Journey to the head

(To all readers, there was a problem with the plot design of the previous chapter 705, which has now been corrected. The biggest correction is that the treasure bestowed by Miaomiao Xuanjun was changed to "Lingming Xizhaoxiang", and some of the plots of the communication between the corpse clan and the Sikong family were also modified. If readers see other treasures, please read it again after the update. We apologize for the inconvenience.)
The night is deep.

The inner border of the Sikong family’s territory is Woniu Mountain.

This is a third-level high-level spiritual vein. The Sikong family has built a base on it, and it seems that there are heavy troops stationed there. At this moment, there are many lights, mixed with various kinds of spiritual lights, which are very eye-catching in the dark night.

Woniu Mountain is surrounded by nameless mountains. The endless mountains and lush forests are perfect hiding places. No one can find the hiding monks among them like looking for a needle in a haystack.

This is exactly the hiding method that 99% of the spies from the cultivation sects would choose - hiding in the deep mountains and forests near the spiritual veins.

Between the branches of a huge ancient tree, a monk was crouching and lurking, recording everything he saw.

"Well, just now two golden elixir lights entered Woniu Mountain. There should be three Sikong Jindan in the mountain now."

The accuracy of such records depends entirely on extremely long-term continuous observation, and is the lowest level of spying.

Intelligence collection on the enemy can be roughly divided into three modes.

The first is to develop an insider or insider. Through coercion and inducement, obtain intelligence from the enemy's internal members, or simply turn the enemy's internal members into your own informants. There is also the practice of inserting your own monks into the enemy's sect as undercovers, but if the enemy only recruits spiritual seedlings cultivated by yourself, this is difficult to do.

The second is to directly explore and obtain enemy intelligence through various secret techniques, treasures, etc. For example, the eagle pupil that can spy a hundred miles away, sneaking into the mountain gate by earth escape, water escape, etc., artificially cultivated monitoring spirit beasts, various monitoring and recording instruments and puppets, etc.

Although these methods are direct, they are extremely unstable and their reliability is greatly reduced due to the existence of the mountain protection formation that can cut off communications at any time.

The third is what is happening now, ambushing spies in the deep mountains and forests around the spiritual veins.

There are three to five spies monitoring the vicinity of a sacred mountain at the same time, and it is very common for each of them to stay there for four to five years.

Being a spy means sleeping in the open air and your cultivation will be greatly affected. It is really a tough job, so you have to carefully select disciples who are loyal and hardworking.

The secret agent in front of him is Sun Liuzi, a low-level disciple of Xuanwei Sect.

As a native "family son", he had mediocre talent and limited career prospects, but he was loyal and brave, so he was chosen to be a spy.

Although this task was very hard and required a lot of effort, he would also be rewarded generously. Moreover, his inner loyalty and the training he had received told him that he was doing something extremely honorable and meaningful.

Especially when a war is about to begin, the importance of the intelligence they provide is unparalleled, and to some extent more important than direct combat power.

For example, Woniu Mountain is one of the dozens of outer spiritual veins of the Sikong family. If the expeditionary army wants to attack these dozens of targets, it is very important to know where to invest what kind of troops.

Using the majority to defeat the minority will always be an advantage, but using the minority to defeat the majority will lead to a great loss.

If the war is to go smoothly, it will not work without the garrisons at these spiritual veins, especially the garrisons of high-end combat forces.

Sun Liuzi knew that the expedition against the Sikong family was imminent, so he was even more focused and did not dare to be negligent.

In particular, in the past two days he discovered that several of his companions who had carried out missions with him in Woniu Mountain had lost their trace.

As a spy, he could only communicate with his superiors through a single line to avoid exposing his whereabouts and leading a group alone. However, several companions would also greet each other through the unique marks in the dense forest to prove their presence.

However, the signs in the forest have not been updated for a long time.

This couldn't help but make Sun Liuzi feel a chill in his heart. Many times, he felt that this dark forest was like a giant mouth that wanted to swallow him in one bite.

Sun Liuzi swallowed his saliva, tried hard to suppress his fear, and prepared to pass on the latest information he had recorded.

Then he heard a low laugh from behind him.

"Write, Woniu Mountain set up a false formation, and there is no Jindan stationed there."

Sun Liuzi was terrified and turned around suddenly, only to see a pale face with only fangs and a huge mouth standing face to face with him.

At noon the next day, Lu Qian, who was patrolling back and forth, received two messages.

Lin Le had led the army of nine counties across Xiyi Mountain and was originally going to continue advancing towards Hushou Mountain, but he received an order from Xuanwei Sect to suspend the garrison and await further orders, so he sent a message to Lu Qian to inquire.

Another message came from Xuanwei Sect, in which Miaomiao Xuanjun ordered Lu Qian not to continue patrolling, but to return to Xiyi Mountain for a meeting first.

Lu Qian simply ended his patrol and headed for Xiyi Mountain. He patrolled back and forth between several counties for a day and a night, but in the end he gained nothing and his efforts were in vain.

It seemed that the actions of Xuanwei, Lingshou, Qinglian, and Yunshan had just begun, and the Sikong family immediately retreated as soon as there was a slight disturbance. It was unknown whether the Lingshou and Qinglian factions had made any gains.

The Sikong family has a commander who is quite decisive and has good military strategy.

This was not good news for the four factions. While guessing the identity of the commander, Lu Qian entered Xiyi Mountain and attended the pre-war meeting.

"According to statistics, during this raid on the Sikong family, five of our Jindan Zhenren were killed, five Jindan Zhenren were abducted, three Jindan were seriously injured to the extent of having their limbs broken, and the rest were not counted for minor injuries. A total of more than fifty foundation-building feathered warriors were killed or seriously injured."

Everyone present was a high-ranking member of the Xuanwei Sect, the leader of this expedition. The discussion of this meeting was being communicated with the Spirit Beast Sect and the Qinglian True Sect. If the two sects had any opinions or suggestions, they could speak remotely at any time.

This time the Sikong family's sudden attack was extremely ruthless. Their elite forces specifically targeted the Jindan from all sides. Including those who were seriously injured and unable to fight, their side lost a total of thirteen Jindan.

Moreover, among the five abducted Jindan, except for one Yunliusanren who was used as a tool to intimidate the various sects and was brutally killed after being humiliated, the situation of the other four is still unknown. The worst case scenario is that they were implanted with the Corpse Clan's True Seal and turned into corpse slaves, which in turn enhanced the opponent's power.

"This surprise attack not only damaged our manpower, disrupted our recruitment and assembly, but also seriously affected our morale." The leader of "House-Born Sons", Yi Chen Lingjun, spoke in a heavy tone, and the faces of everyone in the hall were not looking good.

Qian Cheng Ling Jun shook his head: "What Junior Brother Yi Chen said is too exaggerated. Why should we boost others' ambitions and destroy our own prestige?"

Yichen Lingjun narrowed his eyes: "Oh? Then I want to ask what I said is wrong, are you saying that these casualty figures are false?"

Qian Cheng Ling Jun said: "Of course the numbers are true, but the impact on us is not that great, so there is no need to damage our confidence."

"These casualties were shared among several families, but each family only had a few Jindan injured, which did not affect our combat effectiveness that much. Our combined combat power is still huge, so it will not be a problem to wipe out the Sikong family and the evil spirits of the corpse clan."

"In terms of mobilizing combat forces, although there were some disturbances in the early stages, the Sikong family retreated in panic as soon as our counterattack began. Now all factions have completed their military assembly and are ready to march at any time. Calculating the final time, it will only be two or three hours later than the hour of You. As long as we advance in sync, it will not affect the overall situation." "Finally, let's talk about morale. I wonder if you have noticed--"

Qiancheng Lingjun looked around and raised his voice.

“Even though they suffered such a disaster, even though they were threatened with life and death, none of the Jindan sects and independent Jindan cultivators were afraid of death, and none of them chose to surrender to the Sikong family!”

"Why? Because they all know that the Sikong family is nothing but a clown and will not last long. They all have absolute confidence in our Xuanwei Sect!"

"Although there are some losses at the moment, everyone is angry, but people's hearts can be used, and we share the same hatred and enemies! We must destroy the evil today!"

"Good!" Miaomiao Xuanjun clapped his hands in praise, and the gloom on his face disappeared. Everyone in the hall also praised him and looked excited.

Seeing Xuanjun's statement, Yichen Lingjun was so angry that he gritted his teeth, but he could only force a smile and said, "Uncle Qiancheng, you have a good idea."

"As Qian Cheng said, we don't have to worry about these losses. We must always have absolute confidence!" Miao Miao Xuan Jun said loudly, "Besides, we also killed one enemy Yuanying and one Jindan, and seriously injured one enemy Yuanying."

This is also the latest battle result that Lu Qian learned after arriving at Xiyi Mountain.

The one who was killed was a Jindan. It was because an enemy Jindan who was in perfect condition was too arrogant and retreated a little late. As a result, he was blocked by Lianyi Lingjun who came to support him and was killed in anger.

It is a bit of an exaggeration to say that one person was seriously injured. Lu Qian has already learned the truth from Lingxuan Lingjun.

It was another new Nascent Soul Sikong Yan from the Sikong family who broke into Baili Ze, a sect under the Spirit Beast Sect. While he was slaughtering people, he happened to run into Taoist Xichan who was nearby. He was injured by Taoist Xichan and fled.

However, the injury was not serious. Considering the Sikong family's financial resources, one night had passed and the patient was probably healed.

"Let alone anything else, killing the Sun-Chasing Spirit Lord of the Sikong family is enough to equal ten Golden Cores!"

Miaomiao Xuanjun's words drew everyone's attention to Lu Qian again.

"Lu Qian, what do you think?"

Lu Qian sighed in his heart. He was now sitting in the first position below the right hand of Lord Miaomiao Xuan. He was just listening to the discussion of the meeting quietly, watching "Houseborn Son" and "Wild Fox Zen" competing to show off and suppress each other in front of Lord Miaomiao Xuan. He wanted to be low-key and transparent, so why did he bring the conversation to me again?

So Lu Qian cleared his throat and said, "With Xuan Jun leading us, we will surely win this battle. I have no other thoughts, I am willing to be the vanguard and clear the obstacles for Xuan Jun."

Miao Miao Xuan Jun smiled and nodded: "With your assistance, I feel very relieved."

Thus, this debate which had no substantive significance finally ended, and the next step of deployment for this battle finally began.

First of all, because of the losses caused by the Sikong family's surprise attack, the original attack plan was modified, and the military strength of several factions and aspects was also adjusted.

After the revision, the Spirit Beast Sect had two Yuanying-stage commanders, twelve Jindan Zhenren, 180 foundation-building warriors, and 10,000 elite Qi-training warriors, who were responsible for attacking the southeastern part of the Sikong clan's territory.

The Qinglian Zhenzong had one Yuanying commander, fourteen Jindan Zhenren, one hundred and eighty foundation-building warriors, and ten thousand elite Qi-training warriors, who were responsible for attacking the northeast of the Sikong clan's territory.

The Xuanwei Sect did not make any adjustments. The loss of the golden elixirs that were originally planned to be withdrawn was replenished by themselves. A total of two Nascent Souls, thirty Golden Elixir True Men, three hundred Foundation Establishment Men, and fifteen thousand Qi Training Elite were responsible for attacking the northwest and southwest directions of the Sikong clan.

The Yunshan Sect did not suffer any losses and still commanded the military forces of the nine counties in the northwest, including one Yuanying, ten Jindan, 150 foundation-building, and 8,000 elite Qi-training warriors. They were currently stationed near Xiyi Mountain, awaiting the next order from the Xuanwei Sect.

The huge map of the Sikong family has been unfolded in the hall, and the territory of about four and a half counties is clearly visible.

All the spiritual veins in the territory are clearly marked. The ancestral veins and core mountain gate of the Sikong family are basically located in the most central position, named "Musashi Mountains", which is a cluster of five-level intermediate spiritual veins and many low-level branch spiritual veins.

What's even more favorable is that the spies and insiders of the Xuanwei School, the Lingshou Sect, and the Qinglian Zhenzong in the Sikong family have basically reported back the defense situation of the spiritual veins in various places.

The four sects were both cooperative and competitive, and they all had spies and insiders. This was tacitly known to everyone. After the expedition started, the Xuanwei Sect sent a large number of spies to the Sikong family.

Now, these spies have sent back a lot of information and have figured out most of the Sikong family's defense situation.

"However, our insiders in the Sikong family seem unreliable." Yichen Lingjun raised his eyebrows, "Some of the information sent back by the insiders are different from what our spies stationed outside have observed. I'm afraid that in the midst of the war, these insiders are still loyal to the Sikong family and deliberately sent false information to confuse us."

"This is enough to show that our control over the interior needs to be strengthened."

Qian Cheng Ling Jun's face suddenly became a little ugly. Because the external spies were all in charge of the "family son", and the enemy's internal response was in charge of his "Wild Fox Zen".

Yichen Lingjun finally found an opportunity to show off in front of Miaomiao Xuanjun, and Qiancheng Lingjun had no choice but to bow and apologize.

Miaomiao Xuanjun waved his hand, indicating that Qiancheng Lingjun had a lot of complicated things to do and had worked hard, so it was normal for him to make occasional mistakes. He just needed to be more careful in the future. In short, he showed his magnanimous side.

The scene was enjoyable.

Lu Qian still had no expression and did not make any comments. He had asked Zhao Yunchang to confirm again and again that the corpses in the Sikong family's territory had not moved and seemed to have been in the vicinity of the Musashi Mountains.

As long as this can be guaranteed, Lu Qian will always have peace of mind.

Sitting behind Lu Qian were Wudi Taoist, Lin Le and An Fanghe, who were brought by Lu Qian to attend the meeting. They also listened to the arrangements of Xuanwei Sect together.

Lin Le and An Fanghe both stared at the sand table, silently deducing and calculating, imagining how they would deploy troops and how they would attack the enemy if they were in charge of the battle.

With sufficient intelligence support, the Xuanwei Sect quickly divided the first round of offensive tasks.

On the map, the red and blue military symbols of both sides intertwined like a tidal wave, filled with a murderous aura.

The first round of battles between various sects and armies against the forty-three spiritual vein strongholds outside the Sikong family has begun!
"Tian Yuanzi." Miao Miao Xuan Jun finally called out Lu Qian's name, "Hu Shou Mountain is the western gateway of the Sikong family. How about letting the coalition forces of the nine northwestern counties seize it?"

Lu Qian stood up and bowed.

"How dare you disobey my orders!" (End of this chapter)