Ji Ning continued his search for the Sithe throughout the Great Dark, his heart filled with sorrow and anxiety.
"Green Bamboo… there's nothing your master can do. I cannot save you. You have to escape. You have to," Ning murmured to himself.
With no Autarch nearby to render assistance, it was all-but guaranteed that the 'Hiddencloud battlefront' which Yang Quding was located in would be overwhelmed. When this happened, the Hegemons and Emperors wouldn't be so foolish as to just fight to the bitter end. Once they knew that they were going to lose and that no help was forthcoming, they would begin to flee and focus on keeping themselves alive.
However, the Sithe had many Hegemons and even more treasures. The fleeing cultivator Hegemons would scatter in every direction, but they would be hunted down one-by-one. The number of Hegemons who managed to successfully escape could be counted on one hand, and in some cases none would escape.