What can currently be done is to strive to maintain the morale of these Heavenly soldiers and wait for the Jade Emperor’s command, after all, that Supreme is the one who controls the future direction of the Heavenly Court.

While Ziwei Star Lord was struggling to pick up the morale of the Heavenly Court, the outcome of the war between the Demon Clan and the Heavenly Court caught many by surprise.

Everyone thought that the Demon Clan could wear down the Heavenly Court but was definitely not their match; who could have expected that the Demon Clan would suddenly produce so many Treasure Ships, which shocked everyone to the core.

Now that the dust has settled, the Demon Clan has turned the tide and repelled the Heavenly Court’s offense, making all living beings in the Three Realms feel that the time for change has arrived.

Countless people rejoiced privately, their long-awaited opportunity had finally come.

The Jade Emperor sat with a cold face on the throne, with the Divine Exorcist Great Saint kneeling below.

He asked in an icy tone, "Have you found out, where do these newly emerged demons come from?"

The Divine Exorcist Great Saint spoke with a gloomy face, "They are the Buddhist Soldiers who have been enlightened by the Buddhist Sect."

"The Buddhist Sect, it’s them!" the Jade Emperor sighed deeply.

"We should have thought of this sooner; we should have suspected their agreement with the Demon Clan when so many cannons appeared the last time."

The Divine Exorcist Great Saint said with a bowed head, "This time, the responsibility lies with me. I’ve been focused on seeking Lin Fang and gathering intelligence on the Demon Court, neglecting the Buddhist Sect."

"Rise, I can’t blame you. You can’t be everywhere at once, and the Demon Clan has been extremely secretive this time."

The Jade Emperor still forgave the Divine Exorcist Great Saint; he knew that the mistake was not solely on him since the Heavenly Court’s intelligence system had been virtually useless before his return, and the Demon Clan’s carefully built intelligence network had been ruined by his return, making it much harder to gather information. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

The rapid changes in the battlefield exceeded everyone’s estimates, resulting in an unexpected defeat due to a surprise force.

If the Demon Clan hadn’t had so many Treasure Ships, even such a surprise force wouldn’t have been able to change the final outcome. Ultimately, the Demon Clan had established its own foundation, and this war was ill-timed.

"Before you returned, did you hear how the Demon Realm project of the Demon Clan was going?" asked the Jade Emperor softly.

The Divine Exorcist Great Saint shook his head, "I was with the Demon Clan for many years, and though I had heard of the Demon Realm project, it came to nothing due to the Demon Emperor’s defeat. After all, a World Seed is too precious, probably only on the Demon Emperor himself."

"Do you think it’s possible that the Demon Master has opened up a Demon Realm over these years?" the Jade Emperor posited a possibility.

Because after much deliberation, if the Demon Clan had truly succeeded in creating a Demon Realm, then the Master of the World could only be the long-hidden Demon Master.

However, the Divine Exorcist Great Saint was very certain in his denial of the Emperor’s speculation.

"It shouldn’t be possible. I’ve been watching him closely; he never had enough time or power to open a Demon Realm. Those years he spent hiding and even lost his realm, dreaming of opening a Demon Realm is simply foolish."

"Go investigate and find out the true identity of this Master of the Demon Realm. We were defeated by this person," the Jade Emperor commanded the Divine Exorcist Great Saint.

He was now very curious to know who had the capability to actually create a Demon Realm, something that many in the Three Realms have dreamed of but never achieved.

"Yes!" the Divine Exorcist Great Saint nodded firmly. This defeat was the biggest blemish in his life; he was struggling to accept the defeat caused by his own intelligence failure.

"Your Majesty, what should we do next?" A rare worry showed on the face of the Divine Exorcist Great Saint.

Even in the ancient times when the Heavenly Court and the Demon Court fought for domination over the Three Realms, he had never worried like he did today.

Because he was very clear that the Heavenly Court was indeed at the most critical moment, if they did not handle it well, disintegration was imminent.

The determination in the Jade Emperor’s eyes sparkled as he asked faintly, "Do you still remember how we came this far?"

This question pulled the Divine Exorcist Great Sage back to that ancient era. At that time, the Jade Emperor was just an ordinary cultivator on Mount Kunlun, and he himself was nothing more than a little monkey in the mountains.

In that era of rampant divine beings, both of them were the most insignificant existences, perhaps at any moment the wrath of a divine spirit could take their lives.

Yet under such circumstances, the two of them slowly grew up and started to make a name for themselves in the Three Realms, until later when the Jade Emperor seized the opportunity and ascended the divine throne of the Heavenly Emperor.

The trials and tribulations they went through are not to be spoken lightly to others.

"We have come from that era, how could we possibly be frightened by these difficulties?"

The Jade Emperor chuckled lightly as he stroked his throne and said softly, "The throne of the Supreme of the Three Realms is right here, let them try to take it with their ability."

His words were full of confidence, seemingly not worried at all about the upcoming challenges.

That strong confidence made the Divine Exorcist Great Sage take notice, his fighting spirit reignited within him.

"It’s just a pity that the mysterious palace has yet to appear in this world. Otherwise, I too would like to glimpse the realms of the Three Pure Ones," the Jade Emperor said with some regret.

If there was to be a great reward from this war, it was to witness the mysterious palace left behind by the Three Pure Ones, where secrets of higher realms were hidden.

But the Jade Emperor also understood that the time for the palace to appear in this world had not yet come, and he had to wait patiently.

One could only wonder what kind of scenery that supreme realm would be like.

The Immortal Transformation Pond was located in the eastern part of the Heavenly Court, a forbidden area where, apart from the Four Great Celestial Masters who guarded it, no one else was permitted to enter.

However, today, while everyone’s attention was drawn to the great war, a group of people sneakily entered the vicinity of the Pool of Transformation.

They chose their time very cleverly, because a small vacuum of time was inevitably created when the four Heavenly Masters exchanged pleasantries during handover.

And it was during this brief period that these people sneaked into the Immortal Transformation Pond.

Looking at the sacred Immortal Transformation Pond, one person’s eyes revealed a longing gaze, he said in a hushed tone, "Hurry up, the time for the two Heavenly Masters’ pleasantries is not long. We must set everything up in such a short time and completely destroy the Immortal Transformation Pond."

"Don’t worry, none of us are reckless."

With that, the group began to act. Each person took out a jade pendant carved with images of the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise, and then placed them in positions on all four sides.

Suddenly, the leader took out a strange stone and quietly threw it into the Immortal Transformation Pond.

As the stone slowly sank to the bottom of the pond, a satisfied smile spread across his face.

"Let’s go, now all we need to do is wait quietly," he said.