Chapter 903: The Great Sun Heavenly Pool Descends Upon Xu Gao Jie

The peak of heavenly tribulation Mountain.

An old man with a face full of misery, and a black-haired, starry-eyed youth with a calm expression sat facing each other across a chessboard.

On the chessboard, the Badaxian Sect, immortal gates, their respective factions, Dao soldiers, armies, and spheres of influence were interlocked like dogs' teeth, with the great armies facing off and Layered Contradictions everywhere — war should have erupted at the slightest spark, or at the very least, small-scale clashes should have been constantly arising.

Yet, there were none.

For more than ten years past, the realm had been terrifyingly calm, with no clashes at the borders; any small clash that should have occurred was swiftly smoothed over by some unknown force.

The Dongji Demon Gate acting this way was normal — its military discipline had always been strict.

The Badaxian Sect acting the same was also to be expected — they must have secretly executed some cultivators who were always looking to cause trouble, and only thus formed this absolutely peaceful situation.

"Something must have happened…

"…something must have happened…"

The black-haired, starry-eyed youth Xu Yan muttered to himself.

"Among the Jiudaxian Sect, some kind of strong tacit understanding has formed — an extremely strong tacit understanding, strong enough to make the cultivators of the Badaxian Sect, whose organization has always been chaotic, voluntarily sacrifice certain interests of their own."

"Impossible!"

"…Selfless devotion…putting the greater good first…"

"Heh, can such words really appear among the Badaxian Sect?"

His voice was full of mockery.

All around was silent; the miserable old man Wang Wang Zhongdao said nothing.

A gale howled across the mountaintop, sweeping up the white clouds, scattering the sky; sunlight poured straight down, bringing golden light that shifted with the rising sun and setting moon.

Such a scene had already continued for several decades.

Ever since the Dongji Demon Gate achieved a great victory in the realm, defeated the allied army of the Ba Sect, and nearly doubled its sphere of influence, the two worlds of Xu Wang had been blockaded by a starfleet.

From then on, the miserable old man Wang Wang Zhongdao had brought his clansmen to Xu Gao Jie, not daring to act alone.

The two had tried to break out of the blockade with their relatives.

But every time they were discovered by the blockading Dongji Demon Gate fleet, which politely and coldly informed them that this was a military exercise zone and passage was to be suspended.

The two Soul Transformation Tianjuns fell silent, not daring to step beyond Lei Chi, and retreated back to the small realm.

Every time, it was the same.

The treaty they had signed two thousand years ago did not include any clause guaranteeing their safety if they took the initiative to provoke and attack the Dongji Demon Gate.

Such an unequal treaty could never have been signed without first wiping the Dongji Demon Gate into a ruined nation.

The two of them had only been relying on the might of eight great powers, foxes borrowing the tiger's prestige, making the immortal gates temporarily compromise, biding their time, trading dignity for time to develop.

What He Deheneng did they have to make the Dongji Demon Gate sign such an extremely unequal treaty?

The moment they dared to make a move, they would die.

There would absolutely be no other outcome.

The army of a realm hegemon could never be provoked by two loose-cultivator Soul Transformation cultivators from a small realm — they could be wiped out with a snap of the fingers.

"Haha!"

"Xu Yan, have you ever regretted it?"

The miserable old man Wang Wang Zhongdao's voice was hoarse; he laughed and said: "I read the intelligence from the last great realm war — it came through more than ten years ago, when the Badaxian Sect had not yet abruptly vanished. Master Canghai has actually already advanced to late-stage Soul Transformation, and is leading a starry-sky army group, stationed at a Refinement Void-level battlefield."

"Two thousand years ago he was nothing more than a junior member of the younger generation; now he is already an unimaginably great figure in the realm."

"I remember he was the first doctoral student you took on, wasn't he?"

"Your founding disciple."

"I remember, back then you cursed in front of me countless times, saying this student had a block of elm wood for a brain, didn't know how to adapt, had no scientific intuition, and his future achievements were destined to be limited."

"The scenes of those years remain vivid before my eyes."

"Looking at it now, it seems you misjudged him."

He mocked.

"I did not misjudge him."

The black-haired, starry-eyed Xu Yan glanced at him coldly: "Master Canghai has always been conventional and rule-following, and indeed lacked scientific intuition; his current achievements are merely thanks to the platform.

"Thanks to high-level warships, thanks to the surrounding Soul Transformation Tianjuns, thanks to the high-quality officers, soldiers, doctoral and master's students that the Dongji Demon Gate possesses."

"If we're only talking about him as an individual, even advancing to Soul Transformation would have been extremely difficult."

"Is that so?"

Wang Wang Zhongdao stopped mocking, sighed, and said: "Then that is Master Canghai — possessing powerful resource integration and organizational ability."

"This is the effect of a platform!"

"A person like Master Canghai, who had no scientific intuition, after so many years of tempering, commanding a Refinement Void army, and being exposed long-term to the realm's top-tier immortal Dao scientific achievements —"

"His final vision, immortal Dao foundation, strength, and even the creativity in the immortal Dao, as well as the scientific intuition you and I take pride in, are all far inferior to his now."

"If we met him in the Taiyi Qingmu Xianzong, we would have to address him as senior."

"Back then, how was I so bewitched, so resolutely breaking away from the realm hegemon's faction, insisting on following you, my classmate, to become a loose cultivator?"

"If I were still in the immortal gate, I would surely already be at late-stage Soul Transformation; with everyone's combined efforts, Refinement Void would not necessarily be hopeless!"

Wang Wang Zhongdao sighed deeply.

"Now that I think about it, the heavenly materials and earthly treasures I once yearned to squander at will, the most beautiful women of a realm to take as I pleased, the prosperity of my descendants — were nothing more than little sesame seeds on the ground, utterly insignificant."

He said in regret.

"The so-called most beautiful women of a realm to take at will are nothing but lumps of rotting flesh."

"The so-called squandering of heavenly materials and earthly treasures is nothing but the estate of a country bumpkin landlord, granaries stuffed with grain and plain steamed buns; the truly top-tier heavenly materials and earthly treasures we could never even touch — those things are all in the immortal gates and the Badaxian Sect, and basically never leak out."

"The prosperity of descendants, hahaha,"

"is even more of a joke!"

"My brother, my children have been dead for who knows how many years. Those who address me as Old Ancestor share only a thread of blood ties with me — no different from strangers, no feelings at all."

"Back then, why did I do all this?"

Wang Wang Zhongdao appeared somewhat disheartened and cold.

"Brother Wang Zhongdao, why put on such a weak front!"

Xu Yan saw this and rebuked: "The two of us are nothing more than seeking the Dao. Back then, the Dongji Demon Sect was indeed in decline, with the Badaxian Sect watching covetously, always on the verge of being overturned."

"In fact, if the conflicts among the Badaxian Sect had been a little less back then, if the outbreak of civil war had been delayed a little, if the relations among the eight great powers had eased even slightly, the complete destruction of the Dongji Demon Sect would have been entirely possible."

"Its survival had a great deal of luck to it."

"Besides, that bastard Brother Xuanwu back then promised Void Refinement scriptures, the Void Refinement path — clearly swearing on a Great Dao contract… clearly…"

Xu Yan's voice slowly lowered.

He had been played.

The so-called Great Dao oath was nothing but a scrap of paper — it couldn't even make the great powers of Brother Xuanwu Heavenly Palace pay the price of a light injury, like a breeze brushing one's face.

The Central Array Spirit Computer could discern the truth of a Great Dao oath and enter into one; that did not mean he could.

The so-called Void Refinement scriptures, the Void Refinement path — they were also things that looked undeniably genuine, things a Soul Transformation cultivator could not distinguish, and carried a strong aura of the Great Dao.

They could even let one faintly glimpse Void Refinement divine abilities, making one believe oneself a once-in-an-era genius who had already comprehended the Dao, with breakthrough right before one's eyes — yet one had to forcibly suppress the secret joy and feign composure.

In the end, it was also a scrap of paper.

"Heh, back then, sheltered beneath the Central Array Spirit Computer, we were far too arrogant."

"We actually thought we had the qualification to trade with Void Refinement great powers!"

Wang Wang Zhongdao gave a self-mocking laugh, but said no more words meant to pick faults.

He knew this was his inner pressure being too great, to the point of showing signs of losing control — the Dao heart polished over several thousand years could not stay calm either, and so he was venting.

Even though he himself knew this would only make the outcome worse.

"There is still a chance."

"Brother Wang Zhongdao."

Xu Yan also calmed down and said evenly: "I don't know what tacit understanding was reached between the Dongji Demon Sect and the Badaxian Sect, what great event occurred."

"But I absolutely do not believe these nine mortal enemies can truly be of one mind!"

"Among the Badaxian Sect, between the Dongji Demon Sect and the Badaxian Sect, there must exist strict vigilance — they will not relax even a fraction no matter what. Even if quite a few people within the Dongji Demon Sect want to kill the two of us and be done with it, this cannot change the situation."

"With most of their armies defending the borders, they certainly cannot have too many people withdraw to deal with us."

"Therefore,"

"So long as we hold, there will be a way!"

Xu Yan said coldly: "So long as we defeat and slay a certain number of Dongji Demon Sect Soul Transformation cultivators, or lure them out and away from the Star Fortress, the Badaxian Sect will surely be tempted — they absolutely will not let slip such a heaven-sent chance to weaken the Dongji Demon Sect's Soul Transformation cultivators. Whatever tacit understanding exists will be useless."

"One must know, the number of Dongji Demon Sect Soul Transformation cultivators directly affects their Void Refinement army formation's combat power!"

"This is our chance of survival!"

"Chance of survival!"

"If things go further, if the Dongji Demon Sect and the Badaxian Sect perish together, and the order of the realm completely collapses, the two of us may yet ride the momentum, emerge in answer to the times — when fortune comes, heaven and earth lend their strength together. In the future, we may yet rebuild Taiyi Qingmu Xianzong and ascend to Void Refinement…"

Xu Yan said with longing.

Even at this very moment, he still had not given up the thought of the Great Dao in his heart, never once thought of giving up.

"A chance of survival, indeed there is."

"Yes, no one can deny that it exists."

Wang Wang Zhongdao automatically ignored his later words, muttering to himself. The wretched look on his face gradually faded, and a cold killing intent surfaced in his eyes.

"If war breaks out, the Great Sun Sword Son will surely be a crucial piece — only by slaying him can the two of us…"

His words abruptly stopped.

"They're coming!"

Xu Yan and Wang Wang Zhongdao suddenly raised their heads, looking at the sky.

In that pitch-black starry sky of Chen Chen De Gao Jie, a resplendent blazing sun came cruising openly and unhurriedly.

Its radiance illuminated the realm, emanating an aura of destruction and scorching heat — supreme and noble, like the true king of the realm surveying his own domain.

(End of this chapter)

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