After Li Qiye’s comment, Hallowed became quiet. He has personally trained two sea gods before so he knew more compared to others. Alas, he preferred to not talk about certain topics. However, it was different for a character of Li Qiye’s level.

After a long time, he said quietly: “Your Excellency, there’s no dodging this disaster?” 

“No.” Li Qiye chuckled: “You know full well that it is inevitable and is coming even faster than your imagination.”

The ancestor’s heart sank after hearing this. He was only holding onto a sliver of hope that the disaster might not come. But Li Qiye was the speaker now and destroyed his last hope. He knew that relying on this minuscule chance was simply daydreaming, not realistic at all.

The confirmation coming from anyone else, even a sea god, could be wrong. But this time, it came from the eternal dark hand. Thus, it was absolute with no room for error.

Li Qiye gazed far away and said slowly: “The chance is very low in this generation but it shall come in the next with an unprecedented swiftness!”

“Next generation?” Hallowed shuddered. In fact, he has not prepared well enough. Neither did his sect.

“As you can see, when I controlled the Divine Tree Ridge, there was no reaction from Heaven Spirit. The Bonesea and the ridge itself didn’t retaliate. Reviving the tree back to its peak form was a direct provocation towards them but they didn’t do anything.” He explained.

Hallowed was aghast after realizing something: “They’re accumulating more power, biding for the right time.”

“That’s right.” Li Qiye replied: “As the saying goes, one must endure the trivial things in order to carry out the grand scheme. They chose to keep quiet against my challenge because they are waiting instead of ruining their eternal plan from a momentary lapse of judgment.”

Hallowed began to panic. This disaster was coming too fast while his pavilion wasn’t completely ready. How could the eggs be safe when the nest is broken? When that day comes, their pavilion won’t be able to escape the same fate either!

Hallowed pondered for a bit before asking: “Your Excellency, if you participate, how will the war go?”

“What do you mean? Fighting against the Bone Sea?” He chuckled and said leisurely.

“Well… yes.” The old man smiled wryly and stared surreptitiously at the sky again.

“With my state two days ago when I control the Divine Tree Ridge at its highest power and with all of my methods, so what if the Bonesea wants to fight? As long as the ridge itself doesn’t interfere, I’ll show the Bonesea what a real heavy price is!”

He grinned and continued: “If I truly want to go to war, as long as I have enough time and not caring about the cost, I’ll make the two of them submit right there!” His gaze turned cold after this declaration.

“But you sea demons, treants, and even the charming spirits, are you worth my paying an immeasurable price?” He glanced over at the ancestor: “If this was me in the past, I wouldn’t look twice even if you sea demons are slaughtered and would give no shit to the death of the charming spirit race!”

Hallowed understood his intention. After all, the guy was a human. Moreover, even if humans were to stand in his way, the eternal dark hand would slay them mercilessly anyway. A human like him wouldn’t care about the well-being of the sea demons. Moreover, this was a race who has opposed him repeatedly. To be frank, it would be a kind gesture from him to not applaud and cheer during their destruction.

“The Bonesea and the Divine Tree Ridge are indeed capable of causing the nine heavens and ten earths to tremble. Even emperors can’t do anything to them. But they have been very smart all of this time to never provoke me!” Li Qiye smiled faintly.

“They aren’t your enemies, Your Excellency. According to the rumors, you have a grand goal at the end of the world…” The old man hesitated before finally revealing what was on his mind.

“Deep Blue Sea God must have told you. If I’m not mistaken, he has asked emperors about the matters above the nine heavens.” Li Qiye replied amusingly.

“Yes.” Hallowed nodded his head.

Li Qiye paused for a bit before accepting: “That’s right, the end of the world awaits me since I shall wage my war there!”

Of course, he has left behind hidden plans. He didn’t wish to use them because they are meant for the final war. Even when the Black Dragon King suggested that he used them on the Immortal Demon Grotto, he still refused.

In his eyes, the grotto wasn’t his goal, at least not the ultimate one. There were many methods to deal with the grotto as long as he wanted to. However, there was only one way to take care of what lies at the end of the world - fighting to the very end!

Once the war started, there was no turning back and he would only have one chance as well.

Hallowed didn’t blame Li Qiye. After all, the three races’ fate, as well as Heaven Spirit, had nothing to do with him.

“However, all of you still have a chance.” Li Qiye smiled: “Look, I am here to talk to your Prime Sea God. I shall make an exception this time and give the charming spirit a treasure.”

“The charming spirit?” Hallowed was surprised.

Li Qiye looked at him and said: “Who if not the charming spirit, you sea demons? What do you think carries a higher worth, the Maelstrom or the Bonesea?”

“The Maelstrom!” He inadvertently blurted. Despite being a sea demon, he knew more after listening to the sea gods.

“If I was a betting man, I would bet on the charming spirit as well.” Hallowed smiled wryly after his wits returned.

“The rest is up to the Divine Tree Ridge. If it is willing to break the balance and be on the same side as the Maelstrom, then the disaster will end early. But if not, then there is still a sixty to seventy percent chance of Heaven Spirit surviving. This is all I can do for this world.” He smiled faintly.

He then stared over towards Godhalt. After making such a big commotion and even controlling the tree itself, there was no reaction from the ridge itself. This made his plan fail since he simply wanted to talk with it!

After hearing him, Hallowed became jolted and quickly prostrated again and bowed his head fiercely: “Your Excellency, you are the savior of our world, of our sea demon race, of all existences. If we could help you in any way with our little power, we are willing to jump into the fire…”

The ancestor was ecstatic and grateful! The world might not know that their destiny could possibly be changed with a single thought from Li Qiye.

He knew that this could save the entire world, allowing them to survive this disaster. It wasn’t an exaggeration to call him a world savior. However, Li Qiye who has brought dawn to Heaven Spirit never called himself a savior. His action wasn’t predicated on seeking a repayment from the inhabitants of this world. This action was quite benevolent and altruistic in the ancestor’s opinion.

“Rise. I am no savior. I am only lending a hand this time not for the races or Heaven Spirit itself, only because of a few people.” Li Qiye answer emotionlessly.

Though he didn’t take the credit and acted indifferently, the ancestor still had infinite gratitude and continued to bow his head. He knew that an eternal existence like Li Qiye didn’t need the world to repay him.

“Take me to the shadow council.” Li Qiye spoke after the ancestor stood up: “It is time for me to speak to Prime’s group.”