A month later.
"Whoosh..."
"Crash!"
The briny sea wind howled, and waves beat rhythmically against the coastal reefs.
At that moment, in the Boundless Sea Waters.
On an island far from land, within an Independent Space carved out inside a mountain.
The Barbarian God Huang Qiu, Dragon Emperor Ao Sheng, Taiching Daoist, Heavenly Demoness, and Gu Chenfeng—the Five—had gathered.
That day, when they proved no match for Mingluo, Taiching Daoist had used star-chart Formation Patterns to teleport the Five here.
Gu Chenfeng had stood guard over the other four.
After a month of recuperation, aided by various miraculous pills and elixirs and the Dragon Emperor's enveloping holy light, all four had essentially recovered.
Now they gathered once more to discuss a strategy.
After their earlier crushing defeat, the atmosphere was noticeably somber and heavy.
The Dragon Emperor sighed. "To think the Blood Nether Race had such powerful outside help. Even with the four of us joining forces, we were no match for him.
"Fellow Daoist Taiqing, how do matters stand on the Central Province Continent?"
"When we retreated in defeat, I already sent word to the allied army, telling them all to fall back to the continent's border and hold their ground in the Secret Realm Space we opened.
"Although the allied army's morale has suffered, there have not yet been heavy casualties," Taiching Daoist replied.
"What about the Blood Nether Race's movements?" the Barbarian God also asked.
The communication Restrictions used by the Human and Demon Races had all been constructed by Taiching Daoist himself.
At this moment, she alone could directly contact the two races' allied army and ascertain the situation in Central Province.
"For now, the Blood Nether Race has not launched the massive counterattack we imagined. Their headquarters is unusually quiet, and they have stopped attacking."