"Eh?"
"Uh?"
"Eh?"
"Huh?"
"What's your name?!"
"Stop with that old joke, Chen Xia." The Inner Demon crossed his arms, his crimson eyes blinking, unclear if he was introducing himself or calling out to Chen Xia.
He looked Chen Xia over again, furrowing his brow.
"How did you end up in this state? I thought you'd be doing better after severing yourself, but I didn't expect you to become a remnant soul. You're really hopeless!"
"Life is full of unexpected twists, haha." Chen Xia chuckled lightly.
"There aren't that many twists. Who did this to you? I'll go twist their head off," the Inner Demon said gravely.
"Forget it. Why don't you tell me how you came back instead?" Chen Xia asked in return.
The Inner Demon shook his head, "I don't know either. I suddenly woke up, as if from a long dream. It's strange. I suspect it's because the main soul went dormant, and without consciousness, the Seed of Dao couldn't maintain itself, so it turned back into me."
"But now I'm different. I'm not entirely an Inner Demon, nor entirely a Seed of Dao."
"A hybrid!" Chen Xia interjected.
The Inner Demon's crimson eyes glanced at him and retorted,
"If you can talk, then say more."
Only Chen Xia dared to speak to the Inner Demon like this. Even if a Great Emperor came to this Great Death Realm, they'd have their head twisted off by the Inner Demon.
But since the two were originally one, there were no taboos between them.
"What about you? Why did you come here specifically, and even use an array to descend?" the Inner Demon asked again.
Chen Xia spread his hands helplessly and said,
"I ran into some trouble in the Great Heaven, possibly involving the Way of Heaven's reckoning. I had no choice, so I thought of the Seed of Dao. I didn't expect you'd be awake."
"That is quite troublesome," even the usually arrogant Inner Demon nodded in acknowledgment.
"That's why I came looking for the Seed of Dao," Chen Xia nodded.
The Inner Demon waved his hand dismissively,
"No worries. Wait until I merge more deeply with the Great Death Realm. By then, even the Way of Heaven won't be able to do anything to me. If worst comes to worst, we'll drag that entire star realm into the Great Death Realm. Hiding here, the Way of Heaven can only watch helplessly!"
The Inner Demon's merger with the Great Death Realm had already entered its late stages. The Great Death Realm only needed one Quasi-Saint cultivator to appear to complete its first karmic transformation, advancing both the realm and the Inner Demon further.
The Inner Demon crossed his arms and asked again,
"Have you been beaten up in the Great Heaven?"
"Not yet. So far, I've been the one beating others," Chen Xia replied.
"As always," the Inner Demon nodded in agreement, then continued,
"If you do get beaten, come tell me. You're a remnant soul, so it's normal if you can't win. I'm the Inner Demon, so it's also normal for me to stand up for you."
"That's exactly what I had in mind," Chen Xia nodded and sighed,
"It seems like it was the same back then in the Great Death Realm. I didn't expect it to still be this way after so many years."
"Feeling nostalgic?" the Inner Demon inquired.
"A bit," Chen Xia smiled lightly.
They smiled at each other, and the Inner Demon spoke again,
"After you go back, expand and reinforce that array. It's best to expand the million spirit stone array into a ten million spirit stone array. That way, when I descend, I won't be limited."
"Alright," Chen Xia nodded.
The distant stars began to faintly brighten.
They chatted about many things, mostly Chen Xia talking and the Inner Demon listening. When they spoke of Ma Xiaohong's death, although the Inner Demon had already known the outcome, he still sighed.
He had promised to protect Ma Xiaohong's safety, but in the end, he couldn't fulfill that promise.
Then came Old Zhang's passing, the realm journey, the matters of Wang Yangzi, the Zhang family, and Qiu Yiyi, which were relatively peaceful without much turbulence.
Until the great war between two realms began, and the slaughter commenced, leading to the crucial point of Chen Xia becoming a remnant soul.
"So, you're now merging with the realm?" the Inner Demon asked.
Chen Xia nodded in confirmation.
The Inner Demon's crimson eyes began to turn, "The reason for the Way of Heaven's great reckoning might include this. We've absorbed both a Great Death Realm and another realm. The high and mighty Way of Heaven feels threatened, so naturally, it wants to take precautions."
"But this reason alone might not be enough. There must be others."
Chen Xia suddenly said,
"Above, the Supreme Being defies the will of heaven. Below, a great traitor seeks to usurp power. These are the White Emperor's words."
The Inner Demon fell silent in thought, then slowly nodded and said, "No wonder. Those Supreme Beings are not simple either. They've probably started plotting already. The Way of Heaven is facing a great crisis, so it's conducting a great reckoning."
He then grinned arrogantly and said,
"It doesn't matter. This Way of Heaven has been stable for too long. The myriad realms haven't changed in ages. What's wrong with replacing the Way of Heaven?"
And this new Way of Heaven would be called Chen Xia.
If any other cultivator knew of Chen Xia and the Inner Demon's plans, they would surely tremble in fear.
Since ancient times, cultivators have relied on the Way of Heaven for their cultivation. Who would dare to smash their rice bowl and flip the table?
This grand scheme.
Change the heavens, replace the face!
In the brilliant starry river.
Qiu Li's figure moved straight towards the upper reaches of the Great Heaven. Along the way, he passed through many star realms. Thanks to his polite nature and Saint-level cultivation, he didn't face any difficulties.
However, as he reached higher, more and more powerful cultivators advised him to stop.
"The Way of Heaven has gone mad now. Further ahead is all Dark Invasion. Some powerful cultivators have willingly submitted to the Dark Invasion and now follow the will of the Way of Heaven, constantly hunting down other cultivators!"
"The upper reaches of the Great Heaven are now all battlefields, with endless slaughter. If you continue forward, you might not be able to avoid the killing!"
Qiu Li acknowledged their warnings but still pressed on. Having comprehended the profound Dao, he wanted to glimpse the truth.
So he arrived at the highest point of the Great Heaven he could reach.
He saw the darkness covering countless star realms.
This was the frontline.
Cultivators who had not yet been invaded by the darkness emerged from their star realms, all at least at the Heaven Mending Realm, fiercely charging into the Dark Invasion.
Not long after, blood rained down, completely absorbed by the Dark Invasion.
Then, cultivators enveloped in Dark Invasion emerged, charging into various star realms, brutally slaughtering before retreating back into the Dark Invasion.
Killing was constantly occurring. Some cultivators, in order to survive, chose to submit to the Dark Invasion and become its servants.
This was a place of cultivator extinction.
Qiu Li stared blankly, watching many Saints like himself perish, their bodies not even left behind, completely absorbed by the Dark Invasion.
And at the highest point.
Great Emperors were struggling to hold back the progress of the Dark Invasion, fighting against the Way of Heaven.
Some Great Emperors chose to enter the Dark Invasion, regaining the power of the Way of Heaven, advancing their cultivation and battle prowess further, becoming more skilled in the art of killing, with countless cultivators falling by their hands.
Only a thick smell of blood permeated between the star realms.
Qiu Li stopped watching and headed back the way he came. He needed to report this shocking news to Chen Xia.
The Way of Heaven's great reckoning might lead to the annihilation of the entire Great Heaven!
He passed through numerous star realms, pushing his speed to the limit, returning in an extremely short time, crashing into the star realms, stumbling back to the afternoon.
"Big... trouble!" he gasped out.
"Did your horse die?" Emperor Capital asked puzzled.
But Qiu Li was in no mood to joke with him. He looked straight at Chen Xia and said,
"The Way of Heaven has initiated a great reckoning. The upper star realms are almost conquered. It will soon reach the middle realms. In at most fifty thousand years, lower star realms like ours won't be able to escape either."
"Mm," Chen Xia nodded, not too surprised.
Among the myriad realms, the Great Heaven was at the top, closest to the Way of Heaven, receiving the most opportunities and fortune. Therefore, it was also the easiest target for the Way of Heaven's reckoning.
The Great Heaven was composed of countless star realms, with the upper and middle realms only differing in location, not in other aspects.
According to Qiu Li's words, the upper star realms were almost completely conquered.
Their turn would come soon.
With the Inner Demon as his trump card, Chen Xia wasn't worried about his backup plan. Instead, he was thinking about another question.
The White Emperor said the Supreme Being defied heaven's will, so what exactly were the Supreme Beings doing?
It couldn't be that he alone had drawn all this aggro, causing the Way of Heaven to become so frenzied, right?
He had only absorbed two broken realms, after all. If that warranted punishment, it would at most be considered petty theft.
So what exactly had the Supreme Beings done?
In the upper reaches of the Great Heaven.
Martial Emperor Chen Jiu stood beneath the slaughtering cultivators, looking up, his expression calm. He lightly flicked his finger.
Martial fortune spread out before him.
He raised his sleeve, clenched his fist, and walked into the Dark Invasion.
For countless years since ancient times.
This was the first time a cultivator dared to fight against the Way of Heaven.