Wait, How Did My Digital Girlfriend Become a Sword Immortal? Chapter 824: Unfolding the Worldview

Previously on Wait, How Did My Digital Girlfriend Become a Sword Immortal?...
Wu E's Divine Soul suffered severe injury upon returning to his body after the shattering of the Divine Descent, leaving him in agonizing pain and weakened. Reflecting on Chen Huaian's unexpected strength, he dismissed suspicions of him being a variable or the Dragon Soul inheritor amid thoughts of the reincarnation cycles and the Divine Lords' schemes. Summoned by Great Immortal Huang, Wu E revealed his breakthrough to Earth Immortal after devouring Chen Niu, then journeyed through the chaotic Blissful Wasteland to face the awakened Divine Joy Emperor, who interrogated him harshly about the failure to obtain high-grade Celestial Essence in the Mortal Realm.

...

"Haven't succeeded yet? What exactly do you mean!?"

The Divine Joy Emperor kept his face impassive.

Just the toad under him fixed furious stares.

"During earlier cycles, you managed to deliver at least ten Celestial Essences to me. This time around, the harvest of Celestial Essence has dropped... yet you ought to have secured at least five, isn't that so?"

Wu E felt deep inner distress.

Five? Hah!

Curse it, we didn't manage to grab even one.

"On this occasion, numerous unforeseen events cropped up," Wu E explained with great care. "A bunch of variables showed up. They snatched away a huge quantity of Celestial Essence. At the same time, the forces from Kunlun Immortal Palace proved incredibly formidable. Chen Niu and I both suffered heavy wounds fighting those variables, which is why we couldn't claim a single Celestial Essence...However... however, we still possess an opportunity!"

When Wu E brought up the variables, the Divine Joy Emperor's gaze sharpened just a bit.

Were these the variables the Divine Lords had long been seeking?

Wu E had no clue about the Divine Lords' grand objective.

Yet as someone nearer to the Divine Lords, he grasped some key insights.

The Divine Lords kept launching these cycles purely to attain transcendence.

In this boundless Cosmos, Earth Star wasn't the sole realm.

To keep boosting their power and evolve into greater beings, transcendence beyond the world became essential.

Right now, the Divine Lords seemed caught in that hazy boundary between world and universe.

They had transcended the world but not the universe. Surpassing the universe would unlock a whole new realm, embodying far grander dominion.

Divine Immortals were nothing but insects wielding the laws of heaven and earth.

The Divine Lords aimed to seize the laws of the universe, emerging as the supreme rulers over every form of life and society!

Oh! Such an awe-inspiring scheme.

Merely contemplating his role in it sent shivers through his mind!

Thus, the variables held utmost significance for the Divine Lords.

The Divine Lords learned that relentless suppression carried a tiny chance for a civilization to birth a deviant who could drive the whole civilization's advancement.

For the Divine Lords, though, no such pressures remained. Inside the world's framework, they stood as unbeatable powers.

Hence, they sought to spark variables through repeated cycles, repeated annihilation of mighty civilizations laden with karma.

Afterward, examine those variables, drawing insights for their own leaps forward.

Yet vital as the variables were, the absence of top-tier Celestial Essence spelled real trouble.

To forge a brutally tough setting, the Divine Lords had stripped away every resource.

Only through groveling and fulfilling the Divine Lords' assignments could they snag even a scrap of provisions from those mighty hands.

Their immortal existences dangled entirely in the Divine Lords' control.

As a result, supplies in the Immortal Realm stayed desperately limited. High-grade Celestial Essence ranked as the prime asset.

The gap between Immortal Realm and Mortal Realm boiled down to Spiritual Energy density and command over the world's laws.

In the Mortal Realm, those laws floated freely, unclaimed.

In the Immortal Realm, though, beyond the Wild Immortals lacking immortal ranks, anyone with an immortal post wielded a 'Dao,' akin to dominating some facet of world law.

The Immortal Realm brimmed not solely with Immortal Qi; Spiritual Energy filled it too. Mortals turned that into True Essence through cultivation.

Immortals, however, converted it to superior Immortal Essence. This Immortal Essence embodied their command and insight into the Dao. Against mortal cultivators, it struck like a blow from another dimension. Just those at Great Ascension Stage with deep Dao mastery could offer faint resistance to immortals.

And those rare cultivators typically lined up as immortality prospects.

At present, without high-grade Celestial Essence for his Four Great Demon Immortals, the Blissful Wasteland's Demon Immortals could only draw on the faint Spiritual Energy leaking from the land to bolster themselves later on.

That meager trickle fell woefully short.

Once all nine Wells of Heaven burst fully open, their Spiritual Energy would flow mostly to the Immortal Realm. The Mortal Realm on Earth Star would keep just a fraction. Then the Immortal Realm would truly earn its title.

Even so, the Immortal Realm's Spiritual Energy levels would barely suffice for the Wild Immortals.

Beyond Earth Immortal level, they required far purer Spiritual Energy for any headway.

For cultivators in the Mortal Realm, Celestial Essence resembled a Spiritual Energy lode. Yet for immortals past Earth Immortal, it acted like the energy core in a Spirit Gathering Formation.

No need to sow Celestial Essence to grow it into a lode—such purity wouldn't cut it.

Rather, they absorbed straight the faint pure Spiritual Energy that naturally leaked from the Celestial Essence mass.

Thus! Lacking high-grade Celestial Essence, the Blissful Wasteland faced no prospects and could never rival Lingxiao's immortals!

"What opportunity do you see? Speak up."

The Divine Joy Emperor barely reined in the urge to flatten Wu E with a single strike.

Usable Demon Immortals already ran scarce. Wu E had wrecked Chen Niu. Slay another, and one vanished forever.

"We ought to ally with the variables!" Wu E dropped a bombshell.

So startling that the Divine Joy Emperor stood dumbfounded for ages.

Only after a prolonged pause did he mumble, "Are you aware of your words?"

Alliance between pursuer and quarry?

The Divine Joy Emperor nearly burst out laughing from fury.

"Your Majesty, consider this," Wu E laid out his reasoning step by step. "Hua Jin the True One snagged five or six high-grade Celestial Essences, yet we came away empty. As they wax stronger and we fade, Lingxiao's immortals will surely dominate utterly.

With such a massive edge, what would they pursue? They'd surely encroach on the territory of our Blissful Wasteland and the Buddhist Kingdom. They'd unleash vast hunts and captures targeting the variables. Should they seize the variables and deliver them to the Divine Lords, we'd utterly forfeit our place beside the Divine Lords!

Thus, they pursue the variables.

We offer the variables shelter. This lets us earn their trust, and in the end, we can deliver the variables to the Divine Lords ourselves in a single stroke!

While Lingxiao's immortals walk away with nothing!

Who knows, they might even have to cough up the high-grade Celestial Essences they've already claimed! Hehehehe!"

The Divine Joy Emperor had figured Wu E would spout some idiotic notion.

This one sounded idiotic on the surface too.

They aided the Divine Lords in chasing variables. How could they team up with the variables?

It resembled predators linking with livestock to defy humans.

But hearing the full pitch, and weighing the Blissful Wasteland's dire lack of high-grade Celestial Essence, plus the potential rift with the Buddhist Kingdom over it...

It appeared... workable?!

Should they chase variables like Lingxiao and the Buddhist Kingdom, they'd face foes they couldn't possibly beat.

Yet by aiding and harboring the variables for now, they'd gain leverage to outmaneuver Lingxiao's immortals and reap rewards.

The rage churning in the Divine Joy Emperor's chest eased by a third at once.

He squinted at Wu E, clucking in amazement. "I'd never have guessed that after consuming Chen Niu, you didn't merely advance your cultivation, but picked up a smidge of wits too."

Wu E let out a sheepish chuckle, not venturing a word.

Rivalry among Demon Immortals turned brutal, and he'd worried over Divine Joy Emperor's reprisal. Now it looked like offing Chen Niu entirely wouldn't cost him much.

"Excellent! Circumstances outpace fixed schemes. Since we're cornered, we'll follow your suggestion!

However... are you aware of those variables' power levels?"

"On that front, worry not!" Wu E sensed the Divine Joy Emperor fretted over breeding a menace. He smirked, "In that group of variables, leave aside immortals—not one has hit Feathered Transformation Realm in cultivation! Taming them will pose no challenge for us!"

...