All the higher echelons of the Anti-Heaven Alliance waited in the sacred hall of the Cloud Goddess Cult. In terms of the spies, the Nihility Sect had the most, while the Cloud Goddess Cult’s spies were the most hidden. Still, the Nihility Sect Master only confirmed the information reported by the spies from the Five Element Sect and Drifting Feather Sect. Even if the Nihility Sect Master offered information, he would only be met with scrutiny. Better take the low-key route and reinforce the supplied information. Only when the two missed a crucial detail would he speak up.
The Drifting Feather Sect Master hissed as he narrated the new information he received. “It turns out that the Buzhou Immortal Sect and The Anti-Earth Alliance have already formed an alliance and are jointly attacking the Eight Pillar Sect. No wonder they were so lukewarm toward our offers.”
More and more information flowed in, causing gasps and shocks.
“Hahaha, as we thought! Empress Voidink really went to the Earth Continent. The Buzhou Immortal Sect is currently missing one immortal empress!” one immortal monarch said.
Another displayed sudden shock. “What? The Buzhou Immortal Sect only needs ten immortal monarchs to form an emperor-level war formation? How are we going to compete against that? The least amount of monarchs we need to form an emperor war formation is thirty. Won’t this mean that they will outnumber us by at least threefold?”
“Hmpf, if you’re so scared, go beg them for forgiveness. How can a ten monarch emperor war formation be easily learned? In my opinion, most of the war formations still need at least thirty monarchs and a hundred true immortals. Our spies are few in number, so it’s not strange they only passed back the most eye-catching information.”
“What? The Eight Pillar Sect is being suppressed too badly. At this rate, they’ll be eliminated in a month or two. Can’t they even force the Buzhou Immortal Sect to send reinforcements? And they dare call themself a hegemonic force, useless!”
“They are at a disadvantage thanks to the Buzhou Immortal Sect’s sudden betrayal, but what are their main forces doing? Why aren’t they sending reinforcements from their headquarters? Do they think that the Buzhou Immortal Sect is going to invade their headquarters?”
The Five Element Sect Master turned toward the Jade Cauldron Sect Master. “All the Buzhou Immortal Sect’s forces are already on the northwest battlefield. They don’t have anymore unseen forces, right?”
The Jade Cauldron Sect Master frowned. “According to our sources, they shouldn’t have any. Unless they have a method to teleport directly from the Heaven Continent to the Earth Continent, the Eight Pillar Sect should have no worries.”
“Perhaps they think that the Buzhou Immortal Sect sent more troops to siege their headquarters?” an immortal asked.
“If that’s the case, how about we deliver them intel? It’ll mean exposing one of our spies, but that’s a small price to pay.” another immortal monarch said.
“What?” All the immortal monarchs turned toward the Nihility Sect Master. His face was pale and his hands trembled as if he had been dumped into the arctic sea.
“What’s wrong?” the Jade Cauldron Sect Master asked. As a second-rate sect, the Jade Cauldron Sect had no spies on other continents like the first-rate forces.
“I lost all contact with my spies near the Eight Pillar Sect’s headquarters. Even those a farther distance away have lost contact,” the Nihility Sect Master said.
Soon after, the other sect masters reported the exact same situation. One immortal monarch couldn’t help but mutter, “Were we wrong? Did the Buzhou Immortal Sect dispatch more immortals, and the primary goal of their attack was not Emperor Infinity but their headquarters?”
Although it was a mutter, his words entered everyone’s ears. Another immortal monarch piped, “The only way we would lose contact is if the Buzhou Immortal Sect used a large-scale formation to seal the Eight Pillar Sect’s headquarters and the surrounding land. But to do that, they would have needed to have at least twenty percent more immortals than we have estimated and dispatched them all to the Earth Continent, leaving their sect practically undefended.”
“Do they really think their guardian formation could block us if we started an all-out assault on them?” None of the immortals presented believed their arch nemesis could be so foolish. “What do you two think?”
The Jade Cauldron Sect Master turned toward the Nihility Sect Master. Even Monarch Fiendclaw turned towards the leader of the Nihility Sect. “Unknown. The Buzhou Immortal Sect has never been breached, so it’s hard to say. Still, if they dispatched enough force to lock down the Eight Pillar Sect, I doubt they have many immortal monarchs in their sect at the moment. I even have half a heart to think that the Concealed Emperor has taken action.”
None of the immortals present countered the Nihility Sect Master’s analysis. The things he could think of, they could too. Even so, they still found it unbelievable.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“You don’t think the Buzhou Immortal Sect plans to abandon their headquarters to bury us, do you?” the Drifting Feather Sect Master asked.
The top echelons of the Anti-Heaven Alliance stilled.
Over a hundred thousand years ago, there was another first-rate force, the Dark Heaven Sect. The Dark Heaven Sect was located near the Leakless Sect, which was still a second-rate force at the time. In their arrogance, they had refused to bow to the Buzhou Immortal Sect and joined the Anti-Heaven Alliance. Even after that, they did not relocate to the Western Region, where the Anti-Heaven Alliance was concentrated, and remained entrenched in hostile territories.
The results were obvious. Even if the Anti-Heaven Alliance had the heart to help, the Dark Heaven Sect was too isolated. The Buzhou Immortal Sect and the vassal sects under them formed a perimeter around them and limited their growth. Without the resources to strengthen fresh blood, the Dark Heaven Sect stagnated as their immortals started to die with no one to replace them.
At the time, many people thought that the Dark Heaven Sect would put down their pride and relocate to the Western Region. The Dark Heaven Sect subverted everyone’s expectations and directly started a war against the Bright Ascension Sect.
With such an open provocation, the first-rate vassals and even the Buzhou Immortal Sect attacked the Dark Heaven Sect. Even if the Dark Heaven Sect had been a peak first-rate force, the years of suppression caused their strength to deteriorate. Thus, the Dark Heaven Sect was forced to the brink by the Buzhou Immortal Sect and its vassal forces.
During the war, an up-and-coming star of the Dark Heaven Sect ascended from the mortal realm to the Pathfinding Immortal Realm, but he didn’t stop there. In less than a hundred years, he broke through to the Seamless Immortal. And during the final battle, he broke through to the Extremity Immortal Realm, but so what?
The Buzhou Immortal Sect and its vassals shattered the guardian of the Dark Heaven Sect, and one extra immortal emperor could not overturn the situation. It was there that the Dark Heaven Sect did something unthinkable. The high echelon of the Dark Heaven Sect used the spiritual vein under them as a power source to unleash a devastating explosion.
The Monolith Sword Sect, Bright Ascension Sect, Nihility Sect, Dust Veil Sect, and Boundless Mountains all lost hundreds of true immortals and a few monarchs. The Buzhou Immortal Sect hadn’t dispatched any true immortals, but they lost one of their grand elders and ten immortal monarchs.
In this war, the Leakless Sect became the biggest winner. They had secretly taken the inheritance of the Dark Heaven Sect, and while all the first-rate forces under the Buzhou Immortal Sect recovered, they entered a phase of high growth. They replaced the Dark Heaven Sect but also inherited their ambitions. Unfortunately, they repeated the Dark Heaven Sect’s mistake and were even destroyed more thoroughly.
Still, the only thing everyone remembered about the Dark Heaven Sect was their final act. None of the forces present would follow the Dark Heaven Sect’s example. Even if they were about to be destroyed, their lineage still had a chance to escape and thrive like the Cultivator Alliance. The Dark Heaven Sect had snuffed any chance of that happening by themselves.
But what if someone repeated the Dark Heaven Sect’s last act but without the sacrifice part? What if the Buzhou Immortal Sect had moved away all the resources and members inside their headquarters and turned it into a death trap?
The chances were low, but none of the leaders present wanted to risk it on the off chance, but neither did they want to let this chance go? What if the Buzhou Immortal Sect was only bluffing? Once the Buzhou Immortal Sect’s troops returned, they would never have such an opportune chance again.
“Please guide us, your holiness,” the Five Element Sect Master said as he cupped his fist toward the Cloud Goddess. At his words, the other immortals present also copied his reaction.
During the discussion, the Cloud Goddess hadn’t uttered a word and allowed them to talk freely. Seeing all the attention on her, the Cloud Goddess’s eyelashes trembled. She parted her mouth, but just as she was about to speak, her eyes narrowed. Seeing this, the other immortals turned their gazes toward the entrance of the sacred hall. There, they saw a man in red robes embroidered with begonia patterns.
“Emperor Begonia, you didn’t die?” the Nihility Sect Master asked.
“Since you dogs of the Buzhou Immortal Sect haven’t died, how could I?”
The Nihility Sect Master, Monarch Fiendclaw, and the rest of the immortals from the Nihility Sect bristled at Emperor Begonia’s words. Still, they said nothing. The exchange between the two sides caused the immortals to have two primary thoughts. Wariness if Emperor Begonia had ulterior motives, and joy for those who thought they could have another emperor-level combatant against the Buzhou Immortal Sect.
“Speak, why have you intruded into my domain?” the Cloud Goddess said. At her words, the air became heavier and the immortals in the room felt as if a mountain were pressing down on them. For the primary target, Emperor Begonia was directly nailed in place.
Emperor Begonia frowned, and a moment later, a red pagoda with four levels appeared behind him. The Soul Pagoda released silver light and broke Emperor Begonia out of the Cloud Goddess’s seal. “There’s no need for hostility. I came here with good intentions. You must be wondering why you lost all contact with spies on the Earth Continent?”
After hearing his words, the immortals and even the Cloud Goddess couldn’t help but become curious. The goddess rested her chin on her knuckles and motioned Emperor Begonia to continue. Emperor Begonia didn’t show any displeasure. The Cloud Goddess was a sovereign-level expert and possessed the right to look down on soul emperors like him.
“Instead of telling, it’d be better to show you.” Emperor Begonia waved his sleeve and an orb depicting the scenery of the Earth Continent revealed itself. In the scenery, the Eight Pillar Sect resembled a tiny dot, but everyone in the sacred hall was a Seamless Immortal or above, so they could easily discern it.
At first, they wondered what they were supposed to watch, but later, they saw it. It turned out to be something akin to a miniature sun orbited by eight spheres. Wherever it passed, everything dimmed as if bathed in darkness. Then the miniature sun struck the barrier of the Eight Pillar Sect. Before the guardian formation could even start, a bright light filled the orb and caused it to shatter.
Emperor Begonia waved his hand again, but this time, it showed a desolate land that life could never exist on. He didn’t whet their curiosity and directly said, “This is the aftermath of what happened.”