Minutes after Heaven's Mandate's retreat, another portal appeared, and a familiar figure emerged from it.
"My liege! We're here to assist you!" Dong Ye's voice could be heard even before his body fully emerged from the portal.
However, when he came out and saw the empty scene, Dong Ye turned to look at Yuan with a puzzled face.
He wasn't alone, as the Shadow Army came with him, and they were just as puzzled. They were even prepared to fight to the death with Heaven's Mandate.
"My liege, what happened to Heaven's Mandate?" he asked.
Yuan responded with a calm smile, "They ran away."
"What? Run away? Heaven's Mandate?" Dong Ye's eyes widened with surprise.
He didn't even know such a thing was possible.
After a moment of silence, he asked, "Do you happen to know which squad they belonged to?"
"The Second Squad. Why does that matter?" Yuan asked with curiosity.
"The Second Squad?! You actually forced the Second Squad to retreat by yourself?! You're amazing, my liege!" Dong Ye exclaimed with excitement.
He proceeded to explain, "There are thirteen squads in Heaven's Mandate, and the Second Squad is the third strongest, only below the First Squad and the Elite Squad."
"Is that so? Well, they were pretty weak."
"Maybe that is the case for you, but my liege, you cannot compare yourself to the average person. Even the entire Shadow Army would have trouble dealing with the Second Squad."
"How much stronger is the First and Elite Squad?" Yuan then asked.
"The First Squad consists of a single Ninth Level God Ascension expert as its commander, with 20,000 soldiers between the first and fourth level God Ascension. As for the Elite Squad, they have fewer than five hundred soldiers, but each one is at least at the fifth level of God Ascension," he explained.
"There's even a rumor that their commander is a Cultivation God."
"Only a rumor? Has nobody seen their commander?"
"The Elite Squad is a highly secretive group even within the Celestial Emperor's circle, after all. Moreover, they have never been deployed before."
"I see," Yuan said. "Anyway, let's leave."
Dong Ye nodded, but before leaving, he asked, noticing that a particular individual was missing, "By the way, what happened to that woman Mu Xuelian?"
Yuan shrugged and said, "She left while I was fighting."
"What?!" Dong Ye exclaimed in disbelief. "She actually ran away and left you behind?! Even after everything she said?!"
Yuan smiled and spoke to him through voice transmission, "It didn't happen while I was fighting Heaven's Mandate, but during my fight with the Eternal. Things were looking very bad at the end, so I don't really blame her for leaving."
"That's even worse! To think she'd abandon you during your fight against a God! I thought she was a God, too!" "She may be an Eternal, but she doesn't have her true body, and without it, there's no way she could fight against another Eternal. Anyway, let's leave before more reinforcements arrive."
They left through the portal shortly after and regrouped with the Asura Clan.
"Master Tian! You're back!" Xiao Meilin smiled brightly upon his return.
"How was the fight against the Eternal?" Xiao Cangming asked with a curious gaze.
"You won't believe who I fought," said Yuan.
Xiao Cangming raised an eyebrow and asked, "Who?"
"The same bastard who tried to steal the Spirit Tree and injured you."
"What!"
Yuan proceeded to recall the whole event to them.
"Even though that bastard was only using ten percent of his strength, I was barely able to defeat him. When he used twenty percent of his strength, I was powerless even after refining the essence of the void. I still have a long way to go."
"What are your plans now?" Xiao Cangming asked.
"I need to regain my original strength as fast as possible. To do that, I'll need to find whatever my previous incarnations left behind."
Xiao Cangming then said, "In that case, I have something for you."
He reached inside his spatial ring and retrieved a small jade token in the shape of a sword, and continued, "You also left this behind when you visited me as the Immortal Monarch."
"What's this?" Yuan asked with a puzzled face, as he still doesn't recall such memories.
Xiao Cangming shrugged, "Beats me, but it seems to be a key to something."
"A key, huh?" Yuan accepted the sword token.
The moment Yuan touched the token, it started to shimmer, and memories started flowing inside his head.
"Yuan?" Xiao Cangming called out to him when he suddenly froze with a blank look on his face.
A few minutes later, Yuan blinked a few times.
"I remember now," he said with a profound smile.
"What did you remember?"
"The purpose of this token, as well as the Spirit Tree's origin and what it's meant for."
"Oh?"
"I'll tell you about this sword token now, but as for the Spirit Tree, I'll tell you once it's fully grown," said Yuan.
"The Spirit Tree is still growing?" He nodded, "In order for the Spirit Tree to mature, a certain treasure is required, and this key will lead me to it."
"When will you be leaving?" Xiao Cangming then asked.
"Right now."
Xiao Meilin suddenly spoke, "I already know your answer, but I still want to ask… can I follow you?"
"Not right now since the place I will be going is a little unique, and I plan to climb to the Ninth Heaven soon."
Despite the rejection, Xiao Meilin showed excitement, as Yuan had implied she would be able to follow him soon.
"In that case, stay safe!" she said.
"In the meantime, we'll stay here as planned," said Xiao Cangming. "Not only do I need to recover my strength, but the Celestial Emperor will probably be looking for us."
Dong Ye then spoke in a confident voice, "As long as you stay here, not even the Celestial Emperor will be able to find us."
Yuan nodded, "Then I'll be leaving now. Dong Ye, can you teleport me to the Eighth Heaven? Anywhere near a city with a teleportation device will do."
"Of course."
Some time later, Dong Ye created a portal for Yuan.
"What a convenient treasure," Yuan remarked.
Dong Ye chuckled and said, "Well, it belonged to the Celestial Emperor before we stole it."
"No wonder it's so similar to the one used by Heaven's Mandate." Yuan also laughed.
"See you later, my liege. If you need anything, just contact me."
"Alright."
Yuan said as he entered the portal and returned to the Eighth Heaven.