Chapter 1163 - 1263: United as One

"There's no way, let's think of a way!" said the Sect Leader of the Minor Sect, somewhat exasperated.

"Are we just going to go back in such a sorry state because we have no plan? My sect, because of our exploration outside the walls, has been completely decimated, leaving me as the only one. Does it mean after exploring outside the walls, I return with no one else, no gains whatsoever?" The Sect Leader of the Minor Sect began to cry as he spoke.

The others watched him cry in silence. In fact, he was not even the most tragic one — some sects had their entire forces wiped out, leaving only a few to guard the sect back home.

Those who stayed behind awaited good news from the explorers, but instead, received a cruel joke — they couldn't even recover bodies, only the grim news of their deaths.

This was undoubtedly a significant blow to them. For example, Ye Tianfan at the Taichu Sect awaited the return of his martial uncles, but instead, was met with the joke that they all had died, without leaving a trace, a fact that would devastate anyone.

After all, it wasn't just about emotional bonds — those people were the main pillars of the sect. With them gone, one can only imagine the decline the sect would face!

If the Taichu Sect indeed lost such a critical generation, it would drop to a second-rate sect, maybe even third-rate, eventually becoming a minor sect after being trampled by others, incomparable to its former glory.

Therefore, this exploration beyond the walls has been a massive blow to all sects. If everyone retreats to their own sects now, the entire cultivation world will regress by at least a thousand years. Even then, the revival to its current prosperity would be unlikely as many legacies would have been severed.

However, the Taichu Sect was slightly fortunate this time, as they possessed Ye Tianfan's Chaos Divine Pearl, resulting in minimal casualties — only the Taichu Patriarch suffered a severe injury at the essence level, potentially halting his development.

Nonetheless, the Taichu Patriarch remains the strongest in the world because the injury only lowered his potential ceiling, with no substantial immediate effect on his current strength.

Hence, the Taichu Sect's power remains unmatched globally, stronger than the combined forces of the second, third, and fourth places.

One might say the Taichu Sect gained the most from the exploration beyond the walls and now holds the ability to challenge the world.

When all the world's sects combined could barely match the Taichu Sect's strength, considering others have lost at least half of their manpower, and the remainder can't afford to be wasted, else their lineage will face extinction.

No sect would risk it, even if it means submitting to the Taichu Sect to preserve their lineage.

Of course, the Taichu Sect wouldn't take such an approach, as they cherish peace. In their lengthy tenure as leaders of the cultivation world for thousands of years, conquering the world had never crossed their minds, knowing the peril of such thoughts from those who attempted dominance in the past.

None met a good end, so the Taichu Sect never considered world domination, realizing the exhausting effort it would entail fighting countless battles to subjugate all.

Endless conflicts with resistance would ensue for years, and surprise attacks from rebels would occur as long as the Taichu Sect aspired to rule the world, posing an incessant threat.

Thus, witnessing the consequences of those who pursued world dominance, the Taichu Sect wholly abandoned any such notion, ready to reprimand or expel anyone nursing such ambitions.

They wouldn't let anyone use the Taichu Sect's name for conquest ambitions. Stay within the Taichu Sect without espousing world domination.

"We can think of a way, but we lack even a direction. How can we come up with a plan?" someone questioned again, another Minor Sect Leader.

This leader lost all courage to venture beyond the walls, trembling at the sight of the gate marking that boundary, traumatized with his disciples mostly dead or severely injured—an unyielding heart, contrary to the shaking one overcoming the other leader.

A Sect Leader hoped to return beyond the walls for revenge, whereas another couldn't even bear to glance outside again.

It wasn't about who's strong and who's weak; both experienced devastating truths, with each response understandable — one, reckless, hoping to reclaim lost resources; the other, focused on survival and sect restoration.

The insisting leaver heard and replied, "Solutions are conceived by people, actions taken by people. If you've lost the courage to go, then hide within the walls, even if your sect prospers again—what then? You still lack the means for continued prosperity, surely exhausting resources leads only to extinction. This reality stands regardless of your agreement, but if we unite and regain our confidence, failure doesn't matter—what counts is that we tried, that we resisted."

Stirred by his words, few wanted to return embarrassedly — solutions exist, only awaiting discovery.