Chapter 452: Chapter 439: Taking the Initiative to Attack
Could anything be more exciting than this?
Well, actually, there was...
According to Ying Huo’s report, after factoring out the travel time, one could say that Shen Lang had found these mineral veins with incredible ease!
From what Shen Lang said, the only reason he had chosen just fifteen mineral veins was because the five sects weren’t strong enough.
If these sects were powerful enough to develop more veins, didn’t that mean Shen Lang could have found not just fifteen, but perhaps one hundred and fifty?
It was simply unbelievable!
"Xiaolang, these mineral veins are all exceptionally rare, and their yields are enormous. However, since they’re in the Barbaric region, I’m afraid mining them will be quite difficult. Do you already have a plan in mind? Are arrangements in place?" First Ancestor Jiang Haitian of the Profound Dao Sect asked cautiously.
The expressions of the Elder Ancestors turned serious, and they all fixed their gazes on the seated Shen Lang.
Among these five Profound Iron Level influences, aside from Evil Wind Valley, four were located in the Celestial Profound Mountain Range.
Even those from the Celestial Profound Mountain Range rarely dared to venture into the Barbaric region.
Although their locations on the map were just on the outskirts of the Barbaric region, not far inside at all.
But the area was overrun with Demon Beasts, and the environment was harsh beyond imagination.
To develop mineral veins in such a territory, the greatest enemy wasn’t other sects, but rather the overwhelmingly powerful Demon Beasts and poisonous creatures.
An area like this was fraught with danger. Constructing a strongly defended, safe zone would be extremely difficult.
And without a safe zone, it would be nearly impossible for miners to work in such a place.
Every sect had a limited number of powerhouses, so it would be difficult to guarantee the safety of everyone working there—unless Shen Lang was willing to dispatch the War Wolves.
Shen Lang nodded slightly, took out a Jade Scroll, and handed it to Jiang Haitian.
Then he spoke, "This Jade Scroll contains an array formation called the Eight Trigrams Yin Yang Array. It integrates offense and defense, arranged according to the Innate Small Trigrams of Heaven and Earth. It’s a wondrously unique Battle Array that can isolate the area from external poisonous mists and other such energies, as well as Concealing Form. Once activated, even a King Martial Realm powerhouse who enters it would be unable to break out for at least three to five years, unless their cultivation is exceptionally strong or they possess an Exotic Treasure."
"To activate and control this array, you only need three Martial Artists at or above the Xuanwu Realm Fifth Heaven. That’s enough to unleash eighty percent of its power."
"I just need six of you Elder Ancestors to lend me a hand, and we can set it up in a short time. It can serve as a base at each mineral vein."
Shen Lang spoke with eloquent confidence, "At each mining site, I will station a powerhouse equipped with War Wolf Armor. The various sects can arrange for the remaining personnel themselves."
The War Wolf Armor was the very armor Shen Lang had forged using Four-winged Green Python Scale.
This armor was no small matter; almost every one of these old-timers had a set.
And among the members of the War Wolf unit, only the most powerful were qualified to receive a set of War Wolf Armor.
Shen Lang added, "Within each of the fifteen Grand Arrays, we will set up a Teleportation Gate linked to the nearest mining site. If one site encounters a crisis it can’t handle, people from the other sites can provide support immediately."
"And at the central mining site, we’ll establish a Teleportation Gate connecting to the Profound Dao Sect to ensure absolute security... Hey, no need for all of you to gasp like that. A Teleportation Array is expensive and requires precious Spirit Stones like Space Stones, but compared to these mineral veins, isn’t the cost practically nothing? Even if it’s not a drop in the ocean, it’s still not much, right?"
The Elder Ancestors nodded repeatedly.
At a time like this, facing such enormous and precious mineral veins, being reluctant to spend on Teleportation Gates would indeed be a bit petty.
For an ordinary Profound Iron Level influence, any single Teleportation Gate would be a mountain of pressure.
But for these five sects, faced with fifteen unimaginably rich mineral veins, what was the cost of a few Teleportation Gates?
"Alright, don’t celebrate too early. We’ll discuss the mineral veins later. Let’s talk about the Holy Light Sect," Shen Lang said.
"The Holy Light Sect?" Everyone was taken aback.
Without ceremony, Shen Lang recounted how Shui Tianji had joined forces with the Beast Emperor Palace and the Holy Light Sect with the intention of wiping out the Profound Dao Sect.
He hid nothing, telling them about his encounter with Qian Luo and how he subdued him, about performing Soul Extraction and Refining on Fu Chen, and about placing the Silent Extinction Divine Thunder in the Holy Light Sect’s forbidden grounds.
"How outrageous! They’re simply courting death!" bellowed Gong Lanyan, the Elder Ancestor of the Xiu Hua Sect.
This wasn’t because Gong Lanyan was impatient or hot-tempered.
On the contrary, it was precisely because she was sophisticated and a smooth operator that she seized the first opportunity to state her position.
Shui Tianji and her allies were targeting the Profound Dao Sect, not the other sects present.
But by now, all these sects were bound together, their interests intertwined. If something truly happened to the Profound Dao Sect, how could the others possibly escape the vortex?
The Xiu Hua Sect originally had a grudge against the Profound Dao Sect, but under Shen Lang’s leadership, they had let bygones be bygones.
That was why Shen Lang now treated them all almost equally, sharing Cultivation Techniques, Magical Treasure Secret Artifacts, and mineral veins with everyone.
This was what made these few sects more united and their collective strength even greater.
Besides, the enemies they were currently facing, while powerful, didn’t seem so powerful that this group couldn’t handle them.
Moreover, Shen Lang had somehow produced the "Silent Extinction Divine Thunder," something that made even the Elder Ancestors’ hearts race. If a fight were to happen, their side was practically guaranteed to win!
That was why Gong Lanyan, filled with righteous indignation, had been the first to declare her stance.
Seeing this, Qin Shuzi, the Elder Ancestor of Evil Wind Valley, said grimly, "Since the Holy Light Sect is looking for death, we should take this opportunity to wipe them out. How dare those bastards act so arrogantly?"
Among the five sects here, the people from Evil Wind Valley were most familiar with Shen Lang’s relationships with the Imperial Dragon Sect, the Li Hen Sect, and the Flower Sect. They were also the first sect to form ties with him.
Never mind that the Five Great Sects were gathered here now; even if it were just Evil Wind Valley alone, they would dare to attack the Holy Light Sect just based on Shen Lang’s relationship with the Imperial Dragon Sect.
The Elder Ancestors immediately declared their positions one by one, vowing to crush the Holy Light Sect!
In contrast, Jiang Haitian, the Elder Ancestor of the Profound Dao Sect, asked doubtfully, "Xiaolang, you said Shui Tianji wants to deal with you, not the Profound Dao Sect. But their approach is a bit perplexing. Could there be some kind of conspiracy?"
Shen Lang nodded. "I don’t know Shui Tianji very well, but the fact that she brazenly charged toward Celestial Phoenix City, risking discovery by the Imperial Dragon Sect, just because I killed her clone, shows that she’s extremely arrogant and... clearly has a screw loose."
Everyone broke into a cold sweat. Only this kid would dare say a King Martial Realm Fifth Heaven powerhouse had a screw loose.
But come to think of it, he had a point. Such a powerful figure had gone to Celestial Phoenix City, only to have her physical body destroyed in the blink of an eye. Her cultivation was mostly gone, and only her Nascent Soul had escaped. Now, even the scales from her body had been refined into armor by Shen Lang...
If she didn’t have a screw loose, how could she have ended up in such a miserable state?
Shen Lang continued, "Based on my assessment, with a mind like hers, she isn’t capable of coming up with any sophisticated conspiracies."
"However, instead of trying to ambush me when I leave the Sect’s Mountain Gate, she wants to wipe out the entire Profound Dao Sect. This whole affair is indeed strange from beginning to end."
"I can’t figure out her motive... Theoretically, even if the Profound Dao Sect hadn’t formed an alliance with the other sects, its current strength is not something that a few King Martial Realm powerhouses could hope to conquer."
"But I am certain that behind Shui Tianji, there must be a mysterious figure. This person is demonically intelligent. They’ve likely investigated my background and gained a deep understanding of my temperament, which is why they’ve orchestrated this seemingly idiotic move."
"This move is completely abnormal and extremely difficult to pull off. That’s why I’ve been puzzled this whole time."
"But then I thought about it from another angle... Where there’s an abnormality, there’s a trick. Since attacking the Profound Dao Sect is illogical, the possibility that it’s just a Smoke Bomb is very high!"
Gong Lanyan and the others were stunned. "A Smoke Bomb? Xiaolang, do you mean they’re creating a diversion, that they never intended to attack the Profound Dao Sect at all? Are they just using this to distract you and lead you astray?"
"It’s highly likely they want to lead me astray, but an attack on the Profound Dao Sect isn’t out of the question."
"The people from Blood Evil Island only have two King Martial Realm Fifth Heaven powerhouses. They have no conflict of interest with our Profound Dao Sect; they’re only helping Shui Tianji kill me. When they realize things are going south, they can come and go as they please, leave the mess for the Holy Light Sect and the Beast Emperor Palace, and just walk away... That’s a very normal thing to do. They have nothing to lose, and even if they break their promise, the Holy Light Sect and the Beast Emperor Palace are in no position to do anything about it."
Jiang Haitian pondered for a moment and said, "Then what should we do now? Wait for the Holy Light Sect and the Beast Emperor Palace to come to our door, and then destroy them? That seems to be the simplest method."
Shen Lang shook his head. "If all the information we have is true, and Shui Tianji’s helpers are only two King Martial Realm powerhouses, then lying in wait for them to come, then having all you Elder Ancestors go out and gang up on them—is the simplest and most conservative approach."
"However, the information about there being only two King Martial Realm Fifth Heaven powerhouses, even though I extracted it from the memories of the Holy Light Sect’s Grand Elder Fu Chen, might not be true."
"If there’s an even more formidable figure hiding among them, then even with your superior numbers, some of you Elder Ancestors could be in danger of falling."
"This whole affair started because of me. How could I let you Elder Ancestors put yourselves in harm’s way?"
"Besides, there’s a saying: ’One can be a thief for a thousand days, but one can’t guard against a thief for a thousand days.’ A better method is to take the initiative and defeat these three forces one by one."
Everyone was stunned, not understanding what Shen Lang meant.
In comparison, lying in wait at the Profound Dao Sect was clearly a more conservative and safer option than taking the initiative to attack.
But Shen Lang was saying the first option was dangerous and that they should choose to attack proactively?
Shen Lang chuckled. "When I say ’take the initiative,’ I don’t mean for everyone to charge into the Holy Light Sect or the Beast Emperor Palace. I mean we should lure the snake out of its hole and defeat them one by one."
"The Beast Emperor Palace is far away in Yunfeng Country; a Profound Iron Level influence doesn’t have the strength for such a long-distance expedition. As for the Holy Light Sect, if they just hole up in their Sect and refuse to come out, it would take a great deal of effort for you Elder Ancestors to break through their Sect Protection Array."
As Shen Lang explained his plan, the old-timers all began to grin sinisterly...
(This is the second Chapter update. There will be another one in a bit.)
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