Chapter 1301: From the Same Root?

Pressure from the northern emperor slowly pressed down on the avatar. However, the avatar neither panicked nor showed the slightest change in expression.

This made the northern emperor narrow her eyes even further. She could sense that the avatar only possessed Immortal Overlord cultivation, yet he seemed completely unaffected by the pressure of her peak Immortal Saint aura.

She then watched as the avatar closed his eyes for two seconds before opening them again.

"To be honest, I only said I was an envoy from your lord so I could meet with you more easily," the avatar said, his voice did not waver in the slightest.

As expected, the northern emperor's aura instantly burst forth, causing the entire chamber and even the area outside to tremble.

Despite having her true cultivation sealed and only displaying the aura of a peak Immortal Saint, her divine presence could not be completely concealed.

Everyone throughout the hideout felt it instantly. Their souls trembled, and many of them wanted to prostrate themselves. The divine presence was simply too overwhelming for people cultivating the same cultivation technique rooted in Tarius.

Many wanted to investigate what had happened to the northern emperor, but they found it difficult even to move. Fear gripped their hearts, as if they would die if this terrifying pressure continued.

Inside the chamber, the northern emperor staring at the avatar with cold eyes.

However, she was astonished inwardly to discover that the avatar did not react in the slightest to her divine aura. Even his expression remained completely unchanged. His calm gaze continued to meet hers directly, as though he did not fear her in the slightest.

Although she was wounded, she was still a powerful Divine Realm cultivator. At the very least, the avatar should have shown some reaction, even if it was only a slight one.

But what she saw was a gaze without the slightest ripple and a body as motionless as a statue. He was like an immovable object that would not be affected even in the presence of a god.

'Unless, in the higher heavens, he possesses the same cultivation as me. But how could I only sense Immortal Overlord cultivation from him? Is he using an artifact to hide his true cultivation? If so, why disguise himself as an Immortal Overlord?' she thought.

While the northern emperor continued trying to gauge the avatar, what she did not know was that, from the very beginning, Aldrian's real consciousness had already entered the avatar's body.

He could clearly feel the northern emperor's pressure focusing on him and sensed just how heavy it was. Even the ground beneath his feet had already begun to crack.

However, he could withstand the strong pressure with ease by using the power of his domain. The aura of a Divine Realm cultivator, especially a wounded one, was nothing to him.

Finally, after refraining from creating a domain for so long, he had finally created one here.

For this plan, he had to use his domain's power to proceed with what he was about to do. He knew that Avergis would definitely sense it, but he did not care this time.

In fact, he wondered what Avergis' reaction would be, since the place where he had created his domain was right here. Avergis would undoubtedly know that this was the territory of Tarius' followers.

He could only imagine that Avergis would be confused by the sudden loss of control over this part of heaven.

Perhaps he could expect something interesting to happen because of Avergis' misunderstanding.

After allowing himself to remain under the pressure for a few moments, Aldrian finally decided to strike back. His own aura, which also carried the power of his domain, burst forth with far greater force.

His presence instantly transformed into that of a god, one far more powerful than the northern emperor.

The entire hideout—no, even the entire desert region and the lands beyond—trembled at that very moment.

The northern emperor, who had never expected the avatar to overwhelm her, was truly shocked. The pressure she felt at this moment was like an enormous mountain crashing down upon her body. Even her soul was affected as it trembled violently, making it feel as though she were standing before her own lord.

It was a sensation as if heaven itself had turned its gaze upon her, looking down from above.

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At this moment, far away from their location, outside the territory of Tarius' followers, the observers tasked with watching the border sensed a terrifying aura erupting from the depths of the territory.

They all turned to look in the same direction at the same time.

"Do you feel it? That's an incredibly powerful aura," one of the men said to the friend standing beside him.

"Yeah, I feel it too. It's like a Divine Realm cultivator from before. However, this one feels much stronger. It's coming from deep within their territory," his friend answered while pointing toward the distant horizon where he could sense Aldrian's aura.

"Has that northern emperor already recovered? Didn't they say she was gravely injured after the last battle against the Splitting Heaven Sword Emperor and the Red Moon Shadow Lord?"

"I don't know. But this aura feels completely different. Maybe there's another Divine Realm cultivator inside?"

The two exchanged uncertain yet solemn expressions.

Meanwhile, in another location, inside the temple of Tarluk City, a middle-aged man with long black hair tied into a ponytail sat in meditation before the statue of Avergis. He wore a white robe, while a sword rested quietly in front of him.

He was not releasing even the slightest aura, yet anyone who saw him would feel as though they were looking at an incomparably sharp sword—the kind of sword capable of splitting even their line of sight.

He kept his eyes closed in meditation, but suddenly they snapped open. In the next instant, both he and the sword vanished.

He reappeared high above the temple, his gaze fixed toward the territory of Tarius' followers.

His eyes narrowed as he sensed the sudden eruption of an overwhelming aura.

An aura he had never felt before.

A figure suddenly appeared beside him as well. This man had short red hair and a scar running across his left eye. Dressed in a black robe with several daggers hanging from his waist, he looked like the very image of an assassin.

"Whose aura is that? It's completely different from the northern emperor's. This aura also doesn't belong to the southern emperor either. Besides, the southern emperor is on the western side of heaven, so it can't be him." the red-haired man said with narrowed eyes.

"This aura is far more tyrannical. Even from this distance, I can still sense how overwhelming it is. I'm afraid there's someone there who is far more powerful than the northern emperor," the swordsman replied.

"More powerful than her? How is that possible? There's no way someone like that has been hiding there without us knowing. If such a person really existed, then why didn't they appear when we killed so many of their cultivators and severely injured the northern emperor?" the red-haired man asked in confusion.

The swordsman did not answer immediately and continued staring into the distance. Only after a few moments of silence did he finally speak.

"It looks like we'll have to change our strategy. When the attack begins, we need to quickly identify this unknown variable and kill it. If there truly is another Divine Realm cultivator, then our side will suffer many casualties if we don't eliminate this threat."

Initially, they had intended to minimize their involvement in the total war because of the uncertainty surrounding the grandmaster's decision.

They understood the implications of launching a total war, so they had not blindly supported his decision from the very beginning.

Although he was the leader of the temple in the Second Heaven, they themselves were still Divine Realm cultivators, and their role was limited to dealing with the enemy's Divine Realm experts, just as their lord had ordered.

With the northern emperor already injured, they had believed their role in this war would be relatively limited. However, with the sudden appearance of this unknown Divine Realm cultivator, everything had changed.

The red-haired man nodded solemnly.

It seemed this war would not be nearly as easy as they had expected.

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Inside the hideout, Aldrian then retracted his aura and looked at the northern emperor calmly.

The northern emperor herself gasped for breath. After taking a few moments to steady herself, she slowly lifted her head and looked at Aldrian.

Her eyes trembled as she stared at him.

"You... who are you? How could your aura possess such terrifying power?" she asked, her voice making it clear that she was still overwhelmed by shock.

"Let's just say that I'm someone who shares the same root as you and your lord, Tarius. We have the same enemy, and I'm here to help my kin. I also have information that I need you to relay to Tarius, information that he absolutely must know."

The northern emperor narrowed her eyes.

"The same root as me and my lord?"

She truly could not understand how someone like him had remained completely unknown. A person capable of releasing an aura that gave her the same feeling as when she stood before her lord should have been renowned throughout the higher heavens.

"Then what information do you have for our lord?" the northern emperor continued.

"I captured Avergis' apostle, and it seems there's a connection between him and those rebels. They seem to be working together," Aldrian answered calmly.

The moment the northern emperor heard that shocking piece of information, it was like a bolt of lightning from a clear sky had struck her.

Her eyes widened in shock.

"What?"