A small contingent of cultivators from the Grand Sky Origin Array bombarded Spirit Mist City with colossal earth spikes, followed by a small group from the Myriad Moon Lake formation unleashing a volley of area-of-effect spells upon the city.

However, what they released were merely the most basic ice-cone spells. The terrifyingly massive ice cones hammered the city’s protective barrier, shattering into a spray of deep azure shards, a biting chill permeating the air above the battlements.

The low-ranking cultivators of various sects watching from the city walls saw the defensive barrier violently shudder under the barrage of spells, their hearts once again rising into their throats. Inside and outside the city, hundreds of thousands of cultivators began to chatter amongst themselves.

“Senior Brother Ye,” Shen Bao craned his neck back after staring at the translucent shield overhead for what felt like an age, his neck aching from worry, “Do you think this defensive formation will actually be broken if this continues?”

“Hard to say.”

Ye Qin was seated cross-legged in a corner atop the city wall, meditating. He glanced up at the dimming barrier, a flicker of concern crossing his face before he shook his head and closed his eyes again to conserve his energy.

He had perused numerous ancient texts from the Green Pill Sect. In fact, the defensive barrier of Spirit Mist City had been breached once in the last ten thousand years, resulting in the near-total destruction of the city’s structures. The current Spirit Mist City had undergone several reconstructions since then.

Therefore, whether this city could hold in the current great war of the Cultivation World was unpredictable; the tide of battle was uncertain. No one could say for sure. Most importantly, they were merely Foundation Establishment cultivators of average standing within their sects, obligated to follow the commands of the Golden Core Ancestors. Whether to hold the line or retreat was not a decision they themselves could make. With the wisdom of the Golden Core Ancestors, they would surely make the best decision.

Thus, Ye Qin never bothered considering whether the city would fall.

What truly occupied his thoughts was how to preserve his own life should the absolute worst scenario unfold. If Spirit Mist City were to be overrun, the cultivators from the various sects could retreat into the Spirit Mist Mountain Range, making their last stand at the sect headquarters.

Should the headquarters of the nineteen major cultivation sects in the Spirit Mist Cultivation World also fall, it would signify total defeat, meaning the utter annihilation of the entire Spirit Mist Cultivation World. That would be a catastrophe of unimaginable scale.

Perhaps, at that point, fleeing far away to other Cultivation Worlds might offer a path to survival. But if they chose that route, they would likely never be able to return to the Spirit Mist Cultivation World. It would be akin to the Holy Emperor Cultivation World, now degenerated into a lawless wasteland, a den overrun by hordes of evil cultivators and traitors—a truly pitiful fate.

Days turned into weeks, and the siege of Spirit Mist City settled into a strangely monotonous and tedious rhythm. Cultivators from the Grand Sky Origin Realm, Myriad Moon Lake Realm, and the Chaos Lands continuously dispatched small groups of about a thousand cultivators to take turns unleashing area-of-effect spells, bombarding the city’s protective barrier in an effort to crack this thick ‘turtle shell.’

Meanwhile, the Golden Core Ancestors of Spirit Mist City merely relied on the defensive array to weather the assault, occasionally returning fire with the massive Sky-Shaking Cannons stationed on the walls, but issuing no orders for the cultivators to sally forth. Until the defensive shield was breached, neither side engaged in any large-scale close-quarters combat; both were waiting for the opportune moment.

This tedious cycle of attack and defense persisted for about half a month before subtle changes began to emerge—the besieging cultivators from Grand Sky Origin, Myriad Moon Lake, and the Chaos Lands gradually began to dwindle in number.

This change was immediately noticed by the Golden Core Ancestors of the Spirit Mist Realm.

Spirit Elephant City.

Inside the spacious main hall of the Immortal Fate Palace.

Dozens of Golden Core cultivators from the Spirit Mist Alliance were gathered. These cultivators comprised the core high-ranking experts from the seven major sects, twelve minor sects, and the Rogue Cultivator Alliance of the Spirit Mist Realm, representing the most powerful echelon of leadership.

“Maintaining the defensive formation costs one hundred thousand low-grade Spirit Stones per day. In these past two weeks, the Spirit Stone reserves within the city have depleted by one and a half million low-grade Spirit Stones. We must use them sparingly, or the city’s reserves won't last long. Regarding the ensuing engagement, what are everyone’s thoughts?”

Ancestor Lü Cuiyou of the Ancient Artifact Sect, presiding over the meeting, stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his expression grave as he addressed the other Ancestors.

Most of the Golden Core Ancestors wore deep expressions, some shaking their heads, others murmuring in thought, none optimistic about the battle ahead.

In truth, the Spirit Mist Cultivation World had already fully contracted its defense line, consolidating its forces into an iron fist centered on Spirit Mist City. Yet, the overall strategic situation remained highly disadvantageous. After all, it was the cultivators of a single cultivation world attempting to withstand the might of three allied cultivation worlds—no one dared speak lightly of victory.

“I estimate that their frequent use of area-of-effect spells to bombard our defenses must consume at least two hundred thousand low-grade Spirit Stones daily, double our consumption. Despite this, the overall strength of their Allied Immortal Realms is not as powerful as our Spirit Mist Realm. While their current combined force is no small matter, it makes a direct confrontation difficult. Therefore, the superior strategy for the enemy is to stall us here in Spirit Mist City for decades; they will eventually collapse on their own.”

“Hmph, stalling for years? It’s not that simple! In just half a month, we’ve burned through a million and a half low-grade Spirit Stones. Over decades, even all the Spirit Stones mined in the entire Spirit Mist Cultivation World wouldn’t be enough. Merely relying on the city defenses to hold out will inevitably lead to the barrier breaking. To alleviate the pressure on the defenses, we must dispatch cultivators to seek opportunities outside the city,” stated Ancestor Tao of the Earth Gate Sect, his voice sharp.

“Brother Tao speaks correctly; we cannot simply wait,” Ancestor Lü Zhuoyou nodded in agreement. “The journey from Grand Sky Origin and Myriad Moon Lake to our Spirit Mist Realm is vast; even flying on swords takes several years. They cannot easily secure supplies from their rear lines and must collect spiritual resources nearby within the Spirit Mist Realm. The numerous scattered low-grade Spirit Stone mines and spiritual herb gathering sites across the Spirit Mist Cultivation World will certainly become targets for their provisioning efforts. In the last half-month, scouts sent out have reported significant reductions in low-level Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment cultivators within their formations. If I am correct, they have clearly been sent out to gather resources. This is precisely our opportunity to strike.”

“Brother Lü is absolutely right; we have waited long enough, it is time for action.”

The dozens of Golden Core Ancestors in the hall exchanged knowing glances, nodding in tacit agreement. They had been patient—patient since the massive invasion began years ago from Grand Sky Origin and Myriad Moon Lake; patient until the enemy forces camped outside their city walls; patient until they had endured half a month of stalemate within Spirit Mist City.

However, their forbearance was only intended to gain an advantage.

Now, it was time to move the pieces they had positioned on the board.

Only the three Golden Core Ancestors of the Rogue Cultivator Alliance looked crestfallen; deep down, they were unwilling to fight. The hundreds of thousands of cultivators gathered in Spirit Mist City were overwhelmingly composed of rogue cultivators and members of minor families. The main elite forces of the major sects remained at their respective headquarters. If they engaged in battle, the casualties among the rogue cultivators would inevitably surge. Yet, they dared not object; the power of the cultivation sects far surpassed that of the rogue cultivators.

The great war between the Four Cultivation Worlds suddenly entered a new phase. The cultivators of Grand Sky Origin and Myriad Moon Lake possessed area-of-effect spells capable of breaching cities, but unfortunately, they could not overcome Spirit Mist City’s ancient defensive array in the short term.

Such offensive actions demanded an unsustainable expenditure of resources. The cultivators of Grand Sky Origin, Myriad Moon Lake, and the Chaos Lands could not break the impregnable Spirit Mist City, nor could they afford to simply remain outside wearing themselves down indefinitely.

Dozens of Golden Core cultivators stationed themselves in the Southern Liang Kingdom, leading major forces in daily assaults on Spirit Mist City, while simultaneously dispatching large numbers of low-ranking Foundation Establishment and Qi Condensation cultivators to scour the tens of thousands of miles surrounding the city for spiritual materials to replenish their logistical consumption. Magical artifacts and spiritual tools used in combat required ore for repairs after damage. Spirit Stones, needed to slowly recover magical power, were consumed in massive daily quantities. Furthermore, there were spirit wines for rapid mana replenishment and talismans for direct spell casting, and so on. The abundance of these combat supplies largely determined the victory or defeat in a great war of the Cultivation Worlds.

The Spirit Mist Realm possessed hundreds, perhaps thousands, of mineral deposits and herb gathering sites.

Despite the enormous total population of the three realms, once dispersed, the numbers at any single location became pitifully small. Even the largest small mine could only accommodate a few dozen cultivators for extraction, numbering at most a few hundred.

Upon learning of this situation, the Golden Core Ancestors within Spirit Mist City also began dispatching numerous small ‘cannon fodder’ teams to sortie out, targeting various resource points to interfere with and disrupt the enemy cultivators’ gathering operations at the mines and herb fields across the Spirit Mist Realm, preventing the three worlds’ forces from sourcing supplies locally.

The first to be sent out into combat were largely low-status rogue cultivators and members of minor families. Regardless of their cultivation level, they had no choice but to fight.

These cultivators were deployed in small squads; their survival or demise rested entirely on fate. If a stealthy raid succeeded and they earned sufficient merit, they were permitted to return to the city and avoid further risky sorties. If they were unlucky and encountered a large enemy main force, the entire team could be annihilated.

Meanwhile, the Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Seven Major Sects remained prepared atop the walls, quietly awaiting their moment to be called to action.

As a disciple of the Green Pill Sect, Ye Qin remained guarding the city walls for the first two months, never ordered out to fight. Besides cultivating, he made a point of observing one specific matter. Dozens of small squads were sent out daily, yet very few returned alive—fewer than half. In just two months, at least one or two thousand low-level cultivators had perished, the vast majority being Qi Condensation cultivators, with only a minority being Foundation Establishment cultivators. Even those who returned alive were often severely wounded. The ferocity of the fighting outside the city was evident.

Ye Qin watched from the ramparts for two months, growing increasingly silent.

If Qi Condensation cultivators were ants, whose deaths went unnoticed, then Foundation Establishment cultivators were hardly more significant—just a small dish of appetizers. In this chaotic warfare of the Cultivation Worlds, only Golden Core level cultivators possessed the inherent power to ensure their survival. Cultivators below that level were merely cannon fodder, forced to fight desperately just to stay alive.

He felt the crushing reality of his own insignificance. A powerful sense of urgency to enhance his own strength welled up within him.