Chapter 1 She Cannot Leave

Those four words echoed above the clouds.

The Red Dragon stared intently at the Lei Guang Gu Jiang (Thunder Light Ancient General) before him, his hands lightly resting on the hilt of his blade. He showed no intention of attacking, but after delivering the notification, patiently awaited Bai Xiu's response.

Bai Xiu's response was simple—

*Thwack!*

The towering divine form of the Lei Jie Xing Zhe (Thunder Realm Walker) tensed instantly. Then, without warning, it attacked. Accompanied by a soft cracking sound above the clear sky, the thunderous form shot forward a hundred meters, instantly closing in on the Red Dragon.

A massive hand, shimmering with lightning, was about to press down on the Red Dragon's chest, which was concealed by his billowing cloak!

"Zzt--"

The Red Dragon, his hands on his blade, didn't retreat an inch. He drew his blade with extreme speed, his left hand pulling the short blade from its sheath, making a vertical slash in a line. A scarlet streak of light flashed across the sky!

The Lei Jie Xing Zhe's forearm was severed!

Thunder boomed.

The next moment, snow-white light surged. The Lei Jie Xing Zhe covered the location of his forearm, lightly stepped through the void, stopped his retreat, and after taking several steps, the two of them re-established their distance. The elementalized divine form would not have its arm truly severed. After a few seconds, the forearm was restored as before.

"I said... I'm not here to fight you."

The Red Dragon slowly slid his short blade back into its sheath. His expression was calm, showing no signs of anger. "Besides, do you think that defeating me would change anything?"

Sitting amidst the trees, Bai Xiu frowned.

"..."

The Red Dragon looked toward the land.

He leisurely said, "The East Continent's plan is quite good. Those armored trucks, they should be the 'vehicles' for this mission, right?"

Without waiting for Bai Xiu to speak.

The Red Dragon continued, "I can guarantee that the moment this little one steps out of the Sangzhou Grotto, she will be discovered. The Yun Jing (Cloud Mirror) authority is omnipresent. The power of the Sky God Seat far exceeds your imagination. As long as he wishes, there is nothing he cannot do within the Five Continents!"

Bai Xiu coldly said, "I don't understand what you're talking about."

"You don't understand... That's alright."

The Red Dragon calmly said, "What's important is whether you want to understand, whether you're willing to believe what I say... You cannot send Gu Xiaoman away."

"Just because she is the 'Master of Wine'?"

"Yes, just because she is the 'Master of Wine.'"

The Red Dragon said, "As for the others, they are all unimportant. Those neutral parties, those ants... As long as the Sky God Seat is willing, the Yun Jing can also expose them completely. It's just that the gods never care about the ants on the ground. The so-called 'accumulation' is all a lie. Under the huge difference in quality, no matter how many ants there are, they cannot bite a great being on the God Seat."

But Gu Xiaoman was different.

She wasn't an ant. She was a special individual who was "chosen" by the Wine Spark across the mental network.

Although her realm was low at the moment, as long as she was given enough time, she would become one of the Seven Gods in the future... She could stand at the highest peak!

"The East Continent has Dou Zhan (Battle God), and there's also the Underworld King."

Bai Xiu took a deep breath, his tone still firm. "If the Sky God wants to make a move... we can try."

The Red Dragon was silent for several seconds.

He slowly said with a pitying and sorrowful tone, "Don't joke around."

The air above the clouds was also silent for several seconds.

"God War... You have no chance of winning. Otherwise, how did the 'Wine Spark' return to the Source Tower?"

The Red Dragon said, word by word, "I know the Bai family produced an extraordinary figure. You are very proud, very honored. But no matter how talented that newly promoted Dou Zhan God Seat is, can he compare to Gu Changzhi back then?"

Bai Xiu was speechless for a moment.

"Gu Changzhi, at the peak of his power, did not contend with the Source Tower. Why is that?"

The Red Dragon asked, "Are you really unclear, or are you playing dumb?"

For six hundred years, the Central Continent has been the strongest among the Five Continents, with two gods joining forces, firmly occupying the leading position!

And in recent years, the Sky God Seat reached the top.

The champion, Celestial Master Tian Shui, made major reforms, and the divine official system shone brightly.

Countless geniuses were born in the Upper City, and the level of technology has advanced by leaps and bounds. Mr. Turing of that year was also from the Central Continent. The main network of the Shen Hai (Deep Sea) is hidden here...

A large amount of resources have been accumulated, making the Central Continent the only supercontinent.

It was precisely because of this background that the Sky God Seat was able to continue to hide its strength after reaching the top... For so many years, the Five Continents have been peaceful. Apart from the Mausoleum turmoil, the Sky has hardly ever shown its military force.

The world has long forgotten his true strength.

But this also meant...

No one knew just how powerful he was.

"As for the widespread rumor that the East Continent has two gods..."

The Red Dragon lowered his eyes and continued with a smile, "That is even more absurd. Not to mention how the ominous and disastrous God of the Underworld's battle prowess is, taking a step back, twenty years ago, the Underworld King, who was beaten by Guang Ming (Light) into a state of lingering, escaped from the Five Continents. Is he really still alive now? Why hasn't there been any movement in the past two years? A few days ago, the 'Nether River' in the North Continent's Disaster Zone was almost uprooted, but there wasn't even a bit of reaction?"

"Some truths, everyone already knows in their hearts, but they're just too lazy to confirm them."

"You and I both know very well that once the war starts, the East Continent's superficial 'power' and 'prosperity' will be torn apart in an instant—"

"So... don't do such a stupid thing."

The Red Dragon said in a gentle voice, "Don't let your decision affect an entire continent."

...

...

The air a thousand meters above the ground was extremely cold.

The confrontation between the two was even colder—

The blade was not drawn.

But the scene was deadlocked, and it could erupt at any moment.

"Some truths, people are just too lazy to confirm..."

Bai Xiu slowly opened his mouth, and then paused.

"Is that really the case?"

He spoke with a hint of mockery. "Such words are only meant to deceive children who haven't developed their intelligence. The truth is that the Central Continent is too lazy to confirm it? Then how did the Wine Spark become vacant in the first place?"

Upon hearing these words, it was the Red Dragon's turn to be speechless.

Back then, the Wine God Seat Di Jiu suffered a complete defeat because he wanted to personally "confirm" whether the Dou Zhan God Seat Gu Changzhi was alive or dead.

"If the Sky really is strong to that extent, then the Five Continents would not be the Five Continents... At least during the twenty years that Mr. Gu Changzhi was asleep, the East Continent would have become an affiliated continent of the 'Central Continent'."

Bai Xiu smiled, "But allow me to say this in hindsight, that Sky God Seat, who you praise to the heavens, and who has almost secured the 'number one among the Seven Gods' position, seems to be deeply afraid of Mr. Gu Changzhi. He doesn't even dare to test him personally, and instead lets the scapegoat Di Jiu go."

"..."

The Red Dragon's face twitched slightly.

He couldn't refute it, because that was the truth.

"There will be a battle among the Seven Gods." Bai Xiu said expressionlessly, "If you think that sending Gu Xiaoman away will lead to war... then why not, let's start the war now."

The Red Dragon didn't expect Bai Xiu's attitude to be so firm.

He sighed softly and said, "Why must it come to this? Do you think a god war is such a simple matter?"

Bai Xiu frowned slightly.

"If a war breaks out now, the East Continent and the North Continent will both be reduced to an unrecoverable state."

The Red Dragon said in a hoarse voice, "How long has it been since Bai Shu advanced to Dou Zhan, and how long has it been since the Empress took charge of the Forge? Regardless of whether you can win or not, once this war breaks out, there will be no winner in the end... A war between the Seven Gods will lead to the fragmentation of the Five Continents."

"A butterfly flapping its wings can cause a storm across the entire ocean."

"After sending Gu Xiaoman away... fate will unleash a storm that destroys everything."

"Is this really what you want to see?"

Bai Xiu was stunned. According to the East Continent's intelligence, the Red Dragon was not a "compassionate" and merciful person. How could there be such a person among the Four Divine Envoys? Why would the Red Dragon say these words to him?

The Red Dragon's hands left the hilt of his blade.

Volcanic ash floated between the two, the dense darkness filling the void of the sky.

"Think carefully, why did we meet here for the second time?"

"Say it again..."

"I'm not here to fight."

...

...

Tanya Core area.

The ridge of this towering volcano was extremely rough and uneven.

Hundreds of years ago, there was a volcanic eruption here. Lava spewed out, weathering and hardening, covering the land with a new shell. That disaster caused Sangzhou Grotto to break away from the mainland and become an isolated island, drifting away from the South Continent inland at a rate of five hundred meters per year, gradually sinking towards the Ice Sea.

One day, this small island would completely leave the mainland.

Perhaps after many more years... this place would become land again.

"Damn it, where are they? Why haven't they arrived yet?"

Zhu Que stood on one foot on a boulder, trying to look into the distance.

The view was gray and dark, yielding nothing.

His mental power was severely suppressed here. The volcanic ash was extremely thick, and even the flow of source matter within his body was hindered. He had to open his domain to barely resist the ash's unique properties.

He had already arrived at the meeting point agreed upon with the Red Dragon.

However, only he had arrived!

The Red Dragon had not appeared at all—

The worst part was that, perhaps because there was too much ash, the authority of the Yun Jing bestowed by the God Seat seemed to have become ineffective. He took out the mirror to contact the Red Dragon, but the surrounding clouds and mist swirled, and every time they were about to take shape, a gust of ash would float over, directly blowing away the misty mirror surface.

"Did I come to the wrong place?"

Zhu Que frowned. "With the Red Dragon's style of doing things, he is always punctual. He should be waiting for me nearby right now..."

Now, he faced two choices.

One was to leave directly and return to the East Grotto. Jia Wei had stopped his pursuit... He was safe now, so there was no need to meet up with the Red Dragon. He could just leave the Tanya core area.

However, deep down, he vaguely felt that something was wrong.

Zhu Que looked towards the depths of Tanya, where the ash was even thicker.

"The Red Dragon isn't here because he encountered an 'unexpected situation'?"

This volcano contained special power.

Volcanic ash could suppress the flow of source matter... This was simply unheard of. Zhu Que had long noticed the changes in the haze above his head. He guessed that the upcoming "Spark Trial" mission was related to this volcano.

The Source Tower would never let go of such important information.

In that case, the subsequent mission of the Wine Spark could be guessed—

It was probably to venture deep into Tanya and conduct an investigation!

Zhu Que's eyes lit up slightly.

"So... the Red Dragon is alone, delving deep into Tanya to conduct an investigation?"

His second option was to step into the Tanya core area!

As soon as this thought emerged, the suspicion in Zhu Que's heart grew even stronger. He couldn't believe that the Red Dragon would find the wrong way. The fact that he didn't see that guy here... meant there was only one possibility left.

"The Red Dragon seems indifferent, as if he's not interested in the 'Wine Spark,' but in reality, he's the one who wants the Spark the most!"

Zhu Que muttered, "Neither the Sangzhou Grotto's local geniuses nor the Extraordinary Beast Tide are considered important tasks... Celestial Master Tian Shui must have already told him the most important information. The most important part of the Spark Trial is Tanya!"

"That's right... It must be so!"

After a series of self-talks, the thoughts in his heart became more determined.

Zhu Que contracted the Li Huo (Separation Fire) Domain. Although he had been pierced twice by Jia Wei and suffered some injuries, they weren't serious. The interference from the ash was not enough to make him lose his ability to act.

He walked towards the Tanya core area.

Visibility was further reduced, and the surrounding floating ash began to erode his domain...

He felt wave after wave of heat washing over him. After walking for more than ten minutes, the thoughts that were originally firm in Zhu Que's heart suddenly wavered.

Above the sky, birds were calling.

Zhu Que raised his head and saw two black birds. Under the stimulation of the Awakening Experiment, all the creatures in Sangzhou Grotto had undergone extraordinary mutations. These two birds, which might have been no larger than a palm originally, had now grown to be three or four meters in size, boldly flying through the sky, recklessly spreading their wings and violently crashing into the sky, falling into the volcano's mouth—

Without making even the slightest sound.

"Whoosh..."

Hot wind blew across his cheeks.

A moment of confusion made Zhu Que suddenly awaken, becoming vigilant.

"Could it be that I'm thinking too much? The Red Dragon isn't here at all... Who would approach such a hellish place?"

His fourth-order top-level mental intuition told him that there might be danger ahead.

However, at this moment, Zhu Que inadvertently caught sight of some broken ash remnants on the ground. He crouched down, extended two fingers, and picked up the crystalline dust on the ground.

This was a piece of dried and melted rock, interspersed with a scarlet corner of a cloak.

The sensory and recognition abilities of a fourth-order Transcendent were astonishingly accurate... Zhu Que immediately recognized the origin of the remnants on the ground.

This was the Red Dragon's robe remnants.

"The Red Dragon... really came here."

Zhu Que's expression was pale, and his eyes became cold.

He didn't expect that his original, almost absurd, guess was correct.

The Red Dragon had been to the Tanya core area.

Standing up again.

Zhu Que looked expressionlessly towards the volcano's mouth. He walked step by step, resisting the resistance of the ash, and arrived at the cracked opening.

This dormant volcano's mouth radiated billowing heat outwards... For those low-level Awakened creatures, this place was a living hell. As long as they approached, they would be burned to ashes.

But for the Zhu Que Divine Envoy, who controlled the Li Huo (Separation Fire), the temperature here was not considered hot. It could only be said to be "too warm."

He stood at the opening and looked inside.

Tanya, Tanya, this volcano was true to its name... It was in the state of being about to awaken, like a flower about to bloom, only opening its bud but not yet revealing its core. The light and fire inside the volcano was like the breath of a child, opening and closing, bright and dark.

In the flickering light, it seemed like a blood-colored, scarlet flower was blooming.

Zhu Que's eyes were a little blurry.

He looked at the scarlet lines inside the volcano's crack, his expression becoming somewhat infatuated...

A strong wind blew.

Finally, he opened his domain, "elementalized," and jumped into the volcano's mouth.