In the blink of an eye, nearly a month passed.
The nameless barren hill is located in the dense forest, with a pale golden light rising in the sky, invisible.
This is exactly the Bingqi stronghold after reconstruction.
"boom……"
At a certain moment, a gap opened in the golden light, and a team with torn clothes and blood-stained bodies flew into the stronghold through the gap.
"Damn! This time is really thrilling!"
"Yes, that damn demon fox is really difficult to deal with. Thanks to Senior Brother Xing for preparing the fourth level talisman in advance!"
"In the past few days, these monster clans outside Luofu Daze have become more and more rampant. I heard that another stronghold in the west has been breached, and many fellow disciples have suffered heavy casualties!"
"Hey, those fellow students are really unlucky! Fortunately, we have two top teams here. In a short time, we should be impregnable!"
Several disciples exchanged views while returning to their homes, taking care of their injuries, meditating and refining their Qi, trying to recover as quickly as possible and go out to kill the demon clan again.
The reason why large-scale recruitment missions are rare is precisely because all monsters killed during the mission can be counted as Dao Gong. Without the many restrictions of ordinary monster-slaying missions, the difficulty of obtaining Dao Gong is greatly reduced.
As long as you are willing to work hard and kill many monsters, the income in those few months will be enough to equal at least several years, or even ten years of accumulation of Taoist power. How can you not make people excited?
It is precisely because of such great benefits that outer disciples flock to it, and no one is willing to miss this opportunity that can change their own destiny.
Not only the many stationed disciples:
Even the members of the two top teams, Yanxing and Xangu, while responsible for supporting and protecting many junior brothers and sisters at any time, will also take the initiative to sweep away the monsters.
It can be said that none of the Chunyang Immortal Sect disciples who participated in the recruitment mission fell behind others. When it came to slaying demons, they all strived to be the first.
Similar scenes are still taking place in each stronghold. The entire eastern front of Luofu Daze has become a battlefield where the human and demon clans are fighting. Almost every day, monsters or human monks die and shed blood.
Of course, there is one exception in the Bingqi stronghold - that is Zhou Qing.
Since the battle in the cave nearly a month ago, Zhou Qing has been in seclusion in the Chaori Palace and has never gone out even once.
…………
In the cave on the mountainside.
Su Moyu, Zhou Xingcheng, Zhang Shun, Chu Zhaohe, He Qu and others were sitting around the round table.
Nearly a month later, Chu Zhaohe's complexion looked much better, and most of his injuries from the collapse of his energy channels had recovered, and he was now at 80% of his peak strength.
Members of the two top teams gathered together, naturally discussing important matters.
"...The breach of the Jia Thirteen Stronghold is not an isolated case."
Su Moyu's expression was solemn and his tone was low:
"In the past few days, the monsters outside Luofu Daze seem to have gone crazy, launching attacks on various temporary strongholds regardless of casualties."
"Many small and medium-sized monster groups were even wiped out because of this. However, seven small strongholds were also breached, and nearly two hundred outer disciples died in the battle. Many other disciples were severely injured and their paths were cut off."
After hearing this, everyone's expressions darkened.
War is bound to be cruel, especially racial war, even if it is only a low-intensity war.
Everyone was actually mentally prepared for heavy casualties, but when they actually heard the news, they still couldn't help but feel agitated.
Under normal circumstances, it would be difficult for so many outer disciples to die in a year, but now there have been such tragic casualties in just one month, which is shocking.
"With so many monster clans that are not affiliated with each other, but they all rioted at the same time, there must be a higher-level monster behind the scenes!"
Chu Zhaohe pondered for a moment and analyzed:
"Those that have been breached so far are all small strongholds on the periphery of the battle line. On the contrary, the dozen or so secondary strongholds on the front line are unusually calm. They seem to have been deliberately avoided by the demon clan."
"This situation is obviously abnormal. It is likely that the time for the decisive battle is about to come!"
After hearing his judgment, everyone couldn't help but nodded slightly and expressed their agreement.
Retracting the fist first to accumulate strength, and then blasting it out again will definitely be more lethal and threatening. Hitting indiscriminately will only give the enemy an opportunity to take advantage of it.
The demon clan on Luofu Daze's side already occupies a favorable geographical position, and it is impossible to tolerate the Chunyang Immortal Sect to keep attacking and killing the surrounding demon clan. It is only a matter of time before they take the initiative to initiate a decisive battle.
Judging from the current situation, it is very likely that the many great demons are manipulating the demon clan to riot in order to kill as much as possible the active forces of the Chunyang Immortal Sect and at the same time compress the front line to prepare for the final decisive battle.
Therefore, Chu Zhaohe’s judgment is very reasonable:
The final battle between the outer disciples of Chunyang Immortal Sect and the demon clan outside Luofu Daze has most likely entered a countdown.
Focusing on this point, everyone began to discuss various tactical coordination and deduce the situation on the frontal battlefield, so as to be as calm as possible in the upcoming decisive battle.
"By the way, there's something I think I need to pay attention to."
When the proceedings were about to end, Lao Jin, who rarely spoke, suddenly took the initiative and said:
"Recently, there seems to be a lot of rumors and rumors being circulated about Junior Brother Zhou Qing within the stronghold and among the many stationed disciples, and it's causing quite a stir."
"oh?"
Su Moyu, Chu Zhaohe and others were startled when they heard this.
These days, they are busy going around to kill monsters or supporting the demon-slaying operations of various teams, but they rarely pay attention to the situation in the stronghold.
Besides, Zhou Qing has a good reputation and is recognized as the number one genius in the outer sect. He also stays inside the stronghold well, so what rumors can there be?
"What rumors?"
Chu Zhaohe asked.
"...They are all groundless speculations. They say that he is trying to gain fame and fame, deliberately avoid fighting, or that he is afraid of death, cowardly, and unworthy of being the first genius of the outer sect and setting an example for his disciples."
Lao Jin’s face didn’t look good:
"These people talk openly and covertly, belittling Junior Brother Zhou Qing, and some of their words are particularly unpleasant."
"What a fart!"
Zhang Shun had a hot temper and immediately yelled:
"Are these people blind, or do they have dark consciences and tell lies with their eyes open?"
"Junior brother Zhou Qing has only been practicing for half a year, and he took the initiative to join the battle just after he broke through to the late stage of opening his veins. He even risked his life to attack with us and recapture the Bingqi stronghold!"
"Does this mean you deliberately avoid fighting? Isn't this nonsense?"
Zhou Xingcheng also scolded:
"That's right! Junior Brother Zhou is just practicing in seclusion, how can he avoid fighting and not come out?"
After everyone heard what Lao Jin said, their faces were a little ugly. After all, they were comrades who lived and died together. How could they allow others to belittle them like this?
"Perhaps they thought that Junior Brother Zhou was still practicing in seclusion despite being on the front line, so they mistakenly thought that he was using the excuse of seclusion to evade the responsibility of killing the demon clan."
"While everyone is fighting bloody battles and fighting against the demon clan, Junior Brother Zhou never leaves the door and hides in the stronghold all day long. This makes them feel resentful."
Su Moyu guessed the reason and showed a hint of disdain:
"But how could they have imagined how amazing Junior Brother Zhou's talent is?"
"Others who have reached the late stage of opening their pulses can hardly make much progress in seclusion for a month, but it's different for Junior Brother Zhou!"
"right!"
Lao Jin also nodded in agreement and said:
"Junior Brother Zhou is on the battlefield, but he still remains calm in the face of danger and seizes the time to practice hard. This is precisely to further strengthen himself so that he can play a greater role in the decisive battle!"
"In my opinion, I'm afraid it's because Junior Brother Zhou is well-known in the outer sect, has a bright future, and is outstanding in the forest. Many people are secretly jealous and jealous, so they make such slanderous remarks."
While everyone was speculating on the reason behind it, Chu Zhaohe frowned:
"There's something not quite right about this..."
There was a trace of hesitation in his tone:
"Junior Brother Zhou took the initiative to ask for a battle and re-captured the Bingqi stronghold with us. This is something everyone knows. How can there be rumors that he deliberately avoided the battle? How could many of the garrisoned disciples believe in such a situation that they could not stand at all? Is this a valid rumor?"
"Behind this, there are probably some people who are fueling the flames and deliberately spreading these rumors..."
While he made this inference, he also had some doubts in his heart:
"Who did this, and what was the purpose? Is it really out of jealousy of Zhou Qing, as Lao Jin said?"
Just as he was thinking about the mystery behind it:
"Mingguang Squadron of Hongchen Chapter, come to Bingqi stronghold to report!"
A loud voice resounded through the formation into the cave at the base of the mountain.
"Huh? There's a new person here!"
Su Moyu's expression changed, and he immediately cast a spell. After controlling the main formation flag to check that it was correct, he manipulated the formation to open a gap.
There were originally more than forty outer disciples stationed at the Bingqi stronghold. Although they lost a lot in the previous battle with the Iron-backed Grizzly Bear Clan, they have almost been replenished in the past month.
The dozens of small strongholds along the entire front are not fixed and permanent, but are adjusted according to the changes in the demon clan's power. Old temporary strongholds are often canceled and new strongholds are established, and personnel movements are also relatively frequent.
For example, half of the several small strongholds that had been breached were immediately dismantled, and the remaining personnel were reorganized and assigned to other strongholds.
Not only that, in the past month, hundreds of outer sect disciples with late-stage and complete meridian openings have come to Luofu Daze one after another to supplement the manpower vacancies of the Chunyang Immortal Sect.
"Acheng, please take a walk."
Su Moyu looked at Zhou Xingcheng and ordered:
"Arrange for them to live first. As for the patrol area they will be responsible for next, we will discuss it later."
"yes."
Zhou Xingcheng nodded and hurriedly stood up and walked out of the cave at the foot of the mountain.
Su Moyu, Chu Zhaohe and others continued to discuss the rumors against Zhou Qing, but as there were currently no clues, many speculations were hard to come by.
However, this kind of matter is actually not a big deal, and it can be easily solved. If they personally come forward to clarify and clear up Zhou Qing's name, they can naturally smash some rumors.
If Zhou Qing hadn't been involved, they wouldn't have bothered to pay attention to such trivial matters.
"Sister-in-law! Senior Brother Chu!"
Soon, Zhou Xingcheng came back in a hurry, holding a letter in his hand and looking extremely solemn:
"This is a new team. The information brought from the command headquarters is very important. Please take a look at it first."
As he spoke, he spread the letter in his hand on the round table for everyone to browse.
Everyone did not dare to neglect what he said and looked at the contents of the letter on the round table. However, after a few glances, their expressions all changed.
"how so?!"
