Eliminating Patriarch Gui Zhi was merely one piece of Jiang Chen's campaign against the Wood Demon lineage. His goal was far more than simply killing Patriarch Gui Zhi.
Like every other branch of the demon race, the Wood Demon lineage had two patriarchs.
Jiang Chen had already gathered all the details.
The Wood Demon lineage had another Divine Ancestor whose cultivation surpassed that of Patriarch Gui Zhi. This one specialized in Wood Demon parasitic insects and the use of poisons.
There was no denying that this other — Patriarch Wang Ban — was likely a far more thorny opponent than Patriarch Gui Zhi had been.
Of course, Jiang Chen's heart was full of confidence. At his level of cultivation — the mid-stage of the Divine Path — there were only a handful of the demon race's most powerful figures who posed a genuine threat. Against all the other demon patriarchs, he was confident he could hold his own, and even scheme against them effectively.
In the end, it all came down to a contest of strength and intelligence.
The demon patriarchs were all difficult opponents, to be sure. But "difficult" was only true from the perspective of other human cultivators. For Jiang Chen, the equation was different.
The trump cards he held, the forces at his disposal — when measured against these demon patriarchs, he actually held the upper hand.
The most critical advantage was that Jiang Chen was intimately familiar with the characteristics of each demon lineage. He had conducted meticulous research into all of them.
He never fought an unprepared battle. When he chose to strike, he planned every move in advance.
When powerhouses clashed, knowing your enemy as well as yourself was an overwhelming advantage. The current situation was precisely this: the demon race's understanding of Jiang Chen was limited to a handful of intelligence reports and scattered details from past encounters. As for exactly how many trump cards Jiang Chen held, what his true strength was — the demons had never been able to pin that down.
Because of this, the patriarchs of every demon lineage knew that this young man was a serious thorn in their side, but virtually none of them truly took him seriously as a threat.
After all, his age was simply too young. In the eyes of the demon powerhouses, a cultivator at this stage of life might possess extraordinary potential, but that potential surely could not yet translate into real combat strength.
The pity for the demon cultivators was that each and every one of them had underestimated Jiang Chen.
"The next target is Patriarch Wang Ban." Jiang Chen held nothing back from An Jiaye, his tone grave. "We don't have much time left. We must eliminate Patriarch Wang Ban today — strike at the Wood Demon lineage, and if possible, annihilate them entirely. Cut off one of the demon race's wings."
"Not much time? What do you mean?" An Jiaye looked doubtful.
Jiang Chen didn't hesitate. He laid out the news that the full demon army was about to enter Myriad Abyss Island, explaining everything to An Jiaye.
An Jiaye's expression shifted between shadow and light, his chest heaving slightly. He spoke in a deep voice, "Wasn't it said that at the early stages of the demonic tribulation, the demon race also needed time to recover their vitality? It's only been a few years — have they already fully recovered their ancient-era power? And if their army is bearing down on Myriad Abyss Island, are they planning to fight a decisive battle here?"
"Recover their ancient-era peak? Without hundreds of years and an ample supply of resources, how could they possibly regain the heights of their ancient-era power?" Jiang Chen smiled faintly. "However, I can say with certainty that the demon race will never recover to their ancient-era peak combat strength."
Seeing how certain Jiang Chen's tone was, An Jiaye couldn't help but feel surprised. From what he knew of Jiang Chen, the young man was not one to make empty boasts.
If he said it, there had to be a reason.
"Chen Shao, why can't the demon race recover to their ancient-era peak strength? Did the ancient war deal them a devastating blow as well?"