I Can Extract Divine Power

He had thought he’d been discreet enough this time; his opponent shouldn’t have noticed.

But he truly hadn’t expected it. Shen Bai had somehow gotten word of their plans and had already arrived here ahead of them.

The problem now facing them was how to get inside.

Although no one was currently standing guard, the worst-case scenario would be for them all to get inside, find their positions, and then suddenly be discovered.

"If there’s no other way, we’ll have to force our way in."

Abbot Xuanzhen said slowly, "As long as we get inside, we can communicate with and enter the Mysterious City. We may suffer losses, but it’s the best option we have."

The Vice Dean and the Qi Huang Taoist exchanged a look but said nothing.

Clearly, while the method Abbot Xuanzhen proposed was dangerous, it was indeed the most practical one they had at the moment.

After all, with such a wide area to cover, one or two of them were bound to break through. As soon as they were inside, they could immediately communicate with the Mysterious City and be teleported in.

Even with some losses, it wouldn’t be a fatal blow to their core group.

At this thought, the Vice Dean nodded.

"Alright. I’ll pass down your orders. This must be done right."

Since the decision had been made and everyone had agreed, the die was cast.

If they lost this chance, killing Shen Bai next time would be nearly impossible. Furthermore, they would have to face his retaliation.

Their intelligence network was far superior to that of other factions in the Jianghu. They had long since pieced together various clues and discovered the terrifying power Shen Bai wielded after advancing to the Unity Realm.

Therefore, the current Shen Bai could use his "Overcoming Adversity and Attacking Upward" ability to render even Void Realm masters helpless against him—he could even kill them outright.

For this very reason, their time was running out.

There’s no such thing as a perfect secret. One day, Shen Bai would find out. And once he did, he would find a lead, follow it, and hunt them down.

This was their only chance to turn the tables.

"And once we’re inside, what do we do?" the Qi Huang Taoist asked.

Abbot Xuanzhen replied slowly, "Once inside, we’ll find a way to trigger the rules of the Mysterious City. We’ll plunge the entire city into the terror of its own rules. Even the Observatory will have trouble handling that."

The Qi Huang Taoist mulled this over for a moment. "That’s different from what you said before. You told us we were entering the Mysterious City to use the anomalies within it against Shen Bai, and that we would only play a supporting role."

The Vice Dean looked at Abbot Xuanzhen as well. "If we trigger the rules of the Mysterious City, it will be a case of mutual destruction. It won’t just be Shen Bai; we’ll also likely fall prey to the city’s dangers."

Previously, Abbot Xuanzhen’s plan had been to operate without breaking the rules.

If you triggered a rule and failed to abide by it—or worse, tried to break it—it would unleash an extreme form of terror.

This terror didn’t discriminate. Anyone, no matter who they were, would be attacked.

That was why the Vice Dean felt Abbot Xuanzhen’s idea was a bit extreme.

Even if they managed to wipe out the Observatory, they would also be caught in the terrifying fallout.

The surrounding Xinhua Academy disciples overheard the conversation between their leaders.

Upon hearing the plan, a flicker of fear appeared in every disciple’s eyes.

They might be lunatics in the eyes of the world, but that didn’t mean they weren’t afraid to die.

In fact, they wanted nothing more than to live and continue their research.

They had only been brought out to deal with Shen Bai because there was no other choice.

No one is fearless in the face of death.

Abbot Xuanzhen nodded. "You both have a point, but it won’t be completely indiscriminate. Once inside, we’ll immediately split up. The Mysterious City is vast, so after we disperse, we can prioritize locating the members of the Observatory. Then, we break the rules in their vicinity and subsequently wipe them all out."

"As for breaking the rules, it only takes one person per rule. After all, a single action can have far-reaching consequences."

"First, we eliminate the members of the Observatory. With them gone, Shen Bai will be much easier to handle. With our combined strength and that of our subordinates, we can overwhelm him, even with his ’Overcoming Adversity and Attacking Upward’ ability."

"But the person who breaks the rule will die. Who would be willing to do that?" the Qi Huang Taoist asked with a frown.

The method Abbot Xuanzhen had just described could indeed achieve the greatest benefit for the smallest loss.

But therein lay the problem.

The one who triggered the rule would certainly perish along with it. That was beyond question.

So, who to send was a very serious question.

After all, if it were him, he wouldn’t be willing to sacrifice his own life for a group of temporary allies.

Abbot Xuanzhen said no more. His meaning was obvious.

Such casualties were unavoidable.

Seeing this, the Vice Dean turned to look at his disciples and said slowly, "Death is inevitable. If we don’t kill Shen Bai this time, our own deaths are certain. But if we kill him, we still have a chance to live. Even those who have to break the rules might survive. But if Shen Bai lives, we absolutely will not."

"You’ve probably all thought about this."

The members of Xinhua Academy present all fell silent.

In truth, just as the Vice Dean had said, breaking the rules would unleash terrifying anomalies. There was even a chance of death before the anomalies even appeared.

But at least in the Mysterious City, if they all worked together, there was still a chance of survival.