Of course, Aldrich didn't just stop there.
To ensure the people of the Aldrich Plane would obey his commands and help him against the attacking Sovereign Legions, Aldrich had fabricated a lie. He deceived the plane's inhabitants, telling them that the Planar Teleportation Array led to the Abyssal Infernal Realm, a place filled with demons who delighted in slaughter. He claimed that most of those who entered the array were tortured and killed by these demons.
It had taken him considerable effort to escape the Abyssal Infernal Realm himself.
Furthermore, he warned that these demons sometimes emerged from the Planar Teleportation Array to kill the plane's inhabitants. They could only resist the demonic invasion by uniting and forming legions.
To achieve this, Aldrich had personally killed everyone in the Aldrich Plane who had reached the Saint Realm or higher. This was because they had come into contact with the Plane Watchers and knew the truth about the world outside.
Over twenty cycles, the Aldrich Plane had produced over a hundred thousand High-level Gods, with more than thirty reaching the peak of Seven-star Demon. There were over four thousand Six-star Devils, more than thirty thousand Five-star Devils, and over seven hundred thousand Three-star and Four-star Devils. Gods numbered over five million, Demigods exceeded a hundred million, and those in the Saint Realm alone numbered over a billion. This quantity far surpassed the soldier count of a Sovereign Legion.
With this trump card, Aldrich was confident that as long as the Lord Gods couldn't enter the Aldrich Plane, he would be the most magnificent being there. It would take at least two Sovereign Legions and an invincible Paragon High-God to conquer the Aldrich Plane.
When he suddenly saw Roy, Aldrich was indeed startled. However, upon observing Roy's current form, he burst into laughter. As a former Lord God, how could he not recognize the ability of a Projection Clone? No matter how high its attack power, a Projection Clone lacked a Godhead, could not unleash a Divine Domain, and could not use divine power. This left Projection Clones utterly defenseless against God-level experts. Even a Demigod, by activating their Divine Domain, could completely suppress a Lord God's Projection Clone. Thus, Lord God Projection Clones were also known as "the strongest Saint Realm."
The fact that Roy, the Star Sovereign, had used a Projection Clone proved that, like other Lord Gods, he was unable to enter the material plane. After hiding for so many years, living in fear for so many years, who knew the immense pressure Aldrich had endured? His greatest fear was that one day the Star Sovereign would personally arrive at the Aldrich Plane to kill him. Now, having confirmed that the Star Sovereign could not enter the material plane, the worries and fears accumulated over more than twenty cycles, spanning fifteen billion years, completely vanished.
"Hahahaha..."
"Star Sovereign Roy, you can't kill me here!" Aldrich roared with laughter.
After Aldrich finished laughing, he saw Roy looking at him as if he were an idiot, which made him somewhat indignant.
"What? Star Sovereign, do you think your mere Projection Clone can kill me?"
"No, you've misunderstood, Aldrich." Roy now knew the name of this former Water Sovereign. "I just think that without me lifting a finger, you'll be dead within a century."
"Nonsense!" Aldrich shouted in anger. "In this plane, I am an invincible existence. And I command over a hundred million deities. Who can kill me within a hundred years?"
"No, it's not me who will kill you, but yourself."
"Aldrich, you were once a Lord God yourself, you should know the meaning of Plane Wars, shouldn't you?"
"Beings at the Saint Realm and above have eternal lifespans. Without the existence of Plane Wars for Gods to engage in battle and reduce the number of God-level experts, the God Planes and Supreme Planes will eventually collapse under the unbearable burden of their countless inhabitants."
"Similarly, the material planes also have their limits of endurance..."
As Roy was speaking, Aldrich suddenly realized something.
"Aldrich, you sealed the Planar Teleportation Array and prevented the people of this plane from traveling to the God Planes. However, you failed to realize that the ever-increasing number of beings is making this plane unsustainable, pushing it to the brink of collapse."
"No, that's impossible!" Aldrich laughed, shaking his head. "The Aldrich Plane is different. More than twenty years ago, I also thought the Aldrich Plane would collapse. I even considered opening the Planar Teleportation Array, but before I could do so, the collapse of the Aldrich Plane stopped on its own. This indicates that the Aldrich Plane's capacity increases with the number of its inhabitants. As long as it doesn't exceed the Aldrich Plane's limit all at once, the Aldrich Plane will not collapse!"
Aldrich delivered his final statement with absolute conviction and force. Roy's face darkened. Was this a case of him shooting himself in the foot? If he hadn't interfered, Aldrich might have already unsealed the Planar Teleportation Array and sent some people to the God Planes or Supreme Planes, in which case this plane wouldn't be on the verge of collapse. The current problem was that his interference had fed the abilities of his inner world back to the Aldrich Plane, leading Aldrich to believe that the Aldrich Plane was unique, a plane that could grow on its own.
The current problem is that if Aldrich really decided to go through with it, Roy would have no choice but to cover for him.
At least, that's how it had to be until Roy could fuse the meteor corresponding to the Aldrich Plane with other meteors to form a "star core."
"Aldrich, why do you think I'm here?"
"More than twenty years ago, I passed through this plane and sensed it was on the verge of collapse. To prevent the beings within from perishing, I spent twenty years consuming a vast amount of Sovereign Power to stabilize it. Only after the plane stopped collapsing did I send down my projection clone to investigate."
"Now you're telling me that all of this is because the Aldrich Plane's capacity is increasing. Which explanation do you think is more plausible?"
"If you don't believe me, you can try it."
"In a hundred years, I will no longer intervene. Let's see if the Aldrich Plane grows, or if you, along with this plane, will collapse together!"
Roy's calm words made Aldrich's face flush with anger and then turn pale.
Indeed, compared to the idea that the Aldrich Plane would grow on its own, Aldrich found the Star Sovereign Roy's explanation more reasonable.
Even when he was the Water Sovereign, he didn't understand how to maintain a collapsing plane and increase its capacity.
But if the person saying it was the Star Sovereign, then it made sense.
Seeing Aldrich waver at his words, Roy's heart leaped with joy.
There was hope!
"Aldrich, the only reason you're hiding here is out of fear of us seeking revenge."
"But you were a Lord God yourself. Do you think any Lord God would hold a grudge against a God?"
"Look, you've been hiding here for over a hundred trillion years, haven't you? Have you ever seen us send anyone to seek revenge on you?"
"The one we have a grudge against is the Water Sovereign Aldrich, not the High-level God Aldrich."
"After killing the Water Sovereign Aldrich, all our grievances were settled."
Aldrich fell silent.
Although the Star Sovereign's words were hurtful, they undeniably reflected the psychology of a Lord God.
Gods, apart from the children of the Lord Gods themselves, were truly not taken seriously by the Lord Gods.
"Think about it carefully."
"The magic array sealing the Planar Teleportation Array has already been destroyed by me. Whether you continue to seal it or let the people of the Aldrich Plane leave is up to you."
"But I must tell you, I am already returning to the Infernal Realm. The next time the Aldrich Plane faces a crisis, I will not intervene."
"Take care of yourself."
With that, Roy stopped paying attention to Aldrich and dispersed his projection clone.
Although he had said all that to Aldrich, for the sake of his own path, Roy could not stray too far from the Aldrich Plane until the crisis of its collapse was resolved.
Anyway, with Aldrich's current strength, he couldn't perceive what was happening in the spatial turbulence, so whether Roy left or not was unknown to Aldrich.
To make Aldrich decide faster, Roy also stopped feeding his power back to the Aldrich Plane, causing the situation there to worsen.
This situation made Aldrich confirm that the Star Sovereign Roy had truly left the Aldrich Plane and no longer cared about its fate.
To Roy's relief, Aldrich ultimately didn't dare to gamble on the Aldrich Plane growing on its own.
After Roy left, Aldrich personally explained the crisis facing the Aldrich Plane to his subordinates. He also recounted the situations in the Seven God Planes and Four Supreme Planes beyond the Planar Teleportation Array, one by one.
Finally, amidst the half-believing populace of the Aldrich Plane, Aldrich personally led a group of people into the Water Element God Plane and then returned.
Even after so many years, the Ice Crystal Stones in Aldrich's possession were still sufficient to pay the teleportation fees for these people's return.
With these people's firsthand accounts, the inhabitants of the Aldrich Plane finally began to leave.
This situation continued for nearly a thousand years until the number of experts at the Saint Realm and above in the Aldrich Plane became comparable to other material planes.
Thus, the crisis of the Aldrich Plane was completely resolved.
Aldrich sat blankly in his palace, gazing at the empty Aldrich Plane, lost in thought.
For more than twenty cycles, in the Aldrich Plane, he had done everything as he had when he was a Lord God.
He built his own palace, assembled his own legions, took his strongest subordinates as envoys, and even imitated the Plane War by establishing challenge arenas...
The Aldrich Plane's imminent collapse and the appearance of the Star Sovereign Roy had cruelly awakened Aldrich from this fantasy.
All of this made Aldrich realize that he was no longer the lofty Lord God he once was.
He was merely an ant, not even qualified to be remembered with hatred by a Lord God.
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