Chapter 2207: The Changes of the Cloud Plane

In the depths of the imperial palace of the Xi Empire, three ancient stone towers stood silently within a forbidden ground.

The three stone towers represented the absolute power of the Xi Empire. Apart from the current Xi Emperor, they were all the Chaotic Primes of the empire. They spent most of their time in seclusion within the stone tower, away from worldly affairs. The three of them would only be alarmed if extremely dire matters that could threaten the empire happened.

But at this moment, the three Chaotic Primes who normally stayed in their own towers were gathered together. Even the dignified Xi Emperor sat below sternly in his dragon robes.

“The Heavenless Demon Exalt of the Tian Empire has broken through. A storm of blood will be kicked up on the Cloud Plane soon, and those involved will be the peak organisations who stand at the apex of the plane. However, our Xi clan, as one of the four eternal empires of the Cloud Plane, control over eighty percent of the territory in the northern region, so we can’t just stay out of this storm. We will definitely be dragged in. There are only two choices presented before us right now. The first choice is to yield to the Tian Empire and become one of their subsidiary, where we follow their orders from today onwards. The other choice is to join the resistance and oppose the Tian Empire’s path to domination together. I wonder what the three of you think of this matter?” The oldest ancestral emperor, Xi Lianxue, asked emotionlessly as he looked at the three other people.

Xi Haoxuan, Xi Haoming, and the current Xi Emperor, Xi Ziyun, remained silent.

“Although there have been cases where an entire plane has been united under a single rule throughout history, it doesn’t happen frequently. As a result, I don’t think it’ll be easy for the Tian clan to conquer the entire Cloud Plane this time. There will definitely be a resistance led by the Heaven’s Link Peak. Even if the Heavenless Demon Exalt has broken through and the lord of the Heaven’s Link Peak is no longer his opponent, that doesn’t mean he can’t put up a fight,” after a moment of thought, the Xi Emperor’s father, Xi Haoxuan, broke the silence first and a.n.a.lysed carefully.

“You’re right. After all, the lord of Heaven’s Link Peak held the t.i.tle of the strongest on the Cloud Plane before the Heavenless Demon Exalt had broken through. His battle prowess is exceptional and rarely does he have an opponent at the same level. Even if he’s no longer the Heavenless Demon Exalt’s opponent, he will still able to put up a fight,” said Xi Haoming. He held great confidence in the lord of Heaven’s Link Peak.

“It doesn’t matter whether the lord of Heaven’s Link Peak is the opponent of the Heavenless Demon Exalt. If we yield to the Tian clan, we will definitely face obstruction from the G.o.dsfallen clan. After all, the G.o.dsfallen clan receives a large number of tributes from us every year. Once we yield to the Tian clan, it means they will lose our tributes permanently. As a result, they will never just stand by and let us yield to the Tian clan,” the Xi Emperor said firmly. He continued, “Compared to yielding to the Tian clan and placing all our chips on them, I’d rather maintain our relations.h.i.+p with the G.o.dsfallen clan.”

“What if I recommend standing with the Tian clan?” Xi Lianxue raised an eyebrow and looked at the three of them.

“Ancestral emperor, we must consider this matter thoroughly…”

The Xi Emperor, Xi Haoming, and Xi Haoxuan all objected. They disagreed with yielding to the Tian clan.

The ancestral emperor, Xi Lianxue, nodded, “Since the three of you have doubts in the Tian clan’s plan to unite, then…” As soon as he reached there, a black demonic aura suddenly flashed through Xu Lianxue’s pupils. His face immediately turned cold, and with a thought, a powerful pulse of energy radiated out. Countless strands of energy appeared out of nowhere, wrapping around Xi Ziyun, Xi Haoxuan, and Xi Haoming.

Not only was Xi Lianxue the ancestral emperor of the Xi Empire in the eyes of Xi Ziyun, Xi Haoxuan, and Xi Haoming, he was also the senior they admired the most. The three of them had never thought that Xi Lianxue who was basically family would suddenly attack them.

As a result, they were caught off-guard, and they became tightly bound by the threads of energy. Moreover, some of the threads entered their bodies, not only immobilising them but also sealing up their cultivation and the senses of their souls.

“Ancestral emperor, y- you…” Xi Haoxuan and Xi Haoming looked at Xi Lianxue, who they respected the most, in disbelief. At that moment, they only felt their hearts ache.

The Xi Emperor’s face sank instead. He glared at Xi Lianxue emotionlessly and said coldly, “Ancestral emperor, what are you trying to do?”

“I can’t get you to join the Tian clan, so this is all I can do. Our Xi Empire will be standing on the Tian clan’s side this time, and we will be a.s.sisting them with all we have to conquer the Cloud Plane,” said Xi Lianxue.

This did not just happen in the Xi Empire of the northern region. The Blood Sun Empire of the southern region, the Zihao Empire of the eastern region, and the Jinjian Empire of the western region all suffered similar incidents at different times. All the peak experts in the imperial family who disagreed with supporting the Tian clan had been trapped through various means by the people who held the greatest authority.

In that short period of time, the four renowned eternal empires of the Cloud Plane had silently changed hands.

The black-robed Heavenless Demon Exalt gathered with the two other Grand Primes of the Tian Empire in a majestic hall within the imperial palace. They were all silent.

The Heavenless Demon Exalt sat in the air with his eyes closed while the other two Grand Primes both stared at him.

At this moment, the eyes of the Heavenless Demon Exalt snapped open. He said indifferently, “The four eternal empires of the Cloud Plane are under my control. We can start the plan.”

“Fantastic. With the submission of the four empires, we have absolute control over the four regions. Next, we only need to focus on dealing with the peak clans,” the other two Grand Primes of the Tian Empire beamed.

A vicious light suddenly flashed through the Heavenless Demon Exalt’s eyes. He said coldly, “Before we deal with them, let’s eliminate the foreigners first. Let’s start with the Empyrean Demon Cult first.”

“What? You want to move against the Empyrean Demon Cult? Are you confident that you can deal with their great elder…”

“Provoking the Empyrean Demon Cult at a time like this might not be a clever decision…” The two other Grand Primes became fearful when the Empyrean Demon Cult was mentioned.

“It’s no problem. Although the great elder of the Empyrean Demon Cult once had a glorious battle record, his strongest opponent was only at the Second Heavenly Layer, so I’m certain that he’s at the Third Heavenly Layer at most. There’s no need for us to fear him. And the reason why we should start with the Empyrean Demon Cult is because their branch has soul beads and blood beads refined from many lives. It’s exactly what I need to refine my treasure,” said the Heavenless Demon Exalt coldly. As he said that, he extended a hand.

Immediately, several dozen cultivators below the Primordial realm exploded to death across the Cloud Plane. The s.p.a.ce Rings on their fingers exploded as well as a small, black banner flew out. After absorbing the souls of those cultivators, the banner shot off with lightning speed.

At the same time, streaks of black light shot over from afar and arrived before the Heavenless Demon Exalt. They turned into small, black flags in the end. There were a total of eighty of them.

The Heavenless Demon Exalt suddenly frowned when he looked at the black banners. He growled, “Why is one of my Nine Yin Soulgathering Banners missing?”