Sect Master’s Immortal Journey - Chapter 480: After withdrawing troops,

Flying Swan Sect withdrew its troops at this critical moment when a joint attack was about to be launched, which could be seen as a betrayal to its temporary ally, Taiyi Sect.

The reason given by Flying Swan Sect was that Fire Cloud Sect was showing unusual activity, but Meng Zhang didn’t quite believe it.

In the world, such coincidences are rare. Fire Cloud Sect remained calm and unchanged for a long time, yet it happened to show activity precisely at this moment.

In Meng Zhang’s view, Flying Swan Sect had ulterior motives.

For Flying Swan Sect, the main objective of launching a massive attack on Demon Wind Gobi had already been achieved with the elimination of Lion Demon General. Continuing to sweep through Demon Wind Gobi was not as necessary for them.

Dark Crow Demon General had always tightly guarded its nest, the Crow’s Nest, without much expansion outside, and had never left Demon Wind Gobi.

Eliminating Dark Crow Demon General would only provide limited benefits to Flying Swan Sect. However, keeping Dark Crow Demon General alive would continue to restrain Taiyi Sect.

Taiyi Sect had only recently gained control of Grand Lion Ridge, a Third Rank spirit vein. They would definitely hold on to it tightly.

Being just a few thousand miles away from the Crow’s Nest, Taiyi Sect couldn’t afford to let its guard down. To secure the area, they had to confront the threat posed by Dark Crow Demon General.

Dark Crow Demon General didn’t directly threaten Flying Swan Sect, but it was a major concern for Taiyi Sect.

Having ruled the Endless Sea of Sand for so many years, Flying Swan Sect relied not only on overwhelming strength but also on various cunning schemes.

Without turning against Taiyi Sect, they subtly trapped Taiyi Sect in Demon Wind Gobi to avoid any unpredictable changes in the Endless Sea of Sand. Flying Swan Sect expertly played out this scheme.

Meng Zhang might not be a master strategist, but having grown up in the Endless Sea of Sand and reached his current position, he had a deep understanding of Flying Swan Sect’s various tactics and schemes.

It’s not his fault for being suspicious, as Flying Swan Sect had played similar tricks many times in history. Even though Flying Swan Sect had set him up this time, Meng Zhang couldn’t confront them.

Taiyi Sect still needed to cooperate with Flying Swan Sect in many aspects. The withdrawal of Flying Swan Sect’s troops only meant a temporary suspension of the original attack plan.

On Meng Zhang’s side, with Gu Yue Huaidie, who is in the middle stage of the Golden Core, and Luo Ye Daoist Master , who is in the early stage of the Golden Core, they are still much stronger than the Dark Crow Demon General on this side.

Dark Crow Demon General was a Third Rank middle-grade demon beast, and Poison Sand Demon General was a Third Rank lower-grade demon beast. However, relying on the terrain and the defenses left behind by White Lion Demon King, they were not without the ability to fight back.

Dark Crow Demon General might be arrogant, but it wasn’t foolish.

As for Long-hair Demon General, they couldn’t trust it and didn’t expect any external assistance. The strength of human cultivators on the other side was too strong, so it could only fully retreat and defend its lair.

Meng Zhang didn’t deploy his entire army or launch a full-scale attack. Instead, he left Taiyi Sect’s cultivators in the rear and, together with Gu Yue Huaidie and Luo Ye, made a probing attack.

The three of them infiltrated near the Crow’s Nest, and a battle ensued with Dark Crow Demon General and Poison Sand Demon General, who utilized the defenses in the area.

Though Meng Zhang’s group gained the upper hand quickly, they couldn’t achieve a decisive advantage and had to temporarily retreat after fighting for half a day.

Afterward, the three of them made several attempts to attack, but each time they were blocked by Dark Crow Demon General, and ultimately, they returned without any success. Through these attempts, they each gained some insights and got a rough understanding of the enemy’s situation.

Gu Yue Huaidie didn’t hide anything and directly spoke to Meng Zhang. To completely break the enemy’s formation and kill Dark Crow Demon General and Poison Sand Demon General, at least one of them would have to pay a huge price. Even if they didn’t die, they would suffer injuries severe enough to shake their foundations.

Naturally, Meng Zhang, as the host, was unwilling to pay such a price, and therefore, he had no reason to ask his assisting friends to do so either. Although Gu Yue Huaidie and Luo Daoist Master had their own objectives and gained many benefits, expecting them to pay such a heavy price was simply impossible. Helping was one thing, but jeopardizing their foundations or even their lives was another matter.

Meng Zhang didn’t say much about this matter; saying too much might have been a test of their friendship.

Since they couldn’t do anything about Dark Crow Demon General for now, the three of them had to temporarily retreat.

It seemed that Taiyi Sect and Dark Crow Demon General would be locked in a long-term stalemate. Currently, Taiyi Sect had the advantage and was suppressing Dark Crow Demon General. However, one must not forget that both Gu Yue Huaidie and Luo Ye Daoist Master were not members of Taiyi Sect. They couldn’t stay here for an extended period and would eventually leave.

In fact, after leaving the battlefield, Gu Yue Huaidie told Meng Zhang that she could stay here for at most three more years before she had to return to her family. Luo Ye Daoist Master also informed Meng Zhang that she was not a free agent; she had many tasks to fulfill and had to return to the Dark Alliance within ten years.

Without the assistance of Gu Yue Huaidie and Luo Ye Daoist Master, and relying solely on Meng Zhang’s strength, suppressing Dark Crow Demon General, let alone holding onto Grand Lion Ridge, would be uncertain.

What was once a favorable situation had turned into this because of Flying Swan Sect’s sudden withdrawal. Meng Zhang felt annoyed about it.

After Gu Yue Huaidie and Luo Ye Daoist Master left, to hold onto Grand Lion Ridge, Meng Zhang needed at least one Gold Core-level cultivator to help.

Fortunately, the situation wasn’t extremely urgent, and Meng Zhang still had time to plan carefully.

Perhaps considering Meng Zhang’s predicament, before leaving, Gu Yue Huaidie and Luo Ye Daoist Master were willing to help him with some additional tasks.

The three Gold Core Daoist Masters swept the surrounding area together, thoroughly clearing the area within a radius of thousands of miles to ensure there were no large groups of demon beasts. As for the few scattered ones that managed to escape, they were naturally hunted down and eradicated by Taiyi Sect’s cultivators.

Then, at regular intervals, Gu Yue Huaidie and Luo Ye Daoist Master joined Meng Zhang in provoking and even directly attacking outside the Crow’s Nest.

Meng Zhang’s plan was sound; if Dark Crow Demon General couldn’t endure it and took the initiative to come out and battle the three of them, they would seize the opportunity to get rid of this trouble.

Unfortunately, Dark Crow Demon General wasn’t that foolish. It wouldn’t give up its advantageous position and come out to die willingly. Meng Zhang’s plan completely failed.

Helpless, they had no choice but to intensify their attacks on the Crow’s Nest, giving the appearance of trying to break the place.

Though they couldn’t truly break the Crow’s Nest, they aimed to put tremendous pressure on Dark Crow Demon General while Gu Yue Huaidie and Luo Ye Daoist Master were still present. This way, even after they left, Dark Crow Demon General wouldn’t dare to make any sudden moves.

Their efforts to suppress Dark Crow Demon General were very successful. All the demon beasts on the side of Dark Crow Demon General were compressed inside the Crow’s Nest. Including Dark Crow Demon General itself, they all chose to stay put and dared not expose themselves easily.

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