Chapter 1591: The Attack Plan

What troubled Li Yan even more was that he had never expected the second trial to be a competition using Mark Incarnations.

Therefore, he had to carefully reconsider the remaining methods at his disposal, as there were many techniques from the Gui Water Immortal Sect that he could not use.

For example, the Five Elements Disarray Mantle could easily allow observant people to see through him, which still carried a high probability of exposing his trump cards.

This gave Li Yan quite a headache.

He only now discovered many things he usually paid no attention to. The vast majority of his methods were aimed at ensuring a one-hit kill on his opponents.

Therefore, when facing an enemy, he would naturally use all sorts of means without regard for the consequences.

It was these very attacks, which he usually found so convenient, that had now become a burden. So many attack methods, yet he couldn’t let others know about them.

This kind of competition was very unfavorable for him…

In comparison, Mu Guyue’s actual combat strength had not been diminished much more.

However, she was still worried about whether the group combat skills they had trained would still be effective when using Mark Incarnations here.

It was only after everyone had a real test in the valley that she finally felt relieved.

Otherwise, the more than a year spent training these cultivators would have been in vain, and they would have had to change their tactics for this battle.

An hour after Li Yan and the others had entered the Mountain River Diagram, while the members of the Broken Army Sect were on a certain hillside, still within a restriction and vigilantly watching the outside, the originally clear sky suddenly filled with a dense fog. After just a few breaths, the fog had almost permeated the entire space.

The people who could still see each other then found that their vision was limited to a maximum of three feet.

And the scenery within three feet was also shrouded in a gray mist, making one feel as though they were surrounded by heavy fog…

Li Yan, the other two, and the three Nascent Soul cultivators including Yu Banjiang were standing on a grassy slope, watching the gray mist as if it had suddenly drilled out from the ground.

Soon after, the few of them could only see the few people around them.

Everyone here sensed a wave of divine sense spreading out; that was everyone beginning to test their divine sense, but there was no clamor.

This was because Mu Guyue had already given an order earlier: under no circumstances was anyone to make a sound, and everyone was to stay in place and await orders.

A moment later, Li Yan and the others looked at Mu Guyue. Only then did Mu Guyue wave her hand and remove the outer restriction.

At the same time, her lips moved slightly as she sent a voice transmission in several directions.

Li Yan felt his divine sense fly out in an instant. After a moment, he withdrew his divine sense, and his heart immediately understood.

‘During the scan, my divine sense can no longer perceive clearly. It’s as if there are countless burrs when checking the surroundings, causing many impurities in the perception and blurring the scenery. This way, when examining many subtle places, it’s impossible to confirm at the first instance. Only through repeated probing can one compare and confirm, and it might even require seeing it in person.’

Li Yan thought to himself.

Soon, several figures flew over. They were several Golden Core cultivators, and they quickly arrived beside Mu Guyue.

“Our detection range is six to twelve li, but the scenery is somewhat chaotic. The scenery within six li is clear!”

“Detection range is five to nine li, scenery is chaotic, clear within five li!”

“Detection is seven to ten li, scenery is chaotic, clear within seven li!”

The few of them bowed and reported one by one. They had long been organized into small teams, and the cultivation levels of the disciples in each team were not the same.

After hearing this, Mu Guyue and the other two did not speak.

“Mine is about fifty-three li!” the late-stage Nascent Soul elder said.

“Around thirty-seven li!” the mid-stage Nascent Soul young elder also reported a number.

“Thirty li!”

Yu Banjiang also reported a number, but he was actually holding back. This was what Mu Guyue had instructed him to do earlier.

Mu Guyue had considered things very thoroughly. As the master of a sect, Yu Banjiang had some methods and secrets that did not need to be revealed, so she had also told Ren Yanyu about this matter.

Mu Guyue nodded. She needed to know the impact of the environmental change on everyone in the first instance.

“Go back now and immediately gather your disciples to come closer!”

Mu Guyue said to the few of them. The next moment, those figures all flew away from here and disappeared into the dense fog…

A quarter of an hour later, the figures of Mu Guyue and the others reappeared on another hillside.

This was a place they had found earlier, about four thousand li from their previous hiding place.

During their previous exploration, when there was no dense fog, divine senses crisscrossed the entire space. It wasn’t just their own people checking the terrain; the enemy was also exploring.

During this period, the two sides had even come into contact several times, but they all followed the rules and did not fight, instead avoiding each other from a distance.

Although the place where Mu Guyue and the others had hidden before was covered by a restriction, they had also sensed a divine sense scan pass over.

However, Mu Guyue didn’t care. That was just a temporary foothold. She was waiting for the dense fog to rise to confirm its effect on this place.

Then, she would return to a defensive terrain that had already been confirmed.

“Begin constructing the formation. You have a quarter of an hour. Then, report on the construction of each point in all directions of the formation!”

As soon as they arrived at this hillside, Mu Guyue immediately gave the order.

Then, one by one, figures silently disappeared into the surrounding dense fog. Throughout the entire process, no one asked another question.

Everything was fast and swift.

“Based on the overall situation here, an initial-stage Golden Core can probably adapt to a range of five li, and the strongest late-stage Golden Core to twelve li. This means that our attacks must be kept within a maximum of ten li, and the strongest force coverage is within five li…” Mu Guyue said quickly.

Ren Yanyu watched Mu Guyue’s rapid narration. Although she had long understood the other’s intention, she still admired Mu Guyue’s meticulous arrangements.

Although she would also consider many things, she might not be able to be so detailed!

Li Yan also just listened without making a sound. His divine sense was very strong. He estimated that the range of Mu Guyue’s and Ren Yanyu’s divine sense might only be about two hundred li.

They did not separate the disciples, but finally chose this place. This place was already quite far back. They had fewer people, so they still planned to focus on a defensive ambush.

The range they controlled here was a hundred li. Although there was a range of more than ten thousand li available, with Spirit Transformation cultivators from both sides advancing horizontally, with the speed of Spirit Transformation cultivators, they could actually find them very quickly. After all, there were five days. Even if the Golden Core cultivators spread out, they could quickly search the twenty thousand li.

And at this moment, in the outside world, everyone was looking at the Mountain River Diagram in the sky. At this time, the Mountain River Diagram had already become a gray and misty expanse.

Those beautiful mountains and rivers were all covered in a layer of mist, and at this time, they could indeed no longer see the figures inside.

Before, they could see streaks of figures, shrunk many times over, flying about inside. They could even make out the appearance of some people, but at this moment, they could not see them at all.

However, just after these people entered, everyone saw that the bodies of the people from the Broken Army Sect and the Bright Flame Sect had instantly changed.

The bodies of the cultivators who entered from the Broken Army Sect were all shrouded in a layer of red light, while those from the Bright Flame Sect were shrouded in a layer of green light.

This made everyone understand in that moment that once the imprints in those people’s bodies disappeared, the light on their bodies would surely disappear immediately as well…

Shangguan Tianque sat cross-legged at the very back of everyone. He looked up at the Mountain River Diagram, which was no longer clear, and then his gaze fell on the people in front of him.

‘This battle depends on you all!’

Inside the Mountain River Diagram, Mu Guyue finally spoke.

“My divine sense can probably control about two hundred and forty li, but it becomes very chaotic at that point, and the scenery in my divine sense is very jumbled and unbearable. Therefore, I’ve decided to expand the ambush to one hundred and fifty li. This is a range I can normally control, and in case of an emergency, I can also create distance from the ambushed enemy. In that case, we will need Senior Sister Ren to control the grand formation. At that time, if the opponent attacks the grand formation, you may suffer a certain degree of backlash!”

After hearing this, Ren Yanyu waved her hand.

“That’s nothing. Although there is a chance of backlash, the Bright Flame Sect probably won’t come all at once. To find us, they will likely spread out. So, it shouldn’t be a problem for me to operate the grand formation. On the contrary, Junior Brother Li, are you sure you want to do this? I think it’s most likely they will come out in full force. You might not be able to find the enemy on the other side.”

As she spoke, Ren Yanyu looked at Li Yan.

Earlier, after Mu Guyue had formulated the plan, Li Yan himself had proposed an additional plan.

Li Yan had decided to go out alone to find the opponent’s defensive point and see if he could seize an opportunity to kill their Spirit Transformation cultivators.

Regarding Li Yan’s plan, Ren Yanyu felt it was very risky.

They could basically determine that the Bright Flame Sect would most likely not defend. Their advantage was obvious, and nine times out of ten, they would all advance.

This was precisely why they had decided to set up an ambush and wait. Of course, if they waited for four days and the enemy did not arrive, they would also have to think about how to fight the enemy.

In this round, neither sect actually had any intention of settling for a draw.

But Mu Guyue and the others also believed that the Bright Flame Sect would not wait. Their side only had three initial-stage Spirit Transformation cultivators.

Therefore, Ren Yanyu felt that the best course of action was to defend here for three or four days.

However, when Mu Guyue heard Li Yan’s plan, she did not say anything, only glanced at Li Yan and actually nodded.

She was already familiar with Li Yan’s preference for sneak attacks.

As long as this person was fighting an enemy, he always liked to take risks. And the greater the disparity in strength between the two sides, the more likely he was to adopt this method, which often caught the enemy completely by surprise.

Seeing that Ren Yanyu was still trying to persuade him, Li Yan smiled slightly.

“Senior Sister Ren, it would be even better if they come out in full force! Just as we analyzed before, in order to find us as quickly as possible, they will most likely have Spirit Transformation cultivators lead people to spread out and search for us. In that case, the chances of me finding the other party will actually be even greater!”

“But you’ve already said, they will be searching in teams. Once you are surrounded, as long as those Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivators delay you for a moment, you will be surrounded by Spirit Transformation cultivators.”

Ren Yanyu still felt it was risky.

With the three of them here, three against four, and with the help of the grand formation, they could still fight the other party.

But if Li Yan went out alone, not only would he be in great danger, but the strength left on their side would also be greatly weakened.

“Senior Sister Ren, if we can kill the other party’s high-level cultivators, this risk is worth taking!” Li Yan still insisted.

Seeing that Li Yan was still sticking to his opinion, and seeing that Mu Guyue had not tried to dissuade him all this time, she could only nod.

She was actually quite confident in Li Yan’s combat strength. Just seeing Li Yan pass the first trial had made her and Shangguan Tianque feel that Li Yan’s strength was even more profound.

She felt that Li Yan’s true strength, without relying on magical treasures, was at least at the mid-stage Spirit Transformation level.

But when she thought that the Bright Flame Sect still had a late-stage Spirit Transformation cultivator, she couldn’t help but worry.

“If you can’t defeat them, just retreat quickly according to the plan. Anyway, there are only five days. Don’t get entangled in the fight!” Li Yan also urged.

Due to the tight schedule, they had set up a total of three locations. If there was a problem with the defense at one location, only a few cultivators who were prepared to die would be left here to hold back the enemy at all costs.

Finally, these cultivators would detonate the formation to buy time for the others to retreat.

The retreating cultivators of the Broken Army Sect would use the cover of the dense fog. Mu Guyue and the other woman would sweep up the remaining people and instantly fly out several thousand li in a predetermined direction, quickly escaping the other party’s divine sense range.

And with the sacrificial soldiers here detonating the formation, it was estimated that they could also take some of the other party’s people with them, also depleting the other party’s strength.

Mu Guyue and the others would use the formation to continuously retreat, while Li Yan would be wandering outside alone. The worst-case scenario would be to drag it out for five days, and in the end, the two sides could only be considered to have a draw.

And here, Mu Guyue was actually placing her bets on Li Yan’s side. She would use all the sect’s cultivators as bait to firmly attract the other party’s attention.

And Li Yan’s claim of going out to ambush the other party was, in fact, more for the sake of preserving the last spark of the Broken Army Sect.

Although Ren Yanyu also knew that Li Yan’s strength was very strong, the only one here who truly understood Li Yan was Mu Guyue.

If Li Yan wanted to hide, the Bright Flame Sect could probably search for a year, and if he didn’t take the initiative to show himself, they might not even be able to find a trace of him.

So this plan was actually discussed by Li Yan and Mu Guyue, but in the end, it was proposed by Li Yan himself.

To put it bluntly, many of Li Yan’s methods, even if he explained them, Ren Yanyu might not fully believe. So Li Yan’s plan included other small plans.

“We will proceed according to the plan on this side. Junior Brother Li must also be careful!”

Ren Yanyu could only urge.

Then, without a moment’s delay, Li Yan’s figure disappeared into the dense fog.

And almost at the same time, on a hilltop, several people were drawing a map in the air. It was a complete map of the Mountain River Diagram.

Han Zhumei was constantly pointing and gesturing, and then she quickly marked out several areas on the map…