"Speak."
Di Jun said indifferently.
"Because I'm still in contact with the Purple Mansion, they believe I'm still one of their own. So they haven't hidden certain information or secrets from me."
"According to the Purple Mansion, East King Duke obtained some tremendous opportunity, which brought about astonishing changes in the Purple Mansion."
"Now, not only East King Duke, but all six of the Purple Mansion's high-ranking members—Pan Wang, Thunder King, Azure King, Soul King, Snow King, and Wing King—have broken through to the Quasi-Saint Early Stage. East King Duke's strength is even more unfathomable. Although he hasn't yet broken through to the Quasi-Saint Middle Stage, he isn't far from it."
"They've already begun plotting. Once they've made all the necessary preparations, they intend to attack the Heavenly Court and completely eliminate Your Majesty and the entire Heavenly Court. They want me to cooperate with them from within when the time comes."
"They just don't know that I was already won over by Your Majesty's grand vision and have submitted to you."
Heavenly Dog chose his words carefully as he spoke.
"Six Quasi-Saints, plus East King Duke himself."
A glint flashed in Di Jun's eyes.
Interesting. What opportunity had East King Duke obtained to undergo such a tremendous transformation?
Thinking of what Heavenly Dog had said, Di Jun couldn't help but wear a strange expression.
The Purple Mansion had sent Heavenly Dog and two others to infiltrate the Heavenly Court, but they had simply switched sides. The Purple Mansion hadn't gained a thing; instead, it had lost several powerful members, and its own secrets had been laid bare. "Impressive" hardly did it justice.
Now that was impressive!
Truly a marvel of nature.
"Except for anything related to the Mythological Imperial Dynasty, which must remain secret, give them whatever information they ask for."
After a flurry of thoughts, Di Jun spoke without haste.
"Yes, this subordinate obeys."
Heavenly Dog bowed his head.
"You may leave."
"We take our leave."
"We take our leave."
Heavenly Dog and the other two bowed, then withdrew respectfully.
"Elder Brother, are you planning to use the Purple Mansion to keep the Heavenly Court hidden?"
Since they were alone, Taiyi didn't bother addressing Di Jun as "Your Majesty." Seeing what Di Jun had in mind, he asked thoughtfully.
"The Primordial Wilderness is deep waters. Pushing ourselves into the limelight too soon would do the Heavenly Court no good. It's best to let East King Duke's Purple Mansion take center stage, keeping the Heavenly Court behind the scenes as it develops. Why not?"
Di Jun chuckled.
"But..."
Taiyi hesitated.
"Keeping a low profile doesn't mean the Heavenly Court has to remain hidden from view. We're only keeping East King Duke around to raise the stakes. Someone like him can't stir up much trouble, even if we let him live."
"Besides, when I say we should stay hidden, I don't mean the Heavenly Court should pretend to be weak while secretly holding power. We'll conceal only part of our strength—for example, me, and the systems related to mythology. There's no need to hide anything else. If we're too modest, won't the world look down on our Heavenly Court?"
"The Heavenly Court has existed for tens of millions of years. It's time for the living beings of the Primordial Wilderness to learn its name. This is the perfect opportunity."
"Taiyi, I need to go into seclusion and deduce a few things. Make the necessary preparations for this. East King Duke wants a war? Then we'll give him one. If necessary, I'll personally take action!"
Di Jun looked at Taiyi, understood what he meant, and spoke calmly.
"Yes, I understand."
Taiyi's eyes lit up. Grinning, he could barely contain his eagerness.
He bowed to Di Jun, then hurried off.
"Things are moving forward. It's time to start preparing for many things."
Watching Taiyi leave, Di Jun let out a breath and slowly closed his eyes.
In the Primordial Wilderness, time passed unnoticed. Tens of millions of years flashed by.
In the blink of an eye, hundreds of thousands of years had passed. The entire Primordial Wilderness endured those years in an eerie, oppressive atmosphere. The tension seemed to be building toward a breaking point; "a storm is coming" no longer seemed an adequate description.
Across the vast world, only a handful of living beings were still out and about. The rest of the Primordial Wilderness's inhabitants were either cultivating or quietly waiting in their respective sanctuaries.
Countless gazes were fixed on the Heavenly Court and the Purple Mansion. There had been no signs, and nothing had happened yet, but given the wisdom of the Primordial Wilderness's inhabitants and powerful beings, how could even the dullest among them fail to see what was coming?
The great battle was drawing ever closer!
War was about to erupt!!!
The Purple Mansion, Donghua Palace.
"Everything is ready. Everyone, the time has come for our Purple Mansion to rule the Primordial Wilderness and unite the entire Primordial World!"
"After this battle, the Heavenly Court will be a thing of the past. Only the Purple Mansion will endure, and I alone will govern order and Qiankun throughout the Primordial Wilderness!"
From his throne, East King Duke slowly rose. His aura was as unfathomable as the sea, vast and overwhelming. His spirited voice rang throughout the palace.
I am the Head of Male Immortals. Naturally, I should rule over the male immortals of the Primordial Wilderness and become the sovereign of all its realms—the one and only supreme ruler!
Little Di Jun? How ridiculous. How could he possibly be my match?
I am the one the Primordial Wilderness appointed as Head of Male Immortals. I, East Hua Imperial Sovereign, am the uncrowned king of the Primordial Wilderness, its rightful ruler!
"Congratulations, Imperial Sovereign!"
"Congratulations, Imperial Sovereign!"
"Congratulations, Imperial Sovereign!"
Powerful members of the Purple Mansion stood on both sides of the hall. The six high-ranking members and all the others wore smiles as they shouted in unison.
"Imperial Sovereign, according to the information from Heavenly Dog, the Heavenly Court has grown quite rapidly during this time. Fuxi, Nuwa, and Taiyi have been in seclusion and rarely appear, so we can't accurately judge how much their cultivation has improved."
Pan Wang stepped forward, voicing his concern.
"It doesn't matter!"
"So what if they're in seclusion? They've had so little time that at most they've consolidated their realms and made some progress."
"Isn't the Heavenly Court relying on the Grand Formation of the Stars of the Heavens? I already have a way to break it. Once the formation is disabled, the Heavenly Court won't be able to stir up much trouble."
"With my trump card, even if Di Jun somehow broke through to the Quasi-Saint Middle Stage—which he won't—I could suppress him with a single thought."
East King Duke waved his hand, looking confident.
"Yes."
Pan Wang heard this and agreed that it made sense. He returned to his place in the ranks and said no more.
Unless the Heavenly Court had some kind of cheat, the Purple Mansion had the upper hand. How could anything go wrong? They had it in the bag. There was no way anything could go awry!
"Each of you, lead your troops. If Di Jun doesn't appear, I'll remain here and won't take part in the fighting. The Heavenly Court may be growing quickly, but our Purple Mansion has risen even more fearsomely. Your strength is more than enough to sweep through the entire Heavenly Court."
"By my decree, mobilize the troops and attack the Heavenly Realm!"
East King Duke slowly rose. Battle intent began to surge from him, and his eyes seemed to shoot out brilliant rays of light. His forceful, bloodthirsty command rang through the entire grotto-heaven of Mount Fangzhu.
Mobilize the troops and attack the Heavenly Realm!!!
"We obey the Imperial Sovereign's decree!"
"We obey the Imperial Sovereign's decree!"
"We obey the Imperial Sovereign's decree!!!"
Before you continue