The alliance army marched towards the Northwest, like locusts swarming a field. Not only did their several factions join, but also many opportunistic loose cultivators. Who would refuse the chance to take advantage of the chaos in a battle destined for victory?

It felt more like a parade.

Upon entering the Northwest, they found ruins everywhere, the land covered in debris, with ten homes for every nine empty, and countless refugees, yet not a single undeath creature in sight.

They retreated even more thoroughly than the Mountain Demons.

As they passed through the Jin Country, the Qin Country, and the Quicksand River, they still saw no trace of the undeath creatures, nor many human cultivators. Rumor had it that the Southeast cultivators' army had already advanced to the Protective Forest region, with Qin and Jin countries following.

This demon calamity arose suddenly and retreated hurriedly. Once the Demon Beasts of the Jinxiu Continent had united as a whole, it became very difficult to suppress them easily.

The army continued westward into the desert, where they saw the newly destroyed Loulan City and the completely devastated Protective Forest belt.

Hou Niao felt a pang of heartbreak as he remembered the efforts he had put into this place. Now, it seemed everything was back to square one; the only good news was that the underground Dark River was not severely damaged, making it much easier to recreate a Protective Forest.

Tianfeng advised, "The idea of this Protective Forest is excellent, but the timing isn't right. Before completely resolving the issue with the undeath creatures in the Kneecap Desert, it is unwise to rebuild the forest. It is time-consuming and labor-intensive, and it would also impact post-disaster reconstruction in the Northwest."

Pangshan the Daoist also offered his insight, "We can reinforce the underground Dark River and streamline its diversion. Looking at the soil and water conditions here, setting such a high target for forestation seems too ambitious. Planting some seabuckthorn shrubbery would be best—it's inconspicuous and can prevent soil erosion."

A monk remarked, "Yaoguang, Yuan Yi, Kneecap—only Kneecap's defenses are the hardest. One, due to the terrain, and two, due to the strength of the Northwest cultivation world. Relying on the Northwest alone to maintain them in the future is almost impossible. The continent must come up with a proper response."

This time, the Southeast army penetrated deeply into the desert. It wasn't until the alliance army had advanced five thousand miles into the desert that they met up with the Southeast army. With flags fluttering and black clouds blotting out the sun, over ten thousand human cultivators marched forth, all at least at the Golden Core level, a first in the continent's history.

After joining forces, the leaders gathered to decide on the next strategy—should they advance or retreat?

Zhi Xuan shot a meaningful glance at Hou Niao. After the decisive battle in the Southwest, the demon disaster was no longer unpredictable. The concurrent advance of the five forces of Demon Beasts had been thoroughly disrupted. In fact, ever since the destruction of the Lizhi Sea Clan, the Demons probably began having second thoughts. The subsequent events were merely a matter of going with the flow, as they ought to be.

"Hierarch Hou is the hero of the Lizhi Sea battle. Given such a precedent, what's your opinion on the undeath creatures in the Kneecap Desert?"

Hou Niao responded indifferently, "What opinion could I have? If we can find the undeath creatures' lair, it would be best to achieve complete success in one strike; but as they have no lair and are scattered throughout the vast desert..."

Everyone, being knowledgeable, was aware of the specific environment in the Kneecap Desert; the inability to find a decisive battle target was humanity's biggest problem.

The undeath creatures are undiscriminating about living conditions; they neither build cities nor settle where water and grass are abundant, making it impossible to force them into a hard confrontation with humanity.

Rong Guang the Daoist grunted, "What's there to discuss? We all know it in our hearts. If we want to eradicate the undeath creatures, the only way is to wait for them to come out themselves. Otherwise, even if we wandered the desert for decades, we might find nothing."

In their initial foray, the Southeast army supported the Northwest and engaged in several major battles, yielding substantial results, but their attempts to seek a decisive battle with the undeath creatures proved fruitless. Clearly, some of the undeath creatures also originated from Outer Space.

This situation was similar across the entire continent. Humanity sought battle but couldn't find an opportunity. Kneecap Desert, Tianjin Ocean, Yuan Yi Mountain Range, and Yaoguang Mountain Range provided the Demon Clan with immense strategic depth, leaving the human cultivation realm brimming with strength yet finding no outlet.

Unless a True Monarch level cultivator emerges, truly suppressing these demons is impossible.

Jue Mingzi smiled slightly, "There is a method, actually, much like the Sword Sect delving into Lizhi Sea, attracting the Sea Clan's siege, then we encircle them together..."

Hou Niao outright refused, "These are two different matters. How can they be easily applied? Even if the Demon Clan is foolish, would they suffer the same loss twice? The victory at Lihai saw many non-replicable conditions: the South Heavenly Gate isolated from outside, the Primordial Magnetic Divine Mountain's restrictions on Blue Mountain Island, and the cosmically ambitious leader of the Outer Space demon elements. Which of these conditions does the Kneecap Desert have?

Of course, if everyone thinks it's feasible and is willing to stay in Kneecap for ten to several dozens of years, my Sword Sect is also willing to go in for a few years. But whether we can come out with anything is another matter entirely."

Zhi Xuan tried to mediate, "Let's not waste our efforts. Such victories can happen once but not twice. In the tens of thousands of miles of desert, let's not get caught in a surprise attack. Daoist Cui, Daoist Ye, what are your thoughts?"

Cui Huizuo, the Upper Envoy of Qin Sect, and Ye Shanggao, the Upper Envoy of Jin Sect, had their Daoist roots deeply planted in the Northwest, so their opinions needed to be solicited

Ye Shanggao said impassively, "It's time to withdraw and plan from a long-term perspective."

Cui Huizuo remained impassive, "I have no objections."

With consensus reached, this time's human-demon war drew to a close, albeit anticlimactically, leaving suspense for the future.

The army slowly withdrew from the Kneecap Desert. This gathering had been difficult to arrange, and it would be even harder to assemble a second time.

Hou Niao approached Cui Huizuo, "The Sword Sect refuses to delve deeper; what's your view, Brother Cui?"

Cui Huizuo chuckled openly, "Why the distrust? The Qin Sect is not short-sighted; we can see these intricacies. We appreciate the Southeast's support, but the root is still in the great victory of Blue Island. The Southeast Daoist merely used this to win people's hearts. If they had deployed their forces to help the Northwest at the start of the Beast Tide, that would have been a favor, but to act only after the Southwest's victory is another matter. I may be incompetent, but I'm not blind to this."

Hou Niao silently praised Cui Huizuo for his clear understanding and felt he had to explain. Beside him, Yin Qingsi was visibly indignant,

"You didn't even bother trying to go in."

Hou Niao smiled wryly, "In Lizhi Sea, I dared to enter because everyone in the Southwest was united as one, with a common attitude against the Lizhi Sea Clan; but with this alliance army now, I can only trust the mere one or two thousand from the Southwest.

The extent to which the Northeast Buddhist Sect is willing to commit, I do not know; whether the Heartless Dao will cause trouble, I do not know either; I have even less understanding of what the Southeast Daoist intends.

War is a violent matter. I do not care who the enemy is, but I do care about who my companions are; an army stranded far from home with diverse motives is a battle that cannot be fought."

Yin Qingsi grunted but said no more. Who didn't understand this rationale? In the historical record of alliances, failures usually stem from the same cause.

Even cultivators cannot escape such a pattern.

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