Hou Niao truly did not expect Yan Baiyi to say such words in front of thousands of cultivators, sensing something was amiss, but as Yan Baiyi said, this was his own affair, and others had no right to intervene.

Evidently, Yan Baiyi's sudden speech caught the Yan Sect's higher-ups by surprise. They had an inkling of this possibility, but thought it would be done privately, not in front of everyone, leaving no room for maneuver.

For a moment, they were at a loss for how to respond, all remained silent, but Yan Baiyi would not let the matter rest,

"In this battle, over three hundred perished, all came from the Northern Territory sects to support us with utmost sincerity, originally they only needed to hold on for a few more hours to enjoy final victory, but now because of my personal vendetta, they lie dead.

I wanted to hold back the Yuan Yi Mountain Demon, to avenge months of hatred, yet I didn't want to risk my sect's cultivators, so I privately gathered fervent warriors... this, all my fault, Baiyi asks for the Northern comrades to punish him."

Hearing him take all the blame on himself, the Yan Sect masters felt a pang of sorrow, but with things as they stood, from a purely rational standpoint, they should agree with Yan Baiyi's self-punishment.

No one here is a fool; those who came to support are all Golden Core cultivators, each with hundreds of years of cultivation, what could they not see through? Especially such an obvious matter, of over four hundred battle cultivators, only Yan Baiyi is from the Yan Sect, what does that imply?

This is a thorn, one that cannot be removed quickly, over time it will gradually erode the Yan Sect's prestige in the Northern Territory, making every small sect reconsider when collaborating with the Yan Sect, fearing being betrayed at a crucial moment?

This is very detrimental to a Daoist lineage, maybe not as direct as tangible losses, but the pain from a soft knife cutting into flesh is greater.

Yan Baiyi stepping up to bear this responsibility, in truth, is the best response, he has the qualification, being the de facto initiator, everyone knows he is the most outstanding Golden Core senior brother under the Yan Sect masters, many times the defense of Zhenbei City was under his leadership, in simple terms, he has the right to bear all the burden, not just be some scapegoat lightly pushed forward, this demonstrates the Yan Sect's sincerity.

Perhaps doing so will not erase the resentment of those small sects and loose cultivators, but it provides an account, such a public self-punishment can probably minimize the impact, and with future amicable relations, it will not result in too adverse consequences.

They remain silent, for rationally they know this is correct, but emotionally they cannot accept it for the time being; after hundreds of years of close association, just because of the envoy from the Upper Realm, it has come to this.

Yet a single divine transmission from Daoist Mangshan easily changed the silent scene, "I once heard that Quanzhen Sect's Hou Niao, went out for eighty years, also serving as a true inheritor elsewhere, and after returning became the Sect Leader? Is it true or false?"

One sentence awakened everyone, indeed, with Hou Gouzi as precedent, what does expulsion from a Daoist lineage amount to?

Just have thick skin, and wander the Jinxiu, carefree!

An elder master realizes he cannot hesitate anymore, staring wide-eyed, he shouts, "Hah! Today our sect's disciple Yan Baiyi, presumptuous and arrogant, self-righteous... caused such results, letting down Northern friends... now expelled from the sect, as a warning to others!"

Yan Baiyi bows long on the ground, thanking master's grace, thanking friendship... then bows again to all cultivators on the city walls, expressing his remorse, evoking sighs from the crowd.

In fact, everyone has seen his performance in the past six months during the defense of the Northern Territory, he is a very charismatic figure; no one believes he did it intentionally, it's just that gold is never pure, man is never perfect.

In cases like this, no matter what, there must be an account, no matter who it is, if they've erred, they must take responsibility, with hundreds of lives at stake, can it just be ignored?

Yan Baiyi removes his Yan Sect Daoist robe, folds it on the ground, shouts thrice, turns and leaves without looking back, leaving Hou Niao behind him at a loss for words.

In such a situation, whether to step up to dissuade or argue based on reason, neither is appropriate, they can only wait for both sides to calm down before attempting mediation, now under the gaze of everyone, they can only watch the scene from start to finish as an honest spectator.

Yan Baiyi vanishes into the sky, the main matter follows, everyone meets on the Zhenbei city wall, Daoist Mangshan is not one to be indecisive, immediately calling for manpower, going out to seek the enemy, coupled with the Heartless Dao who heard the news, for a time from Zhenbei City to the north, everywhere in the vast area there are human cultivators pushing up to the Yuan Yi Mountain Range, but they do not find a single trace of a Mountain Demon.

The retreat was thorough, clearly an organized withdrawal.

In the shallow skies above the Yuan Yi Mountain Range, a few people look around, they have ventured three thousand miles into the Yuan Yi Mountain Range, and there are at least tens of thousands of miles of depth further north, with their strength it is not suitable to delve too deeply.

Hou Niao, Tianfeng, Yijie, Lao Du, and Mangshan, these few essentially determined the direction of this allied army, the Jinxiu Continent is in turmoil, a new generation replacing the old, the Nascent Soul masters gradually withdrawing from the historical stage, whether in personal strength or influence, they are surpassed by these young people, and this gap will only grow larger.

Hou Niao waves a hand, "Let's end it here, it seems the Demon Clan's information is also very astute, the battle has reached this point, there is no need to continue further, how to reclaim the human territory later and from which direction to start requires us to sit down and discuss slowly.

I'm considering heading to the Northwest, what do you all think?"

The monk Yijie of course supports, "Hehe, although it's likely just a formality, there are some formalities in the cultivation world that must be dealt with, just treat it as going to see the desert scenery."

Lao Du said coldly, "Since it is an allied army, there should be participation from our Northern Territory cultivators, Heartless Dao is willing to be the vanguard, advancing to the Northwest."

Daoist Mangshan was displeased, so he is self-appointed as representing the Northern Territory now? When the Mountain Demons attacked, they were nowhere to be seen, now they rush to snatch the fruits of success and gain prestige faster than anyone else, being a deep person he didn't argue with Lao Du,

"The Yan Sect has suffered significant losses from this anti-demon effort and needs recuperation; the various troubles within the territory caused by the demon incidents require addressing, so we will not go..."

Tianfeng nodded, "We should also be cautious of the Yuan Yi Mountain Demons returning, although the probability is not high."

Daoist Mangshan chuckled, "With Heartless Dao as the pillar in the Northern Territory, where do we need to take the lead, surely it's for breaking through the territory to kill demons, straight into the dragon's lair."

Lao Du was not swayed, "Is Daoist Mangshan mocking me? I won't mind telling you truthfully, I originally did not agree to aid Zhenbei in Heartless Dao, but there are many shortsighted people in it holding us back.

If we hadn't come, the Mountain Demons might not have retreated so quickly, maybe in the final battle, we could have scored a big one, now it's neither here nor there, and we still have to be on guard for their return every day."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.