The first exchanges at the northern intersection continued while Xuanyin's command post finished consolidating the reports coming in from every side of the eight-o'clock sector. The Second Mixed Legion had already forced the local defenders out of the nearest positions, but the demons had not broken. They were withdrawing northward through successive intersections, using ranged attacks from elevated structures and small defensive formations to slow the coalition without committing enough soldiers to be surrounded. Behind the leading legion, the Sixth Mixed Legion maintained enough depth that the advance could continue without turning the newly secured military district back into the frontline.
Haotian moved with the leading pressure until another wave of abyssal techniques struck the barriers ahead. He did not stop to answer each attack personally, instead allowing the mixed formations to absorb and redirect the pressure while his perception spread farther through the surrounding stronghold. The Dao of the Universe extended beyond the immediate battle and followed the larger concentrations that had begun shifting after the reports from eight o'clock reached the surviving Demon Generals. What he found confirmed that the battlefield was beginning to separate into three meaningful regions.
The strongest nearby pressure remained north of them.
Nine o'clock still contained enough troops to form a serious defensive body, and those forces were already beginning to turn south. Their movement was controlled rather than hurried, with smaller groups advancing first to secure intersections and elevated positions while the heavier formations followed through the roads behind them. They were not abandoning nine to rush blindly at Haotian. They were moving far enough south to stop the coalition before it reached the stronger interior positions farther north.
The second major threat remained around six o'clock.
The damaged front district had not emptied itself to answer eight, but part of its mobile strength had already begun moving northwest through the lower portion of the stronghold. That force would take longer to reach the coalition than the defenders from nine, yet its direction made the larger danger obvious. If the coalition remained near eight long enough, the forces from nine could hold them from the north while the six-o'clock formations came up from below.
Between those two concentrations lay seven o'clock.
Haotian's perception passed through that region with considerably less resistance than he encountered north or southeast. There were still demonic cultivators there, along with surviving defensive structures and smaller local positions, but the manpower was thin. The first assault had already driven clockwise through much of the lower stronghold before breaking the front defenses from behind, and the sectors between the old route and six o'clock had never fully regained the strength once stationed there.
The surviving Demon Generals had reinforced the most obvious danger points after the coalition withdrew. Twelve had received stronger surveillance and more overlapping detection because Haotian had infiltrated there before. Six had retained enough mobile troops to protect the damaged front, while nine remained important because it connected several western and northwestern military routes. Seven had received enough soldiers to avoid becoming empty ground, but not enough to withstand a major coalition thrust.
Haotian drew his perception back toward the command position.
Xuanyin was already studying the same problem through the reports gathered on the map. Umbrel observers had confirmed increased movement north of the coalition, while another report showed the first groups leaving the six-o'clock region. The marked forces around seven were noticeably smaller.
Haotian reached the command depth as Xuanyin shifted one of the northern markers farther south.
"The main force around nine is moving toward us," she said. "The formation from six is moving northwest, but it has farther to travel."
Haotian looked toward the seven-o'clock region on the map. "How much resistance remains between us and six?"
"Not enough to justify sending a legion south," Xuanyin answered. "The local defenders around seven are scattered between several positions. The larger problem will begin when the six-o'clock force reaches them."
"That is what I see as well."
Xuanyin looked from seven toward nine. "If we remain here, the nine-o'clock force reaches us first. Six arrives later and closes the lower side."
Haotian nodded. "Then we do not remain here."
His hand moved across the map from eight toward nine.
"We go north."
The decision did not require a long discussion. The coalition had not entered through eight o'clock simply to establish another static position inside the stronghold. Haotian had chosen the flank because it forced the demons to rotate from stronger sectors after the coalition was already inside, and the best way to exploit that advantage was to move before those rotations could meet.
Xuanyin studied the northern routes again. "The Second Mixed Legion can continue directly from its current position. The Sixth is close enough to follow without changing the entire formation."
"Keep the main body concentrated between them and the later legions," Haotian said. "We are not dividing the army between north and south."
Xuanyin's attention returned to seven. "Someone still has to cover the lower flank. If the six-o'clock force reaches seven without resistance, it can come directly behind the main body."
"I know."
Haotian looked toward the portion of the family positioned farther behind the current fighting.
Xiangyin stood near one of the broader roads with her spear resting diagonally across her body. She had already fought enough during the opening deployment to warm her circulation without expending much cultivation, and the surrounding mixed teams had left enough room around her that she could move without disrupting their spacing. Yanfei remained nearby, Frostfire restrained beneath the surface of her cultivation rather than spreading into the street around her.
Haotian called them both toward the command map.
Neither woman asked why they had been summoned before seeing the route marked south of the coalition. Xiangyin's eyes followed the road from eight toward seven, then farther toward six. Yanfei studied the same route and the damaged sections identified during the previous assault.
Haotian pointed toward seven. "The main coalition is driving north toward nine. I want both of you to take a smaller mixed detachment south and secure seven."
Xiangyin looked at the scattered enemy positions marked there. "How far do you want us to push?"
"Not into six."
The answer came immediately.
Haotian moved his finger only through the seven-o'clock sector. "Clear the remaining defenders from the routes closest to our lower flank. Once seven is secure enough, stop advancing south and prepare for the six-o'clock force."
Yanfei looked toward the marker representing the moving reinforcement. "Do you want us to hold seven after they arrive?"
"No. I want you to delay them."
Haotian shifted several markers northward along the same road. "Make them deploy. Make them fight for the intersections. Force them around damaged routes if you can do it without trapping your own detachment. When their numbers become too large to hold safely, withdraw north in stages and reconnect with us."
Xiangyin understood the distinction immediately. "So our objective is time, not ground."
"Yes."
Yanfei's attention remained on the lower roads. "I can make the damaged approaches harder to use after we cross them. I will leave the roads intact until our people are clear."
"Good. Do not waste Frostfire covering the entire sector. Use it where it slows their movement or protects your withdrawal."
Yanfei nodded.
Haotian looked toward Xiangyin. "You control the contact line. Do not let the detachment remain in one position long enough for the six-o'clock force to surround you."
"I won't."
Xuanyin began identifying which mixed formations could detach without disturbing the northern advance. The group needed enough manpower to clear seven quickly and delay a larger force for a limited period, but taking an entire legion would weaken the main attack for no useful reason. She selected several mixed companies whose current positions placed them close enough to Xiangyin and Yanfei that the separation could occur without forcing units to cross through the whole army.
The detachment remained mixed rather than becoming a collection of specialists.
Blue Sphere cultivators would provide the stable center whenever Xiangyin needed to hold an intersection. Marephoros teams could make the southern force spend more effort crossing ground that would otherwise support a rapid advance, while Veridian cultivators would assess which already damaged routes could be collapsed safely after the detachment passed. Umbrel members would remain far enough ahead and to the sides to warn of bypass attempts, Celestara cultivators would watch elevated and aerial movement, and Pyrelith fighters would provide concentrated force when the enemy compressed into positions worth striking.
None of those roles required the detachment to operate like a separate army.
Its purpose remained temporary.
Once the force from six had been delayed enough, Xiangyin and Yanfei would withdraw north and rejoin Haotian.
Xuanyin finished marking the selected companies. "These formations can separate without opening the main body. They have enough healers for immediate treatment, but serious wounded should be sent back toward eight rather than carried through the withdrawal."
Haotian looked toward Xiangyin and Yanfei. "Keep communication with the command post as long as the routes remain reliable. If that fails, your priority does not change. Delay six and come back north."
Xiangyin rested the base of her spear against the stone. "How much time do you need?"
Haotian looked toward the northern markers rather than giving her an arbitrary number.
"Enough for us to break the first nine-o'clock defensive line before six reaches our rear."
That gave the question a real answer.
Xiangyin nodded once. "Then we will give you that."
Yanfei looked toward the route south. "We should move before their first scouts reach seven."
"Yes."
There was nothing else to discuss.
Xiangyin and Yanfei left the command position together and moved toward the companies Xuanyin had assigned them. Their detachment reorganized around the change quickly because no one had been pulled from the middle of an active line. Officers shifted their teams southward, specialists moved into the places required for the new route, and the entire group began separating from the coalition's lower side without creating an exposed gap behind the Second and Sixth Mixed Legions.
Haotian watched until the first formations turned toward seven.
Xiangyin moved near the front of the detachment without placing herself so far ahead that the mixed teams could not support her. Yanfei stayed close enough to influence the same battlefield while retaining enough distance that Frostfire would not interfere with Xiangyin's spear work. The two women did not need to remain shoulder to shoulder for the assignment to function, but neither would operate beyond the other's supporting range.
The roads toward seven were already quieter than those north of the coalition.
A few demonic observers withdrew after seeing the detachment separate, likely carrying reports toward the remaining local defenders. Xiangyin did not chase them. The enemy would know a coalition force was coming south soon enough, and catching two scouts was less important than reaching the first defensive positions before the six-o'clock reinforcements arrived.
As the southern detachment moved away, Haotian returned his attention north.
The nine-o'clock forces were continuing toward him.
The first southern elements of that army had begun occupying a broad intersection several streets ahead of the Second Mixed Legion. Additional troops were moving into buildings around it, while ranged cultivators took elevated positions and several formation specialists examined intact nodes along the road. They were preparing to turn the intersection into the first serious barrier between eight and nine.
The local defenders already retreating from the coalition were moving toward them.
If those two forces connected cleanly, the demons would gain exactly what Haotian wanted to prevent: a continuous defensive line with enough depth to hold the coalition in place while six approached from below.
He stepped away from the command map.
"Move the Second Mixed Legion forward."
Xuanyin relayed the order immediately.
The leading formations resumed their northward advance before the local demons could complete their withdrawal into the stronger line ahead. Blue Sphere cultivators took the center of the road, while the other members of the mixed teams adjusted around them according to the available space. The Sixth Mixed Legion followed close enough to reinforce any sudden concentration without pressing so tightly behind the Second that both legions lost room to maneuver.
Haotian moved with them.
Lianhua, Yinxue, Yueru, Ziyue, and Shuyue shifted north with the main body. Tianlan followed with his two Frost Rainbow Falcons, while the third remained with the reserves farther behind. Liora and the healers stayed within the protected depth, prepared to move their treatment position only after the advance gained enough ground that the current location became too distant from the fighting.
The first ranged attacks from the nine-o'clock advance elements arrived before the coalition reached the next street.
Celestara cultivators warned the formations below as several abyssal techniques crossed above the buildings. Blue Sphere barriers rose only along the threatened sections instead of covering the entire road, while Marephoros pressure altered the footing beneath teams that needed to shift without breaking formation. The attacks struck hard enough to slow the leading ranks for several breaths, but they did not stop the advance.
Haotian looked beyond them toward the stronger concentration forming farther north.
Nine was coming south.
Six was moving north.
Xiangyin and Yanfei were already turning toward seven between them.
The battlefield had begun taking the shape the surviving Demon Generals wanted.
Haotian intended to break that shape before they could close it around him.
The difference between eight and seven o'clock became clearer within the first several streets.
Xiangyin's detachment encountered evidence of occupation everywhere, but not the density expected from a sector prepared to stop a major attack. Barracks remained in use, formation inscriptions still carried abyssal energy through portions of the road network, and small groups of soldiers moved between defensive positions, yet large sections of the district lacked the layered troop concentrations Haotian had encountered farther north. Several military structures had been emptied recently enough that discarded equipment and partially dismantled supply arrangements remained inside them.
The demons had not abandoned seven. They simply had not rebuilt it as a major defensive sector.
Xiangyin moved at the front of the detachment with several mixed teams spread across the road behind her. Umbrel observers traveled farther ahead without leaving supporting distance, using the quieter side streets and damaged structures to determine where the remaining defenders had concentrated. Celestara cultivators maintained positions above the formation where the surviving rooftops allowed it, while Veridian specialists paid particular attention to the damaged paving and underground routes left by the previous assault.
Yanfei remained several formations behind Xiangyin rather than walking beside her. From there, she could see more of the road network and respond to side approaches without forcing the mixed teams to reorganize around the reach of Xiangyin's spear. Frostfire remained contained around her circulation, ready but not allowed to spread across streets the coalition itself might need during the eventual withdrawal.
The first organized resistance waited at an intersection where two damaged military roads met.
An intact defensive formation had been built around the intersection after the previous assault, but the force occupying it was much smaller than the position had originally been designed to support. Shielded demonic cultivators formed two compact ranks across the main road, ranged fighters occupied the upper floors of a surviving structure on the western side, and several formation specialists maintained an array anchored into four stone posts around the crossing. Another group remained out of sight behind the buildings rather than adding every available soldier to the visible line.
Xiangyin slowed the detachment before entering effective range.
An Umbrel observer returned from the left side and reported quietly to the nearest officer before the information reached her. The hidden group behind the intersection was positioned to move through a side road once the coalition committed to the frontal defense. They did not have enough soldiers to surround the detachment, but they could strike its flank and force the mixed teams to divide attention at the moment the formation array activated.
Xiangyin studied the buildings and then looked toward Yanfei.
"The hidden group is using the western side road," she said. "Can you close it without blocking our northern route?"
Yanfei followed the direction with her perception. "Yes. I only need the mouth of the road."
"Do it after they start moving. Let them commit first."
Yanfei nodded and shifted several steps toward the western side of the formation.
Xiangyin gave the forward teams time to adjust before resuming the advance. Blue Sphere cultivators moved into the first contact layer, while Marephoros fighters spread far enough along the edges to keep the defenders from using the full width of the intersection. Pyrelith remained immediately behind them, waiting for the demonic ranks to compress before using any heavier attacks.
The formation array activated when the detachment entered the final approach.
Abyssal force rose from the four stone posts and stretched between them, creating a shallow field across the intersection rather than a solid wall. The effect pressed against the coalition from several directions at once, disrupting footing and attempting to force cultivators out of alignment before the demons charged. The defensive soldiers moved the moment the field settled over the road.
Blue Sphere cultivators absorbed the first collision.
The front rank bent under the combined physical and formation pressure but did not separate. Marephoros cultivation spread through the ground behind them and countered enough of the shifting force that the second line retained stable footing. The demons attempted to exploit the moment by driving harder into the center.
Xiangyin entered before they could build momentum.
Her spear thrust between two shielded defenders without striking either shield directly. The point reached the cultivator behind them, forcing him to twist away and breaking the alignment of the three-man grouping. Xiangyin stepped into the narrow space created by that movement and turned the spear through a compact arc, catching the inside edge of one shield and throwing its angle outward rather than attempting to overpower the defender holding it.
A Blue Sphere cultivator struck through the opening.
The first demonic rank lost its uniform front.
Xiangyin did not remain in the center trying to defeat every soldier herself. She moved laterally along the coalition line, attacking whichever points allowed the mixed teams to create their own breaches. One thrust forced a heavier cultivator to shift his stance. Another struck the weapon of an officer attempting to restore alignment. Each small disruption gave the fighters behind her room to apply pressure without turning the intersection into a contest between one Lesser Immortal Lord and dozens of weaker opponents.
The hidden demonic group began moving through the western road.
Yanfei had been waiting for exactly that.
She allowed the first several soldiers to enter the narrow section between two damaged buildings before Frostfire spread across the paving behind them. Ice formed first along existing cracks, reaching beneath broken stone and around structural debris rather than covering the entire road in a smooth sheet. Heat followed through the frozen fractures a moment later.
The temperature change tore the already damaged paving apart.
Stone lifted and split beneath the rear of the demonic formation, while Frostfire crawled across one collapsed wall and fused broken debris into an irregular barrier behind them. The soldiers already through the road were not trapped completely, but the group behind them could no longer follow in formation. What had been intended as a coordinated flank became a smaller isolated attack.
Yanfei turned her attention to those who had already crossed.
A wave of cold spread across the ground in front of them, forcing the demons to slow before reaching the mixed detachment's exposed side. Celestara cultivators above spotted the change and descended from the nearby rooftops, striking the isolated group while they were still trying to decide whether to continue forward or retreat through the damaged road.
The frontal defenders lost the timing they had expected from the flank.