Chapter 834: Sowing Dissension

While standing on the summit of the altar, Han Li took a glance at his surroundings to find that the entire group was enshrouded within the giant shadows cast by the pair of statues, and they resembled a pair of deities looking down at the mortals below.

At this moment, he could clearly sense tremendous pressure from the two statues, and even with his cultivation base, he was struck by a sense of asphyxiation.

He took a glance at Shi Pokong and the others out of the corner of his eye to find that their complexions were slightly pale, clearly indicating that they were also feeling the pressure.

The three of them immediately extended respectful bows to the pair of statues, and their expressions instantly eased significantly thereafter.

Han Li decided to follow suit upon seeing this, extending a bow of his own, and to his surprise, the tremendous pressure from the statues slowly faded after this gesture of respect.

A hint of intrigue immediately welled up in Han Li's heart. Could it be that the Baleful Holy Emperor and the Infernal Holy Mother truly were deities that existed in the Devil Realm?

One of the priests rose to his feet, then bowed toward Shi Pokong's group as he said, "The holy mother and the holy father have seen your earnest gestures of respect, and they'll be sure to bless you with good fortune."

The priest was a middle-aged man with a head of messy yellow hair and dark and coarse skin that looked more fitting on an old farmer, but his eyes were particularly bright.

Han Li's brows furrowed ever so slightly at the sight of the man.

His aura suggested that he was only at the early-Golden Immortal Stage, but for some reason, Han Li felt an inexplicable sense of apprehension at the sight of the man.

"Thank you for your kind words, Priest Lian Zhen," Shi Pokong replied with a smile.

Han Li's heart stirred slightly upon hearing this.

For the sake of Weeping Soul, he had made an effort to learn about Night Sun City's Priestly Temple. The Priestly Temple was a very special place in the city, and all of the priests were directly overseen by the Devilish Monarch, but they didn't have to carry out any missions and were solely dedicated to serving the holy emperor and the holy mother.

The leader of the Priestly Temple was the grand priests, and there were also several head priests beneath him, one of whom was none other than Priest Lian Zhen.

Han Li turned his gaze away from Priest Lian Zhen to look at the other priests, and he was a little disappointed to discover that none of the priests possessed a cultivation base superior to Lian Zhen's.

Right at this moment, a boisterous voice rang out from down below.

"You're here quite early, Pokong."

A group of people stepped onto the altar, and they were led by a purple-robed man who appeared to be close to forty years of age. He was dressed in the same attire as Shi Pokong and Shi Chuankong, and there was a faint purple insignia on his glabella that was flashing with mysterious purple glow.

𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Han Li faltered slightly upon seeing this. This was the same person who had extended that invitation to him back in the Maha Area ten years ago, except his hair had been black back then, but it was silver now.

The two people standing beside him were also dressed in luxurious purple robes, and one of them was none other than the eighth prince, who was currently glowering at Han Li with clear animosity in his eyes.

The other purple-robed figure was a thin young man who appeared to be rather unwell, with a waxy complexion and a rather uneven aura, and the three of them were accompanied by several servants.

"Long time no see, Zhanfeng," Shi Pokong said with a smile as he cupped his fist in a salute toward the group.

It immediately became clear to Han Li upon hearing this that the purple-robed man was none other than the eldest prince, Shi Zhanfeng.

At the same time, he couldn't help but wonder what objective Shi Zhanfeng had for extending that invitation to him ten years ago, and he was also quite puzzled about the identity of the silver-haired woman who had intervened.

With so many questions emerging in his mind at once, he began to scan his surroundings to see if he could find some answers.

"You've already met my eighth brother, Shi Chuanjia. The other one is my tenth brother, Shi Bofu. He suffered from a very strange ailment from a young age, and it took him a long time to recover, but the silver lining is that he was able to master an extremely formidable type of curse law powers, so he's not to be underestimated. Both of them are in Zhanfeng's camp," Shji Chuankong explained to Han Li through voice transmission.

Han Li took a subtle glance at Shi Bofu upon hearing this.

He was also at the early-High Zenith Stage, and he was giving off a peculiar aura that was very unsettling.

"Indeed. We're all in Night Sun City, but it's been a very long time since we last met. I recently acquired two flagons of Purple Silk Immortal Wine from the True Immortal Realm, so why don't we all meet up in my manor for a drink after our audience with Father?" Shi Zhanfeng proposed.

Shi Chuankong's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, and he was just about to covertly urge Shi Pokong to turn down the offer when Shi Pokong nodded and replied, "Of course! It's not every day that we all get to gather in one place, so we have to take full advantage."

Shi Chuankong was very agitated to hear this, but there was nothing that he could do at this point.

"Alright, then it's settled. By the way, you can come as well if you're interested, Fellow Daoist Li. The offer that I made to you during our last meeting still stands," Shi Zhanfeng said with a smile, then turned his attention to paying his respects to the pair of deity statues on the altar.

Shi Chuanjia and Shi Bofu both flashed Han Li a devious smile upon hearing this, then also turned to pay their respects to the two statues.

Han Li's expression remained unchanged, but internally, he was very disgruntled by this blatant attempt to sow dissension from Shi Zhanfeng.

"Would you care to elaborate on what His Highness just said, Fellow Daoist Li?" Xue Cheng interrogated through voice transmission with a cold look on his face.

"Xue Cheng! Show some respect!" Shi Pokong scolded as he gave Xue Cheng a stern glare.

Xue Cheng immediately fell silent upon hearing this, but a clear hint of suspicion and animosity had surfaced in his eyes.

Han Li's brows furrowed slightly upon seeing this, and he heaved an internal sigh.

Han Li had been quite grateful to Xue Cheng for luring Daoist Master Bone Shine all those years ago, and now that they had been reunited, he had thought that they could perhaps become friends. However, the fact that he was so easily swayed by Shi Zhanfeng's words clearly showed that he was not a good judge of character, nor was he to be relied on or confided in.

"Let's go," Shi Pokong said as he flashed Han Li a reassuring smile.

The four of them began to make their way toward the Holy Imperial Palace in the distance, and the atmosphere was a little heavy.

"Fellow Daoist Li, what was Zhanfeng referring to just now?"

In the end, Shi Chuankong was unable to suppress his own curiosity, but there wasn't any accusation in his voice as he raised the question.

"Zhanfeng was clearly trying to sow dissension among our ranks, Chuankong. Fellow Daoist Li is a close friend of yours, do you not trust him?" Shi Pokong asked with a nonchalant smile.

"Of course I trust Fellow Daoist Li, I'm just a little curious about what moves Zhanfeng has been trying to pull behind the scenes," Shi Chuankong chuckled.

"While I was exploring the Maha Area, I ran into His Highness, and we spoke a little about Weeping Soul's condition. However, he adopted a disguise at the time, so I wasn't aware of his identity," Han Li explained, then provided a recount of what had happened on that day.

"I knew it! Zhanfeng always resorts to underhanded tactics like this!" Shi Chuankong harrumphed in a disdainful manner.

"This is how Zhanfeng has always been, we just have to be careful not to fall for his tricks," Shi Pokong said in an indifferent manner, then took a subtle glance at Xue Cheng.

An awkward look appeared on Xue Cheng's face, and he extended an apologetic salute toward Han Li as he said, "Please forgive me, Fellow Daoist Li. I let my emotions get the better of me just now."

"It's fine," Han Li replied in an aloof fashion.

Xue Cheng knew that his apology was too little, too late, and a remorseful look appeared on hsi face.

The group continued onward before quickly arriving in front of a black palace.

This palace was over a thousand feet tall, significantly taller than the other nearby palaces, and there was a thick black stone pillar standing at each of its four corners, all of which were etched with extremely lifelike reliefs of devilish deities.

Hanging outside the palace was a giant plaque that read "Holy Imperial Palace" in large purple characters, and the two purple-robed servants standing at the entrance of the palace hurriedly extended respectful bows toward Shi Pokong and Shi Chuankong at the sight of their approach.

"Is Father inside?" Shi Pokong asked.

"The Holy Monarch is indeed inside. Please wait here a moment while we inform him of your arrival," one of the servants said, then rushed into the palace.

Moments later, the servant re-emerged and declared, "The Holy Monarch would like to welcome the four of you into the palace."

Shi Pokong and Shi Chuankong took a collective deep breath, then smoothed down their robes before entering the palace, while Han Li and Xue Cheng followed along from some distance away.

The interior of the palace was enormous, but it was completely empty, making it appear even more spacious. There were all types of reliefs engraved onto the walls, depicting extremely lifelike humanoid and beastly creatures that looked as if they could spring to life at any moment.

The lighting in the palace was rather dim, giving all of the reliefs a rather sinister, shadowy appearance.

Shi Pokong and the others continued onward in silence, and only in the deepest part of the hall did the lighting become brighter. There was a raised platform there, atop which was a seat that was occupied by a purple-robed man.

The man appeared to be around forty to fifty years of age with a head of silver hair, and his facial features gave him the appearance of a refined scholar, but his aura was that of a domineering king.

Even though he was only seated in his chair, all those in his presence were still involuntarily struck by a sense of awe and veneration.

Han Li had seen the Devilish Monarch once while transmigrating through the Heaven Controlling Vial, but that was only an avatar, and he couldn't help but take a glance at the Devilish Monarch in his full glory.

The Devilish Monarch seemed to have detected his gaze, and their eyes met.

Han Li was instantly struck by a bone-chilling sensation, and he felt as if the Devilish Monarch could see through all of his secrets. He immediately channeled his immortal spiritual power and his spiritual sense to try and ward off the Devilish Monarch's gaze, but his efforts proved to be completely futile, and the cold sensation was only becoming more and more intense, making him feel as if he were about to pass out.

A peculiar look flashed through the Devilish Monarch's eyes at the sight of Han Li, but his expression then returned to normal as he looked away again.

Only then did the bone-chilling sensation in Han Li's body fade away, and he heaved an internal sigh of relief.

The Devilish Monarch's gaze only rested on him for a moment, but it felt like an eternity to Han Li, and in this moment, he felt even more exhausted than after an intense battle.

Shi Pokong and Shi Chuankong fell to their knees in front of the Devilish Monarch as they greeted in unison, "Welcome back Father!"