"I'm fine!"

Shaking his head, Wang Junze softly replied.

After unleashing two consecutive sword strikes, the True Qi within Wang Junze was once again exhausted. This was even after he had absorbed so much power before; otherwise, he might not have been able to release the second strike.

However, the result was all that mattered.

Being able to kill the Ghost Infant meant that weaker Transformed Great Demons or even Path-Entering Powerhouses were now within Wang Junze's reach for a battle.

The most crucial point was that breaking through at this time could bring more confidence to others.

As for the Snake Demon's threat when leaving, Wang Junze did not take it to heart.

Having slain even the Quasi-Demon Consort, he did not care about one more Ghost Infant.

Moreover, even the Demon King might not easily venture into the Northern Domain now. Even if the sky were to fall, there was still Zhou Dongfei, the Sect Leader, to hold it up, so why panic?

Instead, the threat from the Deserters was the most pressing issue at hand.

"Congratulations to Young Master Wang for breaking through to Heaven-Stepping!"

With the retreat of the Snake Demon, others finally reacted, noisily stepping forward to congratulate him, their eyes filled with excitement.

When someone of the same realm achieves a breakthrough, they might feel jealous, but at the level of Wang Junze, they no longer even have the right to be jealous. Instead, they offer sincere congratulations. After all, the stronger Wang Junze becomes, the less pressure they face when dealing with the Deserters. This is a good thing for everyone.

"Thank you, everyone!"

Although exhausted, Wang Junze forced himself to clasp his fists in return and said, "Everyone should take the opportunity to rest a bit. If my guess is correct, tomorrow we'll face another fierce battle!"

It was no secret that the Deserters would likely attack. Wang Junze did not choose to hide this but instead spoke openly about it.

"We will fight alongside Young Master Wang!"

Everyone once again bowed in return and shouted in unison.

The atmosphere here was heated, while on the Four Symbols Sect's side, it was neglected by everyone.

There's no helping it; Wang Junze's performance in this battle was simply too dazzling, making the Four Symbols Sect's last-minute inaction look extremely ridiculous.

"Brother Jing, what do we do now?"

Observing the crowd from afar, a disciple from the Four Symbols Sect couldn't help but ask in a low voice.

Before coming to the Northern Domain, wherever they went, they were revered as prodigies, praised like stars. But now, in the Northern Domain, they had become nothing more than a backdrop to Wang Junze, a feeling that was too uncomfortable to bear.

"What are you panicking about? Just wait!"

After taking a deep look in Wang Junze's direction, Jing Lei replied indifferently, "Neither the Deserters nor the Demon Race will let him off. We'll just wait for the opportunity."

"As for these Low-tier Cultivators... they are nothing but fence-sitters. Once Wang Junze is dead, they'll naturally come begging us for their lives."

...

"He's dead?"

Slightly taken aback, even in the dead of night, upon receiving the news, Jing Yuan immediately got up.

"The information was brought back by the Green Snake. Not only Hu Qianqian, but the Ghost Infant is also dead... The Demon Race suffered a major defeat this time, and he has gone overnight to report to the Thousand-Handed Demon King." In a low tone, the nearby Deserter reported again, "Also, Wang Junze devoured Hu Qianqian's Inner Core, has broken through to Heaven-Stepping, and... it's said that he seems to have practiced an extremely terrifying new Sword Technique. The Ghost Infant was also slain by two of Wang Junze's sword strikes."

"First entered Heaven-Stepping, and can already contend against the Path-Entering?"

Narrowing his eyes, Jing Yuan softly murmured, "What a pity; it seems this time, he can't be killed..."

"Master Jing Yuan, if you give the order to withdraw now, there's still time." With a hint of urgency, the Deserter looked at Jing Yuan and spoke again.

He knew the inside story; the forces sent to Medicine King Valley this time included three thousand Great Snow Wolf Riders and only a few Heaven-Stepping Powerhouses. They originally thought the Demon Race could restrain Luo Qingxuan, giving them a chance to kill Wang Junze.

Yet now, not only did the Demon Race lose, but Wang Junze also broke through to Heaven-Stepping. In this case, the current force is simply insufficient to kill Wang Junze and might even be wiped out by him and the other members of the Human Race. It's too dangerous.

If they directly send a signal to stop, allowing the Great Snow Wolf Riders to retreat, they might avoid losses.

"Why should we withdraw?"

Shaking his head, Jing Yuan calmly retorted.

"???"

Without further explanation, Jing Yuan yawned and casually said, "Alright, it's late. Go down and rest."

"..."

Watching Jing Yuan leave the tent, the Deserter was still a bit clueless.

What does this mean?

Knowing they can't win, why not retreat?

...

The sky gradually brightened.

Opening his eyes, the True Qi within Wang Junze had completely recovered.

It must be said, sending a portion of the spirit medicine from the ruins to Sun Yujie for planting was truly worth it.

Except for a very few that couldn't be successfully planted, Sun Yujie had transplanted all other kinds of spirit medicine very well. The most direct experience was that in just one night, Wang Junze had fully regained his strength, an effect even the elixirs of the Profound Moon Sword Sect couldn't achieve.

This time, if we can repel the Deserters, we must place greater importance on the role of Medicine King Valley.

Pushing the door open and stepping outside, the morning light shone on him, giving his whole body a sense of comfort.

Looking up, he saw Sun Yujie was already awake, busy with her disciples collecting the corpses of the poisonous snakes from last night and samples of plants that were infected by the poisonous mist in the surrounding area.

Before Wang Junze could ask, Sun Yujie proactively approached, explaining, "Young Master Wang, I dissected some snake corpses overnight and found the poison sacs, extracting some venom for study. Although this snake poison is fierce, it's not particularly hard to neutralize. As long as it's combined with some herbs, it's easy to refine an antitoxic pill."

"Hmm?"

Slightly stunned, Wang Junze immediately reacted and asked, "Is it effective against the poisonous mist?"

"We're still collecting samples of plants infected by the poisonous mist, but... it should be effective," Sun Yujie paused and continued, "However, it only has an antitoxic effect on small amounts of poisonous mist. If directly confronted by the deadly poison of that Snake Demon... the toxicity is too aggressive, it would be too late to detoxify."

This is actually quite understandable, considering that Snake Demon is a Transformed Great Demon, and even if his poison is of the same origin, it cannot be compared with ordinary snakes.

"That's already very good. Continue researching whether this antitoxic pill can be mass-produced."

Slightly nodding, Wang Junze spoke again, "Since the Demon Race has intervened, they won't just play small acts. Once they officially join the battle, such special means of the Snake Demon pose the greatest threat to low-tier cultivators. If this snake poison can be neutralized, it should save many people."

"We might not have enough medicinal materials..." Sun Yujie said with some difficulty, "After all, Medicine King Valley is a minor sect, and the reserves of all kinds of spirit medicine and materials are not much. Large-scale manufacturing will most likely be insufficient."

"Are the required medicinal materials very rare?" Wang Junze asked again.

"Not really, they're all common materials, just in large quantities," Sun Yujie answered softly.

"No problem. Once this battle is over, I will send a message to the sect. The Profound Moon Sword Sect can fully support you. Besides... we can also involve other minor sects and families in collecting. With so many people in the Northern Domain, as long as the spirit medicines aren't too precious, it should be enough to supply."

"Is this really necessary?"

At this moment, Luo Qingxuan also walked over. Hearing the conversation between the two, she couldn't help but interject, "After all, there's only one Snake Demon, and even though it's a Transformed Great Demon, even if it joins the battle, it will most likely target the experts of the Human Race and may not release poison on a large scale?"

"The Snake Demon might not, but once the Demon Race intervenes, there will definitely be other demon tribes with some special means... using poison is just one of the easiest methods to employ directly on the battlefield."

Toward Luo Qingxuan, Wang Junze explained patiently, "Moreover, the key to this matter is actually not how many antitoxic pills we manufacture, but rather using this opportunity... to unite the forces of the entire Northern Domain!"

"Senior Sister Luo, this is war! Yuan Shouyi cannot be trusted. With just the Profound Moon Sword Sect alone, we cannot resist the Deserters' invasion south. To win this battle, we must unite all the forces in the Northern Domain."

Raising his head, Wang Junze spoke earnestly, "Don't focus excessively on the win or loss of one or two battles, the consumption of a small amount of resources... We must look at the overall direction of the war!"

"He who does not plan for the entire situation is insufficient to plan for a corner."

"..."

Whether it was Sun Yujie or Luo Qingxuan, both felt a bit overwhelmed in their minds.

Forget it, such complex matters are better left for Wang Junze to think about.

"It's still too early to talk about this; let's prepare for today's battle first. The Deserters' attack should be arriving soon."

Shaking her head, Luo Qingxuan quickly shifted the topic.

"This battle is no longer in doubt."

Wang Junze responded again, "The Demon Race suffered a great loss last night and will not act again for a short period, so... today we're only facing the Deserters."

"Moreover, I just made a breakthrough last night, and the Deserters don't have time to reinforce. Winning this battle is not difficult for us."

"In that case, will the Deserters still come?" Sun Yujie couldn't help but ask, "You know the Deserters can't win, so that Jing Yuan should understand it too, shouldn't he retreat and wait for another opportunity?"

"No, precisely because it's Jing Yuan, this battle cannot be avoided!"

Sighing, Wang Junze softly explained, "I've said it before, a temporary win or loss doesn't matter... Fighting this battle to show the Deserters' attitude is the most important thing!"

"The Deserters need to let others see that not only have they encircled Jubei City, but as long as there's a chance, they will certainly covertly attack other places. This is a warning to other minor sects and families!"

"If they dare to concentrate on the frontal battlefield of Jubei City, they are very likely to be ambushed by the Deserters, leading to the demise of their sects and families!"

"Even though the Deserters lost this time, still... not every time will we be so lucky to arrive in time!"

"This attack on Medicine King Valley was discovered by us, but what about next time?"

"Can we still predict the Deserters' target of attack next time?"

"People will panic!"

"The more fierce this battle is fought, the more panic others will feel... Once people lose heart, Jubei City will become even harder to defend!"

"This is the root reason why the Deserters must fight this battle!"

"..."

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