Pincer Attack

"He just came crashing down like a dark, oppressive mass, and the four pieces of void gold beneath my feet were instantly suppressed, losing all their effect, like fireflies meeting the bright moon!"

Huang Daoxian's four feet were embedded in Void Gold. Among the many people in the Sinkhole No. 2, only Huang Daoxian had any sense of the Void Heaven Palace. Even Zhang Hao and the others had not noticed it.

If Zhang Xuezhou hadn't introduced it, Huang Daoxian wouldn't have known that the Void Gold Zhang Xuezhou possessed had been used to forge a palace.

This is not just a simple treasure; it involves a vast functional system.

Upon learning that the true god who provided the Void Heaven Palace had not died, and that Zhang Xuezhou had only temporarily borrowed the Void Heaven Palace, Huang Daoxian's jealous heart, which had been burning with envy, finally calmed down.

No one would dare to embezzle the treasures of a true God, especially such a precious treasure.

"I don't think this thing is very useful," Zhang Huang said doubtfully after listening for a long time. "The Zhouzi can't exactly have a grand palace built into his feet, can he?"

"What do you know?" Huang Daoxian shouted, "If there were such a grand hall that could traverse the void, treasures from higher-dimensional worlds could use it to travel through the void, thus retaining most of their power upon arriving in our world. Once we obtain these treasures, it would practically mean we'd be invincible!"

"The problem is we don't have any powerful backers in higher dimensions, so no one will pass on any treasures to us," Zhang Huang shrugged.

"Do you have any powerful cultivators in higher dimensions who are willing to give away treasures?" Zhang Hao asked doubtfully.

"Without!"

Huang Daoxian quickly shook his head, then glanced back and forth at Zhang Xuezhou, which made Zhang Xuezhou shake his head repeatedly.

"Tch, even if we had that ability, it wouldn't be of any use!"

Zhang Huang scoffed, finding Huang Daoxian's loud and unhelpful behavior, and his anger to the point of vomiting blood even more incomprehensible.

"This matter might not necessarily be a good thing!"

Huang Daoxian tried to argue again, but Zhang Hao shook his head, indicating that it wasn't a good thing for Zhang Xuezhou to temporarily possess the Void Heaven Palace.

"Hongjun has already set his sights on Xuezhou, and may even know its location. Xuezhou has also received a precious treasure from Xuezhou Niangniang. As far as I know, Houtu Niangniang and Hongjun seem to be at odds, and I've heard rumors that they've even fought to the death," Zhang Hao said. "Xuezhou is probably caught in the middle right now, being used as a pawn by both sides!"

That's pretty much the situation!

Zhang Xuezhou nodded.

Zhang Hao had indeed correctly guessed the awkward situation Zhang Xuezhou was facing.

As a former emperor of Heavenly Court, Zhang Hao was aware of the conflict between Houtu and Hongjun. Whenever these two clashed, regardless of whether one side was intentional or unintentional, anyone who interfered would rarely have a good ending.

"Does the teacher know this Houtu Niangniang?" Zhang Xuezhou asked.

"I don't know her, but Houtu is rumored to be a top genius among the Demon Race, even surpassing great demon gods like Nuwa and Fuxi," Zhang Hao said.

"Even you're just hearing rumors?"

Zhang Xuezhou sighed.

The Zhang Hao he inquired about was a very old man, considered an ancient figure by some. Little did he know that Houtu Niangniang was also considered an ancient figure by Zhang Hao, and many of her stories were only heard of.

"You experienced the conflict between the Immortal Court and the Heavenly Court, and you also fought against Hongjun. This means that Houtu Niangniang is older than Hongjun and ascended to a higher dimension in the Three Realms earlier than Hongjun," Zhang Xuezhou said.

"That's true," Zhang Hao nodded.

"This is troublesome!"

Zhang Xuezhou considered the situation several times in his mind, but felt that things were going rather badly.

"It seems that the newcomers are beginning to overthrow the order established by the former," Ren Yisheng said in a low voice. "But this Hongjun you're talking about seems to lack strength!"

"Xuezhou is not only being attacked from both sides, but also has to resist Donghua. Meanwhile, things are not peaceful on our side. What should we do?"

Ren Anran, on the other hand, looked somewhat worried, and an unusual expression of anxiety appeared on her face.

"The matter of Donghua is perhaps easier to handle," Zhang Xuezhou said. "The reason Houtu put me in charge of that main hall was to deal with Donghua, but Hongjun interfered from behind. He folded and compressed the Void Heaven Palace into a single point for me, and then asked me to find a treasure. That's why I'm not confident!"

"Did you tell my clone about these things?" Ren Anran asked in a low voice.

"I didn't fully understand the situation at the time, and only told part of it," Zhang Xuezhou said.

"If you're unsure, you can let her make a preliminary assessment; it might be helpful," Ren Anran said.

"I didn't rush into things because of your assessment," Zhang Xuezhou said. "You seem a bit off."

"For the first few days, I was in a daze," Ren Anran said. "Sometimes I could sense the existence of my clone, and sometimes I would lose contact with it. It was as if half of my brain had been cut off. I was completely confused until I was able to speak normally again in the last few days!"

"Have you lost control of your Yang Corporeal Soul Body now?" Zhang Xuezhou asked, frowning.

"Perhaps my mental strength is insufficient, and I can no longer feel it right now," Ren Anran nodded.

Ren Anran's situation is not hard to understand. It is a mental disconnection that exceeds the scope of coverage, just like a communication network cannot cover a wider area. Once the distance is too long, the signal will be lacking.

Once the clone returns, Ren Anran will return to normal.

The Void Heaven Palace has a significant impact on the giant tree's travel speed. Even without using the method of pulling with one's divine soul, Ren Anran has a relatively high probability of returning to the Sinkhole No. 2 by using the giant tree's flower house.

Although the Void Heaven Palace has Zhang Xuezhou caught in the middle, if used properly, this could actually be a favorable condition for Ren Anran.

"Don't worry, my mental strength was reduced by half after the separation. Once I re-condense it to its original level, and with the return of my clone, my mental strength will likely reach a new level," Ren Anran said. "For someone like me to be able to sever myself and then reassemble myself is already a miracle. Others can't even achieve that!"

"You always comfort me like this: if I were more capable, you wouldn't need to risk your life to go to the Three Realms!"

"You've done a great job, and everything turned out alright!"

Zhang Xuezhou and Ren Anran whispered to each other.

If it weren't for Huang Daoxian's conspicuous presence, the two would have prioritized confirming the situation through their exchange. Now, however, they had to supplement their information later. The rest of Huang Daoxian and the others went their separate ways, occasionally glancing at the two to hear about related matters.

"Rat, why was your lifelong wish to leave the Three Realms, while they have to risk entering Three Realms? Is your world even worth developing?"

After biting Zhang Xuezhou on the head, Huang Daoxian noticed that everyone was quite wary of him, showing a defensive attitude and unwilling to communicate with him.

After verifying repeatedly, Huang Daoxian found that only Zhang Hao was willing to respond normally, so he could only communicate with Zhang Hao.

"You rascal, don't get any funny ideas!"

Zhang Hao stared at Huang Daoxian and then let out a soft hum.

The Three Realms are not this world. This world can be invaded by beings from other realms once it is discovered, but very few cultivators have ever entered the Three Realms.

Entering the Three Realms is not simply a matter of traversing black holes and white holes; one must also face the challenges posed by Houtu and Hongjun.

He had lived through countless years in the Three Realms and had never seen any foreign cultivators launch a devastating attack, nor had he witnessed any large-scale climate change that altered the very fabric of the world.

If he wasn't mistaken, the invaders must have been killed before they even entered the Three Realms.

These cultivators who were killed either originated from Houtu's forces or from Hongjun's, which is why the Three Realms have remained relatively peaceful.