The Global Situation

On the way back to the Demon Abyss, Xu Xian did not board that Cloud Boat.

Instead, he rode in a carriage from the Demon God Palace, accompanied by Chi Ji and Huang Xiao.

The High and Low Priests followed in secret.

Chi Ming was left behind, and the demon guards did not withdraw, remaining to garrison the Blazing Fortress.

The experts from the other worlds had left, but unrest still lingered outside the Demon Abyss.

Fearing their return, they had to remain on guard.

After all, the news that the demon son of the Demon Abyss had obtained the legacy of the Emperor's Tomb was already causing a stir throughout the world, and it was hard to guarantee that no one would covet it.

The journey back to the Nether Capital was quiet.

Neither the High and Low Priests nor Chi Ji and Huang Xiao asked Bai Mang about the Emperor's Tomb or mentioned that giant beast.

Perhaps, in their subconscious, they had already decided that the gargantuan creature was one of the legacies Bai Mang had obtained in the Emperor's Tomb.

Otherwise, how could such a terrifying beast exist in Fanzhou?

Moreover, none of that mattered anymore. They only needed to know that the current demon son possessed the power and strength to face a demon god head-on.

However, the world outside had much to say.

Some said the Wendao Sword Sect was too overbearing.

Some said Bai Mang was too terrifying.

Others even said that the Wendao Sword Sect and the Demon Abyss were already thick as thieves, and those who had left in frustration even began to curse the Wendao Sword Sect.

If the four saints of the Wendao Sword Sect hadn't intervened, the Demon Abyss would have been razed long ago.

If the four saints of the Wendao Sword Sect could act, what would it matter if Bai Mang summoned a giant creature?

Could it really sweep across the world?

If they had acted, a potential threat like Bai Mang could have been completely nipped in the bud.

Now, things were different. Xu Xian of the Wendao Sword Sect had not yet withdrawn his sharp edge, and now a Bai Mang had suddenly emerged with a powerful rise.

He had become a serious concern for the various factions of Fanzhou, a sword hanging over their heads.

If Bai Mang did not die today and retreated to the Nether Pool, there would be no other chance to eliminate him in the future.

They felt that this loss was truly suffocating.

Yet, some saints who saw through the clues and understood the truth lived with a peculiar clarity—a helpless kind of clarity.

They told their juniors that the Wendao Sword Sect had indeed made a move.

The juniors were confused.

They made a move?

That wasn't what they had seen.

They had stepped in to protect Bai Mang and the Demon Abyss.

The juniors eventually came to their senses.

It did indeed seem to be the case.

However, they couldn't help but feel anxious.

Although they cursed the Wendao Sword Sect and the Demon Abyss for being in league with each other, it was merely an emotional vent.

If it were truly the case, who in this world would be happy about it?

A single Wendao Sword Sect had been enough to influence the global situation of Fanzhou for ten thousand years. Adding the Demon Abyss to the mix would be unthinkable.

If it were the Demon Abyss of the past, it wouldn't have mattered. Since the death of the demon sovereign, the demon race's momentum had faded, unable to stir up any major waves.

But now it was different, with the sudden appearance of Bai Mang.

In the future, if the Wendao Sword Sect and the Demon Abyss truly stood together, they couldn't imagine what kind of scene that would be.

With a demon son and the Golden Generation of the Wendao Sword Sect, who in the mortal realm could rival them within a thousand years?

By then, they feared even the North Sea would be unable to restrain the madness of this force.

It wasn't just the juniors who were worried. The saints standing at the peak of power had similar concerns.

For instance, the Three Sects and Six Schools of the Central Plains.

The decline of the East Desolation, the activity in the North Sea, the rise of the Demon Abyss, the emergence of Bai Mang, and the shifting global situation forced them to reassess the position of the Central Plains.

The relationship with the Wendao Sword Sect could no longer remain at a standstill.

They knew very well that in the near future, the emergence of the Demon Abyss and the North Sea's return to the world would inevitably affect the Central Plains.

The only way to avoid it was for the Wendao Sword Sect, caught in the middle of these many forces, to balance everything.

And whomever the Wendao Sword Sect leaned toward would hold the initiative.

The Northern Borders were the shield of the Central Plains.

The Wendao Sword Sect was an even sharper double-edged sword.

The rise of the Wendao Sword Sect ten thousand years ago had brought ten thousand years of peace to the Central Plains.

They knew clearly that the existence of the Wendao Sword Sect was necessary.

Especially when alien races rose, they needed the Wendao Sword Sect as a barrier.

There was no doubt about this.

Before, the Central Plains had no qualms because they firmly believed that the current Wendao Sword Sect had long since become a lonely boat on the sea.

They were not tolerated by demons, spirits, monsters, or beasts.

However, the events at the Emperor's Tomb forced them to wake up.

The favoritism shown by the four saints was completely undisguised, and even the descendant of the Tushan Immortal Fox had joined the Wendao Sword Sect.

All these things were sending them a signal.

The Wendao Sword Sect was no longer the sect that merely dominated a corner and lived in isolation.

They swept the East Desolation with their swords.

They protected the Demon Abyss.

They even broke the ten-thousand-year rule of not recruiting other races for the sake of an immortal fox descendant and an innate auspicious beast.

Everything was changing.

The situation in Fanzhou was changing, and the Wendao Sword Sect was changing too.

And the changes in the Wendao Sword Sect pointed toward a path of aspiring to rule the world.

This was exactly what they had been most worried about all along.

Now, it had truly appeared.

The saints looked far ahead and saw a great distance, which filled them with anxiety and a sense of impending loss.

Their minds were clear and their eyes sharp, allowing them to see the clues, which filled them with fear and unease.

If their guesses were correct, the thousand-year shift in Fanzhou was imminent.

And in this shifting tide, they could find no way to resolve the crisis originating from the Wendao Sword Sect.

As the torrent of history surged toward them, they didn't know what to do.

Should they go with the flow, catch the wind, and join them if they couldn't beat them?

They weren't willing.

Should they go against the current, seeking a way to break the situation and find new life through the tribulation?

They couldn't afford to lose.

All sorts of worries plagued them, and all these changes had started because of one person.

He had come.

Fanzhou was in chaos.

Just like Li Taibai ten thousand years ago. He had come, Fanzhou was thrown into chaos, and the Northern Borders found peace.

Only, the humans of that era had chosen correctly and profited.

The three races had chosen wrongly and suffered.

This time, history was repeating itself, and they didn't know if they could choose correctly again.

As the saying goes, the times make the hero. In this era of great contention, who could truly stay out of it?

The juniors couldn't see the clues and could just live in the moment.

But the saints were different. They had to plan ahead and arrange things in advance, all to seize the initiative and primal fortune.

"This move was a mistake."

"The next one... we cannot afford to get wrong."

...

On the way back through the Demon Abyss, Xu Xian tirelessly counted all the gains from this trip to the Emperor's Tomb once more.

He had collected tens of thousands of storage bags.

Their values varied.

He had also stripped a lot of armor and weapons.

According to a rough estimate, if he sold everything, it would be an astronomical figure.

Even the spirit stones he had scavenged were enough to build the fifth floor of the tower.

Immortal bones filled the sky above the Divine Sword Pool, packed so densely that their value could not be measured in spirit stones.

Of course, Xu Xian hadn't decided how to use those yet.

Finally, there were the rare materials, which were enough to build the fourth floor with some left over.

Thus, Xu Xian was in a very good mood, and the smile in his eyes never faded throughout the journey.

And these were just the visible benefits.

There were also invisible ones.

That was the Old Tortoise's compromise.

To be honest, Xu Xian was quite surprised himself. He didn't know why that Old Tortoise had suddenly become so easy to talk to.

Its attitude had improved.

Its voice had softened.

When Xu Xian asked it to do something, it did it eagerly without even mentioning a single condition.

The only slight flaw...

Xu Xian sat in the carriage, rubbing his chin as he said with a hint of regret, "It is a pity I didn't get to pick the Twilight Emperor's pockets. Even that little turtle was so wealthy, so that old guy must have had plenty of good stuff."