Nephrite Major was in utter chaos. Previously fertile and thriving, Azure Province had become a living hell with billions of living souls dying agonized, anguished deaths. It was one of the worst catastrophes that’d taken place in the world of immortals over the past eighty thousand years.
Every immortal in Nephrite Major had been watching. They’d allowed themselves to relax when Lu Yun and Qing Han joined hands to seal the crack in the tomb, believing that to be the end of this time’s disaster. However, Qing and Feng immortals had suddenly intervened and triggered an explosion in the tomb, eliciting a likewise detonation of ire from all of Nephrite Major.
Nephrite Celestial Emperor Zhao Changkong drew upon the power of Xiankan and placed the city under lockdown, imprisoning the immortals of the two treacherous clans.
“You can’t do this, Zhao Changkong!” the Feng forefather shrieked and hollered like a man gone mad, nine arcane dao fruit emerging from his body and merging to attack the light barrier around Xiankan.
Meanwhile, the Qing forefather retained his equanimity. “Qing Yuezhe committed a grave mistake, so we must pay for it.”
Qin Sheng and Art Saint had yet to arrive, but the old man had already personally captured the thirty-six greatest dao immortals and three hundred and sixty-five peerless immortals of his clan. Keeping them firmly under suppression, he pushed them to the front doors of the clan’s paradise.
“Forefather!” The immortals taken into custody stared at their forefather in disbelief.
“The Qing Clan is rotten to the core. Even without this calamity, something would’ve happened sooner or later to destroy us,” sighed the Qing forefather. “Take the rest of the clan to Dusk Province, Taxian. Qing Han is a good child, and Lu Yun has been showing us mercy all along. He never once moved to wipe us all out. They won’t turn you away.”
Qing Taxian, made patriarch in order to sire a child with a cosmic constitution, fell to his knees before the forefather and kowtowed heavily. He was also a peerless immortal, but his cultivation and potential were mediocre, at best, when compared to the three hundred and sixty-five chosen ones.
“Our fate today was sealed the moment we accepted House Donglin’s conditions all those years ago.” With that, the forefather wordlessly waved a hand, sweeping the agitating immortals off their feet and strengthening his control over them. Then he summoned an orb of faint gold luster and sent it into Qing Taxian’s body.
The majority of the clan’s immortals looked on in despair.
The Arcane Golden Orb was a connate-grade treasure that held the clan’s fortunes. It was one of the greatest contributing factors to the Qings’ rise to the top among the factions in the world of immortals.
With the orb passing into Qing Taxian’s hands, he was no longer a puppet patriarch, but the true ruler of the clan.
Once they lost thirty-six dao immortals and three hundred and sixty-five peerless immortals, the Qing Clan would no longer possess any elites. This peak faction would tumble from their tremendous heights to the bottom of the pecking order in the world of immortals.
The Qing forefather appeared to be a young man. It’d been him who’d sat outside the Lu paradise and prevented Lu Daoling from going to Lu Yun’s rescue.
“Please permit us this course of action, Your Majesty.” He bowed in Zhao Changkong’s direction.
“So granted.” Zhao Changkong nodded. “No one is to obstruct the Qing Clan from making their way to Dusk Province. Those who dare violate Our order… will see their clans exterminated.”
His voice boomed throughout Nephrite Major, giving pause to the factions stirring to intercept the future remnants of the Qing Clan.
Although the former celestial emperor, Zhao Fengyang, had passed down the throne, no single faction in Nephrite Major could rival the heavenly court, despite their lack of an origin dao immortal monarch.
This was due to previous Nephrite emperors ruling with an iron fist and prohibiting any origin dao immortals from appearing in the major. Compared to the other eight majors, where many peak factions had staged various rebellions or coups, Nephrite Major was the most stable of all.
All of Nephrite quieted down after Zhao Changkong gave his order.
Meanwhile, the Feng Clan was still struggling to break out of Xiankan and escape their impending doom. Powerful formations and restrictions isolated all of the capital. No matter how hard the Feng forefather and elites attacked, they couldn’t resist the might of the great city.
Immortals in the capital watched with apprehension.
The Feng forefather was among the greatest in Nephrite Major, second only to the celestial emperor. However, he was like an ant trying to topple a tree, unable to even scratch the barrier.
Onlookers were reminded of when the Ling Clan, the biggest clan of Nephrite Major, had moved out of Xiankan tens of thousands of years ago. They must’ve foreseen then that something like this would one day happen. Execution of their origin dao immortal had merely been an excuse for them to make a move.
The Feng Clan didn’t have the slightest chance to escape when Nephrite Major was determined to destroy it. In fact, their forefather couldn’t even ensure mutual destruction in the face of the city’s blinding immortal light.
“Give it up, old friend,” the Qing forefather sighed. “Our two clans have committed a grave sin, and the world itself has cursed our people. The Feng Clan would die out even if you manage to escape. It’s better for us to make amends with our blood and grant our descendants a chance to live.”
“Shut up!!” the Feng forefather snarled. “With that madman Zhao Fengyang away, this is the perfect time for me to pluck an origin dao fruit… I’m only a step away from my goal, just one step! I can soon enter the void and pluck the fruit, becoming an unrivaled heavyweight! I can’t stop here!”
Bam!
His howl was interrupted by a beam of immortal light shooting down into Xiankan, knocking him to the ground.
Art Saint and Qin Sheng had arrived. They stood outside the city, leveling cold looks at the immortals of the Feng and Qing Clans.
“Any last words?” Art Saint’s eyes glowed crimson and his body was enveloped by demonic energy. He didn’t look at all like an immortal, but a fiend through and through.
A pang struck Qin Sheng’s heart. Whatever had the eyes seen to lead him so far down his cultivation deviation? The body of the eyes had even devoured Qin Sheng’s body, breaking out of the seal in the Azure Tomb.
The Qing forefather shook his head slightly.
With a wave of his hand, Qin Sheng deployed the power of Xiankan and swept away the two forefathers, along with their dao and peerless immortals.
Zhao Changkong stared at their departing forms, his expression flickering through a myriad of emotions. He’d promised to help Art Saint devour the other replicas, but it seemed from that singular move that Qin Sheng could easily defeat Art Saint.
The Qing Clan made preparations to move out of their paradise and Xiankan entirely, setting a destination for the transportation formation at the border of Life Province. As for the Feng Clan… their forefather hadn’t said anything to them before he’d been whisked away, so the Feng immortals refused to leave their paradise. From this, one could see the writing on the wall for them.
Zhao Changkong’s lips curved the faintest hint upward.
He’d ascended to the throne not too long ago, and his grasp of his empire wasn’t yet fully consolidated. Destruction of the Feng and Qing Clans played perfectly into his desires; he now had a firmer foothold in Nephrite Major.
Next to follow was strengthening his own clan and those who’d been supporting him all along, raising a new group of peak factions loyal to him.