"Later, I arranged another path for him."
"What path?"
"For the Reed God's will to awaken quickly, it needed a vessel. He was just right for it, and it would cure his Genius Disease too. Once matters on the Southern Continent were settled, the Reed God could separate from his body, and he could return."
"What happened originally?"
"Cao Ci was the original vessel. He released his Origin in the Slaughter Forbidden Land, intending to fuse with it, and the Reed God took over his body. By the time the Reed God and the Tribulation Buddha had suppressed the trouble on the Southern Continent again and separated from him, his Spiritual Decline had already begun."
"I see..."
But Chen Shu had no time to worry about Cao Ci now.
"So what happens next?"
"After running their projections, Ning Qing and the New Sage concluded that starting the war early was the better choice," Ning Qing said coldly. "Right now, the power in the Withered Plane shows no sign of invading the surrounding planes. Though the Deities on both sides have turned their eyes toward it, they aren't fully on guard. Only twenty years from now, when that power begins to show signs of spreading, will the Deities on the other side start preparing in earnest for the struggle. So they decided to bring the war forward to a few years from now. By then, your Marks will have helped you grow ahead of schedule. The Sword Master and the other seniors of his generation will be at their peak, seniors from the generation after them will have reached the Ninth Tier one after another, and I'll be Ninth Tier too. With our other preparations, we'll be far stronger than last time. They won't be ready, and they'll be far weaker."