True Lord Duobao stared blankly at the chaotic pleas for help pouring in from the Rebel-Slaying Alliance's leaders.
For the first time, the genial smile that was his trademark froze completely on his face.
His plump hand trembled slightly.
The Jade Slip in his hand fell to the floor with a clatter.
Sixty-five experts of the Great Luo True Realm.
Three of them were even at the Dao-Merging Peak.
He swallowed. His throat felt dry.
How were these "Returnees"?
They were clearly Prehistoric Beasts that had crawled out of the Depths of Chaos!
The flying vessel fell deathly silent.
Only after a long while did True Lord Duobao shakily pick up the Jade Slip.
He wiped the cold sweat from his brow and forced a smile onto his face, one uglier than a sob.
He looked at the two words Zhou Ming had sent.
"Too late..."
"Not too late, not too late..." he muttered. "There's still a deal to be made..."
With trembling hands, he hurriedly recalled the message he had sent Zhou Ming demanding payment.
Then he drafted a new one.
"Fellow Daoist Zhou, your divine might is unrivaled! No one under heaven can stand against you! Congratulations on your first victory!"
"I was careless with the last piece of intelligence and failed to warn you in time. The fault was entirely mine."
"As an apology, your next piece of intelligence is free!"
Over the next tens of thousands of years,
Zhou Ming's group grew like a rolling snowball.
Following the intelligence True Lord Duobao provided "for free," they struck wherever they could.
One after another, they rescued six more Great Dao Realm experts from the Eternal Dao Realm.
Their group grew from five to eleven.
Each rescue meant facing a carefully laid encirclement by dozens of Rebel-Slaying Alliance