Just a few days later, a shocking piece of news spread across the Yunhuang Continent: the Moon Sect and the Xi Yue Sect, one in the south and the other in the north, announced an alliance, establishing the Double Moon Alliance.

The Northern Desert had already been pacified by the Xi Yue Sect, so there wasn't much of a reaction there. The Eastern Sea Islands, having been forewarned by Yuan Ming, experienced some minor discontent but, in the end, nothing substantial arose.

The most significantly affected areas were, of course, the Central Plains and the Southern Border.

How could they not understand the implications of the Double Moon Alliance? They all felt that just as the Yunhuang Continent had returned to calm, the winds of change were stirring up once again, bringing with them ominous undertones.

The situation in the Southern Border was particularly complex. There were great differences between the North Territory and the Southern Domain, and significant internal divergences within each sect. Some sought to align with the Central Plains and request assistance from the Chang Chun Temple, while others were secretly making contact with the Double Moon Alliance.

There were also some sects who sat on the fence, watching from the sidelines, waiting to see which way the wind would blow.

However, what was unexpected was that in the time immediately following its establishment, the Double Moon Alliance made no significant moves. They appeared to have formed an alliance and nothing more, leading some naive sects to believe that stability had been restored.

After Ancestor Ming Quan was expelled from the East Sea by Yuan Ming and returned to his sect, the Chang Chun Temple was already aware that they couldn't coexist peacefully with the alliance. Naturally, they took advantage of this time to actively prepare for war.

However, it wasn't long before Chang Chun Temple's aggressive expansion provoked strong dissatisfaction among Central Plains cultivators.

They went from initially persuading gently to later employing both threats and inducements and finally to forcefully annexing other sects, their methods becoming increasingly aggressive. As their strength gradually recovered, their reputation started to crumble bit by bit.

Apart from the increasing strength of Chang Chun Temple, which led some to hubris, a major contributing factor was the spies the Double Moon Alliance had planted, who covertly spread rumors.

A few months later, not only did everyone in the Central Plains feel threatened, but those sects in the Southern Border that had initially intended to seek refuge with Chang Chun Temple also changed their minds and started secretly contacting the Double Moon Alliance.

It wasn't until a swordsmanship sect in the southern part of the Central Plains, near the Southern Border, unhappy about being forcibly annexed by Chang Chun Temple, rose up in resistance to no avail and was directly exterminated, that the loathing for Chang Chun Temple reached its peak among the various sects of the Central Plains.

By the time Chang Chun Temple realized it needed to slow down and adopt a more conciliatory policy, it was already too late.

Negative news about Chang Chun Temple began to surge simultaneously from the Central Plains, the Southern Border, the Northern Desert, and the East Sea. Not only within the mountainous Cultivation Sects but even in mundane marketplaces, storytellers spread tales of disasters like the "swordsmanship sect extermination case."

Among these circulating stories, some were true and others fabricated, but they spread at an astonishing rate, soon sweeping across the entire Yunhuang Continent.

Only then did the Double Moon Alliance issue a manifesto "Denouncing Chang Chun Temple," which listed in detail the various acts of extortion and tyranny by Chang Chun Temple. It pointed out their incompetence in dealing with the previous Wu Yue Sect incident and called for heroes of the world to join in the pursuit.

Meanwhile, the deeds of Yuan Ming and Xi Ying, as the leaders of the Double Moon Alliance who had eradicated the Wu Yue God and the bloodthirsty members of the Demon Clan, turned the tide by destroying the Breaking Realm Transfer Array, and saved the Yunhuang Continent, also began to spread quietly.

Suddenly, the prestige of the Double Moon Alliance reached its peak, while Chang Chun Temple's reputation plummeted to the bottom.

Only then did the belatedly aware Chang Chun Temple remember to maintain its advantage in the propaganda battle, thus they began to propagate widely that the Double Moon Alliance was an evil cult just like the Wu Yue Sect, and that their ultimate goal was to destroy the entire Yunhuang Continent.

However, due to their previous transgressions which had incited widespread outrage, and considering the achievements of the Moon Sect in thwarting the Wu Yue Sect's conspiracies, such slander was not believed by many.

Even before the start of formal hostilities, numerous small sects in the Northern Central Plains had already aligned with the Double Moon Alliance.

Xi Ying's strategic steps were very stable, and initially, she did not force these sects to change their allegiances. They were allowed to keep their identity, and not only were they provided with substantial material support, but they were also offered access to some of the exquisite Cultivation Methods previously belonging to the Wu Yue Sect.

At first, these sects were apprehensive, fearing hidden agendas, but after some time of interaction, they realized that the Double Moon Alliance wasn't demanding anything from them.

After a while, Xi Ying would even personally give lectures on the Dao, helping them resolve issues with their cultivation practices.

Gradually, the cultivators of these sects began to practice alongside the disciples of the Double Moon Alliance, to pray together, and without even realizing it, they converted to followers of the Ming Yue God and Xi Yue God.

When the true battle began, these very individuals became the most zealous fighters.

This was not because Xi Ying had used some Divine Soul technique to control them, but rather because she had set more precious elixirs and Magic Treasures, as well as more advanced Cultivation Methods, as rewards for military exploits.

By distinguishing themselves in the campaign, they could exchange their feats for treasures that had once been beyond their reach.

Among them, the "Blood Origin Pill" refined by the Double Moon Alliance was the most renowned, as it could greatly enhance a cultivator's Qi-Blood Power, making it especially precious to Body Cultivation practitioners.

Many cultivators, eager to obtain this limited-supply "Blood Origin Pill," fought fiercely in battle.

While military progress in the north was smooth, it was relatively slower in the south.

Because the principal military forces of the Double Moon Alliance in the south were the people of the Eastern Sea Islands, who had to cross the Southern Border to enter the Central Plains.

The strategy Xi Ying devised for the Southern Border involved negotiations with an aim to collect adherents as much as possible and, if necessary, conquest by force.

The initial pushes were indeed not as smooth as Xi Ying had predicted, with many Southern Border sects even reluctant to allow troops of the Moon Sect to pass through on their way north.

Wulu, following Yuan Ming's instruction to avoid unnecessary killings, did not expect that a few mid-sized sects, having received promises from Chang Chun Temple, would take the initiative to ambush them.

The results were of course that they were sent fleeing in defeat, with none left alive.

To establish his authority, Wulu led his men to thoroughly slaughter all the high-ranking cultivators within the ancestral halls of those sects, effectively intimidating any other sect that was still harboring petty schemes.

At the same time, news from the Northern Desert also reached the Southern Border. Stimulated by those favorable policies, sects began to send envoys to inquire proactively.

Aware of the importance of both benevolence and severity, Wulu also began to implement various rewarding measures.

Within just a few months, all the troubles of the Southern Border had been smoothed out.

During this process, Yuan Ming didn't even make an appearance, as everything proceeded as smoothly as a boat sailing downstream.

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Initially, Yuan Ming paid close attention to the changes in the situation, but as he found that the entire process unfolded without deviation from Xi Ying's prior analysis, he continued his cultivation in retreat with peace of mind.

Time flew by, and another three months passed.

In the depths of winter, the vast snow sealed the mountains. The mountain range where Chang Chun Temple was located was enveloped within a thousand li, covered in pure white.

The northern and southern armies of the Double Moon Alliance victoriously joined forces outside the Da Jin Capital, beginning to gather, and preparing to launch the final general offensive against Chang Chun Temple.

After nearly half a year of campaigning, the fighting strength of the Double Moon Alliance had not diminished but instead increased. Those sects that joined earliest had voluntarily renounced their original titles without force and took great pride in being part of the Double Moon Alliance.

Before the final battle, Xi Ying led a group of cultivators into the Da Jin Capital.

The city had regained some of its vitality after more than twenty years of recuperation, but with nearly the entire city slaughtered back then, although most of the deceased souls had been taken away by the Wu Yue Sect, many stranded ghosts and wandering spirits remained.

To this day, the entire city still lay shrouded in deathly stillness, with a heavy yin energy that was difficult to dissolve.

The once Da Jin Crown Prince had ascended the throne as the new Emperor, with all the civil and military ministers urging him to move the capital elsewhere, but he, still youthful at the time, firmly vetoed the idea.

He steadfastly believed that neither his father nor his grandfather had abandoned this capital city. Now that the calamity of the Wu Yue Sect had passed, it was even less likely for him to give it up.

Alas, after the calamity of the Wu Yue Sect, the strength of Da Jin plummeted sharply, and parts of the territory had been annexed by foreign states.

They had sought help from their allies at Chang Chun Temple, but unfortunately, the temple, busy restoring its strength, had been unable to spare the attention, let alone conduct a spiritual rite for the countless solitary souls of the Da Jin Capital.

The reason Xi Ying led people into the city this time was for this very matter.

After negotiating with the Da Jin Court, they jointly held a massive Luotian Da Jiao ceremony at the Heavenly Altar of the Da Jin ancestral temple, liberating the remaining souls in the city.

The instant the Luotian Da Jiao ceremony was completed, a refreshing breeze swept through every corner of the city, seemingly purifying every trace of gloom and filth.

While the residents in the city could not see the heavenly phenomenon, they could feel the air around them became fresher, and the dark clouds that had long lingered over the city seemed to dissipate and fade away.

The Da Jin Royal Family, initially anxious, eventually felt overwhelmingly grateful. Emperor Jin himself led the civil and military ministers to respectfully escort Xi Ying and the others out of the city.

In fact, this was not the first time the Double Moon Alliance had done such a thing.

They had held a liberating spiritual ceremony in every city they passed that had suffered the calamity of slaughter, regardless of whether any people were still alive there.

After leaving behind some cultivators proficient in formations to help repair and strengthen the city's defensive arrays, the army once again set out, heading straight for Chang Chun Temple.

After several failed attempts at interception, Chang Chun Temple had no choice but to fall back and defend within its sect.

The sects they had contacted and enticed either excused themselves from aiding at the last moment or turned against them in battle. In the end, only Chang Chun Temple was left in solitary opposition against the increasingly powerful Double Moon Alliance.

Outside Chang Chun Temple, Tian Jizi stood suspended in the air with a host of elders behind him.

The massive and complicated Sect Protection Array had long been activated. The repaired and enhanced array, capable of both attack and defense, safeguarded the entire sect like an iron bastion.

Even at this point, the cultivators of Chang Chun Temple still firmly believed that under the leadership of Tian Jizi, a mighty cultivator in the Returning to Void Stage, with the backing of the Great Sect Array, they would be able to turn defeat into victory, thoroughly vanquishing the Double Moon Alliance.

The ensuing battle lasted for six days and seven nights, with its ferocity comparable to the previous decisive battle against the Wu Yue Sect.

Xi Ying called upon some unknown method to summon Vajra and Hua Zhi to aid her in battle. She, along with the two of them and Wulu, joined forces in assaulting Tian Jizi.

It took six whole days to wear Tian Jizi down until he died in exhaustion.

His soul was captured by the Soul Suppressing Kettle, while his body was sealed within the Blood Puppet Armor.

Perhaps it was only in this moment that he realized he had made a mistake he should not have made. He and Chang Chun Temple could have chosen a better path, but momentarily blinded by desire, they lost their true nature and committed a grave error.