Chapter 713: Chapter 713: The Power Behind the Heavenly Evil Sect
Zen left the training room with uneasy steps. There was less than the usual number of disciples in the Cloud Hall, but he didn't give it too much thought.
He never expected that not a single person in the entire Cloud Hall would inform him of the upcoming battle.
Of course, Margaret didn't know what was going on inside Zen's mind. The words she had just said set her cheeks aflame. She buried her head in Zen's chest, not even daring to look at him.
Then, Zen's warm fingers closed over hers as he took her hand and led her back to his room.
Back in the underground palace, they had been all too aware of the danger that was closing in on them. Eddie had been persistent in his pursuit, and the two of them did not have much time to enjoy the happy moment of their coupling. Tonight, however, safe within the walls of Cloud Hall, there would be no danger or interruptions.
They took as much as they gave—limbs entangling and lips leaving a trail of fire. Morning came and the flames had settled into a pleasant warm, blanketing them in the comfort of sleep.
The next day, the earlier uneasiness that Zen had felt had turned into a foreboding sense. There was something terribly wrong with the Cloud Hall. The halls and rooms echoed emptily as only a few souls were seen. It seemed as if the Cloud Hall had been deserted, and there were even fewer people now.
He wanted to ask Rocher and the other members about the situation, but discovered that they were nowhere to be found. Zen headed back to the meeting hall only to find it vacant. It was well past morning, and around this time, most of the elders would gather in the meeting hall to discuss important matters, but not a soul was here today. Zen's confusion grew with each empty room that he had run across.
He walked back outside and closed the door to the meeting hall. Just as he was about to turn away, he ran into Fernandez.
Fernandez was one of the elders of the Cloud Hall. His skin was wrinkled with age and his hair gleamed silver, but there was a sharpness to his eyes and a purpose to his movements. This time, he was the one who stayed behind.
With all the things happening all at once, several elders had to stay in the Cloud Hall and keep watch on the Small Circulation Killing Array. Eddie was a looming threat, and they had to be prepared. If he decided to bypass the World Commercial Alliance and rashly attack the Cloud Hall, the array would be their first line of defense.
Although now that the Cloud Hall's strongest warriors had already left, it was very unlikely for anyone to attack. The main forces had long left for the Oracle City, and even if the Heavenly Evil Sect members tried to attack, they would only find the place empty of people. It would only be a waste of their time and energy.
“Elder Fernandez, where is everyone else?” Zen asked with a suspicious look on his face.
Fernandez seemed to be taken aback by Zen's question as well. “Has our leader not informed you? Most of the warriors of the Cloud Hall have already entered the Oracle City to join forces with the World Commercial Alliance against the Heavenly Evil Sect. Some warriors have left as early as last month,” the old man explained.
Zen's surprise was written all over his face at the old man's answer. “No one informed me,” he said in disbelief.
Fernandez knew that there had been a rift between Letitia and Zen. They had been avoiding contact with each other. He rubbed his nose and shook his head with a strange expression on his face. “I don't know what our leader was thinking,” he sighed.
“What's the situation now?” Zen asked with concern.
Fernandez nodded his head. Zen was fortunate to chance upon him. Although he stayed at the Cloud Hall, news of the war between the World Commercial Alliance and the Heavenly Evil Sect was sent to him every day. Fernandez would be able to answer his questions.
Letitia had simultaneously declared war with the World Commercial Alliance against the Heavenly Evil Sect the moment she entered the Oracle City.
The combined strength of the Cloud Hall and the World Commercial Alliance would make for a formidable opponent. The Heavenly Evil Sect had to take the battle seriously if they were to win.
If the Cloud Hall was their sole concern, the Heavenly Evil Sect members wouldn't have to be so careful. In the whole Cloud Hall, Letitia was the only person who would be a serious challenge in the eyes of Eddie and Simon. The Sutra of Empyrean Goddess that she had cultivated was several times stronger than other cultivation methods. She only experienced one life and death crisis after entering the Life and Death Realm, but because of her cultivation, she could fight toe-to-toe with even the warriors who had undergone two or three life and death crises.
Aside from her, the Cloud Hall was just like any other sect, and was greatly inferior to the World Commercial Alliance in other aspects.
The Cloud Hall's development was the same as that of the Ethereal Spirit Sect. The members of the Heavenly Evil Sect regarded it as nothing special. If they surrounded and attacked it, it would fall to their hands sooner or later. R̃ά𐌽ǒʙÊṢ
The World Commercial Alliance was a different matter altogether. It was formed by a group of merchants and had grown to become one of the most powerful and influential groups of today. In terms of the strength, the World Commercial Alliance was at the level of a sixth-grade sect. It was not a sacred place, nor a divine kingdom, but the Heavenly Evil Sect knew there was more than what met the eye. They knew nothing of the secrets that it hid, and so they had to be careful.
After the Heavenly Evil Sect members invaded the Ethereal Spirit Sect, the eastern area of the Central Region was strangely quiet. The members of the Heavenly Evil Sect were unexpectedly not wreaking more havoc. Instead, they seemed to be resting in order to recuperate their strength. They would be attacking the World Commercial Alliance next.
However, the members of the World Commercial Alliance were no fools. Their group was among the smartest and most cunning, and they would not just sit still and wait for their deaths.
They took the first step in starting the war. The Heavenly Evil Sect had made no declarations of war, and so the World Commercial Alliance took it upon themselves to do so. Joining forces with the Cloud Hall had led to this turn of events: the two strongest sects in the Central Region had declared war on the Heavenly Evil Sect on the same day.
Thus it was the beginning of the biggest war between sects in the Central Region for the last thousand years.
Over a month after the declaration of war, both sides had earned victories and defeats. One moment, the Cloud Hall and the World Commercial Alliance would be celebrating their feats; the next moment, they would be on their knees with loss. The war was far from over. In the course of battle, the World Commercial Alliance had destroyed two outposts of the Heavenly Evil Sect, and the Heavenly Evil Sect was slowly advancing towards the central district.
Everyone in the Central Region understood that this would be a true and decisive battle, with the victor taking everything. Whoever won could hold the fate of the entire Central Region in their hands.
If Eddie won the war, the Central Region would be integrated into the divine kingdom. On the other hand, if the joint forces of the World Commercial Alliance and the Cloud Hall succeeded in defeating the Heavenly Evil Sect, a sacred place might be born. The war was one that would decide the future.
Right now, things were at a standstill. It was as if both sides were cautiously keeping an eye on each other's movement, trying to sound out their opponent's intentions and next move. One of them would eventually lose patience, and once that happened, the final battle would commence.
“So Letitia is still in the Oracle City, right?” Zen asked.
Fernandez gave him no direct response and instead said earnestly, “Zen, the Cloud Hall needs you.”
“I see,” Zen replied. Now that things had come to this point, he didn't have any intentions of backing down. Letitia had gone too far this time. How could she not tell him about something as important as this?
“Our leader seems to be in a bad mood recently,” Fernandez uttered.
Zen was surprised at the sudden comment, but he of course understood what Fernandez was hinting at. He smiled wryly, not knowing how to explain the whole thing to Fernandez.
Unexpectedly, Fernandez said, “It's normal for men to have several wives. Back in the day, I had more than twenty women. It is not so complicated, but keeping a woman happy requires that you woo her the right way.” Fernandez could only freely speak these words to Zen in this circumstance. If Letitia was in the Cloud Hall, he never would have dared to say anything about this.
Zen was very astonished at his subtle advice. Fernandez, despite his old appearance now, must have been quite the charmer in his younger days.
For a warrior, having more than one wife was not uncommon of difficult. The status of a warrior in the Central Region was almost equivalent to that of an immortal. Even the poorest warrior would be a thousand times richer than an ordinary mortal. With this status, women naturally abounded around the warriors.
Fernandez left Zen with these words. Zen remained standing on the balcony, looking thoughtfully at the rolling clouds above the Cloud Hall. “Would a woman really become happy again after I please her?”
After some time, Zen returned to his room. He found Margaret having just finished her bath. Her black hair was damp as she was tying it behind her head. She was wearing only her undergarments, and her skin glowed with an appealing luster.
“Come with me,” Zen said to her.
“Where to?” Margaret asked.
“The Oracle City,” replied Zen.
“Alright,” Margaret said with a smile. She would not ask Zen for his reasons if he was not telling her himself. In the past, she would have questioned him relentlessly, but now she didn't think she had to do that.
It wasn't that her personality had changed, but her thinking and perception had.
Margaret had already come to think of Zen as the only person she would rely on in her life. At the same time, she understood that her feelings were not returned. They had made love once in the underground palace, but it was something that was forced, unlike the natural course of lovers.
This man who was asking her to come with him did not love her.
Margaret understood this clearly.
He was with her only because of duty.
With this knowledge, Margaret had carefully maintained her distance. She did not ask Zen for favors, nor did she make any requests or demands. If she were to cling to him, he might grow tired of her and leave. She was at peace with the fact that Zen might never return her affections. It was enough that she could be by his side.
Women were indeed strange creatures. In the short span of a few months, Margaret's relationship with Zen had undergone such a drastic change. She was always mindful and guarded while staying with him, and yet, she felt small flutters of joy in their connection, even if it also bore hints of pain.
After the two of them made quick preparations, they left the Cloud Hall and entered the Cloudy City, stepping into the transmission array. Margaret and Zen disappeared into the space tunnel arm in arm, with only a flash of blinding whiteness signaling their departure.
Things were not good in the Oracle City.
Ever since the World Commercial Alliance and the Cloud Hall declared war on the Heavenly Evil Sect, more and more merchants started leaving the Oracle City.
The numerous wealthy merchants played a huge role in running the Oracle City.
These merchants were not warriors. Most of them did not know how to fight, and even the very few had skills and were only at the nature level of cultivation. They would not be of any use in battle. However, the wealth they possessed and controlled was far greater than the vast majority of warriors. Even those at the Virtual Tribulation Realm did not come close to them in terms of money or property.
The entire World Commercial Alliance was formed by these merchants.
These merchants knew their trades like the back of their own hands, but there was nothing they could do about the sect war. The only way for them to secure the safety of their own lives was to leave. Since the start of the war, more and more of them had chosen to temporarily leave the Oracle City to seek refuge in other cities.
The World Commercial Alliance valued money above everything else. Its members, who had control of the city's economy, knew very well that as long as they had money, there would always be warriors who would work for them. This was the main reason why the World Commercial Alliance became a sixth-grade sect.
The light of the transmission array constantly flickered, transporting people to and from places. In a flash of white, Zen and Margaret finally appeared at the Oracle City.
There was a long queue of merchants lining up in front of the transmission array to leave the Oracle City. Suddenly, a beautiful man and woman appeared. The sight of them caught the attention of everyone around them as the people's eyes looked at them admiringly.
“Zen!”
Before Zen and Margaret could step out of the transmission array, a voice rang out.
The voice sounded familiar, but it was a faint memory. Zen could not remember exactly to whom it belonged. He looked towards the source of the sound and saw a handsome young man looking at him with a smile.
His eyes widened as he finally put a face and name to the voice. “Owen?” It had been more than two years, but Zen would recognize the person in front of him with a single glance anywhere.
The young man was the divine-level talent from the Woollen Grassland. Zen and Owen had participated in the Martial Arts Contest with a goal that was surprisingly similar: both of them were trying to kill Marilyn to prevent Eddie from creating the Lustful Demon Array.
However, in the end, Owen had failed. He was defeated by Marilyn, and his loss cost him dearly. She almost destroyed his entire body.
But now, the man in front of Zen was far from the Owen back then. He exuded more strength, and had actually stepped into the late stage of the Internal Elixir Realm. Very soon, he might be able to reach the Virtual Tribulation Realm.
Owen possessed great talent. He was an independent warrior, but he had incredible luck, and it seemed as if opportunity favored him. On top of this, he only came slightly weaker than Zen and Brent in terms of strength. It would not be far from possible for him to become a powerful independent warrior in the future.
“Did you join the World Commercial Alliance?” Zen asked.
Owen nodded and spoke with a smile, “I see that you have already stepped into the middle stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm!”
To this day, the two men still shared similar goals. One of them was to save his sister from Eddie, and the other wanted to rescue his lover.
Owen was visibly delighted to see Zen. “Come with me,” he said quickly. “You have just arrived at the Oracle City, so you might not be clear about the current situation.”
Zen nodded his head and took Margaret's hand as they left the transmission array along with Owen. Then the three of them flew towards the World Commercial Alliance's headquarters.
“Are all the members of the Cloud Hall in the headquarters of the World Commercial Alliance?” Zen asked.
Fernandez had already told Zen about the general situation, but he did not know the details.
Owen's eyes flashed. Then, he said, “All the warriors of the Cloud Hall and the World Commercial Alliance have been mixed up. Only a few members remain in the headquarters. The majority of them have already left the city.”
Zen knew that the war between the sects was intense, but what he saw in the city exceeded his expectation by far. The leaders from both sides had not yet engaged in battle with one another, but blood had already been flowing like a river, painting the streets of the city in red.
Two days ago, in order to fight for the Nine Furnace City, both the Heavenly Evil Sect and the World Commercial Alliance had lost thousands of warriors, most of whom were at the Illuminating Soul Realm. Furthermore, two Virtual Tribulation Realm elders of the World Commercial Alliance and the Cloud Hall had also perished in battle.
“Only the warriors at the Illuminating Soul Realm and Internal Elixir Realm are taking part in the fight now, right? Why would the Virtual Tribulation Realm warriors be killed?” Zen asked.
Owen's face broke into a helpless smile. “Well, this also confuses us.”
The ranks of the warriors were based on where they stood in terms of cultivation levels, and the gap between one level and another was very large. Therefore, warriors at the Virtual Tribulation Realm would usually fight opponents with the same cultivation level. That two Virtual Tribulation Realm warriors of the Cloud Hall and the World Commercial Alliance had been killed by a group of Illuminating Soul Realm warriors was a disturbing enigma.
Under normal circumstances, an Illuminating Soul Realm warrior wouldn't be much of a threat to a Virtual Tribulation Realm warrior. There would be too big of a gap in strength. Warriors like Zen who were able to defeat a warrior with a higher cultivation level than his own were an extreme rarity.
No matter how many Illuminating Soul Realm warriors fought together, it was hard for them to combine their forces and fight against a Virtual Tribulation Realm warrior. It might also be difficult for a Virtual Tribulation Realm warrior to kill a thousand Illuminating Soul Realm warriors, but when he couldn't defeat them, the Virtual Tribulation Realm warrior could still escape! Even only relying on speed, a Virtual Tribulation Realm warrior could make one thousand Illuminating Soul Realm warriors collapse with exhaustion without taking damage himself.
But this time, the Heavenly Evil Sect had developed a very strange fighting technique.
They had used strange arrays. Making an array only needed the participation of a few warriors. For example, the Septuplets of Ethereal Spirit had often formed an array together.
However, the Heavenly Evil Sect had gathered hundreds of Illuminating Soul Realm warriors together to build energy arrays. It was a technique that had never been seen or heard of, but one that proved to be powerful. Even the Virtual Tribulation Realm warriors would be killed instantly if they weren't careful enough.
During the start of the sect war, the number of the strong warriors from both sides were almost the same. The Ancient Tycoon of the World Commercial Alliance had unfathomable power, and now, Letitia had also joined forces with them. As for the Heavenly Evil Sect, there were two Life and Death Realm warriors, Simon and Eddie.
The numbers of the Virtual Tribulation Realm warriors of both sides were also more or less the same.
Initially, it was these elite warriors who would determine the result of the war. However, when the Heavenly Evil Sect used their special technique, the situation turned around drastically.
By the strategic gathering and the use of a vast number of Illuminating Soul Realm disciples, the balance was broken.
“This technique is complex. Eddie could not have thought of this easily. How did they make it?” After hearing what Owen said, Zen felt confused, slightly frowning. Anxiousness crept inside of him as he thought of the warriors from the Cloud Hall who were fighting in the battles.
Owen sighed and said, “Even we think so. A technique of this level and power is something that would take years to develop. Our leaders are speculating that it might have come from the four divine kingdoms.”
“The four divine kingdoms!” Zen said, his eyes widening, ��Could it be that...”
Owen met his eyes steadily and nodded. “Yes. There might be a divine kingdom behind the Heavenly Evil Sect,” Owen said with certainty.
Zen suddenly remembered the Holy Maiden and the prince of the divine kingdom in Mist's celestial tomb. He had killed the prince, and the Holy Maiden had sworn to get vengeance. Now, her words as she vowed to take revenge on him echoed in his head.
Back then, Simon had helped the Holy Maiden to dispel the curse she had received, and the old man of the divine kingdom had promised to give Simon the internal version of the Scripture of Five Poisons as a symbol of gratitude.
Zen began piecing the puzzle together. There was a Chaotic Ocean of Stars between the Central Region and the four divine kingdoms. Could it be that there really were some members of the four divine kingdoms entering the Central Region?