Chapter 442: Warning of the Tripod-Chasing, The Power of the Emperor

"Speaking of which, Junior Brother, what are your thoughts on what comes next?"

After concluding the transaction, True Monarch Zhuding asked with a look of concern, as if he were probing for something.

Regarding this, True Monarch Buyi paused slightly, and after a moment of contemplation, cast his gaze toward the south.

"The current Source-Born Star Realm no longer holds any value. Ming has gone into the starry sky, and Du En and Jiang Ying are still under the protection of Junior Brother Changqing. For the time being, there are no suitable entry points to exploit. However, at this very moment, Junior Brother Changqing is also lacking in spare capacity, so it might be worth trying to take a look over at Nanmo."

Nanmo, the border city of Nanmo, the southernmost tip of the main territory of the Falling Feather Immortal Gate, and also the starting point of Du En's immortal path! That True Monarch Buyi suddenly wanted to go there at this time made True Monarch Zhuding's eyes flicker secretly.

Have you noticed? The crux of the matter.

Du En is still not calm enough this time...

Regarding the events that occurred in the Source-Born Star Realm, True Monarch Zhuding seemed to have a certain degree of understanding, which is why he had such a thought at this moment.

However, the smile on his face did not fade or weaken because of this; instead, it became thicker and more meaningful.

"If Junior Brother Buyi wants to go to Nanmo, now is indeed a relatively good time. However, there is one point I feel it is necessary to remind you of."

"Oh? Could it be related to the time when Senior Brother's avatar returned in such a sorry state?"

True Monarch Buyi's words sounded like mockery, digging up old wounds and pointing directly at the time when True Monarch Zhuding's avatar went to Nanmo, only to return in a wretched state after being dealt with by Du En and Meng Changqing.

Yet, looking at his cold, unchanging expression, one could tell that he actually had no intention of mocking at all; it was more like he was laying the groundwork for the blunt words to follow.

In fact, if it weren't for the fact that he had his own schemes already in motion, and that recent years happened to be a critical juncture—the time around the outbreak of the first Great War of the Holy Darkness—he would have long since taken the initiative to mention this matter and launched his own actions much earlier.

He had been curious for a long time about the divine ability Du En was hiding, or rather, what was implicated behind that divine ability.

However, it had not been a very suitable time point before.

Because the existence of Meng Changqing could not be ignored!

The border city of Nanmo was different from other cities in the Southern Lands. After the journey to Nancang, it had been brought under Meng Changqing's actual control. If True Monarch Buyi wanted to go there to investigate properly, he could not avoid this Junior Brother.

So, as things stood now, his own affairs had come to a temporary end, and Meng Changqing was forced into deep seclusion; it was an excellent opportunity. If he missed it, once Meng Changqing broke through and reached the Integration Stage even faster, the Southern Lands would become like other places, gradually turning into an iron bucket and becoming the actual controlled territory of True Monarch Changmeng!

"If you call it 'wretched,' that is indeed an experience I haven't had in a long time—five or six thousand years, perhaps. But, to speak carefully, it is related to the situation I want to warn you about."

True Monarch Zhuding did not hide the failure of those years; he merely retracted his light smile and put on a serious expression.

"Oh?"

"If possible, I hope you do not go there in the form of an avatar or incarnation, but rather go in person with your true physical body."

"..."

True Monarch Buyi could not help but fall into silence.

Going in person with his true body—this warning seemed wrong no matter how he looked at it.

What if it were a scheme to lure the tiger away from the mountain? Whether he stayed in his own sect, went to the Northern Lands, or even went to the various star realms under his command, he could maintain a state of being almost completely in control. But if his true body went to the Southern Lands, a region not under his governance, it would be inevitable that someone would take advantage of the situation! Do not be fooled by the fact that these high-level True Monarchs of the Immortal Gate have the same grand goal and maintain a superficial alliance; one could tell from all the previous events that there would be no shortage of operations to drag each other down or stab each other in the back! Both struggling and cooperating, intertwined, with teeth clashing in chaos...

So True Monarch Buyi asked directly: "Why?"

Facing this stubborn and unyielding Junior Brother, True Monarch Zhuding seemed to sigh, knowing that if he could not produce a reasonable explanation, the other party would not care at all and would only continue along his original plan.

Thus, he paused and said: "Don't you think that the way my avatar acted at that time seemed somewhat mindless?"

"Could it not be that you have been invincible for many years, breeding arrogance, and slipped up due to carelessness?"

True Monarch Buyi was blunt.

True Monarch Zhuding then changed his angle: "Speaking of which, why did Junior Sister Huiqing not choose to strike at Du En back then, when he was traveling in the Southern Lands? Was it truly that there was no room or opportunity?"

"You mean?"

"Yes, through the subsequent secret investigations I conducted, I found traces that she had once sent an avatar to Nanmo. But as you know, the matter did not stir up a single ripple afterward—I mean, in the true sense, not a single ripple. She simply returned empty-handed, and only later did she keep increasing the stakes to probe, wasting several good opportunities for nothing."

"So that is how it was..."

True Monarch Buyi immediately fell into thought and deliberation. True Monarch Zhuding's seriousness vanished; he said nothing more and began to chuckle again.

"It seems there are indeed other arrangements made by Master over at Nanmo. Speaking of which, the matter of the Dragon Palace last time was about stimulating the resentment and evil spirits there, echoing from afar to that evil dragon... I know what to do."

True Monarch Buyi spoke in a flat tone. Even though he knew the person opposite him had an intention to let him walk into a fire, he did not care in the slightest.

As long as the other party could persuade him, he would adjust his actions and then begin to step forward with unwavering determination, not caring about anything in front of him.

However, he then asked: "By the way, have you told Junior Brother about this?"

"Heh."

True Monarch Zhuding only smiled, looking as if it went without saying. Seeing that his goal had been achieved, he immediately bid farewell without any hesitation.

Just as he was about to walk away, True Monarch Buyi suddenly spoke again: "Senior Brother, are you... at the peak now?"

"Heh."

True Monarch Zhuding still only answered with a light chuckle, then casually brushed his hair, looking entirely carefree, as if this were his answer.

In the end, one can only rely on guessing...

True Monarch Buyi remained silent, then turned back to seal the mountain and go into a small seclusion first.

About several days later, his injuries fully recovered, he walked out of his Fourth Peak and quietly left the sect.

The movements of the True Monarchs did not cease, and Du En could not truly sleep quietly here, waiting to gestate and repair himself again. In fact, just like the muttering that emerged after Jiang Ying realized it, he could not have truly burned himself to death before.

Although he had indeed sacrificed his own profound essence, he was truly "proven once, proven forever." At most, he would fall into a deep coma for a while afterward, and then, as various profound mysteries recovered, he would quickly recuperate and wake up again, lively and active.

This time, he even used the power of the Vermillion Bird Holy Spirit to press the main body of the Phoenix Remnant Hatred—which had been very unstable and wanted to emerge again, having a great influence on him—back into the deepest depths.

"Overall, it is still considered smooth; the risk was worth it after all."

During the gestation, both the body and the primordial spirit fell into silence and slumber, but his personal consciousness was very active. Without realizing it, he arrived at a very special state where he could clearly examine and perceive every detail of his body, while simultaneously being able to do other things.

It was like a dream yet not a dream, like an illusion yet not an illusion.

If one had to say, it was somewhat like the state of a demonic beast receiving its own bloodline inheritance, with the mind immersed in a mysterious and profound realm where the sense of time was elongated, allowing him to quickly accept and digest the various information contained deep within the bloodline.

"This is not too unexpected. After all, the origin of the Holy God is closely related to the Demon Race Emperor, that Sun God Bird, the Three-Legged Golden Crow, and the Source of Ten Thousand Lights is also its symbol."

Although he was slumbering inside the egg, the various messages from outside the egg could still be known to him, so the confirmation from Meng Changqing was naturally heard as well.

Now that he had fully adapted to his current state, Du En also had to begin his new daily routine.

Calling it "new" wasn't really new; it was just another form of grinding and bitter cultivation.

By practicing, he could accelerate his recovery from pregnancy; at the same time, in this current state and under these conditions, practicing the Radiant Brilliance Canon and other arts was truly excellent and marvelous.

"Especially the hint obtained from the Vermilion Bird Holy Spirit; as expected, the 'Burning Together with the World' true method, which was re-deduced and supplemented by the Supreme, exists with subtle differences. It is not considered 'true'. Utilizing this opportunity, perhaps I can trace the source back to the origin, or even go a step further..."

Du En thought this, and began to enter a state of cultivation.

And cultivation within a place similar to an inheritance realm could also be said to be a matter of opening up one's body and mind to accept the various inheritances flowing here.

Boom! Suddenly, a loud vibration made him feel a sudden trance.

When he opened his eyes again, he discovered that he had actually immersed himself in an even deeper special state, as if wandering through a segment of memory; it was extremely marvelous and rare.

However, at this very moment, what concerned him most was not this special situation.

It was this segment of inherited memory.

He only saw that in the sky, coming from the east, a path spread out that was incomparably profound, yet blank within the memory, as if it had split the boundless and infinite sky; it was extremely terrifying, and even across the memory and across all sorts of barriers, it could make his mind and spirit fluctuate violently.

It is the Falling Feather Heavenly Scar! It is the same as the Heavenly Scar that appeared at the Dragon Palace, only there is a world of difference in scale, degree, and depth.

Or rather, this is the true Falling Feather Heavenly Scar! It cannot be obstructed, cannot be resisted, cannot be shaken, and it just kept spreading forward like that!

Its target is a sun! "Falling Feather!"

From within that great sun, a low reprimand was emitted, containing a will that commanded the world, with none daring to disobey. Accompanying this sound, the tides of heaven and earth roared and rolled, directly slamming fiercely toward that Heavenly Scar.

An ordinary True Monarch, just by being swept into it, would perish on the spot and turn into fuel for the tides.

Even an ordinary Venerable could not casually take this move and would need to respond with the utmost solemnity!

Being able to possess such terrifying and great power, the identity of this great sun was already ready to be revealed.

Golden Crow Emperor Venerable!

So, this was the decisive battle fought between the Demon race and the Immortal Sects back then for the sake of hegemony!

That Emperor Venerable used his own strength to pioneer the true Demon Law, truly transforming the countless demon beasts—which were originally like scattered sand and could never be twisted into a single rope—into a single race.

It was not at all like the great single races such as Dragons and Qilin, which could only be annexed by suppression, enslavement, assimilation, and absorption; rather, he found that fundamental point of consistency among thousands upon thousands of demons and beasts of countless species, and then, crossing the framework of bloodlines, formed a race on a higher level of Dharma lineage.

The Dharma lineage of Demons!

It could even be said that as long as the Golden Crow Emperor Venerable was given time, even those like humans and dragons could actually all be absorbed into it.

Therefore, he wanted to contend for hegemony over the world, he wanted to bring all spirits together; this was his path to becoming an Immortal! And then, the battle Du En was currently witnessing must have occurred.

However, why is it the Falling Feather Supreme?

Although Du En was disturbed by the offensive of both sides, the tranquility of his mind had not been lost, and he quickly captured this key point.

Looking solely at the direction from which the Falling Feather Heavenly Scar spread, it should be that the Golden Crow Emperor Venerable was attacking from the west to the east, and to the west of the Falling Feather Immortal Sect is that Twilight Azure Immortal Sect.

Du En did not believe that the Twilight Azure Supreme would allow these two great Venerables to break out into a great war on his own territory.

Therefore, either the battlefield was not on the Ancestral Star—naturally, the main territories of the five great Immortal Sects were not here, so there was no such problem—or there were other deeper reasons, only he did not know them.

Du En had no clues and could only put aside this line of thought, staring intently at the great battle as it continued to unfold.

It was very clear that the mere trick of driving the heaven and earth was meaningless to the Falling Feather Supreme; the Falling Feather Heavenly Scar continued to spread, and its speed was getting faster and faster.

The great sun was enraged.

Infinite, brilliant light, incomparably scorching, erupted forth, instantly evaporating continents and stars; even time and space seemed to roll and boil, the principles and laws were thereby turned to the surface layer, and the entire star field looked like a pool of boiling, turbid water.

Then, suddenly, black appeared; a black sphere appeared before the great sun, the scale was just as large, as if they were two forms separated by a mirror in the same place, corresponding in parallel, and then in the next instant, they directly overlapped together.

The invisible fluctuations expanded instantly, and Du En's mind and spirit could not help but stagnate; his vision and gaze stopped completely, and he did not know how much time had passed before they gradually began to flow and operate again, and his thoughts surged once more.

All who see it stop! Even across the inherited memory and across the barriers of time and space, it could easily cause this situation.

When the flow recovered to a certain degree, flower-like objects flashed at the edge of Du En's vision.

It was the principles and laws blooming in competition! One flower was one law and one principle; just what Du En had been able to glimpse just now was already more than one hundred flowers, so he simply could not confirm, and even less understand, how many divine abilities and Dharma arts the Golden Crow Emperor Venerable was simultaneously activating at that time.

Strong! Undeniably powerful! This is the dignified Emperor Venerable, the emperor among Venerables, the terrifying strength of the Lord of the Demon race! (End of chapter)