More than eight thousand years had gone by. Less than two thousand years remained until the ten-thousand-year deadline the Lord of the Universe had set with Ling Tian. Though Chi Xue and the others hadn't captured any more Nine Nether Nether Soldiers during that time, nor had they learned how powerful the Starfield cultivators were or what methods they used, their archery skills and strength had improved to some degree. More importantly, under Ling Tian's Clone's guidance, they had not only repaired the formation that had been destroyed but also set up several more. Chi Xue and the others believed that, with those formations, they could hold their own for a while even if they faced the Nine Nether Nether Soldiers, the Starfield cultivators, and the Lord of the Universe all at once. By then, Ling Tian's true body would surely sense that something was amiss and attack the Lord of the Universe, allowing them to strike from within and without and wage a great battle against him.
Besides, Chi Xue and the others believed that Ling Tian's true body must have grown considerably stronger after more than eight thousand years. The same was true of their friends and family. Some cultivators might even have broken through to the Thirty-fifth Heaven of Near-Saint, giving them the strength to fight alongside Ling Tian. That would naturally give them a better chance of defeating the Lord of the Universe.
It made sense. Chi Xue and the others had grown stronger over all this time, so Ling Tian had surely improved even more. After all, he could continue expanding his worlds, steadily increasing his strength. Of course, Chi Xue and the others also knew that Ling Tian had spent hundreds of millions of years cultivating in the Eastern Emperor Bell's inner space. That