*Sigh*
In one sigh, Daksha expressed the exasperation of all his peers and stood up.
"I will now return to my Sea Dream Temple. Farewell."
Daksha declared, and waved his hand, causing magenta light to wrap Konrad, Nehal and Amrit to vanish alongside him. Remaining in a place were the majority wished to gouge out their tongues served no purpose. The longer they lingered, the more room for mishap they left.
However, as the four vanished, an imperceptible glint flashed within Surya's golden eyes, and without turning toward him, he sent Chandra, the Cardinal Moon Lord, a mental message.
"Moon Lord, I believe you and I should pay our dear Dream Lord a visit."
Surya offered, causing Chandra's eyes to contort into a frown. Of the thirteen sects that ruled Heaven, the Ravmalakhs' Primal Sun Sect, the Maras' Sea Dream Temple and the Nagas' Moon Refining Palace where undoubtedly the closest. As the only dual cultivation sects of the lot, they remained connected by a relationship of intermarriage and mutual support, thereby making them the strongest force after the Warden's Heaven Warding Temple.
This, undoubtedly was Surya's merit. In his father's times, because of some of its less than ethical practices, the Moon Refining Palace remained isolated from the other two. But following his takeover, one of his first moves was to offer one of his sisters to Chandra as his wife.
If Talroth now held the title of number one dual cultivator, then undoubtedly, Chandra kept the title of most lustful god of the multiverse. As the ancestor of nymphomania, his lust was notoriously insatiable. And among the Deva Gods, only he possessed such an outrageous quantity of consorts – a remarkable three thousand.
It seemed more like an affliction than anything else, and for that same reason, even among his peers, many dreaded letting him into their houses. If he went, he would not leave without a new consort. Surya knew that well-enough and Chandra wasn't so stupid as to not see that his good old friend the "Primogen of Luck" planned to use him.
"Why?"
Chandra directly asked. Although an excellent relationship united the two of them, he wouldn't go cause trouble in a Cardinal Lord's house for no reason.
"The situation is fishy, there is more than meets the eyes. If that girl, Nehal, remains in Daksha's custody, we will never get to the bottom of this. I strongly believe her escape isn't the result of her own skills. Either that existence turned a blind eye to let her drive a wedge between us, or they're in the same boat.
Be that as it may, once she becomes your consort, taming her is just a matter of one night. Afterward, what we want to know, we will naturally find out."
In the Deva Primogen hierarchy, due to inheriting his father's Sun Embodiment and Truth Wielding, Surya ranked at the top. After him, it was a bit more complicated. But usually, Durga, the Cardinal Void lady, Brihaspati, the Cardinal Light Lord, Chandra, the Cardinal Moon Lord, and Daksha the Cardinal Dream Lord followed.
All were late-stage Legendary Gods with matching foundations and bloodline strength. But Laws determined their ranking. In terms of destructive abilities, among Higher Laws, Dream Laws ranked fairly low. Therefore, as the Dream Embodiment, among the top five, most considered Daksha as the bottom. Of course, that was among the Cardinal Lords. None among the Divine Lords could receive ten of his moves.
But even if his strength surpassed Daksha's by a good margin, Surya knew that the Ethereal Alliance uniting Maras, Ravmalakhs and Nagas would become fragilized by the snatching of Daksha's granddaughter. In these chaotics time, the gains weren't worth the loss.
Therefore, he could only lead Daksha into offering her through a careful balance of pressure and diplomacy. And following that explanation, Chandra no longer had any reservation.
"Oh well, Maras have always been my favorites."
…
Meanwhile, led by Daksha, Konrad, Amrit and Nehal crossed space to land within the Sea Dream Temple. Translucent rivers and magenta clouds swirled around the succession of towering temples whose domed roofs glittered in rainbow light.
Though inwardly undisturbed, Konrad didn't forget to put on a show of awe and deference.
Unlike the Heaven Warding Temple, and like all the other sects of the Celestial Realm, the Sea Dream Temple was divided into Outer, Inner and Core Zone. If the Outer Zone housed more than one-hundred-thousand disciples, the Inner Zone only comprised fifteen thousand. As for the Core zone, three thousand disciples called it home.
Again, it wasn't cultivation but bloodline that separated the disciples. The Purebloods could only occupy the Outer Zone. The Noble Blooded could occupy the Inner Zone, and the Greater and Royal Blooded devas occupied the Core Zone. As for Dream Spirits, depending of their lines, bloodline level and generation rank, they could occupy the Outer or Inner Zones. But only the scant few created by Daksha himself had the privilege of cultivating in the Core Zone.
And as they landed in Daksha's cultivation temple, Konrad could feel that the concentration of spiritual energy in that temple was one thousand times above that of the Sea Dream City's.
If born here and raised here, a mortal could live for at least three hundred years, with five hundred kilograms of arm strength.
Turning into magenta haze, Daksha vanished and reappeared within the marble white seat that was his, and swept the four with a complicated gaze.
"Nehal, I want to say that I'm glad you returned. However, I'm afraid any elation I should have felt has been wiped out by the meeting's result."
Daksha began with a candor that surprised none. Having done his homework, Konrad was well-aware of Daksha's straightforwardness. As for the others, they lived it.
"Grandfather I…I didn't know my words would trigger such chaos. Please forgive me!"
Nehal pleaded in a low bow, and Daksha could only shake his head.
"Never mind. Rudra boy, This Eminence supposes you didn't come here for our family drama. By defending the capital and saving This Eminence's granddaughter, you've obtained two merits. State two wishes. As long as they stand within reason, This Eminence will grant them."
Daksha pledged as his gaze shifted back onto Konrad. And as if uplifted by the words, Konrad bowed in thanks.
"Thank you, Lord, for your grace! Although I've been cultivating for 50,000 years, as a wandering cultivator from a bestowed lineage, I remain stranded at the High God Rank, without hope for further breakthroughs. Now, my relatives are also suffering from my misfortunes.
I only have one wish, an opportunity to take my family with me and join the Sea Dream Temple!"
Konrad exclaimed, causing Daksha to arch his eyebrows. Bestowed lineages were descendants of humans who became devas through blessings. That this Rudra belonged to that lot was natural and didn't surprise Daksha.
However, for him to reach the peak of the High God Rank and Light Wielding in 50,000 years with a mere Noble Deva Blood showed profound talent. Alas, as a deva, bloodline laws dictated that in this life, he couldn't go a step further – unless, of course, his bloodline rose to the next level. As a Primogen, Daksha knew that very well. Unless that problem was solved, even the Sea Dream Temple's resources would be of no use.
