Rebuilding the Immortal Cultivator Clan

Chapter 1955: Chapter 1446: A Casual Move (2)

If they hadn’t been lucky enough to escape by chance, it would have been impossible for the massacre to be so limited, and for their lives to be spared—perhaps even they would have fallen.

“Damn it!”

“A bunch of cunning Outer Realm cultivators!”

…

After hearing that man’s words, a group of demon cultivators were filled with righteous fury, behaving with great anger, or rather, the anger that comes after being startled and terrified.

At the same time, they also worried they might end up in the same situation themselves.

“I think we should send someone to attack right now. They’ve just finished a major battle; all the Outer Realm creatures have spent much of their mana, and their strength is at its weakest. If we seize the chance to take them down, it can count as avenging those who have died.” a demon cultivator said excitedly.

“Mm, that is indeed a good idea. What do you all think?”

In fact, the so-called invading Outer Realm creatures had suffered heavy depletion, and it would be impossible for their mana to recover much in the short term. If they struck now, they might well solve the problem and win this round of the battle!

“Yes, we should teach them a lesson. Otherwise, wouldn’t we be letting the enemy look down on us?”

The vast majority of demon cultivators agreed. Time was precious, so they quickly made up their minds.

They would have five Human Immortal cultivators lead an army of five thousand, with the goal of annihilating that group of Outer Realm creatures!

Their response was already quick, but when they arrived at the camp previously established by the Li family, they found it completely empty!

“Damn it! Where are they? Why are they gone?!” roared a devil beast impatiently.

Looking carefully inside the camp, one would see that Li Zhixuan and the others hadn’t fled in a panicked rush, but had instead made careful arrangements for an orderly retreat!

So there was no sign of chaos in the camp; everything was tidy and neatly arranged—only completely deserted, with nothing left behind.

“I never would have thought they’d be so cautious!”

A demon cultivator sighed and said, “Let’s go back. They were prepared in advance. We won’t be able to track them.”

No matter how aggrieved or resentful they felt, in the face of the empty camp, all they could do was return in disappointment.

However, before leaving, some devil beasts and demon cultivators vented their anger on the remaining buildings, smashing them with spirit light and reducing them to ashes without hesitation.

Rumble—

But right after that, a sudden explosion blasted them all into the air!

In an instant, shattered flesh and broken bones rained down like a torrential downpour—strange and terrifying to behold.

By the end of the explosion, the demon army that had once numbered over five thousand was now only thirty or forty percent of its size, and even among the survivors, most were badly injured—hardly any remained unscathed.

Worried that there might be other traps, and filled with shock and fury, they did not dare linger; hurriedly, they gathered up the wounded devil beasts and demon cultivators and rushed back to their own camp.

When they returned, the other demon cultivators and devil beasts, seeing this result, felt not only furious but also secretly relieved.

Luckily, it wasn’t me who went—or else, perhaps among those dead, my fate would have been the same.

…

In truth, that explosion just now was the final surprise the Li family had prepared for them—there were no further traps.

While pretending to retreat, Li Zhixuan and the others had packed up everything, and set up a powerful trap in the camp.

The trigger? Using spiritual energy to destroy anything within the camp would detonate it!

At the time, she’d only left this behind casually—whether or not it worked, she didn’t know.

But even if it didn’t go off, it would just waste a few Spiritual Objects—if it did succeed, who knows how many lives it would take among the natives of this realm.

It was a very risky gamble—but Li Zhixuan had won!

The trap took the lives of three or four thousand, costing them only a handful of Spiritual Objects.

At this moment, as Li Zhixuan led her clansmen and loose cultivators back to their base, she received word from the clan member who set the trap: the trap detonated successfully.

“Alright, I understand.”

Although she didn’t know how many lives had been wiped out, it was no small number. After all, if they wanted to seize their former camp, they’d need a large enough force—otherwise, it’d be a suicide mission, not an attack!

Her reaction was calm because her heart was still heavy with concern for their base. If it had fallen, Li Zhixuan didn’t even want to think how many clansmen and loose cultivators would have died because of her.

Indeed, in her heart, she had already shouldered all the blame.

After all, it was she who suggested attacking and conquering Floating Light Realm—wanting to offer it up as a sacrifice to the Heavenly Dao, to nullify their karmic burdens.

If her clansmen died in large numbers because of her, how could she not feel deep guilt?

So Li Zhixuan had no thoughts to spare for anything else; she only wanted to get back to the base as soon as possible, to see her people safe with her own eyes—only then could she truly be at peace.

When Li Zhirui’s messenger came with news, he said little about the situation at base, only telling her not to worry, no need to return, just carry out the plan as intended.

But now that Li Zhixuan was freed up, and couldn’t set her mind at ease, she did not heed his advice.

After several hours of flying at full speed, their party could finally make out the distant outline of their headquarters.

“Did the family really hold the base? Or… was it captured by the natives?” Many clan members couldn’t help but wonder such things.

But when they saw the familiar family insignia, and clansmen patrolling the vicinity, they breathed a sigh of relief and also grew curious as to how, faced with a demonic army of over thirty thousand, the base had held out.

“Ancestor Xuan!”

The patrolling clansman exclaimed in surprise, “Why have you all returned?”

“We heard the family faced an attack by a great army. I couldn’t rest easy, so I sent people to reinforce you.”

Li Zhixuan explained, and then asked, “What is the family’s current situation? How many have we lost?”

“Ancestor Xuan, you worry too much. With Ancestor Rui personally holding the fort, how could we possibly have been defeated by that demonic horde? Our casualties aren’t many—just a few hundred at most.”

For a battle of this scale, having only a few hundred casualties was already a remarkable feat!

“If you want the details, please enter the base and look for yourselves.”

“Ancestor Xuan, duty calls. Forgive me, I can’t stay to chat.”

With that, he bowed to Li Zhixuan, then turned to resume his patrol.

Looking at the walls—some new, some battered—still bearing many traces of combat, it was easy to imagine the ferocity and danger of the fighting.

With that thought, she couldn’t help but marvel—such a perilous situation, and yet Li Zhirui was able to turn it around.

And most astonishing was the number of casualties on their own side.

Full of questions, Li Zhixuan entered the gate, letting her returning clansmen and loose cultivators go their own way, while she headed straight for Li Zhirui’s cave mansion.

Soon, she saw Li Zhirui sitting on a stone bench.

“Jiu.”

“I knew you wouldn’t feel at ease, and after handling things over there, you’d hurry back to check on us.”

“Conquering Floating Light Realm was my idea. If the clan suffered heavy losses because of me, how could I bear that?”

If that happened, it might leave a flaw in her mental state—a flaw that could erupt at any moment and deliver a terrible, unforgettable lesson.

Li Zhirui nodded slightly. He understood, which is why he stayed to wait for her return.

“Jiu, how did you survive this attack, and even turn it into such a glorious victory?” Li Zhixuan was intensely curious and couldn’t help but ask.

He produced a jade slip and said, “What you want to know is inside. Take it and read it when you have time. I need to go and rest to recover my strength.”

In order to deal with that great battle, Li Zhirui had long since depleted all the mana in his body, and just to wait for her, he’d delayed proper recovery.