Volume One: The Nature of the Devil Never Changes
Arc: The Great Guerrilla War
Scarlet King entered the spatial gate. When he closed his eyes and opened them again, he had already been transported to the black hole's location.
All the disciples were stunned by the black hole. They whispered and murmured among themselves:
"What a colossal black hole… in both mass and size."
"The qi here is so dense and pure… It is a perfect place for training."
Scarlet King moved and stood beside the Yin and Yang Guards. They immediately asked him:
"Master, are you not afraid of revealing this place to the other gangs and sects?"
Scarlet King's answer was clear, accompanied by a faint, light smile, like calm smoke drifting across his face.
"And what of it? The wise know they should not interfere. Otherwise, they enter a conflict with another major force—and that brings heavy losses. The fools are the ones who try to take this place by force. The greatest benefit lies in trying to win me over. Or Lin Yuan. To secure the advantage."
"Of course, they will try to offer benefits to me and Lin Yuan so they can use the black hole as they wish under the cover of our faction. As for the short-sighted fool, he is the one who believes this place belongs to him simply because he is the strongest."
"As the saying goes: when an irritating insect lands on the face of the one you love, you learn that violence does not solve everything."
Yin Guard asked:
"And what if all the major forces ally against you and divide this place among themselves?"
Scarlet King was silent for a moment.
But after that…
he laughed.
Then he looked at her from the corner of his eye.
"An alliance among the major forces of the First Dimension? That is a delusion. Any major force would seek a power that makes it the strongest. Right now, the major sects are balanced in strength. If one of them pulls the black hole to its side, it gains a major advantage that lets it surpass the rest."
"And even if they did ally… I would gladly hand them the black hole. It would spawn betrayals, internal wars, and conflicts among the sects over it. That would be useful to me—even if I lost it."
"And if one sect managed to take the black hole, the rest of the sects would ally against it. That would drag the entire First Dimension into a major war. Therefore, the wise will try to keep the black hole under our faction's ownership while merely attempting to gain certain privileges."
"Interest is the only law everyone respects."
Both Yin Guard and Yang Guard fell silent, thinking deeply about Scarlet King's words.
But Scarlet King cut through their thoughts:
"Now, I leave the management of this place to you. I have missions to complete."
Scarlet King moved and prepared to fly, but suddenly stopped for several seconds.
"..."
Yang Guard spoke in confusion:
"Why did you stop, Master?"
He thought:
(Surely, a peerless, unparalleled genius plan came to mind—to seize the black hole, control all the sects, and win everything.)
Scarlet King spoke with perfect simplicity:
"Actually… I do not know where the abandoned mine is…"
Both Yin Guard and Yang Guard were shocked and said at the same time:
"Haaah?!"
Scarlet King turned his body toward the disciples, who were still staring at the black hole in awe, while some had already begun cultivating, striving for the greatest benefit and the fastest results.
Scarlet King moved in an instant and appeared in front of one of the disciples, startling him.
"Waaah!"
Scarlet King paid no mind to the disciple's fear and asked him directly:
"Where is the abandoned Death Mine located?"
The disciple repeated the mine's name in shock:
"Death Mine?"
Scarlet King produced a map of the Death Forest and handed it to the disciple.
"Point to the mine's location… quickly."
The disciple immediately pointed to the frozen northern region, specifically the southeastern part of the forest's northern section.
This made Scarlet King think:
(The immortal universe belonging to the Heavenly Food Sect is entirely shaped like a great forest called the Death Forest. Everything within it is named after death because of its danger.)
(Each major sect controls two and a half of the eleven immortal universes in the First Dimension.)
(A regular universe is less dangerous than an immortal universe—or any universe ranked above it. But the higher the rank, the greater the danger… the denser the qi… and the richer the resources.)