No Destruction, No Creation

"?"

The Lord of Nine Mountains was puzzled. Could it be that Supremes were all like this? He attempted to use his great divine powers to peer into the figure beneath the cloak, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't discern anything, proving that this person was at least more adept at hiding his aura than he was.

So, he tried to calm his tone and asked again, "Which Supreme are you? Daoist Suppressing Heaven, or the Ancestor Zhu, who has become the light of myriad realms?"

"Didn't I already say it? I'm your father!" Inner demon retorted disdainfully.

The Lord of Nine Mountains frowned. After all, he had cultivated for hundreds of thousands of years and didn't get angry easily. Instead, he stared at Chen Xia and asked him, "Who is he?"

Chen Xia's acting was on point. He first pretended to be timid and glanced at the inner demon, then hesitated before looking back at the Lord of Nine Mountains. Finally, he muttered in a small voice, "Your father?"

"Nonsense!" The Lord of Nine Mountains' eyes burst with golden light. His momentum soared instantly, as if a great deity had descended upon Heaven Pill Gate. The pressure concentrated in one spot, making it particularly intense. He pointed a finger at the entire Heaven Pill Gate.

"One last question. If you don't answer properly, I'll erase your entire Heaven Pill Gate."

Inside the mountain gate, Daoist Suppressing Heaven smiled faintly. This was exactly the effect they were after.

This was the plan he and Chen Xia and the inner demon had devised together.

Once the Lord of Nine Mountains emerged from seclusion, there was a high likelihood he would target East Jia State to deal with Chen Xia. Compared to the Lord of the Divine Realm and the Great Emperors, Chen Xia, the Medicine Ancestor, was a bona fide soft target.

By targeting him, the Lord of Nine Mountains could both establish his might and regain some control over East Jia State. Why not?

Chen Xia and the others waited for the Lord of Nine Mountains to arrive, then provoked him until he lost his patience and struck. That's when they would counterattack, use it as an opportunity to establish their might, and strengthen Chen Xia's connection to East Jia State.

It would also mark the true beginning of the chaotic era in the Immortal Realm.

Now the Lord of Nine Mountains was pointing at them, his words filled with threats.

Chen Xia and the inner demon exchanged glances, seemingly just looking at each other, but they had already prepared their lines. Chen Xia then turned his head, looking timid as he replied to the Lord of Nine Mountains, "Actually, I hid the truth from the Mountain Lord. This person isn't a Supreme, just a half-step Supreme."

The Lord of Nine Mountains' eyes revealed understanding. His suspicions were confirmed.

"As for his identity..." Chen Xia hesitated again, "Since he said he's your father, then it must be about right. Not your biological father, but probably your adoptive father."

"You're courting death!" The Lord of Nine Mountains instantly pointed at Chen Xia's head, his killing intent intense, his divine abilities manifested, ready to strike a fatal blow!

Even if it were a Four Paths Demigod, what did it matter to him? In the eyes of such a being, a Four Paths Demigod was no different from a stray dog on the side of the road—kill it and that was that.

Inside the mountain gate, the puppet's body stiffened. Its empty eyes suddenly came alive, its movements no longer stiff, its voice no longer monotonous. It spoke softly, "Steal the Heavens and Change the Bones."

The puppet's body paused, as if it had become a container, or perhaps a sealed coffin.

A phantom figure emerged from it, its appearance unclear, only the dark robe draped over its body, distorting with time.

Everything outside froze. This wasn't an effect of time magic; it was a more brutal forceful halt.

The phantom figure steadied itself, its left hand curling into a fist. If one looked closely, they could see countless stars spinning on its ghostly hand, as if it had formed its own star domain.

A tiny dust mote appeared on the curled finger. In that instant, even this tiny dust mote became a star, countless stars, and with this flick of the finger...

All darted forward!

The clouds stirred, then the light bent, the wind blew, and the grass swayed.

Everything seemed peaceful.

Boom!

A figure shot straight down from Heaven Pill Gate, traversing countless continents, falling back to the Ninth Mountain.

So today, all the Great Emperors knew: the Lord of Nine Mountains had gone to East Jia State and been struck down back to the Ninth Mountain.

What terrifying existence was in East Jia State?!

The practitioners all knew, only the Lord of the Divine Realm knew the inside story. At the moment, he couldn't help but sigh, thankful that he wasn't as impulsive as the Lord of Nine Mountains.

After delivering such a move, Daoist Suppressing Heaven's phantom figure suddenly dissipated, returning back to the puppet's body, sealing himself once more.

Chen Xia stood at the mountain gate, the entire gate intact, only the Lord of Nine Mountains had been struck down. Throughout the whole process, he didn't even know what had happened, showing just how terrifying Daoist Suppressing Heaven's strength was.

The inner demon stood beside him and said solemnly, "That's a Supreme."

Even though he was the Supreme Demon, he still had no confidence in comparing to a Supreme. If it were a fully matured version of him, he probably would've ended up like the Lord of Nine Mountains, unable to withstand a single move.

Over countless eras and worlds, there had only been three Supremes. No wonder Daoist Suppressing Heaven was so powerful.

Seeing Daoist Suppressing Heaven in action, one truly understood just how terrifying the so-called Supremes were, already a different level from Five Paths Great Emperors.

With the Lord of Nine Mountains' defeated fall, it marked the true beginning of the chaotic era in the Immortal Realm.

The Heaven Emperor and the Twilight Realm Star Lord subsequently took positions fiercely, occupying the adjacent Manghei Continent and Xuanying Continent.

Currently, apart from the Treasure Ring Scale State, all other lands had become battlegrounds outside the Immortal Realm.

The Lord of the Divine Realm, the Great Emperors, the Heaven Emperor, the Star Lord, and the Medicine Ancestor. These were the five overlords of the Immortal Realm, shaping the current state of warlords fighting for dominance.

Among them, East Jia State in the far east was deemed the most dangerous forbidden zone, as even the Lord of Nine Mountains had been repelled from there, let alone other practitioners.

All Five Paths Great Emperors had taken their positions, the chaotic era had begun, and they were all eyeing the various continents.

Chen Xia, relying on the previous display of might, was barely able to stabilize the situation, with no Five Paths Great Emperors daring to come to East Jia State, and he also didn't provoke other continents, focusing on maintaining peace.

But the situation couldn't stay stable forever. After all, East Jia State was a big piece of fat, and as long as it wasn't fully integrated with Chen Xia, it would continue to be coveted by the Five Paths Great Emperors.

So, after the Lord of Nine Mountains, the second Five Paths Great Emperor arrived at East Jia State.

It was the Heaven Emperor.

He came alone, asking about Chen Xia and the legendary half-step Supreme.

But there was no half-step Supreme.

And Daoist Suppressing Heaven didn't help either.

So, half of Heaven Pill Gate was shattered, Chen Xia's body fell to the far south of East Jia State, creating a giant crater, this time truly badly injured.

The inner demon fell to the far north, his situation not much better than Chen Xia's.

There was no other reason; it was simply that they were outmatched. The Heaven Emperor didn't go for a killing blow, saying this was just a test, and the next time would be different.

When would the next time be?

Chen Xia didn't know. Struggling to climb out of the crater, he looked at Daoist Suppressing Heaven standing at the edge, and asked in confusion, "Lord of the Divine Realm's father, why didn't you make a move this time?"

Daoist Suppressing Heaven's empty eyes gazed at him, giving the reason.

"Without breaking, there can be no rebirth."

"I'm already quite broken." Chen Xia wiped away the blood on his body.

"Not breaking your body, but breaking your mind!"

"A cultivator's mind too tranquil and stable is unfit for climbing high. After this battle, if your mind breaks like a stubborn stone, you can ascend and stand on the mountaintop..."

"Now, tell me, what is your current obsession? Is it to kill the Heaven Emperor?"

"Eating, sleeping, and doing nothing." Chen Xia immediately answered, as if it was an instinctual reaction.

...