Throughout the turbulent night, information channels of the Celestial Words allowed words of the startling events to spread at breakneck speed. The legions of disciples from the hegemonic sects hoarding hundreds of thousands of enslaved Nagas toward the Sea Dream Capital certainly didn't help conceal the news. Not that anyone wished to. Now, all knew that Chandra, the Cardinal Moon Lord had perished under Brihaspati's wrath and that the Moon Refining Palace's legacy ended.
Of Chandra's three-thousand consorts, even the non-Nagas weren't spared, and all became slaves up for grabs in an upcoming auction. And thinking of the possibility to buy one of the fallen Primogen's consorts, many devas from various backgrounds flocked the Sea Dream Capital. Most with evil intent. Of course, there were a few who merely planned to recover their lost relatives. A scant few.
Meanwhile, although the stakes changed, the Essence Nurturing Forest remained an object of fierce competition. The Primal Sun Sect wouldn't withdraw. On the contrary, they would fight with even more intensity to wipe their lord's shame. At the same time, with their new grab of land granting them direct access and right, the Eternal Void Palace dispatched their best team of Rakshasas to join the fray. And so did the Radiant Light Palace.
With his sect's core resources plundered and his Dao's collapse, even if Brihaspati wished to remain neutral, he couldn't. Before those changes, Daksha's face shone with gravity. In this competition, the Sea Dream Temple undoubtedly faced the strongest challenges.
But naturally, he wouldn't retreat. And as he stared at the Essence Nurturing Forest's map on his oak table, Daksha's eyes contorted into a frown. Meanwhile, a slender goddess stood across the table, right in front of him, with her arms folded beneath her D cup breasts, and her magenta eyes flashing serenity.
"Father, you can't remain hesitant."
The goddess declared. Though boasting the usual luminous hairs and magenta eyes all Mara possessed, she seemed endowed with a preternatural beauty, even on her race's standards, that compelled a stare of complete abandon and burning passion. If she so wished, a simple glance was more than enough to trigger blind adoration from even seasoned deities. And while her cultivation remained stranded at the half-step Legendary Goddess Rank, many often mistook her as the Mara Primogen.
She was Rati, the number one beauty of the Celestial Realm – Daksha's eldest daughter and the Sea Dream Temple's Great Elder. Another status she held was that of Surya's sister-in-law.
As the most ancient of remaining Primogens, Daksha possessed many children. Twenty-three, in fact. However, all were daughters. Three stood at the Ancestral God Rank, while nineteen remained between the Cosmic God and High God Ranks. Rati, the eldest, was the only half-step Legendary Goddess. Of course, an enormous age difference stood between every single one of them.
Across those eons, Rati had always been Daksha's right hand and greatest pride. His only regret was allowing her to wed Surya's little brother, Kama.
"Nehal is, after all, my granddaughter. How can I be so cruel as to offer her to the Warden for examination? Moreover, although the Warden's cultivation stands leagues above Surya's, they're the same in Truth Laws. Both stand at Truth Wielding. Assuming something odd truly lay with Nehal, if Surya couldn't find it, how could the Warden?"
Daksha retorted while shaking his head in frustration. Only those suspected of the highest crimes such as conspiring to slay a Primogen or threatening Heaven's stability were eligible to suffer the Warden's examination. Sending Nehal was no different from telling the world that the Sea Dream Temple believed her a threat to Heaven. Such a move would undoubtedly harm her future.
Rati, however, stood undisturbed.
"False argument. Surya doesn't have the Brahmas' Eye of Illumination. His Truth Laws, therefore can't compare to the Warden's. What he cannot find out, the Warden can. Unless, of course, the mastermind behind Nehal is a Truth Embodiment."
Rati countered. Following Daksha's retelling of the previous events, she had a 99% certainty that Nehal turned coats and no longer served their best interests. The situation wasn't just fishy. It was entirely ludicrous. In the twenty-four hours following her return, a succession of calamities smashed Heaven as if all danced like puppets in a dreadful existence's palm.
Rati didn't believe all this a coincidence. No, she had to be involved.
"Why are you so adamant on Nehal being guilty? At the end of the day, she's your niece. You watched her grow up. How can you not know her heart and so easily believe in her treachery?"
Daksha questioned. But before the inquiry, Rati didn't flinch.
"It is exactly because she is my niece. Though not malicious in nature, Nehal is the type of woman to easily adapt to shifting situations. I can believe that she willingly surrendered to that Chthonian Primogen to bide her time. I can believe that she considered escape. But I cannot believe that she so willingly left an existence able to make her go from Divine Ascension to Nihility Goddess in a measly two-hundred years. Even if she wished to, she should have waited until she reached the limits of her bloodline or his boons, whichever came first.
Moreover, this is only what she shows. Who knows what else she gained. Perhaps, the reality of her current abilities is far beyond what we imagine. I will give you until the Essence Nurturing Forest Competition's end to mule it over. Afterward, if you're still unwilling to, I will send her myself, then apologize to my sister."
Rati declared, then turned heels to walk toward the exit.
But before she reached it, Daksha's voice echoed:
"You should divorce your husband. His loyalty doesn't lie with us. With the recent events, keeping a direct relative of Surya is a hidden danger we cannot afford. Divorce Kama and I will personally bring Nehal to the Warden. Otherwise, forget it."
Daksha offered, and for an instant, Rati stopped. However, she didn't turn or speak further words before vanishing in magenta haze. Seeing this, Daksha shook his head.
"If only a worthy man could lure her away from that crafty scum. How good would it be…"
Daksha sighed.
…
Meanwhile, as Rati gathered the Mara team, one of Konrad's Devil Bodies stood within an Infinite Void Space of his before a chained Chandra who thrashed no end, struggling fruitlessly in the face of his immutable fate.
