Xu Zhen's battle with the three Divine Emperors of the Divine Realm dragged on without a clear victor, and there were two reasons for this.
First, Xu Zhen was powerful enough, with the strength of two Emperors and a decent Dao, allowing him to hold his own against three ordinary Emperors for such a long time.
Second, the three Emperors were all afraid of dying and were unwilling to risk their lives in a true battle. They were hoping for other mighty figures from the Divine Realm to arrive, so they kept the stalemate going.
And sure enough, other mighty figures from the Divine Realm did arrive.
A three-Dao Emperor, an extremely rare and powerful existence in the Divine Realm, one of only two three-Dao Emperors in the entire realm.
When he arrived, the turbulent weather instantly calmed, and even the quivering spiritual energy returned to normal, as if nothing had changed. Even the clashes between the four Emperors came to an immediate halt.
Xu Zhen's eyebrows shot up in surprise.
"Light-Shadow Dao?"
No, that wasn't it. It was similar to the techniques of the Light-Shadow Dao, but not as powerful.
"Such a commotion from a tiny sect like the Fuyao Immortal Sect, huh? So you're Xu Zhen, once the number one genius of the immortal world. You're quite formidable, but even so, a junior should show some respect to a senior, right?"
A shadowy figure floated in the air, scratching his chin as he observed Xu Zhen.
She, with eyes blazing with brilliant white light, broke free from the restraints of the three-Dao Emperor's abilities and appeared at the pinnacle of the Fuyao Immortal Sect, facing the four Divine Emperors with an unchanged expression, simply stating,
"Spare me the chatter. Let's just fight."
"Fighting me, a three-Dao Emperor, would be bullying you, a two-Dao Emperor, which wouldn't sound good if word got out." The shadowy figure shook his head, then suddenly grinned.
"But luckily, I enjoy bullying the weak."
A sea of black fog instantly surged forward, enveloping the sky of the Treasure Ring Scale State in an instant, turning it pitch black. Within the darkness, it seemed as if an eye had opened, unleashing a powerful technique.
The Eye Opens.
The entire Treasure Ring Scale State went dark, silent, and sightless.
It felt like an eternity, yet also like a mere moment.
Bang!
Xu Zhen's figure plummeted to the ground, but she did not collapse; instead, she slid backwards, leaving a trail, shattering mountains, and stopping at the riverbank, with blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.
The shadowy figure drifted closer, smiling as he commented,
"Hmm, no wonder you were once the number one genius of the immortal world. You're quite impressive to hold out against my test technique for even one round. Well done."
His smile turned cold as he continued,
"But how will you manage to survive next time?"
Xu Zhen wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, her expression showing no fear, only defiance.
But before she could act, a gray-white hue began to gather in the world, forming a river of time that wound its way through the air.
A figure walked within it, stepping in front of Xu Zhen. The azure robe fluttered briefly as a light-hearted voice came,
"I’d also like to ask you, how will you manage to survive next time?"
The same question was thrown back at him.
Chen Xia's visage appeared before everyone, and the shadowy figure recognized him.
It was the Azure Sky Medicine Ancestor!
Now the pressure was on the three-Dao Emperor.
Xu Zhen, on the other hand, stood there in a daze. Her tough face, which had remained strong since the battle began, finally broke, and she stammered, half-delighted, half-apprehensive,
"C...Chen Ge?"
The azure-robed figure turned slightly, revealing Chen Xia's gentle smile as he waved at Xu Zhen, replying,
"Watch closely, Chen Ge is about to start showing off."
Xu Zhen was momentarily stunned, then she burst into a huge grin, nodding,
"Yes, okay."
The three-Dao Emperor, however, sensed something was off and quickly shouted,
"Medicine Ancestor, this is the Treasure Ring Scale State, the territory of the Divine Realm! Your jurisdiction is the East Jia State. You've overstepped your boundaries!"
Bang!
The three-Dao Emperor's figure instantly vanished. Chen Xia stood in his place, his fist outstretched, with primordial dragon energy coiling around it.
A moment later, a distant mountain range collapsed and shattered as the three-Dao Emperor’s figure crashed into it, clothes torn and disheveled.
"You're still trying to boss me around as a three-Dao Emperor? How utterly cringe," Chen Xia rolled his eyes, clearly unimpressed.
The scene was eerily quiet, with Divine Realm cultivators unsure of what to say, glancing at each other in confusion.
What’s going on?
Didn’t the Azure Sky Medicine Ancestor get seriously wounded by the Lord of the Divine Realm? How is he fine now, and even bold enough to attack the Treasure Ring Scale State?!
In the heart of the Treasure Ring Scale State.
An Emperor instantly arrived at the foot of a mountain, hurriedly proclaiming,
"Your Lordship, I request an audience! I have urgent news!"
After a brief wait, a calm voice came from the heights of the mountain,
"Speak."
"Your Lordship, a major crisis has arisen in the Treasure Ring Scale State!" the Emperor reported urgently.
"What crisis? Why are you so flustered? I oversee the Treasure Ring Scale State, and my spiritual senses stretch across the heavens and earth. How could I have missed any crisis?" the calm voice from the mountain asked again.
"The Azure Sky Medicine Ancestor has attacked the Treasure Ring Scale State!" the Emperor exclaimed in panic.
...
Silence. Prolonged silence.
The Lord of the Divine Realm stared at the empty sky, pondering for a long time, but he couldn't make sense of it.
So he stood up, ending his spiritual attunement to the world. In an instant, he sensed the battle in the Treasure Ring Scale State and stepped forward, arriving at the scene. With a light tap of his finger, he separated the battlefield. He gazed at Chen Xia in silence for a long time before finally unable to help himself, he asked,
"Are you human?"
He hadn’t even made a move on the East Jia State yet, and Chen Xia was already attacking the Treasure Ring Scale State. Could this really be something a human would do?
Chen Xia quietly wiped the blood off his fist and replied to the Lord of the Divine Realm,
"The Fuyao Immortal Sect is within your Treasure Ring Scale State, and you know my relationship with the Fuyao Immortal Sect and Xu Zhen, so I came to pay a visit."
The Lord of the Divine Realm pointed to the two Emperors lying half-dead on the ground and asked emotionlessly,
"You call this a visit?"
"Well... let’s call it helping you clean house," Chen Xia replied with a grin.
"You govern the East Jia State, and I govern the Treasure Ring Scale State. How does the East Jia State have the authority to clean house in my Treasure Ring Scale State? Are you the reincarnation of a broom?"
"If you insist on doing things this way, then..."
The Lord of the Divine Realm’s words trailed off, but it was clearly a threat.
Chen Xia didn’t respond directly, instead, he began to wink and signal the Lord of the Divine Realm through mental communication.
"I’ll offer an apology and compensation."
The Lord of the Divine Realm responded mentally: "I’ll go on a rampage in your East Jia State and then offer an apology and compensation. Does that work?"
"I’ll give you two Emperor-grade medicines." Chen Xia continued.
"Oh, that actually seems fair," the Lord of the Divine Realm immediately changed his tune, though he still had doubts about Chen Xia’s offer and continued,
"Can you even afford that?"
"If I couldn’t afford it, would I dare call myself the Azure Sky Medicine Ancestor?"
"Then make it three Emperor-grade medicines!"
"You’re dreaming if you think I’ll give you three."
Both men communicated through mental channels, and others couldn’t hear their conversation. To onlookers, the atmosphere seemed serious and tense, with an underlying threat of violence.
It looked like a battle was inevitable.
Suddenly, the heavens shifted, and the figures of the Lord of the Divine Realm and Chen Xia disappeared, heading to the outer void.
The onlookers were puzzled.
Was it to avoid collateral damage to the Treasure Ring Scale State, so they went to the outer void to fight?
Actually...
They went to the outer void to pretend to fight, but mainly to negotiate the terms of the Emperor-grade medicines.
Ultimately, Chen Xia won the negotiation with a slight advantage of two-and-a-half Emperor-grade medicines and settled the conflict with the Lord of the Divine Realm.
You didn’t know? The Azure Sky Medicine Ancestor is all about the art of alchemy!