Heaven Breaker Divine Kingdom.
After Hua Fuchen finished coaxing his daughter, who still looked sullen over her aunt getting 'stolen', he returned to his bedroom and laid down a barrier that completely cut him off from the outside world.
He sat quietly for a long time. In the end, he raised his hand.
A flash of divine light bloomed in the room, and two silhouettes gradually took shape before him.
The first was that of a rather handsome middle-aged man. He wore a set of silver robes, twisted, conflicting, and bizarre divine runes sewn directly into the fabric, clashing with one another in a way that felt deliberate rather than chaotic.
The second was a tall, boorish-looking man. He was incredibly tall and brawny. His exposed muscles actually gleamed like they were made of refined steel when exposed to light.
His hair stood as vertically as swords, and his ash-gray beard was shaped like a halberd. His eyes were intimidating without trying, giving him the impression of a lion that would rain down heaven and hell at the slightest offense.
"Old Hua," his voice boomed like a great bell. His projection glanced to the side, spotting Meng Kongchan's projection. "Oh, Old Meng, you are also here."
"Yeah, older brother," Meng Kongchan replied. His imposing, dignified face cracked into a gentle smile.
When the three had not yet become Divine Regents, they had already sworn brotherhood. At first, Meng Kongchan and Dian Louhou were motivated by the same thing; getting close to Hua Fuchen to gain a better chance at courting Hua Qingying. Over time, however, that intention faded. What remained was a genuine bond, and they grew increasingly close, long after the original excuse lost its meaning.
When the three of them became Divine Regents, the relationship between their three Kingdoms grew even closer. After all, the possibility of three friends reaching the same level at the very ceiling of the world was infinitesimally small. At their level, there were barely any individuals they could truly regard as equals. Because of that, the bond they shared became something far more precious, one they consciously cherished and protected.
"What has happened for you to use such a projection to contact us?" Dian Louhou asked Hua Fuchen, his voice booming.
"You should know what happened recently in the Star and Moon Divine Kingdom and the Owl Butterfly Divine Kingdom," Hua Fuchen said gravely. "A few months ago, the Pure Land reacted and dispatched High Priest Ling Xian to investigate the matter. She is currently in the Eternal Night... Eternal Light Divine Kingdom, with that Limitless Divine Regent."
The disappearance of the three Divine Regents had been kept under wraps from the citizens by the two Divine Kingdoms, but something like that could never stay hidden from the other Divine Regents.
What happened was anything but reassuring. It shocked Hua Fuchen and left him deeply wary, because among the remaining Divine Regents, excluding the unknown Limitless Divine Regent, he stood as the weakest.
For ten thousand years, he spent his time trying to recover his injured soul and body. Every time he performed rejuvenation for his daughter, his power steadily drained away instead of growing stronger like the others. Rather than advancing, he kept paying a price. In truth, if not for the pill Hua Qingying gave him during her last visit, he would barely have half a millennium left to live.
Even though he had recovered by now, he was still considered the weakest among them. He was not afraid for his own safety. What troubled him was something else entirely. If something truly happened to him, what would his daughter do without him clearing the path ahead for her?
"The disappearance of Wu Shenxing and Wu Shenyue was already very strange. To think that Pan Yusheng would also go missing," Meng Kongchan said with a grave expression. Among the three, he clearly knew that his supreme master was the culprit.
There was no chance he would ever reveal that.
"Old Hua, are you worried about your safety?" Dian Louhou spoke in his usual unnecessarily loud voice. "I do not know what is going on with those three, but do you really believe they are dead? Or perhaps kidnapped?"
He crossed his arms and continued with confidence. "We all know how strong those three are. Do you honestly believe someone could do anything to them without anyone noticing?"
"The only person who could do that is the Abyssal Monarch." He pointed a finger upward as if indicating the sky and continued, "If the Abyssal Monarch truly wanted to make a move against us, what would be the point of us even resisting?"
The Abyssal Monarch was the strongest being in the Abyss. Even someone as temperamental and fiery as Dian Louhou would never imagine standing a chance against him. In fact, he did not believe that even if all the True Gods in existence, including the High Priest, combined their power, they could hope to contend with the Abyssal Monarch.
Although the Abyssal Monarch always appeared disinterested and never revealed even the slightest trace of his aura when facing them, simply standing in his presence made Dian Louhou feel utterly insignificant.
"What if they were really killed?" Meng Kongchan asked abruptly.
"Impossible!" Dian Louhou snapped. "If they were truly dead, their Divine Powers would have returned to their Divine Vessels! Are you seriously suggesting that someone could have taken their Divine Power?"
The inheritances of the Divine Kingdoms were like an upgraded version of the Primal Chao's King Realms' Indestructible Inheritances. When an inheritor died, the origin power they had received always returned to the Divine Artifact.
Dian Louhou would much rather believe that the two had discovered some inheritance or rare treasure deep within the Abyss of Death and had gone in secret to claim it than think they had been kidnapped, as for the idea that they might have been killed, that never even crossed his mind.
The only beings capable of harming them were the High Priests and the Abyssal Monarch. The existence of another True God was absolutely impossible. It went against common sense and everything he believed in.
The only person who ever had the potential of reaching the True God Realm in the three million years of the Abyss's history was Hua Qingying, and she had not yet attained that level.
"Still, we should be careful. If any of us senses something unusual, we need to contact each other," Hua Fuchen said, admitting that Dian Louhou's reasoning made sense.
"Speaking of which, how is your sister doing? I heard she entered a secluded cultivation," Dian Louhou said, immediately changing the subject, a grin stretching across his boorish face. Although he had long given up hope of being with Hua Qingying, he still could not forget her graceful figure and captivating face.
The only thing that comforted him was that, even though he had failed to win the woman of his dreams, his son was engaged to Hua Caili, which eased some of his lingering regrets.
"Yes, it seems she is attempting another breakthrough," Hua Fuchen replied, his eyes flashing with a strange light. His sister was learning under that Yun Wuji, and now she was suddenly making a breakthrough. Was that man really that incredible?
Meng Kongchan remained silent the entire time, barely glancing at Dian Louhou from the corner of his eye. How could this man speak so casually about his master's woman?!
...
The Rainbow Cloud Branch was a strange flower that only grows in the Pure Land. Its petals were fluffy and pure white in color, but they glowed a faint rainbow when under the light. If multiple Rainbow Cloud Branches were clumped up together, it was entirely possible to mistake them for rainbow clouds that had descended to the dust. It was a picturesque sight to say the least.
Unfortunately, they were also as ephemeral as a cloud. A stiff breeze could scatter them with ease.
That was why they needed to be tended to with the utmost care.
Pure white Rainbow Cloud Branches clustered together, forming a vast sea of clouds. Even in this Divine Kingdom, where the abyssal dust had been weakened to an extreme, it looked almost as magnificent as an immortal realm.
Amidst the sea of flowers stood a girl.
If the sea of flowers was beautiful enough to feel like a dream, then the girl was the dream within all dreams.
Her eyes sparkled as brightly as her teeth. She bore a face capable of toppling kingdoms with a single glance. Her skin was flawless like jade and soft like a delicate flower. To call her a fairy incarnate would be an insult. She was a peerless beauty who could make flowers close in envy and moons hide themselves in shame.
Her beauty rivaled the transcendent elegance of Shen Xi, the unforgettable charm of Qianye Ying'er, and the bewitching allure of Chi Wuyao.
"Hmph! Aunt really changed!" Hua Caili huffed in annoyance, puffing her cheeks like a squirrel as she paced with her hands behind her back. Her aunt, who usually never left her side, hadn't come to pick her up when she left the cradle, and worse, she had actually entered secluded cultivation without even seeing her first!
"It must be that man's fault! He did something to Aunt to make her act like this!" Gritting her teeth, she cursed the unknown man who had stolen her beloved aunt for what felt like the millionth time.
After another round of cursing Yun Wuji, Hua Caili suddenly flopped onto her back, lying on the ground and staring up at the sky. Her crystal-clear eyes blinked as she muttered, "Falling in love… what does it feel like to be in love?"
"Even if it's annoying, I should be happy for Aunty." She knew her aunt's obsessiveness toward her stemmed from guilt over her mother. Even if others tried to keep her mother's past a secret, she wasn't dumb. She could pick up clues from their actions.
So, despite feeling somewhat dissatisfied that her aunt's attention had been taken by someone else, she was also relieved that her aunt had finally found someone she could love and no longer keep all to herself. Perhaps she would come to forgive herself as well in the future.
"Still! Once Aunty comes out, I will make her take me to see that man!" Hua Caili suddenly thrust her delicate hand into the air. "Hmph! I won't allow him to monopolize Aunt's time all for himself! Aunty will always be my aunty!"
...
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