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*****
During this period of time, as far as Xue Aotian was concerned, what Su Wen had done was not a single bit lesser than if he had brought this news to the Snow God Mountain ahead of time.
Moreover, even if Su Wen had arrived at the Snow God Mountain early on, Xue Aotian probably wouldn't have believed him even if he said so.
Everything was done to the best of one's ability.
Su Wen's strength had been weak before. For his own safety, he had delayed delivering the news by two years, which Xue Aotian understood completely.
However, the news Su Wen brought made Xue Aotian's heart heavy.
The Lord of the Netherworld was actually already able to communicate with the outside world, and he was currently completely unaware of this fact. The Lord of the Netherworld had even begun to seduce some powerful Heavenly Jewel Masters.
Just how many people had he communicated with?
This was something Xue Aotian could not be certain of.
Xue Aotian, who previously had no independent right to make a decision, decided at this moment to agree to Su Wen's request.
"Come with me."
Xue Aotian led Su Wen into the deepest depths of the Snow God Mountain, the place where the most powerful Heavenly Beasts of the Snow God Mountain resided.
After witnessing several Heavenly Emperor-tier Heavenly Beasts, Su Wen was led by Xue Aotian to the very depths of this mountain cave.
"I am sorry for disturbing you all. It is a matter of great urgency this time, and I need to contact you." Xue Aotian's expression softened as he called out to his closest companion into the darkness.
At this moment, the surrounding light began to shift.
Stepping forward, a completely translucent Heavenly Beast appeared before Su Wen and Xue Aotian. It was a grey-black tiger-type Heavenly Beast no more than two meters long. Its grey fur was as bright as satin, its body possessed a sense of translucency, and the character for 'King' on its forehead gleamed with a crystal-clear brilliance.
Xue Aotian revealed an excited and thrilled expression. He stepped forward, dropped to one knee, and opened his arms to embrace this grey-black tiger.
This tiger-type Heavenly Beast was precisely Tian'er's mother, and also Xue Aotian's wife, Filia.
"Aotian, I missed you so much."
Filia's gaze was soft as she looked at Xue Aotian with a touch of deep attachment.
Su Wen did not break the warmth of this moment.
Filia had sacrificed herself to guard the seal for the sake of the entire world, and now that she finally had a rare chance to meet her husband, it wouldn't be right for him to interrupt.
After a long time, the attachment in Filia's eyes finally receded.
It wasn't that she was hard-hearted; her eyes still held lingering affection, yet she knew her duties.
"Aotian, did you wake me up for something specific this time? Also, who is this person?"
Filia could instinctively sense Su Wen's aura. It was extremely powerful, enough to even pose a threat to her.
She had no idea that a new Heavenly God-tier powerhouse had actually emerged on the continent in just a few short years.
In reality, Su Wen had only reached the Heavenly God tier in terms of combat power. His true realm was still only at the Heavenly Emperor tier, specifically at the fifth stage of Saint Energy, the primary stage of a Heavenly Emperor.
However, the presence of Saint Energy gave Su Wen an aura that was far beyond what an ordinary Heavenly Emperor could ever achieve.
"This is Su Wen. Nowadays, everyone on the continent addresses him as Master Su."
"Master Su?" Filia's eyes looked blank. She clearly hadn't expected such a formidable figure to appear in just a few short years.
She knew her husband's pride very well. For him to introduce someone so earnestly, and to use the title that everyone on the continent used when introducing him, meant that he himself acknowledged it. Furthermore, it confirmed that almost everyone on the continent truly addressed Su Wen as Master Su.
Just what kind of person could become a master to everyone on the entire continent?
"He founded the Academy, established the Academy Realm, and connected every corner of the continent. He utilizes the Academy Realm to spread cultivation knowledge and theories. Although it has only been a year since the Academy Realm was established, the strength of the entire Heavenly Jewel Master community can be said to have risen by an entire level. Due to the short amount of time, the impact on high-level Heavenly Jewel Masters isn't obvious yet, but in just one year, the number of Heavenly Masters on the continent has at least doubled, and the number of Heavenly Sovereigns has increased by fifty percent. They all broke through with the help of the cultivation knowledge he spread."
Filia listened quietly to Xue Aotian's description, the shock in her eyes impossible to contain.
"In fact, this is just a quantitative change. Over time, the number of Heavenly Jewel Masters at every level will experience a massive growth. Within ten years, I am certain that the number of Heavenly Kings will also increase by fifty percent, and a batch of Heavenly Monarch powerhouses will even emerge."
"Of course, these are just quantitative changes; there is also a tremendous upgrade in quality. Nowadays, the average number of skills stored by a Heavenly Jewel Master's Elemental Jewels is one more than before, and it is even a skill one tier higher than their own level!"
This meant that the strength of every Heavenly Jewel Master, even at the same level, was drastically enhanced compared to the past.
One could well imagine Su Wen's impact on the entire continent.
It was precisely because of this that Xue Aotian did not hold much wariness toward Su Wen, directly bringing him here and waking his wife.
If Su Wen were a bad person or someone on the Lord of the Netherworld's side, then with just a single word from him, the entire continent would truly fall completely. When that time came, even the Snow God Mountain would find it hard to guarantee holding this place, and the seal on the Lord of the Netherworld would be destroyed as well.
Therefore, Su Wen actually had no motive to deceive Xue Aotian into bringing him here.
Having finished introducing Su Wen, Xue Aotian's tone began to turn serious.
Filia also knew that her husband was about to get down to proper business, and she listened intently.
"Su Wen brought a very important piece of information this time. He was once approached by the Lord of the Netherworld in a spatial rift, and the Lord of the Netherworld also enticed him to help him break free from the seal."
What!
Filia's heart shook violently.
The Lord of the Netherworld had established contact with the outside world?
And it happened under circumstances where none of them, the guardians, had noticed anything.
How could this be.
Furthermore, the Lord of the Netherworld was actually still enticing others.
Fortunately, Su Wen had resisted the temptation and had even brought this news to the Snow God Mountain.
"Master Su, thank you very much for this."
Regardless of what the absolute truth was, Filia was deeply grateful to Su Wen for passing this information along.
"I actually have my own agenda. I hope to feel the aura of the Lord of the Netherworld up close. I'm not asking to open the seal or enter it; I only need to see the formation that seals him," Su Wen said calmly.
Filia frowned.
The massive grey tiger was clearly somewhat displeased.
Even Xue Aotian had only entered that place when he achieved the Heavenly God tier and saw the seal of the Lord of the Netherworld. Only then was he shocked by the whole truth, choosing to ignore worldly affairs and focus solely on cultivation.
Now that Su Wen wanted to observe the seal of the Lord of the Netherworld, the risk was by no means small.
It wasn't that they distrusted Su Wen's character, but rather that the Lord of the Netherworld's corruption of people was extremely high.
Su Wen had been able to resist the temptation before, but what about now?
Moreover, people in this world were not just black and white; there also existed a grey area.
Su Wen could be confirmed as not black, meaning he hadn't completely sided with the Lord of the Netherworld, but what if he was grey?