Within the Heaven Continent existed the Nine Great Forces. The group included the Bright Ascension Sect, Leakless Sect, Monolith Sword Sect, Nihility Sect, Dust Veil Sect, Boundless Mountain, Five Element Sect, Drifting Feather Sect, and Cloud Goddess Cult. This group did not include the Buzhou Immortal Sect as it superseded the rank of a first-rate force.
As with the Earth Continent, not every sect was under the control of the local hegemonic sect. The Cloud Goddess Cult, Drifting Feather Sect, and Five Element Sect rejected the Buzhou Immortal Sect's rule and allied together to resist, known as the Anti-Heaven Alliance.
Despite the vast difference in power between the two forces, the Anti-Heaven Alliance managed to survive due to several conditions: the inner conflict between the six vassal sects, the Buzhou Immortal Sect's indifference, and the power of the Cloud Goddess.
The Cloud Goddess, formerly the Soaring Cloud Monarch, ascended and became a divinity through unorthodox means. As a price, her strength did not reach the level of a true divinity that ascended through orthodox means. Still, she exceeded most immortals and possessed the strength of an immortal emperor.
Mortals cultivate to become immortals, and immortals cultivate to become divinities. The mortal realm split into six minor realms, while the immortal realm split into four minor realms. Immortal emperors were immortals in the third minor realm.
Within the Holy Hall of the Cloud Goddess Cult lay the Cloud Goddess atop an altar-like couch. Skin that shone like moonlight without a single blemish, dazzling eyes that contained the very skies and curves brought out by her white dress. Should she walk the streets, no one would doubt her as a goddess based on beauty alone.
The Holy Hall was constructed from white marble-like materials and gilded in gold designs with murals depicting the Cloud Goddess. The whole room seemed to glow with a golden light that seemed similar to the light of Karmic Virtue yet intrinsically different.
Her eyes were staring out into the distance, seeing through the surrounding walls.
Footsteps rang, and a man wearing white robes entered the Holy Hall and bowed before the Cloud Goddess. "Your holiness, we have received word from the Drifting Feather Sect and the Five Element Sect concerning the information relating to the birth of a treasure in the Northern Region. They are asking for directions."
The Cloud Goddess's long eyelashes trembled as she closed her eyelids and sank deep into thought. Throughout this time, the stately man below her kept his rigid bow without a change in posture.
He exuded the aura of an immortal, but there was something different about him from other immortals on a fundamental level.
Finally, the Cloud Goddess opened her eyes once more. "Inform the Drifting Feather Sect and the Five Element Sect that they should not interfere. I sense Sword Empress Xi and Empress Voidink already at the location. Even as I speak, more and more immortal monarchs and even an immortal emperor are arriving. It is no longer something we can contest for."
"Understood!" The man said as he retreated but was stopped by the Cloud Goddess.
"Wait, inform them not to send any immortal monarchs as we cannot afford to weaken ourselves at this juncture. The Buzhou Immortal Sect may be indifferent, but the other vassal sects are eyeing us like wolves. I will go and, if possible, claim the treasure. Even if I can't, I will not let the others from the Heaven Continent claim the Sovereign Nine Yin Lotus. Now go."
After the man left, the Cloud Goddess closed her eyes as if drifting away into sleep.
In the Northern Region near the location of the pillar of silver light, clouds began to conglomerate. Clouds that resembled feathers, cotton-like clouds, mist-like clouds, and all sorts of clouds started to gather at a single point. It was as if all the clouds within thousands of miles had gathered into a single point. The conglomerated clouds began to change until they became humanoid and formed a near-exact copy of the Cloud Goddess.
The Cloud Goddess opened her eyes and looked around. She could sense several immortal monarchs and a few immortal emperors. A few also detected her presence due to the considerable commotion she caused.
As a divinity, her presence was different. Unless one had special means, immortals were generally unable to sense her presence, much like how a mortal would not be able to sense an immortal with their spiritual sense. Furthermore, her divine sense was not something an immortal could detect.
The Cloud Goddess looked away from the probes and raised her hand. Clouds started to form above her and created a literal castle atop the clouds. Its walls were like marble, and it exuded a holy aura. When the Cloud Goddess was about to enter the castle, she paused and looked back.
The space in front of the cloud castle began to twist and distort, and a spiral unraveled. From within the hole formed walked out an elderly-looking man. The Cloud Goddess's incarnation towered over the man, being three times his size.
"Monarch Yonderheart," The Cloud Goddess greeted. "I thought I told the Five Element Sect to stay back." There was neither anger nor disappointment in her voice as if Monarch Yonderheart was not someone of the Anti-Heaven Alliance.
Monarch Yonderheart smiled and cupped his hands towards the Cloud Goddess. "My apologies. But as one of the three grand elders of the Five Element Sect, I had to try my chances. Nothing more than testing my luck, if things go south, I will retreat."
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The Drifting Feather Sect had one grand elder, a half-immortal monarch, while the Five Element Sect had three. Since they had three, the Five Element Sect could be more liberal in deploying their immortal monarchs.
In addition, Monarch Yonderheart was one of the rare immortal monarchs who completed his ascension using the Law of Space.
It was said that when Monarch Yonderheart was young, he traveled throughout the Heaven Continent and even the Earth and Mortal Continents. He was deeply moved by his experience and wanted to travel to the places he had traveled before and those that he had never visited. This pursuit led him to master the Law of Space. Before he knew it, he became an immortal monarch.
The Law of Space was skilled in evasion; this undoubtedly played a large role in why Monarch Yonderheart's fame.
"Just be careful. You are one of the nine monarchs of the alliance. You should prioritize your survival above all else."
Monarch Yonderheart nodded. "I will heed the Cloud Goddess's words."
-line break-
Mengfei rested her head on her left hand; beneath her floated a couch. The Fleeting Mist Sect had long departed from their former headquarters. Now all that was left was an empty mountain with uninhibited structures.
Her right sleeve still concealed her missing arm while the sword casket floated next to her. Mengfei opened her eyes until it was half-lidded, as if she was still half asleep.
In front of her, the painting of a beautiful woman wearing white with snow-like hair appeared. As if by miracle, the mesmerizing woman stepped out of the painting and became a reality.
"Grand Elder Zhang." Mengfei nodded, her movement sluggish.
Zhang Cuiying stopped and observed Xi Mengfei. Previously from her perspective, Mengfei was like an unsheathed sword without a sheathe. Although such a sword was sharp and the perfect weapon, that sharpness made it incredibly brittle.
Just as it seemed that the sword known as Xi Mengfei would begin to crack and shatter, she suddenly came back to the sect one day with a new life in her body.
It was subtle, but it was as if the treasured sword had found its sheath. No longer was it always bare, ready to draw blood. And now Zhang Cuiying couldn't see any hint of sharpness from Mengfei.
It was as if Mengfei had lost all her sharpness, but that was impossible. Her edge could not be so easily lost. Although Mengfei exuded no aura and seemed to be an ordinary mortal, if devastatingly beautiful, there was no doubt something had changed. She had entered a strange state.
Zhang Cuiying turned her eyes towards the sword casket beside Mengfei. That was the largest proof. The murderous aura she sensed within it had diminished, not because it disappeared, but Mengfei was even more capable of sealing it away now.
"Grand Elder Xi." Zhang Cuiying replied. She waved her hand, and a painting of a floating boat appeared. Like before, the boat emerged from the painting and became real.
Zhang Cuiying stepped onto the deck, where a table rested. Pouring the tea into the cups, she looked towards the indolent Mengfei. "Grand Elder Xi, care for some tea?"
Mengfei didn't reply for a good while as her head nodded off. Only after a while did she speak. "No thank you, I quite like the view here now."
Zhang Cuiying became stunned at the indolent words of Mengfei. She almost wanted to ask, who are you, and what have you done with Xi Mengfei?
The days turned into weeks, and the weeks turned into months. Mengfei continued to laze around indolently as if months hadn't passed, and she was only resting mere moments. Zhang Cuiying sat in her immortal boat, tasting tea and painting when the whims visited her. Sometimes she would even write down a few poems when the mood struck her.
Mengfei's half-lidded eyes turned towards the distance at the same time as Zhang Cuiying. The clouds had gathered and formed the Cloud Goddess.
It was the first immortal emperor-level expert not from the Buzhou Immortal Sect to arrive. But the two grand elders of the Buzhou Immortal Sect did nothing as if on unspoken agreements. Currently, any stray attacks could land on the maturing blossoming Sovereign Nine Yin Lotus. While it was in this stage, the Sovereign Nine Yin Lotus was incredibly fragile to the point that a Unity Realm Venerable would be able to destroy it under certain conditions.
The arrival of the Cloud Goddess seemed to have become an unspoken signal. The impatient immortal monarchs began to appear in pairs or even groups.
Mengfei, Zhang Cuiying, and Cloud Goddess all turned towards the distance, where the sound of thunder rang in the cloudless sky. A man walked in the air, each step seemed small, but he moved over thousands of miles with each step accompanied by thunderclaps.
His appearance was ordinary, and he wore linen robes, but his eyes were crackling blue, and in each eye, lightning dragons swam within. He was the Eternal Night Emperor, the founder of the Extremity Night Sect and the leader of the Anti-Earth Alliance. The immortal emperor of the Eight Pillar Sect did not dare to appear, but the Eternal Night Emperor did. It was as if he was not afraid of the Eight Pillar Sect assaulting them while he was gone.
Like the three immortal emperor-level experts who had arrived before him, Eternal Night Emperor quietly waited for the completion of the Sovereign Nine Yin Lotus.
Time started to flow once more. That was until a youth in a red robe, and a horn on his forehead appeared.
Mengfei's eyes snapped open, her previous lazy appearance gone, and a murderous aura enveloped her. She lifted her head and swiped down with her freed left hand.
The skies above Monarch Soulfish distorted, and a sword as if formed by heaven itself descended. The sword did not seem out of place but rather as if it had always existed, and there was nothing wrong with the scene.
None felt it more than Monarch Soulfish himself. He felt as if his body was flying to the tip of the heaven-born sword, like he wanted the sword to impale him.
Even his own thoughts betrayed him. Everything in his mind told him that "I have to get pierced by the sword no matter what I do."
"Graa...YAHHHHHHH"
With a yell, Monarch Soulfish's body ballooned into a giant red fish with a horn atop its head. His body became transparent, and the sword seemingly harmlessly passed through his body and into the ground below. The sword did not damage the earth and instead merged into the ground.
Once the sword passed, Monarch Soulfish returned to his original form. But his skin was pale and blood leaked from his lips. His aura was in disarray, and he stared at Mengfei in shock. He didn't have any more time to think as he felt the sky above him begin to warp once again.
With an unresigned expression, he dissolved into space like a phantom disappearing.
"Monarch Soulfish, did you really think I would not attack just because the Sovereign Nine Yin Lotus is still incomplete?" Mengfei's voice could be heard as if heaven was announcing them. "You tried to steal my son's soul. This grudge will not be forgotten. Pray that you don't appear before me again."