Chi Xue and the others believed that their next move was to buy time and advance to a higher realm—to reach a level where they could contend with cultivators at the Twenty-third Heaven of Near-Saint. Only then might they break through the encirclement and escape the Extreme Ice Plains.
However, they knew that to contend with cultivators at the Twenty-third Heaven of Near-Saint—or even stand a chance against them—they would have to reach at least the peak of the Twenty-second Heaven of Near-Saint. Even with several Saint-grade Heavenly Treasures to aid them, that would take an extremely long time, far beyond a million years. They simply couldn't accept that.
Since they couldn't rely on their own efforts, they could only rely on Ling Tian. In particular, they believed he was already showing clear signs of breaking through to the Twenty-second Heaven. Besides, they all knew that Ling Tian was far stronger than them at the same level, and even better at staying alive. As long as he could shake off the Outer Realm Cultivators pursuing them, they believed he could lead them all to safety.
That was why they asked Ling Tian how long it would take him to reach the late stage of the Twenty-second Heaven. He had said before that only after reaching that realm would he be confident of breaking through the blockade of the cultivators at the Twenty-third Heaven of Near-Saint and escaping.
"That's hard to say. None of us has ever broken through to that realm, so it's difficult to estimate how long it'll take," Ling Tian said. Without waiting for Chi Xue and the others to respond, he continued, "A conservative estimate would be over a million years. That's more time than I can accept. It's simply too long."
"Besides, no one can guarantee