Cultivation: Fortune by Lots

Right now, the Lightning Great Wall is both offensive and defensive, and can at the same time take care of other Great Tang cultivators; that is certainly good, but it consumes quite a lot of mana.

With Lei Jun’s methods, he did not necessarily have to choose this approach.

Doing so at this moment was both for the sake of sweeping aside the Solitary Eagle Khanate people on the western front before him, and also to make it convenient for him to stage an "Empty City Stratagem" afterward.

"Second Senior Brother, this battle is of great consequence, ever-changing and hard to predict. The Solitary Eagle Khanate and the Sumi Vajra Division are both not easy foes; you still need to be extra careful."

After thinking for a moment, Chu Kun took out a Miniature Bag and handed it to Lei Jun.

Lei Jun saw that this Miniature Bag was not the one Chu Kun usually used.

He did not hurry to open it for the time being, nor did he stand on ceremony with Chu Kun, but put it away: "You all be careful as well."

Lei Jun condensed the Thunder Law Heavenly Manual Talismans and the Xuánxiāo Five Thunder Talisman, handed them to Chu Kun, and then explained some of the related secret techniques of the School of Dharma.

Chu Kun’s gaze was calm; he quieted his mind and listened attentively.

Although the School of Dharma Lei Jun explained was extremely profound and abstruse, Chu Kun still quickly nodded: "If I strain myself to hold on for a time, there should be no major problem."

Lei Jun said, "Being able to hold on for a while is enough; there is no need to force it."

He took his leave of his same-sect junior brother; his figure, under the shrouding of the Taiqing Eight Scenic Treasures Raincoat, seemed to vanish into the air.

But that long city wall where thunder roared in waves and lightning ceaselessly coursed back and forth still steadily pushed forward, heading north along the eastern bank of the Grand River; judging by its momentum, it seemed it would at least press all the way back to the Yin Mountain Range before it would stop.

However, high-level figures on the Great Tang side such as Xiao Xueting and Zhang Junhai had already been quietly informed by Chu Kun and knew that Lei Jun had already drifted away.

Zhang Junhai and the others kept a calm expression; their counterattack momentum remained fierce, with a wild and violent posture as if determined to seize Yin Mountain back.

But in private, everyone raised their vigilance to guard against sudden change.

Though the counteroffensive was fierce, it never descended into disorder or dispersion.

Even if the Solitary Eagle Khanate Martial Artists on the opposite side broke and fled, the Great Tang cultivators still advanced steadily, not blindly scattering to pursue and wipe them out.

The people of the Solitary Eagle Khanate gathered then dispersed, dispersed then gathered.

With experts such as Zhao You’an and Morning Sun Dry sitting in command, most people still managed not to completely rout.

They withdrew north while at the same time contacting Daturan Bari, who had previously charged east, with the intention of recombining their forces.

But under the current circumstances, differences of opinion began to appear within the Solitary Eagle Khanate high command.

Some sought first to stabilize their footing and wait for Khan Harige on the Yunzhou side to achieve a decisive victory.

Others intended simply to disperse and wage guerrilla raids against various places across the Great Tang Northern Border.

On the present western line of the Solitary Eagle Khanate, the one with the highest cultivation was the Master of the Three Springs Palace, Zhao You’an; his status within the Solitary Eagle Khanate was also high, faintly already bearing the aspect of a State Preceptor.

But after all, he was not one of the alien tribes; at this moment, his voice did not hold firm authority.

On the Great Tang side, they also guarded against these alien tribes scattering to harass and raid.

With the Yin Mountain defensive line collapsing, backup echelons had already been arranged in various places and were continuously moving north.

Although Fang Jingsheng, Ye Moquan and others had not moved, clan elders of great families such as Fang Du and Chu Peng, and sect elders such as Ye Dongming and Elder Miaokong, all led the elite forces of their respective clans and sects as the second wave heading north.

Those such as Fang Huansheng and Lu Zhen, who had withdrawn from the central line of Yunzhou, were also separately slotted into the eastern and western fronts.

From the earlier decline after the collapse of the Yin Mountain defensive line, by this point the situation was completely checked, and the Great Tang side also began to rebound.

......

The wilderness of the Northern Border.

Boyan Mountain.

Once, it had been one of the lairs of the Great Demon Long Sky Gray Wolf.

Afterward, the Snow Country Bear King came here over a journey of ten thousand li, but happened to encounter the alien Martial Saint Bomo Ge.

By Bomo Ge’s hand, and with the aid of the Ritual Instruments of the Sumi Vajra Division, here, the Great Song Mortal World— or rather, what should more properly be called the Mortal World of the alien realm— and the Great Tang Mortal World were linked.

Numerous alien cultivators came to this Mortal World and, after forming their ranks, the majority successively headed south.

The remaining small portion of men and horses stayed behind to guard where the Void Gateway of Boyan Mountain was located.

As far as the Solitary Eagle Khanate cultivators were concerned, they did not worry about their retreat being cut off.

On the one hand, they had confidence in their own strength.

On the other hand, at worst they would "feed war with war."

This kind of work, they were exceedingly practiced in.

Although this time a large number of alien cultivators were moving together, whether Martial Tao cultivators or disciples of the Three Springs Palace who cultivated the Taoist Alchemy Cauldron Sect heritage, their strength generally resided in their own bodies, with little reliance on external objects.

Even if there truly were supplies that needed to be carried, things like the Cosmic Coordinate Box, Miniature Bag, and Mustard Seed Bag could settle it on their persons.

Although neither Martial Artists nor Taoist Alchemy Cauldron Sect cultivators were good at refining related Magic Artifacts, after so many years of campaigning north and south, they had more or less accumulated some.

On the Khanate’s side, within the Khan City there were also a small number of Daoist Artifact Refining Sect cultivators and even Confucian Classical Studies cultivators present.

Their numbers were indeed few, but they could more or less make do.

For the people of the Solitary Eagle Khanate, the truly important logistical pressure actually lay in... "horses."

That is, the Exotic Beasts ridden and controlled by the Cavalry Commanders.

Not only Exotic Beasts such as Yellow Dragon Whistlewind Beasts and Green Dragon Wind Beasts, which had been tamed and bred in large numbers on a systematic scale; motley Exotic Beasts like the Storm Thunder Owl were likewise specially raised by the Solitary Eagle Khanate Cavalry Commanders as part of their daily routine, while also needing to spend long periods in close company with them.

Whether one followed the path of Roving Cavalry or Heavy Cavalry, it was the same.

And in general, only alien top experts surpassing their peers, such as Harigel, Daturan Bari, Wulanqiqige, and Nuominge Rile, were able to tame and subdue Exotic Beasts whose cultivation realm was close to their own.

As for the remaining alien Cavalry Commanders, when they tamed and subdued Exotic Beasts it was mostly a matter of "downgrading" the arrangement, with the Exotic Beasts’ cultivation realm slightly lower than their own.

Under the control of the Cavalry Commander School of Dharma, the various mana and spells of the Martial Artist and Exotic Beast were generally inseparable, merged as one.

But when enduring the opponent’s attacks, since the Exotic Beasts had large bodies and their own foundations were a touch lower, it was then easier for casualties to occur.