Just as Chi Xue and the others had expected, there wasn't enough time left for all the Nine Nether Nether Soldiers to return to the Demon God Forbidden Ground. And it would take the Lord of the Universe some time to deal with the captured starfield cultivators, so he decided to stall for time—by a full ten thousand years.
Naturally, stalling for time was extremely beneficial to Ling Tian, Hua Min'er, and the others. He was overjoyed by the Lord of the Universe's sudden decision, but after forcibly suppressing his excitement, he began bargaining with the Lord of the Universe. Ling Tian naturally hoped to delay things as long as possible, ideally by tens of thousands or even over a hundred thousand years. That would give Hua Min'er and the others time not only to reach the Thirty-fifth Heaven of Near-Saint, but perhaps even to reach its peak and draw infinitely close to Sainthood.
Even reaching the Thirty-fifth Heaven of Near-Saint would qualify Hua Min'er and the others to join Ling Tian in his battle against the Lord of the Universe, let alone breaking through to an even higher realm. So, of course, Ling Tian wanted to buy as much time as he could.
However, the Lord of the Universe saw right through Ling Tian's intentions and flatly refused. More importantly, as the Lord of the Universe had said, he held the initiative in this matter, and Ling Tian could only go along with him. Thinking of this, Ling Tian had no choice but to abandon any further attempts at bargaining.
Of course, even if Ling Tian had wanted to keep bargaining, he'd had no chance. After saying those words, the Lord of the Universe had simply left. The pressure hanging over Ling Tian's head had vanished, making that clear.