The birth of a new immortal emperor did not create any ripples. In fact, if Ding Mian hadn’t been secretly paying attention to the battle, he would not have noticed anything amiss, just like everyone else.
When an immortal monarch entered the Extremity Immortal Realm, there would be no accompanying phenomena. This was the same for immortal emperors entering the Origin Immortal Realm. Once a true immortal mastered a complete law and transformed their body, they would no longer be connected to heaven and earth. In a sense, the Dao Manifestation was the last gift of the Heavenly Dao to cultivators.
That immortal monarch was Ye Chen.
Although Ye Chen broke through in the midst of battle, he did not immediately reveal himself as an immortal emperor. Instead, he hid his power and pretended to struggle against his opponents, three immortal monarchs. On the surface, he only managed to escape after paying a high price.
Ye Chen retreated from the battlefield and returned to the Numinous Sword Sect to recuperate. Of course, that was a lie. Ding Mian hypothesized that his real reason was to consolidate his cultivation base and firmly step into the Extremity Immortal Realm. Only then would he reveal himself and deal a crucial blow to the two alliances.
Ding Mian frowned. ‘I should have taken action against Ye Chen before he broke through. Now, it’ll be more difficult to kill him and take the Kunlun Sword.’
Still, he didn’t regret his cautious approach. As someone who inherited the legacy of the Heavenly Lord of Numinous Treasures, he would never underestimate the Numinous Sword Sect. Who knew if the Numinous Sword Sect had a method to contact their counterparts in the prime timeline? If they did, everything he got in this timeline would be practically useless.
‘Since I can’t take action personally, I can only tip off the two alliances, but I can’t make it too deliberate. I’ll have to think of some method to guide one of the three monarchs that fought with Ye Chen. Tsk. This isn’t my forte. I’ll have to be careful not to be exposed,’ Ding Mian thought.
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It was a world with no day or night. A black mist permanently covered the sky, and only occasionally would light peek through. This was the Void Immortal Grotto of the Void Ripple Sect, their headquarters. Although the Void Ripple Sect controlled a large island like the other first-rate forces, they did not make the island their headquarters. Instead, it was this immortal grotto concealed in space.
Although it wasn’t as rich in resources as the large island, it had one immutable advantage. The Void Immortal Grotto wasn’t anchored to one place and could be relocated with some preparation.
In one of the temples sat an immortal monarch in a lotus position with her eyes shut. She was garbed in the customary dark robes, but there was no mist covering her face. This was normal. Most monarchs hid their faces with the Mystic Mist Art when leaving the Void Immortal Grotto to give an air of intrigue in order to protect the mystery of the Void Ripple Sect. Many people outside couldn’t differentiate the space monarchs of the Void Ripple Sect thanks to this method.
The female monarch was Monarch Voidmist, the newest space monarch of the Void Ripple Sect. She was also one of the three monarchs that besieged the Kunlun Sword Monarch.
As a new monarch, Voidmist should not have been able to participate in a siege against a peak monarch like Ye Chen, especially since she hadn’t even merged one of the five elemental qis, becoming a first-step monarch. It was something that would take her hundreds, if not thousands, of years to accomplish. However, her talent in the Law of Time was only inferior to her talent in the Law of Space.
Although she hadn’t mastered the Law of Time, it was only slightly away from perfection. In terms of her attainments, she would be considered an immortal lord with the Law of Time. With her mastery over the Law of Space and attainments in the Law of Time, it was more than enough to protect herself and play a supportive role in the siege against Ye Chen.
Voidmist snapped her eyes and looked around, as if in a daze. Her delicate brows were pursed. Obviously, she was troubled by something.
She looked at her hands. ‘I knew I was tired from the battle, but did I really fall asleep and dream about it?’
The space monarch closed her eyes and recalled the scene in her dream. It was almost exactly the same except for one moment. She and the two other immortal monarchs had forced the Kunlun Sword Monarch to a deadend. Just a little more and they could have taken his life, but they actually failed.
It was exactly the same process and images, but in her dreams, she felt a strange temporal fluctuation. Although brief, the fluctuation was stronger than the spatial fluctuations she had felt before, and it reminded her of the Ripple Emperor.
Voidmist wanted to chalk it up to just being a dream, but the more she thought about it, the more strange she felt. Upon recalling the entire battle, the turning point seemed to be that exact moment. Although everything seemed perfectly reasonable, the Kunlun Sword Monarch was able to escape the predicament. After that point, although he was being pressured, it felt as if something had changed. Although he suffered a grievous injury, he was able to escape.
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At this point, Voidmist even had the suspicion that the Kunlun Sword Monarch deliberately allowed himself to be injured in order to trick them. But for what reason?
‘No, I have to tell someone of my suspicions,’ Voidmist thought. She stood up and left her temple.
She flew toward the center of the Void Immortal Grotto. In front of a large temple stood two guards.
“Please inform the Ripple Emperor that I have something to report,” Voidmist said.
The two guards nodded and didn’t delay. Although they were true immortals and guarded the core area, they knew their status was inferior to immortal monarchs like Voidmist. Soon, they made way for Voidmist. She didn’t delay and directly entered.
Inside the main hall, Voidmist did not see anything except a rippling space in the middle. She bowed to the ripple. “Ripple Emperor, I’m sorry for disturbing you while you are recovering.”
“Tell me, what’s the problem? I know you aren’t one to make a mountain out of a molehill,” the Ripple Emperor said. His voice was majestic, but there was no hiding the fatigue within them.
“It’s like this,” Voidmist recounted the battle and her suspicions. She didn’t mention the dream, only because it sounded preposterous. In her view, it was likely her intuition and subconscious warning her, hence the dream.
The Ripple Emperor didn’t denounce Voidmist’s conjectures. He even sank into deep thought. “If what you said is true, then the Numinous Sword Sect might have a new sword emperor.”
“Sword emperor? That’s a bit too much, right?” Voidmist objected. If that Kunlun Sword Monarch really merged all five elemental qis into his immortal qi and perfected his Law of Time, why didn’t he kill her and the other monarchs immediately? She wanted to ask if the Ripple Emperor was sure, but she didn’t dare to question him.
Naturally, the Ripple Emperor saw her confusion. “It’s not certain. There’s only a fifty percent chance, but that’s enough to set him as the number one assassination target.”
He sighed. “If I was in perfect condition, no—If it was after Emperor Wujian’s death, I would have had the confidence to set up an ambush for that Kunlun Sword Monarch. But now, both the Redmoon Emperor and I would have to set up an ambush. But now, both he and I are too injured.”
“Then what can we do?” Voidmist asked, anxious. Although a new sword emperor would not guarantee the Numinous Sword Sect’s victory, it would give them a significant advantage and make the chances of victory for the two alliances plummet.
“I’ll contact the Three Island Alliance. They must not want to see a new sword emperor, too,” the Ripple Emperor said. Then, he dismissed Voidmist.
Alone again, the ripple vanished, as if it had never existed.
Elsewhere, the Ripple Emperor opened his eyes. The space he was in was located in the core of the Void Immortal Grotto, but it was also hidden within space, a space within a space. An aura of spacetime filled the air. Anyone inside would be able to comprehend the Law of Space and the Law of Time with twice the results for half the effort.
The source of this aura was not the Void Immortal Grotto. Or rather, the Void Immortal Grotto did not have such capabilities. The source was the gold and silver lotus floating in the center. Its root was not anchored to the ground but spacetime itself.
Just like how the founder of the Wavefold Sect discovered the legacy of the Sea Goddess Mazu, the founder of the Void Ripple Sect also had his own fortuitous encounter. However, it wasn’t the legacy of a powerful divinity from the primordial era, but the lotus.
The lotus was not recorded in any record the founder of the Void Ripple Sect knew, but because it contained the Law of Space and the Law of Time, he called it the Void Divine Lotus. It was thanks to this lotus that he became an immortal emperor, and the only one in the Void Ripple Sect’s history to master the Law of Space and the Law of Time.
The Void Divine Lotus was the Void Ripple Sect’s greatest secret and trump card. With it, they built the Void Immortal Grotto, a land that even ten immortal emperors could not invade. Its effect was far more prevalent than that. Anyone born in the Void Immortal Grotto would have a high predisposition for the Law of Space or the Law of Time. Otherwise, it would be impossible for so many space monarchs to appear.
To maintain secrecy, only those who have become immortal emperors could enter the core space and be bathed in the aura of the Void Divine Lotus.
The Ripple Emperor was the same. Just bathing in the aura of the Void Divine Lotus could accelerate the healing of his immortal body. For the foreseeable future, he would not leave this core space of the Void Immortal Grotto. At least, that was the original plan.
Before his injuries could fully heal, it seemed that he would need to leave and discuss how to deal with the Kunlun Sword Monarch with the Redmoon Emperor and the Three Island Alliance. His eyes flickered. “Should I let Voidmist or Skybreach enter and comprehend the mysteries contained in the Void Divine Lotus?”
Although Voidmist was not even a first-step monarch yet, she was the most likely to replicate the founder’s feat of mastering both space and time. Skybreach was the immortal monarch with the highest chance of inheriting the title of Ripple Emperor.
The Ripple Emperor knew his chances of falling were high. If he did not tell others about the Void Divine Lotus, the Void Ripple Sect might never know about it until it was rediscovered after who knows how many years—if they hadn’t been destroyed yet. Only by entering the core space and manipulating the formation could the Void Immortal Grotto relocate.
“Who?!” The Ripple Emperor scanned his surroundings. He frowned when he sensed no one. “Strange. Was it just my imagination?”
He clearly felt an unknown gaze a moment earlier. However, the feeling disappeared and he couldn’t sense a second person inside the core space. Still, he couldn’t help but have an ominous premonition.
After a moment, he made a decision. He would give both Monarch Voidmist and Monarch Skybreach permission to enter the core space. If Skybreach could enter the Extremity Immortal Realm during the war, it would be for the best. As the one with the greatest potential, Voidmist could protect the Void Ripple Sect if both Skybreach and he perish in the war.
The Ripple Emperor summoned both of them and introduced the Void Divine Lotus to them and taught them the method to relocate the Void Immortal Grotto. Both of them stayed in the core space while he left. He had already informed the Redmoon Emperor about the Kunlun Sword Monarch. Both of them would meet with the Three Island Alliance to discuss what to do with the Kunlun Sword Monarch, especially if he really became an immortal emperor.