Every word Chen Ran spoke was like a heavy hammer striking the souls of every great power on the bridge.
The entire flagship sank into a silence more terrifying than death.
The color drained from Guang Chengzi's face.
Zhao Gongming's hand clenched tightly around his sword hilt.
For the first time, the wisdom in Bai Ze's eyes was replaced by shock.
This mortal...
He had gone mad!
He actually wanted to use one apocalypse to threaten another!
He wanted to use the entire Primordial World as a bargaining chip on his negotiating table!
"Absurd!"
Primordial Heavenly Venerate's will descended first.
His voice no longer carried majesty, but uncontrollable fury.
"Chen Ran! Do you know what you are saying?"
"Minghe is a cancer upon the Primordial World! A traitor! Yet you want to cooperate with him?"
"And you intend to threaten him with the Solar Cage? If it loses control, you will be the sinner who detonated the sun! A sinner for all eternity, guilty of destroying the entire Primordial World!"
Primordial Heavenly Venerate's rage stirred the laws of the Heavenly Dao.
The space throughout the bridge twisted violently, as though it could be torn to pieces at any moment by the wrath of a Saint.
"Senior Brother is right!"
Lord of the Heavens' killing intent followed close behind.
"When dealing with a traitor, one should use a sword! I shall head to the Blood Sea at once and slaughter him completely! Why waste words on him?"
The phantoms of the Four Immortal Slaying Swords flickered above the bridge. Endless killing intent made everyone's skin sting.
"No!"
Chen Ran abruptly raised his head and stared directly at the two Saintly wills that represented the Primordial World's greatest combat power.
There was not the slightest fear in his eyes.
"Go to the Blood Sea and kill him? Then what?"
"While we and Minghe fight until both sides are crippled, do we let Emperor Withered Bone reap the benefits and swallow us, together with the Blood Sea, in one bite?"
Chen Ran's voice suddenly rose.
"Two Saints, do you want a moment of satisfaction, or do you want to preserve the Primordial World?"
The question was like a basin of ice water poured over the two Saints' fury.
They fell silent.
Because what Chen Ran said was true.
A truth they could not refute, yet could not accept.
"Amitabha."
The wills of the Two Saints of the West drifted over as well.
"Executor, this plan is far too dangerous. It is no different from seeking the skin of a tiger."
"Minghe's heart is harder to predict than chaos itself. Once we hand him the key, or let him learn of its existence, the initiative will no longer be in our hands."
Zhunti added.
"If he turns around and uses the Solar Cage to threaten us, how are we supposed to respond?"
The Saints' concerns were everyone's concerns.
This was a dead end.
If they fought, both sides would suffer, handing themselves to the third party.
If they did not fight, they could only watch as the Netherworld Realm eroded them, dying a slow death.
Chen Ran's plan was like walking a tightrope over a cliff, but at least it was a path.
Yet it was a path with only the slimmest chance of survival.
Everyone's eyes gathered on Chen Ran.
They waited for his answer.
"The initiative?"
Chen Ran smiled.
That smile carried a chilling madness that made even the Saints' hearts tremble.
"When have we ever had the initiative?"
He raised a hand and pointed at the grayish-white Netherworld Realm on the display, which was devouring the Primordial World's life force.
"Did it ever ask us?"
Then he pointed toward the Solar Star, toward that terrifying existence even Pangu could only suppress.
"And will it give us the right to choose?"
"We have long since been fish on someone else's chopping board! The only difference is whether we get steamed or braised!"
Chen Ran's words were crude, but incomparably real.
He tore away the final veil of pretense from every great power and every Saint.
What indestructible through countless tribulations.
What Heavenly Dao Saint.
Before a true world-ending disaster, they were no different from mortals.
They would all die.
They would all become food on someone else's plate.
"So, I am not negotiating with Minghe."
Chen Ran's gaze swept across everyone present.
"I am giving him, and ourselves, a chance to survive."
"Ancestor Minghe may be immortal as long as the Blood Sea does not dry up. But everything he possesses is built upon the world of the Primordial World. If the Primordial World is gone, his Blood Sea will be rootless water!"
"What Emperor Withered Bone wants is the life force and deathly energy of an entire world! He will drain the Blood Sea dry and grind even Minghe's bones into powder!"
"And once the one inside the sun emerges, he will burn everything away! Minghe's Blood Sea will evaporate outright!"
"So, he and we now share a common enemy."
Chen Ran's logic was clear and ruthless.
He laid every conflict of interest bare before them.
"As for the key..."
Chen Ran looked at Nuwa.
"We will retrieve the key."
"But we will not take it to the Solar Star, nor will we give it to Minghe."
"We will place it somewhere no one would think of, and no one can touch."
"Where?"
Nuwa asked.
Chen Ran's gaze pierced through endless chaos and descended upon the Primordial World's continent.
It settled upon the remains of Mount Buzhou, which had once held up the heavens and earth of the entire Primordial World.
"Pangu's spine."
Chen Ran slowly spoke those words.
"Father God Pangu's will shall personally guard the key."
"Whoever wants to touch it must first ask whether this world will allow it!"
This proposal made everyone suck in a cold breath.
Bind the key to the fate of the entire Primordial World!
What audacity!
This way, even if Minghe learned of the key's existence, he would never dare act rashly.
Because touching the key meant becoming an enemy of the entire Primordial World, an enemy of Pangu's remaining will!
With this, every future danger was completely cut off.
"Good."
Grand Supreme Elder, who had remained silent all along, finally spoke.
He said only one word.
Yet that single word represented the final decision.
Primordial Heavenly Venerate and Lord of the Heavens said nothing further.
They chose to acquiesce.
The plan had passed.
A mad plan that gambled the entire future of the Primordial World.
"Who will go to the Taiyin Star?"
Primordial Heavenly Venerate asked.
"I will."
Nuwa stepped forward.
"Xihe, you were once the mistress of the Taiyin. Come with me."
"Yes, Your Ladyship." Xihe accepted the order.
"Not enough."
Chen Ran shook his head.
"The Taiyin Star stands opposed to the Solar Star. There is certain to be great danger there. The two of you alone may not be enough."
"Then what do you suggest?"
"I need someone. Someone absolutely rational, who cannot be shaken by any external force, and who can execute every instruction precisely."
Chen Ran turned his gaze toward the Chan Sect's camp.
It fell upon a taciturn Daoist among the Twelve Golden Immortals, holding a jade ruyi.
True Lord Yuding.
Everyone was stunned.
Why him?
Among the Twelve Golden Immortals, True Lord Yuding was not the strongest, nor did he possess the greatest treasures. He had always kept a low profile.
Only Primordial Heavenly Venerate's eyes flashed with a trace of surprise.
He knew Chen Ran had chosen the right man.
True Lord Yuding cultivated the path of the Dao Heart, the most important aspect of the Three Corpses Severing method.
His Dao Heart was as pure and unbreakable as jade.
"Yuding, accompany Junior Sister Nuwa on this journey." Primordial Heavenly Venerate gave the order.
"Yes, Master." True Lord Yuding bowed and accepted.
"And one more thing."
At last, Chen Ran's gaze fell upon himself.
"Who will go to the Blood Sea?"
The question plunged the entire bridge into deathly silence once more.
Going to the Taiyin Star was a risk.
Going to the Blood Sea was a death sentence.
They would be facing a schemer who had been laying plans since ancient times, plotting against the entire Primordial World.
Whoever went would die.
"I will."
Chen Ran said calmly.
"I was the one who proposed this plan."
"And I should be the one to place the first wager in this gamble."
Before you continue