"Do you think this is a trap?" a man said. His eyes were narrowed to mere slits, a trick taught by his master so that no one could read his gaze. Pinching his chin, he spoke to the man busy steering their vessel. "It has all the characteristics of a trap."

"Could be," another man replied. He wore an emerald robe, the same as the man who had asked the question. It was ornate, with patterns of dragons climbing a waterfall on its back. But while his robe would leave normal people in awe, the one thing that would catch anyone's attention was his horns. They were pure white, like the majestic antlers of a deer, with several branches. A bandage was tied around one branch, and a small, clean-yet-shabby pink ribbon was tied to another. The man did not look at his fellow outer elder, but straight ahead, where a giant window encompassing half the room revealed a moving view. He held a steering wheel akin to the helm of a ship, but what he controlled was no ship.

It was a literal island, with a majestic white-and-emerald tower standing in its center. The entire island was carpeted with beautiful green grass, and a garden full of colorful flowers bloomed right behind the tower. Aside from the two elders standing in the tower's top room, there were a hundred disciples, most of whom were outer disciples of the Verdant Mountains Sect, as well as a few inner disciples. However, there were also countless servants attending to the disciples on this flying island. In the kitchen, spirit chefs shouted and cooked busily. Some servants hurriedly arranged weapons and low-level treasures. Some tended to the garden. Some cleaned the tower's bath area. One servant was currently wiping a vase right outside the control room.

The man with antlers continued, "It's mighty suspicious how the information about the Heaven Severing Pill spread. It did feel like the Purple Moon Sect directly leaked that information, and it does feel like a trap. However, even if it's a trap, we cannot turn around. The grand elders have decided that we need to move, and so, we move."

"Yes, of course I don't question the grand elders' decision," the man with slitted eyes replied. "It's just the circumstances that make me uneasy. The informant confirmed that the signs of this pill's appearance are true, but our spy inside the territory of the Purple Moon Sect didn't even hear about it. Moreover, they are in the middle of a big event right now. Enough so that they are actually quite vulnerable."

"What is your assessment of this situation, then?" the elder with the antlers asked.

"Obviously, we need to prepare in case this is truly a trap. However, if I look at this situation without letting my emotions or instincts influence me, I see that our mission is actually doable. There are other powerful sects we need to contend with. However, the Purple Moon Sect itself is not moving in the slightest."

"What if this event is a scheme by the Purple Moon Sect to sow conflict between the other great sects?"

"It's possible," the man with slitted eyes nodded, "but while the end result would probably be something like that, in the end, nothing changes too much. We were enemies from the beginning, after all, and war is bound to break out between us. However, the likelihood that this is the Purple Moon Sect's entire scheme is actually small. I spent some money and resources to do a further assessment, and it felt as if the information flowing toward the Purple Moon Sect was blocked."

"Blocked? What do you mean?" the man with antlers raised his eyebrows.

"It looks like there is someone making sure that information specifically from an area called the Wild Tide Region does not leak outside of it."

"And the Purple Moon Sect has no way to know what's happening inside? Is the Purple Moon Sect really that incompetent?"

"No, definitely not," the man with slitted eyes shook his head. "They wouldn't be a great sect if they were this incompetent. Actually, their information network is better than ours. Rumor also has it their method of communication is more sophisticated than ours. That's why all of this feels like a trap. However, there's an explanation for why their information network didn't catch something this big." He paused for a moment. "It's because someone in a high position inside the Purple Moon Sect is suppressing their information network."

The man with the antlers whistled. "A traitor from within. That must be troublesome for them."

"Yeah," the man with slitted eyes nodded. "It's a nightmare to root out an enemy from within. However, this is an opportunity for us. As long as we tread carefully, this mission is doable."

"The Heaven Severing Pill, right? What kind of pill could make us and the other great sects move? Is it truly a pill that could increase someone's innate talent?"

"Yes, whoever consumes it will have their innate talent increase severalfold, but its price is actually quite severe."

"What is it?"

"They cannot absorb ambient qi."

"What?" The man with antlers' eyes widened. "Are you serious? That sounds like a detriment to me."

"No, not really. There are certain people who would eagerly consume this pill. They are called demonic cultivators."

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"Ah, indeed. Demonic cultivators don't cultivate by absorbing ambient qi, but rather by absorbing other cultivators." He paused for a moment. "However, while that kind of pill is valuable, and I'm sure our sect would like to get its hands on it, isn't a pill like that a little too insignificant to make us, as well as the other great sects, move?"

"It's because our mission is not the Heaven Severing Pill itself, but what comes with it. You see, brother, this pill is special, to the point that the word 'pill' doesn't even fit. But it is a sign that a greater treasure is nearby."

"And what is that treasure?"

"It's some kind of ancient ruins. They're not just any ruins, but rather, they're probably connected to the Palace of the Unbroken."

Hearing those words, the man with antlers opened his eyes even more wide. "Are you sure about what you said, brother?", he whispered.

"Yes, it's information I gathered myself," the man answered. "Even some of the grand elders don't know about it."

"Then we need to ensure that this mission is not only doable, but also results in a complete victory. Even if it's a trap, we must do everything in our power to reach these ruins. They're too valuable to let go!"

The man with slitted eyes smirked. "Indeed. That's why the disciples I brought along are the strongest, the wildest, and the most savage in our outer sect. While it pains me that some of the disciples will likely die, it's a worthy sacrifice. After all, if we succeed in our mission, even if the only ones who come back are the two of us, the sect will benefit greatly." He began to laugh, his sound like the squeak of a rat. "And the two of us will benefit greatly."

The man with the antlers was stunned at first, but then his smile widened, and he nodded along with his fellow elder. The two of them were the youngest elders of the Verdant Mountains Sect; hence, they lacked power and respect. However, the success of this mission would mean their position would skyrocket within the sect. Not only that, but perhaps—just perhaps—these two Black Sun Realm cultivators could advance to the White Sun Realm in a single shot and have a large chance to become Immortals. After all, of the five Immortals currently living in this world, four had achieved immortality thanks to four treasures from the Palace of the Unbroken.

"What an interesting development," someone muttered. It was not one of the two elders, but a servant busy wiping a vase not too far from the control room. He was no cultivator, but a mere mortal.

"Should I do something, or watch from the sidelines?" he pinched his chin as his entire body was layered with a fine black smoke, one that Liu Xing would recognize as darkness.

***

The border between the Burning World Sect and the Purple Moon Sect stretched for a great distance. It would take over a hundred years for a mortal to walk along the border from one end to the other. This speaks to the size and grandeur of these two great sects. Because the border was so long, there were many paths one could take to cross it. One such path was the mountain range where Silver Saint and Hao Yun were currently battling. Another was the underground tunnels. The Burning World Sect dominated these secret passages. After all, these were no ordinary tunnels—they were tunnels through which magma flowed rapidly.

In one of the tunnels along this path, tens of fish were swimming swiftly on the surface of the magma river. Their shape was akin to that of koi fish; however, they were made from steel and molten rock. Some people who saw these fish would assume they were spirit beasts, but while their burning eyes shone with intelligence, they were more aptly called treasures. Each fish was the size of a whale, but even with their size, the river of magma was so wide and flowed so fast that they looked like fish in a medium-sized river.

On the backs of each fish were dozens of tents, where people rested, prepared, and held meetings. Unlike the other great sects that only brought their members, the Burning World Sect was not holding back. Aside from bringing their disciples, they also brought cultivators from their vassal nations. The total number of cultivators coursing through this river of magma was almost a thousand, ranging from those at the Core Splitting realm to a single elder at the White Sun realm.

At the very front of the formation, where the biggest and most majestic steel and molten rock fish led the pack, a total of ten people occupied it. One of them was an inner disciple who was clasping his hands and bowing his head. He was a man with entirely red hair, but adorning his head was a single white horn jutting out from his forehead.

"Elder Lie Hongtian, I have come with a report for you," the disciple said.

"Raise your head," replied Elder Lie Hongtian. "Do tell. Is this the report confirming the sighting of the Heavenly Thunder Sect?"

Elder Lie Hongtian was not only old but ancient. His skin was dry and full of wrinkles, making him look like a mummy, and his head was bald while his white beard was long. He was one of the most respected people in the Burning World Sect and had carried out an important duty for almost a thousand years, which was guarding a hidden bell in the deepest treasure chamber. Currently, however, he was leading a mission into Purple Moon Sect territory. Initially, another elder led this mission, but when Elder Lie Hongtian volunteered, he was given the position.

"Yes, Elder Lie Hongtian!" the disciple replied. "A majestic ark pulled by several birds made of thunder can be seen in the north. From its trajectory, they too are headed to the territory of the Purple Moon Sect."

The elder stroked his beard, then nodded. "It's troublesome, but not a problem. We will carry out this mission with the utmost care and effort and will return successful. Whether it is the Heavenly Thunder Sect or other great sects, we will triumph."

"Yes, elder!" the disciple said. "What are your orders?"

"Just prepare. At this speed, we will arrive in twenty-four hours. When we arrive, we will take over the entire Wild Tide Region, decimate all the demonic cultivators there, procure the Heaven Severing Pill, and then proceed to capture the ruins."

As he said this, the elder's eyes, which were always closed, suddenly opened, revealing blazing orbs that seemed to be made of fire.

Elder Lie Hongtian was a just and respectable person. However, he was also an elder from the Burning World Sect. From his perspective, the Burning World Sect was the sect worthy enough to lead the world; hence, he believed that to make the world better, the other great sects needed to be decimated. In the past, he was an idealistic person who tried to avoid bloodying his hands, but with age came wisdom, and he realized that it was sometimes inevitable to make sacrifices.

However, while he would ensure this mission he led would succeed, he actually had another mission, and this mission was simple.

He needed to kill the new saint candidate who would surely bring death and destruction to this world.

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