The woman laid her eyes on Nie Tian, seeming rather intrigued about him. “You’re the seventh Son of the Stars, right?
“You’ve done well. You managed to defeat Ophelia of the Demons in the Dead Star Sea and made great contributions in the incident in the Shatter Battlefield. However, the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace is on the decline. I’m afraid it no longer has the soil for you to grow into a Lord of the Stars.”
After a short pause, she added with a sincere expression, “As far as I know, both the Five Elements Sect and the Void Spirit Society have high opinions of you. You should listen to me, forsake your status as a Son of the Stars, and go join the Five Elements Sect or the Void Spirit Society. As for the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace, take it as a life experience that’s better forgotten.”
“Who are you?” Nie Tian asked coldly. “You think I’ll betray my sect just because of what you just said?”
Mo Qianfan and Yin Xingtian looked around to examine the situation, and noticed that Zu Guangyao, Xin Qing, and Han Wanrong were all trapped here.
Zu Guangyao made repeated attempts to break free, yet he seemed to be overpowered by the giant silver s.h.i.+p’s immense power, and all of his attempts ended in failure.
Mo Qianfan and Yin Xingtian exchanged a glance with each other in silence, as if they were actually thinking about the lady’s suggestion.
After a moment of hesitation, Mo Qianfan said somewhat awkwardly, “Nie Tian… Considering the current situation, it may not be the worst idea to cut your ties to the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace. If you do that, the three domains that belong to you will become independent. And your friendly relations.h.i.+p with the Five Elements Sect and the Void Spirit Society will benefit you in terms of your future growth.”
“That’s actually a good point.” Yin Xingtian nodded slowly.
Both Mo Qianfan and Yin Xingtian had seen the trend.
Ji Cang and Mo Heng were missing. Chu Rui had been imprisoned by Grand Monarch Ice Bones. Luo Wanxiang was colluding with the Phantasms. All of the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace’s thirteen subordinate domains were in turmoil.
The Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace was now beset with enemies from within and without. Without enough power to turn the situation around, Nie Tian would only be mired down if he didn’t jump out.
A surprised look appeared on Nie Tian’s face.
In the loft of the s.h.i.+p, the graceful n.o.ble lady slowly rose to her feet. “You have good vision as the sectmaster of the Heavenly Thunder Sect.”
As she did, she turned out to be exceptionally tall. The way she swung her waist made men fantasize as she walked to the prow.
Plus, the lofty and distant look on her face provoked their desire to conquer her.
All of the seven Saint domain experts buried their heads, not daring to take a single glance at her.
After walking to the prow of the huge silver s.h.i.+p, she glanced at Zu Guangyao, Xin Qing, and Han Wanrong before saying, “To give Sectmaster Mo and Patriarch Yin face, I can allow you to leave now, Nie Tian. I can also guarantee that our sect won’t lay our hands on the Domain of Heaven Python, the Domain of Heaven’s Boundaries, or the Domain of the Falling Stars.
“But I can’t speak for the other sects.
“Silence!”
With these words, she suddenly cast an impatient stare at Zu Guangyao, who was still struggling violently.
Countless silver needles were then released, and flew towards Zu Guangyao like a fine drizzle.
Each and every silver needle seemed to have their own awareness, as they changed positions in the void, forming hundreds of mysterious spell formations.
It seemed as if a G.o.d was forming them with countless rays of silver light that carried his divine power.
Blasted by the silver light, Zu Guangyao’s Sunlight Wheel scattered instantly. While his domain was riddled with needle holes, he was covered in beads of blood.
He immediately lost his power and spirit.
“Heaven-purging Divine Light!” Yin Xingtian exclaimed softly. A deeply grim look filled his eyes as he looked at the silver needles that filled the void.
Mo Qianfan quietly canceled his dharma idol, resuming his true form, as if he was worried that those silver needles would pierce into his dharma idol and break his divine magic.
Now, Zu Guangyao had become much quieter. Like Xin Qing and Han Wanrong, he also became dispirited and weak, and looked at Nie Tian from afar.
Then, the three of them seemed to yell something towards him, yet not even the slightest noise came through.
“The Profound Purity Palace!” It was at this moment that Nie Tian suddenly remembered something about this sect.
Aside from the four great sects, there were a few other powerful sects in the human world that also had G.o.d domain experts. Those sects’ reputations only came after those of the four great sects.
The Extreme Coldness Palace, the Primal Yang Sect, the Streamcloud Sword Sect, the Heavenly Spirit Sect, and the Ancient Law Sect had all produced G.o.d domain experts in their histories.
However, none of these sects had produced any G.o.d domain experts in this era.
Therefore, even though they had profound reserve power and multiple late Saint domain experts, their strengths weren’t among the top.
The Profound Purity Palace was different.
For every generation in the past hundred thousand years, the Profound Purity Palace had been led by G.o.d domain sectmasters.
This had made the Profound Purity Palace one of the most powerful human sects, only coming after the four great sects.
It was said that the current sectmaster of the Profound Purity Palace, Yu Suying, who had acc.u.mulated her strength in the early G.o.d domain for many years, had a great chance to advance to the middle G.o.d domain within a short time.
Furthermore, she had a junior martial sister who was expected to break through into the early G.o.d domain soon.
Once both of them made their breakthroughs, the Profound Purity Palace would have two G.o.d domain experts, which would push its strength to unprecedented heights.
They had only had one G.o.d domain expert in each of the past three generations, while they would have two in this generation!
This might even allow the Profound Purity Palace to come neck and neck with the four great sects.
Nie Tian finally realized what was happening.
It also occurred to him that the Profound Purity Palace’s territory bordered that of the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace. Once the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace went down, their rise would be easy.
“I have a question, Sectmaster Yu,” Mo Qianfan said.
Having silenced Zu Guangyao, Yu Suying made a grabbing motion in the air with her jade hand. In the next moment, the Heaven-purging Divine Light that filled the void returned to her like swallows returning to their nest, and disappeared behind her back.
It was as if there was an invisible s.p.a.ce at her back that stored all of the Heaven-purging Divine Light.
“I’m listening,” she said plainly.
“Aside from your sect, are there other human forces that are also attempting to overthrow and replace the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace?” Mo Qianfan asked in a concerned voice.
Yu Suying nodded. “Like us, many forces have waited many years for an opportunity like this. Of course we won’t miss it. The Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace has a large number of subordinate domains and realms, which yield all sorts of cultivation resources. Our sect alone can’t occupy all of them. It seems that we’ll have to divide the ‘spoils’ with the others.”
Yin Xingtian joined the conversation. “The Extreme Coldness Palace and the rebel forces in the other domains rose up simultaneously. Did your sect incite their rebellion?”
“Not all of them,” Yu Suying said, looking fully at ease.
“Then who else is there?” Yin Xingtian asked.
“I don’t know everything, but even what I know, I can’t tell you.” Yu Suying refused to give details. “I can only tell you that our sect made a bit of a promise to the local forces in the Domain of Frigid Depths.”
Mo Qianfan nodded, his eyes cast down. “I see.”
Yin Xingtian also fell silent.
Yu Suying, however, looked calmly at Nie Tian, waiting for his decision.
Nie Tian frowned deeply.
He could tell that both Yin Xingtian and Mo Qianfan reckoned that he would benefit from it if he were to cut his ties to the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace.
Furthermore, both of them seemed to lack confidence when facing Yu Suying.
“Now crammed in the Domain of Frigid Depths are Grand Monarch Ice Bones, Chu Rui, Luo Wanxiang, Grand Patriarch Evil Phantom, and Yu Suying...” As Nie Tian thought to himself, he cast a glance at Zu Guangyao, Xin Qing, and Han Wanrong.
He saw nothing but bitterness and helplessness on their faces. The three of them seemed to have heard their conversation and been convinced that he would make the wise decision here.
Right now, he had Mo Qianfan, Yin Xingtian, Master Blood Spirit, Xie Qian, and other powerful experts at his back. He might even be able to enlist Li Wanfa and Zhang Qiling as his subordinates later.
Under such circ.u.mstances, his strength would easily rise above that of any Son of the Stars, or even any vice sectmaster.
Why would he cling to the sinking s.h.i.+p that was the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace?
Ji Cang and Mo Heng were missing. Chu Rui was trapped. Luo Wanxiang had turned traitor. Sects like the Profound Purity Palace had joined up to overthrow the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace and plunged all of its subordinate domains into chaos. Clearly, the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace was going down.
Han Wanrong let out a sigh and slowly closed her eyes, as if she knew that Nie Tian would decide to walk away from the perilous Domain of Frigid Depths, as well as the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace, which was now a total mess.
“Go,” Han Wanrong said inwardly. “Make the wise decision. Our sect can’t keep you safe and help you ascend to the G.o.d domain anymore. Instead, it’ll only drag you down. Only if you leave will you have a future.”