four Families of Hedong against Jin would be basically hopeless.