"The true reason for the demon race's invasion of our lands this time appears to be known only to those Holy Ancestors. The ordinary demon veneration masters simply follow orders and carry them out. Otherwise, when we risked soul-searching the captured demon veneration masters back then, we wouldn't have come away with absolutely no relevant intelligence," the old woman in the white fur robe said slowly, sounding thoroughly exasperated.
"Hmph, regardless of what drove the demons to harbor such ambition, our several races absolutely cannot let them succeed. The contingency measures we prepared are already underway simultaneously. Two of them are already more than halfway complete — they should be sufficient to deal a devastating blow to the demon army that has already descended. Even if some of the demon Holy Ancestors descend to the Spirit World in their true bodies, it won't change anything. The only troublesome matter is that the intelligence we've confirmed indicates that the three great Demon Progenitors of the demon race will likely descend together. If that happens, even if all our several races' Mahayana cultivators join forces, we would most likely still be outmatched. I've heard that each of the three great Demon Progenitors is an ancient monster who has lived for several hundred thousand years, and they stand no more than a single step away from ascending to become True Devil-level existences." The feathered man's brow furrowed tightly as he delivered these words, sending a jolt through everyone else's hearts.
"The three great Demon Progenitors are all Tribulation Transcendence stage ancient demons — never mind our few races, I doubt there are even a handful of people in the entire Spirit World who could claim they could defeat them. If any exist at all, it would only be the True Spirit-level beings venerated by the great races, who might stand a chance in battle. Our several races are considered weak within the Spirit World — where would we even find True Spirit-level beings willing to help? And without a way to deal with the three great Demon Progenitors, even if we use the aforementioned measures to repel the demon army, the eventual defeat of our several races remains unavoidable," the old woman muttered.
The others exchanged glances, and their expressions all turned somewhat grim.
"There's no need for everyone to be so distressed. When Lord Mo Jianli departed from the Holy Island, he said he would seek out the Mahayana cultivators of other races to devise a way to deal with this matter. After so much time has passed, perhaps a solution has already been found." A fair-skinned man who had remained silent throughout suddenly spoke up in a calm tone.
"Fellow Daoist Xun, how is it that we have never heard of this before?" The feathered man's expression changed in surprise, and he hurriedly asked.
The faces of the others also showed a mixture of shock and hope.
"This matter was known only to Brother Luo and me. Back then, Senior Mo specifically instructed us not to spread it lightly, so we never mentioned it to any of you. Now, however, it seems the time has come where we can no longer keep silent." The fair-skinned man sighed and explained.
"Brother Luo, is what he says true?" Before the feathered man could press further, the old woman had already turned her head toward the white-haired elder and asked urgently.
"Heh heh, Fellow Daoist Xun speaks the truth. When Senior Mo departed, he did indeed brief the two of us on this matter." The white-haired elder smiled faintly and nodded in confirmation.
"Wonderful! If Senior Mo said as much, he must already have a plan in mind."
"It seems like we may still have great hope of winning this devil calamity after all."
...
For a moment, most of the people in the hall felt a measure of relief wash over them, and they began murmuring among themselves.
"Very well. Before we proceed to discuss the specific arrangements, there is one more matter I must announce. Fellow Daoist Black Rain, who departed the Holy Island some time ago to capture the Yellow Millet Stone Spirit, has perished. According to Tian Chan of the Holy Emperor City, who was dispatched to assist, they had already obtained the Yellow Millet Stone Spirit before they parted ways. Yet after Black Rain departed, his life plate was destroyed." The feathered man shifted the topic, his expression grave.
The others' faces all sank.
"Lord Black Rain possessed mid-stage Body Integration cultivation, and his array of techniques was far from weak. How could something happen to him without anyone noticing? Could there be some hidden circumstances at play?" The fair-skinned man's gaze sharpened, and he asked with a note of skepticism.
"There shouldn't be any hidden circumstances. The Yellow Millet Stone Spirit, while rare, is of little practical use to most people. Furthermore, Fellow Daoist Tian Chan mentioned a witness. At the time, there was another Body Integration cultivator — a fellow they happened to encounter — who assisted them in obtaining the Stone Spirit. According to him, without that person's help, the two of them would not have captured the Stone Spirit so easily." The feathered man shook his head.
"A witness? Who is this Fellow Daoist — surely not someone else from the Holy Emperor City?" The old woman's brow furrowed as she asked slowly.
"No, not at all. Speaking of this person, most of you have probably heard of him. It is Fellow Daoist Han Li, who only recently advanced to the Body Integration stage a few hundred years ago." The feathered man replied seriously.
"Han Li! That name does ring a bell. I've heard he's a cultivation genius that appears in your human race only once every hundred thousand years — and yet he progressed from the Deity Transformation stage to the early Body Integration stage in just a few hundred years." The old woman replied, somewhat surprised.
"Heh heh, that news of yours is outdated. This Fellow Daoist Han is already a mid-stage Body Integration cultivator now." The white-haired elder suddenly interjected with a smile.
"What — he's already advanced to mid-stage? That's far too fast. It seems the 'once in a hundred thousand years' description was actually an understatement." The old woman was genuinely alarmed.
She was not the only one. Several other Body Integration stage old monsters who had likewise been unaware of this fact stirred among themselves, all showing expressions of shock.
"Perhaps so. If not for the outbreak of this devil calamity, Fellow Daoist Han would likely have already become a member of our Holy Island. But we can speak more of Fellow Daoist Han's affairs later. Brother Ying, have you already verified this matter with Fellow Daoist Han?" The white-haired elder smiled faintly and continued to press the feathered man.
"I had intended to do just that, but after finally managing to establish contact with the Heavenly Abyss City, I discovered that Fellow Daoist Han's whereabouts are unknown. His disappearance appears to have coincided exactly with the dates of Black Rain and Tian Chan's operation." The feathered man laughed bitterly, sounding somewhat helpless.