Patriarch Pure Heaven pondered in silence with his brow furrowed.
“Patriarch,” Zhou Shang said, “Yue Yanxi, Jiang Feng, and the others seem to have gained quite a fortune from their trip to a brand new domain. They came back with a large number of spiritual materials and herbs that can’t be found in human domains.” After a moment of hesitation, he added, “I heard that Yue Yanxi and a few others are recently making preparations to break through into new domains.”
Patriarch Pure Heaven snorted coldly and asked, “What are you trying to say?”
Zhou Shang shrunk his head and said with a bitter face, “All of the other sects have developed their strength after swearing allegiance to Nie Tian. Their recent exploration trips to the Lizardman domain and other new domains have turned out to be very fruitful. We, on the other hand…”
“What about us?” Patriarch Pure Heaven asked, looking displeased.
Zhou Shang sighed. “Not only have we not developed our strength, but all of the other sects and clans in the Domain of Heaven’s Boundaries have been avoiding contact with us since we refused the Son of the Stars’ offer. Our sect members are no longer as respected and revered in the Domain of Heaven’s Boundaries as before.”
The Pure Heaven Sect had been the most powerful sect in the Domain of Heaven’s Boundaries. Patriarch Pure Heaven’s unmatched strength had emboldened them.
Members of the other sects and clans would always treat them with respect, and sometimes fear.
However, since those sects and clans had sworn allegiance to Nie Tian, not only had they stopped treating them with respect, but they had even cut off trade with them.
They would often trade among themselves, or go find trading partners in the Domain of the Falling Stars and the Domain of Heaven Python.
Before long, the Pure Heaven Sect had become isolated.
Zhou Shang felt deeply frustrated seeing his sect in such a situation, while the other sects and clans benefited from their relationship with Nie Tian.
However, the Pure Heaven Sect was in no place to start anything.
After all, those sects and clans had Nie Tian, the seventh Son of the Stars of the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace, at their back.
Not to mention that word had it Nie Tian had a God domain flame power expert as his backer.
Even without all that, Nie Tian had Jing Feiyang, Quan Zixuan, and Qu Mingde, three Saint domain experts who would be happy to rush over from the Domain of Heaven Python if the Pure Heaven Sect dared to act unruly.
If they fought, they wouldn’t win. If they didn’t fight, they would gradually wither away, and eventually be gobbled up by the other sects and clans.
Deeply worried about their future, Zhou Shang added, “In fact, many of us already have complaints about our decisions, Patriarch. They think you should declare allegiance to Nie Tian like the other sects and clans did. Given our reserve strength and your influence as a Saint domain expert, our sect will soon rise to prominence if we do.”
“A bunch of shortsighted fools!” Patriarch Pure Heaven spat. “They’re only seeing the bright side, but not the hidden danger! That Nie Tian kid was lucky that they didn’t encounter any powerful enemies in that Lizardman domain, or the other places they explored.
“One day, he’ll run into truly powerful enemies, and summon all of his subordinate sects and clans to fight his battle. Many will die. Their blood will flow like rivers. Only then will they realize that staying away from him is the only way to keep their sects and clans safe.”
Zhou Shang seemed to understand this as well as he smiled bitterly and said, “But that Son of the Stars has won every time so far, and there were almost no casualties. That’s why many in our sect think he’s been chosen by the heavens, and that he’s someone worth following.”
“He can’t be so lucky forever,” Patriarch Pure Heaven said with a berating tone. “Don’t mind the others. Just keep our disciples calm and wait for changes. Let’s see how long his good luck can last!”
In the headquarters of the Divine Seal Sect.
Many powerful experts from across the Domain of Heaven’s Boundaries were gathered in a deep mountain valley in front of a volcano.
Kan Zhisheng from the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace was there, building a large-scale inter-domain teleportation portal as agreed.
Dong Qisong, the sectmaster of the Beast-controlling Sect, Zhongli Jian, the sectmaster of the Divine Flame Sect, and Feng Yulin, the sectmaster of the Bliss Mountain Sect, were gathered around him, along with senior members of the Trisword Sect, the Jian Clan, and the Guan Clan.
The heads of the Trisword Sect, the Jian Clan, and the Guan Clan couldn’t come, since they were in the middle of secluded cultivation.
Dong Qisong, Zhongli Jian, and Feng Yulin were all at the late Void domain, and had been seeking to break through into the Saint domain for many years.
Previously, when Nie Tian had summoned his subordinate forces to join him in exploring the Lizardman domain and the floating continent, the three of them had happened to be in secluded cultivation, and were thus unable to go.
They had come out of their secluded cultivation just in time to learn that Nie Tian had asked an expert from the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace to establish a teleportation portal in the Divine Flame Sect’s headquarters.
After brief self-introductions, all three of them expressed their desire to visit the Realm of Remote Heaven to Nie Tian.
“The Realm of Remote Heaven?” This was the first time he had heard about this realm. Confusion filling his eyes, he turned to Jing Feiyang, who was standing beside him, and asked, “Where is that realm?”
After his return from the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace, he had summoned Jing Feiyang and told him about selecting a Heavenly Talisman in Fragmentary Star City.
His plan was to take him to Fragmentary Star City to have him choose a Heavenly Talisman as soon as this inter-domain teleportation portal was finished.
Jing Feiyang’s eyes lit up. “The Realm of Remote Heaven…”
After taking a quick glance at the sectmasters of the three major sects in the Domain of Heaven’s Boundaries, he said to Nie Tian, “If you hadn’t found me a Heavenly Talisman in the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace, I would have asked about visiting the Realm of Remote Heaven too.”
Nie Tian signaled for him to continue.
“According to what I hear, the Realm of Remote Heaven is humanity’s most important trading center,” Jing Feiyang explained. “The Realm of Remote Heaven is protected and managed by the four great human powers. Similar to the Realm of Maelstrom in our domain, people go there to trade all kinds of spiritual materials and cultivation resources.
“It’s just that there’s an extremely high threshold for entering. Only members of the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace, the Void Spirit Society, the Five Elements Sect, and the Heaven Span Pavilion, or members of their subordinate forces, are allowed to enter. Those who don’t have any connections with the four great powers are forbidden to enter, even if they’re powerful Qi warriors from premium grade domains.
“Now with Patriarch Pure Heaven entering the Saint domain, the Domain of Heaven’s Boundaries has officially joined the ranks of medium grade domains.
“However, even Qi warriors from the Domain of Heaven Python, like Quan Zixuan, Qu Mingde, and myself, normally wouldn’t be allowed to enter the Realm of Remote Heaven, much less Qi warriors from the Domain of Heaven’s Boundaries.
“Elders, Sons of the Stars, Divine Children, and chosen ones of the four great human powers frequent the Realm of Remote Heaven.
“They can find all kinds of precious materials, medicinal herbs, and even records of domain forging methods there. Even the four great powers attach great significance to it, and consider it their most important trading platform.”
Surprised, Nie Tian asked, “So this Realm of Remote Heaven isn’t open to everyone?”
Jing Feiyang smiled bitterly. “That’s right. Not everyone is allowed to enter the Realm of Remote Heaven. Only those with lofty statuses and their subordinates can enter. In fact, I’ve heard a lot about it and always wanted to visit, but I knew it was only my wishful thinking. But since you’ve become the seventh Son of the Stars of the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace, your subordinates are now allowed to the Realm of Remote Heaven with you.”
“I can’t believe there’s such a rule.” Nie Tian said, touching his nose. “Okay, I’ll talk to Kan Zhisheng.”
He then walked over to Kan Zhisheng, feeling strong spatial fluctuations thrumming throughout the mountain valley, as if countless spatial blades were dashing around in the air and carving something.
A great number of materials were piled up beside Kan Zhisheng, most of which had come from the sects and clans of the Domain of Heaven’s Boundaries.
“Senior Kan, could you make some adjustments to this teleportation portal and connect it to the Realm of Remote Heaven?” Nie Tian asked.
“No,” Kan Zhisheng answered, withdrawing his hand. The peculiar spatial fluctuations in the valley stopped immediately. With a furrowed brow, he shot Nie Tian a glance and said, “If you want to visit the Realm of Remote Heaven, you’ll have to use the ancient teleportation portal in the Vast Heaven Pavilion. But since your cultivation base is still rather low, you’ll be able to get all the cultivation resources you need from our sect.
“All of the spiritual materials and other resources they have target Void domain, Saint domain, and God domain experts. You’re still far from getting there.”
Nie Tian then explained, “It’s not for me. It’s for my subordinates.”
Hearing this, Kan Zhisheng looked past Nie Tian, and saw Dong Qisong, Zhongli Jian, and Feng Yulin smiling expectantly at him from afar.
He nodded slightly. “So that’s how it is. All I need to do is add the coordinates for the Realm of Remote Heaven to the teleportation portal in the Vast Heaven Pavilion, and you’ll be able to teleport there. Since it’s pretty easy, I’ll do it for free.
“However, you’ll need to show them your Star Medallion after getting there. And they have to enter with you.”
Nie Tian expressed his gratitude and walked away.
After returning to Jing Feiyang, he said, “We can visit the Realm of Remote Heaven, but we’ll have to teleport from the Vast Heaven Pavilion in Fragmentary Star City.”
People were overjoyed to hear this.
“Inform the sectmasters of the Trisword Sect, the Jian Clan, and the Guan Clan of this.” Nie Tian ordered.
“Quan Zixuan and Qu Mingde must want to go badly,” Jing Feiyang said, smiling. “I’m lucky that you’re getting the spiritual materials I need from the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace for me with your contribution points. I’m afraid those two will have to empty their collections over the years to get the materials they need from the Realm of Remote Heaven.”
