248: Ao Tian's surrender

Xun Xiuyuan heard Ling Kuang's reply and was not surprised.

Because he could feel that among his senior brothers, Ling Kuang's strength was the strongest; even Zhuge Lun was a God King with eight laws, so it was more reasonable for Ling Kuang to say he was a newly advanced Super God King.

"Why are all the Great Worlds in the Extraterritorial Battlefield, and still fighting? Is it for resources?"

Xun Xiuyuan asked, knowing that he would eventually have to go there.

Ling Kuang nodded: "Resources are one aspect, but the main reason is population. If we don't go, they will invade us to plunder our population. So, for nearly ten thousand years, we have been defending, huddling in a corner."

Zhou Yuanling asked doubtfully, "Population?"

Ling Kuang nodded: "Because the combination of different races gives birth to more excellent offspring. Those powerful races use other races for experiments, and these experiments require vast population support; sometimes, an entire race is gone after just one or two experiments."

Zhou Yuanling fell silent after hearing this. The external situation was so severe, and the Zhu Xie Alliance colluded with foreign races; they truly deserved to die.

Ling Kuang saw Xun Xiuyuan's silence and continued, "The interface connecting our Heavenly Abyss to the Passage Battlefield has a grand formation set up by adoptive father, and with my breakthrough, the situation has improved slightly in recent years."

Xun Xiuyuan nodded and said, "Besides population, what other reasons are there?"

Ling Kuang frowned, but eventually said, "The Extraterritorial Battlefield is vast, larger than our entire Great Barren World. Its mineral and spiritual material resources are extremely abundant. Even the heavenly treasures that help clansmen comprehend laws are plentiful, so disputes naturally increase, and every Great World is fiercely contending for territory."

Ling Kuang frowned because Xun Xiuyuan's questions were highly purposeful. He was afraid that his junior brother was too ambitious, and going to the Extraterritorial Battlefield like that would be very dangerous.

When Xun Xiuyuan heard about spiritual materials and minerals, he was no longer too excited. These things were certainly of great help to the clan, but to Xun Xiuyuan, they were of no use.

"Only these?"

Xun Xiuyuan asked again, unwilling to give up.

Ling Kuang was also a bit confused by Xun Xiuyuan. "Only these?" Were these not enough? Even just hearing about those resources would make him tempted.

"Then there are secret realms, all sorts of strange and wonderful secret realms, and the things inside are just as bizarre. There's a lot to say about them."

Ling Kuang continued.

Xun Xiuyuan nodded silently, and finally asked, "Do you have a way to deal with the shackles of the Cage Domain?"

Ling Kuang shook his head: "It requires four Super God Kings to break."

Xun Xiuyuan was surprised: "It can't be, can it? It seems it was only set up by ordinary God Kings back then."

Ling Kuang shook his head and said, "When it was set up, it was a restriction jointly imposed by the three clans. Precisely because they feared one clan might go back on their word, they deliberately increased its strength. So, a single Super God King cannot break it; I've tried."

After hearing this, Xun Xiuyuan stopped speaking and fell into contemplation.

Seeing this, Ling Kuang also directly left the main hall.

The next day at noon, the Heavenly Palace's establishment ceremony officially began on time.

Those who came to observe included the Azure Dragon King of the Exotic Beast Clan and a host of Exotic Beast God Kings; everyone who was not in the Extraterritorial Battlefield came to the ceremony.

The Ghost Clan was also present; the Ghost Emperor led all the Ghost Clan God Kings, and even the leaders of various great families rushed to the location.

Needless to say, all the God Kings of the Divine Martial Sect and Four United Association from the Human Clan were also present, while naturally, not a single person from the Zhu Xie Alliance attended.

The War God Hall had directly joined the Heavenly Palace, so its stance was self-evident.

Besides these super forces, there were countless Heavenly God Realm forces; tens of thousands of seats in the entire square were completely filled.

Chen Li stood on the high platform and spoke a lot of nonsense, which was nothing more than the usual routine.

Finally, Xun Xiuyuan stepped onto the high platform: "I announce the establishment of the Heavenly Palace."

These simple words represented the birth of the fourth major force besides the three clans.

Just as Xun Xiuyuan was about to step down from the high platform, Wu Meng, the Sect Master of the Divine Martial Sect, flew into the sky.

He cupped his hands and said to Palace Master Xun, "Palace Master Xun, my Divine Martial Sect is willing to join the Heavenly Palace!"

This simple sentence shocked everyone observing in the square, including Xun Xiuyuan himself, who looked utterly bewildered.

It was so sudden?

Supreme Elder Gu Yunshan also flew to Wu Meng's side at this moment and cupped his hands to Xun Xiuyuan: "Palace Master Xun, what my Sect Master said is not a joke; the Great Desolate World needs change."

After speaking, Supreme Elder Gu Yunshan took out a battle report.

"My sect received a secret report yesterday: due to Ling Kuang's departure from the Extraterritorial Battlefield, the grand formation set up by War God Ling Tian was breached, and the entrance to our Great Desolate World's passage is in peril. Forget about fighting in the Extraterritorial Battlefield; even defense is extremely difficult."

Facing the sudden situation, Xun Xiuyuan did not express an opinion but looked at the other God Kings below the stage.

Hu Jinping, the Grand President of the Four United Association, also flew into the air at this time: "My Four United Association is also willing to join the Heavenly Palace. We hope Palace Master Xun will accept us."

The Divine Martial Sect's joining was voluntary and mutually beneficial.

As for the Four United Association, after seeing the fate of the Zhu Xie Alliance, they hesitated for a long time before making a difficult decision.

After all, now that the War God Hall and Divine Martial Sect had joined the Heavenly Palace, and the Zhu Xie Alliance was in decline, if they didn't take a stance, according to Xun Xiuyuan's methods, the flames of war would eventually reach the Four United Association.

Although the Divine Martial Sect had set a precedent, Xun Xiuyuan was still very surprised by the Four United Association's declaration.

He did not know that the saying "cut the grass but don't remove the roots, and it will grow again with the spring breeze" had already spread throughout the entire Great World.

The Four United Association's actions were also reasonable, mainly out of fear of being purged by Xun Xiuyuan. After all, the Heavenly Palace, which included the Divine Martial Sect and the War God Hall, was no longer a force that any single power could contend with.

Xun Xiuyuan glanced at the Grand President of the Four United Association but said nothing.

When the Azure Dragon King saw this, he rose, just about to say something, when Ao Tian flew into the air and cupped his hands to Xun Xiuyuan:

"Palace Master Xun, I heard that Heavenly Palace disciples are not divided by race. My Mad Dragon Clan is also willing to join the Heavenly Palace. I hope Palace Master Xun will accept us, and if there are any battles in the future, we will obey your command."

Xun Xiuyuan was no longer surprised by Ao Tian's surrender but found it incredible.

In fact, Ao Tian had already harbored such thoughts when he was being chased and beaten by Zhuge Lun, and none of the Exotic Beast God Kings stepped forward to help him.

Moreover, later, Zhuge Lun gave him a very obvious hint, and coupled with the declarations of the Divine Martial Sect and the Four United Association today, Ao Tian hardened his heart and directly spoke out in front of the Azure Dragon King.

At this time, the Azure Dragon King's expression remained calm, as if he had long known about Ao Tian's matter.

In reality, he was furious internally. "Even if you want to join the Heavenly Palace, couldn't you wait until after the ceremony to surrender privately? Why do you have to embarrass me in front of so many people?"