Chapter 1505: Chapter 585: Scorched Earth Policy Chapter 1505: Chapter 585: Scorched Earth Policy The Nine Provinces had decided to conduct a Northern Expedition, involving the movement of two large armies.

Naturally, the scale of this action could not go unnoticed.

Thus, as soon as the news broke, the Changqing Immortal Sect in the north, through spies planted in both sects, became privy to this development.

Upon hearing such significant news, Yang Jihua, who had just succeeded as the School Leader, became somewhat panicked and immediately summoned his uncle, Zhang Xiuzhu, to discuss countermeasures.

“Uncle, Taiping Dao has just secured the position of Jiuzhou League Leader, and Lu Yuan is full of pride and ambition.

He announced the continuation of the Northern Expedition as soon as he took over.

The two armies of the Nine Provinces are once again mobilizing, attacking us from the northern and eastern territories.

Moreover, this campaign, initiated by Lu Yuan soon after his appointment as League Leader, is precisely when he intends to make a significant impact to consolidate loyalty among his followers.

Given this relation, Taiping Dao will undoubtedly exert themselves to the utmost in this Northern Expedition.

I fear they won’t be like the previous few attacks, where they shirked their duties under the guise of confusion.

The two Northern Expeditionary armies of the Jiuzhou, the eastern front under Taiping Dao, boast three Earth Immortals and over ten thousand cultivators.

The western front, the United Army of Jiuzhou, also has three Earth Immortals and over ten thousand cultivators.

However, our Changqing Immortal Sect only has you and me as Earth Immortals.

Moreover, after several major battles recently, before we could start our counterattacks, we suffered from numerous defeats and lost several nations.

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Even though we made a recovery attempt, the death toll was substantial in regaining lost territories.

After successive wars, casualties have reached forty to fifty thousand.

The reserves accumulated by the previous School Leader have been nearly depleted.

As of now, I can gather at most thirty thousand cultivators, among whom the quality is mixed, with most only having gathered one or two levels of Qi.

Those who have gathered Three Qi are less than five thousand.

As for Human Immortals, aside from two brothers who are still in closed-door training, there are only a mere seven in our entire sect.

With such strength, how can we possibly resist the United Army of Jiuzhou?”
Yang Jihua looked deeply troubled, his mind somewhat in disarray from the shocking news.

Although he had led the sect to launch a counterattack soon after his ascension and had swiftly recovered all the lost territories of the northern domain, dealing back-to-back defeats to the United Army of Jiuzhou and greatly boosting his prestige,
Yang Jihua didn’t allow pride to cloud his judgment and become arrogant.

He understood clearly that the current victory was merely the result of the previous School Leader, Song Xiren, who exchanged his own life for these achievements.

Had it not been for Song Xiren killing Ding Wanxuan, which left the Jiuzhou in the Western Territory leaderless,
and then continuously heavily injuring Huang Yuanxiu, Gu Huaiyuan, and others, causing the Jiuzhou Earth Immortals to lose their nerve,
and Zhen Xuan of the Jiuzhou, overwhelmed by the disastrous news, failing to break through to Earth Immortal realm and dying from the backlash of the Wind Tribulation, resulting in the loss of a successor for Western Jiuzhou,
only then was the United Army of Jiuzhou severely weakened, allowing him to claim significant victories.

But this was merely an illusion.

Regaining the northern lost territories wasn’t much of an achievement.

It was only because Jiuzhou was in disarray that they failed to organize sufficient defensive forces, allowing him to seize the opportunity.

Such circumstances were definitely not sustainable.

Once Jiuzhou regrouped, given Changqing Immortal Sect’s current weakened state, they would be helpless against them.

The more victories they achieved, the faster Changqing Immortal Sect might face decline and extinction.

With too many forces committed to the attack, once the momentum could not be sustained, a large portion of their vital force would be lost in the offensive.

When the enemy launched their counterattack, the forces available for defense would be reduced.

The reality was just so.

After launching the counterattack, the victories of Changqing Immortal Sect did not last long.

After the initial panic of losing the northern domain, the Jiuzhou Immortal Sect, with reinforcements from various sectors arriving, quickly stabilized their defenses.

With three Earth Immortals personally overseeing the front line in the Western Territory, leading over ten thousand cultivators, they established a solid defensive line, effectively blocking the Changqing forces outside the Western Territory.

Zhang Xiuzhu led tens of thousands in several attacks, but aside from losing thousands of soldiers and even losing a Human Immortal, the gains were negligible.

Even though Zhang Xiuzhu was a veteran Earth Immortal, he was only in the early stage of that realm.

While his strength was quite good among the early Earth Immortals, facing three immortals of the same rank at once, especially when they were within a formation that enhanced their powers, he couldn’t gain the upper hand.

In such circumstances, with the enemy focusing solely on defense, Zhang Xiuzhu could do little; he simply couldn’t get through to them.

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Forcefully attacking only resulted in heavy losses and a retreat with their tails between their legs.

As long as they didn’t underestimate the enemy and act rashly, the Jiuzhou Immortal Sect, united, would have no issue holding a domain like the Western Territory.

But this wasn’t the gravest danger.

Even previously, when Jiuzhou occupied the Western Territory, they were still at a disadvantage against the Changqing Immortal Sect, which controlled most of the Changqing Domain, posing at most a minor threat.

But the current Jiuzhou was not just limited to the Western Territory army.

To Changqing Immortal Sect, the real critical danger lay in Taiping Dao, which now occupied the entire Central and Southern Territories and had deeply penetrated the Eastern Territory, with their forces aimed directly at Changqing Mountain.

This was the lethal threat that needed urgent resolution.

Compared to Taiping Dao, the already withdrawn and disheartened Western Territory army posed markedly less of a threat.

Changqing Immortal Sect had only defeated a Western army, severely damaging only half of the enemy’s forces.

The Eastern Land Army, however, remained at their peak, with minimal losses.

Faced with such a formidable enemy and having only achieved minor victories, Yang Jihua, despite his broader ambitions, could not afford to feel triumphant.

Treading on thin ice, vigilant and cautious, assiduously working day and night, he dared not let down his guard.