Realm-Hopping Martial Master

A battle, the longer it drags on, the more cautious one must be.

A slight error, although not leading to a catastrophic disaster.

But as long as many disciples sacrifice themselves, even if they have attained the Daoist Venerable Realm, they can only seek resources, spending more time in cultivation afterward.

For those at this realm, time is more important.

Future enlightenment of the Great Dao requires sufficient time to gradually comprehend.

Zi Ji Daoist Venerable’s eyes were sharp, lingering the longest on three points on the map, beyond the success reports.

The dark green representing the Chaotic Swamp.

The dense water system marked as "Thousand Streams Creek."

And a large area symbolized by the desolate yellow of the "Desolate Sand Sea."

"Everyone, the achievements are outstanding, greatly comforting the army’s morale."

After another wave of success reports subsided, Zi Ji Daoist Venerable’s deep and steady voice sounded, not loud, but clearly overpowering the murmurs within the tent, gathering all eyes.

He paused slightly, glanced over the map, and continued, "In these three areas, progress has stalled for over seven days, with many anomalies."

He raised his hand to point at the dark green Chaotic Swamp.

"Chaotic Swamp, scouts report that the miasma inside has intensified, the toxicity abnormally fierce, far exceeding the past."

"Three elite scout teams that penetrated over fifty miles have all lost contact, their soul lamps extinguished. The last scenes sent back before death were distorted and shattered, as if subjected to a fierce impact at the divine soul level."

Having said that, Zi Ji Daoist Venerable’s fingertip moved to the marking of Thousand Streams Creek on the map, continuing, "The waterways of Thousand Streams Creek crisscross, the water flow suddenly accelerating by several times, and countless dark currents and whirlpools are also entrapped."

"In several probing attacks, whether True Martial Sect forces crossed directly or circled around, they were intercepted very precisely, as if pre-empted."

"It’s clear that the demon beasts in this area are not as simple as the investigation suggested. The defensive tactics are cunning and ruthless, always attacking the weakest nodes of the formation, tactics not possessed by ordinary Water Demon tribes."

Thousand Streams Creek is a peculiar place within the Chaotic Demon Sea.

Between the islands, the water is dense, even dropping a feather would fall in an extremely short time.

Several powerful Demon Race tribes live here, completely unaffected.

Originally thought that no matter how strong these demon races and beasts were, they could not possibly be a match for the Human Clan’s army.

But now, from the results, it is evident that the Human Clan underestimated the Demon Race.

Zi Ji Daoist Venerable pondered for a moment, then pointed to the Desolate Sand Sea and said, "Desolate Sand Sea, on the surface there seems to be little resistance, even some small troops of demon soldiers were easily defeated by my vanguard."

"However, any army formation entering the core area of the Sand Sea, whether on foot or by flying boat, experiences inexplicable slowing, as if sinking into an invisible mire."

"According to the disciples, the Dao Rhyme here is forcibly twisted, greatly reducing the power of our cultivators’ magic."

"So far, two Daoist Monarchs have noticed, in the depths of the Sand Sea, a special earth vein fluctuation, extremely unstable, vaguely resonating with some large-scale sealing or summoning formation."

Zi Ji Daoist Venerable withdrew his hand, eyes like a deep pool.

"These three locations, different terrains, different Demon Race defensive tactics, but the commonality is that progress is unusually stalled, consumption greatly increased, and there’s some kind of extraordinarily precise guiding or suppressive power operating behind the scenes."

"This is something ordinary Demon Monarchs acting individually could not have coordinated."

Even though the Demon Race has low requirements for living conditions, according to the information returned by Hu Yi, these three places can be said to be desolate, and those strong Demon Races could absolutely not be stationed there.

Thus, with these occurrences, everyone could see these three places are not simple.

The Supreme Sect Leader frowned deeply, nodding slowly, saying, "Thus, the Demon Race is not truly defeated, but is withdrawing forces, conspiring secretly."

"These three places are likely the key nodes set by the Demon Race, touching one part and affecting the whole."

"They are pinning down our main forces at strategic positions using the terrain and some unknown amplification, preventing us from probing the core."

"And the truly deadly blow is likely buried somewhere we cannot detect or temporarily break through."

"These locations must be further investigated with additional personnel!"

"At the very least, send out strong Daoist Monarch level leaders in teams, and when necessary, I will send a clone."

As the battle progressed to this point, while the Daoist Venerable and Demon Venerable levels had not truly engaged, the clone battles had already occurred over a dozen times.

Zi Ji Daoist Venerable slightly shook his head, halting the Supreme Sect Leader’s intent to act.

Even if only a clone descends, if the clone falls into a trap, ambushed by the Demon Venerable of the Demon Race, any harm could indirectly affect the Supreme Sect Leader.

Not to mention, in a battle, morale is the most crucial.

If the Demon Race successfully ambushed, spreading the news widely, it would be only detrimental and not beneficial to the True Martial Sect.

"Sect Leader, investigating the truth is our inescapable duty, but we must act after thorough planning, aggressive attacks would play right into the Demon Race’s hands."

"The Demon Race is said to guard the great array strictly, the immediate priority is to stabilize the already conquered areas and consolidate strength."

"Additionally, select prudent candidates, have small infiltrations, and ensure discovering the source of these three anomalies, especially that special amplification origin."

He paused, his profound gaze seemed to pierce through the tent, looking into the distant void.

"A deployment and mutation of this scale could absolutely not be completed in just a few days."

"The Demon Race has brewed for many years, with great schemes in mind, what currently reveals to us is just the tip of the iceberg."