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"You seem to be burdened with heavy thoughts?"

At the checkpoint, after replacing Tian Heng’s Western Sea Army, Princess Chang gazed at the pitch-black dense fog outside, her brows furrowing deeply.

It was His Highness King Qin who spoke, the only person bold enough to directly call her "you" in front of this woman.

"Outside... something seems off..." Princess Chang murmured faintly.

That black fog—she had already investigated it before coming.

It was a venomous mist produced by a kind of poison serpent, capable of disrupting vision, making it impossible to discern how many Celestial Serpents were hidden inside.

But at this moment, she could sense that whatever lay within was far more threatening than Celestial Serpents.

"Oh, what’s inside..." King Qin’s eyes flashed with a cold light as he smirked faintly and said, "It’s naturally not normal."

"Do you know what it is?"

"What could it be?" King Qin chuckled and said, "They set up traps in the Southern Sea to capture Chen Qing and Ziyue, intending to reap the rewards. Chen Qing escaped using his methods, so they naturally laid checkpoints along the way to prevent him from returning to Jiangnan. If I’m not mistaken, what’s hidden within that fog is none other than the awakened Buddha. "

"The Buddha?" Princess Chang sneered lightly. "You mean, like the one in myths?"

"It’s somewhat different from the myths..." King Qin said coldly. "The Buddha of legend is a savior of the masses; the Buddha here devours humans—and does so in a very refined way. By utilizing its unique dream space, it can consume every shred of your existence from past lives to present!"

"That sounds truly terrifying..." Princess Chang frowned.

"It’s absolutely terrifying..." King Qin sneered.

"Do you know why your Human Race has long failed to awaken? Because anyone who shows even a hint of promise is implanted with seeds before entering reincarnation. No matter how powerful they become, they simply serve as nourishment for others. Not just your Human Race—every exemplary individual among the Myriad Clans is trapped in this calculation. Otherwise, how do you think they’ve sustained their dominance for countless millennia? "

"Are we going to become one of them?"

"No confidence, Princess?"

Princess Chang chuckled lightly upon hearing this. "And what about you, Your Highness King Qin? Do you have confidence?"

"If it weren’t for your interference, I would’ve already succeeded." King Qin rarely rolled his eyes.

"They’re merely hiding within, so why don’t they dare assassinate us outright?"

"Of course, they wouldn’t dare act rashly.

" King Qin found the notion amusing. "Those beings have lived for so long—they wouldn’t gamble their lives easily.

With heavily armed forces here, should they infiltrate and fail to swiftly eliminate the top combatants, the joint military formations would ensnare them permanently.

Who would dare take such a risk? They fear death far more than we do. "

"Then what about Chen Qing?" Princess Chang suddenly asked. "Is there no way for him to return?"

"Chen Qing used such means to escape assassination, his spiritual power must be utterly depleted. Even if he’s recovering now, with Buddhas scattered everywhere outside, chances are a specific region is already sealed off.

At present, the spiritual energy hasn’t reached its peak, and the world hasn’t unfolded completely.

With such a short distance, Buddha Kingdom’s capabilities can certainly impose a blockade.

Chen Qing can’t return—and if he could, I wouldn’t have needed to come here myself. .."

"The world unfolding?" Princess Chang narrowed her eyes.

"Much of this world’s space has been compressed, used by those top-tier ancient forces as hiding places. Once spiritual energy rejuvenates, those sealed spaces will lose their efficacy and naturally open up, making the entire world ten times larger than before!"

"Oh?" Princess Chang’s expression turned frostier upon hearing this. "So what you mean is, the survival spaces for our Myriad Clans over the years—are merely leftovers from others?"

"What else did you think?"

"They... indeed deserve death!"

"I completely agree..." King Qin smiled.

In this regard, whether it was himself, the Siao Family, or Chen Qing, they likely shared the same sentiment.

"I still feel this is all too smooth." Princess Chang suddenly turned to glance at the seemingly obedient Western Sea Army stationed inside the city. "With my years of understanding Chen Qing, I doubt he would leave nothing prepared."

"Perhaps..." King Qin looked inward, somewhat puzzled himself. Indeed, it seemed Chen Qing was out of cards. But over the years, Chen Qing had always managed to unveil new trump cards at the last moment, without exception. Would it be the same this time?

"Where do you think Chen Qing would go?"

"Where else could he go?" King Qin laughed. "Obviously, he’d go to your dear brother."

Princess Chang’s pupils contracted. "He’s not afraid?"

"Their positions align, and perhaps you misunderstand something. Your brother has never harbored murderous intent towards Chen Qing."

"But he wouldn’t desperately protect him either.

" Princess Chang murmured faintly. "If Chen Qing makes his way there, it could prompt those forces to make up their minds, assassinations that were previously unlikely might arise.

My brother is a rational man—he understands the risks of sheltering Chen Qing. Why would he protect him?"

"What if Chen Qing offers enough benefits?"

Princess Chang found it amusing. "What could he possibly offer? If he dies outside, I could instantly take control here. Everything of his becomes ceremonial attire for the Imperial Court. What else could he possibly have to offer?"

"What else indeed..." King Qin frowned, feeling as though he had overlooked something critical.

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"How long will it take for you to recover?" Inside the Imperial Palace, the Emperor looked at Chen Qing and asked.

Chen Qing kept his eyes closed, furrowing his brows. "The side effects are greater than I imagined. Relying solely on White Crystal for recovery is like using a funnel—it’s impossible to fully regain strength..."

He glanced at Ziyue; she was in the same condition. It seemed multiple uses of Forbidden Techniques had damaged their essence. To phrase it in scientific terms, their bodies lacked complete data. In such a state, recovery required far more than replenished spiritual power.

If this dragged on, both of them might collapse entirely.

"It seems we’ll have to wait for the activation." Chen Qing murmured. "Super-powered activation—to reconstruct our data structures. Only then can we use the Dao Fruit to break out."

The Emperor gazed outside the palace.

At this moment, the Capital City was also enveloped in dense black fog. It was clear that those ancient forces had pinpointed Chen Qing’s location and were persistently probing, ready to press forward at any moment.

Truthfully, this might be the most pressure he had ever faced.

Within the entire Capital City, he was the only King-level expert. If the opposing forces disregarded the cost, no matter what, he couldn’t possibly contend against such top-tier powers.

All he could hope for was that the other side remained cautious enough to grant Chen Qing sufficient time to prepare!

But, unfortunately, this hope was quickly dashed.

An overwhelmingly powerful aura suddenly appeared above the Imperial City.

It was brazen, and it was formidable.

That aura immediately startled both the Emperor and Chen Qing within the palace, leaving them drenched in cold sweat.

"Didn’t you say that generally, they wouldn’t be unafraid of death?"

Chen Qing chuckled bitterly upon hearing this.

Most wouldn’t indeed—take someone like Old Liu back then, for example; even in that situation, he wouldn’t dare risk his life against me.

The reason was their aversion to taking risks.

Among the Buddhas, only those Venerable level ones could confidently confront Emperor Siao.

It was hard to imagine that someone who had reached the Venerable Level, with near-limitless lifespan, would have such courage.

"There are always exceptions... I had actually forgotten one..." Chen Qing slowly stood, sensing the mighty aura above, his expression grim to the extreme.

"Your Majesty, this individual... you must be cautious. To be frank, your chances of victory are less than ten percent..."

The Emperor froze—this was the first time he had seen Chen Qing so lacking in confidence.

"You know him?"

"Among the Buddhas, there is one who is particularly unique. It was the last to achieve enlightenment among the Buddha Kingdom’s seventy-two Buddhas, yet its abilities rival those of pinnacle Buddhas such as the Future Buddha."

"Oh?" The Emperor narrowed his eyes. "Do you know its title?"

"The War Saint Buddha!"