Wu Wei's sneak attack on Zheng Ya failed. After Zheng Ya warned her to leave, Wu Wei went berserk and destroyed the surrounding mountainous area, drawing attention from all sides.
The retired emperor and Empress Dowager Yin sent their spies, who were tracking Zheng Ya, to inform them of the falling out between Wu Wei and Zheng Ya, which made the two of them very uneasy.
At this very moment, the retired emperor and the empress dowager were hiding in a cave in the southwest ravine of the lava pool, sitting at opposite ends of a brightly lit stone table, sipping tea and weighing their gains and losses: "I feel like something is not right."
Perhaps you and I haven't truly forged an equal contract with those transmigrators. What's your take on that?
"Well, relatively speaking, the female servants you sent out earlier formed an equal contract with Wu Wei and their performance was quite normal."
But when it came to Master Tianyuan and Zheng Ya concluding their contract, he clearly showed an unnatural expression. There must be something hidden behind this. The Emperor Emeritus had long suspected that there was a problem.
However, with no trace of intervention and no concrete evidence to support his claim, and with no need to accuse Zheng Ya of opportunism, the retired emperor chose to remain silent and observe the situation.
Before any plans could be made, news of Zheng Ya's falling out with Wu Wei arrived, confirming the Emperor Emeritus's suspicions: the methods of those who cross realms are diverse and impossible to guard against!
They actually possessed a secret method to counter soul contracts, which sent chills down the spines of the Emperor Emeritus and the Empress Dowager.
In particular, Wu Wei subtly and unknowingly suppressed the soul contract while the women were offering sacrifices, leaving no trace, which is the most terrifying aspect.
Empress Yin sneered, "So it seems they're playing tricks on us, putting on a show?"
"Yes, this situation is basically settled."
"If they hadn't broken ties, revealing their ambition to monopolize all the treasures and resources in the world, and hadn't ignored the binding information from the soul contract, we wouldn't be able to be sure that they had a trick up their sleeve regarding the soul contract!" The Emperor Emeritus felt extremely fortunate.
From a security perspective, this is a great thing.
After all, the most terrifying dangers are those lurking around us.
The fact that Wu Wei and Zheng Ya did not have this falling out exposed the fact that the soul contract was out of control. Once everyone came together to open the seal secret realm, it meant that they were handing their lives over to Wu Wei and Zheng Ya, making it impossible to defend against.
Although the retired emperor and the empress dowager had long harbored the intention to kill the two, they could not bring themselves to do so until the final key was revealed.
This superficial cooperation may continue until the Seal Realm opens, at which point the ownership of the seal will be determined, friend and foe will be identified, and a decisive blow will be dealt to the enemy.
Otherwise, they might lose the imperial seal, which would affect their path to immortality and ascension to the upper realm. The retired emperor and the empress dowager cannot afford to lose, and they might wait until the very last moment to kill Wu Wei and Zheng Ya.
This gave Wu Wei and Zheng Ya an opportunity to turn the tables on them.
The fact that the soul contract failed demonstrates the terrifying extent to which they entrusted their lives to Wu Wei and Zheng Ya.
Are you grateful to have escaped with your life?
After all, when the enemy and friend are finally determined and the seal is seized, everyone's true self will be present. There is absolutely no possibility of the true self leaving and missing out on the chance to win the seal.
A substitute puppet can appear in any situation.
Only at the very last moment must the true self be present, which means that even though their soul contract has failed, they have genuinely been given a second chance at life.
Empress Yin was so angry her teeth ached: "Hmph, those who cross realms are all wolves in sheep's clothing. You and I can only act in secret!"
And what are your plans for dealing with those two?
"Yes, that is indeed a big problem."
"Given our capabilities, we simply cannot force them to reveal their hidden trump cards. I suggest maintaining this cooperative stance until the seal is revealed, while secretly plotting our final ambush. We absolutely cannot allow them to die so easily!" The Emperor Emeritus said through gritted teeth, filled with intense hatred.
In fact, the Ten Directions Killing Formation set up a few days ago is incredibly powerful.
If the Ten Directions Annihilation Formation hadn't restricted Zheng Ya's ability to move freely through it, he wouldn't have chosen to submit.
It reveals the power of the Ten Directions Annihilation Array, capable of sealing space and annihilating everything.
It's not hard to understand. Every cultivator at the Nascent Soul stage possessed the power to kill Zheng Ya. By joining forces, they set up the Ten Directions Killing Array, which had the ability to seal space and crush Zheng Ya. It was all part of the scheme devised by the Emperor Emeritus and Empress Yin to kill Zheng Ya.
If the two hadn't been worried that Zheng Ya's hoarding of the key would affect the important event of the seal's birth, they would have ordered the worshippers to crush Zheng Ya into dust long ago.
As the saying goes, every gain comes with a loss, and a small act of impatience can ruin a great plan.
This was a choice made out of necessity. It wasn't that the Emperor Emeritus and Empress Dowager didn't want to kill Zheng Ya, or even Wu Wei, but rather that they had no choice but to do so in order to seize the imperial seal.
Empress Yin said angrily, "It seems that we can only kill them when the seal is born?"
"Well, given the current situation, this is the only feasible solution."
After all, we only have one chance to retrieve the imperial seal, and we cannot afford to lose it. The retired emperor felt helpless. He was living in an era when the world was heading towards destruction, and he could not afford to make the slightest mistake, otherwise he would be utterly defeated and die without a burial place.
This cost is so high that it is unacceptable and unimaginable to most people.
Empress Yin rose angrily and paced back and forth in the cave, muttering, "If that's the case, when do you plan to open the Dragon Palace Secret Realm..."
"Don't rush, wait a little longer. We can't let the interdimensional beings discover that we've opened the Dragon Palace Secret Realm, ruining our grand plan..." The Emperor Emeritus offered an uncertain excuse.
The two were eager to open the Dragon Palace Secret Realm and obtain the cultivation resources stored there to improve their chances of ultimately seizing the seal. However, they were also worried that someone might be listening and that exposing the Dragon Palace Secret Realm could lead to a crushing defeat.
There are many cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage, and everyone is eyeing them covetously.
Although more than half of them were loyal to the Emperor Emeritus and Empress Yin, the Emperor Emeritus and Empress Yin had no intention of sharing the cultivation resources in the Dragon Palace Secret Realm with them, thus sowing the seeds of uncertain hidden dangers.
In other words, in order to avoid exposing the cultivation resources in the Dragon Palace Secret Realm and to seize the seal, the two may only be able to guide one person to ascend to the upper realm. Hiding it from everyone is their only way out.
However, even if the two wanted to escape the sight of the Nascent Soul Realm cultivators and leave behind substitute puppets to deceive them, it was hard to guarantee that no one would notice anything amiss and ruin their grand plan.
As the saying goes, "Success and failure both depend on Xiao He."
The Nascent Soul Realm's worship group helped them a lot, but they were also the people who knew them best and could easily spot the flaws they exposed.
This brought a crisis to the retired emperor and Empress Dowager that was no less severe than that faced by Zheng Ya.
Just as the two were in a dilemma, Zheng Ya was also secretly observing Wu Wei's mad destruction of the mountains and weighing the pros and cons: "That damned crazy woman, she almost took my life, how despicable!"
“Master, we told you long ago that your safety is paramount and you absolutely cannot take any risks!” The eighteen stand-ins sitting in Zheng Ya’s special ability world spoke up one after another, preferring to sacrifice themselves rather than let Zheng Ya take any risks.
In the past few days, Zheng Ya acted naturally to avoid revealing any flaws, experiencing the imprisonment of the Ten Directions Killing Array and the sneak attack from Wu Wei. He was in grave danger, and his survival can only be attributed to fate.
It wasn't by sheer luck that he survived; rather, it was due to the circumstances of the time.
Zheng Ya understood this firsthand: "Haha, yes, I should learn my lesson?"
"But doing this will only lead to your wrongful deaths..."
“Master, we are all old and unfortunate people. We are only able to survive because of your help. To be able to become your substitute, experience the spirit of the superhumans, and live a carefree life is our honor!”
"That makes sense. Our master rescued us in time, preventing us old folks from dying at the hands of those evil forces. Dying meaninglessly is the greatest fortune of our lives. Being able to take a knife for our master is a worthy death, and it was worth it!"
The stand-ins all gave impassioned speeches, showing no fear of death!
However, the ambition and dedication embodied in this expensive spirit deeply moved Zheng Ya...
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