Long Xiaoxuan wanted to join the fight, but Jiang Chen turned the dragon down.

“This battle isn’t as difficult as you think, Brother Long. You should focus on seeking inspiration for your breakthrough instead. Ascending to divinity will be the most helpful thing you can do for me.” Jiang Chen was being honest. Once a god, a true dragon’s power would grow exponentially.

Together, the three sacred beasts’ power would be substantially greater.

In fact, with the three sacred beasts having reached divinity, they stood an eighty percent chance of defeating Lightford, a fourth level divine realm cultivator. They could swing it through sheer force of a mob attack alone, even if they were all at the initial stage.

The bloodline of the four sacred beasts was unrivaled.

Once all four of them were gods, they could stand their ground against an advanced divine cultivator and even come out victorious.

Jiang Chen had gotten to know the four sacred beasts in his past life. That was why he’d been so eager to recruit all four of them. Stumbling upon the Black Tortoise was more than a pleasant surprise.

Long Xiaoxuan could only yield to Jiang Chen’s determined attitude. The divine life essence he’d received from the earlier fight had sent him into ninth level empyrean. It was unlikely to continue for it to provide fuel for godhood, but it wasn’t impossible.

The ancient sacred beasts’ breakthroughs were unpredictable. A sudden recovery of his ancient memory or the awakening of part of a bloodline could push him to the next realm.

Spirit creatures with unmatched talent from the ancient times could ascend as easily as they breathed.

Before reaching empyrean realm, Long Xiaoxuan hadn’t encountered any difficulty in breaking through. Even someone as talented and resourceful as Jiang Chen couldn’t rival the dragon in its efficiency.

Such was the power of natural talent. Even Jiang Chen envied him.

After refining the divine cultivators’ life essence, Jiang Chen had some resources to spare. He gave quite a bit to the Goldbiter Rats.

The divine cultivators weren’t the only ones they’d killed during the countless battles. He now possessed plenty of empyrean life essence, which he all gave to the Goldbiter Rats.

Their overall strength greatly leapt forward as a result.

The Goldbiter Rat King was now mid empyrean, staring down at advanced empyrean.

Jiang Chen speculated that it’d be difficult for the rat king to ascend to divinity without help. Its natural talent was limited. There existed a considerable gap between it and the ancient Kingrats.

Therefore, Jiang Chen rewarded the rat with a divine decree.

It was the first time he’d given out one. By refining the decree, the rat would have a chance to obtain godhood.

Of course, it’d take time for it to improve its cultivation to a high enough level, but with an endless supply of empyrean essence, it’d be able to refine the decree sooner or later.

The rewards further resolved the rat king’s loyalty to Jiang Chen. It would work even harder for the human, and wouldn’t hesitate to die for him.

In addition to devouring everything, the greatest function the Goldbiter Rats could serve was to act as an alert system. They lived underground, which gave them a natural edge.

Jiang Chen assigned the rats all around Eternal Divine Nation. As soon as Lightford crossed the border, they would notify the young lord.

If Lightford came alone, the rats might not be able to detect him. If he’d brought an army though, the rats would easily take notice.

Every hour of the day was precious to Jiang Chen. He hadn’t forgotten about the human domain as he prepared for the fight.

It was fortunate that he still had time, or he’d have to choose between guarding the Eternal Sacred Land or reactivating the Great Formation of Heavenly Soul Confinement in the human domain.

That was a real dilemma!

He hoped they’d be able to deal with Lightford swiftly. However, that didn’t seem likely at the moment.

“Young lord Chen, a large army has entered the nation with great ferocity. They’re less than five thousand miles away from the sacred land.”

“Young lord Chen, they’re three thousand miles away.”

“One thousand miles left between us and them.”

Jiang Chen perked up and smiled lazily. He turned to Divine Kasyapa. “As you’ve predicted, venerated divine, Lightford got impatient.”

“Oh, is he here?” Divine Kasyapa didn’t ask how Jiang Chen knew Lightford was coming. The young man had his way of knowing things. If Jiang Chen didn’t volunteer the information, he wasn’t going to ask.

Jiang Chen blinked. It seemed that Kasyapa wasn’t at all shocked or nervous. In fact, he seemed pleased. The Eternal young lord didn’t know what there was to be pleased about that Lightford was coming to seek revenge.

Noting his confusion, Kasyapa chuckled. “You’re the bane of that old bastard’s existence, Jiang Chen.”

“How so?” asked Jiang Chen.

“Lightford’s been in closed door cultivation lately, trying to overcome a cultivation bottleneck. According to my estimations, it should’ve taken a long time. You killing his two enforcers must have alerted and disturbed his consciousness, which would then affect his breakthrough. That’s why I call you the bane of his existence. You’ve foiled many of his plans. The fact that he’s come to us in a fit of anger proves that he’s running out of options.”

Kasyapa’s tone was casual. He clearly believed in his own interpretation of the situation.

Jiang Chen laughed as well.

“That can be good or bad. If furious, he’s going to make a powerful first strike. We must be prepared for the coming storm.”

“Don’t worry,” Divine Kasyapa said with conviction. “Lightford is strong, but with what we’ve set up, we can at least reach a draw, if not defeat him.”

Flushing Lightford from his base of operations was a feat in and of its own. The old man had planned on staying behind the scenes, ordering his people to go around and cause chaos.

Now, he’d been forced to take matters into his own hands. On one hand, he was running out of talent to draw upon. On the other hand, he’d lost faith in his own people. That was good news for Jiang Chen and the others.

“Hah!” A yell pierced through the sky the sky, striking the Eternal Sacred Land from above like lightning. A swarm of airboats quickly emerged and loomed over the sacred land.

The opulent and majestic leading airboat opened up. Out shot a few figures like arrows. The leader was an old man with white hair and eyes as sharp as an eagle’s.

It was Lightford, leading the charge himself.