The fairies I flirted with in the game became real?!

Under the cloak of night, a multitude of dancing campfires traced the sprawling shadows across the wilderness.

Outside Tianjiao City in the open field, tents and campfires stretched across the hills and plains, forming a vast expanse of crimson.

Devotees of the Blood Lotus Sect donned red headbands and lotus robes, their silhouettes distinct in the darkness.

Tianjiao City, devoid of any moat, even its wall height was nothing formidable.

In this world, the power of cultivators determined everything; in all historic upheavals and struggles, mortal armies were not even qualified to participate—the sole value of mortal warriors was to shepherd the cultivator's people.

Thus, even though Tianjiao City was one of the largest cities under the control of the Refinement Demon Sect, its walls were merely a few dozen feet high, far from what one would call an impregnable fortress.

A slightly more formidable warrior could easily scale these walls with bare hands.

In the eyes of the tens of thousands of Blood Lotus Sect followers camped outside, this low wall was no different from a mere dirt ridge.

Yet up to this point, the Blood Lotus Sect had not initiated a full-scale attack.

Tens of thousands of devotees clad in red garments and armor, each wielding a steel blade, were merely forming arrays and encamping outside the city walls, surrounding but not assaulting Tianjiao City.

A vast flag stood towering in the military camp to the west of Tianjiao City's gate, the ten large characters "Obeying the Mandate of Heaven, the True Sovereign Vanquishes Demons and Banishes Immortals" were clearly visible even in the darkness.

This was the great banner of the Blood Lotus Sect Leader, and at this moment outside Tianjiao City, this flag represented absolute power.

Within the tent beneath the grand banner, several figures hurriedly arrived.

Liu Hucheng, one of the four Incense Masters of the Blood Lotus Sect, lifted the tent flap and entered with an urgent look.

"Sect Hierarch, why have we not launched a full-scale assault yet?"

Liu Hucheng had ventured from within Tianjiao City, being the earliest Incense Master to appear within the city, serving as bait and orchestrating everything.

He and Nangong Ting moved within Tianjiao City, one overt, the other covert, one still, the other active, together they played out this grand act.

They ultimately succeeded in luring the Sect Master of Demon Refining Sect and the twelve Elders into Tianjiao City and trapping them there.

After Nangong Ting seized the opportunity to strike amidst the chaos, Liu Hucheng, imprisoned in the dungeon, was then released.

But when Liu Hucheng, leading his followers, commenced a killing spree within the city, breaking through several government offices and slaying many Demon Sect cultivators, he received shocking and unexpected news.

—Nangong Ting, who had been acting with him within the city, had actually been captured by the Refinement Demon Sect!

Upon receiving this news, Liu Hucheng did not linger in battle, but immediately gathered the thousand followers who were causing chaos in the city, and, breaking through Demon Sect's encirclement, led them in a bloody breakout from Tianjiao City.

Now he hurried to the Sect Hierarch's grand tent, wanting to understand why the Sect Hierarch delayed the total assault.

According to the original plan, once the blood mist engulfed the land and many of the Refinement Demon Sect's powerful were trapped in Tianjiao City, the camp outside was to immediately initiate a full-scale attack. Coordinating with the over a thousand people inside, they would level Tianjiao City and slay all the Demon Sect cultivators within.

Yet, as night fell, Liu Hucheng had stormed out of the tight encirclement, at the cost of two to three hundred lives, while the grand camp outside continued its siege without an attack.

Such a course of action left Liu Hucheng both anxious and infuriated.

Having secured his men who had just fought their way out, he immediately took several close flag bearers and headed straight for the Sect Hierarch's grand tent.

But when Liu Hucheng flung back the curtain and charged in, what he saw was not the Sect Hierarch Fang Yingtian.

Under the dim glow of an oil lamp, seated upon the couch was a girl clad in a white robe.

The maiden was wrapped in a long fleece robe, exceedingly warm for the intense heat of the third lunar month, as though she were in bitter cold.

Her black hair was tied behind her head, and beneath the bangs that draped over her forehead was a slightly pale, delicate face.

Unstartled by Liu Hucheng's fierce entrance, the maiden simply smiled.

She pointed at the seat in front of her and said, "Uncle Liu, please take a seat. You've worked hard today."

Seeing the pale-faced girl, Liu Hucheng's original anger couldn't help but falter.

He was stunned for a moment, but finally sat down in front of the girl with an annoyed expression and said, "Why are you here? Where's the Sect Hierarch?"

The girl before him was named Shen Yan, and she was the right-hand woman of the Sect Hierarch.

Many times, she could even represent the will of the Sect Hierarch herself.

Her presence here indicated that the Sect Hierarch had already left; otherwise, it wouldn't be her in the Sect Hierarch's tent.

Seeing Liu Hucheng so urgently irritated, the girl sighed softly and said, "The Sect Hierarch has already departed from Tianjiao City, leading the troops to pursue those eight thousand cavalry."

"Elder Qi of the Refinement Demon Sect is no pushover. If she is allowed to lead eight thousand cavalry in creating chaos externally, it will bring unnecessary hindrances to our plan."

"Therefore, the Sect Hierarch went to pursue personally, to slay all the eight thousand cavalry and ensure our plan has no future troubles."

Shen Yan spoke softly.

But Liu Hucheng was still unsatisfied, "But the Sect Hierarch's departure shouldn't affect the siege, right?"

"Now, there are only fifty to sixty thousand demoralized soldiers inside Tianjiao City, they simply can't withstand our Cult's army of one hundred sixty thousand."

"If we launch a full-scale assault, breaking through Tianjiao City would happen in the blink of an eye!"

"Now that Nangong Ting has unfortunately been captured, we must break through Tianjiao City as quickly as possible and rescue her!"

"Moreover, several elders of the Demon Sect are still hiding in the city! If we don't quickly take over this city and find them, who knows, they might also look for an opportunity to escape!"

Liu Hucheng was extremely urgent.

Conquering Tianjiao City and slaying those Demon Sect elders inside was the most important goal of this operation.

During the day, several Demon Sect elders had used their Divine Skills to escape, which was already troublesome enough.

The remaining Demon Sect elders hiding within the city, whose whereabouts were unknown, must not be allowed to escape!

However, faced with Liu Hucheng's anxiety, the pale-faced girl still shook her head.

She gently exhaled a breath tinged with coldness, seemingly a bit chilly, and warmed her hands over the brazier in front of her.

Only then did the girl speak up, "There are no longer one hundred sixty thousand."

She shook her head and said under Liu Hucheng's shocked gaze.

"The followers outside the city now number only ninety thousand. It seems like many because I used an illusion."

"I had the soldiers in the camp leave through the gate, circle around the city, and then return to camp to change their armor and banners, leave through another gate, and continue circling the city."

"This cycle continued over and over, to pretend that we still had an army of tens of thousands outside the city."

"In reality, it was only to intimidate the soldiers inside the city, a display of false strength."

"The most powerful battalions of our Cult have already been taken by the Sect Hierarch and the various helmspersons."

"They have now left Tianjiao City to pursue and kill the escaped elders, who must be stopped in the wastelands." Read the latest on empire

"And two hours ago, our spies outside passed along information."

Shen Yan looked at the astonished Liu Hucheng and slowly said, "During this unrest, Yan Xiaoru's Direct Disciple somehow managed to escape."

"And in just a few hours, she escaped the region covered by the blood mist."

"Two hours ago, she arrived at Bishui City two thousand li away with a white-robed female disciple and declared her identity to the public."

"By now, the entire Demon Sect should be aware of the unrest inside Tianjiao City…"