The Palace Master looked no difference from a 20-year-old young woman, and her beauty made it difficult for one to take her eyes off of her. Coupled with her bright and inviting smile, she was most definitely a femme fatale.

One had to know that dao experts often went through cycles of appearing young and old. For example, Viola was currently aging and had the appearance of an attractive woman of about 40 or so years old. But, the moment she broke through and gained another 100 000 years of life, she would once again look like she was in her 20s. That said, this was difficult to do considering she was already a middle dao expert. It could very well be the end of the line for her.

However, geniuses of Jasmine's caliber never stayed in one cultivation stage long enough to age. In all likelihood, Jasmine would look this way until she was lucky enough to become a Higher Existence, something she had a high probability of doing considering the fact she was a False True God.

"Little Alex, you've finally brought your husband to big sister?" Jasmine's smile grew brighter. Dyon could imagine just how many men would willingly shave off decades of their life just to be the aim of this smile.

Ri reddened in slight embarrassment. She wasn't a woman who easily felt shame, but she did find Dyon's tactics a bit embarrassing.

That said, she had still gone along with it because she believed in Dyon's judgement. Plus, his reasoning was very fair. Coming to Jasmine for help would put them on the weaker end of the deal. Taking Dyon's approach, even if it caused a bit of dissatisfaction, it would at least force Jasmine to take them seriously.

This was only made better by the fact it was impossible for Jasmine to sense Dyon's cultivation. If she tried, she'd be forced to withstand the retaliation of the Lightning Willow Mask. Although her soul had long since entered in the dao realm by now, there didn't exist a cultivator that would willingly accept tribulation lightning into their mind's eye.

"We've come to seek some cooperation with big sister Jasmine," Ri said lightly after gathering herself.

"Cooperation?" Jasmine's ears perked up. Could it be that the elves wanted to cooperate with her?

In truth, Ri's backstory had always confused Jasmine. If she was a member of the Elvin Kingdom, why had she ever suffered a loss at the hands of the kitsune? The kitsune weren't worth shit in comparison to the lofty image many still had of the Elves.

This only led down the path to one answer: and that was that the elves simply weren't as powerful as they once were. Ri might have even been seeking the help of the kitsune. In that case, cooperation with her wouldn't bring Jasmine much benefits, now would it?

Dyon was faintly aware of what Jasmine was thinking, and he couldn't help but think that having Lyla by his side in this situation would be extremely helpful. Unfortunately, she wasn't here.

Thinking to this point, his thoughts drifted to Jade. He had promised himself to release her after he finished his trial, but it had already been almost three months since then, yet he was still hesitating.

Dyon shook his head, now wasn't the time to think about this.

"Mm." Ri nodded yes, still lightly holding onto Dyon's hand. "If this goes well, not only will it be possible for you to break into the peak dao realm, it will become possible to suppress the Mist Clan."

"Oh?" Jasmine responded faintly. The bright smile was still on her face, making it seem like she was still being open and amicable.

Ri felt slightly awkward. She didn't know how to take things forward from here. With Jasmine's curt answers, it was hard to continue the flow of the conversation. But, she also didn't want to let too much out in case negotiations went sour.

It was when Ri was suddenly feeling stifled that Dyon spoke.

"That's quite the mask you're wearing," He said lightly. "It's far better than even mine. I wonder how many years it took for you to hone it."

Jasmine's eyes narrowed slightly. It couldn't have been more than a split second, but in the next moment her cheery expression was back.

"You can't be asking me to take off my mask, can you? That's a bit rude considering yours is still on, no?"

"Maybe. But I can take mine off. I wonder if you dare to do the same?"

A gauntlet had been thrown.

Dyon's provocative words stunned Ri. Was the Palace Master really wearing a mask? And even if she was, wasn't that just more reason to not trust her? Why would Dyon exchange his identity for hers?

Ri knew more than almost anyone else just how important Dyon's identity was. If Jasmine had ulterior motives, it would definitely cause Dyon's empire to collapse before it even got off its feet.

As things stood right now, Ri and Dyon both understood how fragile Dyon's upstart was. The people under him had no sense of belonging, they were all seeking their own benefits, and only folded to Dyon's call because he had the larger fist. But, what the hell did Dyon's own strength have in the face of a monster like Jasmine? She wouldn't even need to lift a finger to kill him even if he brought out every trump card he had.

If Dyon's current allies followed him because he was strong, who was to say that they wouldn't leave him for someone even more powerful?

Dyon had faintly begun to understand just why no one had succeeded in creating an Emperor God Clan in a single lifetime. Creating a nation and an empire was about more than just collecting talents and accumulating territory. Why was Faith so important in the martial world? Wasn't it because the feeling and aura of a people what was in their hearts was just as important as how strong their leader or they were?

The Dyon of today simply couldn't afford to take such a risk.