529: Rotation

After the banquet dispersed, Xu Qing walked alone into the Immortal Cave allocated to him.

Although it was a temporary dwelling opened in the mine, after many years of management, the interior was spacious and comfortable.

Night-luminescent pearls were embedded in the stone walls for lighting, simple tables and chairs were placed in the corners, and a soft beast hide covered a stone bed.

Xu Qing waved his hand, setting up several Restrictions to ensure no one could spy, then sat cross-legged on the stone bed.

He needed to properly sort out his next plans.

Recalling the scene at the banquet, the fleeting solemn expression of Five Thunder Elders when he heard the name of Black Yuán Dao Ancestor made Xu Qing suspicious.

Logically, with the strength of Five Thunder Elders, who could jointly fight a Third Step Dao Ancestor, he shouldn't be so apprehensive about a newly promoted Third Step Dao Ancestor.

Unless... Black Yuán's strength far exceeded expectations, or the Black Crystal Blood Flame Clan was secretly hiding other powerful Cultivators.

And Xu Qing was more inclined towards the latter.

No matter how strong Black Yuán was, he was ultimately just a Third Step Dao Ancestor who had just broken through.

Five Thunder Elders had been famous for many years; he shouldn't show such an expression when dealing with such an opponent.

So the most plausible explanation was that there were other masters hidden within the opposing camp.

Fourth Step Dao Ancestor?

As soon as this thought emerged, Xu Qing himself shook his head.

Beings of the Fourth Step Dao Ancestor level were closely monitored by the Human Race's high-level officials, and unless a full-scale war broke out, it was unlikely they would easily make a move.

Moreover, if a Fourth Step Dao Ancestor truly intervened, the Human Race would not be unaware.

Given this, the worst-case scenario would only be the arrival of a few more Third Step Dao Ancestors.

Thinking of this, a glint of sharpness flashed in Xu Qing's eyes.

With his current strength, Third Step Dao Ancestors no longer posed a threat to him.

If it truly came to a critical juncture, he wouldn't mind revealing his full strength.

When soldiers come, block them; when water comes, cover it with earth. No matter how many come, he would suppress them.

Xu Qing clenched his fist, then slowly closed his eyes and began to regulate his breath and calm his mind.

The coming period was likely to involve a fierce battle, and he had to maintain optimal condition.

The Immortal Cave gradually quieted down, with only the night-luminescent pearls emitting a soft glow.

Six days passed peacefully.

On the morning of the seventh day, a slight tremor suddenly came from outside the mine. Xu Qing opened his eyes instantly, and with a flash of his figure, he appeared outside the Immortal Cave.

Other Dao Ancestors also emerged one after another, all with solemn expressions on their faces.

The Ancient Wild City Lord walked over quickly, his face terribly grim.

"Black Yuán is challenging us outside the Formation with twelve Dao Ancestors," he said in a deep voice, his gaze sweeping over everyone present. "What do you all think we should do?"

Everyone's gaze turned to Five Thunder Elders in unison.

Gold Thunder Elder stroked his beard, pondered for a moment, and slowly spoke, "Respond to change with no change, and prioritize stability. We will hold our ground within the grand Formation, and we can also respond to all changes with no changes."

"I believe with the power of so many of our Dao Ancestors, we can always defend this grand Formation."

This decision made many Dao Ancestors secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

Xu Qing noticed the tense shoulders of Dao Ancestor Xuanzhen beside him visibly relax and couldn't help but find it a little amusing.

Although he really wanted to test his strength, there was no need to play the hero.

Soon, the defense plan was finalized: a hundred-year rotation, with three shifts on duty.

The first shift was led by the Ancient Wild City Lord, with three Dao Ancestors stationed; Xu Qing and two other Dao Ancestors were arranged in the third shift, which meant they had two hundred years of rest time.

As for Dao Ancestor Xuanzhen and the other two Dao Ancestors, who were Formation Ancestors, they had no stationing task and only needed to periodically reinforce the grand Formation.

This perfectly aligned with Dao Ancestor Xuanzhen's wish not to participate in battle.

A hundred years, for a Dao Ancestor, was but a flick of a finger.

Xu Qing returned to his Immortal Cave and began to Cultivate. Although his three incarnations could not improve now, he could properly Cultivate the Divine Abilities and Daoist Magic he had neglected in the past.

Leaving an incarnation to perceive external movements, his true self returned to the Qiankun Great World.

As the Human Race refused to engage in battle, the Black Crystal Blood Flame Clan was clearly enraged.

He began to mobilize large numbers of his clansmen and subordinate races to repeatedly attack the grand Formation. The consumption rate of ancestral crystals within the mine increased sharply, with large quantities of ancestral crystals being filled into the Formation eyes each year to maintain operation.

Outside the Formation, the corpses of Tianyang aliens piled up like mountains, but these casualties were insignificant to such a massive race.

A new batch of warriors would soon replenish, tirelessly continuing to assault the grand Formation, while the Human Race meticulously inspected every Formation pattern.

Two hundred years flew by in a flash.

During these two hundred years, the Black Crystal Blood Flame Clan's attack frequency noticeably decreased.

From initial frantic assaults, it gradually became once a month, then once every six months, and now an attack might only occur every three to five years, or even once a decade.

The Human Race remained steadfast. Although maintaining the grand Formation consumed a large amount of ancestral crystals, the mine they were in was itself an ancestral crystal vein, with abundant resources.

Coupled with the continuous optimization by Dao Ancestor Xuanzhen and his companions, the consumption for each defense against an attack was reduced to a minimum.

On the other side, Dao Ancestor Gu Mang and his team never stopped mining the Ruin River Ancient Mine.

Tens of thousands of Cultivators skilled in geomancy worked day and night without pause, carefully collecting ruin river sand.

This miraculous item, capable of allowing a Half-Ancestor to Breakthrough, was extremely difficult to obtain, often requiring half a month or even several months to separate a single grain from the ancient mine.

After two hundred years, a total of only over 1,800 grains had been collected.

Yet, even so, this output was already astonishing; in an ordinary Ruin River Ancient Mine, collecting five hundred grains in a century was considered high yield.

The two-hundred-year period had arrived. After the previous batch of Dao Ancestors completed their handover with Xu Qing's four, they went down to rest.

Xu Qing and the other three rotating Dao Ancestors arrived at the core of the Formation.

This was a stone chamber located deep within the mine, with a huge glazed mirror suspended in the center, capable of displaying the external situation in real-time.

Through the glazed mirror, one could see a silver river on the right, several light-years wide and endlessly surging—this was the Xu River, dividing the Chaos Sea into two and flowing to an unknown place; the Ruin River Ancient Mine existed because of it.

As the camera moved, his gaze fell upon a colossal, dark city standing several light-years away.

That was a temporary fortress established by the Black Crystal Blood Flame Clan, entirely constructed from some kind of black crystal, emitting a dim light in the Chaos Sea.

Even from such a distance, one could still feel the thirteen terrifying auras emanating from within the city.

"It seems they are also prepared for a long-term standoff," a Dao Ancestor beside him frowned and said.

Xu Qing did not respond, only quietly observing the scene in the glazed mirror.

"According to the pattern, we should have at least three to five years of leisure," another Dao Ancestor said. "The last attack was last year; it shouldn't happen again in the short term..."

"Better safe than sorry," the third Dao Ancestor interrupted. "Who knows if these aliens will suddenly attack? But as long as we control the grand Formation well, there should be no major problems."

Xu Qing was noncommittal; he always felt that this stalemate, seemingly calm, was actually fraught with undercurrents.

Beneath this calm, perhaps the Black Crystal Blood Flame Clan was brewing a greater storm, after all, they would not sit idly by and watch the Human Race empty this Ruin River Ancient Mine.

But for now, all they could do was guard this grand Formation and wait for the opportune moment.

Xu Qing slowly closed his eyes. In these two hundred years, he had mastered several sets of Daoist Magic, and his combat power had increased significantly again.

And during these two hundred years, on the side of the Eternal Dao Realm, the great war between the Yin Court and the Nether Territory was also raging, with Dao Ancestors already entering the fray.

However, his three Dao Incarnations were stationed there, so no accidents could occur. In addition, the beings in the Qiankun Great World had also gone to the Yin Court to assist.

Over the years, he had consulted too many ancient texts, but in the end, he couldn't find a path suitable for him.

Finally, he thought of Pangu in his previous life and Pan Huang in this life, and thus, creation became one of the directions he chose.

And the Qiankun Great World now lacked Reincarnation; once Reincarnation reached Perfection, perhaps the Dao essence feedback from the Qiankun Great World would be enough to support his Breakthrough to that supreme Realm.

Of course, this was just one of his ideas.