Within the Wood Demon lineage, there existed its own share of factional interests. The relationship between Ancestor Wang Ban and Ancestor Ghost Branch was far from one of perfect harmony.
In truth, the two of them had always maintained a united front for the sake of the Wood Demon lineage's collective interests, never openly falling out. On matters of the bigger picture, they were at least sensible enough to see the forest for the trees.
The reason they hadn't pressed their advantage and taken down the Eternal Sacred Land in one fell swoop was, on one hand, because the Eternal Sacred Land was far more formidable than the other two sacred lands.
On the other hand, it was also because neither of these two ancestors wanted to shoulder too great a sacrifice.
If they were to go all out without regard for cost, even with An Jia Ye's help, the Eternal Sacred Land absolutely could not have held.
The antidote could indeed block the infiltration of those gu parasites, but the quantity was nowhere near enough for every member of the Eternal Sacred Land to have one.
Once Ancestor Wang Ban deployed all his gu parasites in a full-scale infiltration, the Eternal Sacred Land would be in serious trouble.
No amount of antidote could guard against every last gu parasite.
If cracks appeared within the Eternal Sacred Land and even the antidote couldn't be distributed evenly, they would have every opportunity to exploit the chaos and shatter the Eternal Sacred Land in a single stroke.
The crux of the matter was that Ancestor Wang Ban simply wasn't willing to make such a tremendous sacrifice for the sake of one Eternal Sacred Land alone. If he depleted his own forces to take the Eternal Sacred Land, the trade-off clearly wouldn't be worth it. It would undoubtedly damage his standing within the demon race going forward.
It might even undermine the Wood Demon lineage's share in the division of the entire Divine Abyss Continent.
When it came to the juiciest prize on the Divine Abyss Continent, it was naturally the human domain. So many ancient sects had once flourished there — who knew how many resources remained buried and unclaimed.
During the ancient war, the demon race's greatest adversary on the Divine Abyss Continent had been the human race.
In the end, both sides suffered devastating losses in their final confrontation. The humans had sealed away the demons, yes, but they had paid an enormous price for it — a vast number of their supreme cultivators had fallen, their territories had been ravaged, and their very foundations had been shattered.
But one thing was certain: the legacies and inheritances of those ancient supreme powers had not simply vanished into thin air. They must be hidden somewhere in obscure corners, waiting for someone to unearth them.
For the demon race, the treasures of inheritance left behind by the human race, along with the ancient resources, were what they desired most urgently.
Ancestor Wang Ban did not rush to give his answer.
He was still deliberating, weighing how feasible Ancestor Ghost Branch's proposal truly was.
"Fellow Daoist, if it were any other sacred land, it might not be worth going all in for. But this Eternal Sacred Land has cultivated a truly extraordinary talent — Jiang Chen. According to our intelligence, this Jiang Chen's rise has been utterly bizarre, almost impossible to gauge by any normal standard. Moreover, the entire Myriad Abyss Island sings his praises. This young man wears far too many halos on his head. Martial arts genius, pill refinement genius, proficient in formation arrays… Most critically, his talent in the field of medicinal pills has already surpassed the realm of legend. In the entire recorded history of the Divine Abyss Continent, no one has ever displayed such monstrous potential."
"Mm, I've heard this young man possesses several extraordinary pill recipes — something called the Heaven-Steering Pill, the Grand Unity Heaven-Mending Pill, and so on. These pills are spoken of as though they were divine." Ancestor Wang Ban sighed. "If these rumors are even half true, I'd love to grab this boy and interrogate him properly."
The Wood Demon lineage was deeply interested in Spiritual Medicine, particularly plant-based varieties. By extension, they had always harbored a keen fascination with the field of pill refinement.