The Realm of Maelstrom had been known for its abundant interconnecting spatial rifts.
Right now, it was in the middle of a complicated situation and stuffed with people.
Xie Qian from the Water Moon Sect, Master Blood Spirit, Jing Feiyang, and numerous other Saint domain experts had arrived. They all looked up at the ancient starship from the Remote Beginning Heavenly Sect with gloomy expressions.
The Saint domain experts from the Remote Beginning Heavenly Sect, with Monk Goldbone as their leader, were heinously arrogant.
Monk Goldbone had made it clear that the leaders of all sects and clans from the Domain of the Falling Stars, the Domain of Heaven’s Boundaries, and the Domain of Heaven Python had to report to this place in the given time.
Whether they were in secluded cultivation or not, they had to come pay homage to the sectmaster of the Remote Beginning Heavenly Sect.
Dong Li, Hua Mu, Li Langfeng, Qi Bailu, Fan Kai, Zhao Luofeng, and many others from the Domain of the Falling Stars had already arrived. The same went for Zhongli Jian, Dong Qisong, and the other leaders of the five sects and three clans of the Domain of Heaven’s Boundaries.
Needless to say, the three major sects of the Domain of Heaven Python had long since been waiting in the Realm of Maelstrom.
In front of the Divine Seal Sect’s palace, Master Blood Spirit held in his intense flesh aura without revealing a single wisp. Eyes as scarlet as blood, he said grimly, “The Remote Beginning Heavenly Sect doesn’t seem to be so powerful after all. That Monk Goldbone is only at the late Saint domain, which is the same as me. I’m totally confident in defeating him.”
“Hold your horses,” Xie Qian said. “Monk Goldbone doesn’t represent the Remote Beginning Heavenly Sect’s peak strength. If we touch him, things will get out of hand.”
“You Qimiao and Duan Hongwen…” Dong Li muttered with narrowed eyes as she gazed up at the ancient starship that was unscrupulously berthed in the Realm of Maelstrom. She exuded the shadowy aura of a dark goddess with her lazy black tortoise crouching by her feet.
Hua Mu sighed. “The agreed-upon time will be up in three days, but Nie Tian still hasn’t returned from the Domain of Frigid Depths. With the Extreme Coldness Palace and the other local sects in rebellion, we can’t learn his situation. Plus, the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace is too busy with its own problems to spare forces to help us.”
“Yeah, the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace itself is neck-deep in trouble,” Xie Qian said.
Many whispered among the crowd, wondering what they should do after Duan Hongwen and You Qimiao from the Remote Beginning Heavenly Sect arrived.
Were they really going to bend the knee to the Remote Beginning Heavenly Sect?
If they didn’t, which of them would be able to contend against the two God domain experts of the Remote Beginning Heavenly Sect?
BOOOOM!
Extremely intense spatial fluctuations suddenly spread out from the ancient starship of the Remote Beginning Heavenly Sect.
“Vice Sectmaster!” Monk Goldbone’s elated voice came from above, where numerous Qi warriors from the Remote Beginning Heavenly Sect respectfully greeted the new arrival.
It was a slender man in a long robe with pale-gray hair. With a stamp of his foot, he flew off of the ancient starship to float in the heavens over the Realm of Maelstrom.
WHOOSH!
After a shudder, he expanded at an alarming rate. Seconds later, he was a thousand meters tall.
In his dharma idol form, he was wreathed in grayish-yellow auras, with dazzling divine light falling from him, causing even the core structure of the Realm of Maelstrom to change in a subtle way.
Numerous Qi warriors from the three domains were now gathered in separated areas in the Realm of Maelstrom. They all looked up at the dharma idol of the vice sectmaster of the Remote Beginning Heavenly Sect, Duan Hongwen, apprehension filling their faces.
“Dharma idol! A God domain expert!”
“Duan Hongwen!”
“Earth power!”
Other than the four great sects, only a handful of human sects with profound reserve power had God domain experts.
However, the Remote Beginning Heavenly Sect had not one, but two God domain experts.
Duan Hongwen had only manifested his dharma idol upon arriving because he wanted to put all of the experts from the three domains in awe and stifle their resisting will.
“God domain…” Even Master Blood Spirit, who had claimed to have the ability to take Monk Goldbone earlier, fell silent after seeing Duan Hongwen’s dharma idol.
After getting a measure of Duan Hongwen, he realized that he wouldn’t stand a chance if he were to fight him before he advanced to the God domain.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
With a casual wave of his hand, Duan Hongwen sent beams of divine light falling from the heavens.
In the area where people from the Thousandsword Mountain Sect, the Golden Vast Sect, and the Divine Seal Sect were gathered, more than a dozen Soul realm and Void domain elders were hit by the divine light.
Their bones shattered and their blood splashed as they exploded like watermelons that were dropped to the ground.
Xie Qian from the Water Moon Sect, who was at the late Saint domain, activated his domain and charged into the sky. “Why are you doing this, Vice Sectmaster Duan!?” he shouted. “The agreed-upon time isn’t up yet. Sect and clan leaders are arriving from different domains. Why did you spill blood before the agreed time?!”
Below, infuriated Qi warriors, who had just lost their family or fellow sect members, glared at Duan Hongwen’s awe-inspiring dharma idol in the sky.
“Xie Qian…” After Duan Hongwen gave a derisive snort, his enormous dharma idol instantly morphed into a seemingly-tangible mountain peak that was thirty thousand meters high.
The godly mountain peak was so immense that people below felt humbled by it, and didn’t dare to do anything other than look up at it in reverence.
Glorious divine light fell from the mountaintop to infiltrate Xie Qian’s water domain.
With a loud cry, Xie Qian summoned every bit of spiritual power he could to resist. However, the pressure turned out to be so heavy that it pushed him down bit by bit.
Soon, not only was he pushed back to the ground, but the pressure forced him to deactivate his domain and bend his knees and back.
In what looked like a bowing position, Xie Qian had humiliation written across his face.
“Mmm, this is how you should talk to me.” Duan Hongwen’s ethereal voice came from the mountaintop. “You want to know why I killed those people? That’s because they offended me by discussing me using words I found displeasing.”
At this moment, Master Blood Spirit’s withdrawn flesh aura suddenly burst forth like a torrential sea.
A scarlet blood mist spread violently from him. Its intense power, which reminded people of outsiders’ flesh aura seas, made many gasp with astonishment.
“Hmm? There’s another one at the late Saint domain.” Duan Hongwen’s surprised voice rumbled from above. “Who would have thought that the Blood Spirit Sect still had a successor left in this world.”
“Press!”
Tens of thousands of shiny talismans flew out from the mountain peak that had been transformed from Duan Hongwen’s dharma idol.
The entire mountain peak was lit up by the mysterious talismans, which seemed to be children of the mountain peak that carried the profound truths of earth power.
Master Blood Spirit let out a long cry. Just as he was about to charge into the sky, he felt as if heavy mountains were weighing down on his domain.
BOOOOM!
He didn’t hang on for long before his scarlet blood domain was canceled, leaving a dissipating blood mist.
Like Xie Qian, he was also forced to bend his knees and back, facing Duan Hongwen from the Remote Beginning Heavenly Sect in a humiliating position.
Duan Hongwen let out a cold harrumph as the mountain peak morphed back into his dharma idol. Like an ancient god, he looked down at the numerous puny beings below and said, “These two late Saint domain men represent the peak strength of that Son of the Stars’ subordinates, right? Anyone else feel like challenging my sect? I must tell you that those of you at the Saint domain might still be useful to us. However, I’ll show no mercy to challengers under the Saint domain. They shall be put to death.”
On the ground, Xie Qian and Master Blood Spirit, Nie Tian’s two most powerful subordinates, were bent under the heavy pressure.
Crying furiously, Master Blood Spirit summoned blood power to make another attempt, but still failed to straighten his back.
In his dharma idol form, Duan Hongwen looked down at him with an amused expression. Every time he struggled up a bit, he would wave his hand, sending out more talismans to put him back down.
Jing Feiyang from the Divine Seal Sect let out a low sigh and said, “It’s not going to work. You’ll only end up wasting your blood power. Who would have thought that this vice sectmaster of the Remote Beginning Heavenly Sect would be well-versed in talismans as well? Those talismans seem to contain power he has refined from tens of thousands of mountain peaks.
“Even though they all seem rather small, each of them weighs as much as a mountain peak. If they didn’t target you and Xie Qian, but the Realm of Maelstrom, even the Realm of Maelstrom might have fallen apart under their overwhelming pressure.”
Face reddened, Master Blood Spirit gritted his teeth, growling like a trapped beast. “I refuse to acknowledge his superiority! Once I enter the God domain and match his cultivation base, he’ll gasp for breath under the pressure I give him using my sect’s secret magics!”
Seeing this, many Qi warriors from the three domains sighed repeatedly, sagging their heads.
Even Dong Li advised Master Blood Spirit and Xie Qian to give up resistance. There was no need to lose their lives fighting Duan Hongwen.
“I don’t understand why the two of you would lower yourselves to be subordinates of the seventh Son of the Stars.” Duan Hongwen’s voice echoed out once again. “The way I see it, you might as well kneel before our sectmaster and ask to join us when he gets here.
“The two of you qualify to become elders of our sect. Perhaps after our sect joins the ranks of the most powerful human sects, you’ll get to break through into the God domain with our help.
“Whatever Nie Tian could give you, we can give you more. After all, his backer, the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace, is soon going to disappear from the human world.”
Duan Hongwen had only refrained from killing them because he wanted to recruit Master Blood Spirit, Xie Qian, and the other Saint domain cultivators into the Remote Beginning Heavenly Sect to make his sect stronger.
The way he saw it, the world was filled with Soul realm and Void domain cultivators. Those he had killed earlier weren’t even worth mentioning.
On the ground, Qi warriors from the three domains whispered among themselves. “When is Nie Tian coming back?”
“Is he ever coming back?”
“Is the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace ever going to send people to our rescue? Don’t tell me they’ll allow sects like the Remote Beginning Heavenly Sect to bully us like this?”
Some didn’t even dare to whisper, but only wondered inwardly.
WHOOSH!
At this moment, one of the many spatial rifts high in the heavens was forcibly opened.
RUMBLE!
Deafening rumbles came from within the expanded rift, taking even Duan Hongwen by surprise.
He jerked his face towards Monk Goldbone and asked with a confused expression, “Were any of our other starships coming here? Now that we can use the teleportation portals, we don’t have to go through the trouble of traveling through spatial rifts anymore.”
Monk Goldbone also found this baffling. “None of our other starships should be coming here.”
At this moment, a gigantic silver ship slowly squeezed through the spatial rift. It turned out to be even larger than the one that belonged to the Remote Beginning Heavenly Sect.
“The Profound Purity Palace!”
