Chapter 2219: Breaking the Enemy Discussion

As for Aunt Zhu, He Lingchuan initially didn't want to assign her a position, fearing that their friendship would turn into a subordinate-superior relationship. But Aunt Zhu didn't care about rank; she only wanted to use her primal power to bully others, with the main goal being to pick a fight. In the end, He Lingchuan had no choice but to create a special "guest" position for her.

"The last time 'Awakening of Insects' arrived was many years ago. These immortals and demons had been in seclusion for hundreds, even thousands of years, so they were naturally unaccustomed to the present world," Emperor Mou explained. "Many important cave-mansions left no trace when they closed, making them very safe. But now they are reconnecting with the human world and preparing to open, which is causing anomalies at their entrances. The Sky Demons and Baka have come upon hearing this, intending to launch a sneak attack; Spirit Mountain and our country are defending staunchly, striving to protect them."

He sighed softly: "In fact, over the past year and a half, there have been more than ten battles centered around these cave-mansions, and both sides have suffered casualties. It's just that these battles are too clandestine for most mortals to know about them."

He Lingchuan understood: "Like the Battle of the Upside-Down Sea."

Emperor Mou was right; such battles were so secret that even Cang Yan's channels had only gathered a few reports.

"Precisely."

The Battle of the Upside-Down Sea occurred when the Storm Wall naturally vanished, allowing Miao Zhantian to lead a host of demons into the Upside-Down Sea, aiming to seize True Person Qianhuan's physical body.

Therefore, the Sky Demons and Baka were currently busy with these cave-mansions for the same reason:

Now was the perfect time to seize the bodies of immortals!

Spirit Mountain and the Mou Kingdom could not stand by and watch their opponents grow stronger while they weakened; they had an obligation to intervene and intercept.

Thus, these clandestine, high-stakes, and intense battles were unfolding behind the scenes of the world.

Emperor Mou and Spirit Mountain were expending more energy on this matter, so they naturally couldn't fully focus on the ongoing war in the human realm.

"The Primeval Bureau has also handled two similar cases," which made the human world's situation unprecedentedly complex.

Emperor Mou then asked, "To digress for a moment, do you know why Saintly Venerable Lingxu did not personally descend upon the Upside-Down Sea, given how important True Person Qianhuan's body was?"

This question had crossed He Lingchuan's mind before, but he hadn't had the time to delve into it. He had too many matters to contemplate.

"I'd like to hear your explanation." True Monarch Zangxi's body was a true immortal's form borrowed by Miao Zhantian from Saintly Venerable Lingxu. Since Saintly Venerable Lingxu had this body, it would have been safest for him to personally descend to deal with True Person Qianhuan.

Emperor Mou took a shallow breath: "True Monarch Zangxi's body cannot bear the true descent of Saintly Venerable Lingxu."

He Lingchuan was stunned: "What? Even the body of a true immortal can't contain him?"

"Indeed. In the Demon Realm, Saintly Venerable Lingxu is renowned as the foremost being below the Three Holy Gods, with cultivation far surpassing other Sky Demons. For three millennia since the appearance of the Celestial Net Star, the Lingxu Pantheon's ability to command the winds and rains in the Demon Realm and suppress other celestial gods to the point of suffocation is largely due to having Saintly Venerable Lingxu as their trump card," Emperor Mou continued. "Don't be fooled by Miao Zhantian ranking third among the Lingxu Pantheon during his lifetime; in reality, his abilities were still far inferior to Saintly Venerable Lingxu's."

He Lingchuan immediately asked, "How does he compare to Mitian?"

"Previously, Mitian was also elusive in the Demon Realm, with power surpassing Miao Zhantian's. However, both realms generally agree that Saintly Venerable Lingxu is still the undisputed number one in the Demon Realm."

The "two realms" naturally referred to the Demon Realm and the interior of Spirit Mountain.

This view certainly held merit.

He Lingchuan gave a wry smile: "If even True Monarch Zangxi's body cannot bear him, then it seems Saintly Venerable Lingxu cannot descend to this realm. Do we still need to worry about him?"

If a terrifying leviathan couldn't swim into shallow reef beds, why would small fish and shrimp need to worry about it?

"By the same token, there are true immortals in the human realm even more powerful than Zangxi, residing within Spirit Mountain," Emperor Mou shook his head. "Saintly Venerable Lingxu is also a strategic genius; neither you nor I know how many preparations he has made over these past few millennia. Perhaps—"

He looked at He Lingchuan: "He is targeting the Grand Flask."

If he could draw upon Mitian's experience, perhaps Saintly Venerable Lingxu wouldn't need an absurdly powerful body to descend to the human realm?

He Lingchuan smiled: "Hearing you say that sends shivers down my spine."

Despite his words, there was not a trace of fear on his face.

"By the way, how much does Your Majesty know about the Sky Demons' plan to return to the human realm?"

As this was a common enemy for both sides, it was best to exchange intelligence.

"You mean their demon puppet experiments?" Emperor Mou knew, as expected. "Over the past three years, we have destroyed three of Heavenly Palace's demon puppet experimental sites, two small and one large, located on land, by the sea, and at sea, respectively. Many twisted, deformed demons appeared in these sites; some were very close to human form, but their minds were deranged, and their appearances were unstable. My dispatched personnel personally witnessed two demon puppets spontaneously explode into a mist of blood. If they intend to use them as vessels for divine descent—"

He shook his head: "I think Heavenly Palace still has a long way to go."

"Then we still have time. However, each great resurgence of spiritual energy also benefits the Sky Demons," He Lingchuan said earnestly. "Your Majesty, how do you believe the human realm should respond once the Great Sky Demons descend again?"

"How can we achieve victory?" He paused, "This time, we don't have the Black Dragon Divine Venerable."

This was a heavy topic, and Emperor Mou's lips drooped.

"Spirit Mountain and the Mou Kingdom will fight to the death. Cang Yan also has no retreat."

Once the Sky Demons returned to the human realm, it would likely be a fight to the death with Spirit Mountain and the assembled immortals. As for He Lingchuan, his head was coveted by who knew how many Sky Demons; he would certainly not fare well then!

He Lingchuan chuckled: "Your Majesty, aren't you being too pessimistic? Haven't you considered that we could win?"

"When the spiritual energy of heaven and earth is abundant, superior immortals can enter the world, and only then do the Sky Demons face true opponents," Emperor Mou sighed. "But conversely, abundant spiritual energy also further increases the possibility of the Great Sky Demons descending. The arrival of a prosperous age is also a double-edged sword."

This was easy to understand: if spiritual energy didn't recover to an extremely abundant level, it couldn't sustain the activities of superior immortals and Great Sky Demons.

From these few sentences, He Lingchuan understood that Emperor Mou still didn't believe he could truly join the battle against the Great Sky Demons. In Emperor Mou's view, the roster for the ultimate war included only immortals and Sky Demons, with no one else able to intervene.

"The human realm of today is different from three thousand years ago," He Lingchuan said softly. "Your Majesty, have you considered that there might be other means to contend with, or even defeat, the Sky Demons?"

"Other means? What do you mean?"

"Primal power," He Lingchuan looked at the river surface. "The Celestial Net Star reshaped the laws of the two realms, while the Grand Flask brought new power to the human world."

Emperor Mou wore an expression that confirmed his thoughts: "I have also considered it carefully. While primal power is good, it is ultimately merely mortal strength, with too low a limit! It might be useful against ordinary immortals or Sky Demons, but what good would it be against an opponent of the Great Sky Demon's caliber?"

As the monarch of a great nation, who dealt with primal power daily, he was naturally one of the few people in the world who understood it most deeply.

When Great Sky Demons and superior immortals made their move, the heavens and earth would collapse.

Mortals? Mortals would be scrambling to escape in panic then, what power could they possibly muster?

That was an exponential gap!