At the news, He Shenglai fell into deep thought.
His first instinct was that the safest course would be to stop the demonic cultivators outside the Secret Realm.
Since intelligence already suggested they might be involved with the Upper Cultivators, their movements ought to be restricted until the matter was investigated. Only then should other arrangements be made, lest fresh complications arise.
But after a little thought, He Shenglai saw the problem and abandoned the idea.
It would indeed minimize the uncertainties inside the Five Elements Secret Realm, but the purpose behind it would be far too obvious.
If those demonic cultivators had already made contact with the Sea Pavilion True Lord, detaining them all at this juncture would be far too deliberate. It would amount to confessing before the other side had even discovered the New Heaven Project.
Since neither side wanted to reveal itself too early, they could only turn a blind eye to the suspicious activity for now and watch the fire from across the river.
Besides, as things stood, the New Heaven cultivators were clearly the more mysterious side. They still held an advantage in information over the Upper Cultivators.
That made it all the more important not to act rashly.
The two sides would clash many more times. They could not lay their entire plan bare merely to reduce the risk of a single operation.
Matters on the chessboard had to be settled through moves on the chessboard. If the players themselves stepped onto it, the nature of the contest would change entirely.
So the matter of the demonic cultivators' unusual movements could only be left to Yang Yuanling, Chen Huai'an, Lin Qiao, and the other New Heaven cultivators about to enter the Secret Realm. They would have to respond and deal with it there.