I thought it was the final battle between the Heavenly Rain Realm and the Heavenly Rain Realm, but unexpectedly Chen Xia came out of the chaotic situation halfway through.
The masters of the Forbidden Zone were getting a bit tense. The Old Dragon, as the semi-leader, grew increasingly furious and stared fiercely at Chen Xia, threatening him.
"You have fifty breaths of time. If you leave now, we can still give you a path to life. Otherwise, we'll kill you first, you fool!"
"You think I'll be afraid?" Chen Xia questioned, then answered himself.
"I am a little afraid, indeed. After all, I've lived for so many years without dying once. Those who wanted to kill me before are all dead."
"Maybe it's because I'm a good person. Good people are rewarded, after all."
"Haven't you heard the saying that evil deeds are remembered for a thousand years?" The Old Dragon challenged.
"That's pretty short-lived," Chen Xia laughed in response, then shook his head. "I don't know if you've heard the story of the oyster and the mussel quarreling, while the fisherman profits."
"The story goes that the oyster and mussel were fighting, and when they were exhausted without any energy left, the fisherman caught them both in one net."
"Do you really think your skills are worthy of calling yourself the fisherman?" The Old Dragon asked disdainfully.
"No, I'm not the fisherman. I'm just telling you a story. I'm here to mediate the fight. Whoever fights, I'll fight them," Chen Xia said with a light laugh.
The chessboard, the chess pieces, the chess players, and the opponents were all present.
And Chen Xia was the one stirring things up, giving advice from the sidelines to help balance the two sides.
The Old Dragon gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with intense killing intent. "I advise you not to do such foolish things. Otherwise, we masters of the Forbidden Zone will directly detonate the realm. Even if we don't break the formation, we'll turn this realm to ash."
"It doesn't matter," Chen Xia shrugged, continuing.
"I don't care."
If they detonate it, so be it. He wouldn't even lose a strand of hair.
Besides, there was nothing he cared about in this realm anymore.
Old Zhang's ashes had long been moved to the Small World.
Chen Xia looked down at the urn of ashes in the Small World and nodded reassuringly.
The Old Dragon clenched his claws, the killing intent in his eyes nearly spilling out. But after glancing at the vigilant Shanshui Quasi-Emperor before him, he restrained himself and asked again.
"So you're just here to provoke us?!"
"Clap, clap, clap." Chen Xia applauded. "Congratulations, you guessed right."
The masters of the Forbidden Zone had hardly refrained from provoking Chen Xia, so his current actions were simply returning the favor.
The Shanshui Quasi-Emperor smiled faintly and nodded to Chen Xia. "Thank you for your support, Chief Chen."
"No problem. Maybe next time I'll fight you," Chen Xia waved his hand.
This was the truth. After all, who could say for sure how the positions of cultivators would change?
In any case, Chen Xia's current position was that of a troublemaker. Whoever started fighting, he would fight them, taking a clear stance of not helping either side.
The masters of the Forbidden Zone certainly couldn't let him stir up trouble like this. For them, time was now the most important thing, as the reckoning of the Way of Heaven was approaching, triggered by their own actions. Naturally, they were important targets of this reckoning, so they had to break through the formation before it fully descended.
The Old Dragon didn't speak again. In the blink of an eye, his eyes flickered, and he was suddenly by Chen Xia's side, about to battle him.
But Chen Xia was no fool. He unleashed the River of Time, using the drawn-out word "drag" as a tactic.
In the flow of years, how could he be killed?
Killing the past had the present and future. Killing the present had the past and future. Unless all three were severed at once, how could Chen Xia die?
His cheat was always top-tier.
Although the Old Dragon's brute force was somewhat stronger than Chen Xia's, his divine abilities were inferior. Even in his true dragon form, he was powerless against Chen Xia, who would occasionally strike him with a sword.
Even a blunt knife could cause harm when slicing flesh.
Meanwhile, the Shanshui Quasi-Emperor continued to provide assistance, playing the same roaming game as Chen Xia, not fighting directly in the mountain and water realms.
But the masters of the Forbidden Zone were not limited to just two.
In an instant, three masters of the Forbidden Zone surrounded Chen Xia, each manifesting their true heavenly forms and using their spiritual pressure to restrain his body, attempting to seal and kill him.
Chen Xia flicked his finger and hooked it, pulling a strand of the timeline and giving it a gentle tug.
He didn't enter time; instead, time came to him.
Past, present, and future.
Three Chen Xias stood in three directions, their expressions varying, each holding half a celestial sword and calmly watching the three masters of the Forbidden Zone.
"These are just illusory divine abilities. Attack together and slaughter him!" The Old Dragon roared furiously, charging forward first.
He was also the first to be sent flying back, dragon scales cracked and blood seeping out.
The three celestial swords had the same formidable power!
How was this possible? Exterior manifestations should not be so powerful, let alone three separate ones. This defied the Way of Heaven!
"Utterly heretical!" The Old Dragon cried out in rage as he fell to the ground.
"Keep coming," Chen Xia said with a light laugh, the three Chen Xias holding their swords in a defensive stance.
"It is the Way. Each manifestation is a representation of the Way he has comprehended, which is why they possess such power. He is the Great Saint of Four Dao and has this ability!"
One of the masters of the Forbidden Zone realized this and shouted a warning.
"There's more," Chen Xia casually added, then pointed to the heavens.
He communicated with the stars, linking with his exterior manifestations and Dao seeds, summoning their projections.
In this way, there were now five Chen Xias.
Did they prefer fighting against superior numbers?
How could they fight five of him?
The masters of the Forbidden Zone were at a loss, unsure of what to do. Based on the current situation, it seemed they were indeed powerless against Chen Xia.
The Way of Time was the most formidable life-preserving technique in this world.
They could not break through the Way of Time, so they could not kill Chen Xia.
To be fair, it was a bit of a cheap trick.
Chen Xia swung the half-celestial sword in his hand and said calmly, "My purpose today is to disrupt the chessboard you have set up. Let's start over, and we'll see if I can checkmate you or not."
He hadn't forgotten his opening move of capturing the knight, showing his determination.
The masters of the Forbidden Zone clearly could not tolerate such behavior, but for the time being, they were powerless against Chen Xia. Finally, they resorted to threats.
"If you don't leave now, we'll kill Wang Yangzi. You wouldn't want to see Wang Yangzi become a false saint and still fail to preserve his life, would you?!"
"Really?" Chen Xia questioned, then turned his head and spoke to someone behind him. "Old Wang, they're talking to you."
Wang Yangzi appeared from the hidden timeline, scratching his head sheepishly as he looked at the masters of the Forbidden Zone. "Sorry, I defected to Chen Xia long ago."
The masters of the Forbidden Zone fell silent.
Now the question arose: Had they schemed against Chen Xia, or had Chen Xia schemed against them?
Chen Xia played along, scratching his head in mock surprise. "Oh no, I think I'm growing a brain. Not good, my wisdom is about to overflow."
His mockery was at its peak.
And it wasn't just Wang Yangzi; the Wu Saint and the remaining few saints from the Sacred Court also defected to Chen Xia's side.
Now, Chen Xia truly lived up to the title of Chief Chen.
He stood in the heavenly realm.
No longer the small Inverted Sea Realm of the Heavenly Sword Sea.
And he would never be the Inverted Sea Realm again.
He lowered his head.
His sword rose.
In the upper realms, several sword beams appeared.
The reckoning of the Way of Heaven had not yet descended, but half of the celestial canopy was already torn open.