After Blazing Sun and Evergreen entered, they immediately attacked the Phantom. The Saints' clash sent the Pocket World flying into a Pocket Dimension.
Two realms colliding required even them to be cautious.
The two sides were in a stalemate. Great Heavenly Venerate was unwilling to give up and asked Nine Heavenly Venerates about the cause and effect.
Nine Heavenly Venerates was covered in dust and extremely weak. It wasn't due to the battle, but rather from resisting The Void during the fusion of the two realms just now. Fortunately, it survived.
It had seen some people being pulled apart by The Void, their flesh and blood scattering on the spot. Some were sucked into The Void, their fate unknown. Even with the Saints' help, only seven of them remained here.
It was still shaken, but upon hearing Great Heavenly Venerate's question, it didn't dare to delay. It organized its words and briefly explained the matter, which wasn't much different from what Zhao Li had said.
Great Heavenly Venerate nodded from time to time upon hearing this, its eyes slightly narrowed. With so many of them, after arriving at the Imperial Court, they had only encountered one old man at the Dou Venerate level, who had nearly wiped out their entire army. They hadn't seen any other 'Natives' so far, and it felt something was wrong.
Not until Nine Heavenly Venerates finished speaking did it frown, as if asking Nine Heavenly Venerates, or perhaps muttering to itself:
"Where... are they?"
Nine Heavenly Venerates' face changed drastically upon hearing this.
When it first entered, it occasionally saw a few villages and encountered Natives, but since arriving at the Imperial Court, it hadn't seen any other living person. At first, it thought they were hiding in the city, but it was chased back by the Divine Statue before it could even search the city.
From beginning to end, they had been led around by that old man, and they hadn't had the mind to pay attention to these matters.
Now, hearing Great Heavenly Venerate's meaning, it feared there were no people left in this realm.
Nine Heavenly Venerates' heart tightened. If the Spirit Devouring Tribe remnants returned to the continent, then...
It shivered, not daring to think further. It also didn't dare to tell Great Heavenly Venerate that they might be the Spirit Devouring Tribe remnants, and could only pretend to know nothing.
It looked at the few Dou Venerates who had survived nearby, cursing in its heart why they hadn't been killed.
It regretted showing off its knowledge in front of them.
Great Heavenly Venerate didn't know the colorful and ever-changing thoughts in Nine Heavenly Venerates' mind. It simply frowned and pondered.
With it and Evergreen guarding the outside, it didn't believe anyone could have spirited people away without anyone noticing. That would require the means of a true Dou Sheng, but if they had a living Dou Sheng, there would be no need for the two Half-Saints here at all.
It suddenly opened its eyes, divine light seemingly flashing within them.
Its sharp gaze swept around. Since the people hadn't been sent away, they were likely still hidden in this realm.
But it searched for a long time without finding anything.
Great Heavenly Venerate had no choice but to look at the tall figure again. Now, only the area within the Imperial Court remained.
As if remembering something, Great Heavenly Venerate looked down. However, this place had already changed drastically. With a realm crashing down, those it had imprisoned would not have a shred of Life Force left.
It made no unnecessary movements. After a glance, it continued to look at the Divine Statue, no longer thinking about it. They were just ants; it didn't matter if they died.
From a distance, Zhao Li saw the tall Phantom. Although its face was blurry, he still recognized it as the Emperor Lord jointly worshipped by the people of this realm.
This scene reminded him of the descriptions of the ancient Dou Di, Medicine Emperor, in books.
Perhaps it was also a trace of will left behind by Primordial Spirit Emperor to protect future generations, but with the passage of time, it had become chaotic and its strength was less than one ten-thousandth of what it once was.
Perhaps its ability to appear here was even due to the Elder's special sacrifice.
Seeing that they were still in a stalemate, Zhao Li stealthily entered the mountain range and quietly retreated.
Zhao Li walked cautiously through the mountain range. Suddenly, a strong energy fluctuation came from above. Zhao Li looked up and saw that Great Heavenly Venerate, not knowing what it intended, was condensing an attack and launching it towards the Divine Statue Phantom.
Facing the attack, the Phantom gently waved its hand. In an instant, a massive energy condensed in its hand, meeting Great Heavenly Venerate's attack.
The two collided, and powerful energy erupted with a roar.
The attack stopped immediately. Although Great Heavenly Venerate was somewhat disheveled, its gaze towards the Phantom became heated.
Just now, it realized that the Phantom wouldn't actively attack, ensuring its safety. This made it the best sparring partner.
Such a rigid Dou Sheng sparring partner that wouldn't actively attack was unique.
After one strike, Great Heavenly Venerate pondered for a while, seemingly gaining some insight, and attacked again.
Since it had such a sparring partner, why would it do nothing and just wait for it to dissipate?
Zhao Li's gaze was drawn by the powerful energy fluctuations. Seeing Great Heavenly Venerate attacking the Phantom, he just assumed it wanted to consume the Divine Statue Phantom's energy and didn't think much of it, continuing to hurry on his way.
Evergreen Saint beside Great Heavenly Venerate saw Great Heavenly Venerate's appearance and its heart stirred, understanding immediately. It then also attacked the Divine Statue Phantom.
No strong practitioner who could cultivate to this level would be a fool.
Perhaps through this event, they could truly enter the ranks of Saints.
Zhao Li hid deep within the mountain range, not daring to use Dou Qi or Rules. He could only rely on his physical body, cautiously making his way.
Sensing the energy occasionally sweeping from above, he cursed inwardly:
"Are these two old guys sick? It's terrifying."
Meanwhile, after several attacks, the two discovered that the Divine Statue Phantom's power was weakening.
They didn't know if it was time for the Phantom to disappear or if the two's attacks had consumed its energy. They could sense it slowly fading and felt some disappointment. The hope of using this to advance to Dou Sheng was shattered.
Finally, after another half an hour, the Phantom dissipated.
The moment the Phantom dissipated, the figures of the two Saints gradually faded. They had entered the Imperial Court.
Great Heavenly Venerate felt that the people of this Pocket World had not been sent away yet.
He searched inch by inch.
Suddenly, he stood before the Divine Statue, hands behind his back, looking up at it:
"Found it!"
Within the Divine Statue's eyes, the Great Heavenly Venerate sensed a very faint trace of Spatial Energy.
He extended his palm, and the surrounding Dou Qi was mobilized, condensing into a giant hand. Then, the hand lightly flipped and pressed down towards the Divine Statue.
*Boom!*
The mountain range shook again, seeming to sink even further.
"Crack!"
The sound of stone cracking spread, but the Great Heavenly Venerate frowned. With his High Grade Half-Saint strength, he naturally wouldn't mishear; this cracking sound of stone was not coming from the Divine Statue.
With this palm strike from the Great Heavenly Venerate, Zhao Li, who had already moved very far from the Imperial Court, was still jolted into a stumble by the sudden tremor. Just as he steadied himself, he heard that mysterious sigh again and again:
"Alas~"
Zhao Li didn't care what had happened; his first action was to look at the Black Mist within his Primordial Spirit.
Upon seeing it, Zhao Li was startled.
At this moment, the Black Mist, which was originally the size of a fist, had shrunk to only the size of a thumb. However, it was no longer black but had become chaotic and colorless.
The unusual state of the Black Mist made Zhao Li feel uneasy, but he quickly realized he could do nothing.
After the sigh, this mysterious mist rapidly spread, instantly filling Zhao Li's Primordial Spirit. Even his Flame, which was already indistinguishable from an ordinary Heavenly Flame, couldn't stop it.
Soon, Zhao Li found that he could still sense his physical body but could no longer control it, even though ten years of cultivation had made it perfectly flawless and completely under his will.
A chill ran through Zhao Li's heart. He hadn't expected to encounter such a thing after all.
Under the control of the mysterious mist, 'Zhao Li' clenched his fist and stretched his body, seemingly getting familiar with the new body.
Immediately after, Zhao Li uncontrollably reverted to his original appearance.
'Zhao Li' nodded in satisfaction, apparently quite pleased with this body.
Zhao Li's Primordial Spirit remained, only covered by the mist, unable to control the physical body. However, he could still sense everything in his body and the outside world, and he didn't sense his Primordial Spirit or consciousness being attacked in any way.
Like an outsider, someone had Possessed his body, and he could only watch helplessly as he walked towards the Imperial Court.
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