“When do we act?”

“In three days.”

Even as the voice spoke from beneath the black robes, the figure was already retreating into the distance, laughing. “To avoid long nights and excessive dreams, you and I shall work together and kill Jiang He in three days!”

When the Saint of the Sky Demon Cult finally left, a look of confusion flashed in the Dragoncroc Emperor’s dark-golden eyes.

Its body then descended beneath its lake again, and after traversing a series of restraining arrays, it slipped beneath an underwater realm.

There were mountains as well as celestial bodies up in the skies, as well as many arches. Further into the distance, many little daemons were playing or diligently cultivating.

And in front of one particular arch, a young blue-clothed youth with scales over his forehead was leaning back on the stairs. Beside him, female daemons with a stunning figure and wearing only thin silk was massaging his shoulders and feeding him fruits or delicacies.

Daemon Qi swirled around the Dragoncroc Emperor’s body before he pivoted and transformed into a cold, black-robed middle-aged man, bowing reverently as he greeted, “Your Majesty.”

Even so, he was baffled inwardly.

His majesty had kept insisting that the time was not right for him to present himself to the world, and never once interfered with the struggles between humans and Ferals.

And yet, he now asked that he fight Jiang He?

The blue-clothed man waved his hand, and the female daemons all retreated reluctantly.

“Are you wondering why I would have you work with the Sky Demon Cult’s Saint, Dragoncroc?”

The Dragoncroc Emperor nodded.

The blue-clothed youth rose, chuckled but did not mention the reason. Instead, he brought out a bronze bell that hovered and swirled over his palm, emanating a faint bronze luster.

With a shove of his hand, the bell floated and stopped in front of the Dragoncroc Emperor, saying, “That kid Jiang He could perhaps have been groomed by those human antiques. Though he made Golden Pellet, he is also a sword cultivator whose strength is not to be underestimated.”

“This bell is the Nine Dragon God Fire Shroud, a superior daemonic armament. It binds, it kills, and it belongs to you now.”

Delighted, the Dragoncroc Emperor promptly kowtowed in gratitude.

Superior daemonic item was equal to superior soul items, and were extraordinarily rare even in the Era of Qi Refinists.

And now, Dragoncroc Emperor rose to his feet, offering a sacrifice to the Nine Dragon God Fire Shroud on the spot.

Beside him, the blue-clothed youth said, “Jiang He is an unusual brat. I could no longer get a thorough read on him after he weathered the Four Retributions of the Nine Lesser Heavens, and directly completed his Golden Pellet cultivation. He was not displaying outstanding fighting ability in his battle against the Golden-Winged Roc either, but his last move with his sword was incredibly special—it seemed to involve the very mysteries of essence. Even so, he was still Golden Pellet and had yet to reach True Child, and using that move must take a heavy toll upon him.”

“Work with the Sky Demon Cult’s Saint, and force him to use that move. All of you have to do then is use the Nine Dragon God Fire Shroud, for Golden Pellet sword cultivators would not be able to pierce a superior daemonic armament.”

With that, the Dragoncroc Emperor withdrew.

It returned to its lake and sat cross-legged at the bottom, and calmly cultivated an offering to the Shroud.

By chance, it had discovered this underwater ‘realm’ years ago and obtained a partial daemonic legacy to cultivate with. Though it was not overwhelmingly superior in tiers compared to the Golden-Winged Roc, it was over twice stronger!

***

Meanwhile.

Jiang He had actually expected that the Dragoncroc Emperor and the Sky Demon Cult’s Saint would join hands against himself.

Still…

It was just one of his wild theories, but it was alright as long as he was correct.

Right now, he had already reached Jingdu City. He headed to a supermarket to get some milk and fruits before heading to the Martial Arts Department (MAD) headquarters.

He met the pale-faced Wang Hou in one of the training rooms.

Putting aside the milk and the fruits, Jiang He asked with concern, “Are you alright, Minister Wang?”

Wang Hou appeared rather frail, but he replied, “Nothing major—just a little flesh wound. I’ll be fine after recovering for half a month.”

Jiang He smiled. “You’re slightly lacking physically then, Minister Wang… resting half a month over a little flesh wound?”

Wang Hou scowled at that, and took off his shirt.

There was a piercing wound on his belly—it must have been run through by a sword. Most importantly, traces of black qi were lingering around it, and Wang Hou had to stop its spread by directing his Yuan Qi.

Once martial artists reached the second level of divine-tier: divine-tempest, their True Qi would slowly into Yuan Qi.

Beside them, Zhou Yu’s eyes were red and he seethed tearfully, “Damn it. The Sky Demon Cult needs to go.”

“What?”

Wang Hou seemed at a loss as he barked, “What are you crying for, Old Zhou?! I’m not dead! Alright, the Saint of the Sky Demon Cult would probably have spread word that I’m injured, and many Feral Kings would seize this chance to cause more trouble given how shaky things were lately. So go inform every person in charge of each city base, and have them work hard on intelligence.”

“Also, contact General Li and have every garrison be on alert.

Zhou Yu only left at that.

It was only when he was gone that Wang Hou winced in pain through his teeth.

He accidentally moved his wound when he yelled just now, and it hurt a little.

On the other hand, Jiang He blinked.

That little bit piercing wound…

It’s not that serious, was it?

Jiang He himself was often injured, but would he not mostly recover after sleeping?

Perhaps… Wang Hou had hurt his back?

Others aside, there was a good chance his back was hurt given the location of his wound.

Directing his Yuan Qi’s flow and recovering for a bit, Wang Hou then said seriously, “Jiang He, I suspect that the Sky Demon Cult’s Saint had come to an agreement with the Dragoncroc Emperor. The Saint’s appearance also doesn’t bode well.”

Getting the idea, Jiang He murmured, “The Stargate?”

“That’s right.”

Upon seeing Wang Hou nod, Jiang He asked with a baffled look, “Minister Wang, what is with the extraterrestrial sky demons? Why would they keep eyeing at a useless place like Earth?”

“And what’s up with the Stargate? Isn’t that superfluous? They could just come directly if they want to conquer us.”

Wang Hou forced a laugh. “Earth would have already been conquered if that’s true. According to the Five Holy Grounds, there is some sort of barrier beyond Earth that stops them. Any extraterrestrial race intent on coming inside must destroy that barrier, and since they could not break it in its entirety, they could only open a passage upon it.”

“As for the sky demons…”

“They are a powerful race in the galaxy, and there are countless such races beyond our skies.”

Wang Hou’s gaze shifted as he growled, “They wanted to invade Earth perhaps because certain secrets exist here. I’ve discovered some signs in a heritage site, but was unsure about the specifics.”

Jiang He appeared thoughtful.

So…

Did his world view expand again?

He had first believed this world to be a low martial word, but was soon surprised to find it a high martial world, which soon progressed towards a world of immortals…

And now, it was turning into a space opera? With spacefaring races popping up?

“Hold on, it’s not space opera since that refers to wars between races with superior technology. This should be space immortals…”

“Actually, that’s not quite right either. With so many things fusing, it might be high fantasy…”

Meanwhile, as Jiang He stayed silent, Wang Hou continued, “Jiang He, if the sky demons really did open the Stargate, and it really was near Lingzhou City like it was reported before, the Sky Demon Cult would definitely still attempt to take Lingzhou City…”

“And to do that, the Sky Demon Cult’s Saint and the Dragoncroc Emperor would target you first after having coming to an agreement. I’m hurt at the moment and couldn’t fight at the peak of my powers at the moment, but Three Blades Lin’s grandfather is back, and I’ll have him go to Lingzhou City in secret to back you up.”

Returning to his senses from his messy thoughts, Jiang He laughed. “No need to go through the trouble, Minister Wang. I’ve already expected everything, and thought of a solution.”

Wang Hou was shocked.

You…

Expected it?

Even if you did, how are you going to foil the Saint and the Dragoncroc Emperor’s murder plot?

He was about to ask when he saw Jiang He wave his hand, bringing out a…

First-aid kit with a pink cover and cartoon pictures.

Jiang He searched the box as he continued, “Anyway, I’m quite experienced in healing, Minister Wang. Actually, your injury isn’t that serious, and you just have to slap a band-aid on it…”

As Wang Hou gaped, Jiang He took out two pieces of… super-large band-aid, and stuck one in front and one behind Wang Hou’s wound.

After that was done, Jiang He frowned and said, “If I’m not mistaken, the black qi on your wounds must be Demonic Qi left by the Sky Demon Arcanum, was it not? It’s all so black and disgusting, and might even cause infection and affecting recovery.”

“So, I’ll prescribe you some Amoxicillin capsules as well…”

Wang Hou: “…”