Within Arch-Heaven, millions of beings had their sights fixed on the massive, crystal dome which had trapped countless Dao Lords. They watched, and often enough, reported what they saw. Updates on the trapped Dao Lords were very important to most forces in the universe.
In comparison, the Dao Lords within the dome had established very clear rules for each other. They had established their own territories within the dome, and remained there. None of the Dao Lords interacted with each other, and instead worked independently to either find a way out, or to secure themselves within their territory.
Trust was in a great deficit at the moment, and the uncertainty of the situation was forcing everyone to act extremely cautiously.
It was at this time that the countless forces observing the dome noticed a change. To be specific, nothing inside the dome had changed, but something outside.
Someone was approaching the dome, as if to investigate. This was not the first time something like this had happened, yet it still attracted sufficient attention and wariness.
The figure was wearing a hooded cloak, making their identity hard to determine at first. Yet soon enough, someone realized that the hood was a normal piece of clothing, and it did not hide or inhibit the appearance from being seen.
Underneath the hood was a pale crone, her straight, long black hair hiding her face from view, but not her skin. If she were to be a human, the extent of her paleness would make her appear like a corpse.
Yet this was not an undead, nor was this a humanoid. Instead, this was one of the rare races that had an unusually similar appearance to humanoids without actually having any relation. For some reason, no one mistook her for a humanoid race either. Maybe just how unusual she appeared... or maybe it was the aura of a Sage race around her that gave her identity away.
"A Weaver," someone whispered, realizing who this was.
Like most Sage races, very little was publicly known about Weavers besides their appearance. The only thing most rumors seemed to have in common was that Wevers were the best diviners and oracles in the universe. Although, some people often claimed that this was a misinterpretation of their powers, for their actual strength lay in reading the flow of destiny rather than divining the future.
The Weaver ignored the whispering crowd, and instead approached the dome cautiously, avoiding triggering any of Arch-Heaven’s traps. When she placed her hand on the dome, finally, she began reading the flow of destiny, only to realize almost immediately something was amiss.
"No!" she shrieked as she tried to retreat, but it was too late. Her body exploded into a cloud of white, harmless mist, blanketing the entire region, including the observing crowd.
"Is this... Dao Mist?" someone asked in shock, unable to process what such a thing meant.
After all, the only plausible explanation was that the Weaver they had seen was actually a Dao Lord. She had discovered something unexpected and terrible about the dome, but before she could reveal it, she died. It did not even take one second, and she died. A Sage Dao Lord died in an instant, without being able to put up any resistance at all whatsoever.
What could such a thing mean? No one had any idea, but this was the first public death of a Dao Lord since the universal war had started.
Since the first domino had fallen, more would inevitably follow. The universe was now, officially, no longer safe even for Dao Lords.
The news spread like an unstoppable tsunami as the many forces of the universe prepared themselves. Many of them especially focused on the Weavers to see what kind of reaction they would have.
That was, awkwardly, when most forces realized that they had no idea where the Weavers resided. No one even knew the name of whichever realm they may reside in. Perhaps only a select few across the universe were privy to that knowledge.
*****
It took three years for Jack to reach the edge of the Folklore realm. Those were three years according to the flow of time in a Major realm. Surprisingly, those three years were quite uneventful, mainly because they were escorted personally by Dao Lords.
After the Henali screwed up business inside the Midnight Inn, their guilty conscience forced them to take any task related to the Innkeeper very seriously, which is why Jack and the rest received the very best treatment. Of course, no one officially told them the reason for why they were getting such a treatment, nor was the situation with Z revealed to any from the pirate crew.
The Henali had tried to search for Z, but someone was actively interfering in search attempts regarding him, and they could not determine who it was. They also couldn’t make any progress finding him.
It was as if the enemy was intimately familiar with the Henali, and knew exactly how to block their search.
Jack and the crew knew nothing about that, and with a Dao Lord keeping watch, even Bob wasn’t able to cause any problems. Thus, the crew spent these three years relaxing and upgrading their cultivation.
Jack, especially, made tremendous progress. Although placing his identity as a fairy in his back allowed Jack to cultivate beyond the Earth Immortal realm, he still needed an appropriate cultivation path to progress through levels. He decided to use the Paladin path for that, and was making great progress.
He did not even need to do any special tasks to fulfil his existing oaths. He’d already done so much that as long as he properly digested the gains, and converted them using paladin cultivation practices, he’d be pushed to the edge of the Earth Immortal realm.
Today was special, though. Today he would not cultivate, for today was the day he and his crew returned to the Folklore realm.
The Henali did not enter the realm, but escorted the crew to the very edge of the realm, and allowed them to enter through a proper, legal channel in the system’s boundary. Since their history with the realm was rich, they faced no problems and entered easily.
Instantly, the Jolly Rancher arrived at the side of a serene mountain, on a seemingly very peaceful day, with nothing going amiss.
The crew actually had quite a lot they wanted to do inside the Folklore realm, but Jack first had to start on his master plan to cause major havoc across the universe and speed up the Nexus event.
Jack brought out the black piece of cloth that was wrapped around his secret weapon, and very carefully opened it. After a few moments, the contents were revealed to not only the eyes of the crew, but to the laws of the Folklore itself.
One could say that in front of Jack lay a book, much in the way someone could own a mountain of gold and say they were above the poverty line.
Slowly, gently, carefully, he brushed his fingers over the cover as he read the title of the book.
The book was simply called Ultimate King Emperor: All the Gods call me Daddy!
"Find the nearest city," Jack whispered his command. "We need to get this copied, and spread it as far and wide as possible."
Once the contents of the story were spread in the realm, the laws of the realm would do the rest of the work. Jack actually felt slightly frightened at what he was unleashing onto the universe, but desperate times called for desperate measures.
Rose, the newest member of the crew, and the Trelop with the unusual mutation, watched the captain act a little strangely, but did not put much thought into it. She had heard that many of the crew members were from the Folklore realm, so it made sense that they were emotional upon their return.
Bob, with his newest baguette weapon resting upon his shoulders, looked at the captain with wonder in his eyes.
"So much chaos emanates from the captain’s every move. If only others were as fortunate as I to see the truth behind his actions, they would weep with jubilation. Oh what joy to follow the footsteps of one as bold as he."
The boblings in the back trembled with excitement to hear Bob speak as such, but the rest quickly distanced themselves from the Drama-cat. Without a divine wine cork to keep him quiet, staying with Bob was like sleeping next to a nuclear bomb. Technically, it would not kill you, until everything went wrong and then nothing could save you.
The Jolly Rancher opened its sails and took to the skies, once again gracing the Folklore realm with the sight of its majestic flight. As for the consequences of this flight, only time itself could reveal.
"Longbeard, I want you to finish reading this book before we reach the town. After that, you’ll be responsible for retelling the story in all nearby inns and taverns."