Divine Kasyapa was astonished to hear Jiang Chen’s voice. He didn’t expect his grandson-in-law’s appearance here. Shouldn’t Jiang Chen be in some secret realm at the competition of geniuses? Was this some kind of doppelganger?

The sad end the sallow cultivator had met however, reassured him that Jiang Chen had returned with considerable aid.

He immediately felt much more at ease. If Jiang Chen could hold up the bald god, he was confident he could hold both enforcers off at once.

Daylight had suddenly broken through sinister clouds.

Jiang Chen smiled at Divine Kasyapa as he circled back. “Honored divine, how have you been?”

Divine Kasyapa considered the young man with brilliant eyes. “How unexpected.” He chuckled.

“What didn’t you expect, senior?” Jiang Chen grinned in reply.

“How unexpected that the dimwit Lightford would be so generous as to let you out.” Divine Kasyapa’s expression was full of mirthful derision.

Jiang Chen chuckled as well. “He was far from generous. But the tricks he tried to pull were too low-level. A so-called Prismatic Convergence Formation, some mist, and a completely insincere ambush. In what world can they possibly hold up the ten sacred lands’ best experts?”

The two enforcers felt their heart rates rise rapidly. Both men flushed deeply.

Something as strong as the Prismatic Convergence Formation was being called ‘low-level’? Since when were the ten sacred lands that strong?

That didn’t sound right.

Both enforcers began to hesitate. They wanted to rush back and report this news immediately to their master. After all, Lightford was probably still in the dark about the fact that the ten sacred lands’ people had escaped from Sandplain.

He had certainly been unaware when they’d first left. Perhaps the information had reached him by now?

Still, they’d carefully researched the sacred lands’ capabilities and had come to the consensus that the Prismatic Convergence Formation was sufficient to completely foil them, to say nothing of the complex toxins in the roiling mist behind it.

And yet, the ten sacred lands had gotten out with an almost trivial ease!

How trustworthy were this Jiang Chen’s words? Was he merely feigning confidence?

But if he was, why was he even here in the first place? How would he know of their arrangements near Sandplain?

The enforcers traded ponderous looks. Both men were uncertain about a great many things.

Divine Kasyapa was very pleased to hear what Jiang Chen had to say. He was happy with anything that would upset old fart Lightford.

“Good, good, good. I assume that dullard Lightford knows about it by now. I’d really like to see his frustration for myself.”

Divine Kasyapa intentionally exaggerated his tone as he swept his gaze across the two enforcers. 

“Jiang Chen.” He laughed. “Enforcers Goldie and Silver here are old bastard Lightford’s loyal hounds. If you can get rid of them, you’ll have dealt a serious blow to him.”

“Oh? The Eternal Sacred Land has much more clout than I thought. This ‘old bastard Lightford’ you mention… where is he from?”

Jiang Chen didn’t mind using the same nickname Kasyapa did. This was an enemy of his for sure, and angering his lackeys was of no consequence.

The enforcer in gold scowled. “Are you disrespecting Master Lightford, kid? Are you courting death?”

Jiang Chen shrugged, then turned to his dao partner’s grandfather. “So what’s his story, exactly?”

“Heh, old bastard Lightford has spent countless years in the Boundless Prison. He’s always lorded it over the others there. These two dogs of his have helped him gather a number of people to his side. Most of the escapees from the prison are likely the same way by now. He invited me in the past as well, but I’ve no interest in being anyone’s dog.”

“How many gods does he have under his command?” Jiang Chen transmitted.

“I’m not sure, exactly. No one knows how many prisoners managed to escape. However, there’s barely any left who haven’t joined old Lightford. Apart, they’re not much of a threat to the ten sacred lands, but that’s not the case right now

—

especially if Lightford is brewing some conspiracy or another.”

Jiang Chen nodded. From what the divine was saying, the cultivators who had joined Master Lightford were superior to the ten sacred lands in terms of raw strength.

What they lacked were resources and a foundation. If they defeated the ten sacred lands, both would be theirs in due time.

This meant that even Divine Kasyapa’s hiding place wasn’t necessarily safe anymore. An ambitious man like Lightford would plunge Myriad Abyss into chaos once again.

Why was the old bastard mucking up already murky waters? Couldn’t he see there was already enough trouble?

Myriad Abyss Island barely had any time left to waste. It couldn’t afford further strife; expending its energies on civil war rather than reinforcing the precarious situation in the offworld battlefields spelled doom for the archipelago’s future.

He tossed a nasty look toward the enforcers.

“I’m letting you two lapdogs return to your master to inform him that Myriad Abyss Island is besieged from both the inside and out,” he declared icily. “If you insist on opposing the ten sacred lands, you will only benefit your enemies.”

“Hmph. When the master rules over the entirety of Myriad Abyss, he will crush those outside enemies in turn. What do you have to worry about, brat?”

“Your master, rule over the whole of Myriad Abyss? Does he have the ability to do such a thing?” Jiang Chen snickered.

“Our master is a mid divine realm cultivator. Does the ten sacred lands have anyone that can rival him?” the enforcer in gold cackled. “You’re prancing about now, but when he arrives on the scene, you’ll all fall in a single flourish. The master is simply busy with cultivation right now.”

Evidently, the two enforcers worshiped their master with an almost blind fervor.

Jiang Chen laughed. “Mid divine realm is remarkable, sure, but to think himself invincible is utterly foolish. If your master really is that strong, why did your trap on Sandplain fall apart so easily? Shouldn’t your plans have gone through both there and here?”

There was still a dim hope that Myriad Abyss could be spared from warfare.

Once the fighting began, the situation would spiral more and more out of control.

Unfortunately, the enemy’s tone sounded like such a thing was completely out of question.

Divine Kasyapa sighed softly. “Jiang Chen, your preaching won’t work on Lightford, that old, deaf bastard. All his life, he’s only ever taken and taken, without giving an inch to anyone!”

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