Chapter 1278. Preparation to Strike.

After placing that girl in there, Yasenia looked at the battlefield with her spiritual sense and sighed. ‘It is soon time to take that extra step. Otherwise, more meaningless death will follow.’

Although “only” around one to two percent had died during the last three years, Yasenia felt that it was a bit too much. They were the attackers, and they weren’t going to receive support or reinforcement anytime soon since the other battlefields were still ongoing. ‘Moreover, I can’t get stuck here with these people. This is the Sublime Mid Heavenly Layer. The place I am currently at could be taken as a remote location since there are no cultivators beyond the Seventh Level of the Transcendence Realm.’

While the Star Immortal Sect had declined, it was still one of the top-notch Immortal Sects on this continent. That spoke volumes about the general strength of this place. For Yasenia, this cap was both good and bad.

On one side, Yasenia didn’t need to worry about one day encountering someone who could slap her out of existence. While she was not a match for a Seventh Level Transcendence Realm cultivator, she could at least attempt to escape and react to their attacks.

On the other hand, the energy quality here was far from being the best, even when it was like purified water compared to the mud-like energy she had previously trained with. So, if she went to a place where even the top bosses here thought of it as “top-notch,” she would be able to advance even quicker.

It was all a matter of risk and reward. The higher the risk, the better the rewards.

After she traversed the distance between her location and the meeting room for the Sixth Realm people, Yasenia tapped a formation inside the room and activated it. When she did so, energy flowed around the entire room before the formation started buzzing. When she completed that preparation, an aura pulse spread around, reaching everyone on the battlefield without fail.

Yasenia waited for a little while, and soon, Chen Jizhen arrived. His eyebrows were slightly furrowed as he looked at Yasenia with confusion. “What is wrong? Why did you activate the [Emergency Return] array?”

Yasenia and Chen Jizhen had slowly worked out their differences during the last years. They didn’t really like each other, and that was a fact. However, they had come to terms so that, during this mission, both would cooperate and come to agreements without allowing their feelings to get in the way.

The dragoness glanced at him and smiled faintly. “Don’t worry, once everyone is back, I’ll explain. I don’t want to repeat my explanation each time someone arrives.”

Chen Jizhen didn’t like Yasenia, but that didn’t mean that he had not recognized how accomplished and intelligent she was. Therefore, he trusted that this call was not without reason. Not answering Yasenia’s words, he moved toward one chair and sat down.

Mo Yun, Gao Yan, Jilang Qin, and Mo Zifei didn’t take long to arrive, and Yasenia began explaining her reasoning for activating the formation. “By now, we know each other, so you must know that I hate going in circles. I’ll get straight to the point. We’ve harassed them to the point that their disciples are barely leaving their bounds already. The number of losses on the other side in terms of mortal realm disciples reached a few tens of thousands, thanks to us intercepting the returning disciples and our juniors working hard.”

Mo Yun blinked and asked curiously. “So… Do you want us to stop attacking and force them to turtle?”

“No.” Yasenia commented. “At this pace, it is true that we might be able to deprive them of resources. However, how long will that take? The Abyss is dangerous because it has the ability to swallow its surroundings extremely quickly. Even if our World has a High-level Heaven, the [Abyss] won’t take long to descend and start its true attack.”

Mo Zifei tilted her head. “True attack?”

“Yes.” Yasenia pointed to the side with her tail and summoned a map. “After analyzing the inside of the Abyss Fog Wall, I noticed that the energy fluctuations in the middle have been steadily increasing over time. This means that they are using some kind of method to do something there, and that something is probably opening a passage to the [Abyss] dimension.”

Chen Jizhen spoke slowly. “If they manage to do that, what forces will appear from there? 10 Level 1 Transcendence Realm cultivators?”

Yasenia laughed. “That’s an optimistic estimate, little Zhen~.”

Chen Jizhen’s expression almost turned black. “Don’t call me that.”

The dragoness smirked. “Sure, Chen Chen~.”

Mo Yun laughed and called after Yasenia. “Chen Chen, so cute!”

“Enough.” He spoke somewhat tiredly as he rubbed his forehead. The times he has been teased during the last three years couldn’t be easily counted. “Tell me, what are your expectations with this summoning ritual they are doing?”

Yasenia didn’t sweeten her words and blurted it out. “Most likely a Level 8, 9, or half-step Abyss Monster.”

Her blunt words made the five people tense up as their expressions changed from confused to serious. “Impossible.” Chen Jizhen at first refuted her words. “How can that be possible? Monsters of that caliber can’t appear on our continent. The energy is too thin for that to happen.”

Yasenia shrugged. “They are not native to this place.” She really didn’t find that difficult. “If they open a portal, the limit is not on the energy level but the Heaven Level. This part of the World is clearly somewhat limited, as I can feel a similar pressure compared to my origin world. That world was also limited to the peak of the Sixth Realm. So, the Abyss Monsters that can descend here are, most likely, of that level.”

After digesting her words, Gao Yan spoke up. “What’s the plan, then?”

Yasenia spoke simply. “We will attack them and prevent it. We sent a few letters back to ask for reinforcements, but all of them have been denied for some reason.” The dragoness didn’t want to be pessimistic, so she was thinking that the other side was too preoccupied with the other Demonic Sects to act with them. Still, there was the possibility of the other side not answering to test her or something.

‘If it is the latter…’ Yasenia’s eyes flashed with a cold light.

Mo Yun looked at the map and frowned. “How do we attack? The fog is too dangerous for us, Yasenia.”

“I have been researching and testing it these last three years. Now, I have a solution. The enemy has 1 Level Three, 3 Level Twos, and 7 Level Ones left. We have 2 Level Threes, 3 Level Twos, and me. I think we are more than able to have an advantage against them.

The Level Three Transcendence Realm cultivators were Jilang Qin and Chen Jizhen, while the other three were Level 2. Everyone had a Level 1 Intent Domain, with Chen Jizhen having already stepped one foot into the next Intent Domain Level. He only needed an epiphany to take that leap.

Meanwhile, Yasenia was also a step away from understanding the War Domain. During the last three years, Yasenia had never stopped cultivating when she could. ‘My [Mortal Shackles] are slowly being shed, while my energy is slowly coating and changing my skin for the [Skin Shedding] step. The Soul Path is relatively easier now that I have used the [Primordial Palace] as my Soul Palace. The first realm of [Soul Palace Surfacing] is basically conceptually completed, and I only need energy for the path to break through.’

She paused after that. 'Of course, after Dramel linked all paths, I won’t be able to complete the level without pushing all four paths at once.'

While she pondered that, the other five people discussed among themselves and eventually came to an agreement. Chen Jizhen spoke up. “Yasenia, tell me, what can we do to avoid being affected by the Abyssal Fog Wall? Also, will we really be okay once we cross it?”

Yasenia took out five discs and spoke. “I’ve engraved these five disks with some basic formations to let my aura envelop all of you. They can last up to five years, so we have more than enough time to fight inside even if their attacks consume the disk’s energy.”

The orange-colored disk with green and blue energy flowing through the formation paths was no larger than Yasenia’s palm. It was a small and intricate device she built with some brute force.

Chen Jizhen glanced at Yasenia’s tail and spoke. “If we could create a coat with your scales, we would be safer.”

“Yes.” Yasenia smiled. “You’d be safer from the Abyssal Monsters. However, you wouldn’t be safe from me.” Her eyes shone with a cold light as she asked. “Who do you want to antagonize, Chen Jizhen? Abyssal Monsters or me?”

The man snorted and didn’t answer. However, everyone could easily notice that he feared Yasenia more than he feared the Abyss Cultivators.

Yasenia didn’t linger on that and commented. “Since we are all agreeable, let’s go. We’ll go attack them once the juniors return and are safe and sound.”

Meanwhile, in the Abyssal Worshiper Sect, the Third Level Transcendence Abyss Cultivator was tapping the table with a thoughtful expression. “How are the preparations going?”

The Abyssal Cultivator Yasenia bisected spoke up. His body had recovered, even if a massive vertical scar remained, as the Celestial Energies still caused havoc inside of him. “The next time that annoying Dragon appears, we’ll be able to deal with her.”

As they spoke, a messenger arrived. It was one of the flying tentacle-eye monsters. “Report! Report! The enemy cultivators are retreating!”

“Hm?” The leader frowned for a second. “Why did they retreat? Were we too obvious? Or is it a coincidence?”

A female cultivator spoke up, her tone confused. “That dragon doesn’t seem like someone who gives up. I’ve seen her run around somewhat hastily to save all the disciples she can. So, if she discovered our plan, she wouldn’t ask for such a retreat.”

“Why do you say that?” The leader asked, curious.

“While that Dragon Woman is clever, she has a soft spot for the disciples. So, instead of letting them retreat to the cave, she would’ve sent them back to their sect.”

“Hm… That’s reasonable.” The man stood up and commented. “Either way, prepare to activate it. It won’t really hurt us either way.”