Su Jie did not stay long in Chongzhou. After confirming that the Chongzhou Demon Practitioners were behaving, he proceeded with his next step, which was to target the Fire Cloud Palace. Originally, Su Jie intended to act against the Fire Cloud Palace, but a group of Western Region monks in Chongzhou diverted his attention. Now that the matter in Chongzhou was settled, Su Jie naturally had the energy to continue targeting the Fire Cloud Palace. On this day, a large number of righteous sects from Qingzhou and the Chongzhou Demon Sect received a summons from the Ghost Ridge Palace. "By the mandate of heaven, due to the unrighteousness in Qing Province, the righteous forces led by Fire Cloud Palace have extorted and harmed the creatures both inside and out, causing devastation across the world. This is an unpardonable crime, and with the Ghost Ridge Palace carrying the justice of the world, we seek to punish by divine decree. With banners unfurled, Chongzhou has already submitted in fear, leaving only the Fire Cloud Palace barely surviving. Today, leading a mighty army of a hundred thousand and a thousand generals, we will hunt in Qing Province. If the Fire Cloud Palace does not surrender, it will be struck by these myriad troops. In consideration of cultivation, I hope the Fire Cloud Palace will act wisely to avoid disaster." This bold declaration of war was written by the Ghost Ridge Palace and quickly spread throughout the world. The major righteous sects in Qingzhou responded to the call. After years of integration and transformation, they had already become a form of the Ghost Ridge Palace. One righteous sect after another sent disciples and elders to gather at the Firefly Sea, where the Ghost Ridge Palace was located. The Demon Path in Chongzhou, having just experienced Su Jie’s suppression, was in its most fearful state. Faced with the Ghost Ridge Palace’s recruitment, they hurried to send disciples and elders to join, fearing that they would fall behind and be used by Su Jie as an example. In a short time, there were thousands of banners over the Firefly Sea, with the numbers of cultivators from both the righteous and demon sides reaching up to 150,000, clearly divided into left and right, glaring at each other, yet having to cooperate under the constraints of the Ghost Ridge Palace to partake in this war. The Ghost Ridge Palace also dispatched more than 20,000 elite disciples, aboard five flying magical boats and other puppets like the Spider Main Battle Mecha, forming a massive army of cultivators, arriving at the border between Qingzhou and Qing Province. The clouds of war loomed over the territory of Qing Province, and the Fire Cloud Palace, the leading righteous force in Qing Province, began to panic, urgently contacting the major righteous sects in Qing Province. "Where have the Ghost Ridge Palace troops reached?" At the mountain gate of the Fire Cloud Palace, sitting atop the Red Shining Immortal Palace in a volcanic crater, Fire Cloud Palace Sect Master Chu Yangang asked beside him the Supreme Elder, Wang Chuan, with a cultivation level at the third level of the Daoist Platform Realm, with a serious expression. "Sect Master, the current forces of the Ghost Ridge Palace are still gathered at the border, but they have already dispatched two flying magical boats into the territory of Qing Province, carrying a batch of elite disciples to conduct preliminary reconnaissance." Wang Chuan spoke, his brow tightly furrowed, appearing deeply concerned. Currently, Fire Cloud Palace’s Daoist Platform Realm experts were reduced to just him and Chu Yangang. In the past, during the attack on the Ten Thousand Sword Alliance, they were ambushed by Su Jie, leading to heavy losses for the Fire Cloud Palace with four Daoist Platform Realm elders falling, significantly damaging the palace’s vitality. If it weren’t for Chu Yangang, an absolute powerhouse at the seventh level of the Daoist Platform Realm, along with the existence of the Red Shining Immortal Palace, the Fire Cloud Palace would have long lost its standing as the leading righteous force in Qing Province. Now, Su Jie was coming on strong, having rallied the combined forces of Qingzhou and Chongzhou’s righteous and demon sects, possessing nearly twenty Daoist Platform Realm experts, not to mention Su Jie himself, a great power in the Purple Mansion Realm. In contrast, the greatest reliance for the Fire Cloud Palace was the Red Shining Immortal Palace, this super war bastion. "Su Jie, that villain is too ambitious." Chu Yangang’s fiery red beard trembled, his entire being resembling a volcano on the verge of eruption. Ever since Su Jie destroyed the Guan Chao Pavilion and took over Qingzhou, Chu Yangang had a premonition that Su Jie might act against the Fire Cloud Palace. After all, at that point, the Fire Cloud Palace had lost several Daoist Platform Realm experts. In terms of high-level strength, they were no match for the Ghost Ridge Palace. But during these years, as Chu Yangang actively prepared for war, he heard again of Su Jie, only to find out that he had advanced to the Purple Mansion Realm, occupied Chongzhou, and subdued the demons of Chongzhou. This brought shock to the Fire Cloud Palace; being in the Purple Mansion Realm at just past thirty could no longer simply be described as prodigious talent but rather as an unparalleled monster. Chu Yangang had crossed paths with Su Jie; back then, even while in the Daoist Platform Realm, Su Jie had mastered the Dharma Form, a skill typical for the Purple Mansion Realm, possessing formidable combat power. Even Chu found it difficult to defeat him. Now that the opponent had ascended to the Purple Mansion Realm, with drastically increased combat power, Chu Yangang couldn’t fathom the extent of Su Jie’s strength, knowing that even with the Red Shining Immortal Palace, he was likely unable to counter it. "How about the contact with the righteous sects in Qing Province? Where are their reinforcements?" Chu Yangang continued to ask, as relying on the strength of the Fire Cloud Palace alone, they could not withstand the blade of the Ghost Ridge Palace; they must consolidate the strength of all sects in Qing Province, especially capitalizing on the Daoist Platform Realm experts from the righteous sects there to barely contend with the Ghost Ridge Palace. Even though they still lag in numbers, it was better than relying solely on the two Daoist Platform Realm experts from the Fire Cloud Palace facing nearly twenty Daoist Platform Realm experts from the Ghost Ridge Palace, with a one-against-ten disadvantage being unfavorable. "Those sects are all cowardly; they all refuse to send troops. I’ve heard... heard that some righteous sects have already secretly contacted the Ghost Ridge Palace. I’m afraid once the Ghost Ridge Palace officially invades Qing Province, these righteous sects will surrender at the mere news and defect to the Ghost Ridge Palace, those devils." Wang Chuan’s face turned even uglier as he spoke of the current situation with the Qing Province righteous sects. These righteous sects were even more fickle than imagined. In times of danger, instead of uniting and rallying around Fire Cloud Palace to resist external enemies, each of them leaned towards the group of demon cultivators from Ghost Ridge Palace. Not only did they refuse to mobilize troops, but they also seemed eager to enlist voluntarily. Chu Yangang’s expression became indescribably silent. He could more or less guess the thoughts of those Qing Province righteous sects. In recent years, with Qingzhou and Qing Province being adjacent, the reformation of the righteous sects by Ghost Ridge Palace after dominating Qingzhou had also spread to the neighboring Qing Province. They didn’t exterminate the Qingzhou righteous sects entirely. Although the Qingzhou righteous sects had to deliver various spiritual materials to the Ghost Ridge Palace each year, cooperating with and adhering to the various regulations established by Ghost Ridge Palace, their freedom was greatly restricted. However, generally speaking, the sect’s heritage and autonomy were still preserved. Moreover, when it came to cultivation convenience for disciples, through mobile phones, various puppets, and the open policies of Ghost Ridge Palace, the disciples’ resources and cultivation speed had greatly improved. The presence of Ghost Ridge Palace was extremely beneficial to the lower-level cultivators. Now, faced with the aggressive force of Ghost Ridge Palace, with the Purple Mansion Realm’s Demon Path champion Su Jie leading the charge, these Qing Province righteous sects were severely lacking the will to resist. The worst possible outcome was to accept the rule and policies of Ghost Ridge Palace, just like the Qingzhou righteous sects. There was really no point in fighting to the death, especially when they couldn’t win. They saw very little hope of victory. Many shuddered at the mention of Su Jie, the Purple Mansion Realm. Let alone face him in confrontation. If Fire Cloud Palace had a Purple Mansion Realm in residence, the Qing Province righteous sects might have the courage. But just relying on a lone Red Shining Immortal Palace, everyone really lacked confidence. If they picked the wrong side, they would probably face annihilation, so the choices of these Qing Province righteous sects, Chu Yangang could guess somewhat. "What about the Heavenly Patrol Department? Have they dispatched any Purple Mansion Realm strongman?" Chu Yangang took a deep breath and questioned his other plan, which was to seek assistance from the Heavenly Patrol Department. When Ghost Ridge Palace launched a tactical move, Chu Yangang immediately requested help from the Heavenly Patrol Department. This was where Chu Yangang’s biggest confidence lay. He gambled that the Heavenly Patrol Department wouldn’t stand by and watch Ghost Ridge Palace annex Fire Cloud Palace and seize the land of Qing Province. Currently, Ghost Ridge Palace had already occupied Qingzhou and Chongzhou. If they were to seize Qing Province next, most of the southern essence of the Da Li Dynasty would fall into the hands of Su Jie, the Purple Mansion Great Demon. As for Jingzhou, it had too small a population and land area. The largest state in the south was Qingzhou and Qing Province. One is a major grain-producing state, known since ancient times as "Qingzhou fed, the world is enough." One is rich in water transportation, with a strong commercial atmosphere, merchants everywhere, abundant financial resources, occupying seven overflow buckets of the world’s commerce, leaving three for the rest of the world. It was precisely because of its rich resources and abundance that Guan Chao Pavilion and Fire Cloud Palace could sustain a Purple Mansion Realm strongman. As long as Su Jie captured Qing Province, grasping the granary in one hand and the money bag in the other, it would be like adding wings to a tiger. With Su Jie’s ambition, it’s hard to imagine what he might do next. Undoubtedly, this would greatly shake the imperial authority. "Sect Master, the Heavenly Patrol Department has not responded at all. Our letters have sunk into the sea without a trace." Wang Chuan smiled wryly, knowing what this news meant. "What, how is that possible." Chu Yangang’s eyes widened, grabbing Wang Chuan’s collar with a ferocious expression: "Say that again, the Heavenly Patrol Department hasn’t dispatched a strongman? I don’t expect Director Zhang Qingcang, as he must hold down the capital Da Li City, but Deputy Director He Weifeng, he is also a Purple Mansion strongman, he should at least come." The Heavenly Patrol Department is the largest high-end cultivator agency of the Da Li Dynasty. As long as the Da Li Royal Family doesn’t want the Ghost Ridge Palace’s power to swell beyond control, providing Su Jie, the Purple Mansion Great Demon, with more supply resources, they won’t sit idly by. They would certainly have the Heavenly Patrol Department intervene to stop them. But what exactly went wrong, that at this time, the Heavenly Patrol Department still hasn’t moved to help. Do they really not have any Purple Mansion Realm strongman to deploy, or are they simply unwilling to act, preferring to watch Fire Cloud Palace be annihilated. Thɪs chapter is updatᴇd by 𝖓𝖔𝖛𝖊𝖑~𝖋𝖎𝖗𝖾~𝖓𝖊𝖙 "Sect Master, if my words are false, I am willing to be struck by lightning. At the critical moment of the sect’s life and death, dare I speak lightly of such things?" Wang Chuan looked at Chu Yangang’s devouring gaze, his heart filled with bitterness. He didn’t believe the answer either. He personally sent a direct disciple to Da Li City to verify, but they hadn’t even met a big figure from the Heavenly Patrol Department; they were sent back from the headquarters tower. The Heavenly Patrol Department had no intention of offering assistance. Chu Yangang listlessly released his grip, his eyes cast in despair. He knew what this meant. If the Heavenly Patrol Department didn’t come to their aid, it meant Fire Cloud Palace was left to fend for itself against the Purple Mansion Great Demon Su Jie, over ten Daoist Platform Realm experts, hundreds of Secret Realm Elders, and tens of thousands of Yunling Realm disciples. They might even have to face more than a dozen Qing Province sects defecting to the Ghost Ridge Palace. Under such circumstances, how could Fire Cloud Palace even fight! Just relying on himself and Wang Chuan, two Daoist Platform Realm cultivators, and a lone Red Shining Immortal Palace, he saw no chance of victory at all. It might be that on the first encounter, they would be utterly defeated.