This time, none of the Four Great Sects had sent out Mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators; all were led by Late-stage Nascent Soul Great Cultivators. As a result, none of their Nascent Soul cultivators had fallen.
The golden celestial curtain seemed to envelop the vision of everyone below. Li Yan could clearly feel Bai Rou's body trembling beside him.
She first scanned the figures on the Northern Abyss Mountain God Tiger, but she did not see Elder Chigong. She didn't dare release her divine sense to probe above.
Next, her beautiful eyes began to search frantically among the white text at the bottom of the golden celestial curtain, which listed the fallen or heavily injured Golden Core cultivators, their sects, and their names.
The list started with the Late-stage Golden Core cultivators, ordered from fallen to heavily injured.
Although Li Yan knew that Wei Zhongran was safe, his gaze also searched among the names that shone with a white light, like clusters of white caltrop flowers.
For a cultivator, scanning a list of about four hundred names with divine sense was a matter of an instant.
To Li Yan and Bai Rou's relief, neither Wei Zhongran's nor Elder Chigong's name appeared on the list. However, Li Yan saw a few familiar names, and for a moment, even he was stunned, unable to believe it.
"Malevolent Spirit Sect, Hua Xin, Late-stage Golden Core, Fallen!
Malevolent Spirit Sect, Peng Wuxing, Mid-stage Golden Core, Fallen!
…
Malevolent Spirit Sect, Mei Fengsan, Mid-stage Golden Core, Heavily injured…"
The Malevolent Spirit Sect had suffered twenty-one casualties among its Golden Core cultivators. Among them, if Li Yan remembered correctly, "Hua Xin" was the Never-Parting Peak's Elder Hua, who had an ordinary appearance but a first-class figure.
A few months ago, when Li Yan returned from the Sea of the Northern Abyss, it was through Elder Hua's guidance that he found Wei Zhongran.
This woman was very cold and had even wanted to capture Li Yan for research because of his miscellaneous spirit root and his Fragmented Poison Body.
"To think she fell too!" Li Yan murmured. He didn't feel any hatred for Elder Hua. She was the type of person who was strict and law-abiding, which made her less likely to harbor schemes; she liked to do everything by the book.
Then Li Yan's gaze fell on the name "Peng Wuxing." The Hall Master of the Law-Enforcement Hall, who had once sent him to the secret realm for training and had helped him repel a demon lord just a few days ago, had also had his Dao dissipate and his body perish.
It was as if Elder Peng's laughter still echoed in his ears, yet the man was gone.
This filled Li Yan's heart with a sense of unfamiliarity, as if the world before him was no longer the space he knew.
He wasn't a sentimental person, but seeing someone he knew perish so quickly, he couldn't help but feel a stir of emotion.
"Mei Fengsan." This should be that fatty Mei Bucai's backer.
"At least he managed to keep his life!" Li Yan thought to himself. Then, his gaze swept over the names of the other elders of the Malevolent Spirit Sect. He was more or less familiar with them as well.
Some of them had even come to Little Bamboo Peak to discuss the Dao with Wei Zhongran, and Li Yan had paid his respects to them. They too had now entered the cycle of reincarnation.
After checking on his own sect, Li Yan saw a few familiar names from the Ten-Pace Courtyard, the Supreme Mystery Teachings, and the Jingtu Sect.
"Immortal Elder Hangwu and Sword King Xiahuà have fallen. Monk Yisong is heavily injured!"
These were all Golden Core experts he had met in the secret realm. They were lofty figures back then, but now some of them were also separated by the heavens.
Comparatively, the number of fallen Golden Core cultivators from the Malevolent Spirit Sect was the second lowest among the Four Great Sects. The one with the most casualties was the Supreme Mystery Teachings, who had fled north. Next was the Ten-Pace Courtyard, then the Malevolent Spirit Sect, and finally the Jingtu Sect.
Li Yan had his own thoughts on this. The Supreme Mystery Teachings was now like a sect in exile. They naturally wanted to reclaim the South Sea, so they would fight the fiercest.
The Ten-Pace Courtyard had always focused on offense and was weak in defense. Although they were a sharp weapon for killing, they would surely suffer heavy casualties against the ferocious Demon Clan.
In contrast, the Malevolent Spirit Sect excelled at sneak attacks and group assaults and was very mindful of self-preservation. It was only natural that their casualty rate was low.
The Jingtu Sect was renowned as a lineage of body cultivators, with the strongest defense among the Four Great Sects. It was foreseeable that their casualties would be lower than the other three sects.
Among the injured and fallen Golden Core cultivators on the golden celestial curtain, Li Yan unexpectedly saw another name, that of the somewhat greedy "Hua Siwang," who had once drafted him for a task. Fallen!
At this point, many people below had bloodshot eyes or were streaming with tears. Each name in red or white, followed by the shocking word "Fallen," often represented the demise of a sect or family's strongest expert.
Their sect or family would henceforth lose its strongest protection and was almost certain to decline or be annexed by others.
Many of them would no longer have their former noble status. What awaited them was a precipitous fall in status and the decline of the power behind them.
But with Golden Core cultivators in front and Nascent Soul ancestors watching from above, only a very few of them let out suppressed sobs, which were immediately cut short by the stern glares from the Golden Core cultivators in front.
At this time, the upper echelons would only allow boundless hatred and fighting spirit to emerge; they would absolutely not permit any sense of sorrow.
Liaoyuan's voice rang out again. "Our battle achievements are: The Demon Clan and foreign cultivators lost two Mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators and four Initial-stage Nascent Soul cultivators. A total of five of their Nascent Soul cultivators were heavily injured. They lost fourteen Late-stage Golden Core cultivators, three hundred and seventy-one Initial and Mid-stage Golden Core cultivators, and heavily injured Late-stage Golden Core…"
Liaoyuan began to announce the enemy's casualties. Upon hearing this, Li Yan and the others were shocked to learn that Windy Cool Mountain had a slight upper hand in this battle. In terms of top-tier combat power, the enemy had actually lost two Mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators. The Demon Clan and foreign cultivators combined only had a dozen or so of such cultivators; the loss of even one was a major blow to them.
The fall of cultivators of this level would normally not be mentioned to low-level cultivators like them, but in order to boost morale, Liaoyuan gave a brief account of the reasons for their demise.
One of the enemy's Mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators had been heavily injured in a fierce battle with a cultivator of the same rank from Windy Cool Mountain.
It was just that the Windy Cool Mountain Mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator was more severely injured. By holding on, he did not give the enemy any hope of killing him.
Seeing that it was impossible, and being heavily injured himself, the Mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator from the Demon Clan turned to flee. Otherwise, even if he could kill the opponent at the cost of worsening his injuries, on this chaotic battlefield, if he encountered another powerful cultivator, his chances of dying would be almost seventy percent.
But on his way back, he stumbled into an encirclement of three Initial-stage Nascent Soul cultivators from Windy Cool Mountain. Seeing an opportunity, the three Initial-stage Nascent Soul cultivators naturally would not let a heavily injured Demon Clan cultivator go.
Another heaven-and-earth-shaking battle ensued. The Demon Clan Mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator was already heavily injured, and the two sides fought to a standstill, but both had been enraged.
The three Initial-stage Nascent Soul cultivators from Windy Cool Mountain felt that they couldn't gain any advantage in a three-on-one fight against a heavily injured opponent, so how could they be willing to let it go?
Although the Demon Clan Mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator was at the end of his rope, being hunted like prey by three Initial-stage Nascent Soul cultivators had long since filled him with rage.
On the battlefield, the number of cultivators from the Desolate Moon Continent was already greater than theirs. Many battles were two-on-one, and some were even three-on-one.
As the fierce battle dragged on, this Mid-stage demon cultivator saw that there was no hope of rescue. He immediately unleashed his ferocity,激发了最後的潛能, and did not hesitate to use the self-detonation of mutual destruction.
The pitiful three Initial-stage Nascent Soul cultivators from Windy Cool Mountain, in their haste, defended with all their might, but were ultimately swallowed by the blinding light.
But in Liaoyuan's telling, these three Nascent Soul cultivators had fought to the death to hold back the enemy, and ultimately perished together. They were heroes of their generation, and the sects and descendants of the three Nascent Soul cultivators would receive the lifelong protection of the Four Great Sects.
Hearing about such a battle stirred the hearts of all the cultivators. Many even felt their blood boil for a moment, and their eyes began to turn bloodthirsty.
But people like Li Yan, Wu Ye, and some other meticulous thinkers did not think so. For example, the monk Liaoyuan did not give a detailed account of the enemy's casualties in his speech.
Except for a very few individuals who were mentioned, the rest of the death toll did not distinguish between how many were true demonic cultivators and how many were foreign cultivators.
Were the cultivators from the South Sea who had been placed under restrictions the largest group among the enemy's casualties this time?
Some of them even thought that the two Mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators who had fallen on the enemy's side might also have been the restricted Nascent Soul cultivators from the South Sea.
Many of them had fought against true demonic cultivators and foreign cultivators before.
In the past, when they faced these two types of enemies, they often couldn't gain much of an advantage even in a many-on-one situation. This time, the enemy's battle losses were actually a disadvantage, so how could some of them fully believe it?
But no one dared to say such a thing. They didn't even dare to have the thought of discussing it privately with others. If the higher-ups found out, it would bring disaster upon their entire sect.
Liaoyuan's voice revealed a deep, righteous power. To every cultivator who heard it, it was like the sound of Buddha in the world, inspiring awe and reverence.
"Although the Demon Clan has been repelled, they have not been defeated. The great war will continue. Little friends, please return to your duties. Do your part, and that will be enough."
The Liaoyuan in the void finally looked down at the crowd, put his palms together, and recited a Buddhist chant. With a wave of his hand, the huge golden celestial curtain turned into a streak of light and shot into his hand.
His figure blurred, and Liaoyuan reappeared on the head of the "Northern Abyss Mountain God Tiger." As the massive shadow in the sky moved, the group in the air flew straight towards the rear of Windy Cool Mountain.
Gongsun Changxing said something in a low voice to a Golden Core cultivator beside him, and his figure also quickly swept towards the back mountain.
"Alright, you may all return. Be prepared and on standby at all times. Do not slack off!" the Golden Core cultivator said loudly to the thousands of Foundation Establishment disciples.
Li Yan and the others knew that they had been summoned here to learn the results of the great battle of the past few days, in order to comfort and inspire them.
At the same time, they became vigilant again. The great war would continue, and they had no say in such matters.
Everyone watched the back of the massive dark shadow as it quickly moved across the sky. As the "Northern Abyss Mountain God Tiger" began to descend into Windy Cool Mountain, they could see some of the situation above more clearly.
They saw a group of Golden Core cultivators sitting or standing on the back of the tiger, each of them stained with blood, looking down at the crowd below with indifferent expressions.
Li Yan swept a glance over them. Just on the edge of the tiger's back, there were over a hundred cultivators.
Finally, among the crowd, he saw Wei Zhongran and the six Malevolent Spirit Sect Golden Core cultivators beside him, among whom was the white-haired, youthful-faced Elder Chigong.
At this moment, half of Elder Chigong's body was caved in, and his expression was extremely weary, but he still smiled as he looked to Li Yan's side.
Of course, Bai Rou also saw Elder Chigong's somewhat miserable state. She couldn't help but raise her delicate hand to cover her mouth, and tears immediately welled up in her eyes.
As the rapidly departing Elder Chigong smiled and nodded at Bai Rou, his lips moved slightly. Bai Rou also nodded gently in return, and only then did her expression improve somewhat.