Xuanyuan said to Huixin and the others, "Recently, the Jiuli tribe's offensive has been exceptionally fierce. Last time, our Xiong tribe suffered a great defeat, losing nearly three million soldiers and severely weakening our strength. Meanwhile, the Jiuli tribe has brought in many shamans from somewhere, greatly increasing their strength. With this shift in power, the situation of our Xiong tribe is worrying."
Liao Zhen said, "This time, Chi You invited three great shamans—Xing Tian, Feng Bo, and Yu Shi—and more than two hundred shamans from the underworld. These shamans are remnants of the shaman clan after the great war between the shaman and the demon. They came out at Chi You's invitation."
Bo Jian, Feng Hou, and the others, unaware of the Lich War, all wore puzzled expressions. The Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden, however, knew of it, especially the Great Witch Xing Tian. Although she had never met him, she knew Xing Tian was one of the most powerful witches in the tribe. Hearing this, she was immediately shocked and exclaimed, "Xing Tian? Wasn't the witch tribe taken away by the Mystic Saint after the Lich War? How come he's still in the Underworld?"
Huixin looked at the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden and said, "Xingtian and those witches were sent to the underworld by the Ancestral Witch Zhujiuyin before the great battle, and were only invited out by Chiyou some time ago."
The Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden frowned and said, "The situation is not good. That Xing Tian Great Witch has profound cultivation, almost on par with the Ancestral Witch. He is one of the top witches in the witch clan. In addition, there are Chi You, Jiu Feng and others. Our side may not be a match for him." Xuan Yuan also frowned upon hearing the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden's words.
Liao Zhen said, "We came here for this very reason. Your Majesty need not worry. Before we left the island, our teacher bestowed upon us a treasure that can hold off Xing Tian and the others. With the help of the disciples of the Chan Sect to restrain the other witches, we should be able to defeat the Jiuli army."
Upon hearing this, Xuanyuan was overjoyed and said, "In that case, the great undertaking can be accomplished. Your disciple thanks the Holy Father." Immediately, Xuanyuan led his men to bow in the direction of Penglai Island.
Meanwhile, with the help of Huixin, Zhen, and others, Xuanyuan was greatly reassured and actively prepared for battle. However, the disciples of the Chan Sect were not very happy when they learned of the situation.
Guang Chengzi said to the others, "I heard that the disciples of the Sage Xuantian from Penglai Island have come to assist Xuanyuan. What do you think of this?"
Puxian said, "The fact that the disciples of Penglai Island are helping Xuanyuan this time is not a good thing for our Chan Sect. We suffered a defeat in the battle against Chiyou last time. Now that the disciples of Penglai Island are helping Xuanyuan, won't that make others look down on our Chan Sect and say that we are incompetent?"
Taiyi Zhenren said, "Although this matter may seem to be a loss of face for our Chan Sect, it may not necessarily be a good thing."
Ju Liusun asked, "What do you mean?" The others also looked at Taiyi Zhenren.
Taiyi Zhenren said, “Chi You is no simple character. We could see before that Chi You is not only resourceful in military affairs, but also has extremely high cultivation. Even we Twelve Golden Immortals could not defeat him, which caused damage to the reputation of our Chan Sect. Now that the people of Penglai Island have come out of the mountains, we can wait and see. If Chi You is defeated, we can have a great battle and restore the reputation of our Chan Sect on the battlefield. If Penglai Island is also defeated, it is precisely because Chi You is too powerful. Firstly, it will wash away our bad reputation, and secondly, it will make Penglai Island lose face.”
Guang Chengzi thought for a moment and said, "That's right. If Chi You is defeated this time, we can say that Penglai Island also belongs to the Taoist lineage, which can obscure the reputation of our Chan Sect's defeat and push it all onto the Taoist sect. If we win, we can use my title as Imperial Tutor to vigorously promote the Taoist lineage of our Chan Sect."
Cihang said, "This method is feasible, but we still need to discuss the details."
The group then whispered among themselves, seemingly discussing something.
Now, with the help of Huixin and others, and the military strategies and tactics Huixin brought from Xuantian—knowledge far ahead of its time—Xuanyuan already possessed extraordinary military talent. However, in this era, no matter how strong one's talent, the overall environment hindered the development of thought. As for the knowledge in Sun Tzu's *Art of War*, even if Xuanyuan were a hundred times smarter than Sun Tzu, it wouldn't matter. The environment hampered Xuanyuan's innovative thinking. Sun Tzu was not only intelligent but also had the vast experience of his predecessors, which he could collect and summarize—his greatest advantage. In Xuanyuan's era, human writing had not yet been invented. Apart from cultivators who recorded things using their divine sense, ordinary people knew nothing about writing. Records of events were mostly made orally, by drawing diagrams, and simply by reprinting.
Without further ado, the point is that with all this help, Xuanyuan is like a man on steroids, eager to have a major showdown with Chiyou.
The Battle of Fifty-Eight - Part 1
Meanwhile, the Jiuli tribe had been stationed at Zhuolu, facing off against the Youxiong tribe for over a month, causing Chi You great anxiety. Because the Jiuli did not heed the teachings of the Three Sovereigns, their production techniques had not reached them. The tribe was largely unproductive, relying on hunting and wild fruits for sustenance, essentially remaining in a primitive state. Their provisions for this war were mostly obtained through plunder, and each meal was a precious sliver. During this period of confrontation with the Youxiong tribe, many human tribes had defected to the Jiuli due to their plundering, leaving the Jiuli with nothing left to plunder. Their food supplies dwindled, and Chi You feared that if this continued, they would be defeated before the battle even began.
Xuanyuan was unaware of the true situation of the Jiuli tribe. If he had known that the Jiuli tribe was about to run out of food, he probably wouldn't have fought Chiyou. He would have simply waited until the Jiuli tribe ran out of food, and then the war would be over.
On this day, during a meeting in the Jiuli tribe's tent, the Great Shaman Fengbo said, "We don't know what this Xuanyuan brat is thinking. He neither fights nor retreats, but simply defends himself to the death. Our army has been on a long expedition and our supplies are not plentiful. We should not stay here for long. Your Majesty needs to make a decision as soon as possible." The others also echoed his sentiments.
Chi You waved his hand dismissively. How could he not know the situation in the army? But now Youxiong was only holding its ground, and a major battle was out of the question. Retreating was not an option; if they retreated, what was the point of fighting for the title of Human Emperor? A direct assault was also not feasible, as it would result in too many losses for their side. He was also troubled. Seeing that he remained silent, the others all fell silent, and for a moment, the atmosphere in the tent became very oppressive.
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