The moment Mu Cangming said this, heaven and earth fell deathly silent.
Lie Jiuyou, Jian Buxu, Red Crane, and the others were all being roasted over the fire. Fighting was not an option, but neither was refusing to fight.
The situation had changed.
If the Tianli Sect cast aside the responsibility it bore, it might no longer hold back. Moreover, the formidable Sect Master Mu Cangming had personally arrived, along with five Heavenly Venerates. If a battle truly broke out, a Heavenly Venerate might well fall today.
Bei Lin, Demon Wind Heavenly Venerate of the Wyvern Clan, and Radiance Heavenly Venerate of the Divine Radiance Clan had previously been intent on joining forces with so many Heavenly Venerates to seize this chance to kill Star River Heavenly Venerate and the others.
Now, seeing the other Heavenly Venerates hesitate, they knew they could not press forward recklessly.
Once these factions backed down, they would become the ones sticking their necks out.
The Tianli Sect would very likely target them, perhaps even seize the opportunity to destroy them. If they truly fought, their strength would be nowhere near enough to withstand the Tianli Sect's crushing force.
They had been able to fight the Tianli Sect to a standstill in the past because the Tianli Sword Domain had rules forbidding Heavenly Venerates from participating in conflicts.
Moreover, the Guoluo Star Domain had complex terrain and tangled powers. Fighting on their own territory gave them the advantage needed to contend with the Tianli Sect for so many years. Naturally, the support of the various factions behind them had also played no small part.
Those factions did not want them to lose too quickly; they wanted them to hold back the Tianli Sect's growth.
But things were different now. This was the Ancient Realm. Once