Rebuilding the Immortal Cultivator Clan-Chapter 2015 - 1476: Oppression (Part 2)
But likewise, the gains aren't that great.
After taking over a Spirit Vein, all they found were some spiritual objects that weren't precious, and those unfilled pits meant the more valuable spiritual items had already been taken away.
"Did the Sea Clan withdraw voluntarily as soon as they got wind that the Immortal Tao was invading the East Sea?"
Li Debo couldn't help but furrow his brow. If that was the case, then the current situation made sense.
Leaving behind some worthless spiritual objects to lure cultivators into picking them or even fighting over them, just to buy the Water Devils enough time to retreat.
And the Sea Clan's actions were just as Li Debo had speculated.
Once they got the information from their Immortal Tao undercover agent, they immediately organized the Water Devils to retreat, abandoning those Spirit Veins and discarding some spiritual objects that weren't that precious.
After all, given the temperament of cultivators, they'd never willingly destroy a Spirit Vein and bear the weight of karma. At most, they'd use a Moving Spirit Secret Skill to extract the vein and take it away.
But not many cultivators practiced these kinds of secret techniques, and besides, the East Sea is vast, and ordinary cultivators don't have that much mana to transport a Spirit Vein back onto land.
"Looks like this invasion of the East Sea won't yield as much as we hoped." Li Debo sighed helplessly and shook his head.
The frontline cultivators felt this keenly!
They had all come with visions of great gains, but reality dealt them a heavy blow.
After all the toil, they ended up with barely any spiritual objects. Even when there were some, they were just low-grade, common items—barely worth any Spirit Stones.
"Damn it! How did it turn out like this!"
"Looks like the Water Devils got word early and fled into the deep sea."
The faces of the cultivators present were ugly; it could be said they were in a bind. If they pushed forward in search, they could trek hundreds of miles only to find a few Mortal Realm, low-level spiritual objects. But if they retreated now, it felt too unrewarding.
In the end, the group of cultivators split; some chose to venture deeper into the East Sea, while others turned back home.
"Cowards! Cultivation is about defying heaven. If they can't risk even this little bit of danger, how far can they possibly get on the Immortal Path?" One cultivator sneered at the backs of those who left.
"Exactly! People like them clearly have no future to speak of."
This person had the highest cultivation and the strongest power. As he prepared to continue treasure-hunting and tempering himself on the East Sea, the others naturally chimed in, fearful of offending him and putting themselves in danger.
"A bunch of death-seeking fools!"
Those cultivators who chose to head back to land, meanwhile, were equally contemptuous and dismissive of the others.
But if anyone had looked closely, they would have noticed—all the members of the Li Family were among those retreating! As if they'd been forewarned or given some kind of order.
And those cultivators who pressed deeper into the East Sea soon regretted their choice!
Because it wasn't long before they ran into a sizable squad of Water Devils. After paying a price, they managed to wipe them out.
Just from the corpses of these Water Devils, they picked up a fair amount of spiritual items—and that's not even counting their Storage Magical Treasures.
This made them ecstatic, and even more convinced they'd made the right choice. Someone was already daydreaming about a glorious future.
But before long, their beautiful dreams were shattered to pieces by brutal reality!
A group of powerful Water Devils suddenly appeared before them and immediately attacked without hesitation.
In an instant, towering waves and howling winds descended, giving cultivators no time to react. The situation became perilous, and they faced the very real risk of dying at any moment.
"Impossible! I haven't even achieved Earth Immortal and founded my own sect yet—how could I die here, at the hands of you beasts?!"
The leading cultivator roared in anger, his momentum surging wildly—clearly intent on escaping the Water Devils by force.
Unfortunately, he underestimated the strength of these Water Devils—and their thirst for revenge!
Driven by Immortal Tao cultivators to abandon their homeland and Spirit Veins, forced to flee in disgrace into the deep sea, the hatred in their hearts was boundless.
Now, given the chance for revenge, of course they'd vent it all out!
As a result, those cultivators who'd ventured deep into the sea suffered a disaster.
Except for a few with strong power or secret techniques for protection, barely anyone escaped. Just in the Li Family's territory alone, thousands of cultivators were gravely wounded or killed.
Looking at the entire East Sea, greed had led nearly fifty thousand cultivators to their deaths!
No matter their individual strength, that sheer number was enough to rival a major power.
And this also sent a clear message to the Immortal Tao: the Sea Clan's strength may have been weakened, but they're definitely not an easy target!
Still, that warning didn't make any difference.
After all, in order to hire the Immortal Tao, the Demonic Tao paid a huge price. If there were no constraints and the Immortal Tao just went through the motions, nothing would come of it—the Demonic Tao would've handed over a fortune for nothing. And they're not that stupid!
The requirement was that the Immortal Tao had to keep up the pressure on the Sea Clan, forcing them to transfer Water Devils from the Western Sea for support!
So even though the Sea Clan gave ample warning, the Immortal Tao simply ignored it and sent in even more cultivators, with even greater power, into the East Sea.
"Damn! Are those Immortal Tao cultivators really willing to pay such a price just for the Demonic Tao?!" a Water Devil cried out in disbelief.
No matter how hard it was to believe, the speed of those cultivators couldn't be faked—they were definitely after the Sea Clan.
There was no choice; with the cultivators already at their doorstep, how could the Sea Clan avoid fighting back? For that, they even struck first, hoping to seize the initiative.
It's just that this time, all the Immortal Tao sent out were Earth Immortal-level cultivators with physiques as tough as Body-tempering cultivators. The Sea Clan's assault did little damage to them.
Just these few alone put immense pressure on the Sea Clan—much less when, as time went on, more and more cultivators poured into the East Sea, pushing and compressing the Sea Clan's living space further and further.
...
Meanwhile, on the land of Western Continent, within a big river already occupied by the Sea Clan…
"Damn it! Those cultivators are actually willing to pay such a price for the Demonic Tao! They're deadset on forcing us back to the East Sea!" a Celestial Immortal said furiously.
"So now we have to decide—do we stay in Western Continent and grab control of the waterways, or just give up and return to the East Sea?"
When this choice was put on the table, there was only one real answer—they had to return to the East Sea!
"Those cultivators had better not retreat too fast—I want to personally test the strength of their so-called elites!"
Though some Water Devils were burning with rage, they still had no choice but to move out immediately and return to the East Sea.
"No—we can't just retreat like this! Before we leave, I intend to prepare a surprise for the Demon cultivators!" A Celestial Immortal Water Devil curled his lips into a cruel smile. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢
"What do you have in mind?"
Many Water Devils grew interested and eagerly asked.
"We'll stick to our original retreat plan, but secretly sneak back. When the Demon cultivators come to investigate, we'll strike hard and take them completely off guard!"
"Good!"
The plan was crude, but it got the approval of most Water Devils.
Soon, the Sea Clan began their retreat, but moved with great caution, afraid of exposing a weakness and giving the Demon cultivators a perfect chance to storm in and wreak havoc.
Within half an hour, word of this reached the Demon cultivators.
"They're finally retreating?"
A few Celestial Immortal Demon cultivators at once breathed a sigh of relief.
