"The Alliance of Aeons founded by Lord Su Mo?"
"And the Aeon of the Hunt joined too?"
Topaz's single sentence dropped a bombshell that shocked everyone.
Everything she had said so far had been enough to disrupt the balance of the entire universe. Each word, if leaked, would be enough to create a storm that would sweep across the galaxy.
And the most terrifying and important concept among them was undoubtedly the War of the Gods. But no one had expected that there would be an event that could rival, and even surpass, the War of the Gods in importance.
The Alliance of Aeons?
Could the Aeons, who had always acted alone, form an alliance?
"Even during the Swarm Disaster, there are only records of the Aeons joining forces, not truly forming an alliance... Why this time...?"
Recalling the information he had read, Welt Yang's body trembled slightly. What kind of disaster would force even the Aeons to join forces to resist it?
Moreover, if he hadn't misheard, the one who founded the Alliance of Aeons wasn't another Aeon, but Su Mo, a human who had created an Aeon?
Judging by the Amber Lord's attitude, it seemed that Su Mo was not only the founder, but he might even hold an extremely important position in the Alliance of Aeons, perhaps even a leadership role.
Otherwise, the Amber Lord wouldn't need to seek his consent, even going so far as to mutilate THEMSELF and offer a piece of THEIR divine body as a gift.
"What exactly did Lord Su Mo do before?" Himeko was also in deep shock.
She had thought she knew a great deal about Su Mo's great deeds, but only now did she realize there were so many things she didn't know.
So, back on the Xianzhou, not only did Su Mo personally create an Aeon, but he also pulled the Aeon of the Hunt into his camp?
Except for March 7th, everyone else looked at Su Mo in utter astonishment.
They seemed to want to know if Su Mo was hiding any other earth-shattering secrets.
"Hmm, you didn't know? Jing Yuan didn't tell you?"
Faced with everyone's shock, Su Mo's attitude was as calm as ever. "It seems it was classified as a secret."
He quickly remembered that the members of the Express Crew indeed didn't know about this. After helping Ruan Mei ascend to godhood last time, the Aeon of the Hunt had accepted Nous's invitation and joined the Alliance of Aeons.
This matter was also made known through a divine oracle to Marshal Hua and Jing Yuan of the Xianzhou Alliance, as well as Fu Xuan, who happened to be with Su Mo at the time.
It was considered a high-level secret of the Xianzhou Alliance.
If things had followed the original storyline, with the status of being the saviors of the Xianzhou, the Express Crew would have barely been qualified to know a secret of this level.
But now, with Su Mo's intervention, the Express Crew had only taken a tour on the Xianzhou.
Although they had had contact with the people of the Xianzhou through other means, they had not established such a deep friendship, so they naturally wouldn't know about the Alliance of Aeons.
"We would definitely have no way of knowing a secret of this level!" Himeko said with a wry smile.
Let alone the Xianzhou Alliance, even they would keep this secret to themselves if they knew it.
After all, an Alliance of Aeons, while it seemed like a close-knit faction, could easily lead people to think about the meaning behind it.
What kind of difficulty would force Aeons with different Paths to form an alliance?
If this news were to spread, it would inevitably cause widespread panic, which would lead to an even worse outcome.
At this moment, she finally understood why Topaz had offered such a great gift, why the IPC was so fawning over Su Mo, and why even an ancient Aeon like the Amber Lord was so anxious as to resort to bribery.
It was because Su Mo had already pulled off something huge.
Thinking about it, it was easy to understand the Amber Lord's decision. With the War of the Gods imminent, a small group had formed an Alliance of Aeons, and their strength was not weak.
There were only a dozen or so Aeons in total, and many of them were missing, dead, slacking, incommunicable, or liked to stir up trouble... basically, there were very few normal ones.
In this situation, a small group formed by a few renowned Aeons was enough to become a dominant force among the gods.
If it were just individual battles, Qlipoth had full confidence in THEIR Path.
There were only a few beings THEY needed to be wary of in a one-on-one fight. But if it wasn't a free-for-all, but a three-on-one, even with Qlipoth's divine power, THEY couldn't guarantee victory.
The advantage of numbers was secondary; the resonance bonus from intersecting Paths was not to be underestimated.
Not to mention, the Alliance of Aeons had already pulled in three Aeons shortly after its establishment, and more might join later.
Even Aha, the Aeon of Elation, might not be able to withstand an alliance of multiple Aeons, let alone Qlipoth.
In this situation, joining the Alliance of Aeons was the most likely choice to preserve one's own life. As the Aeon of Preservation, this choice was not difficult to make. Not doing so would be a betrayal of THEIR own Path.
THEY had survived for five hundred thousand years; THEY couldn't stumble on something like this. Unlike THEIR divine body, which was as rough as ore, the Amber Lord possessed considerable wisdom for survival.
At least when it came to choosing sides, THEY wouldn't make the wrong choice.
"Lord Su Mo, what do you think?" Topaz maintained a respectful posture and cautiously looked at Su Mo. Her anxious eyes showed her fear of being rejected.
After all, the Xianzhou Alliance and the Genius Society were already on this boat. If they were rejected, the Amber Lord and the IPC would inevitably be at a disadvantage in the War of the Gods.
We've all joined the Alliance of Aeons, guess who wasn't invited?
That would be too dangerous.
Hearing Topaz's inquiry, Su Mo's gaze fell on the amber-colored gem in her hands. "This is a fragment of Qlipoth's divine core? THEIR sincerity is indeed not small."
If the Topaz of Repayment, a leftover from Qlipoth's wall-building, was already more valuable than an ordinary galaxy, then this gem, stripped from the heart of the Aeon of Preservation's body, was a truly priceless treasure.
An Aeon's innate blessing, something that even an Emanator was not qualified to receive.
Whether it was the power of the Path contained within it or the symbolic meaning it represented, it was enough to attract the pursuit of all the factions in the galaxy.
"Yes!" Topaz nodded eagerly, adding points to her Aeon's impression. "The Amber Lord originally wanted to speak with you personally, but couldn't find a trace of you. It seems THEY received guidance from Nous and thought of entrusting this holy relic to us. It was also Miss Herta who suggested we follow the tracks of the Astral Express, which is how we were able to await your arrival."
When she first learned of this situation, Topaz was also extremely surprised.
With Qlipoth's great power, even if not omniscient and omnipotent, THEY shouldn't be unable to find a single human, Su Mo, right?
But recalling what Su Mo had done and his unreasonably high status in the Alliance of Aeons, Topaz finally came to her senses.
When dealing with an unconventional person like Su Mo, one could not simply treat him as a genius, an Emanator, or an honorary Aeon.
It was more in line with his actual status to treat him as Akivili, the former Aeon of Trailblaze, an Aeon living in the mortal world.
"Miss Herta..." Hearing Topaz's words, Himeko finally understood why such a precious item had been entrusted to Topaz. At the same time, she also finally understood why Topaz had insisted on bringing her along.
It wasn't because she valued Himeko and the others' combat power, nor was it because she valued their reputation or influence.
It was simply because she believed that only by following the Express Crew could she find Su Mo.
This time, they had once again benefited from Su Mo's light, gaining the qualification to learn such a secret. She didn't know how she could ever repay so many favors.
Glancing at the Stupid March 7th, Himeko's sense of indebtedness, instead of decreasing, actually increased.
The reason was simple: would offering this silly girl to Lord Su Mo as a gift be considered repaying a kindness with malice?
"I see," Su Mo nodded slightly.
Topaz felt a lightness in her hands. Looking up, she saw the amber stone, radiating a holy aura, floating towards Su Mo without any wind.
"Lord Su Mo!" Seeing this, Topaz's face immediately lit up with joy. Since Su Mo was willing to accept this gift, did that mean—
"I accept Qlipoth's application and agree to let THEM join the Alliance of Aeons," Su Mo nodded, his words completely reassuring Topaz and Aventurine.
The heavy responsibility they bore was finally fulfilled!
And under their watchful eyes, the Amber Lord's divine body did not fall into Su Mo's hands. Instead, it fell into the phantom of the gods that had appeared behind Su Mo at some point.
The Pantheon!
Topaz and Aventurine's hearts skipped a beat.
Although they had never seen Su Mo summon the Pantheon before, they had learned about it from intelligence reports. It was said that during the battle on the Xianzhou, Su Mo had used this power.
It was an incredible means of converting the power of an Aeon's Path for one's own use.
Although there were no records of him directly confronting an Aeon, his performance had surpassed that of an Emanator.
Even in the reports, this incredibly divine power was enough to be shocking.
Now, seeing this power with their own eyes, the shock they felt was even greater.
The phantoms of the many Aeons were enough to inspire awe, but what was even more astonishing, and even baffling, was the positioning of the gods in the Pantheon.
The Aeons were already the most powerful and invincible beings in this universe, so why were THEY not even qualified to stand in the center?