Chapter 1298: Say, Where Is Your Main Force?

A dark shadow, formed by Fleet Three, appeared over the Great Xia Imperial City. The city's inhabitants looked up in panic, realizing the enemy had reached their doorstep.

The three wealthiest locations in the Imperial City were the Imperial Palace, the Luodi Jinqian Merchant Association, and the Meng family's ancestral home; these were Fleet Three's targets.

Before Fleet Three could make a move, the Imperial Guards, the Merchant Association's Venerables, and the Meng family elders—three distinct forces—emerged simultaneously.

Fleet Three's commander was taken aback. "How can so many of them fly?" he exclaimed. "Attack! Don't let them get close! Full attack!"

Two hundred maximum-power energy beams simultaneously struck the three groups of cultivators, instantly creating dense smoke and billowing dust.

Seeing the natives foolishly make no attempt to dodge, the commander's surprise turned to delight. "Foolish natives," he scoffed, "they don't even evade attacks they've never seen!" He then felt a pang of regret; he shouldn't have ordered a full assault. Using energy beams against such simple targets was a waste.

From within the dense smoke, an Imperial Guard's voice called out, "Everyone be careful! They might be using these smoke bombs to ambush us!"

As the smoke cleared, the three forces stood back-to-back in a defensive circle, anticipating the fleet's next move. Given the unknown attack methods of the Candle Sky Civilization, they believed it was impossible to be too cautious.

They summoned various weapons and used their spiritual power to bind the space around them.

However, after waiting for a while, they still didn't perceive the fleet's actual attack. Could it be that the enemy only knew how to deploy smoke bombs?

They cautiously moved closer and found that it was as if time had stopped: every soldier in the fleet was frozen in place. Some had wide-open mouths, others had fallen to the ground, and some were suspended mid-leap, yet none could move.

"Do they lack any means to counteract the power of rules?" asked a puzzled Meng family elder. When cultivators at the Body Integration stage engaged in combat, they typically used rule-based probes to gauge an opponent's capabilities. He couldn't comprehend why the enemy became immobile so quickly after the initial probing.

The Merchant Association's Venerables felt a touch of embarrassment. They were sustained and trained by the association daily, specifically to defend it during crucial moments. They had anticipated that this surprise attack by the Candle Sky Civilization would finally allow them to perform their duties. Yet, who could have imagined the Candle Sky Civilization would be so weak? They felt a twinge of guilt accepting their monthly stipend from the association.

"What? The Candle Sky Civilization can't even handle rule power?" The battle had unfolded so rapidly that the city's inhabitants were still reeling from their initial panic.

Someone's quantum communicator vibrated; it was a message from a friend at Xitian Temple. He answered the call, and a novice monk greeted him, "Benefactor, prepare for a grand sight! The Candle Sky Civilization's warships have arrived here!"

Hearing this, people nearby gathered, huddling together to witness the situation at Xitian Temple.

They saw Abbot Mingyu manifest the Immovable Wisdom King dharma body. His form, thousands of yards tall and radiating a golden Buddhist glow, compelled onlookers to prostrate themselves in reverence.

Abbot Mingyu then manifested the Thousand-Armed Guanyin dharma body. The two forms merged, and the Immovable Wisdom King dharma body grew a thousand arms, each hand gripping a warship.

All two hundred warships were held in Abbot Mingyu's hands, like a child playing with toys.

The fleet soldiers, with blank expressions, knelt on the ground, bowing and prostrating themselves before the Immovable Wisdom King, chanting the "Immovable Wisdom King Sutra"—a text they had never even heard of before.

Fleet Four's commander was paralyzed with fear. None of their attacks caused any damage to the Immovable Wisdom King dharma body, and their soldiers, ignoring all commands, collectively converted to Buddhism.

"Calling Fleet Five! We've encountered a monster here!"

A static hiss—the communicator displayed Fleet Five's situation. Fleet Five's commander gave a bitter laugh. "A monster? Is it as terrifying as what we're facing?"

Faced with the fleet's surprise attack, Demon Emperor Zhu Tian decisively transformed into his true form, Dijiang—headless, tailless, spherical, entirely blood-red, and with six wings on his back.

If Zhu Tian's true form were merely palm-sized, anyone would describe it as adorable. However, his actual body was larger than a mountain, his six wings could eclipse the sun, and the width of his surface patterns was comparable to that of a warship.

Their attacks couldn't even singe Zhu Tian's fur.

One by one, demon kings and emperors ascended, transforming into their true forms. Demonic qi steamed above the Demon City, exuding an aura of despair.

The citizens of the Demon City cheered, praising Demon Emperor Zhu Tian as wise and mighty, which pleased Zhu Tian immensely.

Zhu Tian reverted to his human form, kicked open Fleet Five's command ship, and with one hand, he lifted the commander, questioning him sharply:

"Tell me, where is your main force?!"

The commander was bewildered by Zhu Tian's question. "Main force? We *are* the main force."

Zhu Tian wasn't easily fooled by such an obvious lie. He sneered and slapped the commander directly. "Still daring to lie to me? Such a weak fleet calls itself the main force? You can't even lie convincingly!"

"You must be the reconnaissance unit. Tell me, where is the main force?!"

The commander, in despair, replied, "We truly are the main force."

Seeing the opponent's defiance, Zhu Tian no longer held back. He activated the nascent form of the "survival of the fittest" Dao Fruit, directly taking control of the commander.

Yet, the commander's answer remained consistent: they were indeed the main force, and the elite troops of the Candle Sky Civilization.

Zhu Tian, somewhat perplexed, contacted Emperor Xia, the Old Dragon Emperor, Abbot Mingyu, the Snow Emperor, and Lu Yang, the representatives of the major powers.

The Old Dragon Emperor's scales vibrated, indicating his quantum communicator was ringing. He casually dropped the command ship, then carefully used a dragon claw to tap the call button, fearing he might damage the device.

"Here's the situation: the warship commander on my end insists they are the main force. My analysis suggests he's likely under some form of psychological suggestion or hypnosis, causing him to genuinely believe he's telling the truth and that they are the main force."

Emperor Xia and the others nodded in agreement, finding Zhu Tian's analysis plausible. They reasoned that a cosmic overlord couldn't possibly be so weak and decided not to drop their guard.

The Snow Emperor, seeing the background of Zhu Tian and the others—amidst raging battles, with citizens singing their praises as great heroes—felt a surge of annoyance. "Why didn't the warships come to our extreme northern lands?" he grumbled.

Emperor Xia and Zhu Tian silently observed the Snow Emperor, and even Abbot Mingyu's gaze seemed peculiar, the implication clear.

Lu Yang, who was guarding the entrance to the cultivation world, heard Zhu Tian's analysis and his eye twitched. "Is there a chance," he pondered, "that the Candle Sky Civilization isn't as powerful as we imagined?"

He had kept that thought to himself for a long time.

"That can't be right," Zhu Tian countered, a rare instance of disagreement with Lu Yang. "They're a cosmic overlord, and their leader is even called the 'Heavenly Emperor.' That title alone implies immense power; I wouldn't even dare to use it for myself."

Lu Yang seemed to sense something and turned his head slightly.

"What's wrong, Brother Lu?"

Lu Yang squinted, focusing his gaze on the vast starry sky. "Quite a few warships are approaching from that direction," he observed, "and they don't seem to be friendly."

Zhu Tian was highly excited. "No doubt about it," he declared. "They're brazenly attacking our cultivation world; this must be their main force!"

As they neared the cultivation world, communications finally stabilized, allowing Shi Wumian to contact his commander.

"Lord Shi, flee quickly! The natives here are all monsters!"

"Help! Please help!"

"A dragon! A dragon! A dragon!"

Communications ceased one after another, leaving them unaware of what was happening on the other end.

Shi Wumian finally realized just how dangerous the cultivation world truly was and frantically shouted, "Turn around immediately!"

Lu Yang then showed Zhu Tian and the others the Biluo Heavenly Legion, which was now turning around.

"It seems their main force has been scared off by you."