It had to be said — the leaders of these rebel forces truly harbored deep resentment toward the True Martial Sacred Ground, and not a shred of reverence could be detected in their words.
But the more they carried on like this, the more helpless the Golden Bell Ancestor felt.
Over the past few days, intelligence the Golden Bell Ancestor had gathered through various channels confirmed that the True Martial Sacred Ground had indeed been reaching out to all parties for help.
Between the ten great Sacred Grounds of the ten great Sacred Nations, there was naturally intense competition — both overt and covert rivalries, open struggles and hidden schemes.
Yet among the ten great Sacred Grounds, there also appeared to exist certain close ties.
The True Martial Sacred Ground, for instance, maintained close relationships with several other Sacred Grounds — the Eternal Sacred Ground among them.
The Golden Bell Ancestor spoke in a grave tone: "If every one of you insists on looking at things this way, you're going to suffer a devastating setback."
"Heh heh, Ancestor, in my opinion, there's no point borrowing trouble. Our anti-Sacred Ground army clearly holds the advantage, and this Spiritual Medicine base is as good as ours. A few trivial formations — I refuse to believe they can hold back our army's tide of iron and blood?"
"Ancestor, I also doubt any foolish force on the outside would dare stand against our army."
The Golden Bell Ancestor sighed. "Do you have any idea that the True Martial Sacred Ground and the Eternal Sacred Ground share a brotherhood pact? If either one comes under attack, the other is obligated to come to its aid."
"A brotherhood pact? How reliable is that thing? We launched this rebellion a long time ago, and we haven't seen the Eternal Sacred Ground lift a finger to help."
"That's because the Eternal Sacred Ground was also hit by an anti-Sacred Ground alliance. Both conflicts erupted at nearly the same time. The Eternal Sacred Ground could barely protect itself back then — how could it possibly send help?"
"What about now? The Eternal Sacred Ground seems to have quelled its internal unrest. But everyone says they only managed it through sheer luck. I don't buy it — after taking such a devastating blow to their strength, I refuse to believe they'd dare involve themselves in our True Martial Sacred Nation's affairs."
"Exactly. What happens in our True Martial Sacred Nation is none of the Eternal Sacred Nation's business. They're like a clay idol crossing a river — barely keeping themselves afloat."
"You're not well informed. The Eternal Sacred Nation quelled its rebellion successfully, with minimal losses to its main fighting force. Moreover, after the upheaval, the Eternal Sacred Ground's cohesion has grown even stronger. Its control hasn't weakened — it's actually intensified."
"So what? They haven't even sorted out their own mess yet. Where would they find the nerve to meddle in our affairs?"
"My worry is that the Eternal Sacred Ground doesn't see it that way. If their Sacred Ancestor personally takes the field, it could tip the balance of the entire battle."
"Mm, that's precisely why we need to end this quickly. We can't afford to waste our combat strength here."
Every last one of them burned with an overwhelming eagerness for battle.
Just as the Golden Bell Ancestor was lost in thought, his ears twitched and a sharp gleam shot from his eyes, piercing toward the far end of the deep valley.
From that direction, terrifying waves of primal heavenly and earthly force suddenly erupted.
In an instant, every person present sensed the disturbance.
"What's going on?" The crowd could clearly feel that the terrifying waves of primal force had already reached their feet, making the ground beneath them tremble noticeably.
Every gaze turned in that direction as one.
All they could see were ripples of vibration, like waves on the surface of water, rising one after another in endless succession. They sent tremors through the void in concentric rings, creating a sight of breathtaking grandeur.
In the very next moment, every living creature in the surrounding area was seized with panic, fleeing in every direction. Birds took to the sky and beasts bolted through the undergrowth, souls nearly torn from their bodies, scrambling in all directions with utter desperation.
"What is that?" Everyone was thoroughly bewildered.
It was Old Ancestor Golden Bell who remained composed. He bellowed, "Everyone, stay at your posts. Don't panic. A powerful Spirit Beast must have appeared—or perhaps one that was already lurking in this area has suddenly awakened and startled these weaker creatures. There's nothing to worry about."
Old Ancestor Golden Bell's spiritual sense was stronger than anyone else's, and he could faintly detect a few telltale traces.
Just as everyone was growing uneasy with suspicion, a figure suddenly erupted from within those concentric ripples, soaring toward the heavens like a rainbow piercing the sun.
A flying dragon ascended into the sky!
Every single person thought their eyes were playing tricks on them.
One by one, they blinked carefully, staring intently at the creature tumbling through the clouds above.
It had a pair of horns. It had four limbs. It had five claws. It had scales…
Everything matched perfectly with the legendary image of a True Dragon.
In that instant, even Old Ancestor Golden Bell's breathing grew rapid. He had never imagined that a True Dragon would appear in this area.
"Is that… is that a True Dragon from the legends?" someone asked in a trembling voice.
"Without a doubt! Look at its limbs—they each have five claws. According to legend, only the purest Dragon Bloodline, the True Dragon clan itself, is worthy of bearing five claws."
"That's right. And those scales—they're equally pure, without a single blemish. This is the most authentic True Dragon there is. Not one of those hybrid Dragon Bloodlines!"
Everyone knew that the Dragon Bloodline was something wondrous. A single drop of Dragon Bloodline could transform a person, alter the fate of a cultivator.
Any cultivator who possessed the Dragon Bloodline, so long as they could eventually fuse and refine it, would cultivate to an extraordinarily powerful level—their combat strength and potential would surpass that of other cultivators of the same rank.
This True Dragon Bloodline was absolutely an exceedingly rare treasure.
In that instant, everyone's breathing grew heavy. In each of their eyes, all manner of irresistible thoughts began to take shape.