"You gotta be kidding me. When you need support the world ignores you, but when you just wanna die, they send legions to back you up? What nonsense is this?" Harun inwardly scolded all serpents of the Highest Heavens. Unlike the other clans which were scattered across the 33 Heavens, all main branches of the serpent clan lived in seclusion within the Highest Heaven, clouded by an ancient formation even Monarchs couldn't peer through.
According to Jiyan, a Dao Emperor's all-out attack was the minimum requirement to break that formation. A theory no one could prove, because after the Serpent Emperor's defeat and his clan's retreat into the Serpent Domain, from the Heaven Warding Emperor to Agiri, no Dao Emperor ever attempted to breach the Serpent Domain's formation—leaving the remnant rulers of the Immemorial Era in peace.
In the 3.5 million years following their defeat, members of the Devouring Serpents and their subordinate clans rarely left the Serpent Domain. But whenever they did, their deeds shocked the world. Most infamous among them was their contemporary clan master, Lord Silav. Unlike lesser lines, the noble and hegemonic clans didn't have family names. There was only one Golden Crow clan, one Phoenix Clan, one Empyrean clan, and of course, one Devouring Serpent clan.
Born within the second Cosmic Cycle of Agiri's reign, wielding Heterochromatic Double Pupils, Silav reached the Empyrean Monarch Realm in 30,000 years, completed his Internal Heaven in 100,000, and with the cultivation of a peak-level Monarch, defeated the Empyrean clan's elders to challenge Agiri in battle.
Although the clash resulted in Silav's defeat, he managed the unthinkable feat of slicing off Agiri's left arm. And over 3.5 million years following the Serpent Emperor's defeat, the Golden Crow Ancestor aside, Silav remains the only non-Emperor able to fight tooth and nails with a sitting Dao Emperor. And this...was nearly 900,000 years ago!
Dark-green clouds gathered above the imperial palace, blending to form the illusory shape of a monstrous serpent with bulky arms and massive clawed hands. Though that illusory serpent remained 300 meters tall, it gave the misconception that with a thought, it could extend to cover all across the Highest Heaven.
From this domineering image, a middle-aged man dropped, dressed in a black robe embroidered with a coiling serpent and phoenix, bright-red phoenix feathers hovered around him, contrasting with the serpent image above his head. Once he made his entrance, members of the Phoenix clan felt the bitter taste of shame cover their tongues. Their eyes trembled with rage, but they dared not make any rash move.
"The ruling line of the Devouring Serpent clan successfully inherited the blood of the Phoenix Empress and wield two crushing Divine Powers. Giving them a distinct advantage over other hegemonic clans," Harun recalled. Regardless of parentage, celestials could only wield one Divine Power. The Devouring Serpents were the exception to this rule, and could assimilate one extra Divine Power in their life—or start out with two if their parents came from different clans.
As the Devouring Serpent blood overpowered all others, intermarriage with their subordinate clans enabled the former to assimilate many Divine Powers. Making most of the Devouring Serpent clansmen start out with two. Still, the ruling line's combination remained by far the strongest.
Dropping at Harun's right, Silav ignored all others to focus his orange and green Double Pupils on Harun. For a second, while Silav's eyes observed him with scrutiny, Harun felt an uncomfortable silence settle in. Then the unthinkable occurred. Silav clasped his hands in greetings and kneeled toward Harun.
"No no no no no! Don't you dare!" Harun inwardly screamed, but to no avail. The words he feared still left Silav's lips.
"Greetings clan master, greetings Son of Heaven, please forgive your humble servant for arriving late to your rescue!" Silav exclaimed, making the eyes of all deities on the scene almost pop out of their sockets.
"Rescue my ass! You are killing me!" Harun wanted to say, but forced himself to restrain the words—instead helping Silav up. And as confusion settled in the officials and deities' eyes, Silav swept them with his Double Pupils:
"Taking advantage of my Devouring Serpent clan's seclusion, you worthless pieces of trash, scums from the lowest reaches, dared bare your filthy fangs at my clan's reincarnated sovereign?
The nerve!" Silav bellowed and stretched out his hands. Above his head, a rainbow-colored whirlpool formed, and from it emerged the picture of an idyllic land where billions of men and women lived in harmony, worshiping mighty idols representing Silav!
"A seven-colored Internal Heaven…" the deities realized in awe. Monarchs' Internal Heavens could have seven colors, seven grades, each several times more terrifying than the other. For those that remembered his name, that Silav possessed a complete Internal Heaven of the highest grade wasn't surprising. But faced with the pressure of that seven-colored Internal Heaven, even Monarchs could feel their legs tremble.
Worst, unlike the weaker officials, Monarchs could feel a Divine Authority take shape within Silav's Heaven, proof that he'd already taken half-a-step into the Dao Emperor Realm!
But while this ancient god's deterrence suppressed legions of officials, the system's voice thundered in Harun's mind.
"Bullshit! What reincarnated clan sovereign? Masterful comedian. Can a man be more shameless? He obviously wants to use the flag of righteousness to take control of your eyes! If you believe him, you won't even know how you die!" The system warned, speaking the words on Harun's lips.
Indeed, Harun wasn't so naïve as to think that just because he possessed Sovereign Pupils, the Devouring Serpent clan would bow to him. How could a man who dared challenge a sitting emperor be so willing to bow to a "boy?"
No, this was just an act to give Harun a sense of belonging and lead him into a fiery pit. And indeed, the system and Harun were both correct. While some members of the Devouring Serpent clan could potentially submit to Harun, Silav didn't belong to their ranks. For once he took the eyes, there was no need to wait for the ancestor's return. He'd instantly become...the new Serpent Emperor.