Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather Chapter 1912 - 1142: Preparations Complete (Part 2)

The base of the city wall is over ten zhang wide, with the top being three zhang wide, and the cross-section forms a trapezoid. However, the city wall is not solid, with many chambers inside, and many reserved openings on the outer side. Each chamber contains twelve puppets, operated in shifts by six Puppet Masters.

The Puppet Masters are only responsible for operating the puppets, while a large number of Martial Artists at the rear are tasked with transporting supplies. There are also Artifact Refiners and Array Masters responsible for repairing the puppets, with some idle puppets serving as a reserve team.

Above the city wall are mainly soldiers of the Yujing Guard, using bows and arrows as their primary weapon. As long as the array remains unbroken, they do not need to engage in close combat with the enemy.

In the sky above the city wall, one can see Vermilion Bird Flying Boats and Flame Sun Flying Boats, with hundreds of flying boats hovering in the air like a barrier covering the entire outpost base.

The entire defense circle includes not just the sky and the city wall, but also the underground. However, there is no personnel defense underground, only array protection.

The Yellow Earth Thick Spirit Array is inherently linked with the Earth Veins, which means that the whole outpost base is almost integrated with the Earth Veins.

To attack the outpost base from underground, one must first sever the Earth Veins.

Generally speaking, in siege warfare, rarely does anyone touch the Earth Veins. The reason is simple - the Earth Veins involve too much, and no one knows what kind of impact disturbing them might cause.

Moreover, moving the Earth Veins is not an easy task. If it’s merely adjusting the Earth Veins, a Foundation Establishment Cultivator can manage it, though it takes a long time. But to sever the Earth Veins, not only is it difficult for a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, but even a Golden Core Cultivator would find it hard to accomplish.

The Earth Veins not only ensure the energy output of the Yellow Earth Thick Spirit Array but also guarantee the stability of the array’s underground part.

Therefore, Ma Qiuyan and Ning Yun prioritized connecting the Yellow Earth Thick Spirit Array to the Earth Veins rather than first linking to the Spirit Vein.

With preliminary preparations complete, the first wave of the Yin Soldier army is about to arrive.

Inside the outpost base.

Yang Zhenshan, Yun Xiao, Qing Niu, Kou Ta, and Hong Fuxiu gathered inside the central pavilion.

Yu Qingyi is still in seclusion; Yue Yao and Xuanzhen are still engaging in guerrilla warfare in the mountains, whereas Lin Qihe is out scouting enemy conditions. His void-shifting ability not only conceals his presence but is also extremely fast, so Lin Qihe has become the first scout of the Spirit Source Land, specializing in reconnaissance.

In front of everyone was a sand table, but it was not made from sand or soil; it was woven from grass and wood. Qing Niu used his divine skill of communicating with myriad trees to shape the terrain around the outpost base within a radius of three thousand li.

The Yin Soldier army is sweeping from north to south, within this range of three thousand li, there are eight Yin Soldier armies. A Yin Soldier army is directly facing the outpost base, while the other seven are eight hundred to three thousand li away from the outpost base.

"According to the information provided by Lin’s fellow Daoist, the first Yin Soldier army will arrive near the outpost base by dawn tomorrow. Initially, there may only be over a thousand Yin Soldier Blood Puppets, but as the battle starts, this army of about two hundred thousand Yin Soldiers will gather within two hours!"

"This Yin Soldier army is easy to deal with; it’s merely two hundred thousand. With our strength, we can eliminate them in a short time."

"The real trouble comes afterward. Once we destroy the first Yin Soldier army, the surrounding Yin Soldier armies will swiftly rush towards us."

"According to the marching speed of the Yin Soldier armies, the second Yin Soldier army will arrive five to six hours after the conclusion of the first battle!"

"Then, roughly every five to eight hours, another Yin Soldier army will arrive until we have annihilated all twenty-two Yin Soldier armies!"

"However, the Unpredictable Ghost Sect should not wait until all the Yin Soldier armies have been wiped out before reacting. It’s estimated that after eight to ten Yin Soldier armies are destroyed, the Unpredictable Ghost Sect will respond by dispatching Golden Core Cultivators!"

"Currently, it’s known that the Soul Refining Hall of the Unpredictable Ghost Sect is responsible for clearing the Wanhua Mountain Range. The first Golden Core Cultivator to come inspect the situation is likely not an important figure of the Soul Refining Hall. It might be a task at the level of Director and Vice Director!"

"Once we kill that Golden Core Cultivator, the Soul Refining Hall will certainly react strongly, possibly sending several Golden Core Cultivators in retaliation!"

Yun Xiao briefly introduced the situation, then looked up at Yang Zhenshan.

Yang Zhenshan stared at the sand table, thoughtful. "How many Golden Core Cultivators are in the Soul Refining Hall?"

"Unclear. While we have gathered a lot of information about the Unpredictable Ghost Sect, they have always been unique, and major powers only have surface-level understanding of them!"

"According to the information provided by Wanbao Immortal City, the Soul Refining Hall likely has eight to ten Golden Core Cultivators!"

Yun Xiao responded.

When gathering intelligence on Immortal Cultivation powers, infiltration and penetration are not really viable. It’s not that people can’t be sent in, but it takes too long.

To enter an Immortal Cultivation power, being a Martial Artist is certainly not sufficient; one must possess a spiritual aperture.

Possessing a spiritual aperture is just the minimum requirement. Even if one successfully enters an enemy power, they would just be a low-level disciple.

A low-level disciple cannot provide valuable intelligence information, and by the time that disciple grows up, it would take at least a hundred years.

In a power like the Unpredictable Ghost Sect, even Foundation Establishment Cultivators do not have access to high-level information. Only by reaching the Golden Core Realm can they access high-level intelligence.

Not to mention how long it takes to progress to the Golden Core Realm, how can one ensure that the person remains loyal after becoming a Golden Core Cultivator?

Thus, using infiltration to gather intelligence is a difficult and thankless task.

Instead of that effort, it’s better to collect information from the market, ask around, or directly purchase it, and then sift through to obtain useful intelligence information.

"Eight to ten, that’s quite a few!" Yang Zhenshan nodded slightly.

The Soul Refining Hall alone is comparable to the White Jade City, demonstrating the power of the Unpredictable Ghost Sect.

However, numbers are just numbers. Sometimes the quantity is not the key factor in determining the outcome.

Whether it’s ten or twenty, as long as there is no Half-step Enlightenment powerhouse, Yang Zhenshan is not afraid of their number.

Strictly speaking, a Half-step Enlightenment is still a Golden Core Cultivator but is one small level higher than the Golden Core Peak in terms of Divine Dao Intent. However, in the Immortal Cultivation World, the status of Half-step Enlightenment and Golden Core Realm are fundamentally different.

That’s because there is a huge gap in strength between the two.

Once the Divine Dao Intent reaches its peak, his strength will increase by dozens of times.

Yang Zhenshan only realized the gap between the two after reaching Half-step Enlightenment, so his mentality is somewhat inflated now, feeling a bit dismissive of Golden Core Cultivators.

"We might be able to fend off the attack from the Soul Refining Hall, but if we cause massive losses to the Soul Refining Hall, the Unpredictable Ghost Sect may go all out, possibly even drawing Sect Master Chang Buzai!" Yun Xiao reminded.

To be honest, he is quite worried.

In his view, the Unpredictable Ghost Sect is still a colossus, and with White Jade City’s strength, it shouldn’t clash with such a behemoth.

It’s only because Yang Zhenshan insists that he can’t oppose.

Not just him, others have similar concerns since the notorious fame of the Unpredictable Ghost Sect is formidable.

Yang Zhenshan naturally knew they were worried and reassured, "Don’t worry, I have a way to deal with Chang Buzai."

"As for the rest, there’s no rush, we’ll take it slowly!"

This battle will last a long time, with enemies coming wave after wave. Yang Zhenshan isn’t afraid of the prolonged duration of the fight, only that the Unpredictable Ghost Sect will go all out and swarm them.

...

At dawn, the mountain still awaking, canyon winds spread gently with morning dew. The dim sky recedes as the eastern ridges fill with a faint light, scattered stars fall into the dark peaks.

Followed by a golden wheel breaking through the mist, pine needles filter the gentle morning light, the thin mist drifting over the green mountains, like plain silk brushing over rugged stone.

Once the morning sun is fully out, the thin mist disperses like unraveling silk, and in the northern woods of the outpost base suddenly appeared shadowy figures.