196: Chapter 196 Coercion and Enticement: The Change of Power Between North and South

Wandao Academy is forged by the Great Dao, with the incarnations of the Three Thousand Great Daos presiding within, created specifically to cultivate those who seek the Dao. Once inside, becoming a Saint is only a matter of time.

Once its gates are opened, the Primordial Myriad Clans will inevitably produce a large number of Saints, and their combat power will skyrocket.

But right now... the Chaos Fiendgods are about to invade, and the entire Primordial Realm is in imminent danger.

What truly makes him wary is not the ordinary powerhouses of the Demon God World, but Jehovah of the Angel Great World, and also—Yang Mei!

If Yang Mei truly intends to act against the Primordial Realm, he would never invite only Jehovah. He would certainly awaken other slumbering Chaos Fiendgods as well!

In other words, half an epoch from now, the Primordial Realm will have to face the siege of at least two, or even more, Chaos Fiendgods!

After a long silence, Jiang Chen spoke slowly: "Wandao Academy can be opened—but I want the southern and northern parts of the Primordial Realm."

As soon as these words were spoken, the Heavenly Dao's pupils constricted sharply, as if it had heard a tall tale, staring at him as if looking at a madman.

"Delusional!" the Heavenly Dao said decisively, "The southern and northern parts are the last territories under my control. If I hand them over, wouldn't the entire Primordial Realm fall under your rule?"

Jiang Chen, however, remained calm and said leisurely: "You won't agree? Then why don't we just go to war. There is only enough time for one great battle left before the promised Calamity—let us have a satisfying fight. If you win, the Four Seas are yours; if you lose... I shall unify the Primordial Realm."

His tone was calm, yet it carried an unquestionable domineering air.

The Heavenly Dao's mouth twitched, and it roared inwardly: This guy is definitely doing this on purpose! Knowing full well that a great enemy is approaching, he chooses this moment to force my hand!

How could it possibly accept the challenge? If the Primordial Realm were invaded by the Chaos Fiendgods, the one to suffer the most would be the Heavenly Dao itself! Its layout over billions of years, all its painstaking efforts, would be destroyed in an instant!

Seeing its hesitation, Jiang Chen chuckled: "Your control over the Primordial Realm is already minimal. Instead of staying in a deadlock, it would be better to let me take over completely. That way, we can quickly deploy defenses and deal with the crisis."

Every word was like a blade cutting across the heartstrings.

"Besides, the Endless Starry Sky is about the same size as the Primordial Continent; wouldn't it be satisfying for us to each occupy half? It would save us from daily scheming and fighting—isn't that exhausting?"

The Heavenly Dao almost spat out a mouthful of blood—this is what he calls saving trouble? Is this something a person can say?

But the next sentence from Jiang Chen made its expression change abruptly.

"If you aren't willing, that's fine too, then how about... giving me half of the Hongmeng Realm?" Jiang Chen's lips curled up, his smile sinister.

"You—!" The Heavenly Dao's pupils constricted, staring fixedly at Jiang Chen. He actually knows about the existence of the Hongmeng Realm?!

Jiang Chen's gaze was like a blade, and he spoke slowly: "Don't think I don't know what you are plotting. Want to move against my Undead Clan? If you dare to reach out, I will make you lose your hand!"

"The southern and northern lands, or half of the Hongmeng Realm." His tone was indifferent, yet every word was like iron, "You choose."

In an instant, killing intent exploded around the Heavenly Dao, and terrifying pressure swept out. The entire Outer Chaos trembled violently, and the boundless Chaos air currents shattered inch by inch, as if the world were overturning and the universe reversing!

"Jiang Chen, do you really want to tear off the mask?!" The Heavenly Dao's voice was chilling to the extreme, carrying monstrous anger and irrepressible murderous intent.

There was also a sense of grievance surging in its chest.

It was clearly the one who initiated the cooperation, so how did it become the one being blackmailed in the blink of an eye?

It was furious—an unprecedented anger. It had lost miserably in the previous two gambles, losing both the eastern and western territories, and could not even protect the Four Great Sea Areas. Now, Jiang Chen was pushing his luck, attempting to swallow the southern and northern lands! If he were allowed to succeed, wouldn't the entire Primordial Realm fall into his hands?

But Wandao Academy, it absolutely could not let go.

That is the supreme holy land for nurturing those who seek the Dao. Once opened, the Primordial Myriad Clans will see a spurt of Saints, the world's rules will become complete, and its own authority will naturally rise with the tide.

As for the Hongmeng Realm? Don't even think about it.

That is its bottom line; touching it means war.

"I will only say this once—if you want to fight, I will accompany you to the end!"

"Want to cooperate?" Jiang Chen sneered, "Then show some sincerity."

As the words fell, the Heavenly Dao's face twisted, and it almost exploded on the spot, but reason held it back tightly.

The Great Calamity of the Primordial Realm is approaching, and as the Heavenly Dao, it cannot afford any mistakes.

The two stood in silent confrontation, the air freezing like ice.

Jiang Chen was not in a hurry; he knew who would be the most restless.

After a long while, the Heavenly Dao finally suppressed its surging flames of anger and spoke coldly: "The southern and northern lands, I can give them to you."

"But you must promise—during this half epoch, you must not cause chaos! And you are absolutely not allowed to interfere in the affairs of Wandao Academy!"

Seeing it yield, Jiang Chen immediately smiled, as brilliant as the morning sun breaking through the fog: "Naturally. If you don't believe me, I can swear an oath to the Great Dao."

After speaking, with a thought, the Great Dao bore witness, and the oath was formed—within this epoch, he would never stir up unrest.

The Heavenly Dao watched coldly, then withdrew its mark of will from the southern and northern lands.

"Pleasure doing business with you." Jiang Chen was all smiles.

"Hmph!" The Heavenly Dao snorted coldly and turned away, its anger difficult to quell.

This time, it had been openly manipulated by Jiang Chen again, and it was powerless to resist.

Humiliation! Complete and utter humiliation!

But Jiang Chen didn't care at all and said indifferently: "From now on, you manage the Endless Starry Sky, and the Primordial Realm belongs to me. We shall advance and retreat together, and develop together."

"I hope you can keep your word." The Heavenly Dao's tone was chilling, its eyes like blades.

Jiang Chen chuckled: "Since that is the case, let us talk about—next, how to deal with those Chaos Fiendgods."

For the next ten million years, the two began to secretly discuss the layout for the Great Calamity.

This cooperation could be called the first in history. Although they were wary of each other, compared to drawing swords against each other at every turn in the past, it was a world of difference.

At least now, they could sit down and talk properly, without overturning the table and starting a war within three sentences.

During this period, Jiang Chen laid out his plans for the Demon God World one by one. The Heavenly Dao listened in astonishment, and by the end, its gaze toward him already carried a hint of wariness.

"So you have long been eyeing those Demon God Worlds?!" The Heavenly Dao stared at him, as if looking at a madman.

It simply could not imagine—during these years, while Jiang Chen was dealing with it, he was also able to distract himself to scheme against the Demon God World?!

This is simply dancing on the tip of a blade!

One wrong step, and the layout of four epochs would all vanish into thin air!

A trace of gloom flashed in the depths of Jiang Chen's eyes; naturally, he would not say that he had been tricked by Yang Mei. Fortunately, he acted cautiously and had sent out the Four Great Corpse Kings early to scout the path, which prevented a major disaster.

If Jiang Chen had openly dispatched troops and charged straight at the Demon God World, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Never mind conquering the Demon God World; I'm afraid that before moving a single soldier, the Primordial Realm's layout would have already been torn to pieces.

"You control the order of the Primordial Realm, so you should have inherited part of Pangu's memories." Jiang Chen's gaze darkened slightly, his voice as low as thunder, "I heard a secret from Yang Mei—back then, Pangu stepped into the River of Time and Space and alarmed the Great Dao. Do you know about this?"

He had asked Yang Mei this question earlier.

But Yang Mei refused to speak about it, only saying it violated the taboos of the Great Dao and could not be spoken of.

The Heavenly Dao's expression changed slightly.

It indeed possessed fragments of Pangu's incomplete memories, which contained secrets from when the Chaos first opened, but it could not say, and dared not say.

"I cannot speak of it." The Heavenly Dao shook its head, its tone grave.

A flash of brilliance appeared in Jiang Chen's eyes; as expected, the Heavenly Dao knew something.

"Why can you not speak of it?" he pursued.

The Heavenly Dao looked at him deeply, its voice like an abyss: "I advise you not to delve too deeply. Some truths are of no benefit to know, and instead invite disaster."

"But you must understand one thing—this Chaos Great Derivation Epoch we are in is extraordinary and involves the forbidden laws of the Great Dao."

"This epoch is extraordinary?" Jiang Chen's pupils constricted sharply.

In an instant, his own origin flashed through his mind.

He was not a creature of this epoch, but had crossed over from another epoch, a remnant from the previous Chaos Great Derivation Epoch.