The group withdrew, and the Cold Abyss Restricted Zone fell silent once more.
The Cold Abyss Dao Master continued to seal himself beneath the Cold Abyss, strengthening his power.
...
Chen Fan and his party emerged from the Cold Abyss Restricted Zone.
The Illusion Sect and the Radiant two, both wounded ninth-rank experts, also followed them out.
"City Lord."
As soon as they were out, the Dragon King voiced his lingering question: "Why did we retreat?"
He felt they were still capable of fighting.
With two ninth-rank experts on their side, plus Chen Fan, whose combat strength already reached the ninth-rank at the eighth-rank, they could have fought.
"We couldn't."
The Dragon King asked, and Chen Fan felt it was necessary to explain.
He said, "The Cold Abyss's stance has revealed everything; he stands with the lower ten lands. The reason he is unwilling to emerge is to deal with the Million Calamity. This can also be inferred from Senior Radiant's words."
"Indeed."
Upon hearing his name, Radiant stepped forward and stated, "The Cold Abyss Great Dao is a mutated spatial Dao, capable of traversing any part of the Chaos and sensing the Heart of Chaos, and even condensing it."
"The Heart of Chaos, which we call the Heartstone, is a supreme treasure of the Chaos. Across all nine heavens and ten lands, it is the ultimate treasure for recovering Dao injuries."
"Every time a Million Calamity erupts, the upper nine heavens sweep through the lower ten lands, plundering all treasures, and naturally, they would not abandon the Heartstone."
"Based on these points, the Cold Abyss Dao Master is undoubtedly at the forefront of dealing with the Million Calamity."
He provided an explanation that Chen Fan and the others didn't know.
"Oh?"
Chen Fan's eyebrows lifted.
Although the Radiant Lord didn't elaborate much, Chen Fan gleaned many secrets from his words.
He then looked at Radiant and Illusion Sect, smiling, "Seniors, your appearance here is also for the Heartstone, isn't it?"
"That's right."
There was no need to conceal this.
Illusion Sect sighed, "Our injuries are too severe. Normally, it wouldn't be so urgent. Time would heal our wounds. For people like us, time is the cheapest commodity."
Chen Fan smiled and said, "But the Million Calamity is fast approaching."
Their expressions turned solemn.
"Indeed."
Illusion Sect said gravely, "Because of the Order Heavenly Mandate, the upper nine heavens will never let us go. Therefore... we must recover from our injuries as quickly as possible to have a sliver of hope for survival."
"Then..."
Chen Fan drew out his words, "If I can help you both recover from your injuries, are you willing to give it a try?"
At these words, both of them were stunned.
The joy in their eyes was palpable.
They couldn't conceal it at all.
But soon, they snapped out of their elation.
After a brief pause, Illusion Sect asked, "City Lord Chen controls the Dao of Life and Death. If we can traverse the River of Life and Death again, we can recover from our Dao injuries. Is that what you mean, City Lord?"
"Precisely."
"There are conditions, aren't there?"
Neither of them was foolish.
From Chen Fan's proposal, they understood.
Chen Fan didn't hide it: "Of course."
"May we hear the conditions first, City Lord?"
"The conditions are not difficult; you only need to help me once when I require it," Chen Fan said.
Their situation was different from that of the Evil Lord.
The Evil Lord was facing certain death at the time. If he didn't go through the Dao of Life and Death, he would surely die.
By traversing it, he had a chance to live another life and escape Qiansi's control.
He had no other choice.
But Illusion Sect and the Radiant Lord were different; they still had other options.
Thus, the requirements were also different. He only asked them to help him once at a critical juncture.
"..."
The two fell silent.
Chen Fan's condition was too enticing. If they disregarded their previous animosity, they would have agreed without hesitation.
But let's not forget, they were on opposing sides before.
Once they traversed the Dao of Life and Death, if Chen Fan played any tricks, or if he severed the Dao of Life and Death at a critical moment, death would be their only fate.
In such a scenario, he could not only eliminate two enemies but also gain two ninth-rank physical bodies and energy condensed over countless years, and even the Spirit of Great Dao would fall into his hands.
Given these points, they had to consider.
"No rush."
As if sensing their hesitation, Chen Fan smiled, "The Million Calamity is still some time away. You seniors can take your time to consider."
"The matters of the Eighth Land are now settled, and I am not interested in petty worlds."
"Next, I will head to the Seventh Land. You seniors can accompany me. If you have made up your minds, you can tell me anytime."
"..."
Neither of them spoke.
"Let's go."
Chen Fan said no more.
The choice was theirs to make.
Anyone in their position would hesitate and consider carefully.
They had only been in the Eighth Land for a few days and were already leaving.
There was no need to visit the Yi Tian Dao Master; with Dao King's guarantee, there shouldn't be any problems.
Now that the Cold Abyss Dao Master's intentions were clear, there was no point in staying any longer.
His objective was to eliminate all hidden dangers in the lower ten lands.
Primarily ninth-rank experts. Eighth-rank and below... were not that important.
He would deal with the ninth-rank first, and if time permitted, he could then deal with the eighth-rank.
...
*Buzz.*
On this day, the group arrived at the Seventh Land.
It was worth mentioning that the Illusion Sect and the Radiant Lord had also come along.
The two were still considering, but this did not prevent them from following.
After all, they could recover wherever they were.
Chen Fan was also happy to have them accompany him.
These two were ninth-rank experts from a million years ago. While they might not know the lower ten lands inside out, they certainly knew the important details.
"City Lord Chen."
As soon as they entered the Seventh Land, Illusion Sect spoke, "There are four ninth-rank experts in the Seventh Land. Two of them can be 100% confirmed to be hostile towards the upper nine heavens, while the other two remain in an ambiguous state."
See, the benefits were already appearing.
With the guidance of Illusion Sect and Radiant, these matters... were no longer a problem.
Illusion Sect continued, "The Dark Lord, a ninth-rank expert from a million years ago, cultivated the Dao of Darkness and is very fond of power. His subordinate worlds are forged into iron buckets, impenetrable."
"This person... has a high probability of being from the upper nine heavens, but there has never been any concrete evidence."
"Furthermore, the Dark Lord is on good terms with another expert, the Crescent Moon Dao Master, and they are considered to be in the same faction."
"As for the other two, they have always wanted to probe the Dark Lord's identity, but their combat strengths are similar, leading to a stalemate over the years."
Chen Fan countered, "Can't we seek reinforcements?"
"Where would we seek reinforcements from?"
Illusion Sect waved his hand, "The Sixth Land or the Eighth Land? Who can guarantee that the reinforcements wouldn't be hidden enemies?"
At this moment, the Radiant Lord suddenly interjected, "Speaking of which, the situation in the Seventh Land also has something to do with us."
"Hm?"
"There was originally another ninth-rank expert in the Seventh Land, but a million years ago, I invited him to join the encirclement of the Thunder Lord, and he perished..."