Chapter 715: Scheming and Variables
Everyone in the Heavenly Palace felt their hearts sink when they received the news from Lord Angel.
"The people from the fourth dimension are stealing poop from the expert and then that poop was stolen by the Eldritchs?" asked the Jade Emperor with shock.
"Both the Eldritchs and Heaven Mystery Pavilion have many strong fighters amongst them. We'll definitely lose if we fight them head-on," said Cultivator Junjun with a frown.
So far, the Heavenly Palace did not have a second-step Wisdom Elite within their midst and their combat power was a cause for concern.
"Don't worry. The Angel Clan's willing to assist if the Heavenly Palace wants to go to war with them," said Lord Angel.
Cultivator Junjun immediately shook his head. "There's no need for that, Brother Tianhua. The situation's still unclear and we don't have enough information about the Heaven Mystery Pavilion. It's best if you keep a low profile for now."
"I think the best solution is to instigate the two parties to fight against each other," said Yang Jing.
"Not a bad idea. We'll only have to swoop down at the last minute once both parties are at their weakest," said the Jade Emperor with a thoughtful look on his face.
Goddess Nuwa nodded and said, "It's indeed the best solution and it won't be hard to carry it out. We only need to tell the Heaven Mystery Pavilion what the Eldritchs are doing to make them fight against each other."
Cultivator Junjun turned to Lord Angel and said, "We shall leave that part to you, Lord Angel."
"Yes, I'll go do that immediately," said Lord Angel with a smile.
"There's no need to rush. We have to prepare on our side, too," said the Jade Emperor. He paused before continuing, "There are too many skilled fighters for this round. To be on the safe side, let's go discuss this with Goddess Daji and the others."
Cultivator Junjun nodded and said, "Yes, our combat power's insufficient to handle the unexpected. We should let Goddess Daji decide our next step."
Daji, Fire Phoenix, Nanan, and Dragin—all four of them were more powerful than any of the people in the Heavenly Palace on account of being able to stay by the expert's side 24/7. Not to mention, their speed of leveling up was astonishingly fast.
Three days passed in a blink of an eye. Lord Angel and War Angel took the roundabout way back to the fourth dimension to avoid the 10 Eldritchs and were on their way to the Heaven Mystery Pavilion.
Currently, all the people in the Heaven Mystery Pavilion were sad-faced and frowning. It was evident they were feeling frustrated about something.
"It's been three days and still, we're coming up empty-handed after sending the bugs out twenty times! Where did we go wrong?" asked Yun Qianshan.
"Could it be that we were too ruthless in our previous efforts and now the seventh dimension's finally come up with a measure that's preventing us from stealing the Origins?" asked Zheng Shan.
"What should we do if that's really the case? I fed those bugs with my own blood and it was fine when I could replenish myself with the Origins they brought back but now, the only thing they brought back is thin air! There's no way I can continue like this!" complained one of the Wisdom Elites.
"He's right, you know! I've lost so much weight since then!"
"I'll be squeezed dried if things continue like this!"
"We're making a loss here!"
Their complaints were endless and their morale had suffered a heavy blow.
"Maybe we should take a rest and try again after some time has passed," suggested someone.
It was at that moment Lord Angel entered the Heaven Mystery Pavilion with a smile on his face. "Hello, everyone. It's been a while. Huh? How come you're not feasting?"
"What are you doing here, Tianhua? Have you finally come to your senses and wish to join us?" asked Yun Qianshan nonchalantly.
"If that's the case, you came at a really bad time. Something unexpected has happened and there aren't any delicacies to be shared," said Zheng Shan.
'You call that delicacy?' Lord Angel nearly puked when he heard that word.
"I got curious and went to the seventh dimension. Lo and behold, I bumped into the Eldritchs there. They were stealing something. As to what they were stealing, I don't know because I didn't dare to go near them. However, the scent it gave off was similar to the one I smelled the last time I was here. I found it really odd so I came here to see how you all were doing."
Lord Angel's words set off a storm in everyone's heart. Their complexions turned green then white as their expressions went through a myriad of changes.
"It's them! They were the ones who cut off our supply!"
"How dare those lazy Eldritchs steal our Origins! Gah, I'm gonna get them if it's the last thing I do!"
"Ah, so that's what happened. I found it strange that the supply was suddenly cut off. This makes a lot more sense."
"Damn those Eldritchs. They're absolutely despicable!"
Their faces were flushed as their aura and mana surged erratically.
Three days. Three. Days! They had been feeding their blood to the bugs for three days without consuming anything, and to what end? They would not have found out the Eldritchs had been stealing their Origins if it was not for Lord Angel telling them. This was no ordinary grudge, but the grudge of the century!
"Brother Tianhua, where are they now?" asked Yun Qianshan with a dangerous glint in his eyes.
"I'll show you the way and act as moral support, too!" said Lord Angel.
Yun Qianshan was touched by his gesture. "Brother Tianhua, you're willing to do that for us even though this has nothing to do with you?"
"The Eldritchs incurred the wrath of everyone. Besides, what they did is akin to slapping the entire fourth dimension in the face. There's no way I'm letting them get away with this," said Lord Angel righteously.
"Good! Very good!" Yun Qianshan and the others were all in awe of him.
"Brother Tianhua, we'll give you the biggest lump once we get our hands on the Origins," said Zheng Shan.
Those words frightened Lord Angel. He coughed and quickly said, "There's no need to do that. I don't expect any reward for doing a good deed."
"You're my role model, Brother Tianhua!"
"Best friends forever!"
"Thank you for taking the trouble to show us the way!"
"Wait a minute, we need some proof that they were the ones who stole the Origins from us so let's send out another batch of Origins Devouring Bugs. There's no way they could argue their way out of it when we catch them red-handed," said Yun Qianshan suddenly.
"That's true."
Immediately, everyone fed the Origins Devouring Bug their blood and followed them to the seventh dimension. Then, they hid in the dark and waited quietly. Just as expected, as soon as they saw the bugs with a full load, 10 Eldritchs immediately stole the lumps from the bugs before killing them all.
"It's really the Eldritchs who did it! Those sc*umbags!"
"Release those bugs this instant!"
"Hand over the Origins now!"
Yun Qianshan and the others rushed out roaring. Together they formed an overwhelming force as they went to suppress the 10 Eldritchs.
"Oh? So the original owners are here." Gu Debai and the others remained calm as they casually put away the Origins. Then, they stared at the opposing party with cold eyes.
"You came at the right time. Well done on gathering the Origins. Please, continue like this and don't make us wait too long," ordered Gu Debai haughtily.
Hearing this made Yun Qianshan laugh at the absurdity of it all. "You must be tired of living. Let me grant you your death wish!"
"Don't you know that the Eldritch clan has the most powerful fighters in the entire seven dimensions? You all would've been dead if not for the fact that you still have some use to us," said Gu Debai with a cold smile.
"Yes, the Eldritch clan might be powerful but you all certainly aren't. Let me ask you one last time, are you or are you not handing over the Origins?" asked Zheng Shan in a threatening tone.
Somewhere further away, the people of the Heavenly Palace, Daji, Fire Phoenix, Nanan, and Dragin were hiding behind a piece of distorted space. They were all protected by the barrier formed by a large pair of pants on top of them and their auras were concealed by the mosaic's glow.
"What are they doing? Why aren't they fighting each other yet?" asked Nanan.
"I wish they would stop talking and start fighting!" said Dragin.
"Both parties have three second-step Wisdom Elites amongst them while the rest of them are made up of skilled Wisdom Elites. That's the reason why they're being so cautious," explained Cultivator Junjun.
"It looks like they're all weighing the cost and benefits. They probably want to avoid an all-out battle," said Goddess Nuwa with a frown.
"What they need is a fuse," said the Jade Emperor.
As soon as he said that, they heard Lord Angel roar ferociously, "Quit your bullshit! I've had it with you all! Die!"
He then took the lead and charged at Gu Debai with his Holy Light Sword in his hand. This caused the others to erupt, their manas exploded as they collided with each other mid-air.
"Kill them all!" The light from the spells blanketed the area and nearly ripped apart the Chaos as they blossomed like fireworks. It was both beautiful and dangerous to behold.
"Haha! That's more like it! It's time to catch some fish!" Blackie grinned as he took out a fishing rod and started scanning around for his first target. He was skilled in his movement since it was not his first time doing this. He did the same thing when the Zombie World and Ministry fought against each other.
"I'll pick some high-quality game meat for the expert. Maybe that'll improve the fertilizer," said Blackie.
"Fight harder! Man, there'll be no end in sight if they don't fight harder," said Nanan anxiously as she watched the battle.
"Patience. They'll bring out the big guns sooner or later," said Fire Phoenix.
It was just as she said, both parties fought more and more ferociously as the battle progressed. Blackie was having the time of his life and there were already five game meat beside him. One of them was even a Wisdom Elite.
"The fourth dimension will be ours soon so you ants better surrender if you know what's good for you!" shouted Gu Debai. His aura surged and his body became three times larger as Wisdom aura swirled around him. Instantly, everyone retreated a few steps back as they felt the suffocating and terrifying force.
"I see you're prepared to fight to the death! Good!" said Lord Angel while laughing. His body, too, swirled with the Power of Wisdom and Angel's Light. His force was not one bit incomparable to Gu Debai's.
Seeing this, the other second-step Wisdom Elites also stepped up their game.
"Everyone, stop!" shouted a faint voice just when the battle had reached its climax.
Immediately, the Wisdom in the void gradually formed a holographic image of an old man.
Lord Angel frowned when he recognized the old man. "It's that mysterious old man from the Heaven Mystery Pavilion."
Yes, it was indeed the old pavilion master. A mighty force swept across everyone and they had no choice but to stop what they were doing.
"Who are you?" asked Gu Debai with a frown.
"It doesn't matter who I am. The more important matter is, there's no need for you all to fight against each other," replied the old man with a chuckle.
"What do you mean?" asked Gu Debai. The others were looking at the old man, too.
"The Origins of the seventh dimension is right in front of us. That's the most important thing so why don't we work together and divide it equally amongst ourselves? Isn't that better?" said the old pavilion master calmly.
"You're really willing to share it with us?" asked Gu Debai with a frown.
The old pavilion master smiled and said, "Of course. We'll be able to send out more Origins Devouring Bugs once you've joined us. That would greatly increase our efficiency."
"We were doing fine without them so why should we share it with them?" asked Yun Qianshan.
"Many hands make light work. There are only upsides to them joining us." Then, the old pavilion master paused before continuing, "Besides, it won't benefit us to go against the Eldritchs. Both sides will lose out on the Origins if we continue fighting like this."
He then pointed to a particular place, immediately exposing the hiding place of the people from the Heavenly Palace.
Blackie was shocked. "Shit! Who's that old man? I can't believe he can see through my mosaic!"
He was still in his fishing stance and a black panther demon was squirming around his fishing rod. It was a very awkward position to be in but he remained calm as he quietly put away his fishing rod.
"Our plan has backfired. I think they're getting ready to attack us," said Cultivator Junjun with a bitter smile.
"That old man's a meanie!" said Nanan unhappily.
The Eldritchs and the people of the fourth dimension were taken aback at the same time. Then, their eyes narrowed.
"Aren't those the people from the seventh dimension?"
"Huh! They must be waiting for us to wipe each other out!"
Gu Debai's eyes darkened and he solemnly said, "When did the seventh dimension people become so strong? So it's true that an unknown change has taken place. The number of skilled fighters they have is indeed astonishing."
He stared at Daji and Fire Phoenix and was shocked by the unbearable pressure coming off them. It stood to reason that after the last catastrophe, the seventh dimension should not have risen this quickly, let alone bore second-step Wisdom Elites.
"It's no wonder Guhe perished here," said Gu Zhe with a sigh.
"The seventh dimension's a bit special. Why don't we join forces to suppress them first and divide the Origins later?" asked the old pavilion master.
Yun Qianshan nodded and said, "Fine with me!"
Gu Debai smiled coldly and an oppressive aura swept across everyone. "Fine with me, too! Let's kill them to make sure they won't get in our way!"