The next day.
Only two days remained until the Sky-Supporting Tribe founded its kingdom, and ever more cultivators poured into Nine-Dragon Island.
The Teleportation Formation at Nine-Dragon Harbor operated nonstop, bringing in hundreds or thousands of cultivators at every moment. Gods, devils, ghosts, monsters, demons, Buddhists, immortals, witches-every sort was present in a bewildering mix. The situation on Nine-Dragon Island grew increasingly grave, its atmosphere increasingly heavy and oppressive, with the restless wind filling the tower before a mountain storm.
The Sky-Supporting Tribe's elders, priests, and others were all run ragged, chiefly dealing with the many troubles caused by the sheer number of cultivators. Friction and fighting between cultivators had begun breaking out frequently, with clashes growing steadily larger and fiercer. This was inevitable. Cultivators all had their grudges to some degree, and with the natural hostility between races added to the mix, conflicts were multiplying. Without Nine-Dragon Island's many grand formations and numerous Emperors and Kings to deter them, everyone would already have been fighting in a chaotic melee!
Xiao Ying, Guihai Canglan, Tianzhi Baize, Chief Cloudsplitter, and the other leaders gathered in the main hall of Heaven-Supporting Palace. The Blood Suan Witch Emperor spoke first:
"High Priest! The situation is slipping further and further out of control. The number of outside cultivators has already approached ten million, almost five times our own population. Something is clearly strange here. We suspect some force is manipulating matters behind the scenes!"
"Oh?" Xiao Ying's heart tightened, but he feigned calm as he listened.
Xiao Ying and the others had long anticipated that outsiders would far outnumber their own people, since the Sky-Supporting Tribe had fewer than two million members.
They simply had not expected so many more. After all, this was the Endless Sea, a truly vast and sparsely populated region