Did they actually choose the Northeast first? However, the cultivators present all had great foresight. Upon a little thought, they realized this was indeed the best method.

Daoist of Long Shan felt somewhat displeased but had nowhere to vent; the Northern Territory needed reinforcements, but when they were most needed, no one offered a hand. Now that decisions are about to be revealed, these people swarm in.

It's hard to accurately describe his current mood, as it's all the result of inadequate strength, so he can't blame others.

In his opinion, with the vastness of the Northern Territory and the multitude of cultivation sects, as long as everyone could unite, they might not be unable to keep the Mountain Demon outside; although the cultivation power in the Northern Territory is not as strong as the Southeast, it's still stronger than the Southwest. If the Southwest could manage, why can't they?

There is only one reason: the Southwest Sword Sect is a one-word hall, but the Northern Territory is a three-horse carriage, each pulling its own way.

The reinforcements required them to hold off the Yuan Yi Mountain Demons. How to hold them? Only by fighting to a stalemate can they delay, meaning that after continuous bloodletting due to the demon disasters at the Yan Sect, they must make another significant sacrifice in the final battle to attract the Mountain Demons to stay.

Fighting in the field differs from defending a city; killing a thousand enemies with eight hundred own casualties is the norm. They cannot expect much support from the Heartless Dao, as shown by Lao Du's reluctance to enter the city.

The Heartless Dao aims to use the Yan Sect to hold the main force of the Yuan Yi Mountain Demons while they take advantage, withdrawing when encountering the demon main force and swallowing small groups of demons, advancing and retreating with ease.

Now, the Southwest reinforcements have the same mindset. The issue is that if they do so, indeed it would eliminate the Yuan Yi Mountain Demons to the greatest extent, but after the fight, the Northern Territory would cease to be three major forces, turning into a contest between the Heartless Dao and the Zhao Sect. Having bled dry for the Northern Territory, who in this brutal cultivation world will remember what you sacrificed?

They will only call you foolish and then seize the opportunity to benefit from your misfortune.

"Your opinions?" The Daoist of Long Shan did not immediately make a decision.

The masters of the Yan Sect remained silent, still in silence, wanting to see if this person could truly bear the heavy responsibility of the Daoist.

But Yan Baiyi didn't care about that. He's always been the type to speak his mind, "Attack! The momentum of the Yuan Yi Mountain's assault is not what it was. We can get news from the Northeast, and they can also receive warnings from the Demon Light Mountain Demons.

If we don't hold them off, we'll end up like the Northeast, injured but not dead, still with remaining strength. Then our future days will remain uneasy, as the geographical position of Yan Country puts us at the forefront of facing the Mountain Demons.

Temporary damages for long-term stability, it is worth it."

The Daoist of Long Shan glanced around, finding no one willing to speak, and sighed inwardly; actually, Yan Baiyi was right. He was also one of the few indigenous cultivators who impressed him, but war is never simple.

He had to consider too many other factors, including possible major casualties and how that might affect his personal prestige in the Yan Sect.

When the goal was achieved, the Northern Territory gained enough time, but the Yan Sect was in decline, and his prestige within the Yan Sect would also be swept away. Then what good would it all be?

"We continue to defend the city. We can dispatch more people to search for battle outside, but no decisive battle. We will only harass them."

Yan Baiyi was very disappointed and did not insist further, as he had already seen that the masters in the sect all supported the Daoist of Long Shan. It was not about who was right or wrong, but severely injuring the Mountain Demon and then being restricted everywhere in the future Northeastern human cultivation circle, such a result was unacceptable to most people.

The Daoist of Long Shan smiled slightly, "How to seek out the enemy outside the city will be managed by Brother Yan. My suggestion is to try to use those non-Yan Sect cultivators, as they seem more eager to go out?"

For the first time, Yan Baiyi expressed his doubt towards this preacher, "If we do this, who will ever come from afar to aid us the next time Yan Country is in trouble?"

Long Shan sighed, "We all understand the logic, but a choice must always be made; if the Yan Sect's strength remains, we won't need support. If we become a second-rate sect, no one will come to aid us anyway.

Everything is based on strength, not on something illusory. Besides, as I said, it's not mandatory, purely voluntary. They can also choose to stay in the city like the Yan Sect, waiting for reinforcements to arrive before joining the battle."

Yan Baiyi had no words but felt his sect beginning to become unfamiliar. It wasn't just this Daoist of Long Shan, but also those silent Nascent Soul masters. They might preserve strength but also lose something. Which is more important, no one knows.

Gathering people is not difficult, as Long Shan Daoist said; many are willing to fight outside the city to attract Mountain Demons, especially those sword cultivators from the Grassland. Upon hearing that the Southwest army would soon arrive, they all chose without exception to fight and hold off the Yuan Yi Mountain Demons.

It's a kind of temperament that Yan Baiyi envied.

Such a team of hundreds, once outside the city, could easily attract the encirclement of roaming Mountain Demons, so Yan Baiyi's strategy was to move quickly and never linger.

In fact, bringing these people out was quite reckless logically speaking. He didn't know when the reinforcements would arrive, and doing so involved a fair bit of risk-taking.

There was a time gap between the arrival of the Wild Geese Letter and the army; even if the reinforcements moved swiftly, there would still be a delay of several hours. Any further delays could mean one or two days afterward; whether they can hold out with so few people is uncertain.

But with his frustration, Yan Baiyi acted impulsively. Even if he couldn't hold the entire Mountain Demon group, holding part of it was good. Failing that, just like the Heartless Dao, hovering around the battlefield was fine. In any case, he wouldn't return to the city.

The distribution of Mountain Demons outside the city had become much thinner, allowing the team a smooth start. But as they moved further from Zhenbei City, more Mountain Demons began to gather around, initially in hundreds, then growing to thousands.

A dangerous cycle.

In fact, a short raid from the city could solve this, but one sentence from Long Shan Daoist was very harsh,

"We can save them once. But next time? They had the chance to enter the city, but they didn't, so they must bear the consequences of their chosen path."

Yan Baiyi led the team past the city and did not enter, intending to draw the city's cultivators out for a collective fight against the Mountain Demons. However, Long Shan Daoist was keen-eyed.

This opportunity wouldn't come again. As more Mountain Demons gathered, they wouldn't even have the chance to approach Zhenbei City.

Slightly adjusting the pace, Yan Baiyi led them towards the skies where the Heartless Dao was stationed. Although there was no prior notification, the Heartless Dao couldn't be unaware of such a large movement.

Yet, this area was empty, the Heartless Daoist cultivators who had been hovering here disappeared, clearly unwilling to provoke nearly ten thousand Mountain Demons easily. They came to pick off fringes, not to play the lead.

Yan Baiyi felt cold in his heart. Behind him, Shi Zhu's voice called out, "Fly towards the northeast!"

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