The Demon Emperor's Speculation

Chapter Forty-Seven: The Demon Emperor's Speculation

Within Lingxiao Palace, the shadows cast by the Gilded Coiled Dragon Pillars were like congealed ink.

Di Jun sat high on the Nine Dragon Golden Throne, the River Diagram and Luo Book floating above his palm. The patterns on the Tortoise Shell flickered erratically, as if silently performing deductions.

Eastern Emperor Tai Yi stood motionless beneath the steps. The phantom of the Chaos Bell rose and fell, its walls reflecting the shattered mountains and rivers of the Primordial Wilderness. A point of Chaos Profound Light revolved at the bell's center, pressing the air in the palace until it grew as heavy and stagnant as lead. Ji Meng had finished his report, but its lingering echoes still swirled beneath the palace beams like rolling thunder.

"Saint of the Small Courtyard... Cut Grass and Remove Roots... strength lies in unity..." Tai Yi repeated in a low voice, and the Chaos Bell trembled with a hum. He suddenly raised his head, his golden pupils blazing like splashing lava. "Brother! Such an existence is certainly no nobody! To enlighten Ji Meng, command Chaotic Vitality, evade the deductions of the River Diagram and Luo Book, and escape the Chaos Bell's tracing—he must be a reclusive Chaos Demon God!"

"Only the Chaos Demon Gods who existed before the creation of the world could transcend the restraints of the Primordial Wilderness's Heavenly Dao!" Tai Yi took a step forward, his voice shaking the palace. "His words, 'Cut Grass and Remove Roots,' represent the thunderous means of exterminating all opposition; imparting the Dao of 'unity' is the imperial art of gathering power! After lying dormant for countless years, he has now revealed his traces through Ji Meng. His ambitions are certainly no small ones!" The phantom of the Chaos Bell violently surged with his emotions. Bell waves swept out, and the cloud-patterned bricks in the corners of the palace cracked inch by inch!

Di Jun rubbed the icy edge of the River Diagram and Luo Book with his fingertips, his gaze as deep as an abyss. "A Chaos Demon God... It is indeed possible." The patterns on the Tortoise Shell shifted, projecting the image of the creation tribulation's lightning splitting the chaos apart. "Yet all the Demon Gods were slain by Pangu, their remnant souls fleeing into the void. If there truly is a survivor, why reveal himself now? And why hide in a mere Small Courtyard, rescuing dogs and growing vegetables?"

"Or perhaps... a Primordial mighty figure who does not wish to emerge into the world." Di Jun's voice was solemn. The light of the River Diagram and Luo Book abruptly shifted, and the Tortoise Shell's patterns intertwined into a vision of Buzhou Mountain collapsing and the Heavenly River pouring down. "Nuwa created humanity and became a sage, while the Three Pure Ones established their teachings and proved the Dao. The fortune of the Primordial Wilderness has already changed. Such an existence may be avoiding the karma of a calamity, or plotting an even greater game of strategy. Thus, he hides among mortals, using plants and pottery as a smokescreen." His gaze swept over Ji Meng beneath the steps. "Enlightening a Demon Commander is both a show of goodwill and a warning—the Demon Court's every move is under his watch!"

"A show of goodwill?" Tai Yi's brows furrowed sharply. "Isn't calling him a 'little dog' an insult?!"

"An insult?" A cold sneer tugged at the corner of Di Jun's mouth. "In the eyes of such an existence, even a Demon Commander is no more than an ant. Calling him a 'little dog' was meant to awaken us—the living beings of the Primordial Wilderness are all within the range of his palm!" The River Diagram and Luo Book suddenly flared with light, projecting an image of the Small Courtyard: a crude stone house, verdant Vegetable Plot, rough Clay Jar... Beneath its ordinary appearance flowed a Chaos Dao Charm that made even sacred treasures tremble!

A deathly silence descended over the great hall. After a long while, Di Jun slowly closed his palm, and the light of the River Diagram and Luo Book receded.

"Whether it is a Chaos Demon God or a Primordial mighty figure, its power is already beyond our ability to measure." His voice seemed to come from the depths of the Nine Nether Hell, cold and low, like the sound of two blocks of frozen iron colliding. It sent a chill through anyone who heard it.

"To investigate recklessly may invite annihilation!" His words revealed deep fear and concern, as if the power of that Chaos Demon God or Primordial mighty figure were so terrifying that merely peering into it could bring disaster.

The Chaos Bell in Tai Yi's possession abruptly fell silent. The image of the Witch-Demon Battlefield's defeat on its walls shattered inch by inch. Though he was hot-tempered, he knew his brother's words were true—an existence capable of evading the Heavenly Dao's deductions possessed might beyond the Primordial Wilderness's understanding!

"Pass down my order." Di Jun's gaze swept over the generals below, his pressure descending like the heavens collapsing. "The matter of the Small Courtyard is to be classified as the Demon Court's highest secret! Anyone who reveals even a single word—"

The Chaos Bell rang in response!

"Boom—!"

The bell wave swept out like a tangible blade. A sky-supporting jade pillar outside the palace silently vanished, without even raising a speck of dust!

"Let their souls be annihilated, and their bloodline exterminated!"

Within the shadows, Demon Master Kunpeng gently waved his feather fan, a cold glint flashing briefly in his eyes. He stepped forward and bowed, his voice like a venomous snake flicking its tongue. "Your Majesty is wise. Yet now that a sage has appeared, the Demon Court cannot afford not to investigate. I request permission to secretly dispatch a trusted subordinate to observe the Small Courtyard's Dao Resonance from afar under the guise of traveling, without disturbing it in the slightest. If he happens to gain even the slightest opportunity..."

Di Jun narrowed his golden eyes, and the River Diagram and Luo Book silently revolved in his palm. After a long while, he slowly nodded. "Approved. But he may only observe from afar. He must not approach, and he must not mention the Demon Court in any way!"

"This subject obeys." Kunpeng lowered his head, his feather fan hiding a trace of sinister laughter at the corner of his lips.

Outside the palace, Demonic Cloud roiled. Ji Meng stood before the steps, the silver scales along his back glimmering with dark gold. He gazed toward Buzhou Mountain, as if piercing through ten thousand miles of clouds and mist to see the green seedlings swaying in the Small Courtyard. The sage's game had begun. How should the Demon Court make its move?