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Meanwhile, in the Northern Divine Mountain’s Sea of Innocence.

Ye Zichen and his companions didn’t go back to Heavenly God City. The Lightning Emperor had already abandoned the God Realm and left with the Demon’s Holy Maiden, seeking refuge with the Nine Li.

The Upheaval Alliance had established its base in Heavenly God City specifically to put pressure on Xiao Ting and the Lightning Emperor’s Estate.

Now that they’d gone, there was no longer any point in keeping their base in Heavenly God City. Besides, the alliance’s relationship with God Emperor Zhou Wu wasn’t quite harmonious. It didn’t help that during this most recent yao-demon invasion of god race territory, the God Emperor hadn’t demonstrated anything remotely resembling exemplary leadership. 

Going back to Heavenly God City was already useless. Ye Zichen was even prepared to move their base somewhere else in the near future.

However, Xuan Ji and Xiao Yumei had gone back to Heavenly God City, so it’s not their factions’ bases were just empty shells. They still had plenty of members stationed in the capital.

The current situation was tense; the alliance needed wielders of power and authority to hold down the fort.

With Xiao Yumei and Xuan Ji back at Heavenly God City, Ye Zichen could relax somewhat. Even if God Emperor Zhou Wu tried something, the Upheaval Alliance and Profound Pavilion could reinforce each other; they wouldn’t fall so easily.

But of course, there was another, even more important reason he hadn’t gone back to Heavenly God City with them. That was…

As they left the Nine-tailed Fox Clan’s territory, he finally heard the answer he’s been waiting for. Xue Yang had finally told him.

And it was perfectly in line with his earlier thoughts, as well as the line of text the Outsider’s Master of the Stars had left him.

Everyone hurried back to the Sea of Innocence. When Ye Zichen’s group arrived, the Xue Family elders were already waiting for them outside.

“Alliance Head Ye.” This elder and Ye Zichen had met before. The elder had been loyal to the Xue Family from birth, and Xue Yang trusted him completely. Now, he was the esteemed Third Elder of the Sea of Innocence. He stood in the sky, clad in blue, his sleeves fluttering lightly in the wind. Even from a distance, he seemed like an immortal.

When he saw Ye Zichen’s group rushing over, the elder came up to greet them. When Ye Zichen saw him, he understood. He nodded as a show of respect, and the Third Elder turned and gestured for him to follow. “The Ocean Emperor is already waiting in the meeting hall.”

“I’ll have to trouble you to lead the way, then.” Ye Zichen, Yang Jian, and the others followed the elder through the Xue Family’s outer sect. 

When they reached the meeting hall’s front door, the elder came to an abrupt stop and cupped his fists in farewell. “The Ocean Emperor is inside. Before you arrived, he ordered me to lead you here. My mission is now complete, so I shan’t accompany you any longer.”

Ye Zichen nodded and saw the elder off, then led his friends into the meeting hall. Xue Yang’s avatar was seated at its center.

“Ocean Emperor.”

“You’re here. I figured, given the distance, that you’d arrive around now. It seems I was right.” Xue Yang’s avatar laughed and gestured for them to sit at the table. There was already tea there waiting for them. 

The Ocean Emperor here was still Xue Yang’s avatar; his real body remained at the River Styx. 

He’d made an agreement with Emperor Hades: he would protect the River Styx for twenty years. It didn’t matter that the former Emperor Hades had abdicated his position to Su Yiyun; a promise was a promise. Until he completed it, Xue Yang wouldn’t leave the River Styx.

The tea had a delicate fragrance, and it was still piping hot. The refreshing smell stirred their senses, and they couldn’t help but take in a deep breath.

 They all sat around the table, and the Ocean Emperor even went so far as to fill Ye Zichen’s cup personally.

When they took a sip, they felt a warm current course through them, and the lingering exhaustion of their long journey faded somewhat. 

“This is from my main body’s private stash. Whatever you do, don’t tell him.”

“You must be joking, Ocean Emperor. The two of you are one person, after all. Even if we keep quiet, the Ocean Emperor at the River Styx will know full well what has happened.” Ye Zichen laughed and set his tea cup down. He couldn’t help but nod his approval. “This tea is excellent! Just one sip, and my exhaustion has noticeably faded.”

“I chose this particular variety specifically because I guessed you’d be exhausted from your long journey,” said Xue Yang.

“That’s very considerate of you, Ocean Emperor.” Ye Zichen sat before the tea table and said, “When we returned to the Northern Divine Mountain, we found that the flames of battle had yet to disperse. Could it be that the demons still haven’t retreated?” 

“The demons have already left.” A piercing, cold glint flashed through Xue Yang’s eyes. “We’re currently fighting an internal battle. Gods against gods.”

The Ocean Emperor’s avatar then turned to face Ye Zichen. “Earlier, we masters of our respective Divine Mountains said as much in the chat. Many god race factions have allied themselves with the demons. They recently moved to stop our armies from reinforcing the River Styx.”  

Ye Zichen nodded.

The great emperors in the war prep chat group had discussed this during Su Yan’s brief coma. “The demons’ offensive has made the situation within the Divine Mountains take a turn for the worse. Established families are rebelling; just defending ourselves has been an enormous amount of trouble. Fortunately, the demons retreated, and without any regard for the rebelling god race factions. It seems the rebels were betrays! Some of the rebellious clans saw that the situation wasn’t in their favor and chose to surrender, but some of the more stubborn rebels are fighting back. The inner conflict on the Divine Mountains is against the remaining rebels.”

Ye Zichen couldn’t help but sigh.

This was because the gods weren’t unified. A former pillar of the God Realm, the Lightning Emperor, had rebelled. Now, countless smaller factions had joined forces with the demons as well. This was what gave the yao-demon army the chance and the courage to invade. 

If the gods were unified, the yao and demons wouldn’t dare so much as consider such a thing. 

 The memory of their bitter defeat in the primordial era was still fresh in their minds. If today’s God Realm was as unified as it was back then, the demons would have no choice but to turtle up in their pitiful smattering of land. They’d be lucky if the unified God Realm didn’t attack them, forget about actively invading…

But there was nothing for it. Never mind the Upper Three Realms; even in the Modern Realm, when you started a war, strategists would choose easy targets.

Ambition and courage led some to choose rebellion against the god race. It was inevitable.

Besides, the God Emperor wasn’t doing his job; it was natural that the Nine Divine Mountains would sink to such a state. There was little worth saying about it.

“Do you need our help?” asked Ye Zichen.

“How do you plan to help, Alliance Head Ye?” The Ocean Emperor’s avatar chuckled. “To my knowledge, the alliance’s military isn’t located in the Sea of Innocence. Aren’t they assisting the new Emperor Hades in protecting the River Styx?”

“We still have a million warriors stationed in Heavenly God City,” said Ye Zichen. “We could send them to your aid.”  

“I appreciate your kind intentions, but there’s no need for you to trouble yourself. This is an internal affair. This is a problem with we emperors’ management, so it’s up to us to fix it. If we can’t fix a little problem like this on our own, we certainly can’t govern an entire Divine Mountain,” said Xue Yang’s avatar.

“Still, if you need anything, please, go ahead and ask,” said Ye Zichen.

The Ocean Emperor’s avatar smiled amiably and nodded. He no longer lingered on the topic of the god race’s internal conflict. Instead, his eyes flashed, and with a wave of his hands, every last window in the hall closed. 

After a lengthy pause, Xue Yang said solemnly, “Alliance Head Ye, are you here because you wish to see ‘him’?”