"Why hasn't Yin Lu arrived yet?" Su Shan frowned. It was unlike Yin Lu to be late at a time like this.
Just a moment ago, a large crack had appeared on the patch of the lower realm in the sky. This crack was widening, meaning the first patch had completely shattered. The Outer Demons had already reached the second patch. In about six hours, it would break apart completely.
Therefore, they had to patch up the third one as soon as possible. Even though they hadn't fully recovered, they couldn't afford to be careless when their lives were at stake.
But they waited and waited, yet Yin Lu still hadn't arrived. Under normal circumstances, he would have been there by now.
"Could something have happened?" Li Ying frowned. He had a bad feeling.
If they were one person short, especially since none of them had fully recovered, they weren't confident they could complete the third patch within six hours.
Previously, five of them could complete it in four hours. But now, short one-fifth of their main strength and hampered by their own unrecovered states, many more uncertainties would arise. This was especially true given the presence of four Outer Demons.
Ever since the second patch began to crack, the four Outer Demons, who had previously been mostly immobile, had become increasingly active. If they were attacked during their realm-supporting Ascension, the four of them would undoubtedly die.
One more person would increase their speed by a fifth, meaning they would be safer.
"Let's go take a look," Su Shan said. The remaining three immediately followed.
When they arrived, they didn't immediately barge in. Instead, they knocked on the door and tried calling out.
Receiving no answer, they forced their way in.
An empty room met their eyes.
"He's not here." Su Shan now understood that something had indeed happened to Yin Lu, and it was likely the Outer Demons' doing.
"Those four Outer Demons haven't moved," Black City said calmly.
This meant it wasn't those four Outer Demons who had acted, but someone else entirely, which made everyone uneasy.
"A fifth Outer Demon has infiltrated the Chaotic God World and subdued Yin Lu without a sound," Li Ying added. In fact, he had another thought: Yin Lu had willingly left with the enemy and had even defected.
However, it wasn't appropriate to voice this now. If there were other circumstances, saying it aloud would inevitably offend someone, so he chose to keep quiet.
Even if he didn't say it, the other three would likely have the same suspicion.
But he couldn't be the one to voice the accusation. It was enough that everyone understood it implicitly.
"There are no traces at all," Mysterious Ginseng also remarked after observing, naturally referring to signs of a struggle.
No signs of a struggle meant Yin Lu was either subdued in a single move or had surrendered and left with the enemy willingly.
If it was the former, then all of them were in danger. Yin Lu was also at the Ancestral God Realm, his strength comparable to theirs. If the enemy could subdue Yin Lu in a single move, they could do the same to them.
If it was the latter, then not only they, but the entire Chaotic God World would be in danger.
An Ancestral God Realm expert defecting to the enemy wouldn't just mean the loss of a powerful combatant, but also the compromise of numerous secrets, intelligence, and more. These were the most lethal consequences.
If this was confirmed, then the problems with the second patch were most likely because Yin Lu had provided assistance to the Outer Demons. Otherwise, it couldn't have been damaged so quickly; it had been very stable before.
Publicly, they spoke of him missing, but deep down, they were more inclined to believe he had defected, mainly because it was all too coincidental.
"What should we do next?" Li Ying looked at Su Shan. The problem was already very serious. It was just that everyone was suffering in silence, unwilling to voice the grim reality.
Some things were better left unsaid, allowing everyone to continue deceiving themselves. Once revealed, it would shatter their composure and crush morale.
"With Yin Lu missing, we'll have to do it ourselves. We must apply the third patch as soon as possible!" Su Shan had no other options at this point.
The four of them could probably handle it, assuming things went smoothly.
They couldn't just stay there and wait for death; that wasn't their style. Having reached the Ancestral God Realm, they were, after all, individuals who dared to fight and strive.
No one opposed Su Shan's words. Soon, they selected a lower realm as their target. This time, they chose a relatively small lower realm, one with few living beings.
It wasn't that they wanted to choose such a target; rather, they had no other choice. With one fewer person and the need to increase their speed, they could only opt for a lighter, smaller target.
However, even as a lower realm, no matter how light and small, it wouldn't be excessively so.
The four of them set off immediately. Their first step was to eliminate all living beings in that lower realm. This time, however, they had miscalculated.
"We're surrounded. It's clear now that the Outer Demons have indeed launched their full-scale attack," Su Shan said, his expression grave.
The four cardinal directions—east, west, south, and north—were all enveloped by those four massive Outer Demons. Their only way out was to break through the encirclement.
But the strength of the Outer Demons was plain for all to see; they were simply no match for them.
A single entity, something like an incarnation, had been able to take on all four of them, even when they were exhausted at the time.
While their current condition was indeed better than before, they still weren't at their peak. Moreover, the Outer Demons hadn't used their full strength back then either. If it truly came to a fight, they would undoubtedly be outmatched.
"Do we concentrate our efforts to break through together, or do we break out separately?" Li Ying asked.
The former risked them being wiped out all at once, but offered a higher chance of a successful breakthrough.
The latter increased the individual chance of escape—success meant even one person getting out—but drastically reduced overall survival odds, possibly to the point where no one would make it.
As for the patching plan, it was all empty talk until they managed to break out.
"A concentrated breakthrough, what do you all think?" Su Shan didn't make an autocratic decision this time but asked for the others' opinions.
After exchanging a glance, Black City and Mysterious Ginseng stated without hesitation, "Break out separately!"
"I also agree to break out separately!" Li Ying chimed in.
In their current small group, apart from Li Ying and Su Shan who still had some semblance of teamwork, the other two were both harboring ulterior motives. However, after the incident with Yin Lu, Li Ying naturally began to have his own different ideas as well.
Given the situation, their chances of victory were nil, so the best course of action was to surrender.
But surrendering together could lead to complications. It would be better for each to choose a different direction, using the 'separate breakout' as a pretext, and then rely on their own abilities.
Su Shan genuinely wanted them to break out together, though his own motives weren't entirely pure either.
"Alright, then we'll break out separately." Su Shan gave the three of them a deep look. At this point, words were useless.
"Since it has come to this, I wish you all good luck."
With that said, Su Shan headed east.
The remaining three said nothing. Each chose one of the remaining directions—west, south, or north—and departed on their own. There was no communication throughout the entire process.
Whether they would live or die, none of them knew for certain, as they didn't know if the Outer Demons would even offer them a chance to surrender.
「...」
"The resistance forces have been dismantled. Would you say this practical exercise plan was a success or a failure?" Hu Da asked, looking at the data report.
Not far away, Wang Linchi, who had a body of Colorful Stone, spoke slowly, "How could it be a failure? This is merely the beginning."
"Within the Six Paths of Reincarnation, you are merely the vanguard. The true implantation hasn't even begun."
In Hu Da's eyes, they had failed. He had viewed this as a major training exercise. And the result? First, they courted disaster themselves, then Wang Linchi gave them another nudge. The main forces of the Merit Giants hadn't even entered the fray. What kind of training exercise was that? Did the Four Domain Kings even participate? Were they there to invade? No, they were there to save the world! If they had fought just a little more fiercely, Hu Da wouldn't be this dissatisfied. Everyone had been mobilized and ready, yet there hadn't been any fighting at all.
"I know what you're thinking. I have plans for the training exercise," Wang Linchi said. "Next, we will conduct a 'dissection-style' experiment on the Chaotic God World. This will inevitably cause some historical Disorder, and at that time, I'll let you handle the suppression."
Hearing this, Hu Da quickly reined in his dissatisfaction. "A promise is a promise. Don't go back on your word or let the Fated ones take the stage again."
"Alright, I know. I won't involve the Fated ones until all of you are wiped out," Wang Linchi agreed. The so-called Fated ones were, in essence, the protagonist squadron.
Hu Da didn't mind that they were the vanguard while the protagonist squadron was the ace. The Merit Giants were well aware of their own capabilities; they truly couldn't compare.
However, they weren't jealous. Vanguard or ace, their treatment was effectively the same; there was no difference in status, at least not under Wang Linchi. They also didn't need to worry about being ridiculed. Everyone worked for Wang Linchi, so such a major issue that could affect unity wouldn't arise.
