Chapter 2479: The Key to Victory

"However, he does have a powerful helper; I can't handle the two of them alone. You tie down Nine Nether, and I'll be able to separate them, after which we can easily defeat them one by one."

The Heavenly Demon was naturally unmoved: "Who is that, then?"

"Once inside, I won't need to say more; you'll know at a glance."

Having spoken, he took out several black stones and handed them to the Heavenly Demon:

"My Void Land is the Lei Ting Heavenly Plain; fierce lightning descends at every moment. Hold these obsidian stones well, and you'll be immune to lightning attacks, able to focus entirely on killing the opponent."

Being able to avoid lightning strikes, all the Heavenly Demons accepted them; only the Longjiang avatar of Jialou Tian did not extend his hand:

"Not needed."

The Mo beast he was possessing inherently fed on lightning.

Shangguan Biao's eyes flickered slightly, and he didn't press the matter.

"Let's go; kill Nine Nether as fast as possible, and then our hegemony can be achieved!"

He turned and walked toward the black hole.

All the Heavenly Demons looked at Jialou Tian, who only said one word:

"Enter."

The Earth Mother got at least one thing right: as long as Nine Nether is killed, their Divine Descent plan will have removed the most obstructive boulder!

This is even more important than seizing the Great Fanghu itself.

The Heavenly Demons followed Shangguan Biao into the depths of the black hole.

$$$$$

Yujing City.

During a lull in the battle, True Person Si Hai and Supreme Ming Yao approached and said softly, "Spider Queen, may I borrow a moment to speak?"

There was a dark alley right beside them.

The Earth-Cave Spider Queen followed them into the alley; True Person Si Hai raised a hand and set up a soundproof barrier, then continued: "Shangguan Biao has been ambushing our companions; casualties are mounting. We cannot possibly not retaliate!"

Zhu Xiuer disagreed: "Our attacks on Shangguan Biao will convert into harm to the Earth Mother. His current objective is certainly to seize the complete power of the Earth Mother — only then can he regain the initiative in the war. The more severely the Earth Mother is injured and weakened, the more it benefits Shangguan Biao. The fiercer the retaliation, the more it amounts to helping him."

Supreme Ming Yao was displeased: "Then what do you propose?"

"Shangguan Biao's minions are still rampaging through Yujing City; we'll split into a few small squads to go intercept and kill them." Zhu Xiuer's thinking had always been clear. "If Shangguan Biao's underlings are all scattered until only he remains alone, then no matter how formidable he is, he won't be able to stir up much trouble. Also, we previously saw traces of Heavenly Demons; now those ice monsters have all vanished."

Supreme Ming Yao: "The Heavenly Demons gained no advantage; they've likely already withdrawn."

Zhu Xiuer didn't believe it: "They're playing the mantis stalks the cicada while the oriole waits behind — they're definitely still crouching in some corner of the city. You won't find it that easy to drive them out even if you want to."

True Person Si Hai saw the two of them had talked completely off track and hurriedly pulled the topic back:

"Everyone says the Nine Nether Great Emperor is full of cunning schemes; have you considered that the solution to Shangguan Biao might lie with the Earth Mother?"

Zhu Xiuer didn't play Mobile Corps Commander with him: "Get to the point — what method?"

"Shangguan Biao needs the Earth Mother injured but not dead because the Earth Mother is the source of his borrowed power." True Person Si Hai spoke word by word. "If — if the Earth Mother's essence soul meets with misfortune, won't Yujing City instantly turn into a plate of loose sand?"

Rather than facing Shangguan Biao with hands tied, better to destroy the Earth Mother first; Shangguan Biao would naturally be reduced to a mere wisp of a lonely soul.

What good does keeping the Earth Mother's essence soul do? It only pointlessly increases the difficulty of their fight.

Supreme Ming Yao added: "It is fundamentally different from Hidden God Monarch. Hidden God Monarch is originally an aggregate of countless lives; even if the main consciousness perishes, the body's vitality remains vigorous. But the Earth Mother was originally a stone that gained sentience and cultivated; if its 'spirit' is seized, only a pile of rubble remains."

"Oh—" the Spider Queen's tone was full of the realization "so that's the abacus you're calculating," then she pondered. "Indeed there is this possibility. But don't forget, the Earth Mother could stand on equal footing against Shangguan Biao; it is itself very powerful. Don't treat it like a pure, weak little cabbage that snaps at a bend and topples at a touch! If Nine Nether rashly attacks it and provokes it, how do you know it won't defect to Shangguan Biao's side?"

"Any path we choose that cannot kill it instantly in the first moment plays into Shangguan Biao's hands." In fact, right now it was He Lingchuan speaking through the Spider Queen to remind the two before them. "Shangguan Biao told the Earth Mother we would soon turn our blades on it. Look — no matter how much Shangguan Biao injures it, he wants it alive, while we want it dead. If you were the Earth Mother, which side would you choose?"

True Person Si Hai and Supreme Ming Yao exchanged a glance, their eyes flashing.

Shangguan Biao was the victor of the Long Wind Valley survival competition thousands of years ago; he has long since seen through human hearts and the nature of immortals. That he can anticipate the mindset of the Spirit Mountain people is not strange at all.

"If Nine Nether's attack pushes the Earth Mother into Shangguan Biao's camp, isn't that equivalent to us having to defeat the combination of Shangguan Biao plus the Earth Mother?" Zhu Xiuer sneered. "One Shangguan Biao isn't enough for you to handle, and you want to add a genuine, bona fide Earth Mother on top?"

"During the Long Wind Valley internal strife back then, he won the final game by instigating Liu Yisheng." The Spider Queen spoke for He Lingchuan again. "Do you want a repeat of the past?"

"The Earth Mother is the hardest nut to crack; if there's any other way, we don't want to touch it." Supreme Ming Yao gave a bitter laugh and asked the Spider Queen — and also He Lingchuan — "Is there one?"

"The Earth Mother said it would rather have the jade and stone burn together than let Shangguan Biao steal its power again to do evil." He Lingchuan said at once. "It already has that resolve."

"Even if grass, wood, or stone become spirits, the will to live is instinct; it won't volunteer for martyrdom." Cultivation seeks immortality. Unless driven to a dead end with no way out, which practitioner would willingly give up their life?

"Actually, as long as we sever the connection between the Earth Mother's essence soul and its body, that's enough, right?" He Lingchuan had been considering this possibility for a while. "Once the body senses the essence soul is gone, its life furnace will naturally go out, and Shangguan Biao's power will have no source to borrow from."

"How to accomplish that?" True Person Si Hai's brows were nearly knotted together. Every encounter since the Battle of Yujing City began had tested his foundational cultivation knowledge. "Even the Du Zhishan Secret Realm cannot block the connection between the Earth Mother's essence soul and body."

"That's because Shangguan Biao himself cannot and is unwilling to sever that connection." He Lingchuan said in a low voice. "I might be able to try."

"You?" The two immortals exchanged a glance. "How?"

"The Soul-Sealing Art." He Lingchuan said seriously. "I can attempt to seal the Earth Mother's essence soul, completely cutting off its connection with the Stone Heart."

Dong Rui, True Person Si Hai, and Supreme Ming Yao spoke in unison: "You know that too?"

He Lingchuan's words, conveyed through Zhu Xiuer, were full of matter-of-factness: "He can create a Secret Realm, and so can I; he knows the Soul-Sealing Art, so why can't I? Have you forgotten my title?"

Nine Nether Great Emperor!

Anyone associated with "Nine Nether" — could they not be a master at manipulating souls?

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