Chapter 659: Do Not Treat Unfairly

The sky was painted in hues of blood.

The Guardian of Calamity Candle, who had landed atop the mountain peak, wore a grim expression. He turned his gaze back toward the distant ancient demon and muttered, “Not only did we expend a leaf from the Void Ancestral Tree, but we were also forced to use the Matriarch’s Sacred Armor. Most of its accumulated power was drained, and yet we failed to deal with Dongbo Xueying. What a tremendous loss.”

“Calamity Candle,” a voice echoed in his mind.

“Great Leader,” the Guardian of Calamity Candle immediately responded via telepathy. “After suffering such a heavy loss, we must find a way to eliminate Dongbo Xueying.”

“The other Great Leaders and I have already deliberated. We’ve decided to temporarily cease hostilities against Dongbo Xueying,” the voice continued.

“What? Just let it go?” The Guardian of Calamity Candle seethed with indignation.

This was the greatest humiliation he had endured since arriving in the cultivators’ universe.

Two of the guardians leading the team had fallen one after another, and the sacred treasures he carried had also suffered losses. All of this weighed heavily on him.

“Great Leader, we hold absolute dominance in the Lower Three Heavens. We can afford to invest more. If we kill Dongbo Xueying, we might even obtain that mysterious treasure of his that allows him to teleport away,” the Guardian of Calamity Candle pressed.

“Dongbo Xueying has opened up another realm and mastered the legendary supreme defensive technique of this universe, the *Annihilation Extreme Profound Body*. As you just witnessed, even the ancient demon failed to kill him—he escaped instantly to a distance of hundreds of billions of miles. Our guardians lack the necessary mastery in such realms to harm him,” the Great Leader countered.

“But we could still deploy the sect’s treasures,” the Guardian of Calamity Candle insisted.

“It’s not worth it,” the Great Leader replied. “The losses we’ve already suffered are significant. Who’s to say Dongbo Xueying isn’t a trap set by the Bloodblade Divine Emperor? He might even be carrying treasures bestowed by the Divine Emperor. If we act recklessly, we could suffer even greater losses. Moreover, his escape technique might be reusable. Even if we send in treasures, it might prove futile.”

Indeed.

Dongbo Xueying had now reached the Realm-Opening stage and could return to the Primordial Land at any time. However, venturing there with his current strength—among the lowest of the Venerable-tier—would almost certainly mean death.

But if he were truly cornered with no hope of escape, and if his death meant all his possessions would fall into the hands of the Matriarch’s Sect, Dongbo Xueying would rather return to the Primordial Land. No matter what, he wouldn’t let the Matriarch’s Sect benefit.

“But… but…” The Guardian of Calamity Candle choked on his frustration.

“Dongbo Xueying’s offensive capabilities may be mediocre, but his survival skills are extraordinary. The cost of killing him is too high. Even if he leaves the Six Paths Heavenly Wheel and roams freely in the normal divine realm, I myself wouldn’t be confident of success,” the Great Leader stated. “This matter has been collectively decided by all the Great Leaders. There’s no need for further discussion.”

“…Understood.” The Guardian of Calamity Candle had no choice but to comply.

“Stay away from him. If we can’t kill him, ignore him.” With that final command, the Great Leader severed the connection.

—

While the Matriarch’s Sect chose to disregard the troublesome Dongbo Xueying, the highest echelons of the cultivators’ universe were in an uproar.

The Abyssal Ancestor, the Primordial Master, Lady Ganhe, the Hellish Overlord, and others were all astounded.

Dongbo Xueying had slain two guardians of the Matriarch’s Sect—first the Venomous Ying, and now the Wu Ma Hai. Though they had been surprised by the first kill, this second one left them marveling at his prowess. But when the Bloodblade Divine Emperor presented the star map provided by Dongbo Xueying—”The Matriarch’s Sect’s lair and the cosmic passage likely lie within this region of space”—all the overlords were stunned.

The crux of the conflict between the cultivators’ universe and the Matriarch’s Sect lay in locating the sect’s lair and the cosmic passage.

Once the passage was destroyed or sealed, the Matriarch’s Sect would no longer be able to send reinforcements. The members already in the cultivators’ universe would be cut off from their source. Thus, the location of the passage was of utmost importance. The Matriarch’s Sect had undoubtedly built their lair near the passage to protect it at all costs. Even if the cultivators discovered its location, they would still need to breach the lair to destroy the passage.

This was the pivotal battleground.

The Bloodblade Divine Emperor, the Primordial Master, and others had spent eons searching for the cosmic passage and the Matriarch’s Sect’s lair—to no avail.

Within the Six Paths Heavenly Wheel, the Matriarch’s Sect guardians were bold and aggressive, but outside, they were cunning and elusive. Many Venerables had never even encountered one, a testament to their secrecy.

“Just ten star domains?”

“Excellent.”

“Hahaha, this is fantastic!”

“With such a small area, even if it takes time to investigate every corner, we’ll find them.”

“Let’s root out the Matriarch’s Sect!”

The overlords of the cultivators’ universe burned with battle fervor. For so long, their strength had been wasted with no enemy to fight. Unlike the Matriarch’s Sect, even if they died in battle, their true selves could swiftly cultivate new avatars. They feared no death. With such an advantage, why would they shy from battle? The problem had always been finding the enemy.

“Bloodblade, your disciple found this?”

“That Dongbo Xueying is quite impressive. What path did he open, anyway? You’ve been tight-lipped before, but now that the Matriarch’s Sect knows, you might as well tell us.” The overlords were thrilled. Killing guardians only slightly weakened the enemy—the true threat lay with the Great Leaders. But this star map could shift the balance of the entire conflict.

“The Void Path,” the Bloodblade Divine Emperor replied.

“No wonder. Traversing the Void Realm makes it hard for the Matriarch’s Sect to harm him, and his mastery of illusions explains how he captured a guardian and extracted information,” the overlords realized.

Capturing a guardian was difficult enough, but interrogating one was even harder.

A Matriarch’s Sect guardian could sever all six senses, rendering interrogation impossible. Only by trapping them in an illusion, as Dongbo Xueying had done, could information be extracted—forcing them to passively receive the star maps until the critical one triggered a soul backlash.

“This kid has rendered a great service. We can’t shortchange him,” the Primordial Master declared.

“Indeed, my disciple deserves proper reward,” the Bloodblade Divine Emperor added.

“Bloodblade, your treasure hoard surpasses all of ours,” the Island Master of Time and Space scoffed, reluctant to part with too many treasures.

“This concerns the entire cultivators’ universe. Xueying’s contribution cannot go unrecognized,” the Abyssal Ancestor chimed in.

With the top three figures—the Bloodblade Divine Emperor, the Abyssal Ancestor, and the Primordial Master—all in agreement, the others, including Lady Ganhe, voiced their support. The Island Master of Time and Space fell silent.

“As you know, my disciple’s comprehension is exceptional, but he opened his path as a Four Heavens World God. That complicates things—he cannot transcend without reaching Overlord. We must find a way to increase his chances,” the Bloodblade Divine Emperor said, laying the groundwork for his request.

“Get to the point,” the Island Master of Time and Space urged.

“My proposal is simple…” The Bloodblade Divine Emperor began outlining his plan.

—

**Blood Demon Heaven.**

*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*

Dongbo Xueying traversed the Void Realm, teleporting repeatedly. His speed now far surpassed his previous pace.

“Here we are.”

He looked up at the sky ahead, where blood-red clouds swirled into a vortex, distorting space within. Dongbo Xueying knew this vortex led to the ‘Black Rain Heaven’—one of the Lower Three Heavens.