On the surface of Hua Siwang's giant saber flying magical treasure, as the number of cultivators continued to increase, the size of the magical treasure was also continuously enlarged.
By now, it was already ten zhang wide and thirty zhang long, so even when the number of cultivators had reached nearly a hundred, it still didn't feel too crowded on top.
"I heard that after the Supreme Mystery Teachings was captured, they still managed to preserve most of their elite disciples. They have traveled north and joined forces with the other three sects. That's why we were summoned for this joint defense."
A cultivator with a square face and heavy brows said in a low voice to several cultivators beside him. These cultivators were all rogue cultivators, and among them was Li Yan.
Groups like theirs, gathered together and chatting, were scattered all over the giant blade.
Li Yan listened to their low-voiced discussions. Now, as the number of cultivators increased, and there were more and more cultivator teams around, more and more cultivators knew the news. So as long as these cultivators didn't say anything to demoralize the troops, Hua Siwang couldn't be bothered to pay them any mind.
"Yes, what Fellow Daoist Liang said, I have also heard a little about. I've heard that the enemy has already launched a major offensive and is starting to try and capture the Devil's Cliff Crevice. Therefore, several battle lines have been formed, extending for thousands of li from the Devil's Cliff Crevice as a base. We should be heading to one of these battle lines."
Another cultivator, who was slightly overweight, continuously twirled his fingers. His short, thick fingers twisted together, revealing a trace of anxiety in his heart.
Hearing this, some of the others, like Li Yan, who were hearing this news for the first time, all felt their spirits lift. Only Li Yan remained seated quietly, not saying a word.
He lowered his head and carefully considered the amount of information in the other party's words. After some thought, he looked up at Hua Siwang, who was sitting cross-legged at the very front, and then suddenly asked in a low voice.
"Fellow Daoist Zhou knows that several battle lines have been formed. Does Fellow Daoist Zhou also know how many of 'those' enemies there are? And what level of cultivation have their leaders reached?"
"Yes, yes, Fellow Daoist Jiang has asked the very question on my mind. We are not as knowledgeable and well-connected as Fellow Daoist Zhou. This question is the key. Fellow Daoist Zhou should know..."
"Yes, yes, this is also what we wanted to know..."
As soon as Li Yan's voice fell, the several people around him all chimed in.
However, they still did not dare to mention the two words "Demon Clan," only daring to use "those enemies" to express their meaning. They were all just Foundation Establishment cultivators. What they cared about most was the number and cultivation level of the Demon Clan.
The strength of the enemy would truly determine their fate.
The slightly overweight cultivator with the surname Zhou hesitated for a moment, then replied in a low, troubled voice.
"I have only heard some rumors. After being passed from mouth to mouth, some of the words may not be reliable. After all, those who know the specific situation are all at the very front.
"However, since the Four Great Sects have already deployed several defensive locations, the number of 'those people' should not be too small. As for the opponent's cultivation, you just have to think about the Supreme Mystery Teachings..."
As he spoke, the cultivator surnamed Zhou looked around nervously, especially at Hua Siwang in front. He even switched to a voice transmission. Only when he saw that Hua Siwang was still sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, looking as calm as ever, did the cultivator surnamed Zhou breathe a sigh of relief.
As soon as he said this, although the few people gathered around were not very satisfied with the answer, when they thought about the speculation in the latter half of the cultivator's words, a sense of bitterness rose in their hearts, but they dared not show it on their faces.
After hearing this, Li Yan began to weigh the truth and falsehood of the other party's words in his heart, and he fell silent.
Over the past few days, Li Yan had also obtained a lot of information from these people. First, most of the people from the Four Great Sects had also gone to the vicinity of the Devil's Cliff Crevice, to respectively lead the conscripted cultivators under their jurisdiction.
Second, in this demon invasion, the top-tier combat power was very likely to be at the Demon Marshal level. Otherwise, the Supreme Mystery Teachings would not have been breached.
As for other news, it was all a chaotic mess. There was a mix of favorable and unfavorable news, making it difficult to distinguish the true from the false for a time.
However, based on these two points, Li Yan knew that it was the right decision to follow Hua Siwang this time. With his master Wei Zhongran's status in the sect, with such a great change in the cultivation world, it was highly likely that he could no longer sit idly in the Malevolent Spirit Sect.
And Little Bamboo Peak had very few people to begin with. Even if they were sent out based on probability, his senior brothers should all have been sent out. He might have a fifty percent chance of meeting them at the destination of this trip.
Since there was a fifty-fifty chance, Li Yan now felt that it was the same whether he returned to the sect or not. As for how strong the Demon Clan's cultivation was, Li Yan thought, "When the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up." He was just a minor Foundation Establishment cultivator; why should he worry about it?
For now, he would just take it one step at a time. Even if he returned to the sect, wouldn't he just be sent out again?
Looking at how the Four Great Sects were conscripting third-rate sects and rogue cultivators everywhere, one could know what the situation was now. With the pride of the Four Great Sects, they certainly wouldn't resort to something like "conscription" unless the situation had become extremely serious.
Just like that, the days flew by. Li Yan and the others spent day after day in teleportation.
On the twenty-seventh day, Li Yan and the others finally set foot on the land in the southeast of the Desolate Moon Continent. At this time, their team had also reached one hundred and fifty people.
This was a range of slender and precipitous mountains. The slopes and ridges were covered with a thick layer of green vegetation. Compared to the heavy and tall mountains in the northern region of the Jingtu Sect, it appeared delicate and refined, giving a sense of lightness.
This place was already under the jurisdiction of the world-famous Ten-Pace Courtyard. And the Devil's Cliff Crevice, which had always been a taboo subject, hidden and unwillingly mentioned by high-level cultivators, was located in these mountains.
As for the specific location, it was still very hidden.
The reason Li Yan and the others had come here was, of course, because the current war with the Demon Clan was basically centered around the attack and defense of the "Devil's Cliff Crevice."
As for how far the Devil's Cliff Crevice was from where Li Yan and the others had appeared, it could be a few li, or perhaps ten thousand li, or even a hundred thousand li. None of them knew. Through the exchange of information over the past few days, they only knew the general destination of this trip.
At this time, Li Yan's group of over a hundred people was standing on a flat mountaintop. Not far behind them, five teleportation formations were arranged in a row, and they were constantly flashing with multicolored lights as teams of cultivators continuously emerged.
Li Yan and the others had, of course, just stepped off one of the teleportation formations. As soon as they stood firm, before they could carefully look around, Hua Siwang's cold voice came over.
"Soon, we will arrive at the assembly point. From now on, all of you will keep your mouths shut, lest others see you as a disorderly mob. That would be a disgrace to the Jingtu Sect.
"All the nonsense you've been talking these days, keep it to yourselves. If I hear it again...
"Hehehe, afterward, I don't mind putting in a good word for you with the deacon senior brother. Since you're so capable, you can take on more important responsibilities in the future."
Hua Siwang watched as teams of cultivators whistled past him. He reached out and conjured a huge soundproof shield, then turned his head and said in a cold voice, his sharp gaze slowly sweeping over everyone's face.
The cultivators who were met by his gaze immediately lowered their heads, not daring to look him in the eye.
Seeing this, Hua Siwang's expression softened slightly.
"After arriving at the assembly point, I will hand you over to the 'Tiger-Subduing Arhat Chamber' of the Jingtu Sect. At that time, relevant personnel will arrange your subsequent affairs. You just need to follow orders.
"In the future, as long as you can complete the tasks assigned from above, each of you can receive a handsome reward, such as Spirit Stones, cultivation methods, medicinal pills, and so on. Apart from Spirit Stones, the rest have been specially selected from the 'Scripture-Storing Pavilion' and the 'Sarira Chamber' as the Jingtu Sect is opening its doors wide this time.
"What do you cultivate for? Ascension. Without good cultivation methods and medicinal pills, no matter how good your aptitude is, what are the chances of you forming a Golden Core, let alone a Nascent Soul?
"And we cultivators walk a path of blood and storm. There are no benefits that come from nothing. It all depends on your own struggle, your own fight, to seize a great fortune that belongs to you.
"And most importantly, if you perform really well in this conscription, there is a high chance that you will be favored by the Jingtu Sect. It's not impossible for you to become one of its outer sect disciples. That would be a heavenly great fortune that would allow you to soar to the heavens."
As he said this, a brilliant light flashed in Hua Siwang's eyes. He knew that in order to motivate these forcibly conscripted cultivators, the Four Great Sects had spared no expense this time, making public many rare mid-level cultivation methods.
These were all secret techniques of the Four Great Sects in the past, not something that could be bought with Spirit Stones. Even he himself was extremely envious, which was why he was sparing no effort to carry out the orders from above, in the hope of gaining their appreciation and receiving a handsome reward.
Hua Siwang's words immediately lifted the spirits of all the cultivators within the light shield, sweeping away the gloom of the past month. Most of them had looks of pleasant surprise in their eyes.
Li Yan praised him secretly in his heart. Although the promises Hua Siwang gave were all ethereal, they were definitely approved by the Four Great Sects. Otherwise, even if you gave Hua Siwang ten thousand guts, he wouldn't dare to make promises on behalf of the Jingtu Sect.
At the same time, Li Yan also agreed with some of Hua Siwang's reasoning. Cultivation was a path against the heavens. Without experiencing life and death, and crawling out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood several times, how could one obtain the already scarce resources?
After saying all this, Hua Siwang said no more. He waved his hand to dismiss the soundproof light shield, then nodded and greeted some of the other leaders who had just stepped out of the teleportation formation.
He then once again conjured the giant saber blade, taking the lead and stepping onto it. Li Yan and the others followed, their bodies glowing with spiritual light, their momentum several degrees stronger than before.
A moment later, Hua Siwang nodded in satisfaction. He stomped hard on the tip of the blade. Instantly, amidst a dazzling white light, the giant blade let out a whistling sound and shot towards the mountains in front in a flash.
After flying for nearly half a day, a mountain gate appeared in Li Yan's Divine Sense, who was standing in a corner of the giant blade. The mountain gate was seventy zhang high and thirty zhang wide, looking exceptionally magnificent and broad.
Li Yan used his Divine Sense to scan above the mountain gate, where three large characters were carved---"Sword-Washing Pavilion." Each stroke of these three characters was like iron hooks and silver strokes, piercing the sky.
Li Yan's Divine Sense only lingered for a moment, but he felt streaks of sword light from the three characters piercing his Divine Sense, causing a stinging pain that seemed to want to shatter his Divine Sense. Startled, Li Yan quickly withdrew his Divine Sense, not daring to continue watching forcibly with it, for fear of causing unnecessary trouble.
"A sect of sword cultivators? Could this be the Ten-Pace Courtyard?"
Li Yan thought to himself. As he was thinking, the giant blade that Hua Siwang was steering had already approached the mountain gate with a whistle.