Chapter 1951: Charging to the Front Lines Again

With Jian Chen's status in the Xuandao Empire, borrowing the teleportation formation was naturally nothing. Although he had turned down the emperor's engagement, the emperor's enthusiasm towards Jian Chen remained the same. He personally took Jian Chen to the teleportation formation in the imperial palace, allowing Jian Chen to use it for free despite the high cost of activating it.

After stating the position, the teleportation formation immediately activated. With a powerful force, Jian Chen who stood in the teleportation formation directly vanished.

In the prosperous imperial capital of the Heavenly Moon Empire, the City of Sun and Moon, the streets were bustling as noises and shouts rang out. Smartly dressed officials or high-ranking members of organisations moved along the bustling streets with simply-dressed cultivators. Endless stores filled the two sides of the streets and were crowded with people.

As an ancient empire that was on the same level as the Xuandao Empire, the Heavenly Moon Empire naturally possessed an imperial capital that was no less impressive than the one in the Xuandao Empire. A few people with quite some status in the southern region gathered here.

In the centre of the City of Sun and Moon was a castle-like structure. People gathered in there in groups of threes and twos. Nearby, four extremely profound teleportation formations were carved into the ground.

Two of the teleportations were relatively smaller. They were roughly ten meters in diameter. As for the other two teleportation formations, they were larger, a total of thirty meters wide. Not only were the pulses of energy that they gave off stronger, but the inscriptions were also more complicated and profound.

All the people in the castle handed over different sums of divine crystals to an old man there before jumping onto the teleportation formation that was only ten meters wide and leaving.

The second teleportation formation of the same size would flicker with white light from time to time. Each time the white light dispersed, groups of people of varying sizes would appear.

One was an entrance, while the other was an exit!

Compared to the two ten-meter-wide formations, the two other formations were much more desolate. They would not be used even over several months.

However, at this moment, one of the thirty-meter-wide formations suddenly emitted a pulse of powerful energy. The energy was so powerful that it was several times greater than the two ten-meter-wide formations.

"The regional teleportation formation is responding. Someone is coming from another region."

"The regional teleportation formation is only used once every several years. It costs an astronomical amount of divine crystals every time. I wonder which great person has come from the other regions."

For a time, the people in the surroundings all looked towards the teleportation formation as they discussed softly.

Under everyone's attention, a young man who only seemed to be in his twenties appeared in the teleportation formation. He wore white robes, and he concealed his presence. As a result, he seemed like an ordinary person.

However, his resolute, handsome face possessed some coldness such that his ordinary eyes made many people present feel a frightening pressure.

"This person must be an expert!"

Many people secretly commented around the teleportation formation. Their gazes were filled with envy and respect.

To no surprise, the young man was Jian Chen.

Jian Chen did not stick around for long. Once he left the teleportation formation, he made his way outside the castle. He purchased a map in the imperial capital and hurried off after gaining his bearings. He did not waste any time at all.

When he had chosen a path of retreat for the Tian Yuan clan before, he had cast down a teleportation formation in the Heavenly Moon Empire. However, the teleportation formation was extremely distant from the imperial capital of the Heavenly Moon Empire. As a result, he needed to hurry to where he had initially cast down the formation. Only then could he return to the Divine Kingdom of Pingtian in the shortest amount of time possible.

As the ruler of the Dong'an province, the Tian Yuan clan' was clearly rather lethargic. A stifling atmosphere loomed over Tian Yuan clan.

This was because the patriarch who supported the clan had already vanished for many days. His situation was still unknown.

Jian Chen was everything to the Tian Yuan clan. Even though the clan possessed other Overgods, they were nowhere near close to replacing Jian Chen.

As a result, Jian Chen's disappearance had affected the clan greatly.

"I hope that the patriarch can return safely."

"The Tian Yuan clan can't afford to lose patriarch Jian Chen."

At this moment, Mo Ling, Ando Fu, and the former patriarch of the Mo clan, Mo Xingfeng, gathered together. Their faces were all filled with worry.

Mo Xingfeng had now become a God after receiving a large number of resources from the Tian Yuan clan, becoming an elder of the Tian Yuan clan.

Right at this moment, their faces froze. Their eyes widened as they stared ahead in surprise.

The white-clothed Jian Chen slowly made his way out of the forbidden grounds.

"P- patriarch?" The three of them cried out in disbelief. At that moment, the three of them were completely puzzled.

As everyone knew, the patriarch of the Tian Yuan clan had been captured by the commander of the seventh army, Yaxi Lian. There was no news regarding his situation apart from that.

But now, the patriarch, who was rumored to be captured by Yaxi Lian, had just emerged from the forbidden grounds in perfect condition. The three of them found this rather difficult to understand.

"What's the situation at the front lines? Are Sacredfeather and the others fine?" Jian Chen asked rather nervously with a stern face. He was afraid that something he did not wish to see had happened during the time he was away.

"Elder Sacredfeather and the others are well, and elder Sacredfeather and elder Houston have become Overgods," Mo Ling said. He was overly excited, causing his face to become flushed.

Jian Chen finally let out a breath of relief. He could not help but smile slightly before immediately charging off for the front lines.

The battle continued near the boundary of the Divine Kingdom of Pingtian. The tough walls had already completely collapsed, forcing the armies on the side of the divine kingdom to form lines of defence to stop the soldiers from the Empyrean Demon Cult.

In this battle, the Divine Kingdom of Pingtian had used all they had. Not only had all the people from the divine kingdom sent more people from their clans, but even most of the guards had been relocated away from the royal capital. The Royal Divine Army had been mobilised as well.

Aside from the Divine Kingdom of Pingtian, the nearby divine kingdoms had sent large numbers of soldiers as well. They used spatial treasures to move them over from various places. They could only fend off the soldiers from the three armies of the Empyrean Demon Cult by pouring together the strength of several divine kingdoms.

The divine king hovered in the sky as he looked around at the battlefield. He was not very optimistic inside while his brows had remained furrowed the entire time.

On the other side, vice-leader Huai An stood with his arms crossed, hovering there leisurely. He smiled faintly as if victory was already in his grasp.

He stared at the sky. Through his unique cultivation method, he could clearly sense invisible energy of souls gather in the sky. All of it was sucked towards the sea of blood at the headquarters.

"Most of the mission from the grand elder has been completed," Huai An thought. He understood very well that the Empyrean Demon Cult did not attack to invade this time. Rather, they attacked to create endless slaughter so that they could gather the energy of souls.

Suddenly, Huai An's eyes narrowed. He stared behind the divine king. With his eyes as a Primordial realm expert, he could clearly see a figure shoot over with lightning speed on a sword.

"It's Jian Chen! How is he still alive?" Huai An frowned.

At the same time, the divine king sensed Jian Chen make his way over from behind. He was slightly surprised, and soon afterwards, he seemed to think of something. Understanding filled his face.

"Greetings, your majesty!"

Jian Chen arrived before the divine king very soon. He clasped his hands and bowed at the divine king.

"Good, very good! As long as you're fine!" The divine king nodded with a smile. Jian Chen's return had cleared up some of the gloom within him.

"Jian Chen, where's the commander of the seventh army, Yaxi Lian?" Huai An growled. He suddenly experienced an ill omen after seeing Jian Chen in perfect condition.

Jian Chen smiled with deep meaning when he heard Huai An mention Yaxi Lian. He said, "Your majesty, I just happen to have a small gift for you." With that, Jian Chen immediately brought out Yaxi Lian, who had been imprisoned in the Bright Moon Divine Hall.

Right now, Yaxi Lian's cultivation remained sealed, so she was unable to use her great strength at all. She was like a sitting duck in Jian Chen's hands.

"Yaxi Lian!" Huai An's face changed drastically as he cried out. Disbelief had completely filled his face.

This was because the outcome was completely different from what he had imagined. It could be described as the exact opposite.

Huai An moved very soon, flying towards Yaxi Lian as quickly as he could. He wanted to save Yaxi Lian from Jian Chen.

Primordial realm experts were so fast that Jian Chen could not even react.

"Huai An, if you take another step forward, I'll wipe out her soul," the divine king's voice rang out. He had already appeared before Jian Chen silently with his hand pressed on Yaxi Lian's head.

With his strength as a Primordial realm expert, he only needed to press down gently, and Yaxi Lian's soul would be wiped out instantly. Even Huai An would not be able to save her in time.

Huai An came to a halt when he heard the divine king's words. His face had darkened as he glanced extremely sternly at Yaxi Lian, who had the divine king's hand on her head. The light in his eyes flickered with uncertainty.

In the end, Huai An did not dare to advance any further. However, he did not back off either. He glared at Jian Chen and said coldly, "How impressive, Jian Chen. I never thought you really did have some ability for even Yaxi Lian to end up in your hands."

"There's a Primordial realm expert behind this brat. If it weren't for her, how would he have been able to escape from me with just his own abilities?" Yaxi Lian snorted coldly. Her face was calm and composed. Even though her life was in the hands of the divine king, she did not become flustered at all.

Chapter 1952: The Fox Saint Elder

"A Primordial realm expert?" Huai An snorted coldly as his gaze became extremely frigid. He growled, "I really do have to look into this matter carefully and see just which Primordial realm expert dares to stand against our Empyrean Demon Cult. It's nothing even if we lose if it's a battle between Primordial realm experts, but our Empyrean Demon Cult will never drop a matter where a Primordial realm expert lowers themselves to deal with a Godking. We will pursue the matter to the end."

Huai An stared at the divine king at this moment and said, "Pingtian, release Yaxi Lian!"

The divine king smiled and said, "Huai An, looking at how much you're worrying, Yaxi Lian must be quite important to you."

As he said that, the divine king could not help but press down harder on Yaxi Lian's head. The laws of the Primordial realm vaguely condensed as he threatened Huai An," It's not impossible for me to release Yaxi Lian. Your Empyrean Demon Cult just has to retreat immediately."

"Retreat? That's completely impossible," Huai An said icily. His gaze was extremely cold, and there was heavy killing intent when he looked at Jian Chen in particular.

If it were not for the Primordial realm expert behind Jian Chen capturing Yaxi Lian, why would he, Huai An, be forced into negotiating?

This was all because of Jian Chen.

"I can never let this Jian Chen go. Even if I ignore how great of a problem he'll become once he matures, just what he has done to Yaxi Lian cannot be forgiven," killing intent filled Huai An inside.

At this moment, he was even tempted to ignore the divine king and directly try to kill Jian Chen. However, Yaxi Lian was in the divine king's hands right now, so he did not dare to act recklessly.

"Since your Empyrean Demon Cult won't retreat, I can only lower myself to personally kill the commander of the seventh army. With that, the strength of your cult will weaken," the divine king said icily. It was filled with firm killing intent.

He was also someone who could kill without hesitation. Since they could not come to terms, he had no need to keep Yaxi Lian alive!

"Stop!"

Right when the divine king was about to kill Yaxi Lian, Huai An suddenly called out.

The divine king remained indifferent. Powerful laws had condensed around his hand on Yaxi Lian's head.

"Huai An, have you through it through?" The divine king asked as he glared at Huai An.

"Pingtian, I'll be honest. You can't kill Yaxi Lian, because if you do, your Divine Kingdom of Pingtian will definitely be annihilated. That's because Yaxi Lian is a direct disciple of one of the eight elders, the Fox Saint Elder. At the same time, she's the Fox Saint Elder's only disciple. You should be able to guess just how important she is to the Fox Saint Elder," Huai An growled.

"The Fox Saint Elder?" The divine king frowned. His understanding of the Empyrean Demon Cult was limited to only the branch on the Cloud Plane. Clearly, the Fox Saint Elder of the eight elders had already surpassed the limits of the Cloud Plane.

"I never thought she would actually be the direct disciple of the Fox Saint Elder. Pingtian, we really can't kill this Yaxi Lian because no one is the Fox Saint Elder's opponent in the southern region apart from the eternal Blood Sun Empire, including us ancient empires."

At this moment, an ancient voice suddenly boomed out in the divine king's head.

The divine king knew who the voice came from. He was a Primordial realm ancestor of the imperial family of the Heavenly Moon Empire. He remained with the imperial family. Thanks to his powerful soul, he was able to communicate with him from so far away.

The divine king thought quickly and said to Huai An, "So what if she's the direct disciple of the Fox Saint Elder? There will be losses when the two armies clash. If the Fox Saint Elder really is bold enough to come, do you think the Blood Sun Empire will just stand by? Getting me to release her for nothing is impossible."

Huai An became uneasy. After a very long pause, he said, "Pingtian, getting me to retreat is impossible. However, I can give you seven days to regroup in exchange for Yaxi Lian."

Huai An was out of choices with the current situation. Yaxi Lian's identity was just too special. If something were to happen to her, he would not be able to bear the consequences.

"Seven days are too short. Give me a month," the divine king said coldly.

"Ten days!" Huai An also responded coldly.

In the end, they agreed to a ceasefire of half a month.

Although half a month was very short, the time would allow the side of the divine kingdom to greatly regroup, allowing them to deploy even more troops.

With the ceasefire, both the battle between the Overgods and the Godkings stopped at that moment. They all returned to their respective bases.

It was just that there were far fewer of them compared to the beginning of the battle.

A third of all the Overgods had passed away, while several Godkings had died as well.

However, when they saw Jian Chen standing beside the divine king in perfect condition, many of them became deeply surprised.

"Brother, this is fantastic. I knew you'd be fine." Sacredfeather arrived before Jian Chen as soon as possible. There was excitement and joy on his face that he struggled to hide.

Right now, Sacredfeather was covered in blood. There were many vicious and horrifying wounds on him.

Behind him, Houston, Rui Jin, Hong Lian, and Hei Yu all let out a breath in relief when they discovered that Jian Chen had returned safely. They all smiled from the bottom of their hearts.

They were also injured to varying degrees. Hei Yu was the most heavily injured out of all of them.

"Let's go back first!" Without talking too much, Jian Chen vanished into the fortress with them.

There was a military base within the fortress, and at the centre of it stood several divine halls. Each divine hall represented a major organisation.

The divine king had also placed a divine hall here for the Divine Kingdom of Pingtian as a place where his people could rest.

Jian Chen directly took Sacredfeather and the others into the divine hall. They directly made their way to a secret room. After that, he took out the best healing pills out of everything he had purchased from the Xuandao Empire.

"These are all high grade pills, so consume them and heal up," Jian Chen said to everyone.

They did not hold back, directly devouring the pills to heal their wounds and replenish their origin energy.

"Brother, sister Mu'er has been taken away," said Sacredfeather. He became rather depressed when he mentioned this.

"What? Mu'er has been taken away?" Jian Chen was surprised. His eyes shone with a shocking light as a powerful presence emanated from his body, "What happened? Who took Mu'er away?"

"It's a sect called the Daoist Sect of Divine Sound..." Everyone explained everything that had happened in a few sentences.

"The Skyfire Plane, the Daoist Sect of Divine Sound," Jian Chen murmured. Instead, he calmed down after learning about this matter. Then, he raised his head and stared at the ceiling of the secret room quietly.

His gaze seemed to be able to penetrate all, reaching into outer space. He seemed to see the distant Skyfire Plane that he had never even heard about.

"Mu'er, I will come looking for you. That day won't be too far away," Jian Chen secretly made up his mind.

Chapter 1953: Hao Yue's Visit

Jian Chen took out a few high quality saint artifacts and three supreme quality saint artifacts afterwards for everyone to choose from.

He had also purchased these saint artifacts from the imperial capital of the Xuandao Empire. There were saint artifacts for both offence and defence.

"The Empyrean Demon Orb can attack and defend. It's enough for me," said Houston. He only took some healing pills.

"These items don't suit me," said Sacredfeather.

In the end, only Rui Jin, Hong Lian, and Hei Yu picked out some high quality saint artifacts to replace the saint artifacts they originally had.

As their strength increased, the saint artifacts that they originally possessed basically were not very useful anymore apart from the bead that could block attacks to the soul.

"Jian Chen, it's rumored that the commander of the seventh army took you away, but Yaxi Lian ended up as your hostage in the end. What's that all about?" Houston asked as he healed.

"It's fairy Hao Yue who saved me. Fairy Hao Yue has already recovered her strength to the Primordial realm now," Jian Chen narrated everything without going into too much detail.

All the people gathered there because stunned when they heard that fairy Hao Yue was already a Primordial realm expert. They all felt some disbelief.

Back on the Tian Yuan Continent, fairy Hao Yue had been reduced to a soul. She was so weak in their eyes, yet now, she had become a Primordial realm expert in such a short amount of time. Everyone found the huge change to be a little unbelievable.

The Primordial realm was a cultivation level that they could only look up to in their eyes! It was insurmountable!

"I brought quite a few things back from my visit to the imperial capital of the Xuandao Empire. They're enough to increase the strength of our entire clan to another level. Once you've mostly recovered, come to the Tian Yuan clan with me. I want to reorganise the Tian Yuan clan during the half a month of ceasefire so that we can truly toil about without worry on the front lines," said Jian Chen.

He thought back to how some unknown people had slaughtered members of the Tian Yuan clan back when they were gathering materials for the teleportation formations.

Before they found out who was behind it all, before they completely eliminated this potential problem, danger would always engulf the Tian Yuan clan.

As a result, Jian Chen was always worried as the patriarch. He was afraid that something would happen in the clan when he was not present.

The Divine Kingdom of Pingtian was not peaceful at all during the ceasefire. The divine king had personally decreed to mobilise all the soldiers in the Divine Kingdom of Pingtian, moving them all to the front line. At the same time, he began recruiting many soldiers in the divine kingdom as well.

Moreover, the divine king communicated with the Primordial realm experts of the Heavenly Moon Empire through his soul, asking for even more reinforcements because the divine kingdom was unable to stop the armies of the Empyrean Demon Cult by themselves.

At the same time, the divine kings from the neighboring divine kingdoms answered the divine king's call for reinforcements. They sent even more soldiers to the Divine Kingdom of Pingtian.

The walls at the front lines were being rebuilt as well. Several Godkings worked together, reconstructing the long wall such that it reached the toughness of defensive saint artifacts.

The Empyrean Demon Cult also replenished their soldiers in an orderly manner. Although people had died during the war in the army of three hundred thousand, the Empyrean Demon Cult had far more soldiers than just the nine armies.

Behind the nine armies was a reserve army. Once the nine armies lost soldiers, the reserves would immediately replace them.

However, for some reason, the nine armies of the Empyrean Demon Cult always remained as a hundred thousand people. It would never surpass that.

A few days later, Rui Jin and the others mostly recovered from their wounds. Jian Chen immediately returned to the Dong'an province with them.

The ancestors of the powerful clans in the Dong'an province came along as well, returning to the Dong'an province with Jian Chen.

However, aside from Jian Chen's group, only two ancestors remained from the powerful clans.

Jian Chen looked at the two last ancestors on the flying vehicle and sighed to himself secretly. He controlled the path of the flying vehicle quietly, directing it towards the Dong'an province.

It was rumored that the patriarch of the Tian Yuan clan who was supposed to be captured by the commander of the seventh army of the Empyrean Demon Cult, Yaxi Lian, had suddenly returned. News of this spread across the entire province as soon as possible.

As soon as the flying vehicle approached the provincial city, the city gates were already filled with people. Many people gathered there to welcome them back warmly.

"The patriarch of the Tian Yuan clan is a supreme Overgod who can make onto the Overgods' Plaque. Even with the entire Saints' World in perspective, these supreme Overgods are famed. I never thought I'd be able to stand so close to a supreme Overgod. He's a figure of legends."

"It's said that supreme Overgods can kill Godkings. This commander of the seventh army sure is unlucky to come across a supreme Overgod."

"Right? I heard that the commander of the seventh army was captured by the patriarch of the Tian Yuan clan. Don't underestimate him just because he's still an Overgod. Even capturing a Godking is nothing difficult for him."

There were many praises for Jian Chen among the warm welcome. Many people could not help but feel a deep sense of pride when the patriarch of the Tian Yuan clan was mentioned.

The flying vehicle directly entered the Tian Yuan clan. All the elders in the clan had already been waiting for quite some time. When they saw Jian Chen and the others return safely, their faces all became filled with evident excitement and delight.

Jian Chen leapt off the flying vehicle. Just when he wanted to say something, a light suddenly flickered through his eyes, and he stared at the residence that belonged to him sharply.

"There's someone inside!" Jian Chen's heart shivered. He could clearly sense that something was moving around in his room, but he was unable to tell who it was through the senses of his soul.

"This person's strength completely exceeds mine. I can't sense them at all," Jian Chen's heart sank slightly. He felt slightly worried as he directly made his way to his residence.

Sacredfeather, Houston, and so on could sense the change with Jian Chen. They looked at each other and followed behind him.

Jian Chen directly pushed through the door and entered his residence. He knew that before an expert that even the senses of his soul were unable to detect, all his movements were under their control. Anything he did would not be able to escape their senses.

As a result, he just did not make any preparations. He just waltzed in without trying to hide it at all.

"I wonder which expert has suddenly paid a visit to my Tian Yuan clan. From Mo Ling, Ando Fu, and the other's lack of response, they clearly don't know about the arrival of this uninvited guest," Jian Chen thought. He was troubled.

However, after he walked in, he saw a white-clothed woman sitting at a table idly, eating the fruit there. He could not help but become surprised.

"Fairy Hao Yue!" Jian Chen cried out subconsciously. Surprise had filled his face.

Fairy Hao Yue sat there as she wished, biting into the fruit that was originally supposed to be for Jian Chen. She looked at Jian Chen as if she was smiling and said, "You're so careful even in your own clan. It looks like the famous patriarch of the Tian Yuan clan doesn't have a particularly liberating life."

Jian Chen let out a sigh of relief. He ignored fairy Hao Yue's snide comments and said, "Fairy Hao Yue, you've suddenly appeared in the southern region. It looks like you've completed the matters for the Xuandao Empire."

Fairy Hao Yue stood up. With a wave of her hand, the door to the building immediately closed, locking Sacredfeather and the others who had followed Jian Chen along outside. She described it like it was nothing, "This matter is something difficult for the Xuandao Empire to resolve, but it's a piece of cake for me. I've come to take a look at your situation here and also to bid farewell to you."

Fairy Hao Yue continued, "Before I go, is there anything you can't deal with? Just tell me, such as that Earth Spirit sect or something."

Chapter 1954: A Bold Move

Fairy Hao Yue had spoken seriously. The Earth Spirit sect stood on the same side as Jian Chen, yet they had launched a sneak attack against Jian Chen without paying attention to the bigger picture. As such, she felt that everything should not just end there. She wanted to properly punish the Earth Spirit sect.

However, Jian Chen shook his head instead, turning down fairy Hao Yue's kind intentions.

Although he knew that it would be far easier to obtain an explanation when he visited the Earth Spirit sect if fairy Hao Yue took part, he felt like he had already owed her enough. He had helped her a lot in the past as well, but what fairy Hao Yue had done in the past few years were more than enough to make up for it.

Moreover, he did not want other people to deal with his problems whenever he encountered them. It would make him become reliant on others if it kept happening.

That would not benefit him at all.

"You and your stubborn head really won't budge, huh? I want to help you out, but you turn me down. Think about just how great of a price the Xuandao Empire has paid for me to do something for them."

"Do you think the Earth Spirit sect will take you seriously as a mere Overgod? If it weren't for the fact that a Primordial realm expert has appeared in the Divine Kingdom of Pingtian, making them want to avoid any trouble with him, how much longer do you think you can live? With your talent and the fact that you've fallen out with the Earth Spirit sect, they'll never let you mature successfully."

"Do you plan on relying on the divine king to help you? Before I came here, I did some investigation. The ancestor of the Earth Spirit sect has already stepped into the Primordial realm for several hundred thousand years. He's not someone that the divine king who has only recently broken through to the Primordial realm can stop."

Fairy Hao Yue stared at Jian Chen as she said all that in a single breath. She seemed rather exasperated and frustrated.

"Thank you for your concern, fairy Hao Yue. I appreciate it," Jian Chen clasped his fist at fairy Hao Yue.

"Y- you're driving me crazy. Whatever. Since you want to deal with it yourself, then deal with it yourself. Your life has nothing to do with me," fairy Hao Yue said in annoyance. Her chest heaved slightly, and she was clearly quite frustrated.

"Then, fairy Hao Yue, please rest here for a while. I've just returned to the clan, so I still have some matters I have to deal with. I must bid farewell to you for now," Jian Chen smiled brightly and left the room, leaving fairy Hao Yue fuming in there.

Afterwards, Jian Chen gathered all the elders of the Tian Yuan clan. He split up the things he had purchased from the imperial capital of the Xuandao Empire and set up an arsenal there. He left behind various pills, cultivation methods, battle skills, and saint artifacts.

Once the people in the clan reached a certain cultivation level and made a certain amount of contribution to the clan, they could enter the arsenal to pick something.

The minimum requirement for the three supreme quality saint artifacts was Overgod, so no one could use it. As a result, Jian Chen did not leave a single one of them in there.

To Jian Chen's pity, none of the three supreme quality saint artifacts were suitable for him. He had basically searched through all the stores in the imperial capital of the Xuandao Empire, but he failed to find a supreme quality saint artifact that suited him.

As a result, he still used the Startling Rainbow sword.

After organising all that, Jian Chen took out two sets of formation banners from his Space Ring. He began setting them up around the Tian Yuan clan.

One set could attack, while the other could defend. Jian Chen had paid an extraordinary amount of divine crystals to purchase the two Godking level formations in the imperial capital.

With the protection of these two barriers, he would be truly without worries for the clan as long as Godkings did not come. It would be able to stop all opponents below Godking without any trouble at all.

A day later, Godking level formations enveloped the entire clan, giving off powerful pulses of energy.

Jian Chen stood in the clan as he stared at the two sets of formations that were already in operation. Finally, he revealed a somewhat victorious smile.

He really could stop worrying about the Tian Yuan clan now!

"I really don't have to worry either with these two formations," Shen Jian uttered quietly as he appeared before Jian Chen. He also stared at the formations.

Afterwards, he looked at Jian Chen and said sternly, "Jian Chen, there's not much time left for me here. I will be leaving soon."

"You're leaving?" Jian Chen stared at Shen Jian and asked in surprise.

Shen Jian nodded, "When I broke through to Overgod, I could vaguely sense a calling from the depths of outer space. Afterwards, as my strength increased, this calling became more and more powerful. It was just that you needed my help at that time, so I stayed behind."

"Now that these two Godking level formations are protecting the Tian Yuan clan, there's no more point in me staying. It's time for me to go."

Jian Chen fell silently. Ever since he had come to the Saints' World, he had been with Shen Jian. They had been together from the puny Deities they were in the very beginning to the current Overgods that ruled over an entire region. Now that Shen Jian had to leave all of a sudden, Jian Chen felt rather unwilling to part with him.

What they had gone through in those years had already forged a deep friendship between the two of them. They were like close brothers. Once they separated, it would definitely be a long time before they met again. They had no idea when that would happen.

As a matter of fact, they did not even know whether they would be able to meet each other again or not in the Saints' World that was filled with danger.

"When do you plan on leaving?" Jian Chen asked with a rather heavy heart.

"I plan on leaving after this war," Shen Jian stared deeply at the sky and said indifferently.

In the blink of an eye, over half of the period of ceasefire had passed.

The next morning, fairy Hao Yue called Jian Chen over. She directly cut to the chase after seeing Jian Chen, "I plan on visiting the branch of the Empyrean Demon Cult on the Cloud Plane. Are you coming along?"

Jian Chen was surprised when he heard that. He said, "That's the headquarters of the Empyrean Demon Cult on the Cloud Plane. That's basically the belly of the beast. It'll be extremely dangerous. What're you going there for?"

"It's just a branch. Even if it's the belly of the beast, that only applies to regular Infinite Primes." Fairy Hao Yue continued, "The Empyrean Demon Cult has divided itself into three and is attacking three different regions at the same time. Their actions can't be as simple as just taking over territory. I think there must be some other secret hidden behind these wars. As a result, I plan on investigating it to see what they're doing."

"You'll offend the Empyrean Demon Cult by doing that," Jian Chen said with some worry. Even Tian Shuang hoped that Hao Yue would not become involved with the matters of the Empyrean Demon Cult. Naturally, he wished that fairy Hao Yue would not offend the Empyrean Demon Cult either.

The Empyrean Demon Cult was an extremely powerful organisation. It was enough to make all the organisations that stood at the peak of the Cloud Plane feel fear.

Any accidents would even lead to trouble for the Moon God Hall.

Fairy Hao Yue rolled her eyes, "Since when did you become so fearful? The Empyrean Demon Cult is indeed powerful, but I'm not afraid of them. Moreover, I'm just going in to have a look so that I can understand what they're doing. It's not like I'm destroying their entire branch."

"And right now, their three vice-leaders just happen to be out. It's a perfect time to infiltrate their headquarters now that it's empty."

Jian Chen hesitated for a while before making up his mind, "Alright, I'll come with you to have a look then. I want to see just what hidden secret there is for their wars against everyone."

Infiltrating the headquarters of the Empyrean Demon Cult on the Cloud Plane was definitely a bold and risky move.

This was because no one from the six ancient empires of the southern region possessed that ability.

However, the Blood Sun Empire feared the Empyrean Demon Cult, so even if they had supreme experts, they would not do something like that.

Only fairy Hao Yue possessed both the strength and courage to target the headquarters of the Empyrean Demon Cult directly.

"The headquarters must be covered with formations. I can get through them, but it'll be quite difficult to do so all by myself while not creating any disturbances."

"As a result, I need you to find three other people to come along aside from you. I'll teach the four of you the Moonlight Illumination Formation so that you can assist me," added fairy Hao Yue.

Chapter 1955: Infiltrating the Headquarters

Jian Chen became rather hesitant after he heard fairy Hao Yue's words towards the end. He said while lacking in confidence, "But the people I can find right now are only Overgods at best. The formations at the headquarters of the Empyrean Demon Cult must be extremely powerful. Can it work with our strength?"

"I don't need you to break through the formations. I only need the four of you to create the Moonlight Illumination Formation to cover the disturbance I make," said fairy Hao Yue.

Jian Chen pondered over the matter seriously and said, "Alright, I'll go contact them right now."

Jian Chen left soon afterwards. He called in Shen Jian, Sacredfeather, and Houston, sternly telling them the situation in detail.

"What! Fairy Hao Yue wants to infiltrate the headquarters of the Empyrean Demon Cult?" Shen Jian, Sacredfeather, and Houston were all shocked. They became extremely stern.

"That's right. Fairy Hao Yue should possess the ability to do so. However, she needs our help to not alert anyone when she breaks through the formations. Are you coming?" Jian Chen asked seriously.

Shen Jian, Houston, and Sacredfeather said nothing. What fairy Hao Yue wanted to do stunned them. In their eyes, she was simply too bold.

Shen Jian said after a while of thought, "With the current situation, it's impossible for our war against the Empyrean Demon Cult to end quickly. If the war continues, it'll be extremely bad for everyone. Even we ourselves may die if it is prolonged. If we can enter the headquarters of the Empyrean Demon Cult and tamper with some things through fairy Hao Yue, we might be able to end the war sooner."

"Jian Chen, when do we move?" Houston asked. Clearly, he had made up his mind.

In the end, Sacredfeather expressed his thoughts as well. He had basically grown up with Jian Chen, going wherever Jian Chen went. Even if he knew that certain death awaited him, he would not hesitate at all.

"Before we go to the headquarters of the Empyrean Demon Cult, we need to learn the Moonlight Illumination Formation," said Jian Chen.

Afterwards, Jian Chen, Sacredfeather, Houston, and so on told everyone that they would be in seclusion to heal and that no one was to disturb them. They also activated the Godking level formations to envelope the entire clan before leaving the Dong'an province with fairy Hao Yue silently.

In an ancient mountain range extremely distant from the Divine Kingdom of Pingtian, there was an extremely well-hidden gorge. It was several thousand meters deep, and a thick layer of vegetation covered its entrance. It was very difficult to discover its existence from the outside.

The gorge was triangular in shape, where it was narrow at the top and wide at the bottom. The entrance was only around a dozen meters across, while the bottom of the gorge was several thousand meters wide.

At this moment, gentle moonlight illuminated the depths of the gorge that were supposed to be pure black. Powerful pulses of energy emanated outwards, forming a tremendous pressure that crushed all the plants at the bottom of the gorge to pieces.

It had been three days already. Jian Chen, Shen Jian, Houston, and Sacredfeather currently stood in a special position, creating a formation. A white light completely composed from Moonlight Force covered a range of several thousand meters from them.

The four of them bathed in the gentle moonlight as it glistened.

However, at a closer glance, it was quite obvious that this Moonlight Force did not originate from their own powers. Instead, it all originated from a crystal in their hands.

The four of them controlled the Moonlight Force in the crystal to create the Moonlight Illumination Formation together.

Fairy Hao Yue hovered in the air. She stared at the formation from the four of them nearby and said, "There are basically no problems left with the Moonlight Illumination Formation. The formation cannot defend or attack at all, but it can reduce all the disturbances from anything that happens within it to nothing. As long as it doesn't exceed the limits of the formation, even the three vice-leaders of the Empyrean Demon Cult won't be able to sense what happens in the formation."

"With the assistance of this Moonlight Illumination Formation, I have complete confidence that we can infiltrate the headquarters of the Empyrean Demon Cult without alerting anyone."

"Let's go then. It's time for us to set off!"

Afterwards, the five of them left the hidden gorge and directly headed towards the headquarters of the Empyrean Demon Cult on the Cloud Plane.

There was a region of extremely desolate plains in the southern region of the Cloud Plane. The sky was filled with endless darkness, where sunlight never reached, while the ground of the entire region was crimson. It was all dark red as if it had been watered with blood.

The place seemed to be in eternal darkness. In the depths of the desolate and deathly silent lands stood a majestic castle.

The castle was extremely large and completely dark red as if it had been covered by blood. Even without getting too close to it, a heavy, metallic smell of blood would seem to be present. The smell of death filled the surroundings.

Coupled with the chilling winds that shrieked like ghosts, the castle in the darkness seemed even gloomier. It would make people shiver.

Originally, there was no wind in the surroundings of the castle. It would be terrifyingly silent. However, with the war that had occurred recently, wind appeared in its surroundings.

If someone possessed extremely sharp senses, they would even be able to sense the chilling winds constantly revolve around the top of the castle. It formed an invisible swirl there.

It was as if something there was sucking in the shrieking winds.

This castle was the headquarters of the Empyrean Demon Cult branch on the Cloud Plane.

The headquarters of the Empyrean Demon Cult was a forbidden region for the experts of the Cloud Plane. Even Infinite Primes would not approach it so easily.

However, a faint figure flickered through this world of darkness at this moment. She seemed to have fused with the surrounding space, where even Godkings would not be able to detect her existence. With a single flash, she had already approached the castle silently.

As the headquarters of the Empyrean Demon Cult, its security was especially tight. Layers of formation hidden in space engulfed both the interior and the exterior of the castle. There were even formations at the level of Primordial realm experts among them.

However, the formations only acted like furnishing to the person fused with space. They were unable to do anything at all. In the end, the figure approached the castle easily.

A large group of soldiers were currently gathered under the lead of a Godking outside the castle.

At this moment, the gates of the castle suddenly swung open. A white-robed man strode out with his arms crossed. His pale face possessed some femininity, making him pretty like a woman. His appearance was enough to make people steal a few extra glances helplessly.

"Greetings, protector Ceng!" The Godking in front of the army saw the white-clothed man and immediately bowed.

The man nodded and said coldly, "Vice-leader Huai An has orders for you to set off immediately. Remember, you must complete the vice leader's mission cleanly. Leave the divine kings to the protectors from the Hall of Protectors."

"Yes sir!"

Protector Ceng did not discover that just when he opened the gates of the castle and walked out, a faint flash had drifted past him just a few meters away, vanishing into the castle.

In an extremely quiet, hidden place within the gloomy castle, the white-clothed fairy Hao Yue slowly revealed herself from the surrounding space. She stared ahead and could not help but frown. She murmured, "The formations in the castle are indeed much more powerful than the ones outside. They're on two completely different levels. In here should be the place where the Empyrean Demon Cult is truly trying to protect. The formations outside were probably only set down by the vice-leaders casually."

"I need to rely on their Moonlight Illumination Formation to pass through these formations without alerting anyone."

As she said that, the Bright Moon Divine Hall that had shrunken to the size of a palm sat in her hand silently. With a thought, several streaks of white light immediately came out from the divine hall, turning into four figures.

They were Jian Chen, Shen Jian, Houston, and Sacredfeather.

"We're already inside the headquarters of the Empyrean Demon Cult. Follow me closely and don't make any sounds, so we don't get exposed," fairy Hao Yue warned the people behind her.

All four of them nodded sternly. They understood that they had truly entered the belly of the beast now. Danger was all around them.

"I already sensed it outside that the true secret should be hidden on the top floor. Right now, formations protect the entrance to the next floor. Use the Moonlight Illumination Formation. I'll get through these formations," fairy Hao Yue said to the four people behind her secretly.

Chapter 1956: The Empyrean Demon Orb Appears

Jian Chen, Sacredfeather, Houston, and Shen Jian looked at one another and immediately got into action.

From the previous practice, they had already developed a tacit understanding, so when they cast the Moonlight Illumination Formation, they were able to do it without much effort at all. They were extremely well-versed at it.

Very soon, the four of them cast down the Moonlight Illumination Formation perfectly.

Pure, glistening Moonlight Force surrounded their bodies. A barrier completely condensed from Moonlight Force appeared around them, covering a range of several hundred meters.

Even though the formation was completed, there was not the slightest pulse of energy apart from the light that shone as brightly as the moon.

As a result, the Moonlight Illumination Formation could only be discovered through sight. It was impossible to find it at all through the other senses, including the senses of the soul.

The Moonlight Illumination Formation could not attack or defend. Its only usage was to cover up everything within the formation.

Of course, the premise was that it did not surpass the formation's limits.

Fairy Hao Yue no longer hesitated either when she saw that the Moonlight Illumination Formation was complete. She immediately began to smash through the formations.

She was slightly stern. Primordial realm laws descended on her, and all her movements possessed devastating power.

However, since it was purposefully suppressed, this Primordial realm power did not erupt. She concealed it perfectly.

Fairy Hao Yue got through the formation extremely quickly. In under a minute, there was a hiss, and a hole gradually appeared in the formation that blocked the path to the next floor. It revealed a dark passage.

Chilling winds whistled through the passage, and it was filled with a demonic aura. A demonic aura that was especially pure and dense flowed out from the passage.

"To avoid attracting attention, I've only created a temporary entrance through this formation. It will close up by itself very soon, so come on in," fairy Hao Yue said to Jian Chen and the others. With a wave of her hand, Moonlight Force appeared, and all the demonic aura in the passage was instantaneously dispersed. With a flash, she entered the passageway that led to the next floor.

The four of them immediately removed the formation and disappeared into the passage with a flash.

Soon after the four of them had entered, the hole in the formation completely closed up, returning to its previous state.

The headquarters of the Empyrean Demon Cult only seemed like a huge castle from the outside. Inside, it was so large that it seemed to be composed of miniature worlds. The space on each floor had completely surpassed the castle's size.

In particular, the halls, secret rooms, and so on all seemed to possess worlds of their own.

The castle was filled with formations. Every single one of them was extremely powerful, either set up openly or hidden in space. Just the pulses of energy they gave off were enough to make the four of them to shiver.

With their strength, they did not even dare to expand the senses of their souls because they were afraid that they would not be able to sense a Godking hidden somewhere and hence expose themselves.

As a result, the four of them could only follow behind fairy Hao Yue.

Along the way, the four of them avoided all the dangerous regions and the patrol of Godkings under fairy Hao Yue's lead. They advanced through the headquarters silently, without raising any attention at all.

It had to be mentioned that the security of the headquarters was extremely tight. Ordinary Infinite Primes would face life-threatening danger if they infiltrated here.

However, fairy Hao Yue was no ordinary Infinite Prime. There was no fear or danger under her lead.

As they travelled deeper in, they gradually approached the core region of the headquarters while fairy Hao Yue's face had gradually become stern as well.

"This should be the entrance to the next floor, but there's an extremely powerful formation hidden here," fairy Hao Yue stopped at the end of a hallway. She stared ahead as a sliver of seriousness appeared on her face.

"There is a trapping and killing formation, coupled with an illusionary formation in there. The formation is so powerful that even Seventh Heavenly Layer Infinite Primes will probably be done for if they get caught in there. It looks like the area above should be the most important part of the headquarters. Maybe the real reason why the Empyrean Demon Cult is waging so many wars is in there," fairy Hao Yue said sternly. After studying the formation for a while, she said confidently, "However, this formation still can't stop us. It's just that getting through the formation might create a disturbance so great that the Moonlight Illumination Formation can't cover it."

"Fall into formation!" A while later, fairy Hao Yue made up her mind.

"Please wait, fairy Hao Yue!" Houston said all of a sudden. He seemed uneasy.

Fairy Hao Yue turned around to look at Houston. Jian Chen, Shen Jian, and Sacredfeather all looked at him as well.

"What's wrong, uncle Xiu?" Jian Chen asked in confusion.

Houston stared at the formation up ahead. After a moment of silence, he said, "Maybe this isn't the right path."

Jian Chen, Shen Jian, and Sacredfeather immediately became surprised. They looked at Houston doubtfully.

Even fairy Hao Yue stared at Houston in surprise. She asked, "How do you know that it's not the right path?"

"Because of this!" With a thought, a thumb-sized orb gradually floated out from his forehead. The orb was completely blood-red as if it had been condensed from blood. It was demonic and seemed slightly sinister.

It was the Empyrean Demon Orb Jian Chen had originally given to Houston.

Fairy Hao Yue studied the Empyrean Demon Orb for a while and said, "This is a demonic god artifact of quite a high quality. It looks like you've gained the artifact spirit's recognition since you are able to use this god artifact with your current strength."

Houston nodded. He had learnt about the artifact spirit of the Empyrean Demon Orb long ago. He said, "The artifact spirit just told me to take another path."

After a moment of thought, fairy Hao Yue said, "Then lead the way!"

The five of them changed their path. Houston was responsible for leading them afterwards, allowing them to directly travel towards where the Empyrean Demon Orb told him to go.

Before long, the five of them stopped. It was not because they did not wanted to stop, but that they had reached a dead end. They had run out of places to go.

"There's no formation here. It's a dead end." Fairy Hao Yue furrowed her brows after studying the surroundings.

However, at this moment, the Empyrean Demon Orb began to shine with a dazzling red light that surrounded all of them.

Chapter 1957: The True Secret

A gleam of light flashed through Jian Chen, Shen Jian, and Sacredfeather's eyes. The sudden movement from the Empyrean Demon Cult had filled them with cautiousness.

Even a sliver of surprise had appeared on Houston's face because he was not responsible for this. Instead, it was the Empyrean Demon Orb's own response.

This was somewhat beyond Houston's control.

Only fairy Hao Yue remained composed, where her face did not change at all. This was the confidence that came from her great strength.

However, in the next moment, all their eyes narrowed, including even fairy Hao Yue's. They all stared ahead in surprise.

Under the red light from the Empyrean Demon Orb, the scene before them changed. The stone wall that originally stood before them had actually vanished, turning into long, narrow, and winding passage. It was dark red in there, and it gave off a gloomy presence.

"What a great formation. I actually completely failed to sense it," fairy Hao Yue frowned. She stared at the winding passageway and murmured.

The light in her eyes flickered. She looked at the Empyrean Demon Orb in thought and doubt.

"This should be the correct path," Houston stared ahead. After studying it for a while, he called everyone. They advanced under the red glow of the Empyrean Demon Orb.

Along the way, all of them remained within the Empyrean Demon Orb's range. They discovered that they could only pass through the illusionary formation that even fairy Hao Yue had failed to sense if they remained in there.

Once they left its range, a dead-end would appear once again. The stone wall that blocked their path seemed completely real, where it felt stiff and heavy if touched.

When they passed through the illusionary formation with the Empyrean Demon Orb, it was like they were leaving their original world and traversing to a completely different place.

However, at this moment, the Empyrean Demon Orb began to tremble heavily. Its red light began to flicker as well.

Swish!

Suddenly, the Empyrean Demon Orb turned into a red streak of light, completely breaking free from Houston's control. It shot off into the distance all by itself.

"Oh no, I can't control the Empyrean Demon Orb!" Houston's face changed. They were in the headquarters of the Empyrean Demon Cult, so danger lurked around every corner. If they created too great of a disturbance, they would be exposed.

"Chase it!" Jian Chen called out, and they immediately pursued the Empyrean Demon Orb.

After all, the Empyrean Demon Orb was a god artifact and one with an artifact spirit. It was impossible for Jian Chen and the other Overgods to chase up to it with its speed. In just a short while, they grew further and further away from the orb.

If it were not for the vague connection between Houston and the Empyrean Demon Orb, they probably would have lost track of it completely.

"Don't resist, I'll take you with me!" At this moment, fairy Hao Yue's voice rang out. With that, gentle Moonlight Force revolved around the four of them. After that, their speed suddenly exploded, and they pursued the Empyrean Demon Orb at an extremely terrifying pace.

They moved so quickly that Jian Chen and the others were not even able to see their surroundings properly.

As a streak of red light, the Empyrean Demon Orb quickly flew through the headquarters of the Empyrean Demon Cult. However, as it was a god artifact, it was unable to move around the headquarters as silently as fairy Hao Yue.

As a result, it gave off pulses of energy and the presence of a god artifact as it flew. Naturally, many people discovered it.

"Who is it?"

Quite a few shouts rang out in different places within the headquarters. At the same time, powerful senses of the soul swept out from all directions, directly locking onto the flying Empyrean Demon Orb.

"It's a god artifact!"

"Whose god artifact is it? Why have I never seen it before?"

"It doesn't belong to our Empyrean Demon Cult. Oh no, someone has infiltrated the headquarters!"

Immediately, people flickered in the surroundings. Godkings either emerged from secret rooms or space covered by formations. They hurried over from all directions as they pursued the Empyrean Demon Orb.

"The headquarters have been infiltrated. Quick, contact the vice-leaders," an elder Godking hovered in the air. His eyes shone brightly. He locked onto the Empyrean Demon Orb with the senses of his soul as his voice rang through the entire space.

However, the castle was covered in formations inside and there were several spaces. The region where Jian Chen and the others had entered with the help of the Empyrean Demon Orb clearly belonged to another space within the castle. As a result, the elderly Godking's voice only rang through there and not the entire castle.

However, even with that being the case, the elderly Godking managed to alert all the Godkings around.

But at this moment, the white-clothed fairy Hao Yue appeared silently behind the elderly Godking. She placed her slender, white hand onto the Godking's head and pressed down gently.

With a bang, the Godking's head exploded loudly. His soul was directly wiped out.

He was a mighty Godking, yet he had just died like this. He could not put up any resistance at all. He did not even know who has killed him before he died.

Fairy Hao Yue hovered in the air. Moonlight Force revolved around her. She stared at the surroundings coldly and formed a seal with both hands. A circular palm-sized moon hovered from her hands. The energy it possessed was so terrifying that it was enough to devastate the surroundings. It made Jian Chen and the others pale in shock.

In the next moment, the moon suddenly shattered, turning into several dozen finger-sized strands of Moonlight Force. Like arrows, they shot into the surroundings with frightening might.

Spurt! Spurt! Spurt! Spurt...

In that space, the Moonlight Force struck all the Godkings that had revealed themselves without any exceptions. Before they could even cry out, their souls were shattered and dispersed.

At that moment, the entire space fell quiet.

Jian Chen, Sacredfeather, Houston, and Shen Jian stood behind fairy Hao Yue. After personally witnessing fairy Hao Yue killing so many Godkings with ease, they all felt deeply shocked.

Even though they knew Primordial realm experts were very powerful, they could not help but feel astonished when they personally witnessed the might of one.

These Godkings were not weak. Any single one of them would be far more than what the four of them could handle. They would not even be able to escape.

However, they were so weak before fairy Hao Yue.

Godkings were truly like ants!

"We have already been exposed. The three vice-leaders should return very soon," fairy Hao Yue said gently. Originally, she was confident about infiltrating the headquarters completely silently, without raising any attention.

However, the Empyrean Demon Cult had foiled all of this.

However, fairy Hao Yue did not bicker over the matter. She hurried off with Jian Chen and the others, directly chasing after the Empyrean Demon Orb.

When fairy Hao Yue caught up to the Empyrean Demon Orb, the orb had arrived beside an extremely huge pool of blood.

The pool of blood really was tremendous. It was like an ocean, stretching as far as the eye could see.

Huge waves would churn in the sea of blood, striking the space as waves stretched several hundred meters tall, creating great booms.

Chillings winds blew in the sky above the sea of blood. It formed an extremely great swirl. Vaguely, countless faces seemed to appear and wail out.

This seemed like living hell. It was terrifying and horrifying.

Jian Chen, Shen Jian, Houston, and Sacredfeather stood at the edge of the pool of blood. They gazed at the boundless ocean, and they were all very stern.

"This should be the greatest secret of the Empyrean Demon Cult. They're waging wars to create this," fairy Hao Yue stared at the churning sea of blood. Afterwards, she stared at the whistling winds in the sky, and after a moment of thought, she murmured, "They've created an ocean from blood and condensed nine blood beads through a formation by absorbing the energy essence from the blood. They've also gathered all the energy from the souls of the death, extracting their essence to refine nine soul beads through these formations. What is the Empyrean Demon Cult trying to do?"

"What blood beads and soul beads?" Jian Chen asked. He also studied everything before him, but he found nothing aside from the sea of blood and the chilling winds.

"There are nine blood beads that possess great energy at the depths of the sea of blood while the chilling winds in the air are not actually wind. It's the energy of souls drawn over by formations, and there are also nine soul beads in the energy of souls. You can't see these things yet with your strength," said fairy Hao Yue.

Jian Chen said grimly, "Has the Empyrean Demon Cult been waging wars to collect blood and energy of souls to condense these blood beads and soul beads? Why would they do that?"

Fairy Hao Yue shook her head, "I'm not certain about this. The essence of energy in the blood beads can allow the cultivation of a person to skyrocket, while the energy of souls in the soul beads can power up a person's soul. However, they're all condensed from low level cultivators in the end, so the effects are almost non-existent to high level cultivators. There's no need for the Empyrean Demon Cult to go to such lengths for all of this with their current strength."

Fairy Hao Yue looked at the surroundings of the pool of blood, and she became stern. She said grimly, "Moreover, there's an extremely powerful formation that protects the pool of blood. It's so powerful that it frightens even me. If a person falls into the formation, they're done for even if they're a Chaotic Prime. It looks like this pool of blood is much more important than anything else in the Cloud Plane branch of the Empyrean Demon Cult from how powerful the formation is."

"I really don't think there's anyone else with the ability to cast down such a terrifying killing formation in the Empyrean Demon Cult apart from their legendary great elder."

Jian Chen's face changed slightly when he heard fairy Hao Yue mention the great elder of the Empyrean Demon Cult. He stared at the pool of blood and said grimly, "Did the great elder of the Empyrean Demon Cult personally create this place?"

The great elder of the Empyrean Demon Cult was an existence that even the peak clans of the Cloud Plane feared.

If it were not for his deterrence, it would be impossible for just the three Infinite Prime vice-leaders of the Cloud Plane branch to create such a great disturbance.

As a result, as soon as he heard that the great elder of the Empyrean Demon Cult personally created this place, Jian Chen struggled to keep his composure.

Chapter 1958: Forbidden Grounds of the Empyrean Demon Cult

At this moment, the boundless sea suddenly became even more turbulent. Even the chilling winds formed from the tremendous energy of souls grew stronger.

The light in fairy Hao Yue's eyes flickered. She stared at the sea of blood ahead and said, "The Empyrean Demon Cult is currently massacring lives. They're using all those lives to condense the nine blood and soul beads so that the nine blood and soul beads can constantly absorb the essence from the sea of blood and the energy of souls to reach higher qualities."

"If these blood and soul beads aren't removed, the massacre of the Empyrean Demon Cult will not stop. They will continue until the beads reach a state that they are satisfied with."

"Fairy Hao Yue, can we remove these nine blood and soul beads so that the Empyrean Demon Cult won't continue like this?" Jian Chen asked.

Fairy Hao Yue shook her head powerlessly. She sighed gently, "The formation that protects this place is too powerful. I am powerless before it."

At this moment, the Empyrean Demon Orb that originally floated there without moving suddenly arrived above Houston. A blood-red light fell from the orb, completely surrounding Houston.

Houston had already established a vague connection with the artifact spirit of the Empyrean Demon Orb. When the light covered him, a thought from the artifact spirit entered his head at the same time.

Houston's face froze before becoming surprised. He raised his head and stared at the Empyrean Demon Orb with some astonishment. After a moment of hesitation, he said to everyone, "The artifact spirit of the Empyrean Demon Orb has told me that I can directly ignore the obstructions of the formation and enter the place."

Fairy Hao Yue's eyes narrowed. Suddenly, she turned towards Houston, or more accurately, the Empyrean Demon Orb above Houston. After staring at it for a while, she said to Houston, "You must know that the formation is so powerful that even Chaotic Primes may die. If you really do enter the formation as the artifact spirit has said, even I won't be able to save you once your life is in danger."

"Uncle Xiu, you must not risk it!" Jian Chen voiced his objection. He deeply understood just how terrifying the great elder of the Empyrean Demon Cult was. He also did not believe a god artifact would be able to cross through a formation cast down by an expert that powerful.

That was unless the Empyrean Demon Orb possessed great origins, making it almost heaven-defying like the Anatta Tower.

However, he had heard that the Empyrean Demon Orb was just the famed treasure of the greatest Demon Monarch of the Demons' World, the Empyrean Demon Monarch. Although it was a god artifact, it was still quite far off from the apex.

Shen Jian and Sacredfeather both tried to stop Houston as well. They did not want Houston to take this risk, where he would have to leave his life to the hands of an artifact spirit that could easily run off by itself.

Suddenly, powerful pulses of energy appeared from behind them. All the spaces in the headquarter gently trembled at that moment, giving off tremendous pressures.

All the formations in the headquarters of the Empyrean Demon Cult had been activated at that moment. Countless formations interlinked with one another, forming an extremely tremendous killing formation in the end. The killing formation surrounded the entire castle.

"The three vice-leaders of the Empyrean Demon Cult have returned. They've activated all the formations," fairy Hao Yue stared backwards and said with composure.

Jian Chen, Sacredfeather, Houston, and Shen Jian were unable to remain as cool as fairy Hao Yue. Their hearts all sank, and their faces became extremely stern.

"There's no time. Let me try to see whether I can get through the set up here," Houston said firmly. He ignored everyone's attempts at persuading him. With determination, he entered the formation without looking back.

Aside from the fact that he wanted to ruin the Empyrean Demon Cult's plans of creating the blood and soul beads, there was another factor to his actions and that was the artifact spirit.

Houston understood that there was something extremely important to the artifact spirit here through communicating with the artifact spirit. At the same time, there was a huge fortune for himself.

With the Empyrean Demon Orb over his head, Houston used the Empyrean Demon Arts. Demonic aura wrapped around him, and he had already entered the terrifying killing formation that protected the pool of blood.

As soon as he set foot in the killing formation, terrifying killing intent permeated the surroundings. Just the killing intent had almost torn Houston into shreds. If it were not for his Empyrean Demon Arts and the Empyrean Demon Orb above his head, he would probably fail to even endure the killing intent.

Jian Chen, Shen Jian, and Sacredfeather all stood outside the formation as they stared at Houston nervously.

However, they could not help but let out a sigh of relief when they saw how the killing formation did not attack Houston as he advanced through it with great difficulty.

At the same time, the three of them felt extremely doubtful. Why was such a powerful killing formation rendered useless before Houston?

Fairy Hao Yue stared at the Empyrean Demon Orb above Houston's head without blinking at all. Surprise filled her face. She understood just how terrifying the killing formation was more than anyone. It was enough to kill Chaotic Primes, yet Houston, who was just an Overgod, was actually able to move through it as he wished by relying on a god artifact. This shocked her greatly.

"The Empyrean Demon Orb... the Empyrean Demon Cult... the Empyrean Demon Orb... the Empyrean Demon Cult..." fairy Hao Yue murmured as the light in her eyes flickered.

As Houston advanced through the killing formation with great difficulty, he was like a dead leaf in the wind, swaying from side to side. Even though the killing formation did not activate, the invisible killing intent that filled it was still difficult for him to endure. He basically needed to use all the strength that his body could provide to take each step.

As a result, he advanced at an extremely slow rate.

At this moment, three figures shrouded in demonic auras gathered together within the headquarters.

"We've searched through the entire headquarters, but we've failed to find any intruders. At the same time, we activated the formation as soon as possible, so it's impossible for them to escape here without us sensing it. Where are they hiding?" One of them growled.

If Jian Chen was present, he would directly recognise this voice as Huai An's.

"Then maybe the intruders have gone to the forbidden grounds?" said Yi Huayue, who was wrapped up in a demonic aura. Her voice was slightly weak. After she finished speaking, there was a fit of coughing. Clearly, she was injured.

"The forbidden grounds? Impossible!" Huai An and the other vice-leader cried out after they heard Yi Huayue's words. The demonic aura around them began to churn violently as well.

If their faces were visible, it would be quite evident that as soon as they thought that the intruders might have entered the forbidden grounds, their faces had paled.

Soon, the three of them moved, flying as quickly as they could towards the forbidden grounds.

Even though they did not believe the intruders would be able to find the hidden forbidden grounds, even though they knew the great elder had personally cast down supreme formations there, they still did not dare to be careless. They would rather believe it than dismiss it.

This was because they deeply understood just how important the forbidden grounds were. Once anything happened to the forbidden grounds, the great elder would never spare them.

Jian Chen, Shen Jian, and Sacredfeather were all relieved as they stood by the pool of blood. Houston had already passed through the killing formation successfully, arriving above the pool of blood safely despite the fright.

Afterwards, he directly dove into the sea of blood below under the protection of the Empyrean Demon Orb, disappearing from the vision of Jian Chen and the others.

On the other hand, Fairy Hao Yue raised an eyebrow. She looked behind and said, "The three vice-leaders are currently hurrying over. Stay here and don't come out. I'll go stop the three of them. Remember, if you don't want trouble, you can't reveal yourselves before them." With that, fairy Hao Yue van

At the same time, Primordial realm laws permeated the side of the pool, completely erasing their presences.

Jian Chen, Shen Jian, and Sacredfeather hid their presences with their full strengths as well. They did their best to hide themselves as they stared at the sea of blood nervously and anxiously.

Chapter 1959: The Fear of the Vice-leaders

Around five minutes later, Houston finally resurfaced from the sea of blood. There was explicit excitement and joy on his face as he stared at his hands.

There were nine, thumb-sized, red blood beads in his hands. Each bead was translucent and extremely bright, shining with dazzling red light. It seemed like pieces of red quartz.

However, each bead pulsed with extremely powerful energy that was enough to surprise Overgods and even make the expressions of Godkings change.

The energy within the nine beads was just too powerful. If it erupted at that moment, it would be enough to unleash devastating might, easily killing Overgods.

Jian Chen, Shen Jian, and Sacredfeather all noticed the nine blood beads in Houston's hands. They all became very stern.

"These nine beads should be the blood beads condensed from the essence of blood that fairy Hao Yue mentioned. The Empyrean Demon Cult has put in so much effort into condensing these blood beads, but they've all been taken away by uncle Xiu, so there'll definitely be a great disturbance from the Empyrean Demon Cult." Jian Chen's heart was rather heavy. He could tell just how important this place was to the Empyrean Demon Cult from the formations here.

Or in other words, he could tell just how important this place was to the great elder of the Empyrean Demon Cult.

If the great elder personally came to the Cloud Plane, he would not be able to imagine the outcome.

After taking the nine blood beads, Houston was just about to leave. Suddenly, he froze slightly and looked at the sky. He looked at the tremendous swirl formed by the chilling winds.

After hesitating slightly, he slowly flew up into the sky while the red light from the Empyrean Demon Orb protected him. Very soon, he disappeared into the tremendous swirl.

When he appeared again, another nine beads of similar sizes had appeared in his hands. They were dark beads.

Inside the dark beads was an extremely powerful and pure energy of souls.

Now, all nine soul beads and blood beads had ended up in Houston's hands.

At this moment, there was a flash. Fairy Hao Yue had returned to their side. When she saw the eighteen beads in Houston's hands, her eyes narrowed as well. She said grimly, "The true upper echelons of the Empyrean Demon Cult will definitely be alerted now that they've lost the blood and soul beads. It might even alarm the great elder directly. We can't stay here for long. We must leave as soon as possible. The Empyrean Demon Cult will probably do something big afterwards."

Houston also understood the severity of the matter. After taking away the nine blood beads and soul beads, he directly flew out, passing through the formation just like before, where it was frightening but not dangerous.

However, passing through the formation was extremely difficult for Houston. When he emerged, the terrifying killing intent in there had almost made him collapse. His face was ashen.

Fairy Hao Yue was stern. With a flip of her hand, the Bright Moon Divine Hall appeared, and she said, "Enter the divine hall quickly. We need to leave as soon as possible."

The four of them did not hesitate at all and immediately entered the Bright Moon Divine Hall.

Fairy Hao Yue stowed the divine hall away and used the laws of the Primordial realm to erase the presences and traces they left behind. Then, she disappeared with a flash, making her way out of the castle with lightning speed.

All the formations in the castle had been activated by now. Countless formations stacked upon one another, interlocking together into one, causing the security of the entire castle to become virtually impenetrable.

Fairy Hao Yue's face was cold as her eyes shone with a sharp light. A terrifying presence enough to frighten the world emanated from her. A layer of moonlight covered here as she directly collided against the formation with the power of laws from the Primordial realm.

Boom!

The entire castle trembled from that. Even though the killing formation in her way had combined with all the formations, it still cracked before fairy Hao Yue's powerful strike, directly collapsing.

Fairy Hao Yue did not slow down at all. She continued to give off a soaring presence, ramming her way through layers upon layers of formations that blocked her way like she was unstoppable. She retreated from the castle quickly.

Even though the castle's defences had made it virtually impregnable from both the inside and the outside, there were no killing formations that could stop fairy Hao Yue in the entire castle apart from the ones that protected the pool of blood.

Even when all these formations interlinked with one another, resulting in a drastic increase in strength, it was still unable to stop fairy Hao Yue.

At that moment, the headquarters of the Empyrean Demon Cult that all the Infinite Primes on the Cloud Plane feared and did not dare to approach was like the back garden of her own house to fairy Hao Yue. It was unable to stop her at all.

Boom!

At this moment, a heavy sound suddenly rang out through the entire castle. Fairy Hao Yue formed a seal with her hands, using a technique to smash through the many layers of formations with her full strength, creating a hole in the castle. Afterwards, she emerged from there and completely vanished.

At the same time, shackles condensed from Moonlight Force trapped the three vice-leaders in there. Their bodies were bound, completely immobilizing them.

At this moment, the demonic aura around the three of them pulsed violently. They roared out at the same time, and under their full strength, they finally reduced the shackles around them to pieces. Then, they vanished from there silently.

When they appeared once again, they had arrived before the hole that fairy Hao Yue had created. The three of them stared at the hole, and their faces became extremely sunken.

"This castle is a god artifact with extremely great defences. Only Chaotic Primes can smash through this!"

"Once we activate all the formations in our headquarters, even Ninth Heavenly Layer Infinite Primes can't escape, yet we were unable to stop this person at all. Which Chaotic Prime is this person?"

"Let's go to the forbidden grounds quickly. The Chaotic Prime who intruded on our headquarters stayed there for quite a long time."

With that, the three of them vanished at that moment. When they appeared again, they had arrived beside the blood pool. They stood outside the formations.

"Fortunately, the formation is fine."

"The great elder cast down this formation after all. Even if that person possesses the strength of a Chaotic Prime, it's still impossible for them to smash through it."

The three of them all let out a sigh of relief when they saw that the formation was completely fine.

They could ignore the fact that a Chaotic Prime had infiltrated their headquarters and killed so many Godkings.

They could even ignore the fact that there was a huge hole in the castle now.

This was because all they needed to do was report the matter, and the higher-ups would send someone to deal with this Chaotic Prime.

The only thing they could not allow was for anything to happen to the blood beads and soul beads in the forbidden grounds.

However, when Huai An subconsciously glanced at the depths of the blood pool, his face suddenly froze. It began to pale instantly as he felt intense disbelief. He cried out, "W- why are the blood pearls gone?"

The two other vice-leaders were greatly surprised as well. They all glanced at the pool of blood.

With that, blood instantly drained from their faces. They had almost been frightened to death.

"Oh no, the s- s- soul beads are gone as well!"

Yi Huayue said with a trembling voice.

At that moment, the three vice-leaders all felt rather light-headed. They had almost lost their footing and tripped. Fear filled their hearts.

"How? The blood beads and soul beads are all gone. H- how do we explain this to the higher ups?"

"Q- quick! Report to the grand elder!"

Chapter 1960: Third on the Godkings' Throne

In an unknown space extremely distant from the Cloud Plane, there stood a huge, striking divine hall with a tremendous presence. It gave off a terrifying pressure that was enough to scare the world.

The divine hall seemed to be able to rule over an entire region. Even the independent, unknown space seemed to bow down before it, kneeling at the divine hall's feet.

At this moment, two balls of light suddenly appeared in a silent, dark secret room at the top of the divine hall. They tore through the darkness like two bolts of lightning, giving the dark room some light.

"The Empyrean Demon Orb. This is the presence of the Empyrean Demon Orb. Ning Shuang, have you come to the Saints' World?"

A trembling, excited voice suddenly rang out in the pitch-black room. It was filled with reminiscence.

The two balls of light that had suddenly appeared were actually a pair of eyes that shone brightly.

It was even possible to vaguely make out a figure seated in the secret room from the two balls of light.

A large body sat there, giving off a terrifying presence that seemed to be enough to make the sky collapse.

"How many years, just how many years has it been? I've finally waited till this day. I've already prepared everything in the Saints' World. Ning Shuang, we can meet again very soon."

The voice filled with reminiscence rang out once again. After a million years of preparation, a million years of arduous effort, and a million years of bitter waiting and eagerness, it was finally happening.

Even though the owner of the voice had already forged a heart that would not tremble even if the universe was destroyed, it shook uncontrollably at this moment.

He had waited far too long for this day.

"Master, this one has important matters to report!"

At this moment, an elderly voice suddenly rang out from outside the secret room. It was filled with respect.

Silently, a black-robed old man had appeared outside the secret room.

The old man's eyes were deep as if the boundless outer space was hidden in there. As a matter of fact, there seemed to be endless laws interweaving with one another in his eyes as if the ways of the world were resonating. It was like a tremendous universe was evolving in there.

Moreover, the presence that the old man gave off from time to time was enough to shock the world.

The old man was extremely powerful!

However, he stood outside the secret room politely with his head lowered. Respect had filled his face.

"Is it about the branch on the Cloud Plane?" The voice in the secret room rang out.

"Exactly that. Master, this one has just received the news that the nine blood beads and soul beads that the branch on the Cloud Plane has used countless years to condense have been taken away by an unknown Chaotic Prime," the old man said politely.

"I know this already. You can go. The mission of the branch on the Cloud Plane has been completed," said the person in the secret room.

The old man was slightly surprised when he heard that. Afterwards, he bowed politely and said, "This one understands! This one bids you farewell."

With that, the old man vanished silently.

In the secret room, the person with the glowing eyes began to murmur once again, "Since the Empyrean Demon Orb has appeared in the Saints' World, they must have come up as well. Sigh, it's just a pity that my original body is still trapped. This clone cannot advance to the Cloud Plane."

The old man directly made his way to a hall after he departed. Seven people had already been waiting there for him.

These seven people also possessed powerful presences. They were all experts of the Primordial realm.

"Greetings, grand elder!"

The seven people all bowed when they saw the old man. Respect filled their faces. Soon afterwards, one of them said, "Grand elder, according to the images and sketches from the three vice-leaders from the branch on the Cloud Plane, we've basically found out who the intruder is. She should be Hao Yue, the person who was ranked third on the Godkings' Throne several hundred thousand years ago."

"Hao Yue is extremely powerful. It's said that when she was a Godking, she killed an Infinite Prime. Her current strength is even greater now. Even if us seven elders fight her together, we probably would not be able to defeat her," said a beautiful woman who only seemed to be in her twenties. She possessed natural charm, where her actions could invoke an irresistible sense of desire.

At this moment, a terrifying pressure suddenly appeared. As if it could squash the sky, it enveloped the entire hall with a terrifying might.

Aside from the grand elder, the expressions of the seven other powerful Primordial realm experts changed with the appearance of the pressure. The seven of them felt like they were suffocating from the pressure. They even felt like the surrounding space was pressing down on them.

"Grand elder, do you need me to set out and capture the intruder of the branch on the Cloud Plane?"

A deep voice rang through the hall. It was cold and merciless, icy and terrifying.

The grand elder stood there indifferently, where it was impossible to tell what he was thinking, "No need. The mission of the branch on the Cloud Plane has already been completed. We don't need to interfere with the matters there too much, just in case it foils master's grand plan."

The seven elders looked at one another before accepting the orders.

The terrifying pressure that engulfed the entire hall vanished with what the grand elder had said.

Princess Tai'an sat in her own residence within the imperial palace of the Xi Empire in the northern region of the Cloud Plane. In her hands, there was an embroidered box that she played around with. She was very much curious about it.

"Just what is Jian Chen giving to my aunt and uncle? He acted so mysteriously about it, and he even said that my aunt and uncle might like it," princess Tai'an murmured softly. However, she did not open the box. She said with some annoyance, "It's a pity that it has been so many days, and aunt and uncle have yet to return. I wonder when I can give this box to aunt."

"And aunt has been in a rather bad mood recently. Jian Chen is a supreme Overgod, so aunt and uncle should accept a gift from him, right?" Princess Tai'an felt rather uneasy inside. Looking at the box, she did not feel confident about giving it to them.

"Your highness, the emperor and empress have returned," at this moment, a female servant's voice rang out from outside.

With that, princess Tai'an's eyes lit up. She put the box away in her Space Ring and immediately ran out.

In the Xi Empire, it was an extremely difficult matter for many of the princes and princesses to see the emperor and the empress. There were even some princes and princesses who would never even hold a conversation with the emperor or the empress.

However, princess Tai'an was an exception. Her status in the Xi Empire was extremely special. She could visit the emperor and empress whenever she wished.