The frontline city wall had become increasingly lively. Sages gathered here, spontaneously setting up chess games, with the main goal of meeting through chess.
This section of the city wall had essentially turned into a small chess parlor.
Emperor Capital was in charge of wandering around, earning the nickname "Emperor Bro" among the sages, which he was incredibly proud of.
Emperor Tianhe came to find Chen Xia again for a private conversation, asking him to undertake a mission.
Since the Way of Heaven's liquidation, many star realms have shattered. Although they are now desolate, there may still be remnants of dark forces lurking within, ready to attack the frontline.
"The Emperor Council is concerned about this and has decided to ask you to investigate these shattered, desolate star realms and eliminate any dark remnants."
"I can go, but why me?" Chen Xia asked.
Emperor Tianhe replied, "Because among the emperors, you're the most idle. You spend your days sitting on the city wall, either playing chess or chatting. The Emperor Council probably wants to give you something to do, otherwise, it would be a waste of your formidable combat strength."
"Alright," Chen Xia stretched, then asked, "Which specific star realms need to be investigated?"
"Investigate several dozen desolate star realms around here. And be thorough in your checks to avoid any omissions," Emperor Tianhe replied.
Chen Xia nodded, understanding, and prepared to set off, telling Emperor Capital to continue playing chess and not to cause any trouble.
Emperor Capital immediately nodded in agreement, vowing solemnly.
Chen Xia transformed into a stream of light and headed towards the void of the cosmos to investigate the star realms in the rear.
The star realms around the frontline were quite numerous, mostly those shattered by the Way of Heaven's liquidation, now desolate and even fragmented.
The journey wasn't long; Chen Xia quickly arrived at the first star realm, surveying it from the outside.
This star realm was already extremely fragmented, appearing to be barely holding together.
Chen Xia scanned it roughly with his divine sense and didn't detect any other presence. For safety, he expanded his Time Dao small world to envelop the entire star realm and scanned it again.
Still nothing.
He felt reassured and moved on to the next star realm. His investigation was swift; he finished checking over a dozen star realms along the way, leaving a trace of Time Dao divine thought as a precaution.
When he reached the seventeenth desolate star realm, Chen Xia sensed something amiss. There was a fluctuation of spiritual energy, a hurried one.
He shimmered and appeared near the source of the energy fluctuation, stepping onto the River of Time, moving calmly forward under the protection of Time Dao, undetectable by anyone.
As he approached, Chen Xia lifted his gaze and saw yet another scene of slaughter.
In front, three female cultivators, their bodies covered in blood, looked frantic, using escape techniques but somewhat panicked, heading towards densely packed stars, slowing their escape.
Behind them, the pursuing cultivators exuded a dark, invasive aura, clearly dark remnants, cruelly chasing them, shouting brutal words.
"Kill, kill, kill! I will torture and kill all of you star realm cultivators, tear your bodies apart, and grind your spirits to dust!"
"All must die!"
Chen Xia stood indifferently to the side, watching, hearing these clichéd lines, his gaze shifting upwards.
Above, a dark remnant with a mighty presence presided, appearing to be an emperor.
With an emperor remnant overseeing the scene, the situation escalated.
Chen Xia watched with interest.
The fleeing cultivators, heavily wounded, didn't run fast, often being obstructed by fragmented stars in the star realm, so they were soon caught by the dark remnants.
The three fleeing cultivators were all female, each with their own charm. The last one, a cute and delicate girl, was caught by the dark remnant, her head pressed against a star, letting out a mournful cry.
"Heh, caught you, little lady. Next, I'll consume your flesh, drain your spiritual lake, and finally devour your soul!"
"No, please, spare me!" The female cultivator begged, her blood flowing, her pitiful appearance on her cute face evoking a protective instinct.
Chen Xia yawned, propping his head with his hand, not making a move immediately.
The female cultivator didn't die, as the other two were also captured and hung on the fragmented stars, crying in despair.
"Noisy! Let me consume your flesh first!" The dark remnant grinned cruelly, about to devour.
Hum!
A dazzling sword light flashed.
Blood spurted, heads fell.
Chen Xia stood calmly, surveying his surroundings, finally locking his gaze on the emperor remnant overseeing from above, smiling.
"Never thought a casual outing would net me two emperor heads."
The emperor remnant stood up, his aura domineering, countering, "There's only me here; where are the two emperor heads?"
"Uh, uh," Chen Xia waved his hand dismissively.
"Your dark-corrupted minds can only set up such a scheme. This star realm is emptier than your head; how could there be three female cultivators fleeing?"
"It's just a setup. No problem, I'm willing to enter; let's see if you're enough for me to kill."
A soft voice suddenly sounded behind him, mocking, "As expected of Chen Sage, so quick to see through it and still dare to enter the trap with such arrogance. What courage!"
Chen Xia turned around to see a female emperor clad in purple dragon armor, her demeanor enchanting, with dark remnants continuously emerging from the void, all saints and great saints.
Two emperors, numerous saints—truly a brutal encirclement.
Chen Xia's indifferent expression broke into a light smile as he replied to the two emperor remnants, "Is it possible that it's you who are bold?"
He gently raised his right hand; the immortal sword appeared in his grasp, Time Dao enveloping the sword, calmly advancing with the sword in hand.
Numerous saints, two emperors.
What's the use?
It's just adding to his record.
Chen Xia twirled the immortal sword and said with a smile, "I must thank you. The phrase 'consume flesh' gave me some enlightenment."
The enlightenment was the concept of 'consume.'
Ancient texts record that the Universal Celestial Dragon consumes stars and can draw upon constellations, becoming the supreme being in a star realm.
So, is it possible now?
The Universal Celestial Dragon can not only devour stars but also entire star realms.
Thinking of this, Chen Xia acted.
His eyes lifted, transforming into vertical pupils, like the pure eyes of a Celestial Dragon.
"Rise."
A resounding dragon cry echoed throughout heaven and earth.
Viewed from afar.
A Celestial Dragon head emerged, devouring the star realm!
Good night.