Chapter 824: Chapter 548: Strategic Retreat
"A mere intermediate world, and yet we exhausted so much effort without conquering it—in fact, it even succeeded in ascending to high class. If the Eternal Immortal breaks through to Nine, then it becomes a Great World, blessed with the luck of a Great World. More Heavenly Realms would then be born, making our revival even harder."
Forget Sorrow Old Mother wore a complicated expression.
The Witch spoke calmly: "Since the Divine Court designated this as one of the Three Great Fire Worlds, it was never going to be easy to handle. Our enemies aren’t just the Wanbang Council, but also those hidden mighty powers and divine schemes supporting them from behind. If not for them, human civilization could never have survived the early stages of the war. But it’s too late to talk about this now. The worst case is fighting the Divine Court again—as long as we work together, we can win the second Divine War too."
The assembled Evil Gods fell silent.
They had never considered the possibility of failure.
In the beginning, there were even gods who optimistically predicted conquering the Xia Realm in three days, but now forty years had passed.
Seeing that the deities seemed to be reflecting on themselves,
The Witch was faintly comforted inside.
Perhaps losing once is good; after this defeat, even those Evil Gods who never took things seriously before might now do their work in earnest.
In reality,
Although the Forbidden Zone has suffered repeated defeats in the Xia Realm, across the Three Thousand Worlds battlegrounds, the Forbidden Zone is still in the dominant position.
Thus, the Witch intended to shift strategy.
To set their focus on other worlds.
As for the Xia Realm?
A strategic withdrawal.
...
Wanbang Council.
Elder Council.
"What? Blood Vine and You Tong are both dead?"
The many elders turned to look at the Northern Guardian King.
The Northern Guardian King himself found it hard to believe.
"Lu Heavenly King found the two demons in the starry sky and killed them one by one. Incidentally, You Tong Demon Emperor had actually already advanced to Demon Venerable, but the result was the same."
Chu Heavenly King applauded with laughter: "Good, now of the Four Emperors, there’s only the Qingtian Demon Emperor left. His strength is great, but in fact, he’s the easiest to deal with—just a bit too brute in his force."
Zi Long Daoist clicked his tongue in praise.
"Hiss... The three emperors whom even the Seventh Realm couldn’t handle have all been slain by Lu Heavenly King. Just what kind of power is he hiding?"
A Heavenly King said excitedly, slapping the conference table.
"Perhaps Lu Heavenly King’s raw strength is not as high as the Heavenly Realm, but his means are many and varied—he alone is like an entire army!"
The Northern Guardian King let out a long breath of relief.
He was moved with a thousand feelings.
"We have achieved initial victory in the Xia Realm War."
Chu Yu stood up, the long spear manifesting.
"Now’s the time to press the attack and hunt down the stragglers! Clear away these demons and monsters—perhaps the Human World will find some measure of peace for a while."
The Northern Guardian King said:
"But we must beware the Demon Race’s final counterattack. Next, all the major Base Cities must bolster their defenses."
After the Elder Council,
The news of Lu Heavenly King single-handedly slaying the Blood Vine Demon Emperor and You Tong Demon Venerable in the starry sky spread rapidly. The rumor that Lu Chenzhou had been killed by the Blood Hidden Building Master collapsed on its own.
As for that ancient evil creature, the Council did not plan to announce it for now; revealing it would only increase panic and serve no other use.
...
Su City Base City.
A mother stared fixedly at the posted notice.
Her body trembled with excitement!
"The Blood Vine Demon Emperor is dead?"
"Wu wu, my son’s death has been avenged."
In recent years, because the Blood Vine Demon Emperor had so many clones and appeared so frequently, he had become the nightmare of countless people. Many dared not sleep at night, for fear the Blood Vine might cause trouble.
Children stopped crying.
People were celebrating in the streets.
Zhou Ruoxue, Bai Miaomiao, Ye Zhiqiu, and other Lamp Holders, all now Great Grandmasters, paraded through the streets sharing the news.
Chen Jiu declared loudly:
"Everyone can rest easy—our Su City Guardian, Lu Heavenly King, has personally announced that the Blood Vine Demon Emperor has perished!"
The people burst into cheers.
"Thank you, Lu Heavenly King, for avenging my little brother."
"My mother was also killed by the Blood Vine."
"Grandmaster Yuan, you can be at peace in the underworld now."
...
Imperial Base City.
An old Grandmaster with white hair hugged a portrait of the dead.
Crying too hard to form words.
"Chan’er, your idol, Lu Heavenly King, has avenged you. If there is another life, I will still be your master. I believe one day, your old Li will also become a teacher to the Absolute Peak."
Soul-snatching Spear, Li Chan.
This was his student, who stepped into Grandmaster at the age of thirty—a first among the new generation of exceptional talents, skilled in the spear, even winning the championship at the exchange meet.
Three years ago, this Genius died suddenly at home, blood streaming from the seven orifices—the blood forming the two characters "You Tong."
At the time, the Wanbang Council was furious.
Chen Beiming investigated in person. Every exceptional talent is the hope of the Da Xia Heavenly Realm. Even in this golden age with so many Geniuses, only twelve of the new generation can be ranked as exceptional talents by the Wanbang Council. In years to come, they could become the pillars of civilization.
But two were curse-killed by You Tong.
...
Stories of such joy and sorrow were too numerous to count.
The death of the Four Emperors boosted confidence everywhere; hundreds of billions in the Wanbang Base City were celebrating.
...
Po Suo Base City.
Emperor Hanu’s gaze sharpened.
As the Emperor of the Spiritual Heart.
His Heart Realm had long been flawless, like a still well and ancient pool.
But even he felt a flicker of excitement now.
"You Tong and Blood Vine are both dead? Could it be that Fellow Daoist Lu has already mastered the Eye of Calamity? It’s only been a few years."
The Northern Guardian King shook his head and laughed:
"I don’t know the exact details. In any case, the two demons are now scattered in soul and po, and can no longer bring calamity to the Human World."
Emperor Hanu gave a wry smile.
"Then I’ll continue my studies. Since I’ve started, I won’t give up halfway—and who knows how many more hard cases like You Tong and Blood Vine the Forbidden Zone still has."
"The struggle is long. Thank you, senior."
The Northern Guardian King’s projection dissipated.
Emperor Hanu gazed blankly into the starry sky.
"I lost. I have to admit it."
Although he too had been studying the "Eye of Calamity," he had not yet comprehended the Way of Cause and Effect, nor its deeper mysteries.
...
Kunxu Great World.
Over twenty Heavenly Realm auras gathered in the clouds.
In the corner, a blue-robed maiden sat alone in meditation, from time to time attracting resentful or covetous glances.
Yaochi Immortal was unfazed by this.
Suddenly, the Lighting Order sent a message. After reading it, her lips curled up like a crescent moon in a knowing smile.
"Only a few years’ separation, and yet he’s already slain a Demon Venerable. Every time we raise our expectations, little Lu always manages, inadvertently, to shatter our predicted upper limit. Surpassing me, surpassing the president—it’s only a matter of time.
With a Sixth Realm body and without relying on a Spiritual Weapon, he slew a Seventh Realm expert. Aside from little Lu, perhaps only that other freak could accomplish this. I wonder if Dragon King has broken through to Eighth yet."
Suddenly, the earth quaked.
A golden ancient gate rapidly rose up.
The gate swung open, an ancient air of time rushing forth.
Many Heavenly Realms’ faces shifted.
Excitement, greed, fervor...
Every single person had come for this.
"An Ancient Cultivation Cave Mansion has appeared—only Seventh Realms can enter. The owner of this cave must have been at least Eighth Realm."
"Not just that, possibly even a Great Power."
"I am Ming Daozi, a wanderer to this place. Are there any Daoist friends willing to travel with me? Friends within the Four Seas are still friends anywhere."
A young scion smiled gently; his cultivation was at Peak Seventh Realm, and he was the Sect Master of the Heavenly Painting Sect in a lesser world.
Back in his homeland, he was the ancestor who pioneered the Dao of Painting. But in the Three Thousand Worlds, he kept a low profile and didn’t stand out.
After reaching a bottleneck, he left his homeworld via the ancient transmission array, traveling widely, searching for a chance at breaking through.
Then he heard that an Ancient Cultivation Cave Mansion was about to appear in the Kunxu Great World. After enduring countless hardships, he finally arrived—only to find that powerful beings from nearby minor worlds had already heard of it and gathered by the dozens.
Of these twenty-plus Heavenly Realms, over half hailed from the Kunxu World itself; the rest were outsiders. They clustered together in small groups of two or three; only the late-stage cultivators walked alone—like Yaochi Immortal in the corner.
Ming Daozi found his approach rebuffed.
He sent a transmitted message to Yaochi Immortal.
"Fairy, would you care to travel with me?"
"Thank you for asking, but I’m used to being solitary."
Yaochi Immortal refused gently.
She had great confidence in her own strength.
Ming Daozi felt regret.
Yaochi Immortal was also late-stage; if he could bring her in, together the two of them would fear no other faction here.
Bzzzz—
Three more forceful auras split the sky.
A wild voice resounded across heaven and earth.
"Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures—whoever has the ability, claims them!"
Three figures fell into the air.
All were stout and burly, with rugged features.
Every Heavenly Realm cultivator of the Kunxu Realm showed a subtle shift in expression.
"Damn, even those Three Fiends have arrived."
Wu Chengdu, Wu Chengyi, Wu Chengling.
The Three Friends of Jushan—Kunxu’s domineering trio. Apart from the Elder Twins of Star Constellation Sea, who with their twin swords combined could rival the Eighth Realm, no one could match them.
Currently, those two at Star Constellation Sea are still in seclusion.
The Three Friends of Jushan are now the strongest force present.
In her corner, Yaochi Immortal remained unperturbed.
A cold voice sounded out:
"Fairy, you’re new here, aren’t you?"
The eldest of the Three Friends fixed his gaze on Yaochi Immortal.
"Someone from the Xia Realm."
Yaochi Immortal answered plainly.
"Xia Realm?"
The Three did not recognize the name.
The eldest gave a wolfish smile:
"Daoist friend, willing to join our party?"
Yaochi Immortal shook her head.
The eldest laughed heartily.
"Fine then, that’s that."
The trio swept their gaze across the assembled crowd,
Then stepped first through the great gate.
"Why not just drive out these outsiders, boss?"
"No rush—the treasure grounds are perilous. Let the outsiders shoulder some risks for us. Killing them can wait."
...
In a certain world.
The Eternal Immortal also found a cave, broke it open by brute force, took the treasures, and departed that world.
He too saw the message from the Lighting Order.
"Excellent, with Lu Chenzhou in the Xia Realm, I can be at ease—so quickly, the first round of trial is complete."
"Shangguan Xian has gone dark—likely already entered the Ancient Cultivation Cave Mansion. The Kunxu Great World is the homeland of the Zhou Sword Immortal, and there are probably Eighth Realm powers lurking within.
Still, her divine skills and the defensive powers of her Heavenly King’s Realm are peerless—no weaker than the legendary Realm of True Physical Body. Even facing the Eighth Realm, she should have no problem surviving."
...
Out in the starry sky.
The Aurora Palace sped along.
[Yaochi Immortal: I have gone to the Kunxu World and will soon enter a Grotto Heaven. Leave a message if anything comes up.]
[Four Symbols Personnel: No need to worry, little junior brother, I am temporarily safe in the Heavenly Pool Great World. With the life-saving treasure gifted by President Wan, even when facing the Demon Lord, my life is assured.]
Lu Chenzhou checked the messages on the Lighting Order.
Since that parting in Mystic Sky Realm, Lu Chenzhou had officially entered the Absolute Peak Circle and was pulled into the high-level "small group chat."
He often shared information about the Three Thousand Realms with others within it.
[Fairy, stay safe.]
[Senior Brother, wait for me—I’ll come to Heavenly Pond in the future too.]
After replying to a few messages,
Lu Chenzhou continued studying causality.
One after another, invisible threads of causality spread out from his body into the starry sky. Many causal threads that had once been tangled now appeared clear to his sight.
"Causality is truly wondrous."
"Let me examine the causality between myself and the Blood Hidden Building Master."
He reached out a hand, and from the tangled threads, he separated a single blood-red thread infused with boundless bloody malevolent qi.
"A thread of bitter blood vendetta—a red cause and effect."