Chapter 2339 (Raw 2446): Who Are the Pawns?
The seven Ethereal Immortal Palace keys looked like divine birds connected at head and tail, dazzling and resplendent.
On the Demon Blood Vulture, Xiao Chen, Chu Chaoyun, and the others looked into the distance and entered deep thought.
Xiao Chen thought to himself, The seven Ethereal Immortal Palace keys formed an incredibly dazzling circle. However, the inside of the circle is pitch-dark in stark contrast to the light of the keys.
That pitch-dark center looks very scary, vaguely showing space-time fluctuations.
To others, the scene in front looked like an eclipse. Aside from slight shock, they could not make out any of its mysteries or gain more information.
However, the nearby cultivators were all Great Perfection Sovereign Emperors or outstanding talents like Xiao Chen.
The space-time fluctuations they sensed made them frown heavily and show grave expressions.
The Space-Time Great Dao could be split into two.
One was the Space Dao, and the other was the Time Dao. The former was still fine. Many experts among the Sovereign Emperors here explored the Space Dao or had Secret Techniques or treasures related to the Space Great Dao.
For example, Xiao Chen’s Firmament’s Rage had a deep connection with the Space Great Dao.
The Five Element Divine Lightning cycling endlessly in Xiao Chen’s palm materialized a simplified small world. This was the manifestation of the Space Dao.
There were also people like Dao Yan, who grasped a tenth-layer Ice Dao Domain. Such super experts could directly materialize a small world.
However, the latter Time Dao…that was a Great Dao that inspired despair. If one could skim just its surface, one could sweep one’s way through the world.
Even during the Martial Epoch’s peak, no one grasped the Time Dao, not to mention this current age.
Xiao Chen’s state of cycle had barely connected to the Time Dao, but it was far from comparable.
The vague fluctuations that spread out easily made one associate them with the Wings of Time.
—
At the same time, the situation of the succession race’s third round, taking place on the ancient Yan Emperor Tree, slowly turned clearer.
The Ninth Prince, Wang Yan, and the Fourth Prince, Wang Yun, pulled ahead of the other princes.
If nothing surprising happened, these two would ascend to the top of the ancient Yan Emperor Tree to decide the final victor.
However, not many people paid attention to the final victor of this succession race anymore.
—
Inside the palace, the various feudal lords and various Noble Clan powerhouses cast their gazes at the black hole giving off space-time fluctuations.
They all showed shock on their faces, but they only breathed heavily, not daring to speak.
This was simply too shocking. The Ethereal Immortal Palace really appeared.
The strongest Soul Tool in the world, the Wings of Time, was in there, appearing when the epoch was about to change.
The importance of the Wings of Time went without saying. Perhaps…perhaps the one who grasped the Wings of Time would grasp the absolute initiative at this moment when the epoch was ending.
It could even be said that whoever grasped the Wings of Time would be the next Epoch Master.
This thought inspired horror and restlessness in everyone.
The situation now involved the end of the epoch, no longer something the imperial ancestral temple could control.
Due to the many failed predictions over the Ethereal Immortal Palace’s appearance, no Faux God paid attention to this prediction, only sending the latter generations to check it out.
However, now that the Ethereal Immortal Palace appeared, all the Faux Gods would turn restless.
There was no need to guess that; it was a certain thing. All the Faux Gods would be startled by now. The imperial capital Yan City might become a battlefield for Faux Gods.
After all, the people present there, be it Xiao Chen, Yan Cangming, Chu Chaoyun, or the others, all had super factions behind them.
—
Three people stood under the huge Buddha statue at the summit of Spirit Vulture Mountain.
Abbot Xu Ye stood in the middle, flanked by Sword God Su Hanshan and the Spring Snow Bladesman Pan Huang.
The three looked down the mountain. Even the usually detached Pan Huang showed a grave expression.
Abbot Xu Ye pressed his palms together and let out a long sigh, saying in a solemn tone, “The Ethereal Immortal Palace really appeared!”
Su Hanshan hugged a sword, seemingly able to see everything happening in the Ancient Yan Emperor Tomb from a great distance, not missing any detail. “Who do you think is his pawn?”
Pan Huang smiled and asked, “Who are you referring to?”
Su Hanshan frowned slightly, vaguely appearing to struggle with his murderous intent. He said, “Stop pretending. You know who I am talking about.”
“Haha! Alright, I’ll stop messing with you. You might fear speaking his name, but I do not. Are you asking which of these Ethereal Immortal Palace key holders is the pawn of the Faux God World’s Divine Master?”
Pan Huang showed no concern over the Sword God’s murderous intent. He just smiled and continued, “All of the geniuses nurtured by the five Righteous Dao super factions could be. It might be Qin Ming, Wenren Yu, Chu Chaoyun—”
“In any case, it cannot possibly be Xiao Chen, right?” Su Han interrupted softly.
“That’s right.”
Pan Huang’s expression slowly turned serious. He added after some thought, “As for the most likely one, it naturally is Qin Ming. Both of us know that those of the Golden Dragon bloodline’s Dragon Emperor’s lineage are like dogs that the Divine Master personally nurtured. Not considering anything else, they are at least loyal. Hehe!”
As Abbot Xu Ye stood between these two, he felt great pressure.
Only these two dared to chat about the current Epoch Master like this without fear.
Although the Martial Epoch was approaching its end, the current Epoch Master was still a horrifying existence that cowed the entire epoch.
The Divine Master aside, considering just the current situation, experts that only Faux Gods could sense rushed over from all directions. Strong auras descended upon the Yanwu Dynasty. These people stared at the imperial capital Yan City and fiercely eyed each other.
They included some horrifying old monsters. Faux Gods of both the Righteous Dao and the Demonic Dao silently arrived, but Su Hanshan and Pan Huang appeared very casual, not caring about these Faux Gods’ arrival.
Xu Ye withdrew his gaze and sighed, “The Ethereal Immortal Palace appears, and the epoch approaches its end. Strong enemies surround us, making life or death hard to determine. Even so, you two Benefactors are so calm. This old monk is filled with admiration.”
“Since the two of us already lit our Divine Flames, we are fated not to cut off our ties with the Martial Epoch. No matter who wins, this should be the last time we will make a move.”
Su Hanshan actually casually said such shocking and horrifying words, sounding like his last words before his death.
There were no fond thoughts or disappointment in his eyes, only a zeal that bordered on an obsession, an obsession with the Sword Dao.
Even life and death were not as important as the Sword Dao to him.
Pan Huang smiled faintly. “You have trouble in your own backyard; you should be even more anxious than us. Can you deal with it?”
When Xu Ye heard this, his expression suddenly changed. The matter that Pan Huang referred to naturally was Yuan Zhen, who appeared in the Ancient Yan Emperor Tomb carrying the Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva’s karma.
After a pause, Xu Ye said somewhat helplessly, “Junior Brother Xu Yun already made a move on Xu Ming. However, even if he successfully subdues Xu Ming, it will not matter. The momentum has already formed.”
Be it the Black Lotus Church, the Azure Lotus Church, or the current orthodox Buddhist sect, they were just different sides of the same coin for the Kāśyapa Buddha.
As for the Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva, that was something else entirely.
If the Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva gained the upper hand, the Kāśyapa Buddha statue on Spirit Vulture Mountain would crumble.
The consequences of that would be even severer than the Black Lotus Church gaining the upper hand.
The various feudal lords and Noble Clan powerhouses in the palace were already somewhat restless, feeling uncomfortable. Everyone could guess that a shockingly huge battle was imminent.
An entirely incomprehensible group of powerful experts would fight over the Wings of Time.
Before these experts, the Yanwu Dynasty would just be like a small boat in a storm, unable to control its fate despite its deep and vast accumulations.
Perhaps that group of patriarchs from the Yanwu Dynasty already knew about this and participated in it. However, things were bitter for the dynasty’s nobles, who were at a loss as to what to do.
No one dared to leave with the Faux Gods watching them, yet they feared getting implicated if they remained.
However, these powerful experts, who were normally aloof, dominating an area and holding great authority in the world, felt their insignificance in the face of the epoch’s end.
The Yanwu Dynasty’s people did not know that the terrifying and unfathomably powerful Faux Gods were actually in the same situation. They were also like small boats in a storm, liable to capsize at any moment.
The anxiety and fear in these Faux Gods’ hearts were no lesser than these people’s, possibly even more.
The more one had, the more one feared losing what they had.
More accurately, the deeper their connection and ties, the harder it was to get free.