Although there were far fewer cultivators surrounding the Sacred Ruins Abyss than before, they had also advanced a considerable distance, greatly shrinking the encirclement. A smaller encirclement meant they needed far fewer cultivators to maintain it. On top of that, these cultivators had improved their realms to varying degrees by refining the Origin Power left behind by fallen Saints, and their mastery of archery had grown ever greater. As a result, they were advancing faster and faster. In other words, Ling Tian and the others had less time than they had expected.
With less time, it would undoubtedly be even harder for Ling Tian and the others to break through to a sufficient realm and escape with their lives. Faced with this situation, many cultivators felt an even heavier burden and urged Ling Tian to come up with a way to respond, especially after learning that he needed a thousand years to break through to a higher realm.
"Exactly. We really need to find a way to buy ourselves more time," Shi Lin said gravely. As he spoke, he looked at Ling Tian, his meaning obvious.
Ling Tian didn't reply right away. Instead, he fell into thought. Everyone assumed he was considering how to deal with the situation, so they didn't disturb him. However, they kept discussing ways to buy time. They believed that pooling their ideas would surely lead to a better solution.
"I think we should use the cultivators we captured," Shi Ling suggested. She looked around at the others and continued, "Although we haven't captured many cultivators over the years—not even ten thousand—their realms are among the best of those surrounding us. If they joined the fight, they would surely inflict much heavier casualties on the cultivators surrounding us. That would make it much harder for them