Chapter 481: Realmwar (Patreon)

Waves upon waves buffeted the shoreline. This was a rare sight in the True Dragon Realm, which was primarily composed of water. Most dragons and life in this realm lived in the water, and only a few species of demon lived on land.

On the pristine white beach, a towering shell caught the attention of several demons. Curious, those demons ran toward the colossal shell and tapped it before immediately retreating. When they saw no reaction, they became braver and used all their strength to attack the shell.

In their mind, the shell might have been the leftover of a dead demon. Although the chances of finding a demonic core were low, if they succeeded, they would have won the jackpot. Some even tried to dig under to find the shell’s entrance. However, those that dug realized that the shell was buried deep into the sand. However, that only ignited their previous beliefs even more, inciting more effort from them.

Suddenly, the sky split, revealing the void outside the True Dragon Realm. These demons, who haven’t even reached the Demon Lord Realm, panicked. Their legs trembled as they watched the sky collapse. Their panic further intensified when the shell they brazenly attacked started to shift, displacing the surrounding sand.

The ground became like quicksand and a few demons succumbed to death, unable to extricate themselves from the perilous trap. The demons that escaped didn’t have time to worry about their companions as they stared in wonder.

The owner of the shell, who they thought dead, revealed itself. The shell that towered over the beach was only the tip of the iceberg. Or rather, mountain. The demon resembled a hermit crab, with carp-like scales and tufts of fur covering their joints. Its size was that of a small mountain, and because of its movements, the ground collapsed, causing seawater to pour in and flood over the land-based demons.

The demon hermit crab’s two stalk-like eyes stared at the sky. “How could the dimensional boundary be breached to this extent? I have to find out what happened.”

It wasn’t only him, but all the other demons at the Demon Lord Realm that wanted to find the source of the calamity. Because of the breach, the spiritual qi density above the water in the True Dragon Realm temporarily decreased, and it would take a few centuries to reach its former density.

The members of the Dragon Clan immediately learned that someone had invaded the Divine Beast Pseudo System, causing panic to fill their body. Although the Demon Clan conducted many wars with the humans—many of the echelon experienced at least one war—it was always in the Three Thousand Immortal Realms System. Not once had the humans invaded their lair.

Even Demon Emperor Redraco felt unease after returning to the True Dragon Realm. When he saw all the demons congregating at Crystal Palace, he felt a bit more stable. However, not for long. Years of experience already let him conclude the end possibility of this war.

If the Demon Clan won, it would be a pyrrhic victory, at best. The humans would retreat, but he doubted that they would give up. Because the Divine Beast Pseudo System was exposed, the humans would never let them relocate and hide away like years past. And if the Demon Clan wanted to return to the former status quo, they would have to pay a high price.

Of course, the Demon Clan could always lose the war. The results of such a loss did not need to be emphasized. Demons would become a second-class race under humanity, forever with their tails between their legs. However, Demon Emperor Redraco didn’t think the Demon Clan would lose. This was their home turf, and it was much easier to defend than to lay a siege.

“Patriarch,” Demon Emperor Draco said.

The Dragon Clan’s patriarch, a dragon as large as Demon Emperor Redraco, but with dull golden scales, nodded in acceptance.

Outsiders knew that the leaders of the Demon Clan were the Four Divine Beasts, but what they didn’t know was that the Four Divine Beasts were responsible for everything outside of the Divine Beast Pseudo System. For the inner matters, most of it was taken care of by the three clan leaders of the three major clans, the Dragon Patriarch, Phoenix Patriarch, and Qilin Patriarch.

“Has everything been prepared?” the Dragon Patriarch asked.

Since the humans have invaded the Divine Beast Pseudo System, it was naturally no longer just the Four Divine Beast’s duty to repel them. The three patriarchs, who were usually focused on promoting the power of demons within the pseudo system, also had a say.

“Yes,” Demon Emperor Redraco said. Now, all they had to do was wait for the other members of the Four Divine Beast, clan patriarchs, and faction leaders to arrive.

Crystal Palace had already been set up to receive these leaders and discuss the countermeasure. Because the humans suddenly invaded, they could only take emergency countermeasures. Since they lost the first battle, the Demon Clan had to decide how to proceed. They must carefully deliberate the goal and select a strategy.

“Grandfather.”

Demon Emperor Redraco turned and saw his granddaughter. He looked next to her and saw a suspiciously absent presence. “Did he not come?”

“Longzi says he’s at a critical moment in his cultivation,” Honglin answered. “He said the next time you see him, he will be a dragon king. Hmph. I thought I caught up with him, but he just left me in the dust again.”

“It’s only natural,” Demon Emperor Redraco said. “His bloodline is higher than yours, so he will have a smoother time cultivating. Not to mention his experiences during his younger years forged an iron-like will in him. Look at you. Because you failed the mission, you’ve become decadent and your cultivation slowed.”

“How can I not be depressed? This mission caused the Divine Beast Pseudo System to become exposed,” Honglin said.

“No, it’s not your fault, but Yujiao’s. He must have acquired many secrets during his time here. The Buddhists must have leaked the information to the Daoists. They always liked to proclaim themselves as pacifists, but who doesn’t know they are the ones that liked to watch two sides fight and harm each other, waiting until both sides were injured before picking up the spoils?”

Because of their origins, the Daoist lineage did not like them, and neither did the Demon Clan.

Honglin stayed silent. “Grandfather, do you think it’s possible that Longzi was the one that exposed us?”

Demon Emperor Redraco frowned. “Impossible, where did you hear that from?”

“I heard a few demons muttering about it under their breath,” Honglin said, looking away. “After all, aside from Yujiao, Longzi is the only dragon taken from outside that has risen up the ranks so fast.”

Not only did Demon Emperor Redraco frown, but so did the Dragon Patriarch. Both of them were very optimistic about Donghai Longzi. They didn’t believe that the people behind the rumors really believed the nonsense they spouted. At least most of them didn’t. Rather, the two believed this was a scheme to divide Donghai Longzi’s heart from the Dragon Clan. Once he no longer felt welcome in the Dragon Clan, the two other clans could poach him much more easily.

Luckily, Donghai Longzi was in secluded cultivation and could not hear these rumors.

“Ignore them, Young Dragon,” the Dragon Patriarch said. “How can I not have considered the possibility that Donghai Longzi is a traitor? While he was inside the True Dragon Realm, I kept watch on him and saw no signs of him attempting to contact the outside world.”

“What about when he left?” Honglin asked. “Patriarch shouldn’t have been able to keep watch of him there, right? I spent the most time with him, but it’s not like there weren’t periods where he was alone.”

The Dragon Patriarch shared a smile with Demon Emperor Redraco. “You don’t have to worry about that. We naturally have our means to keep them in check even when they’re alone.”

Honglin felt a chill down her back when she heard this. She didn’t know where it came from, but it was ominous nonetheless. “Wait, if that’s the case, then why didn’t it work on Yujiao?”

The Dragon Patriarch sighed. “He was an accident. Although we have our methods, it doesn't mean it’s foolproof. Until the last moment, Yujiao never showed any signs, even alone. Had it not been for the humans who forced him to a dead end, he would have likely continued his facade. And we would have been none the wiser. The human’s attack would have caught him even more off guard.”

Actually, Yujiao’s betrayal, which led to the Demon Clan mounting some precautionary measures, was a complete accident. So, the Demon Clan should thank Yujiao, not that any of them would. They would rather rip him to shreds with their fangs and claws.

“Alright, go back,” Demon Emperor Redraco said. “The other patriarchs and Four Divine Beasts have entered the True Dragon Realm.”

Honglin retreated. She didn’t mingle with the other demons and stared at the wall in a certain direction. Logically, she knew that Donghai Longzi didn’t show any signs of being a spy. However, she was the demon who spent the most time with him, and she could feel that Donghai Longzi built a wall to keep others from growing too close to him.

At first, she thought it was his wary mindset that he cultivated because of his experiences outside the Divine Beast Pseudo System, but after the disastrous mission and Yujiao’s betrayal, she couldn’t help but have suspicions.

***

Tianyi sighed as he stared into the Divine Beast Pseudo System from Shangri-La’s palace. The war wasn’t as exciting as he expected it to be. Well, at least for him. He had to hold the fort and stabilize Shangri-La and prevent the Demon Clan from dislodging it from the dimensional boundary of the pseudo system. Of which, the Demon Clan had attempted many times in the decades of war.

Simultaneously, he was also widening the opening in the Divine Beast Pseudo System as much as possible. His goal wasn’t to completely destroy it. Heavens knew that it would take forever. No, he discovered that the energy from the Divine Beast Pseudo System was flowing out and into the Three Thousand Immortal Realms System. The greater the opening, the faster the flow of energy.

The Three Thousand Immortal Realms System was absorbing the Divine Beast Pseudo System. So far, the Demon Clan have not discovered this yet, otherwise, they would have made a much greater attempt at removing the wedge.

As long as ten demon emperors didn’t unite to unleash a combination attack, Tianyi had the confidence to block it. Even if his mastery of the Law of Spacetime was not enough, who told him to have a near endless amount of energy that allowed him to brute force block it? Not to mention that the war hadn’t reached the point of immortal emperors fighting against demon emperors.

The current state of the war was at the realmwar stage.

Although the immortals could recover their qi in Shangri-La, it was not conducive to taking over the Divine Beast Pseudo System by staying in the mobile fortress. And they couldn’t simply designate the True Dragon Realm, Phoenix Realm, or Qilin Realm as the first target. No, they would target the lower realms first.

Once they conquered more realms, they would set up military bases, and they would no longer have to return to Shangri-La to restore their qi. However, this also meant a certain amount of risk. This was the demon’s home turf, and the immortals needed to station a certain number of guards at each conquered realm to maintain a stable supply chain.

The thinner the immortals became, the easier it was for the demon to attack them.

Although the demons did their best to prevent the immortals from conquering the lower realms, they still lost over ten lower realms in the last few decades. During this time, many immortals became famous. Especially with the usage of the Xiyinet, like the dazzling second Seven Star Sword Monarch, the overwhelming World Link Monarch, or the haunting Monarch Thrallsong.