Upon returning to his cave abode, Xuan Chuan did not immediately enter seclusion.
He sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion. A map of the Primordial World lay spread across the jade table before him, its starlike markers outlining the distribution of the various powers.
"Yuanshi's killing intent has been revealed. This is a crisis, but it is also an opportunity."
His fingertips tapped lightly against the tabletop as divine light flowed through his eyes.
A Saint personally targeting him meant that he had thoroughly entered the chessboard of the highest echelon.
The danger had surged sharply, but at the same time—those forces that might once have overlooked him now had no choice but to face his existence head-on.
A "Jiejiao chief disciple" whom the Primordial Heavenly Venerable did not hesitate to personally reveal killing intent toward, and whom Master Tongtian did not hesitate to protect with a sword strike across space, now carried an entirely different weight.
"Within Jiejiao, this scare will instead make us more united. But with Jiejiao alone, to contend against Chanjiao, the Heavenly Court, and even the Western Religion that may intervene..." Xuan Chuan shook his head. "Not enough."
His gaze moved over the map.
The Heavenly Court—Haotian God, one of the greatest beneficiaries of the Investiture of the Gods—was currently wishing more than anything for the three teachings of Xuanmen to fight each other to the bitter end. It would never be an ally.
The Western Religion—Jieyin and Zhunti, masters at fishing in troubled waters—had long been exchanging flirtatious glances with Chanjiao in secret. They would only stab him in the back at the crucial moment.
Great Rogue Cultivators? Zhen Yuanzi, Minghe, and the like were either detached from worldly affairs or harbored unfathomable intentions. They could not be relied upon.
Then...
Xuan Chuan's gaze