Prepare for the Worst

"Yes, Sect Master! Give the order!"

"Foreign enemies have invaded, and four cities have fallen! The people within those cities must be plunged into misery!"

Another elder spoke. He wore black martial robes, his expression was extremely solemn, and an imposing, unfathomable presence emanated from him.

"The enemy clearly came prepared! It's already too late to send experts now!"

Hearing this, Jiang Xiaotian shook his head, his expression still cold and grim. His deep, unfathomable eyes turned toward Purple Light and the others as he said gravely:

"Tell Yin Yang to return! The enemy's intentions are clear now. They're coming for our Star Divine Sect, so there's no need to investigate any further!"

"But, Sect Master..."

The old woman wanted to say more, but Jiang Xiaotian interrupted her with a wave of his hand and continued:

"Someone! Activate the sect-protecting formation, and notify all elders, peak masters, and hall masters to come to the main hall for a discussion!"

"Yes..."

Another disciple accepted the order and departed.

After glancing at the departing disciple's back, Jiang Xiaotian turned his gaze toward the old woman and said:

"It's not that I don't want to save them, but it's already too late. Every half-quarter of an hour, a main city's city lord's soul lamp goes out, which means another city has fallen!"

"Even if we sent experts now, they wouldn't arrive for several hours. There's simply no time!"

"And there's more than a ninety percent chance that their target is our Star Divine Sect. They could descend upon us at any moment! Do you understand what's at stake?"

As Jiang Xiaotian's words fell, the old woman, Blood Soul, Purple Light, and the others all fell silent.

That was indeed the truth. Across a distance of millions upon millions of miles, even aboard a warship, they could not possibly arrive without several hours of travel!

Moreover, the invading enemy was clearly coming for the Star Divine Sect. No one knew when they would arrive, nor did anyone know how powerful they were.

If they rashly dispatched their forces like this, what if they sent sheep into a tiger's jaws? What if the enemy arrived the very next moment? What if the Star Divine Sect proved no match...

They scarcely dared imagine it!

"Since its founding, our Star Divine Sect has endured countless battles, great and small, to achieve its present glory!"

"But the enemy invading us now... is unknown. We don't know what faction they belong to, nor do we know how powerful they are. This battle is likewise filled with unknowns!"

"Since they dare attack our Star Divine Sect, they must possess strength no weaker than ours, yet we know nothing about them!"

"This battle is filled with unknowns, and we have no choice but to prepare for the worst in advance!"

Jiang Xiaotian's voice rang out again, laden with immense heaviness. The towering killing intent in his eyes had long since given way to profound solemnity!

The enemy knew them like the back of their hand, yet they did not even know who the enemy was or how powerful they were. How ironic was that?

It went without saying how unpredictable the Star Divine Sect's fate would be in this battle. If they did not prepare for the worst ahead of time, when that moment truly came, even their sect's legacy might be lost, might it not?

To Blood Soul, Purple Light, the old woman, and the others, Jiang Xiaotian's words struck like a thunderclap.

Prepare for the worst!

Would things truly reach that point?

"We don't have much time left! Qingxia, go select three thousand seed disciples to serve as the flame of hope for our Star Divine Sect!"

Jiang Xiaotian looked at the old woman with his deep, unfathomable eyes and spoke again.

"Yes!"

The old woman answered.

With that, she turned and left.

Watching the old woman's departing figure, Jiang Xiaotian briefly fell silent. He did not want that moment to come either, but he had no choice but to take precautions!

Otherwise, when that moment truly arrived, anything he said would be too late. He did not want the Star Divine Sect's legacy to end in the hands of Jiang Xiaotian!

There were no surprises afterward.

The soul lamp of Barbarian Earth Main City's city lord went out. Within the next few quarter-hours, the soul lamps of the other cities' lords went out one after another as well, without the slightest exception.

As elders, peak masters, and hall masters entered the main hall one after another, a meeting concerning their very survival began!

Elsewhere.

Falling Cloud Main City.

The Nine Nether Rebirth Boat hovered a hundred thousand feet in the air.

Like Storm City, the city below was a bloody purgatory, a human tragedy. Corpses, bones, and severed arms littered the ground, and scarlet blood stained the entire city red like a sea of blood!

A million Asuras, their bodies dyed red with blood, stood amid the Blood Sea Purgatory like bloodthirsty demon gods.

A boundless devouring vortex shrouded the sky. Its terrifying devouring force churned in every direction as vast quantities of Breath of Origin and Breath of Nirvana surged madly into it.

Atop the immortal skull, Jun Wudao stood with his hands behind his back, his long black hair whipping wildly as he loomed like a demon god.

Ding! Absorption complete!

Ding! Beginning conversion!

Ding! Conversion complete!

Ding! Converted into 200,000 origin points and 2,000 annihilation points!

The next moment, the system's mechanical electronic notifications rang out in Jun Wudao's mind.

"Let's go!"

Hearing the system's utterly emotionless electronic notifications, Jun Wudao uttered those two words indifferently, then turned and headed toward the Nine Nether Hall.

His current origin points and annihilation points were already enough for him to advance. He had no intention of wasting any more time!

As Jun Wudao's emotionless words fell, the million Asuras below immediately soared into the sky, flying into the Nine Nether Rebirth Boat in the blink of an eye.

Boom!

An earth-shaking roar rang out.

The Nine Nether Rebirth Boat pierced through space, entered another dimension, and vanished from this stretch of heaven and earth.

Within that dimensional space, the Nine Nether Rebirth Boat sped along like a shadowy nether dragon, traveling at an indescribable speed.

Endless chaotic spatial undercurrents poured away to either side, like myriad stars clustered around the moon.

Buzz, buzz, buzz...

The Nine Nether Rebirth Boat rapidly traversed the space.

Nine Nether Hall.

Jun Wudao sat upright on the demon dragon throne and silently instructed the system, System, bring up my personal panel!

As his words fell.

That familiar pale-blue screen appeared before Jun Wudao's eyes once more.

Personal panel

Master: Jun Wudao.

Cultivation: Soul Infant Realm Great Perfection.

Cultivation methods and divine abilities: True Self Eternal Forbidden Canon, Heaven-Battling Forbidden Canon, Tyrant God Art, Annihilation of the Ten Directions...

Faction: Nine Nether.

Subordinates: Million-strong Asura Legion.

Items: Nine Nether Rebirth Boat.

Origin points: 1,000,000.

Annihilation points: 10,000.

...

"The destruction of ten cities yielded a million origin points and ten thousand annihilation points. Added together, that's actually considerably more than what the destruction of my Jun Clan produced!"

"Was it the sheer number of people?"

Looking at the information on his personal panel, Jun Wudao could not help murmuring softly.

"Perhaps when my strength isn't sufficient, this method could work too. Although it's rather troublesome and more likely to cause a stir and public outrage, the gains are still quite clear, and quite good!"