Chapter 732: Before the Storm

The Lord of the Spacetime Island gazed at the dark, circular void in the starry expanse before him and remarked casually, “Perhaps the clash between you, Blood Blade, and the five leaders of the Ancestral Mother Religion was so intense that it disrupted spacetime, forming this passage. Or maybe this passage has been hidden here all along.”

“It appears to be a small cosmic passage,” said the Divine Emperor Blood Blade, extending his right hand, which elongated rapidly as it reached into the cosmic passage.

As his palm entered the passage, the surrounding gray mist trembled, and an invisible force repelled him.

“Just as I expected—even a Transcendent True God cannot enter,” the Divine Emperor Blood Blade said, then turned to the somewhat bewildered Dongbo Xueying beside him with a smile. “The stronger one is, the greater the pressure on the cosmic passage. To my knowledge, cosmic passages are generally categorized into three tiers. The lowest tier, like this one, only permits beings who have not transcended—those still within the River of Time, protected by the universe, with no restrictions on entry or exit. The second tier allows ordinary True Gods and True God Venerables to enter. The highest tier even permits Overlords to pass through.”

“And this one before us is the lowest tier,” the Divine Emperor Blood Blade shook his head. “Its value is limited. A large-scale cosmic passage would be far more precious, as it offers the rare opportunity to visit another universe. People like me, Qing Jun, and the Hell Overlord all ventured to other universes and achieved major breakthroughs in strength.”

Dongbo Xueying nodded.

He had heard that Senior Brother Qing Jun became an Overlord after visiting another universe. According to the Black Gourd’s artifact spirit, his strength ranked third among the cultivators in their universe.

“Dongbo Xueying, since you haven’t transcended, you can give it a try,” the Lord of the Spacetime Island suggested.

“Indeed,” the Divine Emperor Blood Blade agreed. “You should test it out.”

“But what about the war with the Ancestral Mother Religion?” Dongbo Xueying couldn’t help but ask.

The Lord of the Spacetime Island shook his head. “Stay out of it. With your current abilities, you’d be risking your life in a large-scale battle. This won’t be a mere ambush by a few leaders—it’ll be the Ancestral Mother Religion’s final, desperate strike!”

The Divine Emperor Blood Blade interjected, “If you wish to join, you may—just follow my orders. Xueying’s Black Gourd could still be of some use.”

The Lord of the Spacetime Island paused, glancing at the Divine Emperor before shrugging. “Fine. He’s your disciple—your call.”

With that, he vanished in a flash.

The Divine Emperor Blood Blade turned to Dongbo Xueying with a smile. “If you intend to fight the leaders of the Ancestral Mother Religion, you’ll need more training. Every Overlord has mastered a Dao of the Eternal Realm—their words become law, their will shapes reality. Battling them is nothing like facing Venerables. You’ve had a taste of it during the ambush. The Ancestral Mother Religion’s leaders are far clumsier in combat than our Overlords.”

“Understood,” Dongbo Xueying replied solemnly.

Indeed.

During the ambush, by the time he sensed the enemy, their weapons were already upon him. He hadn’t even glimpsed their true forms! While their coordinated attack played a role, it also highlighted the vast gap in strength. Even his “Illusory World” couldn’t detect them when they were intent on ambushing him.

“Arrogance has no place here. Without the Black Gourd, my strength barely lets me contend with an Overlord—and even then, I’d lose. Let alone in a full-scale war,” Dongbo Xueying reminded himself inwardly.

“I’ll escort you back first to prevent those shameless Ancestral Mother zealots from ambushing you again,” the Divine Emperor Blood Blade said, simultaneously setting up an array around the cosmic passage to conceal it. “This is the method to traverse the array. If the Ancestral Mother Religion comes here, I’ll know immediately.”

Dongbo Xueying’s communication treasure received the method to navigate the array.

Then, the Divine Emperor Blood Blade transported him through spacetime, first sending him back to Black Fog Sea before returning to the Blood Blade Divine Court himself.

—

Within the vast hall of the Ancestral Mother Religion, the Tusked Leader sat cross-legged as five other leaders materialized before him, each bearing injuries. The black-armored female leader was the most severely wounded, with a gaping hole piercing through her abdomen, though it was slowly healing.

“That bad?” the Tusked Leader asked, eyeing them.

“We ran into the Divine Emperor Blood Blade. He ambushed us out of nowhere—we took some losses.”

“What about the Black Gourd?”

“Dongbo Xueying survived our joint ambush with only injuries. He immediately used the Black Gourd, and all five of us were struck by its power. If we couldn’t kill him in the ambush, there’s no hope of doing so quickly. Fearing the arrival of the Divine Emperor and other Overlords, we retreated—but he still chased us down.”

The leaders seethed with frustration.

Five of them had failed to kill a single World-level cultivator.

The Tusked Leader fell silent, asking no further questions.

Their failure proved Dongbo Xueying’s survival skills far exceeded their intelligence reports.

“Rest for now,” the Tusked Leader said calmly. “Our attack on Dongbo Xueying served two purposes: to vent our anger and to seize the Black Gourd. While the gourd has its uses, its loss isn’t critical. Now that we’re exposed and the cultivators know our goal, there’s no need for secrecy. We must act swiftly—before the Divine Emperor’s Void Polarity Array detects us—and gather resources frantically to prepare for the final battle!”

The five leaders nodded.

Previously, they had feared exposure.

Now that the veil was torn, they would plunder without restraint.

“With our universe’s boundless reserves and the united sacrifice of all our leaders, we can turn the tide, slaughter their Overlords, and erect the Ancestral Mother Altar… This universe will be ours,” the Tusked Leader declared, madness burning in his eyes.

“All that remains is the final strike,” the five leaders echoed, their battle fervor blazing.

—

In a small wooden courtyard within the Blood Blade Divine Court, the Primal Ancestor, the Abyssal Progenitor, and the Divine Emperor Blood Blade convened.

“The Ancestral Mother Religion grows bolder, no longer bothering to conceal their actions,” the Primal Ancestor said grimly. “They’ve been secretly gathering resources—now they’ll likely escalate.”

“The Blood Blade Tavern and the Spacetime Temple are also collecting resources while monitoring the universe. Any large-scale resource gathering will be investigated. Traitors will be captured alive if possible—executed otherwise,” the Divine Emperor Blood Blade said coldly.

The Abyssal Progenitor rumbled, “Blood Blade, your Body Division Technique—both the Primal Ancestor and I have learned it. Who else do you plan to teach?”

The Divine Emperor Blood Blade pondered. “This requires careful deliberation. Frankly, after the betrayal of Venerable Zhushan, I fear even an Overlord might be a traitor. You two are the most ancient Overlords—impossible to be traitors, as the Ancestral Mother Religion hadn’t invaded then. But I can’t say the same for some others.”

“From the timeline,” the Abyssal Progenitor mused, “in the Dark Abyss, I’m the oldest, followed by the Hell Overlord. I’ve watched his rise closely and trust him completely. Lastly, there’s the Bloody Overlord, Niluo—the youngest and closest to you.”

“Pang Yi can’t be a traitor either. As one of the Five Calamities of the Divine Realm, his cultivation era is close to mine,” the Primal Ancestor added. “Lady Ganhe is also beyond suspicion. I trust the Lord of the Spacetime Island, and the Master of the Ten Thousand Gods Palace cultivated early too. As for Qing Jun… your eldest disciple’s personality has changed drastically, but he couldn’t be a traitor. If he were, he could’ve easily helped the Ancestral Mother Religion obtain the Chaos Airship back when he was a Venerable.”

“Listening to this, it seems no one is suspect?” the Abyssal Progenitor remarked.

“How many of the Ancestral Mother Religion’s reincarnated souls could possibly cultivate to the Overlord level?” the Divine Emperor Blood Blade countered. “Two possibilities: one, no traitors exist. Two, if there is a traitor, it’s the Bloody Overlord Niluo. As for Qing Jun, I trust him implicitly—and I’ve already taught him the Body Division Technique.”

“You suspect Niluo?”

The Primal Ancestor and the Abyssal Progenitor were stunned.

“Yes,” the Divine Emperor Blood Blade affirmed, then smirked. “But a traitor could be to our advantage. We can use them to deal the Ancestral Mother Religion a crushing blow.”

Though war loomed, the cultivators remained confident.

The Chaos Airship was one trump card; the Divine Emperor Blood Blade’s Body Division Technique was another. With it, and by borrowing his “Cosmic Stone Heart” for cultivation, each Overlord could manifest three bodies—drastically amplifying their collective combat power.

—

Both the Ancestral Mother Religion and the cultivators prepared for the final battle, which would decide the fate of the universe.

Meanwhile, Dongbo Xueying returned to Black Fog Sea to accompany his wife.

Yu Jingqiu walked with her husband by the lake. “Visiting another universe is a rare opportunity. And as you said, the final war with the Ancestral Mother Religion is coming. The stronger you are, the better.”

“This is a small cosmic passage. I’ll scout ahead first, then take you there,” Dongbo Xueying said.

“Bring Qingyao and Yuer too,” Yu Jingqiu urged.

“Of course—we’ll go together.”

Dongbo Xueying smiled. Such a chance couldn’t be wasted—his family would share in it.

“Alright, I should go now. Every moment counts,” he said.

“Be careful,” Yu Jingqiu whispered.

“Don’t worry.”

With a laugh, Dongbo Xueying soared into the sky, tearing through a spacetime tunnel.

However, he didn’t depart immediately. First, he returned to the Xia Clan’s world in the Material Realm, leaving behind the Black Gourd, the Primordial Land Token, the Blood Serpent Spear, and other critical treasures. He carried only essentials, wielding a deep-purple wooden spear seized from an Ancestral Mother Religion guardian—a sturdy, sharp weapon, though inferior to the Blood Serpent Spear.

He dared not bring his most precious items, for the other universe was an unknown. Death there would mean irreversible loss.

—

Silence reigned in the starry void.

Dongbo Xueying streaked like a comet through the Divine Emperor Blood Blade’s array, soon spotting the dark cosmic passage, its maw swirling with gray mist.

“Let’s see what’s inside,” he murmured, anticipation surging as he flew toward the passage.

(End of Chapter)