Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 1639 - 1639 0966 Roadblock_2

Chapter 1639: Chapter 0966: Roadblock_2 Chapter 1639: Chapter 0966: Roadblock_2 Finally, after a series of discussions, the group nominated two people, one was the team leader Gao Yuqiu, and the other was Cheng Jianli. Both were female cultivators, who are inherently more meticulous than male cultivators, and both possessed stealth techniques, making them suitable for this type of scouting work.

Gao Yuqiu and Cheng Jianli left the team to start their investigation while the others waited in place. Xiu Zhengyu and the rest gathered around Qi Tian, hoping to learn from him what dangers lay ahead, but Qi Tian said nothing and merely asked them to wait patiently.

After slightly more than an hour, Gao Yuqiu and Cheng Jianli returned, both looking extremely upset. The others quickly gathered around, asking what had happened.

Cheng Jianli looked frustrated and said, “It’s truly unbelievable. The competition at the Holy Land just started a few days ago, right? There’s still a long way until it ends, yet someone has gone mad and chosen to break through to the Nascent Soul Stage, and right in front of us, blocking our path exactly.”

Xiu Zhengyu and the others were shocked beyond belief. How could it be possible? Who would choose to break through at such a time?

Though Cheng Jianli had recently planned to take the Infant Fruit from Qi Tian, she hadn’t thought of consuming it immediately. She intended to reserve it for later, if no better options arose. She couldn’t at all understand why someone would choose to break through now. Weren’t they worried about missing better opportunities in the future?

All the team members were at the peak of the Gold Core Realm, only a half-step away from the Nascent Soul Stage. They had thoroughly understood what conditions they might face during a breakthrough and what the consequences would be.

Not to mention anything else, just considering two points: anyone breaking through to the Nascent Soul Stage would inevitably cause a change in the heavens and earth, creating a Tribulation Force Field centered around the breakthrough candidate. Anyone who steps into this field would be targeted by the Heavenly Tribulation. Furthermore, those undergoing tribulation usually have friends and family to protect them; regardless of the reason, they would guard the perimeter of the force field to prevent others from approaching.

Putting other considerations aside, just these two points alone determined that a vast area ahead was definitely restricted. They could not safely proceed in the chosen direction; even if no one physically blocked them, they dared not move forward rashly. If they happened to enter the force field of someone undergoing tribulation, the consequences would be more than they could bear.

Among all the teammates, Xiu Zhengyu was the most worried. He was injured, and in the event of a battle, he would certainly be the first to be abandoned. He said, “It might not be proper to say this, but I still want to speak my mind. Let’s take a detour. With someone about to undergo tribulation blocking the way, going straight is not possible. We can circumvent. No matter how large the area they occupy, there’s always a limit. We can bypass it and then return to the correct direction.”

Xiu Zhengyu voiced what most of the team members were thinking. Everyone turned their eyes to Qi Tian and Gao Yuqiu, waiting for their decision.

Cheng Jianli said, “I just made this suggestion to the captain, but the captain did not respond. Captain, look, everyone agrees, so let’s take a detour. I believe Qi Tian agrees with this as well; he wouldn’t want to step into someone else’s Tribulation Force Field either.”

Qi Tian indeed did not want to step into someone else’s Tribulation Force Field. However, he could choose to wait until the other’s tribulation was over. Whether or not the person successfully became a Nascent Soul Master, it wouldn’t pose a threat to him. But there was no need to tell the team members this; knowing it himself was enough.

Gao Yuqiu slowly shook her head; this time, she did not even ask for Qi Tian’s opinion but firmly said,

“No, we absolutely cannot take a detour this time. It’s not because I don’t know the dangers ahead, but because this path is not just any other path—it is the correct path we have been desperately seeking.

“Do you all remember what I told you? The last time my master participated in the Holy Land competition, he found seventeen opportunities. When entering, I could never find where these opportunities were, but now I can tell you for sure, they are right ahead.”

“When I went scouting just now, I meticulously checked the terrain ahead and it matches exactly with the location of an opportunity my master once told me about. If we follow it, we can find other opportunities. If we take a detour, it will undoubtedly cost us more time, and even though we might return to the correct path later, the time spent would be much greater.”

“Think about it, of the seventeen opportunities my master once encountered, one has already been taken by others. Would the rest still sit there, waiting for us to come forward?”

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent, opportunities wait for no one—whomever gets them first keeps them.

Although the Holy Land provides numerous opportunities within this secret domain, compared to the number of young prodigies participating in the Holy Land competition, the opportunities are definitely insufficient. If they cannot get ahead to discover and seize these opportunities, then the opportunities will become someone else’s. In this process, an extremely important factor is to race against time and act quickly, just as Gao Yuqiu said. They had already found the right direction and proceeding along this path would allow them to spend the least amount of time to find and secure the opportunities. Taking a detour would waste a lot of time finding the right direction again—surely the most inefficient approach.”

However, the problem now lay before them: if they chose the correct path forward, there was a formidable obstacle in their way, and it was one they could not afford to provoke. What could they do then?

The complexity of the situation greatly exceeded their expectations and the team members were at a loss for ideas. Eventually, they turned their gazes toward Gao Yuqiu.

Gao Yuqiu immediately shook her head, then looked at Qi Tian and said, “Do you have a solution to this tricky problem we are now facing? If so, please share it. I can represent everyone here, as well as myself, and state that no matter what your method is, we will fully cooperate without any complaints. As long as you can lead us to open up the pathway and enable us all to proceed in the right direction, whatever conditions you propose, we are willing to consider. In the discovered opportunities that follow, we can let you have three priority selection opportunities without requiring any other exchange conditions.”

As team members, they found Gao Yuqiu’s offer quite tempting. Although some were still slightly reluctant, considering Qi Tian’s demonstrated capabilities and the problem they were currently facing, any dissatisfaction quickly dissipated. They all spoke up in support of Gao Yuqiu’s proposition, signaling their willingness to follow Qi Tian’s arrangements and agreeing to give him the rights to three priority selections of opportunities.

Qi Tian initially appeared troubled and repeatedly refused several times. However, his reluctance wasn’t very firm, which gave the others a chance; they repeatedly pressed Qi Tian with their requests.

Finally, Qi Tian adopted a reluctant demeanor and said, “Since everyone trusts me so much and is willing to risk their lives, I’ll lead us to give it a try. But I must state beforehand, this attempt comes with great risks. If everyone does not cooperate, the fierce battle we will face might bring substantial casualties. Therefore, everyone must follow my arrangements and obey my commands.”