"Dong Ye, listen to me carefully. Close the portal immediately. An Eternal is coming," Yuan said.
"What?! What about you, my liege?!"
"I cannot move my body right now, let alone leave. It's clear that this Eternal has business with me, and that it won't let me leave."
"Are you telling me to leave you to face a God alone?! Impossible! I will return to assist you!" Dong Ye exclaimed.
"Dong Ye, are you disobeying me right now?" Yuan spoke in a cold tone.
"That's not—"
"Even if you are here with me, what can you achieve? Can you fight a God?" Yuan interrupted in a cold tone. "No… I cannot…"
As much as he hated to admit it, Dong Ye stood no chance against an Eternal and would only be a burden.
A calm smile appeared on Yuan's face as he spoke, "Have you forgotten who I am? This isn't my first time dealing with them. I'll return once I deal with the Eternal." "I understand. Please, be safe, my liege."
The portal started closing the very next moment, leaving Yuan stranded in the Primordial Chaos with the remaining soldiers of Heaven's Mandate and an incoming Eternal.
"Where is Yuan? Why did you close the portal?" Xiao Cangming demanded after seeing the portal close, his expression darkening into a deep frown as killing intent flickered in his sharp gaze.
"I swear… If you'd betrayed us…"
Xiao Meilin and the others subconsciously reached for their weapons.
"Don't you dare mock me! Even if it's you, I won't stand for such slander!" Dong Ye snapped back, his voice full of anger.
"Then why the hell did you—"
"It was his liege who commanded me to close the portal! He was halted by a God before he could enter the portal!" "What?! An Eternal appeared?!" Xiao Cangming's eyes widened with disbelief. "Then we need to go back and—"
"And do what?! We may be powerful, but we're nothing but ants in the eyes of these Gods! Only his liege has the power to face them!"
Xiao Cangming fell silent at Dong Ye's words, the tone of defeat in his voice leaving no room for response.
"We'd only get in his way if we were there," Dong Ye continued with a deep sigh. "The only thing we can do now is wait for his return."
"Hey, let me go."
A voice suddenly resounded.
"What?" Dong Ye turned to look at Mu Xuelian, who'd just spoken. "Did you not hear what I just—"
"You may not be able to handle an Eternal, but don't compare me to you mortals."
"What the hell are you…?"
"There is an Eternal residing in her body," said Xiao Cangming.
"What?!" Dong Ye jumped in a startled manner.
After snapping out of his daze, Dong Ye spoke, "In that case, you might be able to help my liege!"
"Help? You're misunderstanding something. I won't be helping him."
Dong Ye frowned at her words, but before he could say anything, Mu Xuelian, now controlled by Shiva, continued, "I am an observer—his observer, so I want to witness his fight with the Eternal. That brat dared to claim that he could put Eternals to sleep, so I want to witness it myself."
"With that being said, if he begs me to save his life, I might consider it."
Dong Ye gritted his teeth when he saw Shiva's sadistic expression.
"What are you waiting for? Hurry up. I don't want to miss the show," she urged him.
"Fuck! Whatever!" Dong Ye activated the treasure, creating a portal that led back to Yuan.
Without hesitation, Shiva walked into the portal,
"Are you sure that was a wise move?" Xiao Meilin asked.
"What else was I supposed to do? If she's really a God, nobody here can defy her. Also, despite what she said, I doubt she'd really let him die."
Xiao Cangming nodded in agreement, "I don't know why she's following Yuan, but I'm sure she won't let him die so easily."
Meanwhile, Yuan let out a deep sigh as the portal closed before him. He then shifted his gaze toward the soldiers who had taken the opportunity to surround him while his movements were restricted.
"I don't know why you didn't escape while you had the chance, but you won't be going anywhere now," said the commander.
Yuan smiled and calmly responded, "If you guys value your lives, you should leave while you still can."
"Still acting tough? I don't know what martial technique you used to restrict our movements, but I bet it'd exhausted your cultivation, and I doubt you will be able to do it again. Maybe it's the reason why you cannot move right now."
Suddenly, the space before Yuan twisted.
"What the?" Yuan's eyes widened as the portal that had closed moments ago reopened, and a beautiful figure emerged from it.
"Mu Xuelian…? No… Shiva." Yuan mumbled after seeing her beautiful face. "What are you doing, coming back here?"
"Did you really think I would give up the opportunity to watch you clash against an Eternal?" Shiva responded as the portal closed behind her. "Don't worry, I won't ruin your fun, as I am only here as a spectator."
"How twisted." Yuan sighed.
"I don't know what the hell is going on, but—" The commander began, only to be cut off as an unfathomable pressure suddenly descended, crushing the air around him.
"W-What the hell is this pressure?!" he exclaimed in a terrified voice, his body trembling uncontrollably. It wasn't just him. Every single soldier there was shaking like they were naked in a blizzard.
"Speaking of the devil…" Shiva mumbled with a calm smile on her face.
"You had your chance to leave, but alas…" Yuan sighed.
"Run! Get away from here as soon as possible!" The commander roared, shouting at his soldiers.
Yet, none of the soldiers left, as they were all frozen in fear.
As the pressure intensified, agonized screams resounded. One by one, the soldiers' bodies began to swell like overfilled balloons until they burst apart in a gruesome chain reaction, starting with those of the weakest cultivation.