In the deepest reaches of Immortal-Sojourn Valley.
Inside a gloomy cave abode, daylight never reached it all year round.
Only thin streams seeped from the ceiling, sliding down stalactite pillars with a steady dripping sound.
The sound of water echoed through the spacious cavern, making its deathly silence all the more profound.
The cavern was enormous, but its furnishings were exceedingly sparse.
On a stone dais at its far end stood a lone, broad chair carved from stone.
The stone chair was empty.
Below the steps, two burly figures sat impassively on the ground.
They were the two demons of the eight-piece chessmaster realm who had abducted the Dark Nether Patriarch earlier.
Clearly, no one occupied that stone chair.
Yet these two Great Demons, each a mighty power even in the southern Cloud-Dream Realm, both kept their heads lowered.
Neither dared make the slightest presumptuous move.
Amid the silence.
The Jackal Demon suddenly opened his eyes, a strange glint flashing through his scarlet gaze. "Have you heard the news from the Cloud-Dream Palace..."
The Gray Wolf Demon kept his eyes closed and merely spoke quietly. "The newly appeared Immortal-God Cave Abode?"
"That's right."
The Jackal Demon nodded. "Apparently, it caused quite a stir. Even the steward of the Cloud-Dream Palace appeared in person. They've already sealed off the surrounding thousand miles."
The Gray Wolf Demon slowly opened his eyes, his expression calm. "When an Immortal-God Cave Abode appears, every faction stirs at the news. Such caution is hardly surprising."
At those words.
The Jackal Demon withdrew his gaze in disappointment. Looking outside the cave, he suddenly sighed. "An Immortal-God Cave Abode... if we could obtain some Spirit Art Realm inheritance or a Dao-Union Relic from it... why would either of us still have to watch someone else's face before acting?"