Hearing Wu Tao say this, Huang Hua Luo, Wu Kong Zi, Zhang Fan, Cao Ming, Yan Li, Wei Li Qiu, Tao Le, and Lei Nuo’s faces all showed surprise. They clearly hadn’t expected Wu Tao to say such a thing.
After a while, Huang Hua Luo asked with a hint of curiosity.
“Oh, I am truly curious, what matter does fellow Daoist speak of that could be a huge benefit to us…”
“To be honest, you must know that there are very few things in this world that we cannot obtain!”
Facing Huang Hua Luo’s skepticism, Wu Tao remained unfazed, speaking with a resolute tone.
“We will join forces to eliminate the Blood Clan, and the territory will be yours. How about that? Are these terms tempting enough for you?”
…
Upon hearing Wu Tao’s words, Huang Hua Luo, Zhang Fan, Cao Ming, Yan Li, Wei Li Qiu, Tao Le, Lei Nuo, and others were first stunned, and then burst into laughter.
Some laughed so hard they doubled over, others slapped their knees in laughter, some held their stomachs, and some even cried. Wu Kong Zi, though he didn’t laugh, wore a complex expression.
It was evident that Huang Hua Luo, Wu Kong Zi, Zhang Fan, Cao Ming, Yan Li, Wei Li Qiu, Tao Le, and Lei Nuo all believed Wu Tao was joking. They all thought that Wu Tao reaching his current position in just over two hundred years was already a miracle.
How could he possibly have established such a vast power in such a short time? It was sheer bragging, talking in his sleep, pure deception…
One must understand that the resources required to cultivate a person and to cultivate an entire force are vastly different.
For a normal force to dominate a region, it would typically require at least ten generations of effort, without any mistakes during that process, to even have a chance.
In other words, in the eyes of Huang Hua Luo, Wu Kong Zi, Zhang Fan, Cao Ming, Yan Li, Wei Li Qiu, Tao Le, and Lei Nuo, Wu Tao was definitely joking, and a rather bad joke at that…
Even as they laughed heartily, Wu Tao’s expression remained extremely serious, his eyes still sharp, clearly showing no intention of joking.
He opened his mouth slightly, revealing his white teeth, and said word by word, “A pack of stray dogs wagging their tails, daring to laugh at a tiger on the mountain!”
As soon as these words were spoken, Huang Hua Luo, Zhang Fan, Cao Ming, Yan Li, Wei Li Qiu, Tao Le, and Lei Nuo’s expressions changed drastically, and they glared at him. Wu Kong Zi was also slightly taken aback…
After all, as powerful cultivators at the King realm, it had been countless years since anyone dared to insult them so directly.
However, after a brief moment of silence, Wu Kong Zi took a deep breath and turned to Huang Hua Luo, gritting his teeth and cupping his hands. “Boss, is what he said incorrect?”
Huang Hua Luo, who was about to speak, was suddenly startled by this. For some reason, he was reminded of the millions upon millions of their people who had been abandoned, and he froze in his seat.
…
“Boss!”
Wu Kong Zi sighed and continued with a solemn expression, “Is he truly mocking us? Isn’t what he’s saying the truth?”
“In recent years, we have lost vast territories. Can we not be called stray dogs? Is that incorrect?”
“It’s not because of our past master-disciple relationship that I am defending him!”
“Is it not what we have been striving for, to reclaim our homeland, annihilate the Blood Clan, and restore the glory of our Human Race?”
…
Hearing this, Huang Hua Luo’s gaze wavered. He let out a long sigh, looked at Zhang Fan, Cao Ming, Yan Li, Wei Li Qiu, Tao Le, and Lei Nuo. What he had kept bottled up inside for so long, words he had never spoken, now poured out.
“How could I not want to reclaim our homeland, destroy the Blood Clan our enemy, and restore the might of our Human Race? But the reality is harsh, and it cannot be solved by mere boasts. Many things are incredibly difficult.”
“The Blood Clan is far stronger than the Human Race. Even if fellow Daoist Wu can bring some cultivators, what then?”
“With our current meager strength, if we cannot achieve a decisive victory and the situation remains at a stalemate, with wolves encircling us, what will we do then?”
…
“In this world, is there anything that can be guaranteed with absolute certainty? If we don’t take a gamble, how can we know the outcome?” Wu Kong Zi responded through gritted teeth, clearly provoked by Wu Tao’s label of “stray dogs.”
“If we fail, and the Blood Clan retaliates later, and other races take advantage of our misfortune, what then?” Huang Hua Luo asked sternly.
“At that point, the Human Race will be surrounded, and our inheritance of countless years will be destroyed by our hands. With what face shall we meet our ancestors in the underworld after our deaths!”
Upon hearing this, Wu Kong Zi was momentarily speechless.
…
Huang Hua Luo surveyed the surroundings and said somewhat dejectedly, “Do you think I don’t know that we are stray dogs? Do I not want to destroy the damned Blood Clan and restore the glory of our ancestors?”
“However, our Human Race is inherently not strong, and we are surrounded by powerful races. How can we dare to stake everything on a matter of pride?”
“The Blood Clan has become extremely powerful in recent years. If the war goes unfavorably, and we cannot annihilate them, or even if they push us back, and the surrounding races take advantage of our weakness, and our lands are engulfed in flames and constant warfare, then what am I supposed to do?”
Wu Kong Zi fell silent.
It was the same old story: reality was more important than ideals. For the sake of the Human Race’s inheritance, they had to endure certain things!
…
“Big Brother, I think Wu Kong Zi is right. Let’s do it?”
Unexpectedly, Zhang Fan, who had been silent, suddenly interjected.
Clearly, he too had been stimulated by the phrase “stray dogs”!
Cao Ming, Yan Li, Wei Li Qiu, Tao Le, Lei Nuo, and the others stirred, their attitudes seemingly shifting, but Huang Hua Luo remained hesitant.
…
“Fellow Daoist Huang, what you say is indeed reasonable, but you have overlooked one thing!” Wu Tao spoke again, seeing Huang Hua Luo’s continued focus on the bigger picture and cautious approach.
“Oh, interesting. What do you think I’ve overlooked?” Huang Hua Luo asked, his voice unreadable as he repeatedly tapped the armrest.
…
“The underground immortal cultivation world is a time of great contention. Preserving our strength is indeed good, but one step back leads to constant retreat, like a soft knife cutting flesh. When will this endless retreat end?”
“When there is nowhere left to retreat, I ask you, Fellow Daoist Huang, what will you do then?”
“As stray dogs, if we don’t fight desperately, will we survive by cowering in our kennels?” Wu Tao spoke impassionedly.
Huang Hua Luo’s pupils contracted at these words, his face flushed, and his fists involuntarily clenched. He had clearly made up his mind.
After a while, Huang Hua Luo, his expression returning to normal, finally spoke, “Fellow Daoist, you called us stray dogs earlier. Then, as a tiger on the mountain, how many troops can you bring to this great battle?”
“Five million cultivators, one hundred thousand giants, and three cultivators at the Purple Mansion stage!”
Wu Tao unleashed his full aura, confronting the eight of them, and fixed his gaze on Huang Hua Luo, stating with unquestionable certainty, “A mere tiger on the mountain can at most muster five million cultivators, one hundred thousand giants, and three cultivators at the Purple Mansion stage!”
Upon hearing this, Huang Hua Luo, Wu Kong Zi, Zhang Fan, Cao Ming, Yan Li, Wei Li Qiu, Tao Le, and Lei Nuo were all filled with surprise and joy. They had clearly not expected Wu Tao to be able to gather so many forces.
For a time, Huang Hua Luo, Wu Kong Zi, Zhang Fan, Cao Ming, Yan Li, Wei Li Qiu, Tao Le, and Lei Nuo were all greatly invigorated.
After the general framework for dealing with the Blood Clan was established, Wu Tao, Huang Hua Luo, Wu Kong Zi, Zhang Fan, Cao Ming, Yan Li, Wei Li Qiu, Tao Le, and Lei Nuo, a total of nine people, began to meticulously discuss the plan for a pincer attack on the Blood Clan!
They talked for a full three to four hours before Wu Tao and the other eight reluctantly reached a consensus.
“As agreed, we will advance first to draw the main force of the Blood Clan, and then you will launch a surprise attack from the rear, crushing these杂碎 of the Blood Clan from both sides!” Huang Hua Luo said with great seriousness.
Upon hearing this, Wu Tao nodded without hesitation, indicating that there was no problem.
After concluding these matters, Wu Tao prepared to take his leave.
After all, the Purple State immortal cultivation world had a large number of affairs waiting for him to handle. Furthermore, gathering five million cultivators, one hundred thousand giants, and three cultivators at the Purple Mansion stage was no simple task; everything had to be prepared well in advance.
Before Wu Tao left, Huang Hua Luo suddenly said with a smile, “Fellow Daoist, you’ve said many things, but honestly, the most useful was that phrase, ‘stray dogs.’ It described us so well and woke us up!”
Upon hearing this, Wu Tao, who had already begun to walk away, paused slightly. After a moment of silence, he left without looking back.
…
Purple State Immortal Cultivation World.
Sitting on a high imperial throne, a dragon formed from purple energy appeared faintly on Wu Tao’s brow, constantly moving.
Ye Yu, Ye Qing Yi, Nangong Nan, Nangong Xing, You Meng, and other important officials of the Immortal Dynasty lined up, reporting the progress of the plans to Wu Tao.
The matter at hand was the Great Ming Immortal Dynasty’s conscription of an army of five million cultivators for an impending cross-domain war against the Blood Clan.
To gather such a large number of cultivators, Wu Tao had once again squeezed the entire Purple State immortal cultivation world dry, mobilizing the nation’s strength and adopting an almost all-or-nothing attitude.
At Wu Tao’s command, the Great Ming Immortal Dynasty began to work tirelessly like a wound-up machine. Orders were issued one after another, and numerous cultivators were once again gathered.
After completing these tasks, Wu Tao sought out the resurrected ancient powerhouse, Duan Yu Hang. Under the banner of the Human Race’s righteousness, Duan Yu Hang agreed without hesitation.
Next, Wu Tao went to the Heavenly Cloud State. After agreeing to numerous conditions with the Giant race, he obtained their assistance of one hundred thousand giants. Of course, he also persuaded Wu Xing Tian to help.
During this process, Wu Tao naturally paid a considerable price, but he believed it was all worth it.