The decree of the Dragon Clan Main Lineage hung beyond Dragon-Suppressing Pass.
That golden dragon pattern was like a thorn nailed into the hearts of every living being in Abyss.
A thousand years.
To the Primordial World, it was so short it was barely a minor period of secluded cultivation.
But to Abyss, these thousand years were crucial.
Because after a thousand years, the Dragon Clan Main Lineage might very well descend in person.
The Blackwater Dragon King was already terrifying enough.
The Main Lineage's experts would only be stronger.
If one at the Great Luo Late Stage came, Dragon-Suppressing Pass could still rely on its formations to hold them off.
But if a Quasi-Saint came, then everything would be uncertain.
Within Abyss City, the atmosphere gradually grew tense.
However, that tension did not turn into chaos.
The Bureau of Cause and Effect, Bureau of Calamity Avoidance, Bureau of Realm Patrol, Treasury Bureau, Spirit Field Office, Abyss Academy, and Realm Guard all began operating under Lan Shuang's scheduling.
Within the Northern Darkness Dao Palace.
The heads of Abyss's various departments gathered together.
Lan Shuang stood at the front, holding the decree the Emperor had just issued.
"The Emperor has commanded."
"Seal off some of the passages to the outside world."
"Reduce travel outside."
"Reinforce Dragon-Suppressing Pass."
"No race is to provoke the Dragon Clan."
"For the next thousand years, Abyss will enter a Calamity-Avoidance State."
As her words fell, the expressions of everyone in the hall varied.
Han Jue was the first to speak.
"Does the Calamity-Avoidance State mean full-scale preparations for war?"
Lan Shuang looked at him.
"It means lying low."
"On the surface, we avoid their edge. In truth, we strengthen our foundations."
Lady Mingzhu seemed thoughtful.
"The Emperor does not wish for Abyss to provoke the Dragon Clan first. He wants the Dragon Clan Main Lineage to make the first move."
"That way, Abyss will have righteousness on its side."
Ancestor Xuan Jia slowly nodded.
"If we strike first, we will give the Dragon Clan Main Lineage an excuse."
"Defending Dragon-Suppressing Pass is the safest choice."
Ao Lie sat to one side of the hall, his expression grave.
"The Dragon Clan Main Lineage will not care about so-called righteousness."
"They only look at strength."
Lan Shuang said, "Then we will show them our strength."
Ao Lie raised his head.
Lan Shuang continued, "Within a thousand years, Dragon-Suppressing Pass must complete its second reinforcement."
"The Black Tortoise Sea-Calming Formation must expand to cover thirty thousand miles of the Outer Sea."
"The Book of Cause and Effect must record the origins of every race entering the realm, to prevent Dragon Clan spies from infiltrating."
"Abyss Academy will suspend some ordinary classes and add four categories of courses: formations, defense, evacuation, and healing."
"The Realm Guard will expand to three thousand members."
"The Treasury Bureau will open part of its resources, with priority given to Dragon-Suppressing Pass."
"The Frost Phoenix Lineage will assist in stabilizing the powers of fire and cold."
"The Black-Shelled Turtle Tribe will be responsible for the inner gate's defenses."
"Ao Lie will be responsible for deducing the formation-breaking methods the Dragon Clan Main Lineage may use."
Arrangement after arrangement was issued.
The entire hall swiftly sprang into action.
This was the order Abyss had cultivated over the years.
If this had been an ordinary refuge, hearing that the Dragon Clan Main Lineage was coming would likely have sent everyone into a panic long ago.
But Abyss was different.
They had the Bureau of Cause and Effect to steady their hearts.
They had the Academy to cultivate talent.
They had the Realm Guard to defend the city.
They had Dragon-Suppressing Pass to block their enemies.
More importantly, they had the Mysterious Abyss Emperor in their hearts.
As long as the Emperor remained in Abyss, everyone had confidence.
Han Jue said in a deep voice, "The Realm Guard will complete its expansion to three thousand within a hundred years."
"Within a thousand years, I will make sure they are familiar with every defensive formation of Dragon-Suppressing Pass."
Lady Mingzhu said, "The Treasury Bureau will cooperate."
"The Mystic Clam Tribe can provide thirty thousand Mystic Water Pearls to serve as formation nodes in the pass walls."
Feng Li spoke as well.
"The Frost Phoenix Lineage can provide Frostflame to freeze the undercurrents of the Outer Sea and slow the Dragon Clan's charge into the formation."
Ancestor Xuan Jia tapped his cane.
"The Black-Shelled Turtle Tribe will carve all of our turtle-shell formation patterns into the inner gate."
Ao Lie was silent for a moment before saying, "I will write down the Dragon Clan's methods for breaking formations."
The moment he said this, many people in the hall looked toward him.
Ao Lie's expression remained calm.
"Though I was born of the Dragon Clan, my sentence has not yet ended, and I still guard Abyss's outer gate."
"If the Main Lineage comes, I know what I must do."
Han Jue smiled.
"Now that sounds like the commander defending the Outer Gate of Dragon-Suppressing Pass."
Ao Lie glanced at him.
"Cut the nonsense. Come help deduce the Dragon Clan's formation charges later. Don't let me beat you flat."
Han Jue's eyes lit up.
"Bring it on."
Lan Shuang did not stop them.
This was precisely the state she wanted to see.
They could argue.
They could fight.
But it had to be within the rules, transformed into Abyss's strength.
Deep within Abyss.
Lu Chen listened to Lan Shuang's arrangements and stared blankly for a moment.
He had merely said to reinforce Dragon-Suppressing Pass, reduce travel outside, and not provoke the Dragon Clan.
Yet Lan Shuang had directly put together an entire prewar system.
The Realm Guard was expanding.
The Academy was changing its courses.
The Treasury Bureau was supplying resources.
The Frost Phoenix Lineage was assisting with defense.
The Black-Shelled Turtle Tribe was engraving formations.
Ao Lie was deducing the Dragon Clan's methods.
Was this execution ability not a little too strong?
Lu Chen had originally been worried that everyone would panic.
But now, it seemed they were calmer than he was.
They even looked more prepared for war than he did.
"Forget it."
"Reinforce it if you can."
"After all, I'm the one whose sense of security will improve."
Lu Chen quietly closed his eyes and began refining the Heaven-Deceiving Tortoise Shell.
This piece of tortoise shell could conceal part of Abyss's heavenly secrets.
With a thousand years available, he had to merge it into the Abyssal Womb Membrane as quickly as possible.
As long as its concealment grew stronger, when the Dragon Clan Main Lineage arrived, they would have a harder time seeing through his true form.
Over the next hundred years.
Abyss entered a period of high-speed operation.
Upon Dragon-Suppressing Pass, cultivators carved formation patterns day and night.
The Mystic Clam Tribe's Mystic Water Pearls were embedded into the pass walls one after another.
The Frost Phoenix Lineage released Frostflame, forming vast swathes of freezing mist over the Outer Sea.
Meanwhile, the Black-Shelled Turtle Tribe spread turtle-shell formation patterns across the inner gate.
Ao Lie led Han Jue and the Realm Guard's elites in repeatedly deducing the Dragon Clan's methods of attacking formations.
At first, the Realm Guard was beaten terribly by Ao Lie.
The Dragon Clan's formation charges, formation-breaking, entanglement tactics, and battlefield division were indeed extremely refined.
Han Jue lost seven times in a row.
On the eighth attempt, he finally relied on the Realm Guard's combined formation to endure for half an hour.
Ao Lie commented, "Barely passable."
Han Jue wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
"Again."
Ao Lie said, "You're not resting?"
"Resting for what? Will the Dragon Clan Main Lineage wait for me to rest?"
Ao Lie looked at him and, for once, did not mock him.
"Continue."
The commotion from their deductions grew greater and greater.
Many Academy disciples also came running over to watch.
Abyss Academy took the opportunity to establish a "Dragon-Suppressing Pass Battle Formation Course."
For the first time, the younger generation truly understood where the Dragon Clan's strength lay.
And for the first time, they understood that if Abyss wanted to survive, having the Emperor alone was not enough.
They had to grow stronger as well.
In the third hundredth year.
The Realm Guard officially expanded to three thousand members.
Eight hundred veteran members formed its core.
Twelve hundred new members came from young cultivators of the various races.
The rest formed special units made up of experts from races such as the Frost Phoenix Lineage, Black-Shelled Turtle Tribe, Frost Whale, and Ice Scale.
In the fifth hundredth year.
Dragon-Suppressing Pass's second layer of defense was completed.
Everything within thirty thousand miles of the Outer Sea was brought within the Black Tortoise Sea-Calming Formation's sensing range.
In the seventh hundredth year.
The Book of Cause and Effect completed its second inspection of all Abyss races.
It uncovered six Dragon Clan spies, two Phoenix Clan spies, and one Qilin Clan spy.
All of them were expelled from Abyss.
In the ninth hundredth year.
Lu Chen successfully merged the Heaven-Deceiving Tortoise Shell into the Abyssal Womb Membrane.
The heavenly secrets of the entire Abyss Minor World became even more obscure.
If outsiders tried to calculate Abyss's whereabouts, they would see only a hazy expanse of Blackwater in the Northern Sea.
Lu Chen felt somewhat relieved.
"Much steadier now."
"If the Dragon Clan Main Lineage forgets about this after a thousand years, that would be even better."
Unfortunately, things did not go as he wished.
In the nine hundred and ninety-ninth year.
Beyond Dragon-Suppressing Pass.
The Dragon Clan Main Lineage decree suddenly blazed with light.
Golden dragon patterns transformed into a small dragon and let out a long cry toward the Eastern Sea.
Immediately afterward, the distant Blackwater parted.
A Dragon Clan procession slowly appeared outside Dragon-Suppressing Pass.
At its head stood Ao Xuan.
Behind Ao Xuan stood a white-haired old man.
The old man wore a deep azure dragon robe. His face was aged, but his eyes were as cold as the deep sea.
He merely stood there, yet the entire Abyss Outer Sea seemed to sink a notch lower.
Ancestor Xuan Jia's expression changed drastically.
"Great Luo Late Stage."
Ao Lie's pupils contracted as well.
"A main lineage elder, Ao Cang."
Han Jue tightened his grip on his spear.
"They're here."
Lan Shuang stood atop Dragon-Suppressing Pass with the Book of Cause and Effect in hand and slowly exhaled.
"Pass the order."
"Everyone at Dragon-Suppressing Pass, remain on high alert."
In the depths of Abyss.
Lu Chen opened his eyes as well.
The system's voice rang out.
"Detected the arrival of Ao Cang, elder of the Dragon Clan Main Lineage."
"The Millennium Pact has arrived."
Lu Chen fell silent for a moment.
"Trouble just got serious."