Ao Yuan saw several national leaders gathered at the entrance of the valley from afar, seemingly discussing whether to enter.
"What's wrong?" Ao Yuan, having transformed into human form, walked over directly.
"Lord Dragon God!"
Upon seeing Ao Yuan, the leaders of various nations greeted him first.
Then, a national leader stepped forward and said, "The current situation with that rift is not optimistic."
"Hmm?" Ao Yuan let out a soft sound.
"Lord Dragon God, we rushed here as fast as we could as soon as we received the news from Elder Long."
"And after observing these past few days, the fluctuations in the Heavenly Road have become increasingly violent."
"It seems those inside are accelerating their efforts to break through the barrier and enter Blue Star."
"If this continues, it won't be long before the Heavenly Road is forcefully opened!"
Upon hearing this news, the national leaders fell silent, their faces etched with a peculiar gloom.
Clearly, the matter of the Heavenly Road was a mountain pressing down on their hearts.
And it was a deadly mountain at that.
Although they had no clear concept of how strong the Main God truly was,
they had formed a vague understanding of the Main God's power simply by observing the frequent appearances of deities on Blue Star.
This vague concept alone was far beyond their capabilities to contend with.
"How are your preparations going?" Ao Yuan asked.
"We have prepared everything we possibly could," a voice suddenly sounded from behind.
It was Elder Long, who walked from behind to Ao Yuan's side and explained again, "We have prepared a few more mushroom bombs, of course, these will only be used as a last resort."
Ao Yuan nodded in understanding. Mushroom bombs were indeed destructive, but they absolutely could not be used excessively on Blue Star.
"Besides the mushroom bombs, we have also prepared some other measures."
"Mostly missiles and other high-yield weapons. While not as monstrous as mushroom bombs, they can at least provide some deterrence."
Ao Yuan slightly nodded and then asked, "What are your plans?"
"Are you waiting for them to appear here?"
The national leaders exchanged silent glances, and then Elder Long stepped forward, speaking solemnly, "Ao Yuan, after discussion, our plan is that even if we cannot resist them, we will do our utmost to delay them."
"We plan to dispatch warriors into the Heavenly Road beforehand to bombard them from within."
"This way, even if we cannot stop them, we can effectively slow down their arrival on Blue Star."
"This will give us more time to prepare."
Ao Yuan nodded again. What he said was indeed sound.
The goal was not to resist, but to delay.
As long as they could delay, there would be infinite possibilities.
Even though the probability of that was extremely slim.
"I'll go in with you later," Ao Yuan said.
With that, Ao Yuan walked forward, heading deeper in.
Seeing this, the national leaders suppressed their emotions and followed suit, though their suppressed smiles were evident in their eyes.
Clearly, Ao Yuan's participation had made them extremely happy.
As they ventured deeper, Ao Yuan felt an unusual sense of gravity.
Various transport vehicles were continuously moving inward, each carrying extremely heavy weaponry.
Everyone worked silently, meticulously attending to their tasks.
A palpable aura of grim determination permeated the air.
Continuing inward, the view suddenly opened up.
In the front lay a stretch of ruins, with only the rift suspended high in the void.
Behind the ruins, a long, narrow defensive line was being constructed, clearly not yet completed, with many soldiers busily working.
Elder Long, seeing Ao Yuan's gaze, explained, "If we truly cannot stop them and they emerge from there."
"This will be our first defensive line. In addition to the mushroom bombs, we will target this area with hundreds of missiles, and bury hundreds of tons of explosives underground."
"We plan to build a total of 20 similar defensive lines."
"Once headquarters gives the order, the entire network will be activated."
"Even if they don't die, they'll have quite a lot to deal with!"
Ao Yuan nodded. While these measures might not be significant to powerful cultivators individually,
their combined effect would pose a considerable threat.
Even he, upon first entering the God-Opening realm, would have sustained significant damage from such an attack.
Of course, he was now at the eighth level of the God-Opening realm.
All of this was naturally insignificant to him.
"Have you sent anyone in yet?" Ao Yuan suddenly asked, as if a thought had occurred to him.
The moment he spoke, Ao Yuan noticed the expressions of Elder Long and the other national leaders turn grim.
Observing their demeanor, Ao Yuan vaguely understood.
"We have already dispatched warriors to investigate the rift,"
just as Ao Yuan had anticipated, Elder Long sighed, "but we haven't heard from them at all since. They seem to have vanished."
"This leaves us unsure of what exactly has happened inside."
"And yet you still plan to send more warriors in?" Ao Yuan looked at Elder Long with a peculiar expression.
Elder Long sighed heavily again. "What else can we do?"
"We can't just sit here and wait for death, can we?"
Hearing this, Ao Yuan nodded in agreement.
"Make your preparations. I will lead the remaining warriors in."
With that said, Ao Yuan closed his eyes, quietly resting his spirit.
Elder Long and the national leaders exchanged glances and quickly dispersed to begin their tasks.
They would rally some warriors to accompany Ao Yuan into the rift.
Not long after.
"Ao Yuan, everything is ready!" Elder Long's voice reached Ao Yuan's ears.
Ao Yuan opened his eyes to see dozens of fully armed warriors before him.
They stood tall and straight, like javelins.
The aura emanating from them indicated that their strength was not weak.
At least they were cultivators who had entered the Spirit Sea realm.
Even the leaders of the group had reached the Spirit Channeling realm.
With a sweep of his gaze, Ao Yuan stood up and led them to the entrance of the rift.
"Prepare yourselves, it's time to go in!" Ao Yuan turned and earnestly cautioned them.
"Yes!"
The dozens of warriors behind him responded in unison.
Seeing this, Ao Yuan let out a hearty laugh and, without further hesitation, stepped directly into the rift.
The warriors behind him, though they knew entering the rift was likely a perilous undertaking with a slim chance of survival,
did not hesitate. They all stepped into the rift one after another.
The national leaders stood behind, their gazes fixed on them.
Finally, everyone let out a silent sigh.
No one knew if these individuals would return safely from this expedition.
...