Chapter 1337 : Open Strategy Repels the Enemy

Seeing that he still could not break through the Primordial Unity Aura and completely slay Eldrin, the master of 1000 Dragons Lake felt his heart grow increasingly heavy.

He glanced at the battle situation and realized that Patriarch Yanao was already severely wounded, left with nothing but the strength to stall and parry.

"Was my choice wrong?"

The Lord of 1000 Dragon Lake murmured to himself, but by now Patriarch Yan Ao was already severely wounded. Even if saved, his combat power would be halved, leaving him incapable of sharing much of the burden.

With such enormous sunk costs, he could no longer alter his decision. "So be it—we slaughter our way through!"

"I refuse to believe that a mere Half-Step Earth Immortal like you can truly withstand the full-force assault of us late-stage Earth Immortals."

The master of 1000 Dragon Lake steeled his heart, launching a relentless and frenzied assault against Eldrin. His eyes burned with boundless crimson fury, consumed by the desire to eliminate Eldrin at any cost.

"Ah."

At that very moment, a wretched cry pierced through the void, followed by the brilliant radiance of vast Dao sublimation bursting forth.

A Terrestrial Immortal Patriarch has fallen. The first to perish was not Patriarch Yanao, but rather the newly ascended Terrestrial Immortal from the 1000 Dragons Lake, who had already suffered grievous wounds.

This True Dragon, who had just reached the Earth Immortal realm, had barely consolidated his foundation when he was severely wounded by the Annihilating World Cannon. His combat power could be said to have been drastically diminished.

After exchanging several dozen moves with Elder Diquan, he could no longer suppress the injuries within his body. Seizing the opportunity, Elder Diquan trapped his primordial soul using the White Nether Tome of Life and Death.

His physical body was already severely wounded, and his primordial spirit had been seized by a treasure specifically designed to suppress souls. Naturally, he possessed no strength left to resist. In the blink of an eye, Patriarch Earthspring annihilated him completely.

After slaying the newly-ascended Earth Immortal, Earthspring Patriarch immediately struck again, directing the White Nether Tome of Life and Death toward Flame Torment Patriarch.

This White Nether Life-Death Tome was a magic treasure specifically designed to target the soul, yet it was merely a lower-grade Heaven-Opening Treasure. Had Patriarch Yan'ao been at the peak of his power, such a trivial lower-grade Heaven-Opening Treasure would have posed little threat to him.

But at this moment, already severely wounded and overwhelmed by the joint attacks, he was caught completely off guard by the White Nether Life-Death Tome's assault. A momentary daze instantly seized his consciousness.

A confrontation between Earth Immortal Patriarchs—even a momentary lapse could prove fatal.

But as everyone unleashed their full power, Lyra (Person Name) used the 5-Colored Divine Light to seize the Eldrin Flame Ancestor’s ultimate protective treasure, then activated the Primordial Qi Grasping Hand to firmly suppress it.

Qing Ji and Ri Ji immediately moved to seal off his escape routes, preventing his 2 Heaven-Creation Treasures from activating their autonomous guardian functions.

The Dao Lord of the Abyssal Heavens also unleashed his full power, instantly channeling the Abyssal Sword’s energy to cleave forward. In that very moment, Patriarch Yan’ao was severed in 2.

At the critical moment between life and death, Patriarch Yan'ao's primordial spirit flew out in a desperate attempt to escape. However, the Sovereign of the Ancient Abyss seized the opportunity to strike.

In the blink of an eye, the Voidless Sword of Ethereal Cosmos pierced through the void, obliterating his primordial spirit between heaven and earth. "Alas…"

A sixth-level Earth Immortal was slain, and the scene of his Dao dissipation could truly be described as earth-shattering.

Endless streams of luminous rain surged forth, submerging the boundless, vast earth. In that moment, the immortal spiritual energy throughout the Eldritch Abyss Sea surged dramatically.

"Yan Ao!"

Witnessing the fall of Patriarch Yan'ao, countless immortals among the demon race felt their hearts tremble violently, their faces instantly revealing expressions of profound shock.

To be fair, losing a combatant with Earth Immortal Sixth Layer strength was indeed a heavy blow to 1000 Dragon Lake—enough to shake its foundations, but not enough to be fatal.

However, with 3 Ninth-Tribulation Immortals and 2 Half-Step Earth Immortals at the mid-stage now freed to act, they were more than enough to completely overturn the course of the battle.

The group slew Patriarch Flamescorch and immediately turned their gaze toward Eldrin and the master of the Azure Stream Ancient Sect. Seeing that both were temporarily out of danger, they breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Lyra and Eldrin exchanged a glance before she immediately declared, "We'll slay the Earth Immortal of the demonic tribe first, then surround and eliminate the master of the 1000 Dragons Lake and his allies."

"Very well."

Everyone nodded and immediately charged toward the newly ascended Earth Immortal of the demon race.

With their combined strength, there was naturally no surprise in their joint assault against an early-stage Earth Immortal of the demon race.

Lyra, Daoist of the Celestial Abyss, and the Nether Sovereign of the Ancient Ruins took action in succession. With merely a single strike from each, they had already slain it.

High above in the firmament, Eldrin witnessed the scene and immediately declared in a resonant voice, "Heavenly Prison Flame Sovereign, if you do not leave now, I fear escape will no longer be an option."

"Hmm?"

Hearing Eldrin's words, a flicker of coldness passed through the Prison Fiendlord's eyes. He swept his gaze across the battlefield, a trace of solemnity flashing within his expression.

"The tide has turned irreversibly."

In but an instant, the Heavenfire Prison Lord sighed inwardly.

The current situation was extremely unfavorable for 1000 Dragon Lake. Even if they continued the fight, it would be difficult for them to crush the forces of the Returning Abyss Sea.

After all, suppressed by the Zhou Heaven Star Formation, they were fighting on unfavorable ground within the array. Not only was their combat power subtly diminished by the formation’s influence, but they also faced its relentless disruptions and assaults.

Under such circumstances, even the Flame Sovereign of Celestial Prison dared not claim he could slay the master of the Azure River Ancient Sect.

By the time several Earth Immortals from 1000 Dragon Lake were encircled and slain, with 3 Ninth-Tribulation Immortals, 1 Eighth-Tribulation Immortal, 1 Sixth-Heaven Earth Immortal, and 4 early-stage Earth Immortals freed to join the fray, they would likely face annihilation. According to Heavenly Prison Flame Lord’s estimation, if the 2 late-stage Earth Immortals fought with their full strength and stalled until the Ninth-Tribulation Immortals’ magical power was depleted, they would have roughly a 30 percent chance of victory.

Moreover, even if they were to emerge victorious, it would be a pyrrhic victory—at least 1 Seventh-Level Earth Immortal would inevitably perish in the battle. By this reckoning, the odds of survival were slim indeed.

An even greater possibility was that they would be slowly trapped and killed within the Zhoutian Stars Great Formation(Array), as the crowd leveraged their numerical advantage and the power of the formation.

Of course, even if they failed, the 2 of them fighting with the desperation of cornered beasts could still effortlessly slay several Earth Immortals from the Abyssal Sea.

Even in a desperate fight to the death, it was entirely possible to take down 1 or 2 9-Calamity Immortals. "He told me to leave."

"He wishes to avoid a pyrrhic victory with excessive losses." The thought echoed in Heavenly Prison Flame Lord's mind, for he understood Eldrin's reasoning all too well.

To this, the Heavenly Prison Flame Lord also let out a soft sigh, forced to admit that Eldrin's words were a masterstroke of psychological warfare—a stratagem laid bare, yet impossible to counter.

2 choices lay before them. 1 path was to fight to the death, gambling on that 30 percent chance of victory—yet even if they prevailed, it would be a battle where only 1 in 10 survives.

Another path was to withdraw and leave, directly ensuring his own survival and safe departure.

These 2 paths: 1 leads to survival, the other to a desperate battle where both sides suffer heavy losses, ending in mutual annihilation.

Now, a path to survival lay clearly before the Heavenly Prison Flame Lord. The choice was already self-evident.

He was not a member of Dry Dragon Lake and had no reason to fight to the death here. Moreover, he needed to survive and return to assist the Clan Lord in breaking through the Flowing Fire Star Palace.

At this thought, a resolute gleam flashed in the Heavenly Prison Flame Lord's eyes as a decision crystallized in his heart.

At the same time, the master of Dry Dragon Lake, noticing the expression on the Heavenly Prison Flame Lord’s face, immediately urged anxiously, “Brother Flame Lord, you must not fall for this ploy of sowing discord by the Return to Ruins Daoist.”

Heavenly Prison Elder died at their hands. Do you truly intend to let this grievance go unavenged?