#1014 - Mission accomplished? Change of plans

Amidst the churning clouds, a massive furnace cauldron floated in mid-air, its surface adorned with lifelike carvings of various divine patterns, surrounded by three figures seated in meditative postures.

These three individuals had their eyes tightly shut, with wisps of divine light constantly emanating from the holes in the cauldron's lid, entering their bodies through their seven orifices.

It was none other than the Three Pure Ones!

Since the last time the Grand Pure One failed to capture Zhunti, they had been in secluded cultivation in the Three Pure Realms for a full decade. Originally, they were already nearing the end of refining the gods they had captured, and now, with their combined efforts, they were finally approaching the final stage.

Boom!

Suddenly, an earth-shattering roar erupted.

The enormous cauldron abruptly began to shake, erupting with brilliant, colorful light. The lid flew open with a whoosh, and a radiant, iridescent pill shot out from within.

The Primeval Lord of Heaven abruptly opened his eyes, extending his five fingers, and the pill was directly drawn into his palm.

"Finally, it's a success..."

Currently, the Primeval Lord of Heaven's cultivation had already reached the peak of the eighth grade of Heavenly Lord, and he was about to step into the ninth grade!

The Grand Pure One and the Numinous Treasure Lord of Heaven had also successively reached the eighth grade of Heavenly Lord.

"I feel like something's not quite right..."

The Numinous Treasure Lord of Heaven suddenly frowned, reaching out to tear open the void and extracting the power of the Heavenly Dao from within. Immediately, his expression changed drastically: "We've worked so hard for so many years, finally refining all the gods and Heavenly Lords, but why is the power of the Heavenly Dao that we can now control actually less?"

"How is this possible!"

The Grand Pure One and the Primeval Lord of Heaven were also stunned: "Now that the three of us are combined, the Great Dao Heavenly Dao we control should definitely be more than half, giving us the qualifications to challenge the Heavenly Dao..."

However, when the two of them extracted the power of the Heavenly Dao, they were also suddenly dumbfounded.

It really had decreased!

In the past ten years, the Great Dao Heavenly Dao they had refined should have definitely exceeded ten thousand. Logically speaking, each person should have been allocated at least several thousand portions of the power of the Heavenly Dao, but now, it was even less than it was ten years ago!

How was this possible!

The expressions of the three instantly became extremely unsightly.

If this was the case, wouldn't their hard work for so long have been in vain!

"Could it be that the Heavenly Dao has noticed?"

The Grand Pure One found it somewhat difficult to understand.

The Primeval Lord of Heaven shook his head, and said decisively: "Now that the situation has unfolded, even if the Heavenly Dao notices, it can't change anything. After all, these gods and Heavenly Lords are already under our control. The Heavenly Dao can't possibly take back the Great Dao Heavenly Dao laws they comprehended. If we have to find an explanation..."

His gaze fixed on the faces of the Grand Pure One and the Numinous Treasure Lord of Heaven, and he slowly opened his mouth: "Then there is only one possibility. In these ten years, someone in the God Realm has advanced to Heavenly Lord, and the Great Dao Heavenly Dao they comprehended is the same as ours, taking away a share of the power of the Heavenly Dao!"

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

As soon as these words came out, the Grand Pure One and the Numinous Treasure Lord of Heaven were both filled with disbelief: "Someone advancing to Heavenly Lord, and even comprehending the same Great Dao Heavenly Dao as us, the probability is too small. Even if that's really the case, it would only take away a portion at most. What we've lost now is definitely more than that, unless... unless dozens or even hundreds of Heavenly Lords have appeared in the God Realm in these ten years!"

However, as soon as these words were spoken, even they themselves didn't believe it.

Dozens or hundreds of Heavenly Lords emerging in ten years, what a joke!

They wouldn't even dare to dream of such a thing, would they?

"What to do?"

A look of annoyance appeared in the eyes of the Numinous Treasure Lord of Heaven: "If we face the Heavenly Dao in our current state, we may not have a chance of winning."

They never expected that such a change would occur.

Working hard for so long, but the result was all in vain!

The Primeval Lord of Heaven looked up at the sky, equally puzzled, and then a cold light appeared in his eyes: "Now there is no better way. The gods have already been completely refined by us. Now there are only two paths in front of us, either start a war with the Heavenly Dao now, or continue to capture the remaining other gods and Heavenly Lords. What do you think?"

The Grand Pure One and the Numinous Treasure Lord of Heaven looked at each other, both somewhat hesitant for a moment.

They had originally prepared themselves to replace the Heavenly Dao after this was over, completely controlling this world.

But now it seemed that things were not progressing as they had expected, but rather deteriorating.

"It's still too risky to face the Heavenly Dao now, it's very likely to fall short of success!"

The Grand Pure One pondered: "Also, don't forget, there is still a mysterious Qingyun Taoist in the God Realm who is watching us from somewhere. If this person intervenes at a crucial moment, we will really be in danger!"

Speaking of the Qingyun Taoist, the Primeval Lord of Heaven couldn't help but frown.

Speaking of which, since the last time the Grand Pure One encountered this person, he had never seen him appear again, but this person's terrifying strength had always made the three of them fearful.

"This won't work, that won't work!"

The Numinous Treasure Lord of Heaven was somewhat anxious, and the Immortal Slaughtering Formation Diagram hovered uncertainly above his head: "Then what do you say we should do!"

The Primeval Lord of Heaven stared at the cauldron in mid-air, his eyes slightly narrowed: "The only plan now is to first find the root of why we lost so much power of the Heavenly Dao, and then solve them one by one, and retrieve all the power of the Heavenly Dao we lost, so that we have a greater chance of winning. With our current strength, even if we really encounter that Qingyun Taoist, we may not be afraid of him!"

The Grand Pure One sighed: "That's the only way, I'll go out and look for clues, you stay here and don't move."

A stream of light shot out from his waist and condensed in front of the Grand Pure One. It was a green ox.

If you looked closely, this green ox had already lost its vitality, leaving only a shell.

The Grand Pure One was ruthless enough. For the sake of the grand plan, he didn't even spare his mount, the green ox, who had accompanied him for many years, skinning and extracting its bones, and throwing its divine soul into the cauldron to refine it.

In his opinion, if the plan succeeded and the three of them successfully replaced the Heavenly Dao, the existence of mounts would no longer be necessary.

Therefore, more power meant more opportunities, and the green ox could not escape its doom.

Now, the green ox had been refined into a magical treasure by the Grand Pure One.

However, just as the Grand Pure One was preparing to straddle the green ox, tear open the void, and escape into it, he suddenly felt an abnormal wave coming from above his head.

"What's going on?"

The three of them looked up together.

They saw a white light rippling from the high heavens, and then suddenly spreading out, like misty clouds, a large group of people manifested from within.

These people stood tall in the void, and each person's aura was extraordinary. They were all above the Heavenly Lord realm, and the number... actually reached several hundred!