"Send them here the moment they arrive," said the woman from the White Skypalace.

The two of them spoke in a really weird tone that sounded like they were emotionlessly reading a script.

"Understood," Zi Xiao said. "As for the matter of vengeance—"

"Let Third handle it. Bring him here if capturing him alive is possible. Otherwise, kill him and bring his corpse back here—and those of his lifebound beasts as well," said the man.

"Understood. I will inform Third to do it as soon as possible. This can't be allowed to drag on any longer. It's already caused enough chaos."

"How is Jiang Wuxin's progress?" asked the woman.

"It's going well. He's still trying to resist and retain his ego, however. Haha.... There's no way Feng Qingyu knows what we're doing here," said Zi Xiao.

"Make sure that you and Third don't mess up. When Third is done with his task, we have to start putting our grand plan into action. We've been waiting two hundred thousand years for this," said the man.

"Be on your way. If Third faces any trouble, send him reinforcements. Forget our reputation and do anything you have to, just get the thing done," said the woman.

"Understood. Also, there is another matter I have come here to discuss."

"Speak."

"A young girl came to our sect. Her lifebound beast claims to be from the cosmic aether and has lived for a million years, only to fall to this state. It says it knows Li Tianming's true identity and can provide our sect with a method to grow stronger."

"What is it called?" asked the man.

"Archaionfiend."

"The true owner of the Archaionfiend Eye that's being suppressed by the Heaven Cauldron?" the man continued.

"That's right."

"Invite it here. Treat it with respect."

"Understood. I will handle it immediately." Zi Xiao immediately turned and left, leaving the Black and White Skypalaces to quiet down once more.

"Now this is getting interesting. Even the legendary Archaionfiend has shown up. It looks like it's about time for our vengeance," said the man before he laughed like a child.

"Aren't you in pain that Bodhi is gone?" asked the woman.

"Pain? I don't understand what that word means. Bodhi lived to enlighten. His eyes are windows. That was his greatest mission in life, and his birth alone was the greatest contribution he made toward the realization of our shared dream. He managed to protect the eyes, and that alone is something he deserves ultimate praise for."

"I see."

"Qingqing."

"Yes?"

"Trust me. It'll all be worth it."

"Okay."

......

Tens of third-origin tribulation elders, many palace lords, divine marshals, Fang Taiqing, and Jian Wuyi were gathered within Tribulation Hall at Taiji Peak Lake. They were discussing the war taking place on Pentaphase's territory. The situation didn't seem optimistic and the atmosphere of the hall was pretty cold and distressing. At the very end of the discussion, they all fell silent. Their foes were currently putting pressure on them to divert their attention away from the Kilostar Domain, and there was nothing the four sects could do about it.

"Word is that the number of those defending the entrance of the domain has decreased. Are they trying to lure us in?"

"That’s certainly a possibility. But charging in based on a conjecture like that might be fatal."

When it came to matters of war, they needed confirmed intelligence rather than empty guesses. Their discussion fell into a stalemate once more.

"Come to think of it, so much time has passed. Perhaps our enemies obtained some kind of ultimate treasure that they can use to completely dominate us on the battlefield."

"Our relationship with the other three sects is far too weak now."

"Had we not sent reinforcements quickly enough, some within Pentaphase might’ve betrayed us. Even now, the situation is still really volatile."

"The moment our enemies come out with treasure from the Kilostar Domain and apply even more pressure to Pentaphase, not even Sect Master Jiang Yuanjun will be able to stop them. He doesn't have full say in his sect."

"If Pentaphase falls, what about the other two?"

They weren't trying to smear Pentaphase's reputation. They were merely stating simple facts, and that alone showed how helpless their situation was.

"It's all the Kilostar Domain's fault. It represents far too many unknowns. We and our allies are terrified at the prospect of our enemies acquiring treasure there."

This was the point when their loyalty to the sect would be tested. Who would sacrifice the most for the sake of the sect when the option of giving up and fleeing seemed to have virtually no consequences? If they were able to leave the Nine Divine Realms, they would be safe, given their power. They were all wearing sour expressions.

Fang Taiqing sat in the very top seat as he listened to their discussion with his eyes closed. Time seemed to flow really slowly, and everyone felt their hearts anxiously beating.

"Report!" All of a sudden, a middle-aged general in armor barged into the hall. His expression was one of agitation and he couldn't help but laugh loudly, much to the others' confusion.

"Stop embarrassing yourself! Report if you have anything to say!" snapped a third-origin tribulation elder.

"Zhao Liu, take this seriously!"

"Yes, yes!" The general stifled his laughter by clearing his throat. "It isn't a battle report, but rather a message from our informant in the Nonahall Divine Realm."

"Read it," Fang Taiqing said, staring daggers at the general.

The man cleared his throat and began, "News from Kilostar Domain: Imperial Son Li Tianming is experiencing rapid growth within. As the elites from the five sects are suppressed by a sealing formation within the domain, they aren’t a huge threat to the imperial son. Lately, he has assassinated more than eight hundred tribulation elders and forced Ghoul King Xue Yi to stop hunting for treasure. They arranged for a thousand and eight hundred eighth-level death samsarans to be sent into the domain as reinforcements as part of an effort to kill the imperial son but have had no results so far.

"Additionally, two treasure spots have been discovered within the domain. The first was a stash of fifteen thousand grade five to six tribulation manna and the other contained more than a hundred thousand tribulation artifacts with eight to ten tribulation patterns. The treasures from both sites have been claimed by the imperial son.

"Most shockingly, the Nonahall Divine Realm fell into chaos yesterday when word spread that Ye Bodhi, the son of the second ghoul king, was killed within the Kilostar Domain by the imperial son, who, to this day remains safe."

The words were met with utter silence. They thought the start of the report sounded ridiculous enough, but they couldn't have expected it to sound much more ridiculous as the report went on. They had seen how powerful Tianming was back then, so they knew that Tianming was far from the level of Ye Bodhi, the winner of the Number One Summit the last time around. They were on completely different levels. Not to mention, Tianming had allegedly managed to claim the only two treasure troves that were discovered. Were Feng Qingyu, Li Caiwei, Xue Yi, and the rest slacking off or something?

Someone laughed and said, "Did the informant betray us to mess with us?"

"It is indeed possible."

"This is too ridiculous. Is Nonahall so dumb that they thought we'd believe something like this?"

"What a load of bullshit. Why didn't they just tell us that Li Tianming killed Ghoul King Xue Yi, Feng Qingyu, and Li Caiwei as well? Surely that wouldn’t sound any less believable than what we've heard."

They were so pessimistic they were trying to find some humor in this ridiculous report.

"Hand me the written report," Fang Taiqing said.

"Sect Master, there’s twenty-eight of them, all sent from Nonahall and they all corroborate each other. Some informants even state that the imperial son has killed the children of two ghoul kings, Gu Yunge and Xia Ziluan, respectively," said the general as he took out a thick stack of reports.

"Twenty-eight?!"

Their eyes were about to fall out of their sockets.

"That's right."

"Hand them over," Fang Taiqing said, receiving the thick stack of reports. After reading them all, he handed them to Jian Wuyi, who then handed them to the third-origin tribulation elders. Not a hint of laughter could be heard within the hall. Many of them read the reports with their eyes completely bloodshot.

"We got another eighty-one reports from Nonahall!"

"Three hundred and ninety-one reports from Pentaphase just came in!"

"Divine Marshal Fang Shenyu sent a report that the troops of Nonahall are losing ground from the chaos after news of Ye Bodhi's death spread!"

Tribulation Hall was completely filled with loud discussions. The third-origin tribulation elders received the reports and read the same information from all of them. Six hours later, the reports had piled up to a little hill. Everyone described the news in their own way and praised Tianming like he was a god. Despite the exaggerations, the reaction from Nonahall basically confirmed a few facts.

First, Tianming was alive and growing even stronger. Second, he had obtained two treasure troves, enraging Nonahall to no end. Third, he had killed Gu Yunge, Xia Ziluan, and the famous Ye Bodhi. By now, people were no longer laughing at the reports at all.

They could already imagine the rage felt by Xue Yi and how haggard he and the other old elites must have felt. They had already given up all hope that Tianming would be able to leave the Kilostar Domain alive, yet now they were fraught with tears from the sheer adulation and relief they felt.

"Dammit, if there's someone to claim the title of imperial son, Li Tianming is the definitive one!"

"Could he really be the reincarnation of the founding ancestor come to save us?"

"Fuck.... This old man hasn't cried a single tear in the past two centuries. But the imperial son made me.... Hahaha...."

Fang Taiqing stayed silent for a long time. He took some of the reports and turned to leave.

"Are you going to Xuanyuan Lake?" Jian Wuyi asked.

"Yes."

"I’ll come along."

"Sure. Let's go."

They flew straight in the direction of Xuanyuan Lake.

Fang Taiqing shook his head and smiled. "Don't you think it's marvelous?"

"It truly is. When I first saw him, I just tossed him in the Human Branch. If it weren’t for Her Eminence, I wouldn't even have bothered to pay him any heed."

"Haha...."

"However, now that Nonahall has been forced into a corner, Xue Yi will no doubt be applying even more pressure," Jian Wuyi added.

"The imperial son is still in danger, it appears," Fang Taiqing agreed.