Chapter 1312: Where Does the Momentum Come From?

Chen Changsheng remained within the Demon Sovereign's Dream Method. The space perfectly recreated the Celestial Court from his memories; from Tushita Palace to the various other halls, everything looked exactly as he envisioned.

The Demon Sovereign stood beside him. "How is it?"

Chen Changsheng replied, "Not bad. It is more complete than This Chen imagined."

The Demon Sovereign scoffed. "How can the Dream Method you spent a mere few years pondering compare to one refined over thousands of years?"

"You still lost, didn't you?"

"..."

The Demon Sovereign shot him a look. "You're just out of things to say."

Chen Changsheng smiled, unbothered, and took a stroll through the Celestial Peach Garden.

The peaches were quite tasty, but any claim that they could extend a lifespan or grant immortality was unfounded nonsense. This was a dream, after all, and things within a dream could hardly become real.

However, Chen Changsheng suddenly paused.

After a brief hesitation, his gaze shifted to the Demon Sovereign.

"What is it?" the Demon Sovereign asked.

Chen Changsheng raised his hand, revealing what looked like a droplet of water condensing in the center of his palm.

The Demon Sovereign looked over.

Following the gesture, he realized it was no ordinary drop of water.

"Dream Method?"

The Demon Sovereign identified the droplet's origin.

Chen Changsheng, however, wore a solemn expression. "It isn't mine."

The Demon Sovereign stared blankly for a moment before leaning in.

"Destroy it!"

The Demon Sovereign raised his hand and snatched the Dream Method into his palm, intending to crush it.

But the Dream Method suddenly slipped from his grasp and plummeted into the Celestial Peach Garden.

Under their watchful eyes, it sank into one of the peaches.

The two strode over, their gazes fixed on the fruit.

In mere moments, the peach took on the appearance of an infant.

Such a transformation left both of them deeply astonished.

The Demon Sovereign looked at Chen Changsheng. "Where did this thing come from?"

Chen Changsheng thought for a long while before something seemed to click.

"Perhaps..."

He paused and said, "Perhaps it is the seven emotions and six desires that Jiuxiaozi discarded."

"Hmm?"

The Demon Sovereign frowned. "Didn't he finish merging with the Dao within you? And didn't your Dream Method shatter as well?"

"But I am the master of the Dream Method, not an illusion. I wouldn't vanish simply because the Dream Method did."

Chen Changsheng looked at the peach and said, "He found that sliver of survival and managed to escape from Jiuxiaozi's merging with the Dao."

The Demon Sovereign stared blankly for a moment before shaking his head. "Endless trouble. Truly endless trouble..."

Chen Changsheng pondered this before replying, "For now, it seems he poses no danger. After all, he only exists within your Dream Method. He remains half-real and half-illusion, not fully realized. He can't leave this place."

The Demon Sovereign stroked his chin. "Once you enter a dream, you can no longer be called real. How cunning. Had I been a moment faster, he wouldn't have survived."

Chen Changsheng shared the sentiment.

Compared to Jiuxiaozi, the seven emotions and six desires born from him might be the greatest hidden threat.

Neither of them had anticipated this outcome.

The Demon Sovereign fell silent for a moment before a smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "Interesting..."

"Hmm?"

"He might be more like me than you."

Hearing this, Chen Changsheng waved a hand dismissively. "Your sense of amusement is truly difficult to comprehend."

The Demon Sovereign didn't reply, opting instead to quietly observe the peach that had transformed into a baby.

"Since he landed in my domain, he is naturally mine to deal with."

"What are you going to do?"

"Why do you care?"

Chen Changsheng shook his head. "Just don't end up trapping yourself."

Too lazy to argue, and currently unable to do anything about this 'peach' himself, Chen Changsheng decided to let it be for now and walked off.

...

Over in the Southern Domain of the Mortal World.

Previously, Hongyuan Tianxia had continuously pushed forward, causing the Mortal World to lose a massive swath of territory.

It wasn't until cultivators arrived in the region due to the Investiture of the Gods that this advance was slowly halted.

However, as more and more people joined the fray, demons also poured into Hongyuan Tianxia, leading to a stalemate.

Zhao Yuqing watched it all unfold, observing the events taking place within Hongyuan Tianxia.

His inner demon had now taken almost forty percent of the demons in Hongyuan Tianxia under its command.

Hongyuan Tianxia had also fractured into two factions.

One faction was led by Zhao Yuqing's inner demon, primarily focusing on aggressive sieges.

The other faction was led by a demon named Sha Tang, who advocated for biding their time, resting and recuperating to accumulate strength.

The remaining thirty percent opted to sit on the fence and watch how things played out, refusing to take a side for the time being.

Meanwhile, the demon leader of Hongyuan Tianxia seemed completely unbothered, quietly watching the farce unfold.

The conflict between the inner demon and Sha Tang wasn't particularly violent, remaining entirely verbal. Neither side could convince the other.

"You're actually insane!"

The inner demon cursed. "Why waste time on these people? Speed is everything in war. If we keep dragging our feet, more and more people will enter the fray, and we won't have a damn chance left!"

Sha Tang shook his head. "Hongyuan Tianxia has firmly established a foothold, yes, but our internal situation is incredibly complex. We don't just have the Demon Race; we also have demonic cultivators and anomalies like yourself. We are not united, so how can we possibly march north?"

"If we strike with overwhelming momentum, what can't we take?"

"And where does this momentum come from?"

The inner demon scowled. "I never realized you were so wishy-washy."

Sha Tang fired back, "And I never realized you were such a reckless brute."

The two bickered without reaching any conclusion.

"I can't be bothered to waste any more breath on you."

The inner demon went back to his wine, downing one cup after another.

Though they argued fiercely, they didn't genuinely hate one another.

It only took a few cups of wine for the tension to ease.

Their relationship was clear. The inner demon thought highly of Sha Tang; he recognized him as a demon with tremendous foresight, provided that foresight didn't clash with his own plans.

"Just drink your wine."

The two exchanged a glance and drank in silence, cup for cup.

After a long while, Sha Tang finally sighed. "What's the point of us bickering back and forth like this?"

"The Demon Lord still hasn't given the nod. No matter how much of a fuss we make, he can shut it all down with a single word."

Hearing this, a strange smile appeared on the inner demon's face.

Their eyes met, and the same thought popped into their minds.

But Sha Tang, after calming down, shook his head. "Even if the two of us join forces, we might not be able to kill him."

The inner demon frowned at this. After a moment of thought, he asked, "How much do you actually know about the guy above us?"

Sha Tang said, "So far, I've only seen him once."

"Once?"

"Yeah."

Sha Tang cradled his wine cup. "Judging by his Cultivation Base, he is absolutely not a demon from the Mortal World. And strangely enough... the one time I met him, I detected demonic qi on him."

The inner demon said, "Just as I thought. Otherwise, demonic cultivators couldn't possibly have entered Hongyuan Tianxia."

Sha Tang fell into deep thought for a long while before speaking again. "His goal isn't just the Mortal World. It's not that simple."