Chapter 3080

"He Lingchuan?" The Red General noticed his eyes were red, a little worried, "What personal grudge?"

She asked twice in a row before He Lingchuan came to his senses:

"Nothing."

After all, he was no longer the teenager buying pancakes on the street over twenty years ago; even if his heart was stirred by great waves, he could quickly calm his own mind.

So many years have passed……and there are still pressing matters at hand; he steadied himself and continued asking:

"Did the Lingxu Saint Venerable personally retrieve the heart-core of the small world, correct?"

"Yes." The Past-Future God gave an affirmative reply.

The Red General frowned slightly; He Lingchuan rarely repeated confirmation of a matter like this—why was his reaction to the small world's heart-core so intense?

He Lingchuan then asked: "Did He mention how He destroyed that small world?"

"No."

He Lingchuan let out a long breath, asked a few more questions, but the Past-Future God could provide no further information, so the Red General ordered someone to take Him away.

Then she asked He Lingchuan: "What's wrong? Your complexion looks terrible."

This fellow had long cultivated the habit of not showing joy or anger, but now veins bulged on his forehead—clearly he was suppressing rage with great effort.

"The Lingxu Saint Venerable spared no effort, even destroying an innocent world, to finally obtain the world's heart-core. What does He intend to do?" He Lingchuan said slowly, "The last world heart-core to appear in the history of our two realms was first captured by the Three Holy Gods of the Heavenly Realm, then refined by the Lingxu Saint Venerable and other gods into the Tianluo Star; its fragments were struck down by the Dragon God, then refined by the true immortals of the mortal realm into the Great Fanghu."

A single world heart-core is an existence far surpassing divine artifacts.

"According to the Past-Future God's description, the Lingxu Saint Venerable brought the world heart-core into the Eternal Volcano for refinement. Based on Lady Lady Lady Mitian's understanding of Him, He may be attempting to fuse the world heart-core with the divine essence of life. As for the specific function—" the Red General shook her head, "I cannot imagine it."

She continued: "Although Lady Lady Lady Mitian has always refused to admit it, in my view, the Lingxu Saint Venerable's realm and Dao comprehension may have already surpassed Lady Lady Lady Mitian's."

"Surpassed the Ancient God of Death?"

"Yes." He Lingchuan did not answer, nor did he explain why he cared so much about the world heart-core. The Red General did not ask either.

He did not wish to speak, so let it be.

He Lingchuan frowned: "He has a ready-made world heart-core and does not use it—why go to the heavens beyond to capture other small world heart-cores?"

The ready-made world heart-core naturally refers to the Tianluo Star.

"The Tianluo Star underwent two rounds of refinement before and after; perhaps it no longer meets His requirements. Moreover, it is embedded in the barrier between the two realms, making it difficult to remove." The Red General pondered, "Or perhaps the world will attached to the Tianluo Star has already come to the mortal realm through the impact of the black dragon, becoming the chaos within the Great Fanghu."

"Does the Lingxu Saint Venerable want the will of the small world?"

"Understand it as an 'artifact spirit.' Without will, a small world heart-core is merely a dead object."

He Lingchuan pressed his forehead.

"Constructing five great Heavenly Demon Altars, capturing and refining the heart-cores of small worlds, and even seizing the divine artifact 'Spring Wind Transforming Rain'—he muttered, 'I always feel that the Lingxu Saint Venerable's plot of 'Heavenly Demon Descent' is not as simple as it appears on the surface.'"

The Soul-Capturing Mirror could not help but exclaim: "Heavenly Demon Descent simple? Humanity is nearly scared to death!"

What a commotion the Lingxu Saint Venerable has caused!

"Under the Plan of Gods Descending, the Lingxu Saint Venerable may still have other schemes." This is the true source of He Lingchuan's deep unease, "Such a figure, if He does not act, then so be it; but once He personally takes the field, He will surely achieve an effect of thunderous might."

The Lingxu Saint Venerable's god-descent plan has been in the works for three thousand years; no one knows how many hidden machinations He has secretly inserted into this plan.

"How we respond to the Heavenly Demons, how humanity responds to the Heavenly Demons—these are basically clear cards; but how the Lingxu Saint Venerable plans to scheme against humanity, currently no one knows, not even the Heavenly Demons themselves—it's all hidden cards." He Lingchuan exhaled, "I am light against dark, hidden against open—I dislike this situation."

Roughly speaking, the most effective means humanity has verified against Heavenly Demons is the emerging force—elemental power, then adding the power of the immortals and great demons.

"At least we can stop the spread of green mold and destroy the Heavenly Demons' strongest grasp in the mortal realm." The Red General comforted him, "The Lingxu Saint Venerable's past covert schemes against you and against Cangyan have mostly failed. He is more furious than you."

The Lingxu Saint Venerable's authority has been successfully challenged again and again by the Nine Abysses.

At this moment, He Lingchuan heard the sound of splashing footsteps from outside the tent.

Outside, imperial flowing broth and rain descended together upon the mortal realm, darkening sky and earth, the ground covered entirely in water.

This was someone rushing over in haste.

Then the guard's voice sounded from outside the tent:

"Emperor, urgent news from Chi Yan State—ten thousand fires urgent!"

Just then, a startling thunderbolt split from the heavens.

He Lingchuan personally took the urgent message; after reading only the first line, his complexion changed.

The King of Chi Yan, Fu Shanlie, was assassinated in his own palace.

Then followed a brief account:

The Great Heavenly Demon appeared, leading over sixty Heavenly Demons in an attack on the Chi Yan King; after succeeding, he departed leisurely; the Chi Yan King's army suffered heavy casualties, the number of Heavenly Demons slain currently unknown……

Each word here felt like a startling thunderbolt striking He Lingchuan's chest.

The Red General, hearing this news from afar through the Haoyuan Golden Mirror, was also speechless for a long while, then finally said resentfully: "So those two Great Heavenly Demons were sent to assassinate Fu Shanlie? The Lingxu Saint Venerable wants to sow chaos in our army before the Heavenly Demon Descent—this move is truly vicious, indeed His style."

The general assault on An Sha Fortress by the Alliance is about to begin immediately, and the imperial flowing broth has also erupted in full force.

The Lingxu Saint Venerable deliberately chose this critical juncture to send two Great Heavenly Demons to assassinate Fu Shanlie! Besides intimidation, the more important purpose is to disturb the frontline army's morale and disrupt the Alliance's battle formation.

"By the way, where is the Lingbao Immortal?" the Red General asked, "Shouldn't he be guarding the Chi Yan capital?"

"The Heavenly Demons had beforehand tampered with Fu Shanlie's medicine, making its effects violently potent. After taking it, he could barely hold on. By the time the Lingbao Immortal arrived, the Chi Yan King had already been killed by the Bili Heavenly Demon."

"In his message, the Lingbao Immortal expressed considerable self-reproach. Tonight, he and the Hulu Heavenly One fought a battle, each sustaining injuries."

The Red General snorted: "What use is self-reproach? The Chi Yan King is dead. The ten thousand Chi Yan troops at the An Sha Fortress front, the one hundred fifty thousand Chi Yan troops at the Suoluo State front—whose orders will they follow henceforth? Fu Shanyue?"

"He inherits his father's legacy, and only Fu Shanyue remains. But he has been away from Chi Yan State too long, his prestige within the country insufficient. Moreover, he is currently campaigning on the front lines; once he returns to the state, his situation will be even more perilous than his father's."

Although Fu Shanlie suffered from chronic illness, in terms of Dao discourse and cultivation, he still surpassed his son. He was assassinated in his own palace; if Fu Shanyue returns to the state, who could guarantee his personal safety?