Wei River

What happened on Chessboard Mountain was naturally unknown to Zhou Yuan.

He rode the clouds and mist out of the Myriad Spirit Mountain Range, and what greeted his eyes was a magnificent sight.

Across the land, Divine Demon tribes stood in great numbers, jointly guarding the Divine Demon Imperial Dynasty at the center.

"According to the beings in the Myriad Spirit Mountain Range, the Primordial World is still ruled by Divine Demons."

"Innate Deities occupy the dominant ecological niche, combining with each other to form Innate God Clans and monopolizing resources."

Innate Deities were born with a Primordial Dao Embryo, and their comprehension of the Great Dao and Laws was beyond that of Innate Beings and Postnatal Beings.

Born into privilege, they naturally looked down on other beings in the Primordial World.

"But as the Primordial World evolved, the innate spiritual energy gradually dissipated, and the environment is no longer as favorable as in the ancient god era. Thus, these god clans could only reluctantly combine with Innate Beings and even Postnatal Beings."

"The offspring born are the second tier of the ruling class, Divine Blood Beings."

"As for the third tier, it is Innate Beings like myself."

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

As for Postnatal Beings, they were seen as ants, expendable resources, food, or beasts of burden.

The Divine Demon Imperial Dynasty closest 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 and streams crisscrossed the Tianshui Imperial Dynasty, with the Huai River, one of the Four Great Rivers, flowing through its territory.

Zhou Yuan followed the water veins, concealing his tracks, unwilling to come into contact with these Divine Demon tribes.

To avoid trouble.

He continued to sneak along like this.

One day, Zhou Yuan looked at the water mist covering thousands of miles of mountains and rivers before him, and his brow twitched.

Because he discovered that his divine sense could not penetrate the mist.

This mist clearly had the effect of isolating divine sense.

"This must be the Wei River region that Rat Ancestor Zishu spoke of."

"This water mist is rather strange."

Golden light flashed in Zhou Yuan's eyes, and black and white profound light flowed between his brows.

"Although the Heavenly Secrets divination technique is also suppressed."

"But the Heavenly Machine Chessboard's profound nature makes it not difficult to calculate directions."

Zhou Yuan's fingers moved, and various Heavenly Secrets manifested.

He looked at the water mist before him, pondered for a moment, chose a direction, and transformed into a streak of light, vanishing from his original spot.

On the banks of the Wei River.

A magnificent palace, resplendent with gold and jade, forged from divine metal and carved from immortal jade, exuded a domineering and sharp aura.

In front of the palace, several colossal beasts, hundreds of feet tall, with chains as thick as small mountains wrapped around them, were slowly pulling the palace forward.

On either side of the palace were ragged and numb Postnatal Beings.

They pushed the palace, like an ant colony, surrounding the massive structure, and simultaneously serving as food to sustain the giant beasts.

Inside the palace, immortal music drifted, and a group of Innate God Clans drank and reveled, their eyes hazy as they watched divine maidens dance.

The deity in the center wore a light blue divine robe, and the aura of Water Element permeated the air.

He slowly spoke:

"Has the team searching for the Grotto-heaven entrance ahead sent back a reply?"

As soon as he spoke, the hall fell silent.

The dancers and musicians stopped their movements, bowed slightly, and slowly retreated.

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

"Once we enter, our divine senses cannot be used."

"The Grotto-heaven is hidden, and if we are to search for it, it will take some time."

A deity replied.

Another deity added:

"Moreover, according to the message from the search team ahead, the beings gathering in the Wei River are increasing."

"The anomaly of the great fog should have attracted many beings to covet it and try to investigate."

"If we delay further, it might not be beneficial for us."

The deity at the head of the table frowned slightly upon hearing this.

He was the Eighteenth Prince of the Tianshui Imperial Dynasty.

He was the youngest son of the Tianshui Divine Emperor, and was greatly favored by him.

Therefore, he used great magical power and divine abilities to plan a great opportunity for him.

"The Water God of the Wei River has been dead for several epochs."

"No new god has been born in the water domain."

"But the Water God's Golden Seal has always been in the water domain's Water Mansion."

"Now that the Water Mansion has appeared, it is truly a great opportunity."

The prince's thoughts churned endlessly.

The Wei River was a tributary of the Huai River, one of the four ancestral rivers. The position it nurtured, although not as good as the Huai River.

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

"My brothers who have not yet achieved Grand Unity Great Sage are all watching this place."

"If it weren't for the great support of the Divine Emperor, this great opportunity wouldn't have fallen into my lap."

Thinking of this, the Eighteenth Prince narrowed his eyes, his deep blue eyes unfathomably profound.

But if he couldn't enter the grotto-heaven this time and seize the position of the Wei River God in one fell swoop.

Then these brothers wouldn't mind coming to take it themselves.

By then, even the Divine Emperor wouldn't be able to stop them.

Thinking of this, the Eighteenth Prince slowly spoke, his voice resolute, exuding a strong slayer aura:

"Dispatch your Dao Soldiers and slaves, and act separately."

"Kill all living beings you see along the way."

"Whoever finds the grotto-heaven first will have their tribe's tribute waived for thirty thousand years."

"Postnatal Beings will be granted the opportunity to ascend to the Innate Realm, and their clan's deities will be married off."

"Innate Beings and Divine Blood Beings will receive rewards one level higher than Postnatal Beings."

As soon as these words were spoken, there was a commotion in the palace.

Thirty thousand years of tribute was not a small amount for a large tribe.

Of course, this was only the reward for the tribes.

They cared more about the rewards for individuals.

The beings present exchanged glances.

They all saw the fervor in each other's eyes.

"We accept your command."

Everyone spoke in unison, their voices filled with passion.

Thus, teams of beings, centered around the palace, spread out densely in all directions.

On the top floor of the palace.

The Eighteenth Prince stood in the thick fog, looking at the overwhelming number of beings before him, and muttered:

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

"Coupled with the endless stream of beings rushing from all around the Wei River."

"It should be enough."

The Eighteenth Prince looked at the vast water mist and shook his head slightly.

If it weren't for the constant trouble caused by that darn Myriad Races Alliance, cultivators above the Grand Unity Great Sage realm of the Imperial Dynasty would have to guard their respective territories.

His father had warned him not to cause too much of a stir, lest he attract the attention of the one on Phoenix Perch Mountain.

He would have already invited an elder from the clan to take action.

It wouldn't be this troublesome.

Zhou Yuan walked in the thick fog for an unknown amount of time.

He encountered more and more living beings.

The smell of blood in the air grew heavier.

He didn't know why these beings were so tense, and why they attacked him ferociously upon seeing him.

He had encountered more than ten groups of beings in the past few days.

"Killing has become the norm."

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

Zhou Yuan frowned.

There must be something strange going on.

Unfortunately, the previous waves of cultivators he encountered were all rogue cultivators, and he couldn't extract much useful information from them.

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

He lightly tapped his bamboo staff, and a shield of Ren Water enveloped his body.

Then, Yin and Yang Qi circulated around him endlessly.

Rumble.

Several divine lights, carrying several divine magical artifacts, struck Zhou Yuan's shield, but couldn't shake it in the slightest.

The group of cultivators who had ambushed him from not far away were terrified and their faces turned ashen when they saw this.

They had to know that with their magical artifacts and full-power surprise attack, even a great cultivator in the True One Realm would be in a sorry state.

But who knew that this Daoist could block their attack so casually.

He must be a powerful being.

The leader of the group, a divine being, his expression changed drastically. Waves of immense water surged beneath his feet, and using the momentum of the Wei River, he was about to flee the area in an instant.

"This Daoist must be a great expert in the True One Realm. I have only cultivated to the Heavenly Human Realm and cannot defeat him."

"But the Eighteenth Prince is the Divine Emperor's own son and has supreme treasures accompanying him."

"Let alone a True One Realm cultivator, even if the Grand Unity Great Sage confronted the Eighteenth Prince, he wouldn't be able to defeat him in a short time."

If he revealed this Daoist's whereabouts to the Eighteenth Prince, it would be a great contribution.

Seeing this, Zhou Yuan laughed in anger:

"You all want to kill me wantonly and attack me from the shadows the moment you see me."

"Now why are you fleeing like a stray dog?"

"Since you've provoked me, you'll all stay here today."

With that, the nine-sectioned bamboo staff in Zhou Yuan's hand split into thousands.

Streams of Pure Spiritual Light flickered.

Closing their spiritual senses and five senses, with a single sweep, those fleeing beings instantly became dazed and confused.

Zhou Yuan's expression shifted, and a golden lamp appeared in the mist, emitting immeasurable light.

Sparks fell upon the beings.

In just a moment, those beings turned into dust.

The Heavenly Human divine being who had regained consciousness and witnessed this scene felt even more fear, his legs trembling.

Magical Treasures, Divine Abilities.

This was definitely not an ordinary rogue cultivator.

He had really provoked a tough opponent this time.

This Heavenly Human divine being couldn't help but feel regret.

Zhou Yuan didn't care what he was thinking.

He lightly tapped his bamboo staff, striking the man until he fell unconscious.

Then, he waved his sleeve, conjured clouds and mist.

He carried the unconscious Heavenly Human divine being and floated away.