"Xiao Bai, push yourself a little harder and aim to break through to the mid-stage Divine Path as soon as possible. Once all four of you True Spirits have reached the mid-stage Divine Path, I'll teach you another set of formation arrays. This set builds upon the domain manipulation from before — in addition to controlling domains, it will significantly bolster both offensive and defensive capabilities."
Jiang Chen offered the Taisui White Tiger a word of personal encouragement.
The Taisui White Tiger's progress had actually been remarkably swift — its speed was no worse than Long Xiaoxuan's. The only difference was that the White Tiger had started much later.
Xiao Bai chuckled. "Don't worry, it's only the fourth level of the Divine Path. I might just break through while taking a nap."
At this point, Jiang Chen saw no reason to play favorites. He tossed a mid-stage Divine Path relic to the Taisui White Tiger. "Xiao Bai, I suppose I'll have to give you a little extra help. Take this Divine Path relic. With your constitution and bloodline, you should be able to endure it. Once you refine this relic, breaking through to the mid-stage Divine Path will be as easy as flipping your hand. Who knows — you might even reach the fifth level of the Divine Path right alongside Brother Long."
Xiao Bai's eyes lit up. "Chen Shao, I knew it — you love Xiao Bai the most of all."
The fellow was getting a free handout and still fishing for compliments.
Long Xiaoxuan, far from jealous, simply grinned. "Xiao Bai, Chen Shao's been so generous to you — if you still can't keep up with me, that just goes to show the Taisui White Tiger are still a notch or two behind us True Dragons."
"Bullshit! I don't buy it. This time I'm definitely catching up to you." The Taisui White Tiger was brimming with confidence.
The Four Great True Spirits' cultivation required no supervision from Jiang Chen. Their innate bloodline power was formidable, and each possessed unique abilities. They hardly needed Jiang Chen to point them in any direction.
Beyond the Four Great True Spirits, the recent growth of the Gold-Munching Mouse lineage had been equally impressive — particularly that of the Gold-Munching Mouse King, whose cultivation was soaring.
"Chen Shao, these past few days, my scouts on the outer perimeter have picked up signs of something amiss. You should be on your guard," the Gold-Munching Mouse King warned.
"Oh? Has the demon race finally made a move?" Everything was unfolding as Jiang Chen had anticipated.
"Indeed. Over the last two or three days, unfamiliar forces have been approaching the outer islands in growing numbers. These forces are terrifying — they're moving stealthily, but it's clear they carry serious weight behind them. I suspect this is the demon army. They're arriving in waves, probably because they don't want to alert anyone."
Jiang Chen's expression grew solemn, and he nodded.
The demon race preparing to strike did not particularly surprise him. At this stage, it was entirely within reason for them to make their move.
In fact, Jiang Chen was rather satisfied by the demons' cautious approach. It showed they were calculating — and that they held some wariness toward him, Jiang Chen.
Otherwise, why would the demon army bother sneaking around?
But whether the demons attacked openly or covertly, it was all the same to Jiang Chen.
Wintercliff Island, while perhaps not impregnable, could hold off the demon race for three to five months without issue.
Once all four True Spirits broke through to the mid-stage Divine Path, the fighting power on Jiang Chen's side would increase dramatically. At that point, even in a head-on confrontation with the demon army, he would have thirty to forty percent odds of prevailing.
On the Myriad Abyss Island, others might not understand the true might of the Four Great True Spirits fighting as one, but Jiang Chen knew it all too well. He had been gathering these True Spirits precisely for this reason.