The moment that cultivator finished speaking, not to mention Su Huanzhen — even Jiang Chen's expression changed.
On the territory of the Celestial Cicada Ancient Academy, there was only one teleportation array — the one that led to Abyss Island. Jiang Chen had used this array many times back and forth, and had specifically instructed Su Huanzhen to protect it at all costs. This was one of the main reasons Jiang Chen had shown such special consideration to the Celestial Cicada Ancient Academy.
Because in the future, the Celestial Cicada Ancient Academy's teleportation array would be an absolutely critical link — a bridge connecting the Human Domain and Abyss Island.
This was also why Jiang Chen had placed such special importance on Dongyan Island from the very beginning.
Dongyan Island served as a buffer zone between the Human Domain and Abyss Island. As long as it remained under his control, even if Abyss Island were to fall into the hands of the foreign races someday, Jiang Chen would still retain strategic options.
Now, upon hearing that injured cultivators had appeared near the teleportation array, Jiang Chen could hardly sit still.
"Let's go take a look."
At that moment, Su Huanzhen had no time to dwell on the matter of tracing her ancestral lineage. She knew this teleportation array was of paramount importance to Jiang Chen, so she immediately gathered her people and followed him.
When they arrived at the teleportation array, there were indeed several injured cultivators. And what surprised Jiang Chen was that he recognized most of them.
They were from Huichun Island Domain and Sancai Island Domain respectively.
One of them was in fact the former chief steward of Dongyan Island.
"Old Ding, what happened to you?" Jiang Chen was relatively familiar with Steward Ding.
Steward Ding's face was pale. Only after Jiang Chen's healing pill took effect did he take a deep step forward and say, "Young Lord Jiang Chen, something terrible has happened."
"What do you mean?"
"About four years ago, teleportation arrays began appearing out of nowhere across several island domains of Wanyuan Island. After that, demonic cultivators kept showing up. In just a few short years, they had run rampant across the entire Wanyuan Island. The Ten Great Sacred Grounds didn't think much of it at first, assuming it was just small bands of rogue demon cultivators causing trouble. But in a matter of years, these demonic cultivators had seized vast swaths of territory, and their numbers kept growing while the land under their control expanded ever wider. By the time the Ten Great Sacred Grounds realized the gravity of the situation, they were tied up at the extraterritorial battlefield and couldn't spare any forces. Right now, Wanyuan Island is being squeezed from both inside and outside — it's hanging by a thread!"
Though severely wounded, Steward Ding had managed to keep his composure, and his mind was still relatively clear. After hearing everything he had to say, Jiang Chen's expression turned grave.
Steward Ding continued urgently, "Our Huichun Island Domain, Sancai Island Domain, and Dongyan Island originally formed a triangular formation, supporting one another. But the Demon Race wouldn't even leave such remote regions in peace. They first attacked Sancai Island Domain, then Huichun Island Domain. Now, the demonic army controls a host of puppet soldiers and has practically conquered Sancai Island Domain. The forces from Sancai Domain have retreated to Huichun Island Domain for a desperate last stand. We fought our way out at the cost of many lives and fled to Dongyan Island… Dongyan Island is still relatively peaceful for now, but…"
"But what?" Jiang Chen asked, visibly moved.
"But it has already been marked by the Demon Race as well. I fear that once Huichun Island Domain falls, Dongyan Island will lose its supporting ally and become an isolated island. Most critically, without a divine-path powerhouse to hold the fort, we'll have absolutely no way to stand against the Demon Race."
Jiang Chen slowly nodded.
Of course, he wasn't nearly as pessimistic as Steward Ding. After all, Dongyan Island was the domain of the ancient cultivator Pei Xing, and his formations were absolutely sufficient to defend against ordinary divine-path cultivators.
Unless the Demon Race had several divine-path patriarchs, perhaps they could forcibly break the formation. Otherwise, attempting to forcefully invade Dongyan Island was practically impossible.
However, Jiang Chen did not point this out. Instead, he offered reassurance: "I am already aware of this matter. Steward Ding, please rest here in the human territories for now."