In the Brown-red Mountain Range of Zhao Country, the major battle between the Wu Yue Sect and the Cloud Desolate Alliance had finally come to a close, with both parties retreating.

The three armies of the Cloud Desolate Alliance had now converged at a hilly area hundreds of miles away from the Brown-red Mountain Range, setting up camp to tally the losses.

Wan Tianren, Tianyinzi, and Luo Zhu all had very unpleasant looks on their faces.

In the aftermath of this chaotic battle, the Alliance had suffered heavy losses, with a full thirty percent of its cultivators fallen, and countless more injured, mostly mid and low-level cultivators.

"It is all my fault," Tianyinzi said somberly. "I thought that by using the Illusion Spirit Tree's illusion divine skills, we could confuse the members of the Wu Yue Sect, but instead, I led to our own demise. Once we return to Yuhua City, I will admit my guilt to the Alliance Hierarch."

"Fellow Daoist Tianyinzi, you mustn't blame yourself. Who could have expected the Wu Yue Sect to employ a strategy that inflicted damage to both sides?" Wan Tianren advised.

"Indeed, our losses are not small, but the Wu Yue Sect also suffered greatly. We did not come out at a disadvantage and, at the very least, we have successfully halted the Wu Yue Sect's offensive momentum," Luo Zhu added.

Hearing these words, Tianyinzi's face looked slightly better.

"This battle is inconclusive. As for our next move, I wonder if the two fellow daoists have any good suggestions," Tianyinzi inquired.

Just as Wan Tianren was about to speak, Luo Zhu raised a hand to stop him.

"Before we discuss this matter, there is something else I must bring up. During the previous battle, did either of you notice that there were also people fighting underground?" Luo Zhu inquired.

Wan Tianren, who had been fighting Xi Zheng during the battle and had been at a disadvantage the whole time, hadn't paid attention to what was happening underground and shook his head in surprise upon hearing this.

"Indeed, there were seven combatants. One side was the Nine Yin Venerable, and the six on the other side were the White Bone Venerable, Evil Eye Venerable, Luo Yongqi from the Southern Border's Senluo Sect, as well as Purple Thunder, Chi Xiao, and a Level 4 Tree Demon from the Double Immortal Sect," reported Tianyinzi with calm.

"It was them! Why would they slaughter each other? Could it be that some turmoil has occurred within the Wu Yue Sect? No, that can't be right. The White Bone Venerable has already fallen in the East Sea, so why would he reappear?" Wan Tianren interrupted with a start.

Neither Tianyinzi nor Luo Zhu could answer this question.

"What was the outcome of that battle?" asked Wan Tianren further.

"The Evil Eye Venerable was killed on the spot, and Luo Yongqi, Purple Thunder, and Chi Xiao were captured, while the White Bone Venerable and the tree demon both fled," Tianyinzi said.

"The Evil Eye Venerable has fallen! Are you certain?" Wan Tianren exclaimed with joy.

"It should be correct. I inspected it thoroughly with my divine sense; the Evil Eye Venerable indeed had no trace of life left, and his body was taken away by the Nine Yin Venerable," confirmed Tianyinzi.

"Good. Although we suffered heavy losses in this battle, the enemy is fighting among themselves, and with the fall of the Evil Eye Venerable on the battlefield, it seems our side has a slight advantage," Wan Tianren nodded.

"Fellow Daoist Luo, do you bring up this matter now because you feel the underground battle will affect our next steps?" Tianyinzi asked, looking towards Luo Zhu.

"Of course. Although we do not know the nature of the turmoil that occurred within the Wu Yue Sect that led to the venerables fighting each other, this matter cannot be overlooked. We should send this news, as well as the outcome of the battle, back to Yuhua City and ask the Alliance Hierarch and the others to help decide," Luo Zhu said.

"That would be wise," agreed Tianyinzi, and he took out a communication talisman.

...

Deep underground, far from the battlefield, a clone of Xi Ying looked at the Soul Suppressing Kettle filled to the brim with countless souls, amounting to thousands, and nodded in satisfaction.

Although most of these divine souls were from low-level cultivators, the sheer number was enough to make up for everything. So many divine souls would be sufficient for the main body's advancement.

"Master, now that we've collected enough souls, should we leave now?" asked the Silver Kong Tree Demon beside him.

"Wait a bit longer, I have something else to do." Xi Ying's clone put away the Soul Suppressing Kettle and gazed towards the Brown-red Mountain Range.

...

In the main camp of the Wu Yue Sect, within a black hall.

The Nine Yin Venerable sat cross-legged in front of a black coffin, while a body lay on the ground beside him, that of the Evil Eye Venerable.

A stream of black qi shot out from within the black coffin, like a thick black snake swaying its head and tail, entering the back of the Nine Yin Venerable before emerging again from his front.

His expression was one of pain, but he clenched his teeth and endured.

After a full quarter of an hour, the flow of black qi finally ceased, and the Nine Yin Venerable breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's done, the poison has mostly been cleared out," the voice of the Wu Yue God came from within the black coffin.

"Thank you, Wu Yue God," the Nine Yin Venerable bowed and thanked.

"Did you clearly see that the artifact used by that person to collect souls was the Soul Suppressing Kettle? And was there a Soul Suppressing Pearl embedded on it?" the Wu Yue God inquired eagerly.

"There's no mistake!" the Nine Yin Venerable asserted confidently.

"Based on your description, that person's strength is not bad, but still inferior to you. It's likely not Yuan Ming, but someone by his side," Wu Yue God deduced.

"The odds are that this is indeed the case," agreed the Nine Yin Venerable.

"Good, I thought we would have to find Yuan Ming to retrieve the Soul Suppressing Kettle, yet they have delivered this treasure right to me, and it's the complete Soul Suppressing Kettle at that. Hahaha..." Wu Yue God burst into laughter.

The Nine Yin Venerable also showed a smile.

"Nine Yin, follow my orders, pursue that person, and retrieve the Soul Suppressing Kettle. I permit you to break the seal and use the Divine Soul Transformation against the enemy!" The laughter of the Wu Yue God soon stopped, and he gave his orders sternly.

"Yes," Nine Yin Venerable answered. A complex pattern surfaced on the skin of his back, which appeared to be a sealing mark.

He immediately formed seals with his hands, and the mark swiftly began to disintegrate, completely dispersing after a few breaths.

Boom!

A vast surge of soul power erupted, and a black silhouette emerged from the seal, looking around excitedly. It occasionally let out a shrill laugh, much like that of a night owl, suggesting it was not entirely under the control of Nine Yin Venerable.

Though the shadow was formed from Divine Soul Power, the laugh was as tangible as reality, causing the entire hall to buzz with its vibrations.

"It has been so many years, and you still cannot master the soul of the Demon Crow?" Wu Yue God's displeased voice emanated from within the coffin.

"This subordinate is incompetent, please punish me," Nine Yin Venerable said with an expression of guilt.

"Forget it, the Demon Crow is not of this realm. It's understandable that it's difficult to control. Go, and bring back the Soul Suppressing Kettle within three days," Wu Yue God said indifferently.

"Yes." Nine Yin Venerable vanished in a flash, leaving the hall in utter silence.

After a long while, an intense killing intent suddenly pervaded the empty hall as if a bloodthirsty Fierce Beast had appeared, lurking in the depths of the hall and causing the air itself to freeze.

"You've come," Wu Yue God's voice came from the black coffin.

"Is everything ready?" A tall figure emerged from the darkness, enveloped in a black robe, his face obscured.

The only thing visible was a blood light glowing on his forehead, which was strikingly conspicuous in the dark.

"Everything is here." A large Storage Bag flew out from the coffin and landed in front of the tall figure, making the sound of something heavy hitting the ground. This chapter is part of the collection on *.

The tall figure picked up the Storage Bag and swiftly nodded his head.

"Two thousand two hundred bodies, not bad. But still, these are far from enough. I ask that Venerable Wu Yue God make more arrangements to procure more complete bodies," the figure said.

"Hmph, you say that as if it's easy. Corpses of cultivators aren't so readily available. Without warfare, not to mention two thousand bodies, even two hundred would be hard to find," Wu Yue God retorted.

"Therefore, my master has provided a large quantity of resources to Venerable Wu Yue God. Otherwise, how could the Wu Yue Sect have recovered so quickly? It's just that the thirty thousand cultivator corpses you promised are yet to reach even a third," the tall figure remarked.

"The war has just begun, and gathering bodies is difficult. Tell your master that he will not be missing a single thing that this god has promised," Wu Yue God said after a moment of silence.

"Good, I shall wait a bit longer then," the tall figure reluctantly nodded and began to walk away.

"This is the body of a Late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator! The higher the cultivation of the body, the greater its value. I'll take this one with me," the tall figure stopped upon passing the body of the Evil Eye Venerable, waved his hand to collect it, and addressed the black coffin.

Wu Yue God remained silent. Seeing this, the tall figure said no more and melded into the darkness, disappearing from sight.

"Hehe..." Wu Yue God's low and cold laughter came from the coffin, echoing lightly throughout the hall.

...

Inside the Xi Family's Flying Boat, Xi Zheng stood in his room with a very unsightly expression.

After the battle, the Xi Family regrouped and counted their numbers.

As Luo Zhu and others had anticipated, the Cloud Desolate Alliance suffered heavy losses, and the Wu Yue Sect was not much better off.

The battle was too chaotic to command effectively. The Foundation Establishment and Core Formation disciples of the Xi Family had suffered heavy casualties, their combat strength reduced by as much as thirty to forty percent. There was even the loss of a Nascent Soul cultivator.

The people of the Xi Family were filled with complaints, and some were already regretting joining the Wu Yue Sect's faction.

"The first great battle has resulted in such heavy losses; if we continue at this rate, the Xi Family will be completely drained," Xi Zheng was feeling a tinge of regret at the moment.

On the table beside him lay two Storage Bags that Wu Yue God had just sent over, filled with a million Spirit Stones, several hundred elixirs, dozens of Magic Treasures, even an imitation Spiritual Treasure, and three Cultivation Technique books.

These were compensations for the Xi Family.

Xi Zheng looked at the two Storage Bags without the slightest alleviation in his expression.

The compensation was generous but could never match the loyal and diligently cultivated clan disciples. Those represented a significant investment of time and resources by the family.

Xi Zheng took a deep breath, regained his composure, and sent the two Storage Bags out for distribution among the clan members.

Regardless, it was still some consolation.

Xi Zheng soon returned and sighed before perusing the three Classics.

All three Cultivation Technique Books were Body Cultivation Methods.

Xi Zheng's eyes flickered. Directly receiving three Body Cultivation Methods showed that Wu Yue God had sensed his plans.

However, he huffed lightly, disregarding the implication and continued to comprehend them.

The first book was named Golden Bone Technique, particularly profound in bone forging. The second was called Iron Body Technique, offering formidable skin defense. The third was named Blood Battle Eighteen Hands, leaning more towards practical combat.

Xi Zheng quickly finished reading the three books and stood up to practice them slowly.

A huge force of Blood Gang Power erupted from him, expanding and intensifying with his movements, sending invisible ripples through the void around him.