Cultivating Disciples to Breakthrough

Chapter 1951  Escalation (3)

Moving deeper into the territory of the Blue Sea Empire instead of spreading out to take control of more of the outer territory of the empire, the problem with the demonic cultivators that the Blue Sea Empire faced ultimately persisted, as there wasn't much of a solution to the problem itself. Only, the focus of the demonic cultivators had shifted to focus on the more important regions that the Blue Sea Empire absolutely didn't want to see falling into the hands of the demonic cultivators, as it would seriously affect the strength and future of the Blue Sea Empire itself to lose some of the locations that the demonic cultivators had begun to aim for.

The only positive to the current situation of the Blue Sea Empire was the fact that the different major powers that had decided to lend a hand didn't overstep and attempt to invade the territory that they had set out to protect against the growing influence of the demonic cultivators.

Not because they were feeling generous and wanted to help the Blue Sea Empire stabilize the situation, but instead because they understood that the first to make a move against the Blue Sea Empire would ultimately also be the first to suffer from the Blue Sea Empire's retaliation.

Strong as these different major powers were, there were few who had the strength to survive a full-on retaliation from the Blue Sea Empire. Especially so if the old ancestor decided to personally launch this retaliation to ensure that whoever decided to attack the Blue Sea Empire first was made an example of.

Only the Onyx Empire, that had already been direct enemies with the Blue Sea Empire for a long time, decided to directly invade and take over a small part of the Blue Sea Empire's territory.

However, different from the rest of the major powers, they didn't face any retaliation from doing this. Firstly, because the territory they had taken wasn't that important to the Blue Sea Empire and secondly because the strength of the Onyx Empire was on a completely different level. Retaliating against them might not end in the favor of the Blue Sea Empire and might instead result in the capital city being left without anyone to defend it for a long time. Potentially giving other major powers, a chance to strike alongside the demonic cultivators.

Still, the Blue Sea Empire couldn't just sit and do nothing as the Onyx Empire joined the demonic cultivators in taking part of their territory. So, not long after the small-scale invasion by the Onyx Empire, several important locations throughout the Onyx Empire suddenly experienced a row of secret attacks from spies that the Blue Sea Empire had embedded into the Onyx Empire over the years. Forcing the Onyx Empire to fall back and focus on their own internal situation instead of planning on expanding any further into the Blue Sea Empire.

The Onyx Empire could do the same and make use of their own spies, but the old ancestor of the Blue Sea Empire guessed that the other party wouldn't want to waste those precious assets that might be useful in taking down his empire should the situation for the Blue Sea Empire worsen even further… And in the end, he was correct, as the Blue Sea Empire suffered no such attacks.

With the Onyx Empire distracted dealing with internal problems that had suddenly erupted and the demonic cultivators advance slowed thanks to the assistance of different major powers who feared losing potential territory within the Blue Sea Empire that they had set their eyes on, the old ancestor of the Blue Sea Empire had managed to buy more time for the Blue Sea Empire to look for assistance elsewhere.

And in the end, the ancestor of the Blue Sea Empire was successful in convincing an old friend he had made during his youth when he had been adventuring through the Southern Central Region. Paying a significant price for his assistance in dealing with the demonic cultivators, but with this, the Blue Sea Empire managed to gain another Land Creation Realm cultivator who could step in to block the advance of the demonic cultivators.

Although not a permanent solution to the problem, it at least stopped the situation from worsening even further, as the demonic cultivators that had been targeting the Blue Sea Empire would now have to consider whether it was worth it for them to continue their attack on the Blue Sea Empire that now had the support of two Land Creation Realm cultivators.

The decision had to be made fast, as the Blue Sea Empire had already shifted into survival mode at this point. Instructing those in the Sea Formation Realm to break through to the Land Creation Realm if possible. Meaning that soon, the Blue Sea Empire was likely to gain another one or two Land Creation Realm cultivators. Making it even more difficult for the demonic cultivators to destroy it.

But… For them to continue their attack, the Blood Sea Demon King, rule of the Frozen Wastelands, would likely have to step forward and lead the attack, something that would escalate the scale of the conflict to the point of no return and also give the other major powers that the demonic cultivators were attacking a chance to push back with their own ancestors while the Blood Sea Demon King was fighting with the Blue Sea Empire.

After all, the main reason why the demonic cultivators had been able to continue their push into the Northern Core Region without encountering too many problems so far had to do with none of the different major powers wanting to be targeted by the Blood Sea Demon King, as the other party was not just comparable to someone in the Land Creation Realm, but had far surpassed that of someone at the earlier stages of the realm, rumored to only be a step away from reaching the Late Stage of the Demon, a realm that was comparable to the Star Creation Realm.

Not just the different major powers, but even Xuan Hao, who had found himself busy learning the Dao of Alchemy together with Pei Yang had to keep an eye on the situation. Understanding that any escalation between the demonic cultivators from the Frozen Wastelands against the Blue Sea Empire could seriously impact the Star Shattering Sect that was essentially located right next to the Blue Sea Empire that would inevitably end up turning into the main battlefield should the old ancestor of the Blue Sea Empire and the Demon King of the Frozen Wastelands start clashing with each other.

The unease was not just something the different major powers felt, but also something that was felt by everyone in between, as the different factions from the neutral territory between the Blue Sea Empire and the Onyx Empire were feeling especially affected by the current state of the Northern Central Region.

After all, the reason they had been able to maintain their neutral state without being swallowed by either the Blue Sea Empire or the Onyx Empire had to do with both major powers needing a neutral state between themselves to limit potential conflict.

But… With the recent actions of the Onyx Empire and the weakening state of the Blue Sea Empire, their future as neutral factions began looking increasingly dire.

Normally, they might have been helpless about what to do in this kind of situation, as there was no way small factions like themselves would ever be able to stand against the might of a major power like the Onyx Empire that might start looking to take over this formerly needed neutral territory when the Blue Sea Empire weakened, but now they did have a relationship established with an equally powerful power, the Star Shattering Sect.

Because of this, after some brief hesitation, the different neutral factions that didn't want to fall under the control of the Onyx Empire in the future began working together to contact the Star Shattering Sect. Asking for their help in the situation. Hoping they would be able to say something to the Onyx Empire that would ensure the stability of their territories in the future.

Of course, to make this worth the time of the Star Shattering Sect, they also made sure to mention the simple fact that their previous trade agreements might not be able to hold up if the Onyx Empire ended up taking control. After all, that major power would undoubtedly aim to take control of whatever precious resources were under their control.

Learning about this, Elder Song, who had only recently managed to stabilize the situation of the sect thanks to these trade agreements could not help silently cursing to himself. Not having expected the situation to suddenly develop to this point thanks to the demonic cultivators.

Even then, he didn't want to give up those trade agreements if possible, so he ended up bringing the matter over to Xuan Hao for him to decide. After all, he would be the one who had to face off against the Onyx Empire in case the Star Shattering Sect ended up extending their influence to try and protect those neutral powers.