(5300, 8650 total, a little over 340 words short of 3 chapters)

Chapter 677 (5300+, 8650+ total, a little over 340 words short of 3 chapters)

The thousand-handed, thousand-footed Xi Shen said flatly, "So what?"

Though Xi Shen was surprised by the extent of Zhang Yu's progress, he did not feel it warranted making such a massive fuss.

Xi Shen said, "Xiang Shen, this war is not something a single Golden Core, or even a single Nascent Soul, can decide."

"The tide is with us now. We only need to proceed step by step, starting from the Fifth Layer and fighting our way down layer by layer, while allowing the Dark Spirit Realm to spread like a virus and gradually replace the Spirit Realm. Then final victory will only be a matter of time."

"If victory can be won by following the proper course, why create unnecessary complications and waste strength on Zhang Yu?"

Xi Shen's thousand hands and thousand feet writhed as he urged, "Give it up, Xiang Shen."

"Zhang Yu is in Ten Thousand Laws' stronghold. If you want to deal with him now, you will need to send a large number of elites deep behind enemy lines."

"Didn't you see how strong the protection mobilized for him was this time?"

Just as Zhang Yu had intended, the appearance of ten Nascent Souls severely dampened Xi Shen's enthusiasm for such an operation.

Xi Shen said blandly, "To successfully take Zhang Yu and bring him to the Upper Level, we would probably need to deploy more than ten elite Nascent Souls behind enemy lines, perhaps even Divine Transformation-level power."

"If we suffer further losses during the operation and it affects the war above, slowing the entire plan, that would be what truly impacts our chances of victory."

Although they could revive through the Dark Spirit Realm, losses of all kinds of