Flanked by two officials of the Foreign Affairs bureau, one middle-aged man walked in. Shoulders slouched and head bowed low, the man wobbled with every step, and the closer he got to Xinzi's throne, the more intense the wobbling got. By the time he faced the stairs, sweat dripped down his cheeks, but the mystical energies in the throne room wiped off any trace of fluid, his knees buckled, and he fell face-first.
'How unsightly.' Several Night Spirits sneered at this display, and if not for Xinzi's presence, they'd have burst into laughter and executed the double-agent following his report. Xinzi, however, didn't find anything funny in the situation.
Even in the outside world, a human Integration-level expert would be hard pressed to stay composed before a single immortal. But with the weight of clan betrayal on his shoulders, this man had to cross a room filled to the brim with over 100 Immortal-level Divine Spirits, many of whom stood at the peak of the Immortal Realm, and worse, suffer the pressure of Xinzi's true shell.
With no one to ease the pressure, the simple fact that he hadn't fainted already warranted ample praise.
The two officials of the Foreign Affairs bureau were about to lift the man up when Xinzi waved his hand, releasing waves of Divine Power that relaxed his body.
"T-thank you, Your Divine Majesty! Your Divine Majesty, please spare the Mourning Shadow hall! Please spare the Qiu clan!" The agent rose to his knees and banged his head on the floor, kowtowing incessantly. Naturally, he didn't know that Xinzi came from Heaven. In his eyes, this was the contemporary God-Monarch of the Night, not the Sovereign Master of the Night Pantheon. Xinzi didn't care for the form of address, and with a level tone, said:
"That will depend on what you report. Though, I would recommend to not have any hope for the Qiu clan." Serene yet bone-chilling, Xinzi's words forced the agent to lift his head and take a glance at the Eternal Night's sovereign.
'If you watch, you die.' But then, the warnings he'd received from the officials echoed in his mind and he kept his head lowered. At that time, Xiao Hu and Hengye Baxian arrived at the entrance, and from outside, watched the court session. Xiao Hu's eyes lay on Xinzi, stupor took over, and her jaw sank.
"Your Divine…M-Majesty. The Qiu clan…my Qiu clan…has committed an unforgivable sin. Unbeknown to us all, for thousands of years, the patriarch and great elder, Qiu Sanren and Qiu Sanbao, have secretly been gathering materials for a ritual formation that will enable them to use the entire Qiu clan's bloodline connection to the Eunuch Immortal to drag him out of the River of Time and settle him…in a brand-new body—built from the flesh of Qiu clansmen." The agent started. The Qiu clan descended from orphans adopted by Qiu Meng while he served as a eunuch for some royal family.
Later, once he discovered his true background, he fused drops of his Ancient Spirit blood with theirs, making them go from cultivation hopeless to startling talents. Each of those children reached the peak of Supreme Clarity, and while most died during the Great Desolation war, Qiu Sanren and Qiu Sanbao survived—carrying on the Qiu bloodline in the Mourning Shadow hall.
"That's not possible. Only the Primeval God of Time could theoretically save someone who has been destroyed in body and soul. But doing so would unleash a chain of events that'd not only alter the present, but also summon Heaven's Wrath. For that reason, there is no Primeval God of Time. All Deities of the Time Pantheon have been wiped out eons ago." With his cheek resting on his fist, Xinzi challenged the agent's words, baffling him with words that he had no understanding of.
"I…don't know about…divine matters but…it's possible, because Qiu Meng…isn't dead. Someone, something, trapped a strand of his soul beside the River of Time, enabling him to move across the past, present and future while getting enlightenment in that Supreme Dao. By a stroke of good fortune, Qiu Sanren and Qiu Sanbao excavated an ancient legacy in the Northern Dark Sea. It is there that they found this critical news. And although they couldn't obtain much of the ruin's inheritances, they still found the Ritual Formation that they needed to force open a rift into the River of Time.
After thousands of years of space and time enlightenment, Qiu Meng has already restored his soul. He only needs to cross the rift, find a new body, and he can start anew. The Ancient Spirit lineage might manifest through mortal blood, but it is in the soul that its core reside. A Qiu body eases the restoration. But regardless of what shell Qiu Meng obtains, he will once again be…an Ancient Spirit. By then, he will have the qualifications to inherit the Four Infernal Nuns' keys and be reborn as the Demon Monarch. Your Divine Majesty…please forgive this sin!" Indeed, by all metrics, this was a sin.
In the past a staunch Lianist practitioner, Qiu Meng might not have desired the Infernal Throne. But after seeing his all get destroyed by the Central Domain, after watching the consequences that the mere discovery of his lineage could bring forth, getting betrayed by one he trusted, and from the River of Time, seeing his death become a tool for the Endless Sea's monarch to expend his territory, would Qiu Meng not return full of hatred?
For what reason would he reject the Infernal Throne now? For what reason would he not use this opportunity to enact his vengeance and plunge the world into hell's jaw? The existence of the Demon Monarch didn't just mean trouble for the Great Desolation world. No, in the grand scheme of things, it'd lead to a new Realm War between the Celestial and Infernal Paradises. Worlds would get destroyed, planes consumed by blood and gore. As usual, the Saints of the Holy Paradise wouldn't intervene. Worse, some might even be willing to help Qiu Meng cultivate Holy Force. Perhaps they were helping him already.
Yes. Devils couldn't approach the River of Time. In the current world, only Saints had that ability. At Xinzi's back, the Shadow of the Thousand-Faced God stirred. Our monk closed his eyes, considering the matter.
'The Mantra of Sacrifice? Did Lianist monks offer themselves to the Golden Lotus so it'd save Qiu Meng? Actually, who or what did it is not relevant.' With the shadow of Yongye strapped to his back, Xinzi couldn't afford anything less than a flawless performance. Standing up, our monk descended the stairs, his mane of ink-colored hair swaying as if animated by a will of its own.
"The Qiu clan doesn't represent the Mourning Shadow hall. So long as they know to whom they owe their allegiance, our Mourning Shadows will not suffer because of death-seeking brainlets. You are exempt as well. Thankfully, you have neither wife nor children. I suppose that deep down, you've always foreseen a day like this—which is why you avoided such connections." A vertical third eye opened on Xinzi's forehead, and with one glance at the agent, he read his soul.
'The Heavenly Emperor's…Glorious Eye of Heaven!' Some Night Spirits thought. Legend has it that at birth, the Heavenly Emperor attained a third eye by Heaven's Decree. That eye could see through all facets of reality, and only the Thousand-Faced God's Dark Eye of Heaven could suppress its radiant gaze. Till now, the Night Spirits had not been exposed to it, and bowed in religious deference.
"For this meritorious deed, you'll live—and live splendidly, if you so desire. Should you prefer to receive no reward for giving us these news, My Divine Self will not force your hand. That said…" Limitless blood energy surged from Xinzi's flesh, rising alongside tidal waves of Immortal Qi and Divine Power that flooded the throne room and forced all Night Spirits, regardless of cultivation base, to collapse on the ground. Bright white wings spread from his back, a large radiant ring above his head, with dark lightning swirling in his eyes.
In that instant, Xiao Hu, who watched this by Baxian's side, floundered and collapsed on the ground. Baxian fared no better, and all had the firm belief that, throughout the Great Desolation world, perhaps only Taiyang Yuan had the means to contend with that mortal shell.
"The Qiu clan has rebelled against the Night's authority and forfeited the right to remain on these seas. My Divine Self will give the Mourning Shadows a chance to show their stance, and follow me…to exterminate the Qiu.
Mourning Shadows, assemble!" Guided by his third eye, Xinzi's voice tracked down each member of the Mourning Shadow hall not surnamed Qiu, summoning them to the Evernight Palace. In one breath, the leaders of the Mourning Shall hall appeared before Xinzi, kneeling while the rest of their troops floated at the entrance of the Evernight Palace. All across the Endless Sea, the sky became pitch-black darkness. Light refused to challenge the dark, and the night descended, chilling the hearts of myriad lives.
"Oooooooooooh!" Holding her arms, Yuemi shook in an uncontrollable orgasm, swooned and collapsed on her throne.
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