'That Soul Emperor has no beef with me, but with me holding the key to a mini realm, I'm already a target. I would be a fool if I thought that I could negotiate with that Soul Emperor, so the only remaining way is to chase him out without causing him to notice the presence of the spatial gate by leaking this information to the Soul Palace.'

'However, the thing is... I don't know if that Soul Emperor already found us but is just monitoring us for some reason. No, that's too naive of a thought. How could Soul Emperor Hadrian Cross let us get away like that? Even if he is supposedly injured, his cultivation is at High-Level Emperor Soul Stage, more than enough to kill me in an instant and take over the Grand Sea Continent and its inheritances.'

'Then... could it really be that I was moving right under his nose without him noticing me or us all this time...?'

Davis contemplated hard as if his life depended on it. He couldn't afford to be careless and began utilizing his overcautiousness to think of all sorts of scenarios where he might've gotten caught or treaded on the border of getting caught by that Soul Emperor.

Fortunately, he never traveled to the ends of the Desolate Plains out of pure curiosity, and he felt like patting his back for that. It truly would've been curiosity killing the cat, or there might be another scenario where he might've been caught by Soul Emperor Hadrian Cross instead of Soul King Garvin Woller, made into a forced disciple or something worse, a repeat of the time with his nemesis.

He didn't know which would be better, but he knew there's nothing good coming from a character who the Soul Palace chased as they were a righteous power, known to be second only to the Four Great Righteous Sects, but they were perhaps even equal. The only difference was they didn't interfere with other people's affairs like the Four Great Righteous Sects and maintained their credibility as a righteous power, striking only when heinous wicked path cultivators were on their act.

While Davis was thinking, a question abruptly welled up within him.

"Wait... If you know that Soul Emperor Hadrian Cross was hiding, does that mean that Ancestor Dian Alstreim and Ancestor Tirea Snow knew of it as well?"

Weren't they a part of the Tripartite Alliance? Surely, Ancestor Xanbas Goldsky wouldn't have been foolish enough to take on a Soul Emperor by himself if he found him on the Tripartite Alliance Territory.

"... Yes."

Came the answer, causing Davis to confirm his doubts.

He felt dissatisfied by their silence about this matter, but on second thought, considering the damage that this Blood Soul Contract had done to Ancestor Xanbas Goldsky, almost killing him miserably, he understood their silence.

'However, they could've still given me a hint or something, at least after they knew that I came from the anomaly located around the Desolate Plains...'

A bit of dissatisfaction still remained.

'Wait... Did they already know that the Soul Emperor wouldn't be interfering and so felt no need to inform me?'

"Is Soul Emperor Hadrian Cross in closed-door seclusion?" He couldn't help but ask to confirm his theories.

"... Yes."

"Is it due to the injuries or also due to something else?"

"... Yes, because of the injuries, but also because of hiding from the Soul Palace while it seemed as though he understood the danger of the Calamity Light..."

"Explain more detailedly."

Davis ordered with solemness.

"... When we three Ancestors of the Tripartite Alliance went to meet the Soul Emperor upon his call, we found that he had not fully healed but regained his cultivation to High-Level Emperor Soul Stage... We almost lost our lives there from Soul Emperor Hadrian Cross's aggression... However, that was the moment when the Calamity Light put a scenery in the skies of the Fifty-Two Territories. When the Soul Emperor saw the dark speck of light, he abandoned his aggression against us and gave us what he promised, a few methods to break into the King Soul Stage."

Ancestor Xanbas Goldsky slowly explained before Davis nodded his head in understanding.

"So that's what it was... preparing for the calamity..."

He could now understand why that Soul Emperor didn't bust him. It wasn't his luck but the pressing need that almost everyone at the Ninth Stage felt after the announcement of the Heaven Gazing Sect to prepare for the calamity.

"Good, if this were not the case, it might've led to a crack in the trust the Ancestors and I had built up until now..."

Davis felt relaxed as he felt like he had dodged a bullet there. He completely understood Ancestor Dian Alstreim and Ancestor Tirea Snow's silence regarding this matter since they might've felt that the Soul Emperor wouldn't be out of seclusion anytime soon. After all, when Ninth Stage Powerhouses enter seclusion, they might take at least a decade to come out.

That's why Ancestor Xanbas Goldsky going into seclusion would also result in widespread panic, but that was only if the sect itself was facing a problem. They didn't face any problems or disasters, so it could be said that no one would arrive to disturb him except that Elizar Yantra.

Nevertheless, Davis still pondered whether to leak the information about Soul Emperor Hadrian Cross's hideout. If he ever did so, he must prepare himself for the consequences as that Soul Emperor would want to take revenge on whoever leaked the information.

He gave his slave a new spatial ring filled with unneeded content but also many messaging talismans, of which one of them was connected to him before he turned around and uttered.

"Nadia, let's go."

"Yes."

Nadia simply replied, turning into her Dark-Winged Twilight Wolf form, shrouding herself in concealment before she took him off from here. The Towering Cloud Hall had yet to turn abuzz from the announcement of their Ancestor's seclusion while Davis and Nadia sneaked out the way they came, easily and stealthily....

They traveled west of the map, towards the Tripartite Alliance Territory for a while before meeting up with a black-robed, hooded figure.

"Seems like nothing happened. You said that you might test your might and kill him if a battle arises?"

A sweet yet teasing voice echoed from that character.

"Well, there was no need to fight an opponent I enslaved, right?"

Davis smiled at Isabella, who was wearing a veil while she had worn black robes to hide her purple hair and features. Isabella's mouth went agape as she became speechless.

"Really...?"

Davis smiled as he recounted.

"..."

Isabella remained speechless, but after she heard about their devious plan against Ancestor Dian Alstreim and Ancestor Tirea Snow, she became enraged.

"I hate scums like these people. Why can't they be merely satisfied with what they already have and have to go plunder from others instead of the natural wilderness, whether it be resources or women?"

"Isabella, it's unreasonable to reason with unreasonable people. Don't bother asking questions like these because they would wholeheartedly feel it is their right."

Davis shook his head before his gaze brightened, "Instead, we deal with unreasonable people by ridding them of their existence. Can't coexist? Well, they have no need to exist then..."

Isabella's lips curved, "That's what I thought as well... I'm glad that you enslaved that trash Xanbas. Personally, I wanted to teach him a lesson because he occasionally saw me with that strange gaze when the Aqua Flood Dragon attacked."

"Hehe," Davis laughed, agreeing with her, "There's no need to worry about that mindless person anymore. I am ready to play with that trash Elizar Yantra with the evidence I gained. However, there's an even more pressing matter than these two idiots. There's a Soul Emperor hiding near the spatial gate to the Grand Sea Continent."

Isabella's black pupils dilated.

"What!?"

"Well..."

Davis wryly explained his findings through enslaving Ancestor Xanbas Goldsky, causing Isabella to tremble.

"What the... I didn't think I was running around, unaware that such a person was right above me, capable of finding me anytime..."

"True. I had the same feeling, thinking what might've happened if we were found out, but fortunately, it seems like the Calamity Light that's supposed to bring disaster ruined his agenda to resurface and do whatever evil he might've thought about."

Davis raised his palm, "But that's not where the problem lies anymore... Do we leave him alone to his plans, or leak the information to the Soul Palace, or kill him by ourselves?"

Isabella pondered for a moment before she opened her rosy lips.

"He's a wicked path cultivator, right?"

"Most likely, yes." Davis nodded, "Otherwise, the entire Soul Palace wouldn't be hunting down their own who is such a massive asset."

"Then we kill him and take his resources."

Isabella's eyes turned cold as she raised her fist and clenched.

"It would immensely benefit you. Trust me. I can kill him with my fis-"

"Isabella, we can't decide so carelessly."

Davis shook his head to her enthusiasm, "I know you can kill him, but if we fail, there's no catching him. Do you know why he isn't caught? Because Soul Emperors are too fast to catch that even Peak-Level Ninth Stage Essence Gathering and Body Cultivation Powerhouses would find it difficult to keep up with them, and most importantly, they have mysterious attacking methods, Spirit Formations I have never heard of. If we take him on at his hideout, we may even fall at a disadvantage."

"For these reasons, not even the Patriarchs or the Ancestors of the Dragon Families would be willing to offend him."

Davis advised before he pursed his lips with a smile.

"However..."