The Flora forefather was a little upset at the attention. If not for Jiang Chen’s prior performance, he almost wondered whether the young man was intentionally targeting Flora with the statement.
The forefather drew a deep breath. “I will keep an eye out. If the boys from Bluesmoke are at all fishy, I’ll be the first one to hold them accountable.”
The decisiveness behind his declaration was abundantly distinct.
Jiang Chen nodded. “I was only using Bluesmoke as an example. Obviously, they’re not the only suspicious ones. I simply wanted to note the possibility of traitors in our midst. If some of these second and third rate factions start acting up, we’d suffer an equally devastating blow.”
This gentle reminder soothed the Flora forefather’s heart. After all, the young man was speaking from a holistic perspective, for the collective interest of all.
The Radiance forefather nodded. “Daoist Flora, I trust young Jiang Chen’s heart. He doesn’t mean to point any fingers.”
“Indeed, I trust young Jiang Chen as well. It’s because we’ve focused on the offworld battlefield for too long that we’ve neglected issues within our own borders. Last time it was the civil wars, this time, the escaped inmates from the Boundless Prison. It seems that internal strife is at a tipping point.”
“Thank you for the kind words, my fellow daoists. I am hardly so narrow-minded as to believe something so absurd. I have this much insight, at least,” the Flora forefather replied mildly.
“Good. We shouldn’t delay any further. Let us gather the others and ready ourselves to break the formation,” the Eternal forefather concluded.
“Before we do that, I recommend organizing our personnel. We can put the most suspicious factions together and separate them from the others. Even if they wanted to sow discord in our ranks, they won’t have the opportunity to. If they step out of line, their intent to betray us would be obvious.”
“Good advice,” remarked the Radiance forefather.
“Plus, we won’t necessarily be able to isolate all the suspects like this. Therefore, each of us should arrange for some of our best to oversee the crowd in secret. As long as we don’t give ourselves away, any miscreants will expose themselves in due time. We must choose only the most loyal sacred land members for this, of course.” Jiang Chen fleshed out his strategy more and more.
The Eternal forefather’s eyes lit up. All of the young man’s ideas were very applicable to their situation.
“It’s settled, then. Preparation will guarantee our victory!”
The ten forefathers traded furtive looks. They saw only approval in each other’s eyes, in addition to appreciation for the youth’s talent.
Everyone who had come to Sandplain was summoned together.
The ten forefathers didn’t announce their intention to attack the two discovered nodes. As per Jiang Chen’s words earlier, the presence of traitors was a very real concern.
The factions were separated into a number of discrete groups, overseen by select elite members of the sacred lands.
After this was done, Jiang Chen split up the ten forefathers into two groups, aimed at the two nodes.
Shattering the nodes was hardly an easy task, but five divine forefathers had a very good chance of pulling it off.
The vacuum created between the other nodes by the disappearance of one weakened any subsequent attempts by the formation to form a defense, which the gods’ next attack could shred like paper.
Therefore, destroying these two nodes was key to breaking through the Prismatic Convergence Formation.
Jiang Chen was as cautious as could be. He summoned and hid all four of the sacred beasts, maintaining the ability to call on them in time of potential need.
“Get ready, everyone,” the young man transmitted to the two teams of forefathers nearby the nodes. “On your marks… attack!”
The gods used their strongest attacks without hesitation. A dazzling display of scintillating might lit up the horizon.
It had been at least two thousand years since ten forefathers fought under the same sky. The clamor and tumult threatened to flip Sandplain upside down.
The earth underfoot trembled. Even the sacred land cultivators became nervous. They weren’t quite sure whether the Prismatic Convergence Formation was breakable.
The brilliant display overhead though, filled their hearts with anticipation.
Boom, boom, boom!
Under Jiang Chen’s incessant pressing, wave after wave of attacks were launched at the nodes’ locations.
Jiang Chen’s consciousness was cast entirely outward in order to observe the ripples and fluctuations in spirit energy around him. After a few moments, elation crept onto his face. “Everyone,” he urged, “the nodes are weakening. A bit more effort, and they’re done for!”
The ten forefathers were bolstered by his encouragement. No one held any strength back; all their methods and treasures were brought into the open.
A rainbow of color and an earth-rending stream of power blasted upon the two nodes.
Boooom!
Two painfully bright points appeared suddenly where the attacks landed. The two nodes were destroyed almost simultaneously.
Excited, Jiang Chen instructed, “the nodes are broken, and so is the formation. Take care–ready yourselves for any follow-up measures from the enemy. The formation can’t be repaired right away, so don’t rush out just yet. Scout and observe if possible.”
He didn’t let glee get to his head.
The ten forefathers noticed the dampening of the veil upon the appearance of the two points as well. In fact, the barrier was slowly crumbling.
They were unable to hide their enthusiasm. Despite Jiang Chen’s dogmatism earlier, some forefathers were hesitant to fully give credence to his words. And yet, they had managed to break the formation under the youth’s guidance! A thoroughly respectable accomplishment, at least knowledge-wise.
Jiang Chen’s God’s Eye watched the two destroyed nodes like a hawk. The veil was melting away, yes, but – there seemed to be a huge bank of mist and fog rolling in in its place.
