345: Overt strategy

"Idiot!" Haotian gave him a cold glance, his voice like ice: "You still want to threaten the Spirit Realm?"

"The Five Great Heavenly Venerables have lived for tens of thousands of years, trapped in the Half-Immortal Realm, their Lifespan nearing its end, with no hope of Ascension."

"Now, someone suddenly tells them — there are still Heaven-Reaching, Territory Suppression, and even Divine Beings ahead. Do you think they will give up? They will fight to the death, even if their Divine Soul is annihilated, they will not hesitate!"

Fire Virtue Star Lord's face flushed, his fists clenched: "In that case! What are we waiting for? Directly conquer the Spirit Realm! Mobilize a million Heavenly Soldiers and wipe them out in one fell swoop! I've long been fed up with those five old fellows. They are already in the Half-Immortal Realm but refuse to come to the Immortal Realm, constantly putting on an act, saying they are protecting the Lower Realm. They just want to subvert our Immortal Realm!"

Haotian Immortal Emperor sneered, and said indifferently:

"Alright, then it shall be you — Fire Virtue Star Lord, leading the Fire Department Heavenly Soldiers, to immediately descend to the Lower Realm and attack the Spirit Realm."

"Just as I wished!" Fire Virtue Star Lord was overjoyed, cupped his fists and accepted the order, "A mere Spirit Realm, let's fight! Do you think I'm afraid?!"

Before he finished speaking —

Water Virtue Star Lord slowly spoke:

"Brother, have you forgotten that once we, people of the Immortal Realm, descend to the Lower Realm... our Cultivation will be suppressed by the Laws of heaven and earth. You are currently at the Peak of a True Immortal, but once you step into the Spirit Realm, you can only exert at most the power of a Half-Immortal."

"And what about the Five Great Heavenly Venerables? They have been rooted in the Spirit Realm for tens of thousands of years, long since assimilated with heaven and earth, their Physical Body integrated with the Law. A single thought can trigger the resonance of the entire Spirit Realm."

"If you go, you will only be going to your death."

At these words, the entire hall erupted in an uproar!

Fire Virtue Star Lord's face instantly turned ashen, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.

Inside the grand hall, all Immortals held their breath.

The earthly fiends and heavenly spirits, twenty-eight mansions, Eight Gates True Immortals... who had just been full of Killing Intent, clamoring to "bathe the Spirit Realm in blood," now all lowered their heads, silent as a grave.

They finally understood —

Why Haotian Immortal Emperor had made such a big show, summoning all the Lords of authority in the Nine Heavens.

This was not an ordinary military council.

It was a life-and-death choice regarding the survival of the Immortal Realm and the change of its order!

Thinking carefully —

The Immortal Realm truly had no way to deal with the Spirit Realm.

The Five Great Heavenly Venerables were no longer "Lower Realm guardians" in the ordinary sense.

They were Half-Immortals, True Immortals, and even old monsters who had lived for hundreds of thousands of years, long since assimilated with the heaven and earth of the Spirit Realm, their Physical Body integrated with the Law. A single thought could trigger the resonance of all Realms.

And their leader — Taichu Heavenly Venerate, was even rumored to have touched the Golden Immortal Realm, his combat power approaching the threshold of a Saint Immortal!

What did this mean?

It meant that only Saint Immortal-level existences like the Five Directional Emperors could possibly contend with him head-on.

But here's the problem —

Once a Saint Immortal entered the Spirit Realm, their Cultivation would be suppressed by the Laws of heaven and earth, falling to the Peak of a Golden Immortal, severely reducing their combat power.

But Taichu Heavenly Venerate was different!

He had been rooted in the Spirit Realm for tens of thousands of years, long since becoming the "Incarnation of Will" of this world. He could mobilize the Luck, Laws, and Power Of Will of all living beings on the entire continent, and even temporarily borrow the power of heaven and earth!

With this ebb and flow —

Even if the Five Directional Emperors attacked him together, they might not be able to kill Taichu Heavenly Venerate.

At most... they could repel him, but not eradicate him.

The only variable was one person —

Immortal Emperor Haotian.

He was currently the only existence in the Immortal Realm to reach the Heaven-Reaching Realm, transcending Saint Immortals.

Even if he entered the Spirit Realm and his Cultivation was suppressed, he could still retain the power of a Saint Immortal Peak, far exceeding Taichu Heavenly Venerate's Golden Immortal limit.

If he personally arrived, one sword strike could destroy the Heavenly Venerate's Dharma form and suppress the Luck of the Spirit Realm!

Thinking of this, everyone's gazes simultaneously turned towards Haotian —

Haotian Immortal Emperor suddenly sneered, stood up, his profound armor gleaming with golden light, his aura like an abyss or sea:

"What? Weren't you all shouting for war and slaughter just now, wanting to burn down the Thirty-Three Continents? Now you're all silent?"

"Alright."

"Then I shall personally lead the expedition and make a trip to the Spirit Realm myself."

"Boom —!"

The entire hall was in an uproar!

Everyone's faces changed drastically!

"Imperial Venerable! You mustn't!!"

"No!"

"Absolutely not!!"

In an instant, the earthly fiends and heavenly spirits, twenty-eight mansions, Twelve Star Lords, Eight Gates True Immortals... all knelt down in a vast, dark wave, prostrating themselves!

Haotian Immortal Emperor was the pillar of the Immortal Realm, the ultimate existence that maintained the order of the Nine Heavens.

If he left the Immortal Realm to personally campaign in the Lower Realm —

What if he encountered an ambush, what if he was dragged into a protracted war, what if... he fell?

Then the entire Immortal Realm would instantly fall into a power vacuum!

The Five Directional Emperors would surely fall into dispute, the various Star Lords would carve out their own territories, ten thousand Immortals would fight chaotically, and the Nine Heavens would collapse!

By then, before the Spirit Realm could counterattack, the Immortal Realm would have already destroyed itself!

"No!" The Yellow Emperor of the Earth Department trembled, "The Imperial Venerable is the head of all Immortals, how can he easily risk danger? If you go and do not return... how will the Immortal Realm continue?!"

Amidst this mix of fear and silence —

A clear, cold voice slowly sounded:

"Imperial Venerable, all Immortal Venerables, please allow your humble servant... to say something."

Everyone looked towards the source of the voice —

They saw a white-robed Immortal slowly step out, with a lean face, a silver star between his brows, holding a scroll of the Heavenly Dao Jade Slip. He was unadorned, yet a subtle aura of deduction flowed around him.

This person was none other than the Immortal Realm's recognized foremost strategist —

Immortal Master Zi Xuwu, the chief councilor of the Second Heaven, in charge of deduction, strategy, and reverse calculation of heavenly secrets. He bowed slightly, his voice calm yet like a stabilizing force:

"A direct assault is not advisable, and the Imperial Venerable personally leading the campaign is an even worse strategy."

"But... we are not without options."

"Our Immortal Realm possesses an ancient forbidden Formation — the Reverse Spirit Returning to Ruins Formation. This Formation can forcibly extract the Origin of Spiritual Qi from the Lower Realm, reverse the Luck of heaven and earth, and transform the Spirit Realm into a dead zone."

"This Formation is extremely difficult to activate, requiring the Five Directional Emperors to expend their Origin power to start it, and it needs to operate for at least a hundred years. But once it takes hold —"

"The mountains and rivers of the Spirit Realm will wither, Spiritual Qi will be cut off, and the path for all Cultivators will be severed! By then, let alone Cultivating the 'Dao of Divine Beings,' even the most basic Foundation Establishment will be impossible to complete."

Upon hearing this, the Immortals' eyes lit up.

"Excellent!" The Flame Emperor of the Fire Department clapped his hands, "This is an overt scheme! No need for war, just set up the Formation, and the Spirit Realm will have no choice but to submit!"

However, the other four Directional Emperors had grim expressions, especially the Azure Emperor Taihao. He was very clear that the Reverse Spirit Returning to Ruins Formation was a mutually destructive Formation. To maintain its operation, at least five Saint Immortal-level beings would need to continuously infuse their Origin power. Once the Formation was activated, the Five Directional Emperors would be bound to the Formation, losing their freedom.

The Azure Emperor even felt that this was a conspiracy by Haotian Immortal Emperor, who feared that the Five Directional Emperors would threaten his imperial throne, and thus devised this plan to kill two birds with one stone, both threatening the Spirit Realm and suppressing the Five Directional Emperors.

Indeed!

Haotian Immortal Emperor feigned difficulty: "This plan is feasible, but the Formation requires Saint Immortal-level beings to maintain its operation. How can I let the Five Directional Emperors take such a risk? Let's think of other methods."

As soon as these words were spoken, the Immortals were displeased.

"This concerns the life and death of the entire Immortal Realm. I don't believe the Five Directional Emperors would stand idly by."

"That's right, if the Five Directional Emperors are afraid, then we will use our Golden Immortal lives to sacrifice to the Formation. Although we are not Saint Immortals, by burning our Divine Souls and overdrawing our Lifespan, we can barely operate the Formation!!"