Dawn arrived, and the demon army finally launched its offensive. Like a swarm of locusts, their dark banners filled the sky as roiling demon clouds pressed down upon Wintercliff Island.
The ten demon lineages moved in strict formation, sealing off the waters surrounding Wintercliff Island from every direction without a single gap.
Judging by the demon race's deployment, there was clearly a method to it—layered and orderly, with an unmistakably rigorous division of labor.
The six Celestial Demon Ancestors had learned their lesson this time. The moment the main army arrived, they immediately established the Celestial Demon Domain, fortifying their own position first.
With the Celestial Demon Domain in place, Jiang Chen would be unable to exploit the chaos to launch surprise attacks again.
Jiang Chen was indeed hidden in the shadows, observing the demon race's movements. He was still looking for an opening, still hoping to catch them off guard—but upon seeing the Celestial Demon lineage's preparations, he realized his opportunities were limited.
To ambush the demons and strike while they had yet to settle in, he would have to break through the Celestial Demon Domain first. That was clearly beyond his current strength.
If Jiang Chen were at the seventh level of the Divine Dao, he would have had nothing to fear. He could have charged straight into the demon army's ranks, slaying any god that stood in his way and any Buddha that blocked his path, without a shred of hesitation.
But he was only at the fifth level of the Divine Dao—still far short of that seventh level.
After watching for a while, Jiang Chen quietly concluded that his chances were slim. He held back and remained concealed, settling in to observe with patient endurance.
He wanted to see exactly what the demon race had in mind.
Under the cover of the Celestial Demon Domain, the Blood Demon lineage's four great ancestors led their cultivators to work with focused urgency.
The Blood Demon lineage began setting up their formation in the skies above Wintercliff Island.
Establishing the Blood Fiend Fog Sea was not particularly difficult in terms of technique. But controlling an island as vast as Wintercliff was no easy task.
They had to set up four formation nodes first, using the four hubs to gather the blood fiend energy. Then, through the formation's amplification, they would create a resonance of baleful aura, bringing the entirety of Wintercliff Island within its scope.
All containment arrays worked on roughly the same principles. The Blood Fiend Fog Sea was, in plain terms, nothing more than a formation—albeit a rather sinister one.
"It really is the Blood Demon clan," Jiang Chen muttered from the shadows, his brow furrowing faintly.
Information about the Blood Demon lineage surfaced in his mind. In his previous life, Jiang Chen's understanding of them had been limited to what he had read on paper.
But in this life, he had crossed swords with the Blood Sun Demon Emperor. He had a reasonably clear sense of the Blood Demon lineage's fighting style. Although the Blood Sun Demon Emperor could not compare with these four great ancestors, the underlying approach had to be rooted in the same tradition. That gave Jiang Chen at least a bit more confidence.
"The Blood Demon lineage has four great ancestors—it seems their strength is not to be underestimated either," Jiang Chen observed carefully.
Right now, the best course of action would be to sneak over quietly and land a devastating ambush on one of the Blood Demon ancestors.
Unfortunately, the Celestial Demon lineage was being cautious and vigilant, leaving not a single opening for Jiang Chen. Wherever the Blood Demon cultivators went, the Celestial Demon Domain followed to shield them.
"The Celestial Demon lineage let their guard down last time and I caught them off balance. They've learned their lesson now. But they can't keep sustaining this Celestial Demon Domain forever. If they're really willing to burn through their energy like this indefinitely, then I'll give them credit!"
Jiang Chen was in no hurry. There would be plenty of opportunities to strike at the enemy—he did not need to rush.
The Blood Demon lineage's formation work proceeded without any particular flair. Each of their four ancestors held a Blood Demon prayer bead that hovered suspended in the air. The blood fiend energy from all directions seemed to answer the beads' summons, continuously converging toward them like streams flowing into a central pool.