Chapter 25(1/2): Foundation

Chapter 25(1/2): Foundation

The core formation guardian of the Divine Mountain Sect who held the peak-quality communication mirror in his hands had an increasingly stupefied expression on his face as he watched Yao Shen tear through his Patriarch’s indomitable Divine Mountain Domain with his physical strength alone, a feat that alone threatened to shatter the guardian’s worldview.

He watched as the assault lead by the fearsome Elder Yongliang of the Sacred Flame Palace was dispatched with ease, Yao Shen walking out unscathed from the encirclement.

And finally, he watched as the Sacred Bird: Marayan was reborn anew, the thirty foot tall flaming bird sending waves of terror down his spine. The revelation that Patriarch Lei Weiyuan was capable of such a feat would normally be a grave threat to the Divine Mountain Sect’s longetivity, but in that moment the guardian watched on with hope— only to watch Yao Shenruthlesslytear the Sacred Bird, symbolising the glory of the Sacred Flame Palace, in half.

Panic welled up in the guardian’s heart, not having prepared for an outcome where the combined might of the two hegemons of the Azlak Plains......lost. Twenty two elders and two Patriarchs losing against one cultivator, soul emperor or not, was not an outcome one could prepare for— not an outcome that should have been possible. The Guardian was the son of Elder Junjie, the Elder that had harried Yao Shen with attacks from beneath the earth, and thus had almost complete access to the sect records— no such feat had been recorded in the known history of Azlak Plains before.

His instinctive, knee-jerk reaction was to shatter the communication mirror— as one deeply loyal to his sect, the very thought of submitting to another filled him with utter revulsion, and the oaths had not been sworn yet. All was not lost.... Not yet.

A firm hand clamped down his shoulder, startling Guardian Shihong since he hadn’t detected any movement in the vicinity. Zhou Hui stood next to him, his expression almost as stunned as the Guardian himself, uttering two words that smothered any final thoughts of resistance he held in his heart,

“Keep recording.”

Half an hour passed as the Elders from both the sects took time to recuperate, some consuming healing pills while others sat down in a meditative posture to replenish their qi. Yao Shen stood by his lonesome in the center of the devastated clearing, displaying no impatience at the elders’ actions— No cultivator enjoyed remaining in a vulnerable position outside the bounds of their sect, especially not those who had managed to cultivate all the way to the coveted Sect Elder position.

Only after all the elders had recovered enough strength to be comfortable in combat did they hesitantly shamble forward in Yao Shen’s direction.

The world exploded in color as Yao Shen activated his human sight, despite the Elders’ attempt to restrain and conceal their emotional state. A dense cloud of uncertainty swirled around the elders, its bleak greyness consuming all other emotions that it encountered in its path, before they had a chance to fully form.

Yao Shen saw a flickering red cloud that represented the emotion ‘anger’ being consumed by the cloud of grey mists, replaced by the seemingly all-pervasive ‘uncertainty’ that dominated the landscape. The elder in question was pragmatic enough to understand that as one who broke the deadlock between the three hegemons of the Azlak Plains, Yao Shen had been far too reasonable in his response. A newly ascended Soul Emperor wielding the power of the Esoteric Dao’s could easily kill two Nascent Soul Patriarchs belonging to rival sects without facing any real repercussions from the Righteous Path.

But Yao Shen had not gone down the bloody path of suppression through strength, instead choosing to shatter the established status quo.

For one accustomed to anticipate deception and subterfuge with every word, every step and every action their rival took, kindness was truly their greatest weakness. The rivalry between righteous path sects seldom devolved into open conflict, but that did not mean it was any less cutthroat. The Azlak Plains may be considered a small territory, but that size was only relative to the rest of Ionea— Natural Treasures, hidden inheritances, spiritual ore veins, rare spiritual herbs were dotted across the land, and each hegemon strived to monopolize the resource before their rivals got a wind of it. However, the existence of spy networks like the Heavenly Sky Sect’s Faceless ultimately made most such attempts futile, forcing the three hegemons to devise a solution. This was why disciples fought over resource points in place of the elders, and although killing was frowned upon, many ancient inheritances had methods to render divine sense ineffective— effectively nullifying the ability of the elders to pry within the inheritance grounds.

They watched with bated breath as history itself was being forged in front of their eyes, some elders watching with a faint flicker of hope in their heart— hoping that the prideful Yongliang Luo would refuse to bow, hoping for something, anything, to buy them more time.

Unfortunately, their hopes were destined to be shattered.

Yongliang Luo gave Yao Shen a light bow, low enough to be respectful, yet not reverent in the slightest.

“Rise as an Elder of the Modern Sect.”

Yongliang Luo complied, his expression inscrutable as he uttered the words, “Grand Patriarch.”

“Elder,” Yao Shen acknowledged, and Yongliang Luo took his position at his side.

The remaining elders, bound by the terms of the duel that had been witnessed by all three hegemons of the Azlak Plains and the Eastern Righteous Path Alliance, gave up the final embers of resistance that they held in their hearts as they stepped forward, one after the other.

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“Rise as an Elder of the Modern Sect.”

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“Rise as an Elder of the Modern Sect.”

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“Rise as an Elder of the Modern Sect.”