Chapter 1688: Controversy

The Sea of Buried Immortals was hit by a spiritual desolation, and it's uncertain how long it will last. Before it dissipates, they have no retreat, but they had already prepared countermeasures.

"Don't panic," he said. "A city has been built at the entrance of the spatial passage, stocked with a large quantity of fasting pills and food. The cultivators in the city can survive for a hundred years without issue. However, this means we can't initiate hostilities; if the cultivators of the Dongli Realm discover anything unusual, it will be troublesome."

Lei Yunbin's expression was solemn. He wasn't overly concerned about the Dongli Realm cultivators; after all, they openly had twelve Soul Transformation cultivators and over two hundred Nascent Soul cultivators. It wouldn't be easy for the Dongli Realm to annihilate them.

"It's impossible to conceal the news," he said. "As long as we delay for a while, the spiritual desolation should dissipate, and Senior Martial Brother Shangguan will also be able to come over by then. At that point, taking down the Dongli Realm will only be a matter of time."

"That's right," someone replied. "According to the information we have, the spiritual desolation won't last too long."

The other Soul Transformation cultivators encouraged themselves, reminding themselves that while their retreat was cut off, it wouldn't be easy for the Dongli Realm to annihilate them. Before the spiritual desolation dissipated, they couldn't frequently initiate battles because they didn't have many reinforcements.

"The Dongli Realm might want to completely annihilate us," Lei Yunbin instructed in a deep voice. "Junior Martial Brother Long, Junior Martial Brother Li, Junior Martial Sister Zhao, the three of you immediately take some personnel and leave this place. Do not show yourselves. If the Dongli Realm intends to annihilate us, then you should target their low-level cultivators. Kill all of them. Let's see how the Dongli Realm maintains its operations. If it comes to a lose-lose situation, no one will benefit."

"Yes, Senior Martial Brother Lei," they replied.

When the spiritual desolation broke out in the Sea of Buried Immortals, the Soul Transformation cultivators of the Dongli Realm quickly received the news.

Inside the deliberation hall, Sun Tianhu and over a dozen other Soul Transformation cultivators were discussing the subsequent battles.

"This is a godsend opportunity," said Dongfang Yulin. "We should actively provoke battles and engage them, weakening their forces as much as possible. Ideally, we could kill a few Soul Transformation cultivators." Dongfang Yulin said this weakly, his expression agitated. He had been severely wounded by Lei Yunbin and wished he could annihilate him.

"If we push too hard, they'll fight us to the death, like a cornered dog," Niu Kun proposed. "Who can stop them? They each possess a spiritual treasure, and they're a matched set. How can we possibly contend with them? In my opinion, we should negotiate, cease hostilities, and open a temporary passage to send them back to the Tianlan Realm. Once the spiritual desolation dissipates, we can immediately seal the spatial passage." Niu Kun proposed this, as he didn't want to continue fighting. If the war expanded, the Myriad Demon Valley would definitely be drawn in. The best outcome, he believed, would be to send the people from the Tianlan Realm back; a fight to the death would benefit no one.

"Hmph," scoffed True Monarch Qiyan. "We've fought for so many years, with dozens of Nascent Soul cultivators fallen and even Soul Transformation cultivators suffering casualties. To stop now, wouldn't all our efforts be in vain? In my opinion, we should bring out all our trump cards, annihilate these Tianlan Realm cultivators, and then, in turn, invade the Tianlan Realm." True Monarch Qiyan proposed this enthusiastically, reasoning that if they could completely annihilate Lei Yunbin and his group, the Tianlan Realm would certainly suffer a severe blow, and they could then, in turn, invade the Tianlan Realm.

"I agree," echoed Liu Ruyi, her expression somewhat excited. "We've suffered such a huge loss. If we let them leave safely, it means our opportunity has arrived. A great calamity is also a great opportunity. If we annihilate them, we might even be able to advance further. This is our home turf; we can mobilize all sorts of resources."

"Fairy Liu speaks well," Dongfang Yulin deeply agreed. "Let's annihilate them and make them taste our power."

Niu Kun and Zhou Xingguo, seeing that most of the Soul Transformation cultivators agreed, frowned deeply. If they could annihilate Lei Yunbin and his group, they indeed had hope of advancing further. At that point, they could invade the Tianlan Realm and plunder its cultivation resources.

"If we push too hard, they might become desperate and directly target low-level cultivators. Can we really stop them?" Zhou Xingguo said, his brow furrowed. There were at least ten Soul Transformation cultivators from the Tianlan Realm outside the Sea of Buried Immortals. If these ten cultivators dispersed and wantonly attacked low-level cultivators, killing all their disciples and grand-disciples before finding places to hide, the Dongli Realm would be powerless to stop them. The Tianlan Realm's Soul Transformation cultivators certainly wouldn't gather together to give them a chance for complete annihilation.

"Fellow Daoist Sun, what is your opinion?" Liu Ruyi asked, looking at Sun Tianhu.

"Fellow Daoist Zhou and Fellow Daoist Niu are right," Sun Tianhu said slowly. "Like a cornered dog, if we push too hard... Even if we disregard the casualties of our disciples and grand-disciples, the Dongli Realm is so vast. If they find a corner to hide in, how will we find them? I believe we should first engage them, weaken their strength as much as possible, and also deter them. When the time is right, we can negotiate with them, have them compensate us with a sum of cultivation resources, and then send them back to the Tianlan Realm." Sun Tianhu said this slowly, explaining that the Dongli Realm was hundreds of millions of miles wide, and a Soul Transformation cultivator could simply find a corner to hide in and be impossible to find. This would only be possible if the Tianlan Realm's Soul Transformation cultivators were fools who, with their retreat cut off, would still gather together and offer the Dongli Realm a chance for complete annihilation. Sun Tianhu still had over eight hundred years of lifespan and a strong chance of advancing to the late Soul Transformation stage. He certainly wasn't willing to fight to the death when he could reach the late Soul Transformation stage simply by cultivating step by step. Why would he risk his life? True Monarch Qiyan and the others were all in the early Soul Transformation stage; it wouldn't be easy for them to cultivate to the middle Soul Transformation stage, let alone the late Soul Transformation stage. While Liu Ruyi and others' proposal seemed promising, it offered limited room for maneuver and could easily throw the Dongli Realm into chaos. Sending Lei Yunbin and his group back to the Tianlan Realm was the best method.

The Soul Transformation cultivators of the Dongli Realm each had their own thoughts, and their opinions were far from unified. Sun Tianhu's strength was relatively superior, which was why the other Soul Transformation cultivators would listen to his commands.

"This is for the best," said Zen Master Qijue with hands clasped together. "By then, the cultivators we sent to the Tianlan Realm will also be able to return. Buddha is compassionate; completely annihilating Lei Yunbin and his group is too difficult and could easily lead to heavy casualties in the Dongli Realm. All living beings are equal; we shouldn't disregard their life and death for our own selfish interests." He had cultivated Buddhism in the Western Desert for several hundred years and had fully converted, strongly believing in the Buddhist concept of the equality of all living beings.

"That's right, Master speaks reasonably," Niu Kun immediately echoed. "I, Niu, agree." Niu Kun immediately echoed, as the lifespan of the demon race was much longer than that of the human race; his own lifespan was still long, and he didn't want to fight to the death.

"I also agree," replied Feng Li. "Harmony brings wealth. We've been fighting for over a decade; if we continue, none of us will benefit."

With so many people expressing agreement with Sun Tianhu's suggestion, Liu Ruyi and the others found it difficult to argue further and agreed.

Thus, the high-level officials of the Dongli Realm temporarily reached a consensus, and a large number of experts were dispatched to the front lines to engage in battle with the Tianlan Realm cultivators.