The ten forefathers tensed and exchanged a glance, reaching an understanding. Jiang Chen had gone above and beyond, doing what they shouldâve done and resolving concerns that shouldâve been their responsibilities.
It was only right for them to display their might for the coming battle.
Eternalâs forefather boomed, âJiang Chen is right, fellow daoists. Battles like these are won by the bold! We must exert our dominance over them. I believe that the ten sacred lands are able to defeat any foe on this continent. As long as they arenât bandits from outside this world, we are guaranteed to win. Once we do, their confidence will suffer a serious blow.â
âYouâre right. Cultivators escaped from the Boundless Prison may be ambitious, but theyâre but a disparate group. Although theyâve banded together in the short term, they arenât going to work together as well as we do. As long as we catch them off guard and kill a couple of their strongest fighters, the group will disperse.â
It was a rare occasion in which the forefathers reach a consensus.
Their eagerness to fight reassured Jiang Chen. If the forefathers were willing to do their best in the fight, they had a ninety percent chance of winning.
After all, even though the enemies had set up an ambush at the exit, they wouldnât expect the sacred lands to travel by sea and come from below them.
If the sacred lands launched a surprise attack when the enemies were prepared, their odds would be even better.
The Black Tortoise contacted Jiang Chen through consciousness again. âYoung master Chen, the exit is less than a hundred miles away, close enough for my consciousness to scan. There seems to be a formation there and seven divine cultivators awaiting us. There are also a good number of demigods. Thatâs not a lot, but with the formation, they should have the power to defeat you.â
Jiang Chen responded, âIf we rush out blindly from the mist, weâll be easily defeated in the chaos. Now they are the ones in the dark. I believe weâll be able to catch them by surprise.â
âAlright, but donât underestimate the enemies. I agreed to transport them to the exit, young master Chen, but I didnât agree to fight for them.â The Black Tortoise emphasized its point.
Jiang Chen smiled. âDonât worry. I donât plan to ask you to do anything. The forefathers of the ten sacred lands should be able to win this battle themselves. If they lose even after we take them to the exit, Iâll be gravely disappointed by the so-called greatest of Myriad Abyss.â
They were getting closer and closer to the exit.
The Black Tortoise traveled the last tens of miles at full speed, its enormous body bringing up long tails of white waves. It continued to accelerate faster and faster.
Meanwhile, a group of cultivators were gathered at the mouth of the Sandplain secret realm. They were beginning to have doubts.
According to their estimation, the ten sacred lands shouldâve made a move already. However, none of the scouts and ambushes at the front had noticed anything.
Theyâd remained at the back defending the last post and hadnât received any warnings either.
âAre they really that patient? Are they staying in the mist, refusing to come out?â
âHmph, thatâs good news for us. Theyâll slowly die on the island. Isnât that what we want the most?â
âIt is. However, if they muster the courage to make a break for it, they may have a chance to succeed. Even though weâll be waiting for them, weâll suffer great casualties as well.â
âHaha, what a shame that the ten sacred lands consist of a bunch of cowards!â These were the optimists of the group.
Among them was a yellow-browed cultivator with a strange, green lightning mark on his forehead. He seemed to be a leading figure of the cultivators. His expression was grave. Clearly he wasnât as optimistic.
âWhy the sour face, fellow daoist? Weâve set up a series of traps, catching them by surprise. Even if theyâre the ten sacred lands, what can they do?â
âThatâs right. Thereâs infighting among the ten sacred lands. Their lack of solidarity is their biggest weakness.â
âThey suspect each other and canât work together. No one can make decisions for everyone. At a critical moment, theyâll be averse to any conflicts. Donât worry too much, fellow daoist.â
The yellow-browed cultivator said coolly, âYou sure are optimistic. However, our spies had been supplying us with information until half an hour ago. Now, theyâve gone silent. Donât you find that suspicious?â
âWhatâs suspicious about that? The ten sacred lands are no fools. They may have tightened their control in case there are any traitors. Itâll be more difficult for our spies to send us messages.â
âThatâs for certain. However, we planted so many spies. They couldnât have all failed to send us anything, could they?â
âWhat are you suggesting, fellow daoist?â
âCould the ten sacred lands have identified all the spies in such a short time? Thatâs impossible.â
It wasnât possible to pick out all the spies from tens of thousands of people. Many of them were under deep cover. They wouldnât be suspected.
The yellow-browed cultivator didnât have an explanation either. As a powerful cultivator, he had strong instincts. He had a feeling that something fishy was going on.
As for what had gone wrong, he couldnât figure that out despite his cleverness.
âFocus and donât underestimate our enemies,â he emphasized. âThe ten sacred lands have been able to rule over Myriad Abyss for so long because of their foundations. If we underestimate them, we may fail no matter how good our plan is.â
âHaha, donât worry, fellow daoist. Weâve divided into two groups to earn our glory. If Master Lightford occupies the ten sacred lands and we strike a blow against them at the same time, Myriad Abyss will be ours.â
The yellow-browed cultivator countered coldly, âItâs easy for you to say, but if we underestimate them because of that, we may be the ones paying the price.â
âHaha, youâve been talking our enemies up and raining on our parade, fellow daoist,â someone jeered sarcastically. âOne might suspect you of wanting to switch to the ten sacred landsâ side.â
The yellow-browed cultivatorâs face clouded as he shot the person a glare. âSince youâre all so optimistic, Iâll leave you to it. However, donât blame me for not warning you when you suffer defeat.â
Suddenly, he looked into the distant sea.