Among those present, the Taihao Dao Lord, the Zilei Dao Lord, and the Kunong Dao Lord fell into deep thought. Only Wuji, Qingming, Huangtian, and Tianta seemed not to understand the significance of the five words Chen Xu had just spoken.
The Qingming Dao Lord looked toward the Hunyuan Dao Lord and asked, “Brother Hunyuan, what do the words Martial, Immortal, Divine, Shamanic, and Yokai, as spoken by Fellow Daoist Chen, mean?”
The Hunyuan Dao Lord took the whisk from his arms and flicked it forward, sprinkling points of celestial qi that sketched out a vision.
“Martial, Immortal, Divine, Shamanic, and Yokai represent the five major transcendent systems of the Myriad Worlds today. Martial is the Martial Path, Immortal is the Immortal Path, Divine refers to the Path of the Gods, Shamanic refers to the miscellaneous occult paths, and Yokai refers to those creatures currently causing such a stir.”
With another flick of the Hunyuan Dao Lord’s whisk, the vision in the air became clear. Everyone looked and saw it was a depiction of a great hunt.
“In the past, the Dao Lords who participated in the Battle of Demon Subduing were composed of these five systems: Martial, Immortal, Divine, Shamanic, and Yokai.
“The Mother of Hell has come seeking revenge. Alas, when demons are not completely eradicated, the consequences are endless.”
“Does this Mother of Hell truly have such great ability that she dares to declare war on the five major systems simultaneously?”
The Huangtian Dao Lord didn’t seem to believe this claim. In his view, the five major systems were even more powerful than the five special worlds.
The Dao Lords of the five systems combined numbered in the dozens. No matter how powerful the Mother of Hell was, she was still only at the Unique-tier. How could she possibly withstand a siege from so many Dao Lords at once?
“Alas, in ancient times, the various transcendent systems were still in their exploratory phases, and the relationships between them were far better than they are now.
“Back then, for the sake of peace and tranquility in the Myriad Worlds, they could stand together and strike down demons as one.
“But today, strife between transcendents is constant; it is nowhere near as harmonious as it was in ancient times.
“Setting everything else aside, take our relationship with the Yokai Realm. With so many years of accumulated grievances, how could we ever return to that time? How could we stand side-by-side again? We’re lucky if we don’t start fighting each other immediately.
“Even if the Mother of Hell truly launches a massive invasion, who today could pull together another force to subdue the demons?”
“Indeed, who could?”
The Tianta Dao Lord seemed to resonate deeply with the Hunyuan Dao Lord’s words.
“That Yokai Realm is becoming increasingly unreasonable. It was clearly they who struck first, yet they insist on blaming our Immortal Dao for being unjust and allowing cultivators to slaughter yokai indiscriminately.
“Hmph! It was clearly that small yokai kingdom that first violated the taboos, enslaving humans, using them as blood sustenance, and even selling them through black markets across the Yokai Realm.
“Even more hateful is that they’ve been sneaking into the territories under the Immortal civilization’s rule to kidnap talented children to use as breeding studs! It is absolutely detestable!”
The more the Tianta Dao Lord spoke, the angrier he became. His hair stood on end, and the majestic aura surrounding him began to leak out slightly.
“Calm yourself, Brother Tianta. The strife between Immortals and Yokai has lasted so long; we’ve known the nature of those demons for a long time. There is no need to stoke your internal fires over this,” the Qingming Dao Lord consoled him.
“Alas, Sister Qingming, you don’t know! Not long ago, the Dragon Emperor of the Yokai Realm personally descended upon the Immortal-Yokai Minor Realm, intending to stir up a world-destroying flood to slaughter the cultivators within.
“After I discovered him, he had the audacity to play the victim, claiming my Immortal Dao was despicable for committing low-down acts of theft—claiming we stole various secret treasures from within their Dragon Palace, such as a Golden-Winged Great Roc Plume, Living Soil from the dawn of the world’s creation, and some sort of orb left behind by the Dragon Ancestor.
“Hmph! It is simply preposterous!”
A Roc Plume? Living Soil? A Dragon Orb? These items sounded incredibly familiar to Chen Xu.
Wait, weren’t these the treasures Kunpeng had opened from the Secret Treasure Palace? Chen Xu secretly opened his interface to check the description of the Secret Treasure Palace again.
【Secret Treasure Palace: The Dragon Palace of the East Sea contains ten thousand treasures; the treasures of the Dragon Palace are coveted by the Myriad Worlds. The Secret Treasure Palace periodically uses supreme secret methods to steal treasures from the Dragon Palaces across the Myriad Worlds, sealing them into Secret Treasure Boxes.
【Each generation produces ten Secret Treasure Boxes. One may be selected to be opened, and the other treasures will be returned to their original locations.】
Holy crap! So the Secret Treasure Boxes generated in the Secret Treasure Palace were actually stolen from the Dragon Palaces of the Myriad Worlds!
Chen Xu had thought the interface description was a joke—that the boxes were treasures manifested from the world’s origin or mirrors intercepted from the river of history.
Who would have thought it was actual, real-time theft? A total zero-dollar shopping spree!
According to the Tianta Dao Lord’s description, the Dragon Emperor who could argue with him must also be at the Unique-tier. If even a Unique-tier being couldn’t stop the Secret Treasure Palace from stealing treasures, that supreme secret method really was something else.
Chen Xu’s subconscious surprise was noticed by the Tianta Dao Lord, who assumed Chen Xu found the Yokai race’s excuses laughable.
“Fellow Daoist Chen, you also find the Yokai race unreasonable, don’t you? Their Yokai Realm Dragon Emperor sits in his Dragon Palace, yet he claims treasures were lost. Isn’t he just trying to say that one of our Immortal Dao Lords broke the rules and struck across realms?”
Chen Xu gave an awkward smile, his mind racing. He quickly thought of a perfect scapegoat.
“Fellow Daoist Tianta, I was wondering... could there be a black hand hidden behind the scenes, someone who wants to muddy the waters and even incite a war between Immortals and Yokai?”
Upon hearing this, a sharp glint appeared in the Hunyuan Dao Lord’s eyes.
“Fellow Daoist Chen, you mean... the Mother of Hell?”
Chen Xu nodded, feeling a sense of relief in his heart.
“Yes! Why didn’t I think of that? The Mother of Hell laid a trap in the Sea of Spirit, spreading corruption and involving the Martial Path, even hooking into the martial providence.
“There must be a plot by the Mother of Hell behind the Yokai Realm as well. This Mother of Hell may seem crazed, but her schemes are deep. She is brewing a terrifying, unimaginably massive conspiracy.”
“Fellow Daoist Hunyuan, is it possible you are overthinking this? Conflicts between the Yokai and Immortal paths have existed for a long time. The recent escalation might just be the inevitable result of time,” the Kunong Dao Lord said, not sensing Hell’s shadow behind this.
However, the Hunyuan Dao Lord did not agree. “The Martial Path has already fallen into the snare; how could the Immortal and Yokai paths escape? If she can exploit the rift between Immortals and Yokai, the Mother of Hell can take them down easily without lifting a finger.
“By then, the Martial, Immortal, and Yokai paths will all be in the Mother of Hell’s palm. How could the remaining Shamanic and Divine paths possibly resist?”
“Then, what is your suggestion, Fellow Daoist Hunyuan?”
The Hunyuan Dao Lord thought for a moment and offered a plan. “Ally with the Martial Path to resist the Yokai, using force to deter them.
“In this current situation, if we fight the Yokai Realm, it will only benefit the Mother of Hell.
“Only by uniting with the Martial Path can we make the Yokai Realm hesitate to act, ensuring they do not dare to invade and allowing us to gain a brief period of peace.
“Then, we can take the opportunity to secretly investigate whether there truly is a black hand from the Mother of Hell at work on the Yokai side.
“Or, we could work together with the Martial Path, Fellow Daoist Chen, and the Lord of Heaven to deal with the Mother of Hell first, thoroughly eliminating this dire threat.
“What do you all think?”
Everyone fell into contemplation, weighing the Hunyuan Dao Lord’s suggestion.
However, at that moment, the Tianta Dao Lord’s expression suddenly changed, and he let out a loud cry.
“Oh no! The Yokai are storming the pass!”
Rate on N.U.
