Chen Fan had actually wanted to have Elder Demon Chu and the others retreat for a while now.
There was no helping it; this chaotic situation was too advanced.
With his strength, not yet having condensed the Spirit of the Great Dao, Elder Demon Chu couldn't participate.
Those who could participate had to have at least condensed the Spirit of the Great Dao.
Speaking of which, he added another instruction: "Take the youth by the Sword Master's side away too. You'll use the space boots to find the Sword Master and tell him I said so."
"Understood."
Elder Demon Chu wasted no words.
The space boots were activated instantly, and he vanished from his spot.
Not long after, silver light flickered rapidly in the chaotic zone, and a group of four disappeared from it.
Ah Qi was taken away by Elder Demon Chu.
...
"Hmph."
From a distance, the Golden Daoist, who was searching alone, glanced with displeasure at the departing four.
He had the intention to stop them but ultimately did not.
It was for no other reason than that the three main figures had not left.
Those who left were mere ants, easily crushed at any time.
As long as Chen Fan and the other two didn't leave, his revenge would eventually be exacted.
It wasn't just the Golden Daoist who saw the four depart; the Lord of Light and the Phantom Sect also witnessed it.
They merely glanced and then withdrew their gazes.
Their thoughts were naturally the same as the Golden Daoist's.
Ants, no need to bother with.
...
Far in the distance.
The Five Elements and Thousand Silks Dao Masters, who were observing the chaotic zone, also saw it.
"Monitor them."
The Lord of the Five Elements gave the order.
Immediately, a top-tier Eighth Realm Great Emperor flew out from the Five Elements Dao Field.
He approached the chaotic zone at extreme speed.
On the other side, someone also emerged from the Thousand Silks Dao Field.
Neither of them made a move rashly, only dispatching personnel for surveillance.
It was a contingency, so to speak.
However, their primary attention remained on the chaotic zone.
As for the ants who left, they were merely part of a casual arrangement.
...
Within the chaotic zone, the group continued their search.
Boom.
Volcanic eruptions appeared from time to time.
Mountains of blades collapsed, destroying the world.
The six of them were all acting independently.
At a certain moment...
"The Pool of Life and Death, found."
The Golden Daoist was the first to locate a place where the rules of life and death flowed.
Without hesitation, he immediately notified the others.
He didn't try to be clever and only notify Chen Fan, because that was unrealistic.
Once Chen Fan came to his side, the Lord of Light and the Phantom Sect would surely arrive.
It was better to be upfront than to act sneakily.
Boom!
In the chaotic zone, five powerful auras spread out and flew towards the Golden Daoist's location at extreme speed.
The Pool of Life and Death had been found.
Moments later, the six of them gathered again.
"Huh?"
At this moment, the Lord of Light glanced at Chen Fan with surprise: "Where are the others by your side?"
Chen Fan rolled his eyes... he was asking a question he already knew the answer to.
Elder Demon Chu and the others had left very openly.
"What do you want to ask?"
Chen Fan smiled: "Lord of Light, stop causing trouble and learn from Senior Phantom Sect, be more tactful."
Lord of Light: "..."
He had just been ridiculed for lacking tact.
It was merely a casual question, and he was directly rebuffed.
This left the Lord of Light feeling frustrated.
After a long while, he laughed freely: "Just a casual question, City Lord Chen, please go ahead..."
Rumble.
Ahead, the blood pool of life and death churned.
It was indeed a blood pool.
In the memories obtained by the Phantom Sect, the Thunder Lord had entered the blood pool of life and death.
This meant that the greatest possibility of the Order of Heavenly Strategy being hidden within the blood pool of life and death.
Around the edge of the blood pool, there were traces left by others.
"Someone has been here."
Chen Fan spoke: "They probably didn't find anything. I'll take a look..."
Saying this, without waiting for others' consent, he jumped directly into the blood pool.
Boom!
The blood pool of life and death churned violently.
Time slowly passed. Three more days went by, and all the energy within the blood pool of life and death disappeared.
Chen Fan emerged again, shaking his hands in resignation: "Empty."
"Alas."
The few of them were somewhat disappointed.
"Let's keep searching."
There was no other way; they had to continue.
The group once again embarked on their search.
The chaotic zone was truly vast, comparable to the Thunder Domain.
Every time a blood pool of life and death was discovered, Chen Fan would personally enter to investigate.
Half a year later, the six of them gathered.
"Nothing?"
Everyone's gaze turned to the Phantom Sect.
Over the past half year, they had scoured the chaotic zone and searched all the blood pools of life and death, yet they had not found any trace of the Order of Heavenly Strategy.
For a moment, everyone looked at the Phantom Sect with suspicion.
Their gazes made him somewhat embarrassed, and he snorted: "I'm telling the truth. Is there another possibility..."
As he spoke, the Phantom Sect turned his attention to Chen Fan: "That you have already found the location of the Order of Heavenly Strategy but haven't told us, intending to seize it for yourself later?"
The Lord of Light and the Golden Daoist were stunned... indeed, this was a possibility.
Suspicion shifted from the Phantom Sect to Chen Fan.
Chen Fan: "..."
He smiled: "My lords, you have made such a grand expedition here. If you don't find the Order of Heavenly Strategy, I'm afraid you won't be satisfied and won't let me leave easily. Do you think it's still meaningful for me to conceal it?"
This explanation rendered the three Ninth Realm experts speechless.
Indeed, if they didn't find the Order of Heavenly Strategy this time, they would absolutely not let Chen Fan leave.
Therefore... concealment was pointless.
Suspicion once again fell upon the Phantom Sect.
The Phantom Sect was somewhat enraged, he reprimanded: "I'm telling the truth."
As Ninth Realm powerhouses, how could they lie about such matters?
Ninth Realm experts had pride.
"This way."
The Sword Master suddenly spoke, proposing his idea: "There's another possibility. The memory Senior Phantom Sect saw was of what happened after the Thunder Lord entered a certain location. Could it be that there's a layer of concealment outside the Pool of Life and Death?"
"For example, the outside is fire, while inside... is life and death?"
"..."
For a moment, everyone fell silent.
If that were the case, then too much time would have been wasted.
It would be equivalent to searching every dangerous place.
After all, this chaotic region was comparable in size to the Thunder Domain.
Moreover, these dangerous places were not static; almost every day, dangerous areas would appear, then disappear, reappear, and disappear again... in a continuous cycle.
"Now I understand why the Five Elements and Thousand Silks Dao Masters haven't sent anyone to search here," Chen Fan said, waving his hand.
This place was extremely dangerous, and only those of the Eighth Realm could enter.
Even an Eighth Realm expert might perish in certain extreme dangers.
It was simply impossible to search it all.
The Ninth Realm had quite a few Eighth Realm experts, but not an infinite number.
The two sides could not continuously send people here.
Just earlier, in a certain volcano, even with the Sword Master's abilities, he had almost perished within it.
Even now, the Sword Master still felt lingering fear: "Too dangerous."
An Eighth Realm expert who had condensed the Spirit of the Dao could perish, others... would just be throwing their lives away.
"Then what do we do?" the others asked, somewhat disheartened.
This situation couldn't go on.
They couldn't just keep searching like this.
If they continued searching foolishly, they wouldn't finish in a million years.
For example, you spend a month searching an area, and after a month, several more dangerous areas have appeared, while several others have disappeared.
This... was simply not feasible.