These battles were the best honing opportunities for the sacred beasts. For them, demons were outstanding whetstones that awakened the power of their bloodlines. Their tremendous growth and repeated breakthroughs bore witness to it.
Jiang Chen acquiesced. “In Myriad Abyss, the Flora Sacred Land possesses the most abundant collection of spirit herbs. Though there are some hard feelings between us, I won’t let private disputes get in the way of the bigger picture. Also, if I’m ever to find the Divine Dwelling Grass on Myriad Abyss, it’d most likely be in Flora.”
Before his emergence, Flora had been Myriad Abyss’s uncontested leader when it came to spirit herbs and pills.
The young lord was now a far greater authority in pills, but the sacred land’s expertise with herbs and ingredients was still to be reckoned with.
In fact, it was of greater strategic importance to the war than all its peers, including the Eternal Sacred Land, were one to disregard the latter’s status as the alliance leader.
After being sealed away for two hundred thousand years, resources were what demons lacked most. Therefore, Jiang Chen couldn’t let a treasure trove like Flora fall into their hands.
The Vermilion Bird chuckled gently. “Young lord, I bet our enemies would never expect you to ditch the Eternal Sacred Land and run to Everlasting and Flora instead. The demons in Myriad Abyss must be must be watching their steps right now. The golden demon tribe’s destruction should have put them on notice. It was quite a blow for them!”
Jiang Chen sighed. “That wasn’t the goal. Demons are too ferocious to be cowed for long. It’s impossible to cripple their morale permanently this way. On the contrary, the golden demon tribe’s fate will serve as a warning. They’ll be warier now and won’t fall for the same trick twice.”
He’d gained enormous confidence after the last battle, as well as a deeper insight into the demons’ overall strength.
If all the tribes were of one mind, it would be impossible for the human domain to defeat them, no matter the circumstances.
Unfortunately, such unity was a mere dream for their race. Divergences had always existed.
For example, the golden demons wouldn’t have met with such a dire end if not for Goldenhowl’s selfish desires.
Currently, the various demon tribes acted independently. They occasionally participated in minor joint operations, but never cooperated on a large-scale.
This was a weakness for Jiang Chen to exploit.
Well-known for its rich resources, Flora ranked in the top two among the ten sacred lands. It had been the monster demons’ target at first, but the titan demons had invited themselves to the party afterwards, eager for a share of the prize.
Their presence added to the pressure on Flora, but at the same time, the same old issues resurfaced. Cohesiveness within the same tribe was easy to achieve, but with two tribes present, small conflicts were a daily occurence.
In fact, a massive conflict had arisen between the two tribes, naturally originating from the division of spoils.
LIke the golden demons, titan demons were bloodthirsty and ferocious fighters, while monster demons were adept at transformation. Once they tapped into their bloodlines, the demon energies within would provide an explosive increase in strength.
They were concealment experts, somewhat like shadow demons. Only, the latter concealed their bodies while monster demons hid their bloodlines.
In any case, their tribe was in no shape or form weaker than the titan demons, so they were highly irked by the latter’s intrusion.
The two sides had held many negotiations over countless frictions, big and small.
But they couldn’t come to an agreement on the sharing of the loot. In the end, they had no choice but to ask for arbitration from the celestial demons.
While waiting for the decision, they were to live in harmony and refrain from launching a unilateral attack on Flora. Neither side wanted to let the other tribe act first and get their choice of the spoils.
The preposterous situation gave Flora a fortuitous reprieve. But even if it still held on, chaos prevailed inside. With Forefather Flora busy battling on offworld and no other divine cultivator guarding the fort, any talk of fighting back was a pie in the sky.
They were sheep to the slaughter, waiting for the butcher to arrive, unable to mount the slightest resistance.
From top to bottom, despair reigned over the sacred land.
It might have been possible to solve the impasse if the sacred lands’ forefathers collectively agreed to return. However, given the grim situation offworld, how could they leave so easily? It was an absolute daydream.
They’d used communication formations to ask the other sacred lands for help, but the replies had made their situation all the more grim.
All of the ten great sacred lands were being targeted by the demons. Even if some had a little more leeway than others, the troops a couple sacred lands could muster wouldn’t make the demons even break a sweat. Despite an alliance between the ten sacred lands, it couldn’t provide much in terms of security at this hour.
“First Prime, more and more demons are gathering outside our lands. Nothing but futile death awaits us if we try to resist against two demon tribes. Our only choices are to ask for help or to try to make a getaway,” said an elder grimly.
This prime was surnamed Gao. He’d once participated in the competition of geniuses on Sandplain Island.
“Hmph, we’ve already mustered all the help available. Everyone on Myriad Abyss Island is too busy trying to save their own hide. In our most perilous hour, who else can we count on?”
“Milord, forgive me for being blunt, but why not ask the human domain’s young lord Jiang Chen? Aren’t we allies? They say the demons are shaking in their boots after he’s eliminated a significant force of theirs on Winterdraw.”
“That’s right, this rumor has been circulating for days. I wonder whether it’s true.”
“Pure drivel! The news must come from the Eternal Sacred Land, am I right? They’re simply bragging about their own genius.” Prime Gao didn’t buy a word of it.
“Milord, forgive this unworthy sinner for interrupting, but I might be able to shed some light on this subject. Perhaps we truly should consider asking Jiang Chen.” Unexpectedly, the voice belonged to Master Shi Xuan.
He’d been kept captive for a long time after losing to the young lord, before ultimately being allowed to return. He maintained a low-profile even upon his return, adopting an incredibly humble stance for one who’d once been a leading figure in Flora.
