Fang Chen remained silent, his gaze deep, as though it had pierced the stone walls of the Cave Abode and reached the Five Clans' territories in the distant Void, the Celestial Cycle Star Illusion-Destruction Array being painstakingly laid outside Heavenly Chasm Gorge, and the Time Bell serving as bait.
A thought so bold it bordered on madness rapidly took shape in his mind, growing clearer by the moment.
"Perhaps they don't need to be willing."
Fang Chen spoke slowly, his voice cold with resolve. "Aren't our enemies the best sacrifices?"
He immediately ended his seclusion and secretly summoned Immortal Emperor Yun Yi, the Golden Roc Immortal Emperor, and Immortal Emperor Yin-Yang, whose injuries had recovered considerably and whose knowledge was the broadest of them all.
Within an utterly secluded Restriction, Fang Chen showed the three emperors the contents of the fragmentary Ancient Records. He then laid out his plan: use the Immortal-Demon Annihilation Array and the effort to repair the Time Bell to lure in the Five Clans' core forces, wipe them out in one stroke, and use their souls and bloodlines to restore the bell.
"What?"
After hearing him out, shock and disapproval filled Immortal Emperor Yun Yi's aged face. "Daoist Friend Fang Chen, this method is far too extreme. Some among the Five Clans are stubborn enemies, but many are ordinary Cultivators and pillars of their clans who have merely been swept along by their leaders. If we wipe out their core emperors in one net, the Five Clans will suffer a devastating blow, and the Ancient Region's highest-level Combat Strength will shrink by nearly half! That would be no different from cutting off our own arms. When we face the World Will, we'll have lost vital allies!"
The Golden Roc Immortal Emperor frowned as well, calculation flickering