The general's tent.
Yin Tao, Jian Wusheng, and Bai Zhenshan were all present, but they were very busy, listening to the battle damage reports from the various captains.
Upon seeing Ye Cangtian, a hint of joy appeared in the eyes of the three, but they paid him no mind for the moment.
Only after all the reports were concluded did Yin Tao and the other two approach Ye Cangtian.
"Lord Ye, did you bring reinforcements this time?"
Yin Tao quickly inquired. He knew that Ye Cangtian must have come from Dragon City.
Therefore, he hoped Ye Cangtian would bring strong reinforcements, which would undoubtedly turn the tide of his situation.
"I came alone."
Ye Cangtian glanced at their expectant gazes and knew that the situation on their end was not good.
So he sat down and asked, "Tell me, what exactly is going on here?"
"Let me explain."
Hearing this, Yin Tao sighed and then recounted the situation at the entrance.
In over half a year, the Hidden Group at the entrance had thwarted the Bright Hall's operations five or six times.
Almost as soon as they wiped out a Bright Hall team, the Bright Hall would organize another attack a few days later, leaving very little time for the defending forces to recuperate.
And in the continuous battles, the casualties of the Hidden Group had also risen sharply.
Fortunately, with the presence of those 30 Earth-level powerhouses and their clever deployment, they had managed to crush the Bright Hall's actions time and again.
Even so, the Bright Hall had not given up, sending people who were stronger and more numerous each time.
Thus, by now, the Hidden Group had basically revealed all its trump cards.
Moreover, 10 of the 30 supporting Earth-level powerhouses had already perished in the battles, a full third.
However, the Bright Hall's losses were even more severe. Over the past half-year, they had killed no less than 40 Cardinal Bishops...
Hearing this, Ye Cangtian fell silent. Those were people meticulously chosen by him and Dongfang Mingyue! To lose a third of them like this truly weighed heavily on his heart.
But he also knew that war meant casualties.
With that thought, his gaze fell upon Yin Tao, and he slowly asked, "What was the situation with the Bright Hall's attack this time?"
"The Bright Hall's contingent this time was led by three Quasi-Heavenly experts, along with over 30 Cardinal Bishops, and sixty to seventy Black-robed Bishops and Divine Envoys combined, making for a very formidable team of a hundred."
Yin Tao quickly described the enemy's composition.
After a pause, Yin Tao added, "This is all pre-battle intelligence. After this engagement, they lost at least five Cardinal Bishops."
"Did those three Quasi-Heavenly experts participate in this operation? What were their specific cultivation levels?" Ye Cangtian asked.
Yin Tao slowly shook his head.
This wave of Bright Hall powerhouses had just arrived and did not understand the situation of the Hidden Group.
Therefore, the battle today was likely a probing of the Hidden Group's strength, and the three Quasi-Heavenly experts did not engage.
It seemed that after multiple failures, the Bright Hall had become much smarter.
Ye Cangtian murmured to himself upon hearing this.
His expression was somewhat grim. This time, the Bright Hall had mobilized over a hundred people, including three Quasi-Heavenly experts and 30 Cardinal Bishops.
Based on their personnel deployment, it seemed the Bright Hall was truly angered by their prolonged inability to break through.
Thinking to himself, Ye Cangtian looked up at Yin Tao and slowly asked, "Where is the Bright Hall's camp currently stationed?"
"You want to launch a surprise attack?"
"It might not be that easy this time!"
As Ye Cangtian's voice fell, Jian Wusheng spoke up.
Over the past half-year, they had employed every tactic imaginable to deal with the Bright Hall, and surprise attacks were commonplace.
Although the Bright Hall was now stationed in the surrounding forests, the routes were covered with informants, and their camp was filled with both overt and covert sentries, making surprise attacks very difficult.
Furthermore, with three Quasi-Heavenly experts guarding them, Ye Cangtian alone would not gain any advantage and would instead be in danger.
"Don't worry, I just want to know the enemy's location to see how best to deploy our forces."
Ye Cangtian waved his hand, signaling Jian Wusheng not to be anxious, and stated his intention.
On the other side, upon hearing this, Yin Tao quickly pointed out the general location of the Bright Hall's camp on the sand table.
Looking at the Bright Hall's position, Ye Cangtian's brow gradually furrowed.
It had to be said that the Bright Hall's chosen encampment position was indeed excellent.
The camp was backed against a cliff, with the terrain lower on the other three sides, providing them with a wide and clear field of vision.
And the forest was not too dense, making it a difficult task to launch a large-scale assault without being discovered.
In such a situation, proactively attacking was clearly unwise. The best approach was to remain calm and await their assault, allowing them to reveal their vulnerabilities.
With this in mind, Ye Cangtian took out the Qiankun Bag and handed it to Yin Tao.
"Here are some healing elixirs. I'll give them to you first. How you distribute them is entirely up to you. I hope they will be of some help."
Some of these elixirs had been refined by Yao Bao'er during this period.
Another portion was a gift from the Medicine Saint, but Yao Bao'er did not accept it and directly asked Ye Cangtian to bring it here.
However, Ye Cangtian could not reveal the source of the elixirs, as doing so would undoubtedly bring trouble to the Medicine Saint and Yao Bao'er.
Upon hearing Ye Cangtian's words, the eyes of Yin Tao and the other two lit up.
While they had ample food and drink to defend the entrance, their only concern was elixirs.
Many injured brothers, without elixirs, could only watch as their wounds worsened.
Now, with these elixirs, though not many, they could definitely alleviate the immediate crisis.
"Timely assistance! Thank you, thank you."
Yin Tao clasped Ye Cangtian's hand, expressing his heartfelt gratitude, and then, after greeting them, he left the main tent.
Having just tallied the battle damage, he was going to inspect the main camp and check on the injured brothers. Ye Cangtian's elixirs would undoubtedly be useful.
For a moment, only Jian Wusheng and Bai Zhenshan remained in the general's tent.
Ye Cangtian was silent for a moment, then said to Bai Zhenshan, "Senior, something happened a long time ago, and I think it's time you knew."
Hmm?
Upon hearing this, Bai Zhenshan immediately cast a questioning gaze.
"More than half a year ago, the acting patriarch of the Bai family, Bai Yuanhang, was murdered. The killer was a traitor serving the Dark Association named Hei Yu..."
After much hesitation, Ye Cangtian finally revealed all of this.
The matter had been delayed for over half a year, and the future battles were uncertain. Therefore, he felt it was necessary for Bai Zhenshan to know.
"As expected!"
When Bai Zhenshan heard this, there was no trace of shock on his face.
Although he had not heard of this before, he had always maintained contact with Bai Yuanhang.
With no news from Bai Yuanhang for over half a year, he had already guessed that something had happened to him.
However, he had been guarding the entrance to the ruins and could not return to investigate, nor could he publicly disclose the matter for fear of affecting the morale of the Bai family disciples in battle.
Listening to Bai Zhenshan's words, Ye Cangtian showed some respect and bowed to Bai Zhenshan.
To have done so much for the Hua Xia ruins was worthy of his respect.
Then Ye Cangtian spoke, "Senior, I have already killed Hei Yu, and now the Bai family is temporarily managed by Bai Sulan..."
Ye Cangtian stated that since he was now at the entrance, Bai Zhenshan could take this opportunity to return to Dragon City and make arrangements for the Bai family's affairs.
Upon hearing this, Bai Zhenshan slowly shook his head and said, "I appreciate your kind offer, but I do not need to return. The Bai family has managed without incident for over half a year, which is enough to show that Bai Sulan is capable of managing the family.
I will remain here to guard, especially since the Bright Hall's offensive is fierce, and we are short-handed here."
"Alright."
Ye Cangtian did not say much about this. He then took out two small porcelain bottles and handed them directly to Bai Zhenshan and Jian Wusheng.
"This is..."
Upon seeing the writing on the two porcelain bottles, Jian Wusheng and Bai Zhenshan were both startled. They were actually the legendary Enlightenment Elixirs.
They were no strangers to Enlightenment Elixirs. It was said that they could enhance cultivation, and more importantly, they had a certain chance of enabling the user to comprehend their own martial path.
As a result, while shocked, they also became excited. If they could consume the Enlightenment Elixirs, they might break through to the Quasi-Heavenly realm.
At that time, they would have more confidence in facing the Bright Hall!