The other Body Integration cultivators who heard these words were not particularly surprised, and the majority of them nodded in strong agreement.
And so, with the assistance of several Heavenly Abyss City elders, the silver-haired elder swiftly dispatched a number of tasks. More than half of the human and monster race cultivators present would be sent out of the city to continue hunting down the remnants of the demon race still lurking within the territory previously controlled by Heavenly Abyss City.
Another portion would remain behind in the city, tasked with repairing all damaged formations and defensive restrictions as quickly as possible.
The most important matter, of course, was to send a separate team to immediately destroy the Demon Realm passage "nodes" in the surrounding area. This way, even if the demon race dispatched reinforcements, they would be unable to descend near Heavenly Abyss City.
Since all of these matters were of the utmost urgency, the moment the assignments were distributed, everyone present took their leave and departed to carry out their respective tasks.
In the blink of an eye, only the silver-haired elder and an old man surnamed Cui — known as "Old Man Cui" — remained in the great hall.
This elder was one of the envoys dispatched from Holy Island. He had held a lengthy secret discussion with the silver-haired elder in the main hall before drifting away gracefully.
After the discussion, the silver-haired elder's face was filled with joy, as though he had received some good news from the old man.
Before long, through the tireless efforts of the many Body Integration cultivators dispatched by Heavenly Abyss City, yet another batch of demon race stragglers that had been lingering in the vicinity was surrounded and annihilated.
The remaining demons, however, were led by several demon race lords and slowly withdrew from the Heavenly Abyss City territory, retreating toward several other demon armies stationed in adjacent regions.
Under these circumstances, the pursuit forces from Heavenly Abyss City naturally dared not press the chase any further. They set up numerous outposts along the border and then returned to the city.
With that, the great battle of Heavenly Abyss City finally came to a true close.
Throughout the entire war, the human and monster races ultimately achieved a great victory, but their defensive forces had been destroyed by more than a third. Several Body Integration elders had also perished unexpectedly during the battle, and the casualties among those below the Void Refining stage were simply too numerous to count.
Nevertheless, they had managed to repel the demon race army and even kill far more demons than they had lost — the first great victory since the demon calamity had begun. It was believed that this would provide an enormous boost to the morale of both races, with significance that could prove decisive.
Of course, the victory at Heavenly Abyss City did not mean that the two races had truly gained the upper hand in the demon calamity. On the contrary, other strongholds across various regions were also facing the threat of encirclement by demon race armies.
Whether those strongholds could also turn the tide — only the heavens knew.
In light of this, now that Heavenly Abyss City had achieved its great victory and driven the demon race out of its controlled territory, a large number of rogue cultivators and remnant forces from various sects and clan families once again emerged from the land and flocked to join Heavenly Abyss City.
Even from the adjacent territories still under demon control, a great many rogue cultivators and smaller powers were willing to take the risk and flee into the Heavenly Abyss City region.
In this way, the manpower lost by Heavenly Abyss City was easily replenished. It was believed that in time, even if the demon race army returned in force, Heavenly Abyss City would have the strength to fight once more.
And so, everything in Heavenly Abyss City was recovering rapidly, desperately stockpiling every available resource.
Time flew like a shuttle, and a year passed in the blink of an eye.
On this particular day, an unusual visitor arrived at the stone tower where Han Li resided. Upon hearing the news, Hai Dashao and Qi Lingzi were startled and hurriedly ushered the guest into the top-floor great hall.
The moment this person sat down in the hall, he addressed Qi Lingzi directly and without the slightest courtesy:
"I've come to see your master on a matter of great urgency. Announce my arrival."
"Senior, my master is currently in seclusion and has long since instructed that he is not to receive any visitors." Though Qi Lingzi felt a measure of unease, he still answered honestly.
"That's fine. I had a prior arrangement with your master. Just announce me — Fellow Daoist Han won't blame you for it." The man's expression was cold and indifferent, showing no concern.
"In that case, this junior will give it a try!" After a brief hesitation, Qi Lingzi recognized that the person before him was no ordinary Body Integration cultivator and steeled himself to agree.
He then flipped his palm, and a voice transmission talisman materialized in his hand. Lowering his head, he spoke a few words into the talisman before releasing it into the air.
...
In the secret chamber at the base of the stone tower, Han Li — who had not moved a single inch since the day he entered seclusion — suddenly had a flash of golden light ripple across his body, and his tightly closed eyes slowly opened.
His gaze shone with sharp light, clearly indicating that most of his vital essence had been restored.