Chapter 1459: Subspace Defense

This was a vast expanse of ocean, with boundless seawater filling the view. Immense islands floated in the sea like colossal turtles, and the sky was ablaze with flowing colors, creating a magnificent and vibrant spectacle.

At this moment, Zhou Yuan, Grand Elder Wanzu, and Grand Elder Zixiao stood side by side at the highest point of one of these islands.

Before them, a screen of Genesis Qi had formed, appearing like a net. Within it, numerous light points flickered, each representing a sub-space. These sub-spaces were interconnected, resembling a complex spiderweb.

"This sub-space encompasses many of the main routes near the Cangxuan Heaven. If the Saint Race invades, they will undoubtedly use these sub-spaces as stepping stones."

"Therefore, this sub-space region will be our defensive stronghold. I suggest we divide into three teams, with each of us leading one."

It was Grand Elder Zixiao who spoke. After all, Zhou Yuan and Grand Elder Wanzu weren't on good terms, and it would be inappropriate for either of them to make these decisions. Thus, entrusting the task to the neutral Grand Elder Zixiao was most suitable.

Grand Elder Zixiao's slender finger traced a line, and three distinct regions were delineated on the light screen, each marked with the names of the three individuals.

"I've completed the division of the defensive zones. What do you think?"

Zhou Yuan and Grand Elder Wanzu exchanged glances and both nodded indifferently.

"Since there are no objections, we'll proceed with this division." Grand Elder Zixiao's expression became solemn as she said, "Also, I must emphasize that if any members of the Saint Race are discovered in these sub-spaces, we must immediately eliminate or expel them. These are advance scouting parties; their purpose is to establish spatial anchor points. Once they lock onto a sub-space, their main forces will have spatial coordinates and can directly perform spatial displacement. At that point, the Saint Race will surge in like a tide."

"Therefore, if it appears that a sub-space is about to fall, destroy it as much as possible. This will significantly delay their advance."

Zhou Yuan listened intently to Grand Elder Zixiao's words, his gaze sharpening slightly as he said, "From what I understand, if we can't directly stop their advance, then their approach to the All-Heavens seems to be only a matter of time."

The Saint Race's overall strength was superior to that of the All-Heavens. They had chosen a strategy of steady advancement, and if the All-Heavens couldn't directly crush them, it would only delay their approach but not fully resolve the problem, as their arrival would ultimately be inevitable.

Directly crushing them, however, was too difficult. The disparity in strength between the two sides could not be easily ignored. Even though the Saint Race had lost two Ancient Venerables this time, their top-tier power still vastly surpassed that of the All-Heavens. Furthermore, beyond their peak strength, the Saint Race held the advantage in competitions at every other level.

Previously, the All-Heavens could disregard the Saint Race's covetous gaze because of the existence of the Primal Chaos Saint Extermination Grand Formation. However, now that the Saint Race had bypassed the All-Heavens' World Barrier using sub-spaces, the Grand Formation was rendered somewhat useless.

"Originally, there were countless sub-spaces between the Four Saint Heavens and the All-Heavens. Even the most complex labyrinths in the world would pale in comparison. Under normal circumstances, it would be highly unlikely for the Saint Race, even after exhausting thousands of years, to traverse those innumerable sub-spaces to approach the All-Heavens. After all, even Saints would gradually lose themselves in those endless sub-spaces; it was fundamentally an impossible path to open."

"Yet, they have now approached the All-Heavens in just a few months. According to the three Ancient Venerables, this must be the doing of the Sacred God. Only He could guide a path through those countless sub-spaces, and this guidance has saved the Saint Race a tremendous amount of time."

A solemn expression settled on Grand Elder Zixiao's beautiful face. She said, "Because of this, the All-Heavens are inevitably at a disadvantage. Our defensive layers outside the All-Heavens are not meant to completely halt the Saint Race's advance; what we need to do is buy as much time as possible."

At this point, she glanced at Zhou Yuan, hesitated for a moment, and then continued, "We need to delay them until the Third God awakens. As long as the Third God can awaken in time, these Saint Race invasions will pose no threat whatsoever."

Zhou Yuan's hand, hidden in his sleeve, trembled slightly. His eyelids lowered, and his face remained expressionless.

"There's no definite timeline for her awakening," he murmured.

Grand Elder Zixiao sighed softly and said, "The Saint Race has likely guessed this, which is why they intend to invade extensively while the Third God is sealed, aiming to weaken the All-Heavens' power as much as possible."

"We have no other choice but to delay the Saint Race's advance as much as possible. If, in the end, the Saint Race enters the All-Heavens before the Third God has fully awakened, then perhaps we will choose to sacrifice a part to save the whole."

"What does that mean?" Zhou Yuan's heart trembled slightly.

Grand Elder Wanzu said indifferently, "It means that if Cangxuan Heaven proves indefensible when the time comes, we will evacuate as many of its inhabitants as possible, and the Third God must also be moved away."

Zhou Yuan's expression darkened. He said, "Are you planning to abandon Cangxuan Heaven directly?"

Grand Elder Zixiao quickly said, "That's the worst-case scenario, Zhou Yuan. This isn't targeting anyone. If it were Hunyuan Heaven that was breached instead of Cangxuan Heaven, the same decision would be made."

Zhou Yuan's expression remained grim. Among the All-Heavens, Cangxuan Heaven was the weakest. Although the Return to Nothingness Divine Hall had sent Grand Elder Zixiao and others to assist, it had to be said that compared to other defensive lines, this region was indeed the weakest.

Therefore, the danger level for Cangxuan Heaven was the highest. Of course, one slight advantage they currently had was that even the Saint Race would likely be unable to precisely pinpoint locations while traversing sub-spaces, only able to repeatedly probe. This would undoubtedly give them a considerable amount of buffer time.

Zhou Yuan took a deep breath, calming his surging emotions. He asked, "Have the other All-Heavens' defensive perimeters started to detect traces of the Saint Race?"

"Not yet," Grand Elder Zixiao shook her head, "but the three Ancient Venerables previously sensed that the Saint Race's scouting forces shouldn't be too far off."

"Understood." Zhou Yuan nodded, his grim expression having returned to normal. He knew that the Return to Nothingness Divine Hall's actions couldn't be blamed on anyone. If the Saint Race truly bypassed the Primal Chaos Saint Extermination Grand Formation and entered Cangxuan Heaven directly, a large-scale retreat would be the most rational choice at that point. After all, retreating would still buy time for Yaoyao's awakening.

"We'll go deploy our defenses now. You should prepare your side as quickly as possible." Seeing this, Grand Elder Zixiao said no more. With a turn of her body, she vanished into thin air.

Grand Elder Wanzu also departed, his expression indifferent.

Zhou Yuan remained standing, gazing at the flickering light points in the Genesis Qi screen before him. He remained silent for a long time, finally turning to look at Zhuan Zhu, who had appeared behind him at some point. He offered a strained smile and said, "Senior Brother, inform the others. Let's prepare our defenses."

Zhuan Zhu nodded. He walked up to Zhou Yuan, patted his shoulder, and said, "Don't worry. It won't be so easy for the Saint Race to break into Cangxuan Heaven."

Zhou Yuan gave a wry smile. "One can only hope so," he said.

And so, over the next month, Zhou Yuan led his team in establishing layer after layer of defenses within their designated region.

The period proceeded exceptionally smoothly, without any hitches. As for the Saint Race, not a single trace of them was seen.

However, no one dared to relax. Everyone understood that the current calm was merely the prelude to a storm, thick with the scent of blood, that was about to descend.

This waiting continued for nearly half a year.

Half a year later, urgent fire signals simultaneously arrived from numerous defensive lines, instantly tensing everyone's nerves.

The Saint Race had finally arrived.