When Feng Yan arrived with her entourage, she immediately sensed something wrong. She looked at Earth Dragon major world in the distance with puzzlement.

“I came here slow enough already. I thought there’d be exalted emperors as far as the eye could see, and for the area to be overcrowded with worlds. Why is this it?”

There seemed to be fewer than fifty worlds present, but there were at least one thousand worlds in Dragon major world’s sphere of influence. Were none of their exalted emperors curious about the happenings?

She’d encountered almost no worlds in her path—it was as if they’d all left—but once she reached her destination, she found... Dragon major world’s old site almost deserted!

It would be normal for several hundred worlds to be convened here. What was with only a couple of dozen? She would almost think that Dragon had fallen by this sight!

Why were there only a handful of worlds here? And most of them were minor worlds. Apart from the mid worlds near Earth Dragon, there were almost none other in the region.

“This can’t be the spot,” Feng Yan murmured with confusion as she scanned the area. “There also seems to be fewer worlds near the intersection of our territories. Black Dog, what happened to the exalted emperors that attended your sharing session earlier?”

She was absolutely feeling that something was amiss, but she didn’t suspect Black Dog. They’d signed a dao treaty, after all.

“I don’t know. Some said they were heading here because they heard a dao universe was appearing. Are they not here yet?” Panther’s mental ripples also spoke of confusion. “Your Highness, should we head to Earth Dragon?”

“There’s no rush!” Feng Yan shook her head with a frown. “We can wait for the envoys of the other major worlds to arrive first. Also, we need to wait for my royal mother to send word. A dragon envoy may be returning in the next couple of days. They should be here soon. We’ll head to Earth Dragon together with them!”

The area definitely spoke of wrongness. There were too few worlds nearby and there seemed to be the scent of blood in the void. Even if death occurred in the chaos, all scent of blood and violence were instantly washed away by the void.

And yet... she seemed to smell some. While Feng Yan wasn’t certain of what she picked up, she was beginning to grow uneasy.

What was going on here?

There seemed to be a lot fewer worlds around. Each world represented at least one exalted emperor! Where had they gone?

“Black Dog, your nose is sharp. Go take a look to see if the other worlds are hiding nearby!”

Panther immediately disappeared on the spot. The dog was also uneasy. This wasn’t looking good. So a seventh rank was coming... and the key was, Li Hao was not yet a sixth rank. Why was sixth rank so hard for him?

If he didn’t reach sixth rank before the seventh rank arrived... then they were truly in trouble.

......

At the same time.

A seventh rank walked out of Phoenix major world—the world master was here to welcome her visitor in person. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

“Fellow Daoist Long Xuan, please be at ease.” The Phoenix master was wreathed in smiles. “The Dragon master can be at ease as well. There are a few more days until the battle. I will be fully on guard!”

“Mmhmm, I have no concerns about Fellow Daoist Phoenix!” Long Xuan chuckled. “I’m going to meet Earth Dragon first. If his dao universe has fully formed, both of us will travel to Thunder World to see you on. If you successfully take Thunder World... I would ask Fellow Daoist Phoenix to remember me well in your ascension to glory then!”

“The fellow daoist jests. You have the Dragon master looking out for you, there is no need to look to me...”

“Hahaha, that’s true as well!” Long Xuan was exceedingly polite, not because of the Phoenix master, but because of her daughter. The Dragon master had taken many females to bed, but he didn’t often have progeny from his dalliances.

Feng Yan was already in Dragon’s sphere of influence. She was peak sixth rank. If Phoenix took Thunder World, she was certain to enter seventh rank!

She would be the only seventh rank among the Dragon master’s descendants, so courtesy and respect were demanded!

“Then I will be on my way!” Long Xuan didn’t tarry. He’d stayed on Phoenix for a few days and seen that there wasn’t much movement from Thunder World. That was good.

He would visit Earth Dragon first then and have the chaos beast join him. Even if the Thunder master had any ideas in mind... A force of five seventh ranks would be able to handle even an eighth rank, not to mention the Thunder master. He would have to die even if he did make a breakthrough!

“Ah yes, there seems to have been some changes at Skyward. I can no longer contact Dragon major world...”

“There was news earlier that the Dragon master might have entered Skyward’s dao universe,” Long Xuan mentioned. “He might be fighting for it now or communications may be cut off by the Skyward dao universe. Powerhouses from all three regions are within.

"If we can take Thunder World, then we might need Fellow Daoist Phoenix to make some arrangements so we can all head to Skyward. That will prevent the Dragon master from fighting by himself...”

“Of course!” nodded Phoenix with a smile. “As we should! What a pity that we might’ve sent more powerhouses to Skyward if it wasn’t for Thunder World. We would’ve shown the three regions how strong the chaos race is!”

Long Xuan agreed amiably and said nothing else. It wouldn’t be too late to rush over once they resolved Thunder World. The Dragon master had seven seventh ranks with him. Nothing major would stump him.

He rushed toward Earth Dragon major world with utmost speed.

......

Li Hao had crafted nine hundred minor worlds. But the flow of dao strength had greatly diminished as nearby worlds continued to be exterminated.

“Almost...” the young man mumbled. It was almost the one month deadline set by the Thunder master. The seventh rank mentioned by Panther should almost be here as well.

Li Hao looked outside Earth Dragon major world, at the sixth rank worlds that’d yet to be refined, such as Desolate and Earth Dragon itself. It should propel him into sixth rank if he devoured those worlds!

“They should have sensed something... right?” he murmured. Some envoys from major worlds had gathered outside, but no one entered Earth Dragon. They might’ve detected something amiss.

Too many worlds had gone missing.

These guys were probably waiting for the dragon envoy to arrive. The Earth Dragon master was purportedly a seventh rank, after all. They couldn’t afford offending him if he was up to no good. They had to wait for the dragon envoy to convene with them before they could ask what the chaos beast was doing.

“It’s time to... take over Dragon Region...” Li Hao laughed and shut his eyes, ignoring everything.

Let’s see if you come back, Dragon master.

......

Earth Dragon major world was shaking.

Many of the major world envoys on the perimeter were frowning warily. What was Earth Dragon doing? Why were there so many worlds missing around it?

All of the exalted emperors were gathered together, including Feng Yan and her entourage. They conversed with each other, all of them puzzled and perhaps slightly worried. There was no need for more concern as this was chaos beast heartland. It didn’t matter that Dragon wasn’t present for the moment.

“Earth Dragon... has quickly advanced his world... and there are many worlds missing nearby... can it be...” someone speculated.

Could it be that Earth Dragon had swallowed these worlds? Was he breaking through due to an accumulation of strength from these worlds? Was that possible?

It definitely was.

But could seventh rank worlds progress from devouring minor worlds? If so, then Earth Dragon was insane! This was strictly forbidden in Dragon Region!

Did Earth Dragon think he could challenge Dragon’s authority with the ascension of his world?

“Everyone, be careful. Earth Dragon may really have improved through swallowing other worlds. There are a lot missing nearby. I barely saw any on my way here, but there’s only a few dozen worlds in the vicinity...”

“Feng Yan, Phoenix major world is closest to here. Have you guys detected anything strange?”

“No...” Feng Yan frowned. Nothing seemed to have happened lately. Not to mention, the convergence of the worlds started only after Earth Dragon ascended. Had he been secretly swallowing the nearby worlds all along?

She was worried, but transmitted, “Everyone stay together. Don’t approach brashly. In addition, The Exalted Emperor Long Xuan should be back soon. There’s nothing to worry about if there really is anything wrong with Earth Dragon.

As strong as Earth Dragon may be, Long Xuan was a Dragon exalted emperor. The Dragon master could descend upon them anytime they seemed unable to overcome their opponent!

There was nothing to fear so long as the Dragon master was present.

“Really? Long Xuan’s coming back?”

“Correct. It’ll take him a day at most!”

“Good!”

“It’s fine, we are all cultivators of major worlds. If Earth Dragon really has run afoul of one of our taboos... our world masters can come at a moment’s notice!”

Nuh uh, that’s only you! The others reacted with skepticism. Not us! The Phoenix master is your mother and close by, it’s different for us. We’re just envoys, and not all of us are children of the world master.

Some of our worlds only have one seventh rank and they’re preoccupied with the five monster spirit worlds at the moment! Who would dare leave that battlefield?

It was due to Phoenix’s multiple seventh ranks that the world master could redirect her attention if any threats came up. This was why they were all still here. The situation was unclear, but they had a major world to depend on. If not for that, they would’ve run off a long time ago.

The entire chaos seemed to be trembling.

A general bewilderment at Earth Dragon’s temerity was running through the group when faces slackened. Two sixth rank worlds around Desolate collapsed at a visible speed. Endless world strength streamed toward Earth Dragon, right beneath their nose!