Chapter 792: Chapter 791: Not Discouraged by Failure
Hidden Sect, three hundred li outside Central State City within a deep mountain forest.
After the rain, in the dense mountain forest, a stream flowed rapidly; its clear water tumbling down from the mountain, creating waterfalls like cascading galaxies in many places.
Next to a waterfall, under a cliff, there was a natural stone cave about seven or eight meters deep, concealed under the cliff and invisible from the outside.
Inside the cave, Zhang Wenfeng and Duanmu Han sat silently on either side of the cave entrance. On a large boulder inside the cave, an elderly man was cross-legged; this person was none other than Duanmu Wugou.
That day, in the East Combat Zone, after a meeting where everyone decided to seek assistance from the Hidden Sect, Duanmu Han and Zhang Wenfeng traveled overnight to Imperial City. They entered the Hidden Sect World through the teleportation array above Meishan Mountain.
Upon arriving at the Hidden Sect, the two learned that the Five Families Alliance had already mobilized to defeat the Wang Family, Qingtian Sect, and Poison Sect one by one. After discussing, they decided to go and see for themselves.
In their view, since the five families had formed an alliance, even if they couldn’t defeat the other three families individually, they would still be enough to secure victory in this war.
However, before they could reach the territory of the Langya Wang Family, they heard that the Wang Family had received advance warning and all the elite warriors had left. The Five Families’ forces headed towards Qingtian Sect, so they hurriedly made their way there.
Before reaching Central State City, they encountered several experts leaving the city. Zhang Wenfeng, after all, was a powerhouse who had entered the threshold of the Divine Travel Realm. Seeing two late-stage Innate Realm Peak masters in a tense hurry, he approached them to inquire about the situation.
The two, upon seeing Zhang Wenfeng and Duanmu Han, became extremely vigilant, their auras bursting forth as if they were ready to fight to the death at any moment, their killing intent fierce.
Zhang Wenfeng quickly explained his purpose and pointed out Duanmu Han, indicating that he was from the Duanmu Family.
When they heard that he was from the Duanmu Family, they immediately relaxed their vigilance and did not hide the truth, speaking frankly.
Then, Zhang Wenfeng and Duanmu Han were dumbfounded, feeling a chilling sense of disbelief.
The Five Families’ forces had actually suffered a calamity from within; members of the Ji Family and Zhang Family had backstabbed them, leading to a disastrous defeat. Zhuge Wei and Duanmu Wuwang were immediately killed in a surprise attack, Zhuge Qian, Duanmu Wuwo, and several Divine Travel Realm experts died in battle?
This...
How could this happen?
The two from the families allied with the Zhuge family had been lucky to escape with their lives in this disastrous defeat. Now their only wish was to leave this troubled place as soon as possible. As for whether their families would face suppression and repercussions in the future, that was a matter for another time.
After the two left, Zhang Wenfeng and Duanmu Han took a while to come back to their senses. They exchanged glances, and Zhang Wenfeng said, "The situation has developed to this point; what... what should we do next?"
Duanmu Han felt completely muddled, his head numb as he shook it.
When members of the Zhuge and Duanmu Families first came to Imperial City and asked for his cooperation, Duanmu Han agreed without any hesitation.
He was fully aware of the strength of the Hidden Sect World; moreover, tracing back to the source, the Duanmu Family of Imperial City and the Hidden Sect’s Duanmu Family were originally branches of the same lineage. Therefore, the entry of the Hidden Sect’s Duanmu Family into the world was like the natural father to the Imperial City’s Duanmu Family.
Faced with the choice presented by the Hidden Sect’s Duanmu Family and the Zhuge Family, Duanmu Han did not hesitate and decisively chose to assist the Hidden Sect.
It was for this reason that when the Hidden Sect forces suddenly made their move, the Qin Family was not informed at all. If not for the Hidden Sect forces miscalculating a few steps, and if Qin Huai’an and Qin Yanyang had not managed to escape, the Divine Continent would have already been under their control.
Even with Qin Huai’an and Qin Yanyang escaping, causing the realm to fragment, they still controlled half of the territory, especially the critical area of Imperial City.
In Duanmu Han’s view, although they had recently been driven very passive by Qin Yanyang’s moves, as long as the strong from the Hidden Sect took action, the situation would reverse, and they could quickly restore the unification of the Divine Continent.
However, now, the Duanmu Family he relied on had been defeated.
It had been agreed that the fighting force would be five families strong, but they had been backstabbed by the Ji and Zhang Families. The situation remained five versus three, but this time his own side had become the weaker party of three.
Even, because of the sudden attack from the Ji Family and the Zhang Family, our side was completely unprepared and suffered a crushing defeat.
Zhang Wenfeng felt desperate in his heart too.
But he was somewhat calmer compared to Duanmu Han.
After his last defeat to the younger generation, Yang Fei and Qin Yanyang, Zhang Wenfeng had already experienced the decline of the Zhang Family. He had thought he could rise again with the help of the Hidden Sect’s powers, but he didn’t expect to end up in this situation.
Having been through such a rise and fall once already, Zhang Wenfeng was a bit more steady. He patted Duanmu Han on the shoulder and said, "Victory and defeat are common in military affairs. As long as we’re alive, there’s hope. But this time, the Zhuge Family, the Duanmu Family, and Giant Sword Manor have all suffered terrible defeats, and that kid Yang Fei is on good terms with Helian Zhan from the Qingtian Sect. I fear that the forces triumphant in Hidden Sect World will not necessarily stand with us after they leave, so we must plan ahead."
Duanmu Han came back to his senses, a flash of light in his eyes, and said, "You’re right, Brother Zhang."
Seeing that he had regained his composure, Zhang Wenfeng nodded inwardly and said, "Let’s leave the Hidden Sect immediately and start preparing."
Duanmu Han was thinking the same.
His greatest concern was for the Duanmu aristocratic family in Imperial City.
The reason for choosing to betray the Qin Family last time was nothing more than to secure a higher stage for the Duanmu aristocratic family in the future.
Now that the Hidden Sect powers he relied on had been terribly defeated, he had no choice but to return and prepare ahead of time.
Leaving Divine Continent and fleeing overseas was the last resort.
Once the plan was set, the two decided to hurry back to the Zhuge aristocratic family and leave through the teleportation formation there.
Worried about being discovered on the official roads because of their identities, they took mountain paths, only to run into the severely injured and fleeing Duanmu Wugou.
At the sight of Duanmu Wugou, Duanmu Han felt an urge to cry.
The previously spirited Duanmu Wugou was now dejected, injured, spirit worn down, and had lost all of his past brilliance.
From Duanmu Wugou, the two men confirmed again what had happened at Qingtian Sect and also learned that the Qingtian Sect, Poison Sect, Langya Wang Family, Ji Family, and Zhang Family had already sent strong fighters to guard the two teleportation passageways, plunging their hearts into even deeper despair.
Great, now we can’t even leave if we want to.
Duanmu Han was extremely anxious about his family’s safety. Duanmu Wugou said, "What’s the rush? The outside is currently at a standoff. As long as the people from Hidden Sect World don’t go out, the stalemate of the two armies in Divine Continent won’t be broken. And when those people from the Five Families leave, we’ll also have the chance to leave with them. Once we get to the outside world, we’ll have time to take our clansmen away from Divine Continent. With the few of us together, Earth is so big, we’re bound to find a place to stand."
Although Zhang Wenfeng and Duanmu Han were anxious, the situation was indeed as Duanmu Wugou described, so they could only follow him.
Afterward, they found a hidden place nearby, where Duanmu Wugou began to heal after taking an Elixir.
Over the past few days, Zhang Wenfeng and Duanmu Han also went to gather some intelligence.
Wang Changqing and Zhuge Cang were captured and taken back.
But Cai Wenhua and Zhuo Hongfei of Giant Sword Manor had disappeared, obviously having fled.
Duanmu Wugou was overjoyed and said, "When the time comes, we’ll try to contact these two, and add to that some elite experts from the Duanmu Family and Giant Sword Manor. After we leave, we’ll be a considerable force. In the secular world, it’ll be easy to find a place to live. Once the Hidden Sect forces enter the world, having to cope with the invasions from Heaven and Penglai Realm, we can watch the tigers fight from the mountain and always find an opportunity to make a comeback."
Zhang Wenfeng and Duanmu Han also felt this made sense. Their sense of loss gradually eased, and they began to harbor some hope for the future once more.