Chen Xia and the Inner Demon left, but they did not claim any part of the Divine Realm, nor did they occupy any territory. They only injured some Great Emperors and destroyed a few mountain ranges.
It was more like they had suddenly gone mad.
The Four-Dao Great Emperor sat among the ruins of the mountains, his robes stained with blood and torn at the sleeves. He exhaled softly, his eyes filled with confusion.
If the Medicine Ancestor and the mysterious man had truly intended to take his life earlier, even with all his divine powers, he might not have died, but he certainly wouldn't have come out unscathed. At the very least, he would have been severely injured.
So this left the Four-Dao Great Emperor puzzled as to what their true intentions were. There was another matter that deepened his confusion.
The Lord of the Divine Realm had not returned. According to logic, the Divine Realm was the Dao proving ground for the Lord, and the two were already connected by will. With such a major disturbance in the Divine Realm, the Lord had yet to return...
There were two possibilities:
One, the Lord knew about it but chose not to intervene. Two, the Lord was unaware, hence unable to act.
Of course, there was a third possibility—that the Lord was embroiled in some trouble in the Treasure Ring Scale State and couldn't extricate himself. However, this possibility was very slim.
It was not the time to ponder this. The Four-Dao Great Emperor wasn't qualified to make decisions for the Divine Realm, nor did he possess the ability to do so. Therefore, he had to head to the Treasure Ring Scale State in the Immortal Realm to find the Lord of the Divine Realm.
He stood up, flicked his sleeves to fade the bloodstains, and transformed into a bolt of thunder, shooting toward the sky, aiming for the Immortal Realm.
On Chen Xia’s side, he and the Inner Demon were leisurely returning from the River of Time to the East Jia State, discussing the recent battle along the way.
The Inner Demon was in high spirits, feeling extremely satisfied, “If only you had agreed, our exploits could have included the Four-Dao Great Emperor, and we would have made a grand name for ourselves throughout the All Heavens World!”
“It’s not that I didn’t want to,” Chen Xia scratched his head and continued, “I was just thinking, if we had killed the Four-Dao Great Emperor, and then the Lord of the Divine Realm came to our doorstep, how would we explain ourselves?”
“Can we just sincerely apologize to him?” the Inner Demon suggested.
Chen Xia looked at him, pausing for a moment before he softly said, “It’s not a matter of being sincere or not. Even if we offered more apologies, it wouldn’t be enough.”
“What the hell? That old bastard thinks we owe him an apology? He’s overestimating himself! If things come to it, we’ll just fight him; what’s there to be afraid of?” the Inner Demon scoffed.
Chen Xia remained silent for a moment before nodding, “Alright, then I’ll just show you a performance right there—a direct death on the spot.”
The Inner Demon shook his head, “Don’t always think so pessimistically. Try to think positively. What if he wants to torment you for a while before killing you? Isn’t that a better outcome?”
“Well, that would indeed be a positive thing,” Chen Xia admitted, nodding. He then added to the Inner Demon, “The Lord of the Divine Realm will surely come knocking soon. When he does, we’ll deny everything. Whatever he says, we’ll just keep shaking our heads. Got it?”
“Got it,” the Inner Demon nodded.
Chen Xia scrutinized the Inner Demon with suspicion, feeling that the Inner Demon’s brain seemed less sharp when he was around. What was going on? Could it be that they were sharing a single brain?
He was puzzled but didn’t dwell on it. Following the River of Time, they quickly arrived at the Heaven Pill Gate.
The puppet body was already waiting for them. As soon as the two arrived, it immediately asked,
“Was it successful?”
“Piece of cake,” Chen Xia replied.
“Tch, if it weren’t for the main body stopping me, today I would have definitely slain a Four-Dao Great Emperor,” the Inner Demon snorted coldly.
He was still hung up on that Four-Dao Great Emperor.
“No need to kill a Four-Dao Great Emperor. Creating a bit of trouble will suffice. The Lord of the Divine Realm will naturally come knocking later, and that will be the time for our plan,” the puppet body chuckled.
What the plan was, it didn’t elaborate, and neither Chen Xia nor the Inner Demon asked.
Because even if they did ask, this puppet body wouldn’t reveal more. They would have to wait until the Lord of the Divine Realm came to know.
The two entered the mountain gate and began to wait quietly.
In the Treasure Ring Scale State, the Lord of the Divine Realm sat atop the tallest central mountain peak, having cut off his surroundings and sealed his perception for a long time, all in an effort to resonate with the Treasure Ring Scale State.
Although the Treasure Ring Scale State wasn’t his ideal choice, the state offered valuable treasures and the origin of the dragon race, which was also a good option. If he could indeed claim it, it would be a boon.
Moreover, taking the Treasure Ring Scale State didn’t preclude him from also taking the East Jia State. The two weren’t mutually exclusive.
If he really could become the next supreme being, even occupying the entire Immortal Realm wouldn’t be a problem, and Martial Emperor wouldn’t say anything.
What the Martial Emperor wanted was a supreme being, not the Immortal Realm.
He continued to resonate with the state, but suddenly he received a rapid transmission of words from the outside, coming through a unique channel, entering his ears.
“The Four-Dao Great Emperor requests an audience with the Lord.”
The message was brief, and the Lord of the Divine Realm opened his eyes, his cloudy gaze showing no fluctuations. He spoke softly,
“Let him in.”
The Four-Dao Great Emperor then entered the highest peak, standing at the foot of the mountain, addressing the Lord of the Divine Realm without delving into matters immediately, instead first asking:
“Have you heard of the Azure Sky Medicine Ancestor?”
“He dominates the entire East Jia State, how could I not know him? Why do you ask—has he offended you? But as far as I know, the Medicine Ancestor has already closed himself off for cultivation,” the Lord of the Divine Realm answered casually.
“He hasn’t been in secluded cultivation, and it’s not just him—there’s another!” the Four-Dao Great Emperor replied gravely.
The Lord of the Divine Realm’s expression remained calm as he lightly flicked his fingers, saying, “Another one? That must be the other Demon Ancestor. I’ve seen him before. His strength should be on par with the Medicine Ancestor, slightly weaker than you, but not much.”
“Why do you ask these things? Are you to tell me their secret, or is there a grudge between you and them?”
The Four-Dao Great Emperor’s voice grew deeper. “It’s not just me who has a grudge with them—possibly the whole Divine Realm bears a grudge against them.”
“Oh, why ever didn’t I hear about this before?” the Lord of the Divine Realm’s cloudy eyes revealed a hint of curiosity as he laughed and asked.
The Four-Dao Great Emperor spoke solemnly again.
“Just two days ago, the Medicine Ancestor and a mysterious figure attacked the Divine Realm, shattered the heavens, killed a Great Emperor, severely injured many other Great Emperors, and declared they’d be back, warning you to be careful.”
...
The Lord of the Divine Realm’s face stiffened, and he immediately turned his gaze toward the East Jia State, grinding his teeth,
“Chen Xia!”