Sage Monarch

"Give it to me," the junior empress said, extending a hand that looked like it belonged to a goddess. In response, the jade amulet became a profound beam of light that flew onto her palm. There, it projected an image of what had occurred in the hall, including Yang Qi flitting about with his movement technique while simultaneously unleashing attacks as powerful as thousands of lightning bolts. It ended with the pontifex of the Sackcloth Cathedral being reduced to a streak of gore.

"This junior sectlord of the Will Manifestation Heaven Sect is incredible!"

"He fights well! Those people from the Sackcloth Cathedral were really boorish. Without beating them down, how else could we from the Ancient Road to the Gods prove that we have talented people in our ranks?"

"Big Sister Mu, why exactly did you invite those savages here anyway? They seem like scoundrels and bastards down to the last one. Isn't bringing them like inviting the wolf into one's house?"

"The junior sectlord of the Will Manifestation Heaven Sect isn't even in the Terrifying level? I wonder if he's an Inheritor. Only Inheritors can fight Terrifying cultivators without first being in the Terrifying level. However, for some reason, it doesn't seem like this junior sectlord is an Inheritor."

"That bubble beast is really cute...."

"The creature is obviously quite a rarity. And it's even more terrifying than the junior sectlord."

"You're right. All the bubble beast needs to do is open its mouth, and it can destroy boundless sect leaders. Oh, by the way, didn't the junior pontiff of the Genesis Sanctum invite the bubble beast's owner to dinner? What's her name again? Jadefall? How come nothing ever came of that? The junior pontiff is the kind of person who won't rest until he gets what he wants."

After the group of women buzzed with conversation for a moment, the junior empress interrupted them.

"Very well."

Instantly, the entire group went silent.

"This junior sectlord didn't do anything particularly impressive. I could've killed the pontifex of the Sackcloth Cathedral if I felt like it. Perhaps the Shepherd would be a different story; I'd have to flee for my life if he showed up. This Yang Qi must have other items or abilities hidden up his sleeve, so we definitely can't afford to underestimate him. As for the Great Necropolis savages, we didn't actually want to invite them here. Apparently, someone has been organizing them behind the scenes. After forming their alliance, they took the initiative to reach out and offer to work together. The first step was to attend our assembly. However, given how things have played out, it seems they're a lot more ambitious than they let on. They obviously want to seize the position of league-lord and enslave us. It seems to me that they're taking their cues from the Executors of the Ancient Road."

"They're definitely just as bad as the executors," one of the women said. "It's only thanks to the protection of the Woodfern Couple Palace that we've managed to survive through the years without falling victim to the treachery of the executors. Unfortunately, we haven't even driven out the wolf, yet the tiger is already stalking us. It seems we're really being plagued with misfortune."

"There's no need for alarm," the junior empress said. "The more chaos that exists in the world, the more opportunities there are to take advantage of! Periods of chaos are when the heroes emerge. My guess is that the reason the savages want to attend our assembly is that they've already started having trouble with the executors. And if the two of them are set on wiping each other out, that might be just the opportunity we need."

The other women nodded in agreement.

Turning to the young woman who had brought in the jade amulet, the junior empress said, "I asked you to gather some information about what happened at the junior pontiff's dinner. Did you find anything?"

"I did, Junior Empress," the woman replied excitedly. "I got all the details. The junior pontiff suffered a huge loss. All of the subordinates he's recruited over the years were killed. And his steward, the top expert Eunuch Chen, was also cut down. Furthermore, he had a huge formation set up that was also destroyed. And the three people he invited just strolled away. Unfortunately, because of the disturbance with the Great Necropolis savages, I didn't have a chance to bring the report right away."

"What?!"

Even the junior empress was shocked by the report. "Are you serious? Don't tell me that the junior pontiff is just going to submit to that humiliation? The Genesis Sanctum has plenty of elite experts. You would think that if the Will Manifestation Heaven Sect brazenly killed some of their people, they'd retaliate and wipe them out."

"It seems the Will Manifestation Heaven Sect is a lot more powerful than anyone realizes," replied the young woman. "I have a few spies among the handmaidens of the Genesis Sanctum, and they said that Yang Qi, Jadefall, and the Inheritor Zi Qiong didn't even make a move. It was all the bubble beast. Once Eunuch Chen got caught in one of its bubbles, he was dead a moment later. Furthermore, the bubble beast destroyed that massive formation. In the end, the junior pontiff was so scared he just ran away, pissing his pants in terror."

The women present all burst out laughing. However, their mirth was quickly replaced by very serious expressions.

"Is the bubble beast really that powerful?" one of them asked.

"The creature is the key to it all," the junior empress said. "Yang Qi is only secondary. He's strong, but there's no way he could handle a mid Terrifying expert. The creature, though.... I think I need to find some time to talk with the people from the Will Manifestation Heaven Sect."

"Junior Empress, do you intend to invite Yang Qi over for a meal?"

"Yes." The junior empress smiled. "The junior pontiff of the Genesis Sanctum is a complete and utter fool. He resorted to force and thievery, which might have worked under normal circumstances. However, he ended up capsizing his rowboat in the channel. The junior pontiff made a big mistake in not anticipating how strong that bubble beast is."

"It just goes to show how careful one should be," another woman said. "After all, the channel can also have sharks in it. So, junior empress, are you going to treat the virtuous men courteously and the scholars with respect?"

"Well, that goes without saying," the junior empress replied. "I'll invite everyone from the Will Manifestation Heaven Sect to a meal, and recruit them into our Woodfern Couple Palace's faction. There's no way they'll refuse; their junior sectlord offended too many people recently. First, the Shepherd. Second, the Genesis Sanctum. Third, the Great Necropolis savages. Considering all that, there's no way their sect can remain safe unless they have a mid Terrifying expert on their side. Without one, they'll only end up destroyed. The inevitable outcome is that they join us."

At this point, one of the women brought up the most obvious and relevant question. "But considering all of the enemies they've made, wouldn't that put a lot of pressure on the Woodfern Couple Palace if you extend protection to them?"

"There's no need to worry about that now. First, we need to measure up the junior sectlord. He's obviously going to be an important person in the future, so it would be wise to get him on our side now."

**

Meanwhile, in another location in the Great Necropolis, local experts had gathered in alliance. In fact, they already had vast armies prepared to march to battle.

There were immortal worlds in the alliance that surpassed the rank of two thousand, which could provide hordes of experts. In the past, such worlds had been embroiled in infighting, but now that they were working together, they formed an almost invincible force.

Five top luminaries sat in a circle in the middle of the army encampment, holding a short meeting.

All five of these people were very close to the mid Terrifying level, with power indexes over eight thousand. In other words, they were far stronger than the pontifex of the Sackcloth Cathedral. Clearly, they were leaders among the savages.

At the moment, they were listening to a report brought in by an expert with a psychic scale in the dozens. "Something bad just happened! The leader of the vanguard we sent to Destructionless Castle, the pontifex of the Sackcloth Cathedral, was killed! Some of his forces were wiped out with him, and the rest joined one of the sects there!"

"What incredible gall!" one of the leaders growled, shooting to his feet. "How dare the Genesis Sanctum and the Woodfern Couple Palace kill the emissaries we sent! This is an outright defiance of moral code!"

"Explain the details of what happened," another leader said.

"It's like this...." The Terrifying expert went on to provide a detailed recounting.

Afterward, the five luminaries were lost in thought for a time, then one of them said, "So it wasn't done by one of the two major sects, but rather some puny newcomer. Where did the Will Manifestation Heaven Sect get the guts to do something like this?"

"We're in a very delicate situation right now. Our armies have been gathered, and our original intention was to get our share of the action at their sect assembly, and hopefully win the position of league-lord. Unfortunately, the August Patriarch from the three thousandth ranked immortal world hasn't shown his face yet. We're strong enough to beat just about any opponent, but... if a mid Terrifying expert showed up, we'll be in big trouble. The pontiff of the Genesis Sanctum and the imperial couple of the Woodfern Couple Palace are both in that position, similar to the emperor of the Executors of the Ancient Road...."

Although these luminaries were boundless individuals, they weren't in the mid Terrifying level, which was why they hadn't gone to Destructionless Castle yet. They might have armies, but without the patriarch from the three thousandth ranked immortal world, they just weren't strong enough.

Whooooooosh!

All of a sudden, a wind swept through the area from above and a man appeared, clad in golden garments. His face was obscured, but his aura was so strong that it exerted immense pressure on everyone present.

"Our respects, Patriarch!"

Everyone dropped to their knees. This newcomer was a person on the same level as the emperor of the executors, or the Shepherd.

"You've done well in following your orders and gathering the armies. For now, don't pick any fights with the people from the Ancient Road to the Gods. I'll handle the matter personally in a few days. When everything is settled, I'll have a nice little surprise for you." With that, the figure in gold waved his hand, sending out five command medallions to the five luminaries. "Those medallions are made from the essence of a three thousandth ranked immortal world that I assimilated. Combine them and you can wield the power of that world, which should be enough to hold your own against someone like me."