“You have no idea how profound my Imperial Court’s foundation truly is!”
“Eight Supremes will shatter the Supreme Path!”
Lu Xuan merely scoffed. Divine radiance, piercing the heavens, descended, instantly annihilating every single one of those Old Ancestors. Pfft, pfft, pfft! Over a dozen Old Ancestors exploded into bloody mist, their essence scattering! An Instant Kill for all of them!
The North King’s corpse, impaled by countless ice shards, lay grotesquely on the ground, his eyes wide with eternal disbelief.
With a thought, Lu Xuan drew forth all the Storage Rings. Clatter! They piled up in his palm. He casually handed them to Ji Fuyao. “Fuyao, they’re yours to use.”
Ji Fuyao nodded, accepting them all.
Lu Xuan turned to Ji Fuyao, a faint smile playing on his lips. “The Northern Plains is yours now. How do you plan to cultivate it?”
Ji Fuyao’s eyes gleamed with ambition. “I will establish the Fuyao Dynasty here, Master! And overthrow the Northern Plains Imperial Court!”
Lu Xuan gazed into the far distance at the Northern Plains Imperial Court’s grand hall. Endless ice palaces stood majestically, ancient and obscure array patterns swirling around them, Dao patterns interwoven like a magnificent treasure embedded in a glacier, breathtakingly beautiful. He projected the vision of the Imperial Court to Ji Fuyao. “This is the heart of the Northern Plains Imperial Court, the Imperial Capital itself.”
Ji Fuyao was slightly astonished. “As expected of a peerless hegemon that has stood in the Northern Plains for nine epochs, suppressing it for eight! Such majesty is truly grand and imposing! Even the colossal sun seemed diminished beneath the ice palaces.”
Ji Fuyao declared, “I want to bring the Imperial Dragon Guard to temper themselves here!”
Lu Xuan nodded. “That works. Conveniently, there are also rebels against the Imperial Court in the Northern Plains.” Divine light flickered in Ji Fuyao’s eyes. “I’d like to observe their situation.”
Lu Xuan nodded, activating his Insight Eye to scan the Northern Plains. Soon, he found a city where several Quasi-Dao Supremes were secretly plotting rebellion against the Northern Plains Imperial Court within a hidden chamber. The chamber was sealed by heaven-reaching prohibitions and formations.
A Grey-robed Old Man spoke, his voice heavy. “The Northern Plains Imperial Court has sucked the blood of our Northern Plains for eight epochs, suppressing countless forces and preventing us from rising.”
Another elder chimed in, “But our strength pales in comparison to the Imperial Court.”
An old crone added, “Our ancestors once used countless Secret Arts to divine the future: ‘Where ice melts, fire shall rise.’ If the Northern Plains Imperial Court is to fall, it will be consumed by Spirit Fire, a reversal of extremes.”
The Grey-robed Old Man frowned. “That prophecy has circulated for a long time. It speaks of a powerful cultivator of the Path of Spirit Fire descending upon our Northern Plains to destroy the Imperial Court.”
The old crone continued, “The Northern Plains Imperial Court knows this prophecy too. That’s why they’ve been ‘slaying dragons’!” Grave expressions settled on everyone’s faces. Slaying dragons!
A domain’s Destiny is finite! The Northern Plains Imperial Court monopolized eight-tenths of it, while their rebel forces held a mere tenth, and the rest of the Northern Plains cultivators shared the final tenth! An Imperial Court needed the power of Destiny to stand unshaken! And ‘dragons’ were symbols of Destiny! For epochs, the Northern Plains Imperial Court had been ‘slaying dragons,’ eliminating any force that could threaten their Imperial Destiny, cutting off future troubles! This was precisely why these rebel forces could never truly rise. Dead silence fell over the chamber.
The Grey-robed Old Man suddenly gritted his teeth. “The Destiny of a true dragon cannot be severed! If it can be cut, it was never a dragon to begin with! Visible dragons can be slain, but hidden dragons cannot!”
The others nodded, their faces grim. “Will this prophecy truly come to pass? Once the Ice Frost Empress refines the Extreme Cold Three Thousand Flames, her power will skyrocket again! She alone would be enough to suppress the entire Northern Plains!”
“And don’t forget the North King this epoch! Two supreme magnates!”
The old crone’s face twisted into a snarl. “That damned North King! My granddaughter was defiled by him!” Hearing this, the expressions of the other Old Ancestors turned utterly grim. The North King was notoriously lecherous, having ravaged countless beautiful maidens across the Northern Plains.
But now, the North King and the Ice Frost Empress were the two true dragons of the Northern Plains! And it was rumored that after the Domain Gate opened, the North King intended to travel to the Southern Wilds to Attain Emperor.
A flicker of killing intent appeared on their faces. “If the Northern Plains has no true dragon, then we would rather invite someone from another great domain!” While this might make them ‘traitors to the domain,’ they could no longer tolerate the Northern Plains Imperial Court’s tyrannical rule and its poisoning of countless lives.
The old crone’s face was a mask of ferocity. “Once the Domain Gate opens, I will leave the Northern Plains and bring someone in from another domain!”
The Grey-robed Old Man shook his head. “It’ll be difficult. The only domain that can truly contend with the Northern Plains is the Central Domain! The other three domains are far weaker. The Southern Wilds, in particular, is trash.”
The old crone sighed repeatedly. “What can we do then? If only we could disrupt the Ice Frost Empress’s Destiny.”
Another Old Ancestor asked, “The Extreme Cold Three Thousand Flames?”
“If we can sabotage the Extreme Cold Three Thousand Flames and prevent the Ice Frost Empress from refining it, her power would drop significantly!”
The old crone frowned. “But the Extreme Cold Valley is heavily guarded.”
The Grey-robed Old Man declared, “I’ll immediately send people to investigate. At the very least, we can’t let the Ice Frost Empress refine it so smoothly!”
An Old Ancestor, his face sallow, cursed, “Damn it! This Extreme Cold Valley was originally a Dragon Vein land! Back then, the Jiang family rose to prominence by borrowing its power, but alas, they were ‘slain like dragons’!”
“Indeed!” the others agreed.
The group continued to plot for a long time. But with so few cards in their hand, they couldn’t hope to achieve anything significant! After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the Old Ancestors departed, each taking out an ancient jade token inscribed with the character “Fire.” They were the rebels against the Northern Plains Imperial Court, the Fire Alliance! The Grey-robed Old Man stated, “I’ll secretly send people to scout the Extreme Cold Valley!” The other Old Ancestors nodded.
Meanwhile.
Lu Xuan slowly withdrew his gaze, remarking indifferently, “It seems this so-called Fire Alliance is completely ineffectual! With eight Supreme-level foundations suppressing countless lives in the Northern Plains, overthrowing the Imperial Court will be incredibly difficult.”
“However, their prophecy does hold some interest.”
Ji Fuyao’s eyes flickered, reflecting an inner fire. In the ethereal depths, destiny is set! The Fuyao Dynasty was destined to ignite here! “Master, I will ensure the Fuyao Dynasty undergoes a complete transformation in the Northern Plains!”
Lu Xuan nodded. With a thought, the power of supreme array patterns surged, and in an instant, the two vanished from the Northern Plains.
In a flash.
Boom! Crack! In the Black Flame Mountain Range, space tore open, twisting violently. A terrifying aura surged forth as Lu Xuan and Ji Fuyao stepped out of the Spatial Rift.
Instantly, the Imperial Dragon Guard were alerted. Boom, boom, boom! Commander Wang Man and Commander Qing Yan soared into the sky. The Imperial Dragon Guard immediately assembled, forming an imposing array, their Emperor Weapons gleaming with cold light, their scaled armor shining golden, radiating an overwhelming battle intent.
“Peak Master Lu!”
“Empress Fuyao!”
The guards saluted with utmost respect. Lu Xuan casually waved his hand, descending with Ji Fuyao into the mountain range.
During this time, the Fuyao Dynasty’s strength had grown tremendously! There were now hundreds of Emperor Attainers! All because Ji Fuyao had provided them with an abundance of cultivation resources!