Bai Nianchen took out his tortoise shell and fiddled with it for a while before letting out a sharp gasp.
"Daoist Bai, what do you make of it?"
Bai Nianchen said solemnly, "This time, it's even more dangerous than the last time with the Li Huo Palace. Since there's danger, we can be certain that the Shitian tribesmen dragged into that mysterious space by the Sea Dragon King did not die."
Everyone gasped. From the scenes Shen Yingxue had shown them earlier, they knew that both the Sea Dragon King and the leader of the Shitian tribe were peak Nascent Soul stage cultivators.
Furthermore, and more importantly, it had been a hundred thousand years.
Even peak Nascent Soul stage cultivators couldn't live that long, but the Sea Dragon clan was special, and the Shitian tribe was even more so.
Li Qingyun said grimly, "I don't know if the Sea Dragon King is still alive. If the Old Dragon King is still alive, we can fight him. If not, perhaps we should wait for the next opportunity."
The others nodded. With their strength, dealing with a cultivator in the Nascent Soul stage was like a fool's dream. Even a cultivator in the Void Refining stage could make them suffer greatly.
Bai Nianchen looked at Li Qingyun and said, "This great formation is connected by the Sea Dragon King's life force. The fact that the formation can still be used means the Sea Dragon King is still alive, but... perhaps he is nearing the end of his life."
Meng Zibin squeezed the long halberd in his hand and asked, "Is there any way to know how many evil race members are still alive?"
"This humble Taoist can only roughly divine good or ill fortune; I cannot calculate such specific numbers."
Of the group, Bai Nianchen and Li Qingyun were both at the half-step Nascent Soul stage, belonging to the first tier of strength.
Next were Meng Zibin, who was at the late Golden Core stage, and Wang Teng, at the Bone Forging late stage.
Luo Xiaowei, Qin Xiaoxiao, and Chen Xiaohan were at the mid Golden Core stage.
Zhang Xiaohu and Liang Zifan were also at the early Golden Core stage, while Shen Yingxue and Xiao Long were only at the peak Foundation Establishment stage.
With such combat power, dealing with a Shitian tribesman whose strength rivaled that of a peak Nascent Soul stage cultivator seemed like an impossible task.
Of course, Qin Xiaoxiao could be considered a Nascent Soul stage cultivator who could only maintain her berserk state for a minute.
After looking at each other's cultivation levels, everyone's faces turned a little awkward.
"What should we do?"
Bai Nianchen said, "Everyone, there's no need to be too despairing. The danger of this trip is not entirely a dead end. If it were a situation with a nine out of ten chance of death, this humble Taoist would not have told you this."
Hearing this, the crowd breathed a sigh of relief. If they really couldn't win, then they could only wait for the next opportunity.
As the saying goes, an elder at home is a treasure.
Daoist Bai was still their overall commander. Listening to his command, they felt as if they had found their backbone.
"Since there is a chance, can we infer that the evil race expert trapped inside is no longer at their peak strength? Just like that Lou Chen back then, being trapped for too long would deplete their flesh and blood, turning them into skin and bones, and their strength would significantly decline."
"This is precisely my guess. However, the opponent still has at least the strength of the Void Refining stage, which is not something we can contend with! Therefore, we need to make thorough preparations, young friend Qingyun."
Li Qingyun blinked, "What do you mean? Daoist Bai?"
Bai Nianchen revealed a benevolent smile and said, "Has your cultivation been suppressed for a while? We might be able to... borrow the power of the heavenly tribulation during the battle!"
Li Qingyun raised an eyebrow and nodded.
Everyone gasped again. These two were truly beasts!
They thought they were about to catch up, but they didn't expect them to be suppressing their cultivation!
"Even if this humble Taoist and young friend Qingyun break through to the Nascent Soul stage, we still wouldn't be able to defeat someone with at least Void Refining stage strength. The higher the cultivation, the greater the gap between each level. Everyone, don't confuse this with our previous cross-level battles."
The crowd also nodded. So, including Qin Xiaoxiao, they now had three Nascent Soul stage combatants.
Bai Nianchen took out four formation plates from his storage ring and said, "This humble Taoist must go into battle, so the matter of the formations will be entrusted to you. Miss Shen, here is one, a formation plate for controlling the power of the Vermillion Bird."
Shen Yingxue was surprised and quickly said, "Daoist Bai, I've never played with formations..."
"There's still plenty of time. We need a long period of preparation. I can teach you. Your mental power is very strong, and you are perfectly capable of undertaking this task!"
Since he had said so, Shen Yingxue naturally would not refuse. She didn't want to be a liability and be called a "vase" by Brother Xian.
"I will do my best."
"Young friend Meng, how about you control a formation plate as well? This is the White Tiger Spirit of the Four Symbols Annihilation Formation. It can fully unleash the power to kill Nascent Soul cultivators. Others are not suitable for this responsibility."
Meng Zibin initially wanted to refuse, but he also knew that he wasn't the primary damage dealer this time.
"Alright, I will follow your command."
"Then, the Azure Dragon Spirit will be given to Miss Chen."
Chen Xiaohan's eyes narrowed slightly. She hadn't expected to be entrusted with such a serious task.
Bai Nianchen smiled and said, "This is our common great enemy. I hope Miss Chen can put aside some grievances and prioritize the bigger picture."
Chen Xiaohan smiled, "Daoist, you jest. I've never held a grudge against anyone!"
"The last Black Tortoise Spirit, young friend Luo..."
However, Luo Xiaowei shook his head and refused.
"If Daoist Bai trusts me, you can let me play freely. I have my trump cards, and they might be more useful than controlling a formation plate."
Everyone was stunned for a moment, surprised that Luo Xiaowei would say something like this.
However, Bai Nianchen casually glanced at the "Sword Nurturing Gourd" tied to Luo Xiaowei's waist and smiled, "This humble Taoist naturally trusts young friend Luo greatly."
"Then, this formation plate for controlling the Black Tortoise Spirit will be given to young friend Zhang."
Although Zhang Xiaohu was a little unconfident about formations, seeing that Shen Yingxue dared to accept it, he certainly couldn't back down.
"I will work hard, Daoist Bai!"
"Haha, I have great confidence in giving it to young friend Zhang!"
As for those who were not named, they could only output some damage situationally.
Although Xiao Long had been personally trained by Chu Yang for a long time, compared to others, his starting point was indeed later. He was only at the peak Foundation Establishment stage now. Seeing that Daoist Bai hadn't assigned him a task, he felt a little displeased and secretly vowed that when they entered, he would definitely make them exclaim "Holy crap!"
As for why Liang Zifan was not assigned to play with formations, it was because he had a trump card – "Heavenly Thunder Splitting".
That was an even more terrifying killing move than the Four Symbols Annihilation Formation. Although he could only use it once, for them, as long as it could inflict damage, it was enough. They couldn't expect him to instantly kill that Shitian tribesman.