They rushed to the Sunrise Sacred Land with the greatest speed they could muster. What greeted them was no different from the situation in Radiance.
It was completely empty. Not even the mundane daily necessities had been left behind, let alone anything of value.
âBastards!â Lightford raged.
He didnât care that the two sacred lands had been reclaimed. What troubled him was that the divine cultivators stationed here had disappeared as well.
He needed more of them. Things were looking worse and worse for him in this game of chess. It was an incredible frustration.
Upon reflection, he felt that he hadnât made any wrong moves. His plan at Sandplain was flawless and heâd dispatched his people well, taking over almost every one of the sacred lands.
However, things had gone wrong at Sandplain in a way that he couldnât have predicted. Even now, he still didnât understand how the powerful Prismatic Convergence Formation and the unstoppable mist had failed to trap the ten sacred landsâ elites.
Moreover, how could they have all survived unscathed? It just didnât make any sense.
If itâd been ten of his subordinate divines trapped on the Sandplain Island instead, they wouldnât have been able to escape.
Despite his frustration, he had to face reality. One undesirable outcome had set a domino effect in motion. He was losing control of the situation.
âIs this the ten sacred landsâ doing, master, or the work of those from Eternal?â
âIt must be the ten sacred lands.â
âNot necessarily. Those from Eternal are no simple foes, especially the old bastard An Kasyapa! He keeps popping up against our lord in every way!â
âShut up!â snapped Lightford.
The group fell silent with a shudder.
âPrepare yourselves. We set out for the Void Sacred Land!â Lightford knew they had lost the initiative. If they didnât move fast, there would be nothing left of his people when they arrived.
âMaster, why donât we contact our people through the formation and tell them to lay low?â
That did remind Lightford. He announced, âPass down my orders. Have Void, Abyssal, and Nirvana be on their guard.â
âMaster, Abyssal and Nirvana are likely to have been reclaimed by the ten sacred lands,â someone proposed in a low voice.
âEven so, we have to warn them,â snapped Lightford. âTell them to go into hiding and conserve their strength.â
He regretted underestimating the ten sacred lands. If heâd told his divines to leave their posts and join him earlier, they wouldnât have been killed.
Heâd thought at the time that the ten sacred lands were too important for him to just give up. What a fool heâd been!
A subordinate seemed to read his mood. âYou have to put it behind you, milord,â the man advised. âOnce those from Eternal target a sacred land, it wouldnât have changed anything for our people to leave. They wouldâve been ambushed one way or another. After all, this is Myriad Abyss. Itâs our enemiesâ home turf. Weâd been kept in the Boundless Prison for countless years. We arenât as familiar with the geography here.â
That made Lightford feel a little better.
âYou havenât made the wrong decision, milord,â someone else spoke up. âItâs the right thing to do to have them defend the sacred lands by utilizing the existing defenses. It doesnât seem like Radiance and Sunrise have been through an intense battle. Something isnât right. Perhaps they werenât defeated. Rather...â
âWhat?â Lightfordâs voice turned frigid. âDo you still doubt their loyalty to me?â
âThis subordinate wouldnât dare. Iâm simply suggesting that our enemies may have tricked Yuxian and Panyuan into trusting them.â
Thatâs right.
âThe ten sacred lands are cunning. They must have used a dirty trick.â
âMaster, Void responded!â someone shouted with excitement. âLan Tianhao and Xu Yigu still live! However, they seem to have discovered the enemies. They said that the two divine cultivators sent to Sandplain have requested sanctuary, claiming to be chased down by the ten sacred landsâ elites. Lan Tianhao and Xu Yigu havenât let them in yet.â
âSandplain?â Lightford went over the list of people heâd sent. What a bizarre situation.
Heâd sent six gods. Two died on the island. Two - Yuan Zijing and his companion - had returned. The other two, he hadnât heard from.
âDid they tell you who made the request?â Lightford asked in a cold voice.
âDaoist Teng and Daoist Huang. Theyâve been missing since. Didnât expect them to appear in Void.â
A myriad of emotions flashed through Lightfordâs dark gaze.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up with realization. He snapped, âTell them to be wary of those two men! Theyâve been missing for a long time. They wouldâve shown up already if they wanted to. They wouldnât wait until now. Something isnât right. Either theyâve taken the ten sacred landsâ side, or theyâre imposters!â
He was no fool. He could identify the strangeness after some deliberation.
âAgreed. They were gone for so long. They shouldâve come back a long time ago if they wanted to. Why would they go to the Void Sacred Land? Perhaps theyâre responsible for what happened to Radiance and Sunrise.â
âThat must be it. Have the two bastards truly turned to the ten sacred landsâ side? If thatâs the case, Void is in real danger...â
âSet course the Void Sacred Land!â Lightford announced solemnly. âWe must take down either the ten sacred landsâ elites or Eternalâs members, and we have to do it quickly! We canât allow them to join forces, or that will spell trouble.â
Lightford had a good grasp of the situation. If the two groups succeeded in joining forces, they would be able to overpower him and his people.
Before his experience in Eternal, Lightford hadnât considered the ten sacred lands an obstacle. Heâd thought himself to be unstoppable. But after exchanging blows with the two sacred beasts, his confidence wavered.