Chapter 1935: The dread of the Scarlet Path

Cain could feel the weight of Divine Sea’s cosmic force saturating the air, each strand of it weaving through the city like a living current. The entire floating metropolis seemed to resonate in answer to her power, as if her will alone could make the walls breathe and the streets shift. Yet, despite the oppressive might pressing against him, Cain’s expression remained perfectly calm.

Instead of bracing against her aura, he let his own rise—but not in a crude clash. His eyes began to glow with a golden brilliance so intense that it seemed to burn through the very air. The light spilled over the garden, reflecting off crystal petals and shimmering leaves, until it spread across the entire city.

Divine Sea’s jaw tightened. Her hands clenched into fists. She knew this light.

Like many Archdieties, she had gone to great lengths to observe from a safe distance the infamous battle where Cain had faced three Archdieties at once. She remembered clearly—when Divine Calamity’s most devastating attack had surged toward him, Cain’s eyes had glowed with this very golden radiance. He had raised his left hand and swallowed the incoming destruction whole, absorbing the unfathomable force into himself. Then, without hesitation, he had unleashed it from his right hand, sending it screaming across the battlefield—directly into the Lord of the Last Step’s face.

It was not just power. It was impossible. No Archdiety had ever displayed a perfect reversal of force on that scale. And worse yet, no one had found a way to counter it.

Even if she somehow could avoid Redirection, Divine Sea doubted that landing a decisive blow on him would be possible. The Scarlet King’s endurance was legendary, to the point that the Lord of the Last Step had a hard time piercing his skin. She wasn’t sure that even a direct, point-blank strike would be enough to break him.

Scenarios began flashing through her mind, testing outcomes, running contingencies. In none of them did she see herself walking away with a decisive victory. She might be able to force her out of her Heaven, but that would be it.

Then, to her surprise, the golden glow of The Flow in Cain’s eyes began to fade, replaced by a softer, entrancing crimson flame. The heat in it was not oppressive—it was warm, steady, carrying the weight of both strength and sincerity.

Cain’s lips curved into a small smile as he focused on the women, restraining his power.

"We can fight, if you wish, but as I said before," he began, his voice calm yet carrying the faintest edge of command, "I came seeking a path of peace and prosperity. Would you like to hear my offer?"

Almost unconsciously, Divine Sea found herself holding his gaze. Something in those scarlet eyes disarmed her—not submission, not agreement, but a subtle easing of the instinctive hostility that had flared in her soul. Without realizing it, she took a long, slow breath, allowing the circulation of her Inner Universe to steady. Then she lifted her hand.

Between them, a low tea table appeared, carved from blue crystal and rimmed in golden coral. A gentle steam drifted from the porcelain cups she conjured, each one soon filled with an amber liquid whose fragrance was drawn from the rarest herbs in her garden.

Cain’s smile widened slightly as he sat, accepting the cup she poured for him. Even beings like them—who could crush worlds or birth stars—were not immune to the quiet pleasure of good tea. The aroma wound through the garden’s already-rich scents, softening the sharpness in the air.

They drank in silence for a time. The atmosphere shifted—still tense, but no longer poised on the brink of open hostility. When at last Divine Sea set her cup down, she gave a small nod, wordlessly signaling him to speak.

Cain leaned back slightly, still holding his tea.

"I have no intention of taking your lands or conquering your domains," he said plainly. "I already hold enough. In truth, I will admit—it is even more than I can comfortably manage with my current resources, impressive as my people may be."

A faintly wry smile touched his lips at that last comment. The Six Chief Conquerors of the Scarlet Path were already stretched to their limits, overseeing the Everlife, Endlesslight, and Shadowcradle Continents. Soon, they would also inherit the territories once ruled by the World Breaker and the Lord of the Last Step. Fortunately, they would soon have the bodies and the minds of Prima Deities to aid in the task. But knowing Minxet and the others, Cain suspected that the added strength would only drive them to push themselves even harder.

He shook his head lightly, pushing away that thought, and returned to the matter at hand.

"What I want," he said, "is two things. First, allow me to cleanse your continents—to remove every evil and corrupt cultivator within your domains. Second, grant my people permission to spread the philosophy of the Scarlet Path. We will not force it upon anyone. We will only present it to them—show them what it is, and what they could become if they choose to follow it."

Divine Sea’s eyes narrowed slightly.

The first request did not trouble her overmuch. She had no fondness for the wicked or the treacherous. Such people could never be trusted and would betray their benefactors the moment an opportunity presented itself. And yet... they were still technically under her protection. Allowing them to be hunted down and slaughtered was not something she could agree to lightly, as it could affect her credibility, but it was still not really that complicated.

It was the second request that set her on edge.

At first, like most Archdieties, she had dismissed the Scarlet Path as an eccentric ideology—loud in its rhetoric but ultimately hollow, incapable of shifting the iron-hearted focus of cultivators who lived for personal power.

But then she had seen it with her own eyes. Everyone had.

The battle between the Scarlet Path’s elite forces and the combined armies of the World Breaker and the Lord of the Last Step’s Heavens had shaken the realms. She had watched warriors fight with a unity and conviction that defied all logic—standing in unbreakable formation, refusing to yield even when faced with certain death. And it wasn’t only the fanatics or Cain’s oldest followers. Even those who had joined the Path with openly selfish ambitions—like Lucrezia—fought with a loyalty that could not be feigned.

And it wasn’t just conviction. The Scarlet Path granted its adherents access to overwhelming psychic powers and abilities through their connection to the terrifying and infamous Scarlet Throne.

At first, there had been whispers—accusations that Cain must have used some form of brainwashing, some insidious soul-binding technique to bend them all to his will. But as the wars went on, it became clear that this was not the case. The loyalty and purpose these warriors carried were their own. Cain’s influence was undeniable, but the determination was born in their own souls.

That was what troubled Divine Sea the most.

If she allowed the Scarlet Path to spread among her people, how long would it be before those same convictions took root here? How long before her cultivators—her soldiers—began to think like his? How long before they would willingly give their lives for a cause that was not hers?