The Vermilion Bird wasnât putting up a defense all by its lonesome. The Black Tortoise had made its move as well, and Divine Kasyapa had deployed the two mysterious leaves.
Once the birdâs waves of heat dissipated, the Black Tortoiseâ defensive shock wave churned toward Lightford. On the defensive side alone, the tortoise was undeniably the better of the two.
The rippling shock wave brought with it a great force of gravity. Once Lightford was caught, his body would become heavier, reducing his mobility.
Gravity manipulation wasnât easy to deal with.
Lightford huffed and whipped the long sleeves of his white robe, ready to knock the shock wave aside like heâd done with the heat wave. As soon as he made contact though, he knew something was wrong.
The arm he used grew slightly rigid.
He was experienced and knowledgeable enough to realize heâd made a mistake. He backed away at lightning speed, trying to dodge the spreading ripples of gravity.
Suddenly, Kasyapaâs green leaves charged at Lightford like a gaping mouth.
Lightford punched them furiously. The hit created a black hole in the air, crashing into the leaves with tremendous force.
However, the leaves were flexible. They snapped together and flew away unscathed.
Lightford immediately recognized the leaves as Kasyapaâs personal treasure.
âYouâve chosen hell over an easy way out, An Kasyapa! I spared you back in the Boundless Prison because I appreciated your talent, but now it seems you donât deserve my mercy!â
An Kashyapa scoffed, âDoes your mercy mean a chance to be your lapdog?â
âHmph, and is that honestly beneath you?â Lightford continued to back away and finally moved out of the gravity waveâs range of effect.
His striking eyes lit up with a deep glow as he looked into the distance. The gravity manipulation had deeply shocked him. He knew heâd met his match.
Lightford hadnât met the Vermilion Bird himself, but according to the intelligence heâd received, he speculated that the bird was responsible for the heat waves.
He also recognized the two leaves as An Kasyapaâs doing.
The gravity manipulation, however, was an unknown quantity. Whoever the deployer was, their defensive power had exceeded even the Vermilion Bird and An Kasyapa.
Since when had Eternal boasted such a powerful member? Could it be the forefather?
It couldnât be. Eternalâs forefather hadnât returned to the sacred land yet and didnât specialize in defense. Lightford had gathered enough information to come to that conclusion.
Had he not been stopped, he wouldnât have doubted himself. However, the strong resistance left him with no choice but to calm down.
Recalling that his two enforcers had died here made him wary. A being powerful enough to kill his two enforcers wouldnât be that much inferior to him, even if it couldnât rival him.
âHmph, so Iâve underestimated the Eternal Sacred Land. Three divine beings. How impressive.â Lightford remarked in a distant tone. âWho is your other helper in addition to the Vermilion Bird, An Kasyapa? Why the secrecy?ân/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
An Kasyapa laughed heartily. âArenât you the fearless Lightford? What, do you know fear now?â
âFear?â Lightford huffed derisively. âDo you think the combined power of three divine beings is enough to intimidate me? How naive of you!â
âIf you arenât intimidated, then whatâs with all the questions? Donât you want to leave something to the imagination?â An Kasyapa wasnât going to let Lightford direct the conversation.
The more he kept Lightford on his toes and doubting himself, the more reservations he would have. That would prevent Lightford from deploying his full battle strength.
After some consideration, Lightford transmitted to his two divine helpers, âContinue to attack from the sides, Iâll take the center. As long as you attract some of their attention, Iâll be able to break their defenses.â
It was too difficult for him to fight three divine beings all at once. Even if he could do it, itâd take too long.
Fortunately, heâd brought two divine cultivators with him. Having just fled from Sandplain, they were eager to redeem themselves. This was where they could be useful.
As soon as Lightford gave the order, the two men attacked relentlessly from the flanks.
Although Eternalâs defensive formation had been through many battles, its foundations remained intact. It could withstand the attacks of regular divine cultivators like them for some time.
If they were allowed to continue, however, the foundations would be eventually damaged and the formation might collapse.
Jiang Chen summoned all of the demigods in the sacred land, including Kasyapaâs four servants and the two primes.
âWe have to work together as a team, everyone. Our three gods must focus on fighting Lightford. We have to take care of his two lackeys.â
The servant nicknamed First Wind had fought Jiang Chen before. He knew the young lord was powerful enough to rival a first level divine.
âGive your orders, young lord Chen. Itâs our honor to fight the divines alongside you.â
âThatâs right. Our master holds you in high regard. The four of us are fortunate to fight with you.â
Jiang Chenâs expression turned serious. âLightford is running out of manpower, or he wouldnât have brought only two divine cultivators with him. As soon as we take care of one of them, the other will lose his will to fight. We may not even need to do anything to him then.â
âHaha, then letâs do it!â First Wind shook his fist, his eyes blazing with fighting spirit.
âIâll set up some traps to lure them in,â said Jiang Chen. âOur best strategy is to divide and conquer. Your responsibility is to keep one of them occupied, giving me a chance to catch them off guard.â
Jiang Chen knew the servants and the primes were enough to overpower one divine cultivator.
If they failed to separate the two divines, the best case scenario would be a draw.
The two cultivators were oblivious to the impending danger.
In their eyes, since their master had attracted the attention of Eternalâs divine realm members, their job was to destroy the sacred land quickly, slaughtering everyone and taking everything.