Consuming Earths, Devouring Skies

Yan Zaizen had an instinctual feeling that her words invited danger. He didn't know what she was talking about, but her actions had a hint of deep manipulation within. As for repaying him? He didn't think, for a second, he would see a single drop returned. His instincts were essentially alluding to him that fact. Therefore, with a wave, he sent her packing like all the other scheming girls who boarded his ships.

"Ahhhh!!!" Leng Xue shrilly screamed after being launched away. At the moment, she had barely any true-essence or soul energy. Her vital energies were barely enough for simple movements. If she fell, she would descend through the realm into the Border Expanse infinitely. The moment she entered the Border Expanse, she wouldn't be able to draw any essence from the heavens...she would die.

Her heart went cold at this realization. The handsome young man from before truly wanted her to leave, either willingly or not. She was beyond confused by his actions. Her mind was so inflated with confusion and frustration that she shrieked loudly, "why did you save me if you were going to kill me?!"

"Oh?!" Yan Zaizen's suddenly realized his actions. He hadn't given her the spatial ring he prepared. She did so many things, said so many things, that he just felt so uncomfortable that he threw her off quickly. Tao ran to the railings, looking at Lang Xue fall through the frozen rain-filled outer space. At first, he was planning to help her, but a spatial ripple suddenly appeared below her. She went through it.

THUD!

Her body slammed heavily onto the deck of the realmship. A grunt was released and her breathing was labored. She felt a heavy sensation of deadly crisis just now...her heart just couldn't stop racing.

"Apologies, here." Yan Zaizen threw over a spatial ring filled with sufficient resources to recover as best she could. He didn't intend to protect her, but he didn't want her to die by his hands either. The spatial ring landed right next to her, causing her eyes to hone in on it despite her deep frustration. She realized what this was and grabbed it, after briefly scanning it, her eyes widened in shock.

"This is it?!" She questioned in disbelief.

"Yes." He waved his hand once more, sending her overboard. She screamed once more in indignation and grievance. If she could, she would claw Yan Zaizen apart limb by limb. Tao coughed a little, feeling pity for Lang Xue's fate. If it was any other man, she would've been a cauldron, but Yan Zaizen wanted her off his ship faster than light itself.

"WAAAAAAIIiiiittttttt!!!!!!!!!!" She thunderously shouted with all her energy. Her voice was getting softer and softer as she dropped. Yan Zaizen just realized that...in Deluge Realm's outer space, there seemed to be some gravitational pull. Normally, objects would float in outer space due to the lack of a gravitational pull, but this realm didn't work like that.

He looked at the frozen rain once more, his brows furrowing. How come the rain was frozen in an outer space with a gravitational force? How come he was wet if the rain was frozen? Initially, this didn't dawn on him, but now it was starting to make him feel uncomfortable.

Tao discovered this too, looking at the frozen rain. Even if he drew characters in it, they still remained. Yet…

"This realm is abnormal, not just its society but its laws as well," Yan Zaizen murmured in confusion.

"Wait! I came to this realm to find an object! I know where it is, but I was captured by the Realmlord!! PLEASE!!!" Somehow, she gathered her remaining soul energy and sent Yan Zaizen a soul transmission. Yan Zaizen still wasn't willing until she said some other words, "Not only are there other heavenly objects, there may even be a Regalia of the Heavens! I SWEAR!"

"Oh?" Yan Zaizen's interest was piqued. With a snap of his fingers, a loud thud once again resounded. Lang Xue's body slammed onto the deck of the ship.

Lang Xue's long, white hair was chaotically disheveled. Her breathing was heavy and filled with frustration. She looked exhausted and even weaker than before. When she looked towards Yan Zaizen, her eyes flickered in rage. However, she knew that she had to do this otherwise she would just be recaptured by the Realmlord. It's not like the resources in the ring was sufficient for her to make it to the next realm.

"I'll split the heavenly treasures with you, eighty-twenty if you let me obtain them!" After a while, she gritted her teeth and said.

"Hm?" Just as he was about to wave his hand once more as a negotiating tactic and to get more information, his brows furrowed suddenly. He looked upwards. Her last words weren't said in soul transmission, but in her actual voice. It seems it was heard by others who were discreetly watching. His eyes narrowed as an intense killing intent started to suffuse within them.

For less than a thousandth of a second, he felt murderous, malicious, and vicious killing intent from above. It was so strong that even Pinaka felt it despite its briefness. "The Realmlord…" She mentioned, obviously knowing who had been watching.

Yan Zaizen didn't like being spied on, his voice filled with tyrannical ferocity as he said coldly, "Yu Shi, may I ask why you're watching me?" The moment he said that, Lang Xue revealed an intense fear in her eyes. She looked at the space Yan Zaizen was gazing at and felt her heart tremble.

In empty space, the frozen rain started to spiral rapidly formulating a portal of sorts. From this portal, Yu Shi calmly walked out. Yan Zaizen's eyes grew colder. He knew that Heavenly Genesis cultivators can use their true-essence to rip open space and view anything with their heavenly sense, but this person was doing it in such a difficult to perceive fashion.

If Yan Zaizen's spiritual sense wasn't at the Astral Soul Realm, he wouldn't even be able to discover him. Similar to how, when Guan Yin was observing him, he didn't discover it.

The elegant Realmlord, Yu Shi, walked out dressed in a sapphire-blue robe. His eyes contained an unfathomable emotion and his face held a soft smile. When Lang Xue saw this, her heart started to drop to arctic levels of coldness and despair. This man's eyes seemed to desire the world.

To become a Realmlord, you needed several requirements. One, a World Law based heavenly shrine. Two, your own Mortal Dao. Three, a force that could govern a realm. After all, a single person, regardless of strength, can't govern an entire territory alone nor can they profit off its benefits to the maximum.

This man's dao was Mortal Dao of Desire. He may seem calm, elegant, and warm, but he contained an intense desire towards a specific thing that exceeded all else. The most often focus of this dao...power. It's not so easy to develop the Dao of Desire. After all, Yan Zaizen desired power and many other things as well. Which dao wielder didn't?

The level of intensity to develop the Dao of Desire must be stupendously ridiculous. It was a peak lower-tier Mortal Dao. Despite this, it was a troublesome dao. Imagine what bestowing desire into people could do.

"Oh, Yan Zaizen. I wasn't watching you, I was looking for her." He warmly pointed towards Lang Xue. "You see, there's been a mix-up. She wasn't for sale. As a token of my apology, I'll repay what you bid and double it." His words were spoken casually, as if it was nothing. However, Yan Zaizen eyes grew colder. He could perceive the frozen rain was being galvanized somehow. They were faintly trembling.

"Apologies, but I bought her, so she's mine. What's mine shall never be someone else's. You can leave." Yan Zaizen tyrannical declared, waving him off. Witnessing this, Yu Shi's originally unfathomable eyes turned cold and malicious. "Are you sure?" He asked with a tone that could freeze ice. The deep murderous aura was rolling off his body and his heavenly aura was on the verge of eruption.

"Yes. I am." Yan Zaizen immediately retorted. He waved his hand, placing Lang Xue and Tao in the Meteor Ring. Afterward, he waved his hand again, the realmship and Bai Lufeng was stored next.

He soul transmitted to Xue Lang while projecting his perception to her, "Tell me now! What are you talking about?! What treasure?!" He knew that Yu Shi wasn't going to let him go. If he sold Xue Lang originally, then he didn't expect her back. The fact he was watching Yan Zaizen discreetly indicated that he was there for him. Only after realizing that Lang Xue had something to offer did his plans change.

In that case, it's likely he intended to attack Yan Zaizen from the very beginning for his realmship. It's even possible there's an ambush outside the realm. After all, Heavenly Genesis experts could cause planets to collapse if they fought without care. Yu Shi obviously didn't want his realm to be affected, but he slipped up by revealing himself too early.

Lang Xue was panicking. She didn't want to be taken by Yu Shi. She thought for a second on what she should reveal.

"TELL ME EVERYTHING!! NOW!!! OR I LEAVE YOU!" Yan Zaizen thunderously shouted. He didn't have time for this.

Outside, Yu Shi coldly smiled. Suddenly, the six water planets started to glow faintly with aquamarine light. Yan Zaizen saw this and immediately reacted, he was going to escape. There was no need to fight Yu Shi in his own home.

He took a step forward. Spatial ripples formulated in front of him, he was going to shift through the spatial void.

Yu Shi chuckled maliciously, "You think I wouldn't predict this?" The aquamarine light started to ripple outwards and came in contact with the surrounding space. Suddenly, all space was locked. Even the spatial ripple Yan Zaizen formed with his true-essence collapsed.

Yan Zaizen's brows furrowed. This was to prevent the realmship from departing, so it was more than enough to stop Yan Zaizen. After all, a realmship required a Domain level laws, and his spatial laws only reached that limit.

"You!" Yan Zaizen clenched his teeth, he suddenly felt a sensation of danger. Although, it was only a small amount. With his true-essence erupting once more, he attempted to enter chaotic space. The world warped oddly like he was entering a painting. A ripple of aquamarine light rippled outwards in response.

POW!!!

An explosion occurred where he was and he was sent flying several li. His expression turned uglier. This formation created from six planets targeted spatial laws, not simply the spatial void. He wasn't hurt by the resulting rebound, but he cursed his low cultivation base.

If he had a spatial-attributed heavenly shrine, even a first-floor, he could easily break this damn formation. His understanding of the laws was great, but his medium to utilize it wasn't. If it was vital energy or soul energy, he could easily leave and come as he damn well pleased.

"TELL ME NOW!!!" Yan Zaizen shouted in frustration causing Tao, Bai Lufeng, and Lang Xue to jump up in fright. To Bai Lufeng and Tao, this was the first time Yan Zaizen seemed urgent. Was he truly in danger?

"Okay, okay! There's a sub-realm in the Deluge Realm! I know where it's located, but when I arrived, the Realmlord spotted me and took me captive. I also have to key to open it! With it, the entire sub-realm is completely mine. In it, there should be a Regalia of the Heavens! It should be saber-based, but there should also be a vast amount of heavenly materials and resources left!"

"How?!" Yan Zaizen asked. It didn't seem realistic. The Asura Phantom Realm had resources because it was a lure, but what about other sub-realms? Why would they have resources?

"It's an inheritance sub-realm! I earned it!!!" She shouted, clenching her fists and teeth. One could see that she was unwilling to share this information or give Yan Zaizen any of it. In truth, if the Deluge Realm had anyone at the Astral Soul Realm, they would've searched her soul. Unfortunately, a Perfect Aurora Soul can't be searched without a higher soul cultivation base.

When Yu Shi saw Lang Xue, all he saw was a payday. He desired it. The two hundred heavenly drops were beyond worth it. He also desired the realmship. This was why the Dao of Desire was so troublesome, it instilled a compulsive need to do anything and everything to obtain what you want regardless of who they offend. It was different than greed or lust.

"Swear a soul oath, we split it evenly!" At the moment, Lang Xue didn't know that Yu Shi wanted Yan Zaizen's realmship initially, so she was scared that he would give her up to him once more. After all, Yan Zaizen projected his current situation to her. This brought even more pressure to her.

In the Deluge Realm outer space, Yan Zaizen was moving at quick speeds, his eyes looked at Yu Shi with deep coldness. Countless bits of frozen rain was piercing towards him, their individual power was sufficient to severely injure or kill a True Essence expert. Yan Zaizen realized why the realm's laws felt odd. The entire realm was essentially constructed into a formation.

Those raindrops were like lighting bullets intent to pierce all. He kept dodging and defending with his True Essence. Yu Shi simply watched, several spatial rifts were already nearby. They obviously originated from his force of Heavenly Genesis cultivators. He was cautious of Yan Zaizen and thus awaited backup before taking action.

"I, Lang Xue, swear on my soul to the INFERNAL ENTITY, that I, Lang Xue, will split whatever treasure in the sub-realm with you fifty-fifty! You can keep the Regalia if there is one!" Her words were essentially screamed with extreme reluctance. Afterward, her eyes dimmed and he body drooped. She took the pose of a tragic beauty.

Tao's heart raced at this sight. He gulped a large amount of saliva. His eyes catching the faint aura of hell that seemed to flicker on her body and disappear. A swear to the infernal entity was the highest soul oath possible, essentially placing an oath on the top existence of hell.

"Zai! Are you okay?" Tao couldn't help but ask. Even Bai Lufeng's expression was filled with worry.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" While they worried, Yan Zaizen was uproariously laughing in celebration. Outside, thirteen Heavenly Genesis cultivators stared at Yan Zaizen maliciously, including Yu Shi. They all were of the Gunyu race, not a single Lycah amongst them, and they radiated profound heavenly auras. There were one two-floor Heavenly Genesis and eleven one-floor Heavenly Genesis experts. Despite this, Yan Zaizen continued to laugh.

He stopped running.

The bullet-like rain stabbed towards him with screeching momentum, but the moment they came in contact with his robe, they dispersed like simple drops of rain. His originally frustrated expression and tense eyes were no longer frustrated or tense. Instead, those amber-gold eyes had faint traces of a smile.

"Choose! Surrender or," Yan Zaizen eyes flickered with dark-amber light, his Mortal Dao of Sovereign Ascension erupted outwards in a ferocious storm that caused all raindrops within 100 li to be blown apart, "Death!"