Chapter 1771 The oriole is behind

The Divine Shuttle has been sailing for nearly a thousand years.

Starting from the Three Pure Immortal Realms, they traversed countless dangerous star fields, and according to calculations, they only had ten years left to travel to reach their target, the Nine Divine Realms.

However, at this moment, the silver Dao patterns on the surface of the Divine Shuttle, which had been maintaining an extremely high speed, began to flash at a significantly slower frequency, and its overall shuttle jumping became smoother, with its speed decreasing by at least 50%.

This change immediately caught the attention of several True Immortals on the Dao Platform.

The Purple Star Immortal Venerable slowly opened his eyes, which contained a real starry sky, with countless stars coming into being and evolving.

He didn't look at anyone, but simply said:

"Gui Xu, calculate how long it would take to reach the edge of the Nine Divine Realms at this speed."

With a flick of his whisk, the Immortal Lord of Guixu unleashed several streams of pure energy that intertwined in the air to form a constantly changing hexagram pattern.

He stared intently for a moment, then replied, "Reporting to the Immortal Venerable, at the current speed, it will take approximately... twenty-five years."

“Twenty-five years…” Immortal Lord Lingxiao frowned. “Why the slowdown? With the power of the Divine Shuttle, ten years would be enough to travel at full speed! Could it be that the shuttle is damaged? Or has it encountered some trouble?”

The cold voice of the Golden Palace Immortal Lord rang out: "The shuttle is unharmed, and the formation is functioning normally. The order to slow down was personally issued by the Immortal Venerable."

All eyes turned to the Purple Star Immortal Venerable.

The Purple Star Immortal Venerable remained expressionless, his gaze fixed on the depths of the endless void: "It's not that we've encountered trouble, but rather... the time is not yet ripe."

The Immortal Lord of the Nether Sword asked, "Does the Immortal Venerable mean to wait?"

"Waiting for whom?" Immortal Lord Lingxiao asked, puzzled. "Waiting for reinforcements? Didn't the sect already make it clear that we would be fully responsible for this campaign, and that subsequent resources would be sent through special channels, but manpower..."

“It’s not about waiting for reinforcements.” Xuanming Immortal Lord’s hoarse voice interrupted him. “The Immortal Venerable is waiting for… the Primordial Demon Abyss.”

The moment the words "Primordial Demon Abyss" were uttered, the atmosphere on the platform froze.

The five late-stage True Immortals all wore different expressions.

“Indeed, we’ll wait for the Abyss of Primordial Demons.” Immortal Venerable Ziwei affirmed Immortal Lord Xuanming’s statement. “Everyone, do you still remember the fate of the first advance team?”

Upon hearing the mention of the first batch, the expressions of the five late-stage True Immortals all darkened.

Seven True Immortals, including Nan Hua, Hun Yuan, Chi Yang, Jin Hong, Qing Lin, Hua Yang, and Kun Yuan Zi, and thirty-six Mahayana cultivators, set off with great momentum. However, only Nan Hua, Hun Yuan, and Hua Yang managed to escape in a sorry state. They were intercepted and devoured by the Demon Corpse Venerable of the Abyss of Beginning Demons on their way, resulting in the complete annihilation of the entire army!

This is not only a rare and devastating defeat for the Three Pure Immortal Realms in nearly a million years, but also a great disgrace!

"Nanhua and his men were defeated because they underestimated their enemy, because they were careless, and even more so because... they were used as scouts and scapegoats!"

The tone of the Purple Star Immortal was unreadable, but the chill in his words dimmed the starlight around him.

"They arrived first and clashed head-on with the natives of the Nine Divine Realms. Although they discovered that the enemy possessed True Immortal combat power and had trump cards such as the bizarre dragon coffin, they also paid a heavy price and depleted the enemy's strength. Meanwhile, the demon cubs of the Primordial Demon Abyss hid to the side, waiting for the enemy to tire themselves out. They first devoured our fleeing remnants to gather intelligence, and then, at their peak, attacked the Nine Divine Realms, which had also suffered losses after fierce fighting... They played their cards very well!"

Guixu Immortal Lord sighed, "It's a pity that Venerable Demon Skeleton ultimately underestimated the Nine Divine Realms. According to later sporadic cross-realm observations and causal deductions, the first batch of fifteen Demon Lords of the Primordial Demon Abyss were also completely wiped out, and Venerable Demon Skeleton himself was also killed by You Wuyai. Although the Nine Divine Realms are damaged, their foundations are still intact and they should not be underestimated."

"Hmph, those demon bastards deserve it!" Immortal Lord Lingxiao sneered. "They tried to take advantage of the situation, but ended up breaking their teeth! However, You Wuyai was able to kill multiple True Immortals and annihilate the demon skeletons, so his strength is probably more troublesome than expected. And Zhang Xuan, who can control the dragon coffin and kill an Immortal with his Mahayana body, also seems strange."

The Golden Palace Immortal Lord said, "That is precisely why we need to be even more cautious. The lessons learned from the first batch are stark and bloody. Those who rushed in and arrived first all became cannon fodder."

The Immortal Lord of the Nether Sword interjected, "Immortal Venerable slowed down because you wanted the second batch of people from the Primordial Demon Abyss to arrive at the Nine Divine Realms before us and have a battle with You Wuyai, Zhang Xuan, and the others?"

Ziwei Immortal Venerable nodded slightly, his eyes swirling with starlight: "Based on Xuanming's previous deductions using the Zhou Tian Divine Number combined with sect intelligence, it can be almost confirmed that the second batch of expeditionary forces sent by the Beginning Demon Abyss is far larger than the first batch, and... has already set off. Although their route deviates from ours, their goal is the same. In terms of timing, they may be slightly later or slightly earlier than us."

The Xuanming Immortal Lord added in a hoarse voice, "Recently, I had a premonition. Using the Tortoise Shell Life Tracing Technique in conjunction with the Immortal Venerable's blessing, I vaguely saw a vast shadow shrouded in filth and calamity, approaching the Nine Divine Realms. Within that shadow, there were more than twenty powerful demonic True Immortal auras, several of which were extremely ferocious, far surpassing ordinary late-stage True Immortals. The leader... seemed to be a constantly changing source of wicked power, the essence of which... even my techniques felt a strong sense of repulsion and fear, and it was suspected to be related to the legendary Myriad Evils."

"The Demon Lord of Ten Thousand Evils?!" Immortal Lord Guixu exclaimed in a low voice, his kind face showing solemnity for the first time. "That peerless demon who disappeared at the end of the Holy Ancient Era? How could his power be..."

"It might just be a reincarnated body, or a beacon carrying a portion of its power," Ziwei Immortal Venerable calmly analyzed. "Even so, it's enough to show how determined the Abyss of Beginning Demons is this time, and how much they've invested. They've come with the goal of completely annihilating the Nine Divine Realms, and perhaps... there's an even deeper purpose."

He paused, then continued, "Since the Primordial Demon Abyss is so eager, why don't we... do them a favor? Slow down, make some adjustments, and let them arrive first. Facing this even more powerful second wave from the Primordial Demon Abyss, the Nine Divine Realms will surely go all out, even resorting to all their hidden methods."

"At that time, regardless of the outcome of the battle, both sides will suffer heavy losses, if not mutual destruction." A cold calculation flashed in the eyes of the Purple Star Immortal Venerable. "Once they are nearly exhausted, we will descend at our peak. If the Nine Divine Realms achieve a Pyrrhic victory, they will be at their last gasp, making it the perfect time to finish them off easily. If the Primordial Demon Abyss wins, it will also be a Pyrrhic victory, with heavy losses, allowing us to... take care of those demon bastards from the Primordial Demon Abyss as well!"

Lingxiao Immortal Lord's eyes flashed with astonishing fighting spirit and excitement: "Brilliant plan! We can not only avenge ourselves and kill those opportunistic bastards from the Abyss of Beginning Demons, but also easily take over the Nine Divine Realms and complete the sect's mission of extracting its remaining glory. A double kill!"

The Golden Palace Immortal Lord pondered, "This plan is good, but we need to seize the opportunity. If we go too early, we may be forced into the melee; if we go too late, and the Primordial Demon Abyss wins quickly and consolidates its gains, or the Nine Divine Realms are crushed in an instant, we will lose the best opportunity."