Divine Emperor of Death

Chapter 4234  Danger At Doorstep

"Guardians, this shameless interloper is a Heaven's Warrior with extremely high authority. Since he forced in, wanting to search for a Divergent because of the calamities that happened outside this peninsula, let him do as he pleases. After this ends, I'll…"

Esmond Stavenger descended and looked as though he was mediating reluctantly since he possessed an expression of shame and anger. He glared at the Venerable Hollow Knight, his words laced with steep payback, but the latter paid no heed and continued to search.

"…"

Esmond Stavenger could only cry again inwardly. It seemed that the Venerable Hollow Knight intended to search this place thoroughly even though their senses found nothing! He found this ridiculous and wanted to complain, but he dared not go too overboard as that would just end up building more suspicion and get him punished severely if found guilty.

The Venerable Hollow Knight went straight ahead in the opposite direction and started walking around the sector, his eyes constantly searching for the slightest trace of something that may not belong in this place.

He moved methodically, his sharp gaze sweeping the spaces between the nodes in this underground chamber. The grand hall stretched endlessly before him, its immense pillars standing like silent sentinels, each one humming faintly with the power of the formation they supported. It made it quite difficult to probe the nodes, but it wasn't a problem since he was looking through each and every single one.

His probing soul sense continued to expand, creeping into every crevice, every crack in the seemingly perfect structures. Yet, despite his relentless efforts, nothing surfaced. There were no anomalies, no lingering traces of Divergent aura, and no disruptions in the spatial flow.

Esmond Stavenger maintained his tense and wrathful expression.

The guardians, their figures hunched with time yet their presences formidable, merely watched in silence. Their ancient eyes, sunken yet glinting with dormant power, followed the Venerable Hollow Knight's every movement. They did not intervene, but their old hearts were pounding.

Minutes stretched into what felt like an eternity. The only sounds in the chamber were the faint hum of the formation nodes and the Venerable Hollow Knight's steady footsteps.

The Venerable Hollow Knight finally circled around, nearing the Realm Core on the other side. His black robe fluttered slightly as he came to a halt, his brows knitting together.

Esmond Stavenger's heart pounded against his ribs as he felt his heart sink. Could he have sensed something?

He saw that the Venerable Hollow Knight stood near the entrance to the mini-realm. He didn't dare look that way for fear of exposing it with his own eyes. He maintained his gaze on the Venerable Hollow Knight, quite desperately so, wishing that he wouldn't find it.

The Venerable Hollow Knight simply stood there, his expression unreadable. His soul sense had scoured every inch of this place, and still… nothing.

He turned slightly, his piercing gaze falling upon the Realm Master.

"You seem to have spoken the truth," he finally said, his deep voice echoing slightly in the chamber.

Esmond Stavenger feigned a resentful snort, "I told you. Do you think I have time to entertain ridiculous accusations? I will definitely take this matter to Heaven's Warrior Organizations if you don't kowtow and apologize right now."

"…"

The Venerable Hollow Knight didn't respond immediately. He merely looked at the three guardians, his gaze lingering on them for a fraction longer than necessary.

Then, with a slow nod, he withdrew his soul sense and cupped his hands. With that, the crushing pressure that had filled the hall also subtly faded, returning the chamber to its previous humming of the formation cores.

"I apologize for being rude. I have seen enough," he issued an apology without kowtowing, turning away.

"You-"

Esmond Stavenger nearly burst out but forced himself to remain calm, even as he nearly exhaled in sheer relief.

As the Venerable Hollow Knight strode towards the secret passage, his voice drifted.

"One last place. If you truly have nothing to hide, then don't turtle up and personally join the search to hunt the Divine Emperor of Death. If you are scared, just announce it to the world and abdicate the glorious position of the Realm Master. A suitable heir would surely appear within your own family. I heard you have thirty-two sons and fifteen daughters, so one of them surely must be worthy."

"…"

Esmond Stavenger glared at his back.

Every one of his children had already entered the Upper Realms. He didn't think of bringing them back here unless they wanted to come back and withdraw from cultivation. Even then, he didn't wish to give up the position of the Realm Master as he didn't think anyone could do a better job than him.

The Stavenger Family was at its prime with his rule, even when considering all records.

He followed the Venerable Hollow Knight and went through the same underground passage that he used to bring the Divine Emperor of Death in.

Finally, they were at the edge of the peninsula, and the Venerable Hollow Knight left with his Heaven's Warriors.

Esmond Stavenger stared at their departing ships before they disappeared into the cumulonimbus clouds. Even then, he didn't heave a single sigh of relief.

He turned around and returned to his palace in a calm manner, but once he was in his palace, he shot down the tunnel and arrived near the Realm Core, his gaze shooting towards the point where the mini-realm should be.

He still couldn't find it with his senses, making him inwardly praise it, but after he neared it, he still couldn't find it.

'What the… where is that spatial entrance? I swear I knew where it was… why can't I find it…?'

He gazed at where it should be but couldn't find it, making him look around a bit.

Did the Divine Emperor of Death decide to close the mini-realm? But… it would've surely left a trace, creating spatial distortions that stem from the many spatial layers stacked on top of each other. He couldn't understand.

The Guardians also couldn't find it. They wondered if the Divine Emperor of Death had pulled out altogether.

However, little did they know that they were starting at where the tiny mini-realm was located. Its point was so tiny, but it could still be seen once they were close enough. However, the difference was that there was a layer of two types of energies swirling around the spatial point.

On the other side of the entrance, two figures stood with their hands reached out at the opening.

Their energies mixed and flowed together as they held hands.

"Will this truly work…?" Stella couldn't help but raise her doubt as she looked at Davis and Illumina working together to do something to the entrance.

Davis cast a look at Stella, his expression relaxed.

"If it works, it works. If not, I'll simply be happy to be able to hold these hands that protect us day and night until trouble steps in."

"…"

Illumina's rabbit ears sprung up. Her cheeks were painted red slowly. She could feel the warmth from his big hand while her illusory energy mixed with his own and swirled towards the enclosed spatial vortex, covering it in their strange ability.

Davis didn't explain what he was doing, but he borrowed Illumina's illusory arts and superimposed a much more renewed version of Misdirection on the spatial point. With this, he believed that it could fool the eyes of anyone in the Empyrean Stage.

He applied his knowledge from the Karmic Impersonation to Misdirection, after all. However, his belief was one thing, and reality was another, so he kept a vigilant eye on the entrance at all times.

"You wicked rogue~" Stella giggled, "Now you're playing with a rabbit's heart. Is a tree with boundless love not enough for you?"

"Hehem~ I don't know what you're talking about." Davis feigned innocence.

Stella giggled while suppressing her voice.

She was the one who warned Davis that the Venerable Knight was here when she noticed that Esmond Stavenger went to welcome someone. After all, she possessed spatial sight around any mini-realm she created, able to pick up even the slightest tremors in space. However, she knew she would be caught if she continued looking, so she decisively pulled back her senses and closed the entrance before Davis came up with this method.

They didn't know if this would work or not.

But how long do they need to do this? They didn't know. They felt like at least holding out for a day.

However, Illumina didn't even last for two hours.

It wasn't that her energy that went out first. She tried, she really, really tried, but she couldn't withstand holding Davis's hand and remaining with him at such close proximity that she fainted and dropped, causing Davis to belatedly catch her and wonder if she was okay.

The Misdirection dropped as a result, and the Guardians were finally able to pinpoint that the mini-realm was still there, but for the whole time, they couldn't fathom how they couldn't find it.

Nonetheless, Davis didn't enter the Whispering Wildlands Peninsula.

They kept guard at the entrance for two more days, only ending it when they got the news that the Venerable Hollow Knight was scouring the Whispering Wildlands Lower Realm without stopping to rest. It seems like two more Venerable Knights also entered the Whispering Wildlands Lower Realm, their search range considerably shortening.

At this rate, Davis felt that the Second Void Dust Sanctuary was going to be found sooner or later. After all, unlike a tiny mini-realm, it was a small mini-realm that was much easier to find.

He wondered what the chances were that his new and improved Misdirection would work. He didn't know since he didn't know what happened on the other side. They chose to cut off their contact with Esmond Stavenger at the moment, but it seemed like he hadn't betrayed them yet, which Davis found surprising.

This ultimately renewed his opinion of Esmond Stavenger, impressing him.

After all, it wouldn't be any strange if he decided to come clean. Davis wouldn't have blamed him but retaliated as promised. However, Esmond Stavenger evidently seemed to have kept his word, which greatly increased Davis's opinion of him. Now, he felt that giving away the Gilded Realm Ascendant Pill had been worth it.