Nine Astra Skies

After gaining a better understanding of the world, Ye Chen gained a profound reverence for it. To think that there existed so many great forces in the Great Eastern Continent. All this time, the ones already made known to the world were not the biggest threat. All these factions had one thing in common and that was their age-old history. To be able to maintain their position in the constant chaotic turmoil between all the other factions, each one of them was not to be messed with. Every move they made was capable of making waves across the world.

Ye Chen was currently just top Heavenly Venerable One. With the help of the Heaven Rumbling Cauldron, he might be able to defeat one or two top Mystique Venerable One fighters. He could also put up a fight against top Mystique Venerable One fighter using his Astral Body. However, if he faced a Godly Venerable One or Daemon King Rank opponent, there was nothing he could do. Just like how he previously would have lost his life to Fu Yu, the Godly Venerable One fighter, if not for Tantai Ling rescuing him.

Ye Chen had made many enemies. He had just incurred the wrath of the House of Storms which was the number one major sect in the Central Empire. They said the master of the House of Storms was a Godly Venerable One fighter. Judging by Zong Yi's tone, the House of Storms was far more than they appeared to be.

Ye Chen's biggest enemy was the Tribunal Council. He wondered if Fu Yu would come to the Soul Pagoda. He hoped that Fu Yu would not be here because he would be in big trouble if they crossed paths.

Ye Chen also wondered if Tantai Ling would make an appearance.

In one of the biggest tents that belonged to the House of Storms.

Under the radiant sunlight, the tent gleamed brightly. This tent was decorated luxuriously. Its diameter was close to twenty meters. It was very spacious and decorated exquisitely.

A top Mystique Venerable One elder knelt on the floor, not daring to raise his head. A large and imposing middle-aged man wearing a long blue robe sat on the chair in front of him. The man was enveloped in a thick and powerful Water-type Celestial Chi which blurred his appearance and concealed his presence. It was as if there was just a floating cloud of Water-type Celestial Chi there.

The man was the lord of the House of Storms, Zhong Chengtian, Godly Venerable One master.

"My lord, the young master had been sent to the Elder's Temple. Grand Supreme Elder Zongyuan says that the young master's injuries will take a month to recover. The young master's spirit was damaged as well and a Soul-tempering Pill is needed to help him recover. Grand Supreme Elder Zongyuan says the Soul-tempering Pill can only be obtained from the City of the Apothecary King. For now, we can only use slightly inferior pills such as the Soul-amassing Pill, Soul-consolidating Pill, and the likes to help the young master."

After the Mystique Venerable One elder's words, Zong Chengtian made no further comments. "What of the whereabouts of the Storm Sword?"

"We still haven't found it. But we believe there's a large chance it has fallen into the hands of the young man called Ye Chen!" the Mystique Venerable One elder replied at once.

"Have you properly looked into the background of this Xiwu Ye Clan?" Zong Chengtian didn't speak with haste nor did he speak slowly. It was difficult to grasp what he was thinking.

"We've looked into it. The Xiwu Ye Clan is just a small family from the distant Xiwu Empire. The most powerful among them was just a top Ninth Level. However, for some unknown reason they had suddenly risen. There must be some sort of powerful force backing them," the Mystique Venerable One elder answered.

"From here on, kill the young man if he ever crosses us!"

"But, his background…"

"Forget about his background. Kill him and take the Heaven Rumbling Cauldron. My House of Storms has been in the Central Empire for all these years. I will not be so easily fazed by them," Zong Chengtian said calmly, "that d*mnable Scarlet Flame Sect. Does Ye Zong think that he could protect the Scarlet Flame Sect with just a feeble little vanguard? After we're done with the Soul Pagoda matter, we'll deal with the Scarlet Flame Sect. It's about time we find a new sect leader for the Scarlet Flame Sect."

"The Heaven Rumbling Cauldron grants unexplainable power, capable of defeating two of my top Mystique Venerable One elders in a row. If we didn't have enough men, we might not have been able to deal with him!" the Mystique Venerable One elder said concerningly.

"If you face him in the future, don't mess with the Heaven Rumbling Cauldron. As he is now, he's probably no match for a Mystique Venerable One," Zong Chengtian said indifferently. He glanced sideways toward the direction where the Soul Pagoda stood. His eyes were able to see through the tent and straight at the Soul Pagoda that pierced into the clouds above. "We're at the thirty thousand years gap. The Cosmic Stone is probably a signal. Who knows what sort of mythical weapons and secret ancestral techniques the Soul Pagoda will grace us with! May the heavens watch over my House of Storms."

Tribunal Council's main tent.

Four giant figures sat together inside a crimson red tent. Three of them were looking at an elder with a head full of white hair. The elder looked like an ordinary man but when he breathed in, the movement of his chest carried a magical rhythm that was at one with heaven and earth.

Each of the elder's movements carried the weight of a powerful Absolute Martial Truth that had reached the stage of Peerless Power. He had gained absolute mastery of the Absolute Martial Truth in a realm that was near impossible for common men to achieve.

When the three Godly Venerable Rank masters witnessed his great temperament, they were both envious and amused. They wondered when they would be able to reach Grand Supreme Elder themselves. As a Godly Venerable Rank master, each one of them was a veteran who had attained the Absolute Martial Truth. However, the enlightenment of their Absolute Martial Truth was still very shallow, having barely scratched the surface of it. They were near insignificant compared to the Grand Supreme Elder.

Among the three Godly Venerable Rank masters, Fu Yu ranked the highest. He had already recovered from his injuries but the damage to his Spirit inflicted by Tantai Ling was not going to heal so easily. In his current form, he was barely at eight-tenth of his peak condition.

Cang Lu glanced at the three subordinates and smiled faintly. "If you want to attain Peerless Power, the enlightenment of your Absolute Martial Truth will also have to reach the heights of Peerless stage."

"Grand Supreme Elder, what's Peerless stage?"

"The Peerless stage implies that it's without limit and it may be different among each individual. The Peerless stage is separated into three stages. The first stage is known as Boundless Stage. At this stage, each strike should carry the merit of the Absolute Martial Truth and each strike should've reached the very peak of its potential. The second stage is the Transcendent Stage. Upon reaching this stage, each swing of the sword should decimate all living things within a thousand miles. Even the buzzing of a fly within a thousand miles shouldn't be able to escape from one's ears. It's the stage of complete mastery from within oneself. The third stage is known as Preeminent Stage. Upon reaching this stage, you'll not be far away from the fabled Path to Godhood. Even I'm not at such a stage yet."

"All these three stages are separated into ten grades. I have remained in Boundless Stage for thirty years now, unable to break through. In the Tribunal Council, the strongest among us have attained the third grade of Transcendent Stage. Several men have attained the second grade of Transcendent Stage. I'm nothing compared to them. It's said that even the strongest master in the Great Eastern Continent, Bi Mie the Beast Emperor, has only attained the third grade of Transcendent Stage.

"As far as I'm aware, apart from the ancient Almighty as foretold in the legends, no one has been able to reach the Preeminent Stage for thousands of years." Cang Lu revealed.

"Decimate all living things within a thousand miles? Back then, when I was tracking the Celestial Martial Chi in the Northern Sea, I was intercepted by Tantai Ling halfway. She was able to inflict a terrible blow on me from hundreds of miles away. Does that mean that Tantai Ling is a master of Transcendent Stage?" Fu Yu asked.

"Is that so?" Cang Lu furrowed his brows. "It's best to quickly pass on this information to the head council. Tantai Ling is a one-in-a-million prodigy of the Sea Demon Clan. Her cultivation speed is incredibly quick for her age and she's undoubtedly a natural. At such a young age, she has already established herself as the North Sea Ruler. Back then, even when she was stuck at tenth grade Boundless Stage, she was already able to put up a fight against a first grade Transcendent Stage. I didn't expect her to be able to break through the barrier in such a short time and enter Transcendent Stage. If we allow her to continue developing, she'll quickly grow into a threat to the Tribunal Council!"

"Tantai Ling is that powerful?" The two Godly Venerable Rank masters beside Fu Yu were taken aback by this revelation.

"No matter how strong you are, there's always someone above you. The golden age of martial masters was tens of thousands of years ago. During that period, it wasn't just masters who have reached Transcendent Stage. Even masters of Preeminent Stage were numerous. A fair amount of them were beings who have surpassed Peerless Power. Tantai Ling must've had some sort of secret technique passed down to her. That would explain her rapid improvement." Cang Lu's eyes grew darker. "In that case, we have to get her to yield the secret technique to us!"

The Godly Venerable Rank masters exchanged a glance, their eyes were burning with excitement. If Tantai Ling had learned some secret ancestral technique, it must have been an extremely effective technique. Perhaps even they could attain Peerless Power if they could just get a glance of the technique.

"I'll send someone to report this matter to the head council. Tomorrow is the opening of the Soul Pagoda. It's a very dangerous place. The Godly Venerable Rank and Daemon King Rank fighters of each force aren't going to enter on the first day of the opening since they are the important assets of each respective faction. Their deaths will result in a significant loss to the faction's forces. We'll be sending our Mystique Venerable Ones, Heavenly Venerable Ones, and Heavenly Adept Level in large numbers to scout the Soul Pagoda. I want you all to pay close attention, we cannot let a single mythical weapon, secret ancestral technique, and the Cosmic Stone slip away from our grasp!" Cang Lu emphasized. "The head council is closely supervising the situation here, there mustn't be any slip-ups!"

"What if those of the super factions got their hands on one of those treasures?" Fu Yu asked.

"Send someone to take it from them. It's fine as long as nobody finds out it's the work of the Tribunal Council. Anyhow, it makes no difference if they find out it's done by us." Cang Lu smirked. "Even without proof, they'll suspect that it was the work of the Tribunal Council. Still, they will have to swallow their anger, after all, who dares to oppose the Tribunal Council?"

When they heard Cang Lu's claims, Fu Yu and the others shared a cocky look between themselves.

Every faction was busy making preparations. They had already selected the roster to head into the Soul Pagoda. Most of them were gathered at the entrance of the Soul Pagoda.

At the same time, Ye Chen was still in his tent. He changed his clothes and found some other things to disguise his appearance. He looked at his reflection in the mirror. Apart from the few opponents who he had crossed paths with before, he could not be recognized by anyone else.

"Little Wingsy, get ready to leave. We're camping outside the Soul Pagoda for the night. You'll transform into a snake and hide in my clothes! Let Little Squido hide in the Soul Pearl." Ye Chen woke Little Wingsy. Little Wingsy was too recognizable since he was just a five to six-year-old child.

"Hm." Little Wingsy rubbed his sleepy eyes before quickly transforming into a small snake and hiding in Ye Chen's clothes. Little Squido, on the other hand, dove into the Soul Pearl.

Ye Chen looked at the sky outside, it was already dusk outside. He adjusted his hat and headed outside.