The Guardian Great Formation has been breached!
After the two formation bases of the Black Dragon Branch Temple's Guardian Great Formation were successively destroyed, the formation incurred damages that were impossible to repair.
The Guardian Great Formation, which could normally recover within two hours, was now irreparable.
The destruction of the two formation bases significantly boosted the morale of Jingguo Country's side, while also filling the Cultivators of Dragon Transformation Sect with both shock and anger, compelling them to fight with a sense of desperation.
Several Protectors of the Dragon Transformation Sect quickly resorted to the secret technique "Dragon Transformation Ascension Mantra," transforming into Flood Dragons and wildly charging into the battlefields to slaughter the Foundation Establishment Cultivators of Jingguo Country.
Prior to this, although the clashes between both sides had been intense, there was still some unspoken understanding. Purple Mansion Phase Cultivators wouldn't hunt down the opposing side's Foundation Establishment Cultivators before their own were completely defeated.
But now, with the two formation bases destroyed and the Branch Temple Gate's impending breach, those from the Dragon Transformation Sect, driven by despair, no longer cared about such rules.
And this led to an accidental turn of events.
Seeing this, the Purple Mansion Phase Cultivators from Jingguo Country, who had been ready to pursue their advantage, hurried back to rescue their juniors.
At such a moment, even if Cultivators from the three major sects like Taoist Mingjing gave orders using Golden Core Cultivators, they couldn't really restrain the Purple Mansion Phase Cultivators.
After all, when many are involved, none will be punished.
Could those Golden Core Cultivators really kill all of these dozens of Purple Mansion Phase Cultivators?
Once the forces were dispersed, regrouping them became a difficult task.
Some were so exhausted or severely injured that they voluntarily withdrew from the fight.
Cultivators may all be exceptional warriors, but they are not soldiers.
They find it hard to fight on despite severe injuries just to obey the commands of their superiors.
Perhaps when protecting their own families, they could fight to the death, but under the current circumstances, it definitely was not possible.
And once a number of Cultivators began to retreat, others naturally developed the same idea.
Thus, what should have been a clear opportunity to press the attack and enlarge their victories turned into a retreat.
Upon noticing the dwindling number of friendly Cultivators, some who were still within the Black Dragon Branch Temple Gate even thought their side had been defeated and panic ensued—leading them to desperately flee.
Consequently, many unlucky fellows lost their lives in such confusion!
Fortunately, the four from the Zhou Family did not encounter such misfortune.
After breaking one of the formation bases, Zhou Mingde and the other eight Purple Mansion Phase Cultivators who had made a significant contribution were busy surrounding and killing the four Protectors of the Dragon Transformation Sect, with no intention of pursuing further advantage elsewhere.
After they had slain three of the Protectors, each was already exhausted, so they prepared to rest on the spot to recover their Mana.
But before they could recover and strike again, the sudden change in situation forced them to withdraw from the battlefield as well.
Zhou Chun and the other two retreated from the Black Dragon Branch Temple Gate alongside Zhou Mingde right then.
Because the retreat had been so chaotic, once they arrived at the temporary camp outside, the first thing Taoist Mingjing and other Cultivators from the three major sects did was to gather all the Cultivators and inquire about the reasons for the retreat.
In this investigation, naturally few admitted to retreating willingly; all insisted they had followed the others when they saw them retreating.
Those who had retreated along with others, like the Zhou Family, even pulled their fellow Cultivators into testifying for each other.
So, in the end, they had to rely on those who had remained in the camp to identify who had arrived back first.
This incident inadvertently implicated Zhou Chongshan and Zhou Jiarui!
Luckily, Taoist Mingjing had a good impression of the Zhou Family, and Zhou Chongshan's age, along with the wounds on his body, were there for all to see.
Once he understood the situation and learned that Zhou Mingde's team had breached a formation base, he did not delve deeper into the matter; he even granted a Healing Spirit Pill to Zhou Chongshan.
At that moment, seeing the changing situation on the battlefield below, one of the Jingguo Country's Golden Elixir Cultivators fighting high in the sky took advantage of their superior numbers and immediately sent someone down to inquire about the situation.
Taoist Mingjing dared not conceal anything and instantly relayed the initial findings.
After learning about the situation, that Golden Elixir Cultivator felt both joy and anger, with complicated emotions surging through his heart.
The destruction of the two formation bases meant that the Black Dragon Branch Temple's Guardian Great Formation had incurred a temporary but irreparable defect, which would dramatically aid in capturing the place.
However, the battle that should have capitalized on this opportunity had turned futile due to some of the Family Cultivators' disregard for the bigger picture, and that was infuriating.
But what was done was done, and now the Cultivators of the Dragon Transformation Sect had already redeployed their defenses inside the Black Dragon Branch Temple, while on their own side, morale was suffering due to the inexplicable retreat.
The Golden Elixir Cultivator, despite his annoyance, knew that it was not the time for blame, so he could only order a strict defense of the camp and allow for rest and reorganization.
"Taoist Friend Wang, grieve not too deeply, things have come to this, and you must still take care of yourself!"
Inside the temporary camp, Zhou Chun looked at the pale and numb-faced Wang Zhixiong before him and felt an immense sense of relief.
Thankfully, he hadn't been greedy and insisted on joining Wang Zhixiong and the others in attacking the Purple Mansion Cultivator's cave dwelling; otherwise, his current condition would be hardly better than the other's.
Originally, Wang Zhixiong and his party, though they had exerted considerable effort, ultimately managed to breach the cave dwelling of the Purple Mansion Cultivator, obtaining many benefits in the process.