This Sword Cultivator is Somewhat Dependable

In the Kaiyuan Garden of Yumen Pass, nearly a hundred cultivators are gathered in a grand hall for discussion.

All the cultivators present are of the Eighth Realm.

Among them are sword cultivators from the Sword Sect, as well as cultivators from other top sects of the Eastern Domain, all of whom are high-ranking cultivators in Yumen Pass.

Once a cultivator reaches the stage of Tribulation Crossing, they become endlessly busy, either preparing for the next Heavenly Tribulation or seeking insights into the Dao of Heaven and Earth to achieve Dao Union. Everyone is extremely busy, and it's rare for so many people to gather together for discussions.

The reason for today's gathering is self-evident.

Something major has happened!

The atmosphere in the hall is very tense.

"You must have all heard by now," said the Sword Master of the Evening Sun Sword, seated at the head, solemnly.

He is the cultivator responsible for overseeing the campaigns at the fortress on the domain's battlefield for the Sword Sect.

The management of such large-scale wars is always extremely profound and complex.

How to prevent, how to counter, how to deploy troops, how to manage resources, how to maintain reciprocal relations… there are countless intricacies, requiring the managing cultivator to have strategic vision as well as rich experience.

It is as the saying goes, "Each field has its master," so while the Sword Master's cultivation may not stand out within the Sword Sect, his experience in large-scale warfare is extremely rich.

Therefore, several Peak Masters entrusted him with this significant responsibility.

Upon hearing the Sword Master's question, everyone else nodded silently.

"On the demon side, they have divided their forces into seventeen routes this time, launching simultaneous expeditions, directly targeting our seventeen fortresses on the outer battlefield," the Sword Master said solemnly. "This is something the Demon Race has not done in the entire twenty thousand years of Chang'an's history."

In the past twenty thousand years, the Demon Race has launched countless siege wars against the human race fortresses, but most targeted single fortresses.

Of course, the human race occasionally dealt harsh blows to the demon fortresses, with back-and-forth exchanges.

However, the situation of the Demon Race launching siege wars against all human fortresses at once is unprecedented, no wonder the Sword Master's face remained dark throughout.

"The demon clan is up to their tricks again," someone in the hall cursed.

"Is the Demon Race preparing to instigate a second Taoist-Demon war?" a Tribulation Crossing Dharma Cultivation from the Constellation Sect asked, frowning with concern etched in his brow.

"It doesn't seem so; although the Demon Race's actions are large this time, they are also very restrained.

While the number of demonic cultivators they sent is terrifyingly large, they adhered to our unspoken rule, with none of the Seventh Grade or above demon cultivators taking part.

The Demon Race seems unwilling to escalate the war, so they still limit the combat to below the Eighth Realm," the Sword Master explained.

"The Demon Race did not deploy Eighth Grade demon cultivators, but they did send nearly forty thousand Seventh Grade demon cultivators," another informed Tribulation Crossing body cultivation cultivator expressed the concern lingering in everyone's mind.

"This siege war they are launching is no longer a small skirmish like before, merely to deplete our strength, but rather they are determined to succeed.

They intend to eliminate all our outposts on the battlefield, making Yumen Pass an isolated city."

"The Demon Race surely has other schemes."

"Such a grand scale... Even though the Demon Race's power far surpasses ours on the battlefield, assembling forty thousand Seventh Grade demon cultivators likely required them to empty a large portion of their city personnel to form such a lineup."

"With such a large movement of personnel, we failed to detect any signs in advance...

If the guess is correct, this time most of the demon forces were not withdrawn from their cities on the battlefield but conscripted from within the Abyss region," another Tribulation Crossing cultivator added.

After standing against the Demon Race for so many years, the human race couldn't possibly be unprepared, waiting passively for the demon forces to reach their doorsteps before responding.

The Yumen Pass has always prioritized monitoring and alerting work regarding the deployment of demon cultivators in demon cities.

The reason for the lack of any prior detection this time likely lies here.

The Demon Race ordered the majority of demon cultivators in their cities to remain idle to lull the human race into a false sense of security while dispatching Seventh Grade demon cultivators from the Burning Moon Domain in the Abyss region to the battlefield.

"But no matter what, since the Demon Race has not sent Eighth Grade demon cultivators to besiege us, we too cannot deploy Eighth Realm cultivators, lest we escalate the war," the Sword Master said gravely.

This has always been one of the most important principles for the human race in dealing with the Demon Race — to not easily escalate conflicts, to delay where possible.

This stance puts the human race in a passive situation: reluctant to easily expand the war, they can only wait quietly for the Demon Race to break the tacit rule and trigger a second Taoist-Demon war, at which time they will inevitably suffer a significant loss.

But on the other hand, this is also an inevitable choice.

Persisting in this principle has bought the human race valuable time for recuperation.

After all, in the first Taoist-Demon war twenty thousand years ago, the human race suffered heavy losses, its Element Qi severely damaged, and the overall strength was far inferior to the Demon Race.

Once a second Taoist-Demon war erupts, if the Ancestral Taoist does not emerge, they face annihilation — it's uncertain whether the Ancestral Taoist has fallen, both for the Demon and Human Races.

However, twenty thousand years have passed, and the human race has gradually recovered its Element Qi, even entering a phase of vibrant development with many prodigies emerging.

Although there is still a significant disparity in strength with the Demon Race, the situation has improved vastly compared to twenty thousand years ago.

The strategy of avoiding war has its pros and cons, but as of now, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

The human race's patience and choice not to initiate larger conflicts is the best decision made after weighing the pros and cons.