The situation was dire.
Normal progress was no longer sufficient for Chen Fan.
The Million Calamity had arrived, and he needed to consolidate his forces at a much faster pace.
He would not allow the lower ten lands to be breached so easily.
By relying on the lower ten lands to wear down the forces of the upper nine heavens, he would have a chance to enter the upper nine heavens and seize the final divine weapon.
Boom!
A group of three traveled through the Fifth Land.
No one stopped them.
Above the Fifth Land, there were also rifts, and powerful individuals were working to mend them.
Chen Fan merely glanced and withdrew his gaze; the Fifth Land was the only place he had no need to worry about.
If any powerful beings descended here, countless lives would likely be lost.
"Roar."
Another lunatic appeared.
Time was short, and there was no time to waste on the road.
The group moved rapidly through the Fifth Land, bypassing numerous madmen and heading south.
After a day of travel, the group finally reached the border of the Fifth Land.
"Hmm?"
The moment Chen Fan stepped into this area, he froze.
What was going on?
A world had appeared before them.
"A world?"
Chen Fan looked at the world blocking the exit with confusion, falling silent.
This world was a ninth-tier great world.
"Are you alive?"
Chen Fan murmured to himself, inaudible to anyone else.
No one answered him.
The Evil Lord and Shadow remained silent.
Boom.
A burst of aura pressed forward.
With a 'thump,' the ninth-tier great world opened.
When fellow cultivators of the same tier knock on the door, anyone must treat it with caution.
An elder emerged from within the world.
"City Lord Chen."
The elder recognized Chen Fan.
Chen Fan also recognized the elder and cupped his fists, saying, "Senior Zhi Wang, I apologize for this presumptuous intrusion; I hope you will forgive me."
When facing a ninth-tier expert, courtesy was essential.
Zhi Wang repeatedly stated he dared not accept, then said, "The Azure Heaven Dao Master said you would come here and specifically asked me to relay a message to the City Lord."
"Please speak."
Chen Fan was not surprised at all.
He already knew about the situation in the Fifth Land, he just hadn't told anyone else.
"The Azure Heaven Dao Master said that City Lord Chen need not come. Preparations have already been made there."
"Who?"
Chen Fan frowned.
Did this mean someone had unified the first four lands?
The elder continued calmly, "I believe the City Lord has heard of that person's name. This person is called... Lord Lei."
"What?"
The two words, Lord Lei, made Chen Fan's expression instantly change.
More than that, he was shocked.
"Lord Lei, which Lord Lei?" he asked subconsciously.
The elder smiled, "Spanning the nine heavens and ten lands, besides that person, who else would dare to call themselves Lord Lei?"
"No."
Chen Fan frowned, "Lord Lei is already dead..."
He couldn't finish his sentence and, with no one to stop him, fell silent on his own.
Lord Lei, who could have been a powerful existence with a place in the upper three heavens.
But due to his grievances with the Lord of Light, Lord Lei chose the tenth land, the weakest and most barren territory in the nine heavens and ten lands.
Before, Chen Fan hadn't reacted much, but now, hearing the elder's words, he understood.
Someone as brilliant and outstanding as Lord Lei must possess immense magnanimity.
You dare to offend me, and I will kill you.
This was the way of Lord Lei.
To torment the Lord of Light, who was pitifully weak in his eyes, would be beneath his status.
"Perhaps, Lord Lei was just looking for an excuse," Chen Fan guessed.
The Lord of Light was Lord Lei's excuse.
He then thought, "But why would he do this?"
After a moment of thought, he found the answer: "The Chaos Race."
Lord Lei was also of the Chaos Race. In the nine heavens and ten lands, the status of Chaos Beasts was too low; they lived only to serve humanity.
Trials, food, treasures... this was the status of the Chaos Race in the eyes of humans.
Lord Lei was unwilling to accept this, which led to his entry into the lower ten lands and the act of rebelling against the heavens.
Lord Lei wished to carve out an eternal blue sky for the Chaos Race with his own hands.
If this battle were won, with Lord Lei's achievements cultivated over countless years, even if the future nine heavens and ten lands were still ruled by humanity, the Chaos Race could still be treated well.
Understood.
Everything was now clear.
The one killed by the Lord of Light and others back then might have been merely an avatar of Lord Lei.
"Heh."
Thinking of this, Chen Fan let out a wry laugh.
This person was truly a brilliant and outstanding individual.
"I understand."
Chen Fan cupped his fists, "Thank you, senior, for informing me."
Now it seemed that Qi Nan and Shu Yuan from the Lei Domain back then were likely subordinates of Lord Lei.
And the Supreme Sovereign Wu Ji was likely a wisp of Lord Lei's will.
Lord Lei should also be aware of his existence.
"Let's go back."
Since Lord Lei had unified the first four lands, there was no need for him to go there.
It could be foreseen that Lord Lei would undoubtedly stand with the lower ten lands.
"Let's go."
They came quickly and left just as fast.
Crack.
Rifts continued to appear above the Fifth Land.
For every one that was destroyed, a larger one would appear.
The cultivators of the Fifth Land, those of seventh and eighth tier, struck from the air, continuously destroying the rapidly appearing rifts.
The ninth-tier experts sat in the central court, their auras blazing like the sun.
The number of ninth-tier experts here was greater than in any of the lands Chen Fan had passed through.
With more powerful beings, their confidence was naturally higher.
Here, no one paid attention to Chen Fan; everyone had their own tasks to attend to.
Rumble.
Only the sounds of booming echoed incessantly in the sky above the Fifth Land.
Swish.
The three turned into streaks of silver light.
Under the gaze of countless individuals, they departed once more.
...
The Sixth Land.
When Chen Fan and his companions returned to the Sixth Land, many cast confused glances their way.
"Back again?"
The three did not stop.
With 'Zhan' guarding the Sixth Land, there was no need for them to worry.
Let alone Zhan, even the other two ninth-tier experts were incredibly powerful.
Currently, the spatial rifts in the Sixth Land had reached a point where ten would appear at once.
It was very dangerous.
The speed at which rifts appeared was not only accelerating but they were also becoming increasingly vast.
It seemed that the influence of the upper nine heavens was penetrating deeper and deeper.
"Whoosh."
Silver light flashed again.
The Seventh Land... Chen Fan and the two entered.
"Hmm?"
The Mountain Lord and the Cloud Sea Dao Master, who were stationed in the central court, cast questioning glances immediately.
"City Lord Chen."
The voice of the Cloud Sea Dao Master, crossing an infinite distance, reached them: "Did you not enter the Fourth Land?"
The Mountain Lord was also very puzzled.
"There's no need to go."
Chen Fan did not conceal anything from the two of them.
On the surface, the two of them were unlikely to be from the upper nine heavens.
Of course, whether this was truly the case was still up for debate.
However, at least these two could be trusted by City Lord Chen.
"Why?" the Cloud Sea Dao Master asked, confused.
Chen Fan thought for a moment and replied, "A defense system has already been established there, so I don't need to go."
He did not mention Lord Lei, merely briefly explaining the situation.
He stated that a powerful individual had unified the first four lands.
"That's good then."
The Cloud Sea Dao Master and the Mountain Lord both breathed a sigh of relief.
This meant that the force opposing the upper nine heavens had increased.
The Million Calamity had arrived too suddenly.
The situation in the Seventh Land was not optimistic, but for now, it was still manageable.