The grand hall of the immortal sect was now a gathering of truly formidable powerhouses.
With the threat of the Fallen ones largely eliminated, these experts could move more freely across the continents. However, such a grand assembly was nearly impossible under normal circumstances, as each of these individuals was a sovereign ruler of their own domain, rarely leaving their seats of power.
Yet today, they had all gathered here, setting aside their pride. At this moment, every cultivator on the Eastern Mulberry Continent could sense an oppressive, concentrated aura in the air. And it wasn't just them, even across the sea in the distant Wei Wu Continent and the Yao Xin Continent, the presence of so many top tier powerhouses was palpable, a pressure felt by all.
There were over a hundred Unity stage experts present, and countless more at the Dao Comprehension stage. In fact, those at the Dao Comprehension stage were not even qualified to enter the main hall, relegated to the outer courtyards.
At the forefront of these powerhouses sat three individuals whose strength far surpassed the rest. Most of the Unity stage cultivators present were only at the early stage, with very few having reached the mid stage. Meanwhile, Su Min's late stage Unity cultivation made her the undisputed strongest among them in their eyes.
"The Dark Rebellion will likely erupt within the next two hundred years. All of you here represent either major sects or ancient divine beast bloodlines. Your sects or inherited memories should contain detailed records of past events. This time, however, is different from any before, everyone must contribute fully, not just form a loose alliance."
Su Min spoke bluntly to the assembled leaders. Behind her, Yao Xian'er and Tian Yang stood with their eyes closed, meditating, lending her their silent, overwhelming support. According to their prior agreement, Su Min was to become the alliance leader, a decision everyone could accept, especially since, as an alchemist, she could offer pills that would tempt even the most powerful and prideful among them.
"Agreed. The Great Thunder Temple will commit all its strength to this alliance."
"The Ancient Lamp Monastery pledges the same."
"The Guanyin Shrine as well."
Almost as soon as Su Min finished speaking, the major Buddhist factions voiced their immediate and unified support. Their reputation was already tarnished after past events, and while Su Min would not actively target them, they feared being sidelined or schemed against within the alliance. Thus, they openly declared their allegiance first, earning them a few disdainful glances from others in the hall.
"The Yao Clan has no objections. We fully support Alliance Leader Su."
Next, the Yao Clan, who had previously clashed directly with Su Min, also pledged their support. Many eyebrows twitched at this, and some could not help but sneer inwardly. "How shameless. They are already wagging their tails."
While no one openly opposed Su Min's leadership, most maintained a reserved, calculating demeanor. More importantly, they were all secretly scheming to secure greater benefits and a higher status within the alliance structure.
The Buddhist factions had no real choice, and the Yao Clan's swift submission was clearly an attempt to appease Su Min, hoping to avoid future retribution rather than gain any immediate advantages.
"I know what you are all thinking. Those who join the alliance and make sufficient contributions will have the right to request alchemy services from me, any eighth tier pill, even those with nine colored tribulation lightning. Of course, the latter will require extraordinary contributions."
Su Min smiled faintly, and her words sent tremors through the hearts of many. The offer was undeniably tempting, and their barely concealed greed was evident in their eyes.
This was precisely why they were willing to accept Su Min as their leader, after all, the world moved for profit.
But before the excitement could settle, Yao Xian'er's cold voice cut through the air. At the same time, her Mahayana mid stage aura erupted, pressing down on the entire assembly like a physical weight. Even the Unity stage experts found it hard to breathe under the pressure.
"The world now stands at the brink of life and death. This is the time for unity, not petty schemes. If any of you believe your imperial artifacts or inherited marks can protect you from what is coming, feel free to test that theory now."
Her icy gaze swept across the hall, carrying an unspoken, deadly threat. While Su Min offered carrots, Yao Xian'er wielded the stick. No one dared to speak against her. Had Tian Yang issued such a warning, they might have inwardly scoffed. Even Su Min might not have commanded such primal fear.
But Yao Xian'er? The former Great Emperor? Not a single person in the hall dared to defy her.
With reluctant, fearful nods, the assembly fell into a tense silence.
"Now, let us discuss the alliance's structure. All member sects must eliminate the influence of their individual imperial artifacts on command decisions, and positions will be determined purely by strength and contribution. We will also immediately dispatch scouts to monitor the borders of the Dark Universe."
With that, the conference officially began, followed by days of endless negotiations and political maneuvering. The hierarchy was simple, strength and contribution dictated rank. However, three top positions were already set, Su Min as the leader, Xie Yingying as the second in command, and Tian Yang as the third.
Tian Yang, being from the Buddhist faction, had to remain low key due to their infamous reputation. Moreover, his Mahayana early stage cultivation was slightly weaker than Yao Xian'er's.
One week later...
"Finally, it is over. I am exhausted."
Su Min rubbed her temples as she looked around the now empty hall. As a Unity stage cultivator, she could easily go a full decade without rest, food, or water. But physical fatigue was nothing compared to this mental exhaustion, especially after days of relentless political maneuvering and dealing with proud, cunning old monsters.
Even within her own immortal sect, Su Min had spent ninety nine percent of her time as an absentee leader, often completely unreachable in seclusion or on journeys. If not for her spiritual connection with the little Golden Crow and the fact that her soul lamp in the ancestral hall remained brightly lit, her disciples might have assumed their revered ancestor had perished long ago.
Dealing with such diplomatic matters was far from her expertise or preference.
But then again, no one who had reached this level of cultivation and authority was simple minded or naive.
"You did well. Thanks to you, this matter was resolved with remarkable speed. If it were left to us to negotiate, it would have taken much longer. By the way, it is time to activate the Heavenly Palace."
Yao Xian'er smiled slightly at Su Min's weary expression. Had she or Tian Yang led the negotiations, it would have inevitably dragged on for over a month with posturing and tests of will. Su Min's unique ability to offer alchemical incentives was something they simply could not match.
"All I had to do was agree to refine a dozen or so eighth tier pills, three colored tribulation lightning or lower, and they provided all the materials themselves. I could finish that in three days."
Su Min rolled her eyes. While she might have been taken advantage of in terms of her usual fees, it was not a big deal in the grand scheme. Pills of that level were child's play for her now. The only "payment" she received was the materials themselves, normally, she would demand three sets of ingredients plus additional heavy fees. This time, she waived the extra fees but still profited from the excess materials.
But what was this "Heavenly Palace" she mentioned?
"What is the Heavenly Palace?"
"After the last great Dark Rebellion, though we ultimately repelled them, less than one in ten living beings in the universe survived. Countless life bearing planets were reduced to barren wastelands. Over the next several million years, generation after generation of newly ascended Great Emperors worked together to forge a unique, continent spanning treasure."
"Hiss—"
Su Min could not help but suck in a cold breath. A treasure that took millions of years and the direct involvement of multiple emperors to create was no ordinary artifact, it was a legend.
"Its function is simple, to erect special, powerful barriers around all major life bearing regions of the universe. When the Dark Rebellion comes, the dark cultivators will have to break through the Heavenly Palace's layered defenses before they can freely devour all life. However, each activation requires about a hundred thousand years to recharge its energy. Normally, we would charge straight into the Dark Universe for a preemptive battle."
"Is it an immortal artifact?"
Su Min was stunned. This thing surpassed her imagination.
"No. No one truly knows what qualifies as an immortal artifact in this universe. It exists in a category of its own."
"How is it activated?"
"By simultaneously channeling the power of thirty imperial artifacts. Right now, we lack reigning emperors. Even Mahayana and Unity stage cultivators are few in number compared to the ancient eras. Under these circumstances, we have no choice but to activate it defensively."
"Let us prepare immediately. Thirty imperial artifacts are not easy to gather, but it is not impossible among all the sects here. I will summon the cultivators who have not left yet to assist."
Su Min nodded, her weariness forgotten. Speed was crucial in this matter.
"No need to trouble yourself with that. We can gather thirty imperial artifacts. You focus on refining those promised pills, and prepare more eighth tier ones for the alliance reserves. That way, I can ensure the alliance operates smoothly and allocate resources fairly to build our defenses."
"Understood."
Su Min agreed readily. According to their long term plans, she needed to reach the Mahayana stage before the Dark Rebellion arrived in force. That meant she would have to eventually step back from daily leadership, leaving Yao Xian'er to manage the alliance's military affairs. No one else was capable of that overwhelming task.
"Right now, Xie Yingying is still in seclusion breaking through, and the little Golden Crow has reached the mid stage of Unity. As for the little Kirin, do not count on her yet. That girl is only at the late stage of Dao Comprehension."
Su Min quickly assessed her available core forces. Xie Yingying was in deep seclusion, as was the little Kirin. The Kirin Clan had suffered greatly in recent conflicts, and though their ancient foundation remained, their overall development had slowed significantly. It was like joining a game late, by the time they logged in, the main battle had already started, putting them at a severe disadvantage.
After settling all urgent matters, Su Min returned to her alchemy chamber for seclusion. This time, she spent half a month refining a large batch of eighth tier pills, all low grade with one to three colored lightning, as per the initial agreement.
Alliance members could request her alchemical services, but they needed to accumulate substantial contribution points through missions and resource donations. So far, no sect had earned enough for a single request.
For now, Su Min had no pressing tasks from the alliance, not for the next century, at least. Earning enough points for a single high tier request would take a long time for any sect.
This was her chance to focus entirely on improving her own strength.
Soon after she finished, Yao Xian'er found her again.
"This jade token leads to my personal inherited secret realm. Originally, it was my last resort, if anything went wrong during my reincarnation process, or if the Dark Rebellion erupted too early, I could use it to quickly recover my Mahayana stage power. But now that I have reached Mahayana on my new path, it has become useless to me."
She handed Su Min a simple, unadorned jade token, which made the latter pause and study it carefully.
"What is inside?"
Su Min was naturally wary. A place that could restore Yao Xian'er to full Mahayana power under any circumstances was no small matter, it was downright terrifying. Knowing Yao Xian'er's ruthless methods and layered schemes, blindly charging in would likely be fatal.
"Good. You have not let excitement cloud your judgment. My first incarnation possessed a physique as renowned in its time as your Five Elements Holy Body or a Yin Yang Dual Body. That place contains the concentrated, refined essence of that physique."
"Essence? What physique?"
"The Enlightened Dao Body. As a physique capable of directly communing with heaven and earth, it not only makes it easier to comprehend laws but also allows the gradual fusion of more laws as one's cultivation grows. Before I severed my path, I had fused over ten thousand different laws into my body. However, this very fusion eventually caused a critical imbalance in my body's internal law structure. If not for preparing this contingency realm, I would have died on the spot from the backlash."
Su Min's jaw dropped. Ten thousand laws?! Even comprehending a few dozen would overwhelm her current capacity, let alone fusing ten thousand.
"So when you enter, be extremely cautious. The laws there have already taken physical, semi sentient form after being condensed for so long."
"You have got to be kidding me!"
Su Min nearly cursed aloud. What kind of nightmare training ground was this?
But then she paused, a thought striking her.
She suddenly remembered something crucial, the legendary Chaos Body was said to be capable of fusing all things, of containing all contradictions.
What she lacked to take that final step might very well lie within this place.
This could be the once in a lifetime opportunity she needed.
"Well? Scared?"
"Of course not. The next time I return, I will be at the Mahayana stage."
Su Min smirked, her earlier apprehension replaced by determination. She snatched the jade token without hesitation. Activating it instantly with a surge of spiritual power, she vanished from the room in a flash of light.
"Don't die in there. But if it is you, the worst that will happen is you will crawl out in disgrace. I hope you are the one I have been waiting for all this time."
Yao Xian'er sighed softly to the empty room, a complex look in her eyes.
Just then, another figure floated over silently, a woman exuding the sharp, stable aura of a Unity stage expert.
"Your progress is impressive. You have already recovered to the Unity stage. A mortal body was useless in my first life, but now, it is like a blank canvas, is it not?"
"True. But the gap is still vast. That said, in terms of pure combat power and law comprehension, I am no weaker than my past self was at the same stage."
Jiang Xi did not deny it. Her current rapid recovery in strength was largely thanks to the potent pills Su Min had left her before departing. Otherwise, it would have taken another full century of struggle to reach this level.