"If it was that simple, why bother risking the seven of them? I could have directly wrested the Heavenly Dao Purple Qi."
Seeing the self-blame in the Queen Mother, the Jade Emperor quickly comforted her, "Ah, it was my mistake as well. Had I known that one day I would need the Five Elements Secret Realm, I would never have made that vow, which has now kept me from making use of the Secret Realm."
The vow the Jade Emperor made was that he would not set foot in the Five Elements Secret Realm until he achieved the Primordial Chaos, which cut off his possibility of entering the realm.
As both blamed themselves, the Jade Emperor added, "Now let’s retrieve the Heavenly Dao Purple Qi first, and then we will deal with Shou’er and the others. Next, we need to find out who attacked you causing my poor daughter’s innate deficiency, thus making it difficult for her to achieve the Great Dao."
Back then, when the Queen Mother was pregnant with the seven fairies, she was attacked in secret. If it were not for the Jade Emperor’s prior precaution, not only would the unborn child have been hurt, but the Queen Mother also would have faced the danger of falling.
When the enemy was mentioned, a murderous intent flashed in the Queen Mother’s eyes. She recalled, "Although the person used mystical techniques then, the demonic aura hidden deep within his magical power couldn’t fool me."
"That person must be from the Demon Sect, or rather, someone who has fallen from the Mystic Sect into the Demon Sect. If we approach this from this perspective, surely we can find out his identity."
Hearing this, the Jade Emperor showed a bitter smile.
The clue was obvious, but it wasn’t easy to investigate. If that person had entered the Demonic Way, wouldn’t he carefully conceal his identity? Otherwise, he would have been besieged and killed by the masters of the Mystic Sect.
Therefore, despite many years and countless ways of investigation, the Jade Emperor was unable to find that person, who remains hidden too deeply.
Seeing the Jade Emperor in a dilemma, the Queen Mother, also aware the matter was not easy to investigate, changed the topic and asked, "My husband, would you prefer having one daughter or seven?"
At her words, the Jade Emperor’s bitter smile disappeared, replaced with a look of puzzlement. Clearly, the Queen Mother’s question caught him off guard.
One daughter, seven daughters, what does that mean? And why would the Queen Mother say this?
With this step, Jiang Chen seemed to have entered another world. His head spun, and all he could see was darkness, the endless expanse of a star-filled universe. What appeared before him then was a desolate, vast, and infinite wasteland, similar to what one might see in the outer universe.
"Strange, from the outside, this place looked sacred. Why does it appear so desolate once inside?" The drastic difference between its external appearance and its interior greatly surprised Jiang Chen.
He then released his consciousness for a moment and discovered that all the energy here was flowing towards the center of the Secret Realm, which is why the surrounding area seemed so barren.
"There is treasure in the depths of the Secret Realm!" With so much energy flowing towards the center, even without a treasure initially, one could be bred there.
He turned his head to the seven fairies and instructed, "Follow me!"
With the Jade Emperor gone, Jiang Chen was not as courteous to the seven fairies and forcibly restricted them to stay within one foot of him using his magical power.
At this distance, if someone were to harm the seven fairies under his watch, then that person’s power would already pose a threat to him.
Even though they were unhappy with Jiang Chen’s attitude, the seven fairies were all smart. They knew they were relying on Jiang Chen at that moment, so they obediently followed him.
Seeing this, Jiang Chen nodded in satisfaction. If only the seven fairies could be so obedient even when outside.
Using the power of the array to shield the seven fairies, Jiang Chen led them, flying low over the ground towards the center of the Secret Realm.
Just then, in the distance on the ground below, a pair of eyes emerged on a massive piece of land, staring at Jiang Chen and the others flying low overhead. There was an endless fierce light in those eyes...
"There’s a beast up ahead, and it’s a Golden Immortal Level fierce beast!"
Jiang Chen, who was on his way, suddenly sensed a strong murderous aura from ahead, a unique aura only fierce beasts possess.
Ever since he transformed into an Innate Divine Demon through the cultivation of the Pangu Dao Body, he’s been extremely sensitive to the aura of fierce beasts, capable of sensing them from far away.
Similarly, if he does not hide his own aura, he will be perceived by the fierce beasts. It seemed as if he and the fierce beasts were natural enemies, contrasting each other, and upon meeting, a life and death battle would inevitably ensue.
Jiang Chen knew this was the influence brought about by his cultivation of the Pangu Dao Body, inheriting the enmity between Pangu Great God and the Chaos Demigod. Therefore, he and the fierce beasts that were born out of the resentment of the Chaos Demigod could not coexist. They were natural enemies.
A Golden Immortal Level fierce beast was naturally not something Jiang Chen would be afraid of. However, to avoid attracting more and more powerful fierce beasts, he quietly retracted his aura.
But the Golden Immortal Level fierce beast had already arrived.
"Hmm? The strong odor of earth!"
Just then, Jiang Chen noticed a strong earthy smell erupting from the ground below.
The ground beneath him suddenly burst open, and a lightning-like yellow snake head rose like a dragon, opening its huge mouth in fury, aiming to swallow Jiang Chen and the seven fairies.
"What is this? It looks somewhat like a sky-snake, but yet it’s different."
Jiang Chen looked at the lightning-like, yellow snake head that had suddenly popped up from the ground. The head, as large as a mountain, was shrouded in a cloud of dust, obscuring the view of its body.
He quickly realized that the power of this yellow snake was equivalent to that of a late-stage Golden Immortal’s. Indeed, a Golden Immortal from the Ancient Era would be on par with a Taiyi Golden Immortal of today.
Seeing the sudden appearance of the strange snake, the seven fairies acted quickly. They each drew an innate divine sword, forming a sword array ready to attack the snake.
Just before they could strike, above the dusty yellow snake head, the void suddenly twisted and a huge array appeared.
PS: The eleventh day of my quest for ten thousand daily words.