That day, a green tunneling light flew down from the depths of the Divine Tree’s crown, quickly landing somewhere in the inner city. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Soon after, the aroma of tea filled a quiet room in a cave mansion, and clouds of mist swirled around.

In a white robe, Zhao Sheng sat cross-legged on a cushion, calmly sipping spiritual tea from his cup.

Opposite him, Zhao Chengping’s expression was unusually serious, and he seemed somewhat restless.

"True Monarch, two months ago, the enemy’s vanguard army already breached the Earth Covering Mountain Range, and now the outskirts of the mountain range have all fallen into the enemy’s hands. Our Zhao family is doomed! The situation has deteriorated to the extreme. If you continue to stand by, Ximeng State will become desolate, with hardly any population surviving."

Zhao Sheng had long seen the battle reports from the past decade and naturally understood very clearly that the Ben State Alliance’s armies had been continuously defeated by the enemy, and most of the state’s land now lies in the hands of the Overseas Immortal Cultivation World, with only the southwestern and western quarters remaining.

To be honest, the Cultivation World in Ximeng State was too ineffective. Throughout these years of warfare, the incompetence of various Cultivation Forces was blatant.

Even more disappointing was that the more they were continuously defeated on the battlefield, the more intense the internal fights within the alliance grew, with endless sordid disputes and frequent internal betrayals happening, amounting to nothing less than self-immolation.

Witnessing so much of the ridiculous and absurd affairs happening within the alliance, Zhao Sheng naturally had no intention to "reverse the situation."

Still, the saying holds true: besides the Zhao family’s tens of millions of people, he cared little about whether others lived or died!

"Chengping, there’s no need to worry. As long as this old man is here, the Zhao family is in no danger of extinction. I expect those barbarians won’t be foolish enough to provoke a Divinity Transformation True Monarch!"

As Zhao Sheng finished speaking, Zhao Chengping’s expression tightened, and he hurriedly spoke: "But..."

Seeing this, Zhao Sheng raised his eyebrow: "Hmm? Did the alliance’s upper echelons provide an irresistible temptation?"

Hearing this, Zhao Chengping inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief, immediately nodding: "Gui Mei True Monarch personally promised that if you can intervene, once the overseas armies are repelled, the alliance will transfer the Mo family’s Three Tribulations Divine Tree to the Zhao family and promise a peace period of three thousand years without aggression."

The Mo Family, under the jurisdiction of the Eastern territories of our state, was the first superpower to be conquered, and naturally, the Three Tribulations Divine Tree of their family also fell into enemy hands.

The alliance’s high echelons, including Gui Mei Immortal, indeed played their cards well, yet sought to employ a Divinity Transformation True Monarch with a "nonexistent promise" for free.

But then again, the alliance did offer a significant price. After all, there are only seven Three Tribulations Divine Trees in Ximeng State. If the Zhao family can claim one, it would be akin to ascending to the heavens in one step.

Thus, Zhao Chengping had every reason to be tempted; becoming a Three Tribulations Tree Venerable was secondary, but allowing the family to "ascend to the heavens in one step" was paramount.

Moreover, the Zhao family would hardly need to pay any cost, as long as they could persuade the Thunder God True Monarch to take action.

Will Zhao Sheng act?

If he hadn’t attained the Divinity Transformation Realm, he might need time to consider.

But now, having achieved Divinity Transformation, who in this realm could withstand three moves from his hand?

No, except for the mysterious "Island Master Li Chen."

For a moment, countless thoughts flashed in Zhao Sheng’s mind as he suddenly contemplated a possibility.

"...No, those Ancient Gate Families have a backup plan! This old man nearly forgot; if truly forced onto a dead-end, even at great cost, those elder True Monarchs who ascended to the Spirit Realm would surely return to the Da Chun Realm through the Ascension passage.

Should that happen, the Overseas Immortal Cultivation World would inevitably be defeated."

"I understand now; no wonder that one refrains from taking action. Turns out, they fear stirring the ancient monsters that shouldn’t be provoked. By this reasoning, regardless of the battle’s end, the overseas armies will eventually retreat from Ximeng State. That one’s objective wasn’t to occupy the continent, but... but..."

Racing thoughts in Zhao Sheng’s mind endeavored to recall countless pieces of intelligence over the past few decades, and suddenly, a spirit light flashed in his mind, allowing him to realize that one’s true purpose.

"...Population, it must be to capture the population! Could it be... that person intends to use the blood of billions of the Human Clan as a sacrifice to heal their injuries?"

Zhao Sheng’s speculation was nearly aligned with the truth.

The Golden-armored man Xuan Zhan originally possessed the power of the Peak of Returning to Void, yet at the critical juncture of breaking through to the Unification Realm, his old rival seized the opportunity to launch a sneak attack, successfully inflicting serious injuries and damaging Xuan Zhan’s Tao foundation.

Once the foundation is severely damaged, it’s nearly impossible to repair. Determined for revenge, Xuan Zhan abandoned the Tao for demonhood, attempting to restore the injuries to his Primordial Spirit and Divine Soul by absorbing the spiritual essence of billions of the Human Clan.

Through these years, the continuous wars caused the deaths of countless Humans, and the Divine Soul of at least half among them was secretly collected by special Soul Devices.

Yet even such a number was far from sufficient, mere a drop in the bucket, which is why the Overseas Immortal Cultivation World persistently plundered the continent’s population.

Realizing this, Zhao Sheng suddenly thought about the prior strange happenings within the Ximeng State Alliance, and a sudden idea emerged: "Those alliance leaders might have long ’known this well,’ yet deliberately chose to cooperate secretly. Their intentions were so profound, thoughts so vicious, truly..."

If Zhao Sheng’s speculation was accurate, then the Ben State Alliance, led by the Ke family, wasn’t merely stalling for "time," but aimed to utilize the enemy’s hand to eradicate most Cultivation Forces in the state.

As for the territories of the Mo Family and other Ancient Clans and High Gate Great Clans being conquered and even their entire families wiped out, in essence, they were a group of "sacrifices" deceived to death.

After the war, countless unclaimed spirit lands in Ximeng State would be available for all victors to "race for."