Wei River

Zhou Yuan naturally knew nothing of what had happened on Chessboard Mountain.

He rode the clouds and mist out of the Myriad Spirit Mountain Range, and an incomparably magnificent scene came into view.

Across the land, Divine Demon Tribes stood in every direction, jointly guarding the central Divine Demon Imperial Dynasty.

"According to the beings within the Myriad Spirit Mountain Range, the Divine Demons still rule the Primordial Great Land."

"Innate Deities occupy the dominant ecological position. They join with one another to form the Innate God Clan and monopolize resources."

Innate Deities were born with Primordial Dao Embryos. Their comprehension of the Great Dao and laws was far beyond that of Innate Beings and Postnatal Beings.

Born in Rome, they naturally looked down upon the other beings of the Primordial World.

"But as the Primordial World continued to evolve, Innate Spiritual Energy gradually dissipated. The environment was no longer as favorable as it had been during the era of the Primordial Divine Race. Thus, these god clans could only reluctantly join with Innate Beings and even Postnatal Beings."

"The offspring they produced formed the second tier of the ruling class: Divine Blood Beings."

"As for the third tier, it consists of Innate Beings like me."

These three types of beings were the mainstream within the Divine Demon Imperial Dynasty.

As for Postnatal Beings, they were nothing more than ants, expendable materials, blood food, and beasts of burden in their eyes.

The Divine Demon Imperial Dynasty nearest to the Myriad Spirit Mountain Range was the Tianshui Imperial Dynasty.

Its emperor was an Innate Dao Lord who cultivated the Great Dao of Water Element.

Great rivers crisscrossed the Tianshui Imperial Dynasty, and the Huai River, one of the Four Great Waterways, passed through its territory.

Zhou Yuan followed the waterways, concealing his tracks and avoiding contact with those Divine Demon Tribes.

That would spare him unnecessary trouble.

Thus, he traveled in secret all the way.

One day, Zhou Yuan looked at the water mist blanketing countless miles of mountains and rivers before him, and his brow rose slightly.

He had discovered that even his divine sense could not penetrate the mist.

This mist clearly had the effect of blocking divine sense.

"This must be the Wei River region Rat Ancestor Zishu mentioned."

"This water mist is rather strange."

Golden light flickered in Zhou Yuan's eyes, while black-and-white mystical radiance flowed between his brows.

"Even divination through the Heavenly Machine has been suppressed."

"However, the Heavenly Machine Chessboard possesses an exalted rank. Using it to calculate directions should not be difficult."

Zhou Yuan moved his fingers, and all manner of Heavenly Machine manifestations emerged.

He gazed at the water mist before him, pondered briefly, then chose a direction and transformed into a streak of light, vanishing from where he stood.

Along the banks of the Wei River.

A massive palace gleamed with gold and jade. It had been forged from divine metal and carved from immortal jade, exuding an overbearing and frigid aura.

Before the palace, several enormous beasts over a hundred zhang tall were bound with chains as thick as small mountains, dragging the palace slowly forward.

On either side of the palace stood ragged, numb Postnatal Beings.

They pushed the palace like a swarm of ants, crowding around the colossal structure while also serving as blood food for the enormous beasts.

Within the palace, immortal music drifted through the air. A group of Innate God Clan members drank and reveled, their unfocused gazes fixed upon the dancing divine maidens before them.

The deity seated in the center wore a pale blue divine robe, with the aura of the water element permeating the air.

He slowly spoke.

"Has there been any word from the team sent ahead to search for the entrance to the grotto-heaven?"

The moment he spoke, the hall fell silent.

The dancers and musicians hurriedly stopped what they were doing. After offering a slight bow, they slowly withdrew.

"Reporting to my lord, the great fog over the Wei River is truly troublesome."

"Once we enter it, our divine sense becomes unusable."

"The grotto-heaven is hidden. It will still take some time to locate it."

A deity spoke in reply.

Another deity picked up the conversation.

"Moreover, according to the message from the search party ahead, more and more beings are gathering within the Wei River."

"The strange phenomenon of the great fog must have drawn many beings here to investigate."

"If we delay any longer, I fear it will be detrimental to us."

The deity seated above frowned slightly after hearing this.

He was the Eighteenth Prince of the Tianshui Imperial Dynasty.

He was also the youngest child of the Tianshui Divine Emperor and greatly favored by his father.

Thus, the Divine Emperor had used Great Magic Power and Greater Divine Ability to arrange a great opportunity for him.

"The Wei River Water God has fallen for several kalpas."

"No new god has been born within these waters."

"Yet the Water God's Golden Seal has remained within the river's underwater manor."

"Now that the underwater manor has emerged, this is truly a great opportunity."

Thoughts churned endlessly in the prince's mind.

The Wei River was a branch of the Huai River, one of the Four Great Waterways' ancestral veins. Though the position it nurtured could not compare to that of the Huai River—

—it was still enough to support the position of a Grand Unity Great Sage.

"My elder brothers who have yet to attain the Grand Unity Great Sage realm are all watching this place as well."

"If not for the Divine Emperor's full support, this great opportunity would never have fallen into my hands."

At this thought, the Eighteenth Prince narrowed his eyes. His deep blue gaze was unfathomable.

But if he failed to enter the grotto-heaven this time and seize the Wei River's divine position in one stroke—

—then those elder brothers would not mind coming to claim it themselves.

By then, even the Divine Emperor would be unable to stop them.

Thinking this, the Eighteenth Prince slowly spoke, his tone sonorous and filled with killing intent.

"Send your Dao soldiers and slaves to act separately."

"Slay every being you encounter along the way."

"Whichever one finds the grotto-heaven first shall have its tribe's tribute exempted for thirty thousand years."

"Postnatal Beings shall be granted an opportunity to advance to the innate level and may choose a deity from their clan to marry into their family."

"You Innate Beings and Divine Blood Beings shall receive rewards one rank greater than those granted to Postnatal Beings."

The moment these words were spoken, the palace erupted into commotion.

One had to know that thirty thousand years of tribute was no small reward for a large tribe.

Of course, that was merely the reward for a tribe.

What they valued more were the rewards granted to individuals.

The beings present exchanged glances.

All saw the burning desire in one another's eyes.

"We accept your command."

Everyone spoke in unison, their voices impassioned and resolute.

Thus, groups of beings spread out densely in every direction, using the palace as their center.

At the top level of the palace.

The Eighteenth Prince stood within the great fog, looking at the countless beings spread out before him as he murmured softly.

"There are no fewer than a hundred thousand beings here."

"And more beings are constantly arriving at the Wei River from all directions."

"That should be enough."

The Eighteenth Prince gazed at the water mist filling the sky and shook his head slightly.

If not for the Myriad Races Alliance constantly making petty moves, forcing all cultivators of the Imperial Dynasty at the Grand Unity Great Sage realm and above to guard their respective territories—

—his father had instructed him not to make too much of a disturbance, lest it attract the attention of the one on Phoenix Perch Mountain.

He would have long since asked an elder of the clan to take action.

Why would he have to go through so much trouble now?

Zhou Yuan had no idea how long he had traveled within the great fog.

He encountered more and more beings.

The stench of blood in the air also grew increasingly heavy.

For some unknown reason, these beings were all tense, turning ferocious at the sight of anyone.

Over the past few days, he had encountered no fewer than a dozen groups of beings.

"Slaughter has already become commonplace."

"And more and more beings are gathering at the Wei River."

Zhou Yuan frowned.

There had to be something suspicious about this.

Unfortunately, the several groups of cultivators he had encountered earlier were all independent cultivators. He could not extract much useful information from them through interrogation.

Just then, Zhou Yuan's expression suddenly turned cold, and threads of killing intent emerged in his eyes.

He lightly tapped the bamboo staff in his hand, and a Ren Water barrier enveloped his body.

Then Yin and Yang Qi circulated endlessly around him.

Rumble!

Several beams of divine light, carrying several Divine Demon artifacts, slammed into Zhou Yuan's barrier, yet failed to shake it in the slightest.

The group of cultivators who had launched the ambush from afar turned pale with fright upon seeing this.

They had wielded their artifacts and struck with all their strength. In a surprise attack, even a great cultivator of the True One Realm would have been left in a sorry state.

Yet this Daoist had casually blocked their attack.

He had to be a great expert.

The leading deity's expression changed drastically. Towering waves rose beneath his feet, and borrowing the force of the Wei River, he was about to flee in an instant.

"This Daoist must be a True One Realm expert. I have only reached the Heavenly Human Realm; I am no match for him."

"But the Eighteenth Prince is the Divine Emperor's son and possesses supreme treasures to protect him."

"Not to mention a True One Realm cultivator—even a Grand Unity Great Sage could not take down the Eighteenth Prince in a short time."

If he revealed this Daoist's whereabouts to the Eighteenth Prince, would that not count as a great merit?

Seeing this, Zhou Yuan laughed in extreme anger.

"You all saw this poor Daoist and immediately sought to kill me without restraint, launching a sneak attack from the shadows."

"Why are you now fleeing like stray dogs?"

"Since you provoked this poor Daoist, all of you will remain here today."

With that, the Nine-Section Bamboo Staff in Zhou Yuan's hand split into countless copies.

Streaks of Pure Spiritual Light flashed.

They blocked divine sense and the five senses. With a single sweep, the fleeing beings immediately became muddled and dazed.

Zhou Yuan's expression shifted, and a golden lamp appeared within the water mist, releasing Immeasurable Light.

Sparks drifted down onto the several beings.

In mere moments, those beings turned to ashes.

When the leading Heavenly Human Divine Demon regained his senses and saw the scene before him, terror filled his heart, and his legs trembled.

Magic treasures, divine abilities.

This was absolutely no ordinary independent cultivator.

This time, he had provoked a truly formidable foe.

The Heavenly Human Divine Demon could not help but feel waves of regret.

Zhou Yuan did not care what he was thinking.

He lightly tapped him with the bamboo staff, knocking him unconscious.

Then, with a sweep of his sleeve, he summoned clouds and mist.

He drifted away with the Heavenly Human Divine Demon in tow.