398: Chapter 398 The King Neglects Morning Court, Returns to the Bottom of the River

Chu Sheng had been living quite comfortably lately.

He traveled back and forth between the Wanmo Hall and the Nine Nether Palace. During the day, he occasionally handled occasions that required his presence, while at night he mostly stayed in Yu Rumeng's or Zhou Wantang's palace.

The nights in the Devil Realm were longer than those in the Northern Region. After the dark red twilight slowly receded from the edge of the horizon,

that quiet and turbid night would persist for a long time.

He found that he had gradually adapted to this rhythm.

There was no need to constantly keep his Divine Sense taut to guard against anything, nor was there a need to repeatedly confirm whether there were any ambushes around.

Every time Yu Rumeng and Zhou Wantang spent time with him, their auras the next day would be a bit more condensed than the day before.

Chu Sheng noticed that within their bodies, those two Devilish Qi of different attributes were slowly and steadily growing.

Almost every time, he returned in a sweeping victory, leaving the two of them utterly defeated.

By the time he realized it,

he would find that they had already fallen asleep leaning against the couch, while he remained awake and even stronger than before.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, looking at their curled-up silhouettes, he unconsciously found it a bit amusing.

The power of "Many Children, Many Blessings" was indeed no joke; with Yin and Yang harmonized, both parties benefited.

The deeper Chu Sheng's cultivation became, the more feedback the other side received, stabilizing the closed loop.

Leaning against the couch, he suddenly thought of a matter.

The only time he truly suffered a loss was still against Wan Jiuer.

At that time, he was only at the Dao Palace, facing her simultaneous attack with nine Divine Ability Incarnations. A mere Dao Palace fighting nine Divine Abilities left him suppressed without even a chance to breathe.

Recalling it now, that layered sense of oppression was still clear.

He wondered how that lass was doing now. Was she still trapped in that Formation in the Boundless Sea, waiting to be rescued?

In the simulator, he had promised to go look for her, but in reality, that Formation still stood soundly deep in the ocean floor, and he hadn't found the time to deal with that thread yet.

Pulling back his thoughts, he figured that muddied water in the Western Region would be safer to touch only after he attained Imperial Spell cultivation base.

After all, dying in reality meant true death, with no second chance to reload a save.

The simulator gave him the chance to repeatedly test and make mistakes in simulations, but it also made him more aware of what the cost of reality was.

Before accumulating enough strength, rashly meddling in conflicts of that level was no different from courting death.

He decided to continue maintaining his current rhythm.

Acting as a monarch who did not hold early court night after night, driving the feedback loop of "Many Children, Many Blessings" to its absolute limit, and nurturing a few decent combat forces before pondering the next step of action.

If all his Dao Companions stepped into the Divine Ability realm, Chu Sheng's current strength could triple.

By then, the stars revolving around the moon could come into play.

Furthermore, the stronger Chu Sheng was, the stronger his Dao Companions were.

The stronger his Dao Companions were, the stronger Chu Sheng became in turn.

It was a direct positive feedback loop.

Anyway, the simulator's cooldown still had some time left, and he had plenty of leeway to stabilize the situation around him.

Just at this moment, an emergency transmission pierced through the barrier set up outside the hall.

It was forwarded from Yu Rumeng's side and landed beside his hand.

Chu Sheng unfolded it and took a glance, frowning slightly.

The message stated that Cultivators from several Sects in the Central Region were gathering in large numbers toward the direction of the Duanhun River, and the scale was obviously larger than before.

He straightened his body, read the transmission over again, and confirmed that he indeed recognized the Sect emblems mentioned in it.

Wanxiang Sect, Heavenly Sword Sect, Wendao Palace.

The Northern Region's Three Hegemon Families.

Those people were not here to attend any gathering; they were assembling.

The involvement of the Beiyuan Kingdom and the Righteous-Demonic War had already caused the Central Region to begin intervening.

He thought to himself that he could no longer continue being so leisurely.

The Northern Region he had interfered with might have triggered a butterfly effect, failing to continue following the script of the simulation.

He had to go back first, at least to confirm to what extent the situation on the Duanhun River side had developed.

Not many people outside the Devil Realm knew his face.

As long as he restrained his Devilish Qi well, blending in among normal Cultivators wouldn't make him too conspicuous.

He stood up, straightened his robes, and stored the items he needed to bring into his Storage Pouch.

Walking to the side hall where Yu Rumeng and Zhou Wantang were, he gave a few brief instructions.

Telling the two of them to use the Reverse Demon Tower to hold things off if there was anything they couldn't resolve, and wait for him to handle it when he returned.

The two didn't ask much, simply nodding in acknowledgement.

Chu Sheng left the palace, passed through several mountain passes, and set foot on the path returning toward the Duanhun River.

He restrained the texture of his Devilish Qi, making it sink deep into his body.

Leaving only a thin outer shell, he looked just like an ordinary Cultivator with mediocre cultivation.

He didn't encounter any anomalies along the road, and occasionally patrolling Devil Cultivators passed by him.

They didn't spare him a second look, merely sweeping a glance over his aura, confirming there was no threat, and continuing their patrol.

Following the same road he came by all the way to the bank of the Duanhun River, the river water was still surging, and the dark red waves lashed against the reefs on both banks, emitting a low and continuous roar.

He stood on the bank for a moment, looking at the gray skyline on the opposite shore, recalling the memories of the Lord of the Soul-Severing River within this river domain from the simulation.

It was like someone who had once struck against him and later watched him leave from the shadows.

He felt that this river perhaps shouldn't just be an obstacle; if he could straighten things out here, actions along the banks of the Duanhun River would be much more unhurried.

Hesitating no longer, he leaped into the river.

The river water was bone-chillingly cold, but in front of the protective spiritual energy of the Tongxuan Realm, it no longer posed an obstacle.

Sinking all the way down, he swam toward the direction of the small town in his memory.

The river water surged around him, and those wandering Resentful Souls sensed his aura and scattered in all directions, as if avoiding an existence they shouldn't approach.

Following the route in his memory, he passed through several undercurrents and gaps between reefs, stopping at the outer perimeter of the small town shrouded by the river water.

Sneaking for thousands of miles, he finally reached his destination.

A few dim lamplights were still lit in the town, and the grey light barrier at the entrance of the town still shrouded the entire area.

Standing before that layer of grey light barrier on the outer periphery of the small town, Chu Sheng didn't rush in, but first walked around the light barrier to confirm its structure.

The patterns of this Formation were somewhat denser than when he came in the simulation, as if it had been reinforced by someone, but the overall framework hadn't changed much.

It should be that he had come early; during the last simulation it was slightly later, but the Formation's might had decreased a lot.

It was still a pattern spreading outward from the inside; the core node should be beneath the stone platform in the center of the small town.

He raised his hand and pressed it against the surface of the light barrier.

His spiritual energy probed forward along the lines of the Formation, confirming the location of the nodes and the distribution of force.

The structure of the Formation was fairly regular, but the reinforcement technique was slightly crude.

The Lord of the Soul-Severing River walked out from the shadows.

He looked even more haggard, the hem of his garments soaked and clinging tightly to his legs.

"Fellow Daoist, please stay your hand. This Formation currently connects to several undercurrents at the river bottom. If forcibly broken, it may trigger some uncontrollable backlash. I wonder if Fellow Daoist can make a slight adjustment?"

His tone was a bit more earnest than last time. "This old man has indeed been trapped for too long. If Fellow Daoist can lend a hand, this old man will certainly not forget this grace."

As he spoke, he bent slightly at the waist, his posture much lower than what Chu Sheng remembered.