CHAPTER 837: THE INVADERS PROBLEM

Aldrian raised his eyebrows at Herias’s sudden change in tone.

"Those bastards seem to have detected my karmic connection to the real body and are trying to reach this place," Herias said, then quickly looked at Aldrian.

"Your Majesty, there are many treasures outside, and you can take them all. You could even use my core for whatever purpose you wish. I hope that with that, it will help in your journey. I will wait for Your Majesty’s return to the Highest Heaven, just like in the past," he said.

Aldrian knew that time was tight here, so he nodded.

"Thank you," he said.

Hearing that, Herias couldn’t help but smile. He suddenly bowed deeply toward Aldrian.

"It is the honor of my life that I could help in Your Majesty’s journey to greatness once again," he said, full of piety and solemnness.

Herias straightened his body and spoke one last time.

"May the Great Emperor of all heavens continue to reign sovereign!"

After that, the entire white realm crumbled to pieces before Aldrian’s eyes, turning into complete darkness. But just before the darkness completely consumed his sight, Aldrian sensed an invisible force sweeping through, strong enough to slightly push against even the darkness itself.

However, the darkness was still much stronger, and it finally engulfed him entirely.

Goosebumps rose across his skin as he realized that one of the gods had forcefully extended their sense into this place. Even that sense alone was enough to kill or trap him if those gods wished it, for their very sense could serve as a weapon against a mortal.

Sweat had already formed on Aldrian’s forehead. If they had been even a second late, he would have been done for in the hands of those invaders.

He did not believe that after what he had done to Tarius and everything he had done to the devils, those gods would remain unaware of an existence that could threaten their plan.

The signs were already there for them to act and stop his momentum in the First Heaven. He could already imagine that many cultivators from the higher heavens had started descending into this heaven.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes to calm himself. The moment he opened them again, he had already returned to the front of the stone pillar. He released a deep sigh.

’Wew, that was close. I wonder if that was Tarius? Or maybe Randolf’s god?’ he thought. He wiped the sweat that had dripped from his forehead, then smiled widely, feeling more refreshed than ever.

That was because he had successfully made the entire Akares Star his domain.

’Wonderful. Although my cultivation did not increase much, with two worlds as my domain, I can release far more powerful force in my techniques—well, if my body can handle it.’

He looked around and saw that a hidden path had opened on the other side of the hall.

’Well, let’s see what this place holds,’ he thought before walking toward the hidden path.

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While Aldrian was in a hidden place, inspecting what Herias had stored for him, in another unknown place similar to the white realm, an old man sat cross-legged with his eyes closed. This was the same old man who had helped Tarius weaken the law of causality in the First Heaven.

The First Heaven had already been given to Tarius, allowing him to carry out what he needed according to their purpose of invading the universe. However, support from other gods was still required for them to proceed effectively. One of them focused on weakening the law of causality, while Tarius, besides doing the same, also dealt with the real problems of the First Heaven.

The First Heaven remained an unconquered realm, as there was still much resistance, and the gods could not descend directly. They could only send their followers.

Yet, since the First Heaven had already been given to Tarius under their agreement, only his followers were permitted to go down.

But recently, the appearance of an unknown mortal existence had made even the gods, who reigned sovereign over the universe, feel uncertain.

They believed that this mortal was an apostle of one of the rebel gods from this universe. Yet even then, they still could not comprehend the mortal’s very existence. He was too mysterious even for them, and far too powerful.

A mortal capable of fighting Tarius’s avatar was something that should have been impossible. No matter how much of a genius a mortal might be, not even an apostle could ever defeat a god’s avatar.

But then, this being, what they called the singularity, appeared. Not only did he kill Tarius’s apostle, but he also defeated Tarius’s avatar, throwing all of their plans in the First Heaven into chaos.

To make matters worse, Tarius was truly furious recently, as he kept losing followers in great numbers. For gods, the number of followers was the same as their supply of power. The more followers they had, the stronger they became.

The loss of followers in such huge numbers was not something a god could simply ignore. Moreover, with that unknown mortal, whose very existence had thrown all of their plans into disarray, Tarius could potentially lose the entire first heaven.

It was not an exaggerated assessment by him, because anyone who could defeat Tarius’s avatar in the First Heaven could essentially be called the strongest existence within it. That mortal’s strength could rival an immortal’s, and not an ordinary one, but a powerful low-level immortal.

According to Tarius, that mortal was only at the low pseudo-immortal establishment stage, something that made no sense even to the gods.

Yet Tarius was not someone who would lie in such a matter. This had become a great concern among some gods, for even with only that level of cultivation, the mortal could slaughter every being in the First Heaven.

Even if they sent cultivators from the higher heavens, those cultivators could still be killed due to the limitations imposed by the law of causality. If that mortal ever reached the peak pseudo-immortal stage, there would be no place left for any of them in the First Heaven at all.

He was unstoppable.

That would be disastrous for the entire force that had come to this universe. They had already spent so much in invading this world, yet even now, they still had not found what they were searching for.

Losing the entire First Heaven would mean losing a large portion of the universe, which was possibly the very place where what they sought was hidden.

Now, the only way for them to contain the existence of this singularity was to continue weakening the law of causality in the First Heaven, allowing them to send more powerful followers there.

They had to act before that mortal could reach the central region of the First Heaven. It was a battle against time.

The old man opened his eyes and released a deep breath.

’Damn, I lost them. This is the closest I’ve ever been to catching him,’ he thought.

He knew that those rebels sometimes communicated with this mortal. Even the monster known as the Heavenly Demon had already spoken with this mortal.

This strange mortal occasionally met those rebels in the secret mind realm, and that was the perfect time for him to track them.

If he were lucky, he might even be able to kill that mortal by trapping or destroying his consciousness, or by sending a powerful karmic attack capable of destroying his mortal body. But they were truly slippery, and he still had not been able to catch this mortal.

The old man narrowed his eyes and released another deep sigh. This was the first time in a long while that he had felt frustration.

’But the good news is, it seems my apostle has already made contact with that strange mortal. At least I have someone who can keep an eye on him,’

However, he couldn’t tell Tarius about this matter, at least not for now. If he did that, then Tarius would realize that his apostle had actually been in the First Heaven all this time, and he acting behind Tarius back.

He knew that Tarius would not take it well and would likely fight him on the spot. With that temperamental nature, he could easily imagine such a reaction.

Although what he had done broke the alliance’s agreement by infiltrating his apostle and spreading his own influence, he still did not care. They might share a purpose in invading this universe, but he had his own interests regarding it.

His gaze then turned toward one direction as a dark silhouette appeared. It took the shape of a bulky human, and he instantly knew who it was.

"What is it? I thought you were busy taking care of your own problems?" he asked Tarius.

Tarius did not answer immediately. His gaze lingered on the old man for a moment before he finally spoke.

"I am in the middle of that. Some parts of the First Heaven will be quite a mess in the near future because of my followers’ decisions. I can only hope that I can overwhelm that mortal with this," Tarius said.

"But I did not come here to discuss that. I came because I have something to ask you."

"What is it?" the old man asked in return.

"Did you do something that I do not know about?" Tarius asked, his red eyes fixed sharply on the old man.