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"Although they broke the seal, they did not find the Azure Water Covenant. Even all three members of their group have lost contact, and it is preliminarily confirmed that they are all dead!" An elderly figure with an octopus head reported this information to the assembled group.

The octopus-headed elder continued, "At the moment, we are not quite clear on the details of the deaths of the three. We need some time to conduct a detailed investigation."

"Damn it!" A cloaked member of the Hermit Association, speaking in a hoarse and angry voice, said, "We invested a lot of resources in nurturing this Demon King. We even expected to use the summoning ability of the Demon King to prepare for our future plans. I never imagined she would just die like this."

Another member of the Hermit Association in black cloak said, "The death of a Demon King and a few Heroes is not a big deal. We have cultivated more Demon Kings and Heroes than just a few. The biggest problem now is the Azure Water Covenant!"

"Indeed!"

"Now it seems the claim that the Azure Water Covenant is hidden in the Abyssal Trench is simply a rumor."

"We must obtain this covenant. Without breaking this shackle that has bound us for thousands of years, our clan won\'t be able to achieve anything."

Members of the Deep Sea Hermit Association discussed fervently. At this moment, the octopus-headed elder looked towards the chief seat---a robust figure wearing a red cloak, though still a member of the Hermit Association, the color of his cloak resembled that of freshly soaked blood.

"Don\'t worry. From the very beginning, I knew the Azure Water Covenant couldn\'t possibly be hidden in the trench." The leader in red cloak let out a sinister sneer, "Over the years, the Federation\'s high-ranking officials have been spreading misleading rumors, trying to deceive our Deep Sea Hermit Association. Little do they know, I\'ve long figured out the true location of the Azure Water Covenant. It\'s just a play we\'re acting along with them."

Upon hearing this, everyone present showed various expressions. The octopus-headed elder spoke, "The president is revealing this information now because the timing is ripe. Getting the covenant is just a matter of time. There\'s no need for worry."

Upon hearing this, everyone exchanged glances. The news seemed too sudden. However, the president of the Deep Sea Hermit Association was not a simple character. He was the most frightening, sinister, terrifying, and cunning individual in this vast sea. The Deep Sea Hermit Association had been in existence for over three hundred years, and no one had ever been able to truly see through the president. There were even rumors that the president might not be the same person throughout this time. And this octopus-headed elder was the most trusted and closest subordinate of the president. The fact that they said something like this was enough indication that this matter was almost coming to an end.

The octopus-headed elder continued, "In addition to making this announcement today, there\'s another issue worth noting. The highest council of the Azure Water Federation has recently issued a bounty for the Darkness City\'s Demon King in the Chaos Forest."

This matter was no secret. Even with poor intelligence capabilities, one could pick up some information regarding this. The high council of the Azure Water Federation, the highest authority, recently issued a bounty to the entire federation\'s Hero Guilds. Anyone who could slay the Demon King of Darkness City in the Chaos Forest would receive a reward of over 500 million standard gold coins and a hundred islands.

This information was not limited to the Azure Water Federation. The Sunset Empire also issued a similar bounty. However, the most substantial reward came from the northern Thunder Empire. The Thunder Empire announced that anyone who could kill this Demon King would immediately receive a reward of 20 billion standard gold coins, hereditary marquis noble status, and even the qualification to marry into the royal family.

This matter had become quite prominent, as the rewards were lucrative. The Deep Sea Hermit Association could not be unaware of it. The leader in red cloak chuckled sinisterly, "A Demon King rising from the Chaos Forest, ending the chaos that lasted for thousands of years, annexing over ten provinces and tens of millions of people to the north. I\'ve never heard of such a Demon King."

The octopus-headed elder spoke with a serious expression, "Nowadays, there are Demon Kings everywhere, but so far, I\'ve never heard of a Demon King developing to this extent. I wonder if there\'s a force supporting him from behind."

"That is plausible." The leader in red cloak said casually, "The Azure Water Federation is about to undergo major changes. I don\'t want any other forces taking advantage of the situation. Send some Heroes over and investigate what\'s going on!"

"Understood!" The octopus-headed elder immediately made arrangements.

The leader in red cloak then addressed the other members present, "Our common cause is about to usher in a significant developmental stage. Each of you has tasks to undertake. Everyone must work together diligently."

"Understood, president!" The members dared not slack off and hurried off.

......

Meanwhile, in Darkness City, Shui Lan had already changed into clothes. She looked at herself in the mirror---a face that could rival the elegance of Elf King Nancilia and the charm of Succubus Queen Han Kexin. However, Shui Lan\'s demeanor and style were unique.

From her appearance, her age was difficult to determine. She possessed the purity of a twenty-year-old girl and the maturity of a thirty-year-old woman. There was both the innocence of a young girl and the majesty of an empress. Despite seeming contradictory, these elements blended seamlessly.

Having not possessed a body for thousands of years, both her senses and the physical form presented many aspects she was not accustomed to. Shui Lan decided to take a stroll nearby. Upon hearing that this place was the Chaos Forest, she was surprised.

The geographical location was indeed peculiar, especially considering after the establishment of the southern Azure Water Federation. The Chaos Forest was likely to remain in chaos, due to the standoff of multiple empire-level forces. Learning about this, Shui Lan was astonished. Unexpectedly, the emergence of the Darkness City had reversed the situation. Everything was attributed to the Demon King.

Shui Lan left the Demon King\'s castle, and the entire Darkness City unfolded before her eyes. Even someone as knowledgeable and experienced as her, who had personally participated in and witnessed many grand endeavors, was now immersed in an overwhelming sense of disbelief.

Firstly, the Darkness City was a perpetually under-construction city. Currently, tens of thousands of draconian craftsmen and a massive workforce were engaged in building the city. The permanent population of the Darkness City had already reached several hundred thousand and was continuously growing.

Of course, for Shui Lan, the scale of this place was still not comparable to what she had seen before. What truly astonished her was the energy contained within the city. Every brick and tile, each building, warehouse, street, square, and even every well was imbued with special enhancements. Compared to the basic structures, the buildings summoned by the Demon King were truly remarkable.

Inside the Darkness City, there were numerous mysterious structures, and each one held immense power and unimaginable capabilities. This city, although not large in scale, possessed functions so powerful that it could easily rival any city Shui Lan had ever encountered.

Before Shui Lan could fully understand the functions of these mysterious structures, she suddenly felt a powerful and mysterious energy fluctuation. A massive stone gate slowly rose from the ground in front of the Darkness City.

Shui Lan hurriedly approached to investigate. By the time she arrived, the stone gate had risen, reaching a height of over five hundred meters and a width of more than one hundred meters. Its structure resembled that of a triumphal arch, but Shui Lan knew this was not just a decorative piece. On top of this massive stone gate, she sensed a very powerful and unprecedented spatial attributed magic formation. If these formations were activated, they could produce unimaginable effects.

"Why did you come here, and is your body adapting well?"

"Don\'t worry, Your Majesty. I\'m currently in perfect health, and there\'s no issue with my body... About the gate you summoned?"

Zhang Nu did not hide anything, saying, "This is the Stellar Gateway, and it has some connection to the world beneath the Abyssal Trench."

Shui Lan immediately felt extremely shocked. Zhang Nu continued, "If I\'m not mistaken, that is a vast world composed of billions of stars, similar to a world Demon Kings and Heroes are familiar with. Between the stars, various races coexist, with great distances between them."

"The Stellar Gateway is supposed to serve as a medium for traveling between these stars. Of course, I only have one Stellar Gateway and can\'t transport to extremely distant locations. It can only be used as a teleportation gate."

Shui Lan carefully examined the super colossal gate in front of her. She noticed that the runes and inscriptions on the gate had a very strange style, unlike any method used by any species in this world. If this Stellar Gateway was a technology from another world, how did the Demon King summon it? The military value of such a gate was immeasurable, and even the Azure Water Federation would be under the threat of the Demon King! This kind of summoning ability of Demon Kings was more terrifying than personal strength.

Unable to hold back her curiosity, Shui Lan asked, "What is your purpose in creating the Darkness City?"

Zhang Nu answered candidly, "I am a Demon King. Demon Kings are born to conquer the world. So, my goal is to conquer all accessible places."

Shui Lan furrowed her brows. "While I have promised to work for you for ten years, the condition is that I won\'t do anything that harms the sea tribes."

Zhang Nu shook his head. "Do you think the Azure Water Federation can truly bring peace and happiness to the sea tribes?"

"I don\'t know," Shui Lan said, "but at least, it has brought relative stability to the sea tribes in this region for six thousand years."

Zhang Nu chuckled. "In my homeland, there\'s an interesting story about flood control. Would you like to hear it?"

Shui Lan was taken aback. "What kind of story is it?"

Zhang Nu explained, "According to the ancient tales, there was a severe flood that caused chaos and suffering among the people. A heavenly deity named Gun sympathized with the people\'s plight and urgently sought a way to conquer the flood. So, he stole a divine soil called Xi Rang."

"This divine soil could grow automatically. By placing it in the flooded areas, it could instantly transform into towering mountains, suppressing the spread of the flood. The flood control quickly became effective, and the people rejoiced."

"However, as time passed, the floods increased even more, eventually breaking through the divine soil and causing a catastrophic deluge, much more destructive and deadly."

"Gun, with good intentions, caused a great mistake and became a scapegoat for eternity, ultimately being executed by the Heavenly Emperor."

After hearing the story, Shui Lan fell into contemplation.

At this point, Zhang Nu said, "By forcibly uniting loosely affiliated and mutually hostile forces, isn\'t this approach similar to Gun using Xi Rang soil to block the floods? The various tribes did not abandon their conflicts just because of a binding covenant, internal strife has even intensified, mutual hatred, blood feuds, and class solidification persist, brewing for centuries without any relief."

"One day, the fragile balance will no longer exist, or the tribes\' repression of hatred will reach a critical point, resulting in a more terrifying outbreak!"

Shui Lan replied, "But there is no better alternative."

Indeed, without the establishment of the Shui Lan Federation, it would likely be a colossal sea of chaos.

Zhang Nu said, "Then you should listen to the continuation of this story."

Shui Lan, curious, asked, "Did Gun\'s failure in flood control have any further developments?"

Zhang Nu continued with the story, "Gun is the heavenly deity of my homeland. His body didn\'t decay for several years after death, and a new life formed in his abdomen. Later, the Heavenly Emperor cut open his stomach and released the new life, naming it Yu."

"Yu inherited his father\'s mission and continued to manage water disasters, but he adopted a completely different approach. He chose to dredge the floods and divert the major floodwaters."

"This method was challenging and labor-intensive initially, and the effects weren\'t immediately apparent. However, over time, the floods gradually came under control. After that, for the rest of eternity, there were no catastrophic floods capable of destroying the world."

Shui Lan remarked, "Are you trying to convey the lesson that... it\'s better to alleviate than to block?"

Zhang Nu nodded, "Exactly."

"But that\'s impossible!"

Zhang Nu asked, "What was the chaotic situation like in the past in Chaos Forest?"

Shui Lan answered, "The Chaos Forest has been chaotic since ancient times, and the strength has been declining. Even if there were brief periods of unity, the tribes couldn\'t live in harmony, ultimately leading to collapse."

Zhang Nu continued, "And what about now?"

She took another look at the Darkness City. Elves, orcs, giants, dwarves, goblins, fox-kin, tigerfolks, bearfolks... these races peacefully coexisted in the same city. In the end, the Azure Water Federation was a super-sized version of the Chaos Forest. If the Chaos Forest could be transformed like this by the Demon King, could the same methods be applied to the sea tribes?

Shui Lan furrowed her brow and said, "I now understand the message you want to convey, but how did you achieve all this? Why can the various races in the forest live together harmoniously?"

Zhang Nu replied, "This involves the relationship between the means of production, productivity, and distribution. It\'s a profound field of study."

Deep in thought, Shui Lan said, "I want to go out and travel for a while, and I\'ll return in about seven days."

"Sure," Zhang Nu did not refuse this request. Shui Lan needed time to adapt to her body. She could not immediately start working for him. During this time, she could witness the changes in the forest firsthand. Zhang Nu believed that she would gain a deeper understanding of these concepts.

If Shui Lan could support him like Nancilia, future expansion activities in the Azure Water Federation would be much easier. As for whether Shui Lan would escape, Zhang Nu was not concerned about that at all. She was, after all, a legendary empress, unlikely to do something so base. Moreover, she could not escape Zhang Nu\'s control.

After Shui Lan left, Zhang Nu examined the Stellar Gateway. He was very satisfied with this masterpiece. It was well worth the over fifty million gold and a large number of precious spatial gems spent. In addition to the Stellar Gateway, he had a Rift Tower in hand, but it also required a large amount of materials and would have to be put on hold for a few days.

Just then, Zhang Nu received news of a disturbance on the federal frontlines. The three powerhouses of the Darkness City faced a threat from the Thunderous Society. A new round of confrontation between Heroes and the forces of the Demon King was intensifying on the frontlines."