Qin Shi then spoke under the guise of an excuse.
"You may not know this, Fellow Daoist, but our sect has deep conflicts with Spirit Array Old Ancestor and Mo Qianqiu, the grandfather and grandson outside the lake. Moreover, those two are currently allied with the Demon Race, such as the Golden Horn Mad Cow clan. Once this place falls, even if our sect can occupy it in the future, Spirit Array Old Ancestor and Mo Qianqiu will surely use array formations to drain the spirit vein here of its origin—or even violate a great taboo and directly destroy the spirit vein."
Ling Chengyuan found this somewhat convincing. What Qin Shi said was indeed possible.
"That is indeed a troublesome issue. Third Rank Spirit Veins are scarce, so we truly must hold this place."
"But let me make the ugly truth clear first. If this array is breached and we cannot contend against the three Golden Core Demon Kings of the Golden Horn Mad Cow clan, Spirit Array Old Ancestor, and Mo Qianqiu, your sect's cultivators still refuse to withdraw, then we can only leave on our own."
Although Qin Shi wanted to persuade Ling Chengyuan and the others to remain and defend this place until the very last moment, when there might perhaps be a turn for the better, he remembered that Ling Chengyuan and the others were not from his own sect. They were merely helpers his sect had recruited. He could only sigh helplessly and nod.
"Fine."
Afterward, Qin Shi, controlling a Golden Core Puppet; Ling Chengyuan, controlling a Golden Core Demon Corpse; Yang Siqi of the Golden Core Realm; and Liang Mingtu of the Pseudo-Core Realm once more focused their minds on the battle.
The flood dragon named Blue Jade beside them had not participated in