"Unless we're sure the Heavenly Dao can't find the truth, I wouldn't dare to bet so lightly. You should also know how serious the consequences are if we conceal this matter from the Heavenly Dao."
As the Jade Emperor spoke these words softly, on the empty ground of the back hall of the Lingxiao Palace, where no one but him was present.
Suddenly.
A mass of blood-red shadows appeared.
It was none other than the Asura Sect Master, Patriarch Styx's signature entrance style.
Those four hundred and eighty million blood-red shadows were not mere projections of magical power, but a unique divine ability cultivated by Patriarch Styx over countless eons.
Blood God Sons!
Each Blood God Son might not possess immense individual strength, perhaps only at the Golden Immortal level.
But their sheer numbers, when combined, were more than enough to cause trouble.
Patriarch Styx was known by the Demon Saint as one of the nine quasi-saints of the current Hong Huang era, a representative of proving the Dao through force, for no other reason than this overpowered divine ability.
Not to mention his Twelve-Grade Karma Red Lotus, Yuan Tu, and Abi, his three supreme spiritual treasures of infinite power.
Even just observing these numerous Blood God Sons, capable of overwhelming gods and buddhas and repelling immortals,
was a top-tier technique!
Patriarch Styx's appearance was.
Unmatched in his dominance.
Filled with immense evil energy.
The normally ethereal and cloud-shrouded back courtyard of the Heavenly Court was stained with a kind of indelible filth, presenting a terrifying spectacle that sent shivers down one's spine!
"Styx, you have impressive skills. Have your Blood God Sons reached near perfection?"
"When that time comes, you might be able to sever your own manifestation, possessing the advantages of both severing the three corpses to attain the Dao and proving the Dao through force. Even I might not be stronger than you then."
"Congratulations!"
The Jade Emperor, while outwardly smiling gently and receiving him as an ally, harbored different thoughts. In their cooperation so far, he had gained no actual benefits.
Instead, due to the incident with Nezha, he was forced to hand over General Juanlian and sign a humiliating treaty with Primordial Heavenly Lord, a true disgrace.
Although Primordial Heavenly Lord had made a promise to him last time, to repay this karma handsomely in the future, who knew if these Saints were reliable?
In contrast, the Demon Race, with their Demon Saint and the new Six-Eared Macaque aside, Patriarch Styx had visited the Heavenly Court only a few times, and yet he had managed to turn the Heavenly Court into a chaotic mess.
He, Styx, had reaped considerable benefits from it.
Setting aside other matters.
Just the fact that his Blood God Sons were close to perfect cultivation and severing his evil corpse indicated the rapid progress of Patriarch Styx, nearing parity with the Jade Emperor.
How could he not feel resentment?
Especially seeing his palace, which he had spent tens of millions of years repairing, trampled by Styx and covered in bloodstains.
His eyelids twitched more rapidly.
His lips contorted more fiercely.
He almost swore aloud and demanded compensation from Patriarch Styx!
But at this moment.
After Patriarch Styx materialized as a white-haired elder in red robes, he chuckled. Before the Jade Emperor could fully erupt in anger, he quickly responded.
"Your Majesty, since you are cooperating with us, why worry about the Heavenly Dao knowing the truth?"
"It seems you underestimate the capabilities of our Master, Patriarch Luohu, too much, doesn't it?"
"Back then, during the conflict between Dao and Demon, that Hongjun old man only managed to win through a sneak attack on my master by Great Immortal Yang Mei. Otherwise, why would he be in charge of the Heavenly Dao?"
"What, you, who were with him back then, are so forgetful? Others, including the Six Saints, might not know, but you were his attendant and saw him spitting blood and injured, weren't you?"
Patriarch Styx's words, instead of easing the situation, only fanned the Jade Emperor's anger, adding a layer of fear and a recollection of past events out of nowhere.
His fear stemmed from the fact that Patriarch Styx's words were not false. The resolution of the calamity of the Dao-Demon contention back then was the most covert and the most bloody.
The Six Saints were not qualified to participate or even know.
Only the Jade Emperor and other attendants like the Queen Mother, who had followed Patriarch Hongjun for a long time, knew many of the inside details.
It was nothing like what outsiders believed, that Patriarch Luohu, wielding the God-Slaying Spear, was defeated by Patriarch Hongjun using the Jade Disc of Creation.
It was quite the opposite.
Patriarch Luohu, wielding the God-Slaying Spear, a quasi-Chaos Supreme Treasure, had been relentlessly pursuing Patriarch Hongjun, beating him almost from the three realms of Hong Huang to beyond them.
In the end, if Patriarch Hongjun had not promised Great Immortal Yang Mei a wish that spanned immeasurable eons, in exchange for his assistance.
Patriarch Luohu would have long ago seized the Heavenly Dao, merged with it, and become the true master of the three realms of Hong Huang.
In that case, the current three realms of Hong Huang would not be as they are, but rather the demonic path would be arrogant and oppressive, and the righteous path would be almost extinguished!
And his recollection was not of other matters, but of when Patriarch Hongjun, unable to defeat Patriarch Luohu, had almost destroyed the Jade Disc of Creation to save his own life.
Fortunately, Great Immortal Yang Mei arrived in time.
Even more fortunately, during the period when outsiders were unaware of the details and Patriarch Hongjun was almost driven to tears, it was the Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother, as the leading attendants.
Who risked their lives to search for Chaos Qi in the void of chaos.
Then, with the Chaos Qi gathered bit by bit, they healed Patriarch Hongjun's injuries, allowing him to gradually recover.
Otherwise, how could there have been the later three lectures by Patriarch Hongjun, each seemingly highly valued by outsiders, but in reality, always including the two of them in attendance?
Nor would there have been the passing of the Dragon-Phoenix tribulation, the Dao-Demon contention, the Witch-Demon tribulation, the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors tribulation, and so on.
To prevent the Jade Emperor and Queen Mother from harboring dissatisfaction and revealing the truth, Patriarch Hongjun seized the opportunity of the Investiture of the Gods tribulation to create space for their ascension.
Everyone else thought the Investiture of the Gods tribulation was a conflict between Chan Jiao and Jie Jiao, not realizing there was such a layer of karma hidden behind it!
"These are all old matters. Styx, why bring them up so early?"
"Hongjun old... old man, although he used me and the Queen Mother, he was not unkind to us. This position of the Lord of the Three Realms is not for show, even Saints must give me face."
"Forget it, let's not dwell on these. What is the next step for your demon race? You dare to instigate over thirty billion beings to surround the New Flower-Fruit Mountain, causing the first tribulation to begin prematurely. Do you have no solution for the aftermath?"
The last drop of complex tears in the Jade Emperor's eyes was wiped away. It seemed that from then on, he had completely turned his back on Patriarch Hongjun of the Dao Ancestor.
He was determined to cooperate with the demon race.
However, to his surprise, upon hearing his words, Patriarch Styx was stunned.
"We instigated it?"
"No, absolutely not. The four of us brothers and disciples thought it was you... What? Not a Saint, not you, and not us. Did a ghost do it?"
Patriarch Styx's words were not false, but they made both of them tremble.
They truly couldn't imagine who, besides the Six Saints, the demon race, or the Heavenly Court, could create such a massive disturbance.
It couldn't possibly be him... right?
...
At the same time.
Sun Kong, riding the Chaos Somesault Cloud, after three days and three nights of arduous travel, finally arrived before the Purple Heavens Palace. Just as he was about to knock,
he was stopped by Patriarch Hongjun!