Chapter 1134 – Clearing the Snakes
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"Elder Liu, you are a veteran senior of Carefree Island. Of the three Highest Elders, you are the oldest. For these last tens of thousands of years, although I haven't publicly appeared, I still stayed deep in Carefree Palace. I've been watching many things that you've done and I believe I have a deep understanding of your character. Before this, I spoke with Elder Zhou and he revealed some matters to me. As far as I know, in these last days, you, Elder Zhou, and Elder White have all been very close to each other, right?"
Mo Riverbliss's light question caused Elder Liu's heart to skip a beat as it fell onto his ear!
The Elder Zhou that Mo Riverbliss mentioned was the last of the three Highest Elders. When Mo Riverbliss wanted to give the Ten Severing Dao Fruit Tree to Lin Ming to help him break through his Ninefall, everyone in the sect had opposed this action. And White Brook, being the one that was so adamantly against it, had united many of the Elders together to resist Mo Riverbliss's orders.
And in fact, the other two Highest Elders didn't welcome Mo Riverbliss. No one wished that there would be another overlord hovering over their heads and stealing their authority.
In this sort of situation, they had tended to favor White Brook from the beginning.
But afterwards, Lin Ming had perfectly crossed his heavenly tribulation and achieved a complete nine by nine Life Destruction and then their thoughts had made a complete 180 change. Lin Ming's performance had been far too magnificent and splendid. If Lin Ming could truly become a Great World King then Carefree Island would be able to ascend to a World King level Holy Land. And as their senior Elder, even sharing just a tiny bit of the soup would be an unbelievable advantage! This was absolutely not something that a single top heaven-step treasure like the Ten Severing Dao Fruit Tree could compare with.
Thus, they had begun to favor Mo Riverbliss instead. Now that they heard Mo Riverbliss suddenly mentioning old accounts and especially in a situation where she was dividing the Elders and talking to them one at a time, no one knew what anyone else would say, so all of their hearts were rife with fear and trepidation.
Once someone else confessed all of their matters, if they continued to be silly and help White Brook out then that would cause Mo Riverbliss to have an extremely bad impression of them. Then, even if Carefree Island rapidly ascended in the future they still wouldn't be able to share in the profit and would only be regarded as an outsider who would be continually marginalized.
Ever since ancient times, there had been no right or wrong in struggles of power. Those self-proclaimed righteous and stubborn men of integrity would often die in the most miserable manner. Whether they were good or evil didn't matter. All that existed in struggles of power were a few simple words – submit to me and prosper or oppose me and perish!
Elder Liu could already see that this woman, Mo Riverbliss, was not easy to deal with. Before now, she had quietly stayed in Carefree Palace because she didn't want her status to be revealed. But now that she had, she would exert full and complete control so that when Carefree Island became a World King level Holy Land in the future, her authority would be smoother. What she wanted was for her voice to be the only one that mattered within the island.
As for White Brook and Xiao Haogan, they already stood opposite to Mo Riverbliss. Even if they sensed the winds and tried to switch sides, it was far too late. For those rulers with absolute control, what they had least was trust in others. And history had repeatedly proven that those rulers who easily trusted others and gave power to others would suffer tragic fates! In particular, trusting the enemy even once was the most stupid of behaviors!
It was obvious that Mo Riverbliss planned on being the only voice in the Council of Elders. Moreover, she wanted to establish her prestige. White Brook and Xiao Haogan would thus be punished as a warning to all others who dared to stand against her.
"Senior, I have something I must confess to you."
After Elder Liu understood all of this, his choice became immediately clear. Mo Riverbliss did not lack ambitions, nor did she lack the means to accomplish them. Following her would be much better than following White Brook and his mixed band of supporters.
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As time slowly passed, all of the Elders, besides White Brook and Xiao Haogan, had talked alone with Mo Riverbliss.
This caused Xiao Haogan to feel increasingly uneasy. Although he seemed relatively calm on the surface, the truth was that his heart was rapidly racing in nervousness, as if he were standing on pins and needles.
"What are you so panicked about? Mo Riverbliss hasn't even done anything and yet you feel so pressured. Don't be confused about your own position and stop shaking your legs. If she really did anything then you can't just stretch out your neck and accept it."
White Brook chided Xiao Haogan with a true essence sound transmission. Xiao Haogan forced a smile and nodded. He certainly knew what White Brook was trying to say, but could he feel that way in front of someone like Mo Riverbliss, where he didn't even have the faintest bit of superiority? After Mo Riverbliss had borrowed the momentum of Lin Ming crossing his heavenly tribulation and split up the Elders, now, whether it was her own strength or her position in the hearts of the Elders, she surpassed White Brook in every aspect.
At this time, the minor dimension in front of Xiao Haogan trembled and then a white-clothed Mo Riverbliss appeared in front of everyone.
"Elder White, Elder Xiao, come with me…" Mo Riverbliss faintly said.
White Brook's heart tightened. As he looked at the minor dimensional gate behind Mo Riverbliss, he felt as if he didn't have the courage to step in at all.
This Carefree Palace was under the control of Mo Riverbliss to begin with. Not just that, but Mo Riverbliss's strength surpassed theirs by several times. Who knew what would happen once they entered that minor dimension!
Xiao Haogan also thought of this. His complexion became increasingly ugly.
White Brook forced a smile and said, "Fairy Mo, if there is any matter then you can speak it right here!"
As White Brook spoke, all of the other Elders began to feel a bit of pity for him. In truth, everything that White Brook had done was a normal response for someone who was accustomed to holding great power. It was human nature for a person to not wish to cup their hands across their chest and hand over whatever authority they had. Moreover, because of White Mirrorjade's situation, White Brook had wanted to kill Lin Ming. To a Highest Elder, killing a simple junior disciple to set an example wasn't a problem at all. Unfortunately, he had messed with the wrong young man and had ended up kicking himself in the face.
Now, Mo Riverbliss was clearly looking to push White Brook over the cliff. At the very least he would lose his current high status. And most of the other Elders of Carefree Island had likely betrayed White Brook by now, especially those that had been close to him. They all rushed to privately contact Mo Riverbliss to display their utmost loyalty to her.
After all, they weren't sure if anyone else had betrayed White Brook and revealed what all the other Elders had done. If those people had confessed all of their wrongdoings while they tried to hide what they knew, that would be the actions of an idiot.
On the other hand, if they clearly revealed all that they knew then that would be a sign of their loyalty; there would be no loss for them.
It could only be said that humans were inconsistent and fickle beings, quickly tempted towards extremes. Now that they faced White Brook, they all felt a bit guilty in their hearts. This sort of feeling didn't feel too good. If one felt guilty for too long then this guilt would turn to hate. This was the subtlety of human psychology.
'If you make me feel guilty and fearful, then I will no longer wish to see you or even talk to you!'
Thus, imperceptibly, White Brook and Xiao Haogan had already been isolated from the others.
"Oh? We can speak here too." Mo Riverbliss spoke as if she were in a very jolly mood. She faintly smiled at the other Elders and said, "Then, may all the other Elders besides Elder Xiao and Elder White wait outside."
Mo Riverbliss's words left Xiao Haogan and White Brook startled. As they looked at everyone, they discovered that they were all evading their eyes.
Island Master Xiao Skywhite was the first to leave. Then, everyone began to scatter without a single one remaining. There were even some people that were much faster than the others in fear that they would leave a bad impression on Mo Riverbliss.
As the other Elders departed, the space where Mo Riverbliss, White Brook, and Xiao Haogan were was completely sealed up.
When White Brook saw this, he mirthlessly smiled, "Hahaha! I never thought this would be! The world of martial artists is truly a reflection of human nature! To think that I, White Brook, would one day suffer a fate like this and become no different from a plague. Everyone who sees me fears me and everyone wishes to cut apart all relations they had with me! Your methods are truly wonderful!"
White Brook grit his teeth as he looked at Mo Riverbliss. And behind him, Xiao Haogan was already shaking in his boots. Facing Mo Riverbliss, he felt an unbelievably strong pressure. This woman could take their lives whenever she wished.
"My methods aren't much at all. It's just that after Lin Ming crossed a nine by nine Life Destruction, whether it be in strength or prestige, I now occupy the absolute superiority. You are no longer my match. I could have let you go, it's only that… I will no longer leave behind even the smallest chance for my current enemies or my potential enemies in the future. This is the lesson that my father paid a deep price to carve into my heart! I will no longer abide a snake that is looking at me from behind. Even if you do not have the strength to threaten me, it is possible that you will betray my information to my blood enemy in the future, or you may even sell out Lin Ming. Or in the future when I have troubles, you may even kick me when I'm down! You already have a festering hatred of me in your heart. Since we cannot resolve our issues, why should I allow you any chance to seek revenge?"
The annihilation of the Verdant Feather Holy Lands had left a lifelong lesson in Mo Riverbliss's heart. It was because the old Holy Lord of the Verdant Feather Holy Lands didn't act against Tian Mingzi ahead of time that they all suffered such a fate.
How could Mo Riverbliss allow the same mistake to occur again? Once White Brook realized that her hated enemy was Tian Mingzi, then even the spirit artifact scroll she had all the Elders sign might be useless. Tian Mingzi possibly had his own ways to remove such a curse. At that time, Tian Mingzi would find out about her as well as about the existence of Mo Eversnow and Lin Ming. The consequences of this could be imagined!
"Good! You are ruthless enough! I acknowledge that I deserve this punishment. So, let me see just how you'll dispose of me!"
White Brook coldly said as he flung his sleeves open. In his opinion, Mo Riverbliss was merely relieving him of his duties. At most she would imprison him, not kill him. Otherwise, if a senior Elder died because of a power struggle then there would inevitably be fissures. Although no one would dare to do anything to her, she still had to be cautious of the effects her actions on public opinion!
If her killing sins were too great, it would be easy to lose the will of the people.
Mo Riverbliss seemed to see through White Brook's thoughts. She cunningly smiled. "You seem to think you're safe? As if you have nothing to fear? What a pity… your speculations are all wrong…"
"Mm!?" White Brook's heart shook as he suddenly stepped backwards. He reached out to trace his own spatial ring, but at this time all he felt was a blinding haze before him; Mo Riverbliss had already arrived right in front of him!
Bang!
White Brook couldn't see how Mo Riverbliss had acted. In only an instant, all he felt was a dizzying pain in his head. It was as if he had fallen into some unknown space with ice and snow falling all around him, enveloping the world.
White Brook wanted to shatter this world, but he felt his body become increasingly powerless. His consciousness and divine sense seemed to leave his body. This feeling was like a mortal being placed in front of the vastness of nature; there was no chance of resisting…
The difference was too great!
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Three days later, everyone saw Xiao Haogan and White Brook in Carefree Palace. They followed behind Mo Riverbliss. There didn't seem to be anything different about them, except that they displayed absolute loyalty towards Mo Riverbliss. Moreover, there was also a deep sense of awe and fear shining from their eyes!
This sort of look was like someone who had their mind controlled and had a slave seal planted within them. Of course, no one dared to question Mo Riverbliss. They could only suppress their own suspicious and pretend to not notice anything. Everyone began to increasingly dread this woman known as Mo Riverbliss. Without a doubt, she was not some bleeding heart individual. For whoever disobeyed her, their fate would truly be tragic! Xiao Haogan and White Brook were the perfect examples of this!
No matter what Mo Riverbliss did to Xiao Haogan and White Brook, at least they hadn't died. As for the ordinary disciples of Carefree Island, none of them knew about this situation to begin with, thus changes in public opinion never occurred. Like this, Mo Riverbliss calmly controlled all of Carefree Island while removing all of her enemies. Not only were there no negative effects, but her authority instead rose to an unprecedented level.
Chapter 1135 – Immemorial Imperial City
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The True Martial World in which Carefree Island was located was extremely vast, even a level greater than Atlas World, the world where Phoenix Cry Palace was located!
Of the great worlds of the Divine Realm, what decided which was larger and smaller was not their mass or area. Rather, it was the number of powerhouses as well as their quality.
And in a great world, over 90% of the powerhouses would be located on the main continent. Each main continent of a Divine Realm great world had an incalculable area to it.
Although Carefree Island was also considered to be on the main continent of True Martial World, it was at the farthest edges of the sea – the Red Desolate Sea. The truly large top sects, such as those Holy Lands, peak Holy Lands, and even World King level Holy Lands were located near the greater central areas of these main continents.
This region had an incomparably rich stock of resources. There was also an extremely high number of mystic realms, and even the middle ranked of these mystic realms was much more bountiful than the Red Desolate Mystic Realm.
However, although these mystic realms were rich in resources, what they produced was only violet sun stones, violet sun crystals, or some other basic low level materials. The best point about them was that the quantity of resources was very high, but the quality wasn't so. They weren't like the God Beast Mystic Realm that had high level heavenly materials such as a supreme dragon bone. A supreme dragon bone was something that even a World King level powerhouse would fight to the death for. As for 10 billion violet sun stones, a World King level powerhouse wouldn't have any interest in that at all.
This was the difference in level. Although True Martial Great World's mystic realms were extremely rich, and could even be counted as having some of the richest of the Divine Realm's 3000 great worlds' mystic realms, they weren't able to produce top grade heavenly materials, thus they weren't too tempting to powerhouses. And, a great deal of the wealth was due to the commercial businesses there. Every year there was an inestimable amount of wealth traded in True Martial World.
Immemorial Imperial City was the largest city of True Martial Great World and also the most ancient. After Lin Ming bid his farewells to Mo Riverbliss, his destination was Immemorial Imperial City. The reason he came here was to take back the wealth that the Verdant Feather Holy Lands had left, among them the jade slip to the 'Celestial Tyrant Manual' that Mo Eversnow had left behind.
According to Mo Eversnow, Immemorial Imperial City was already several hundred millions of years old.
A hundred million was a terrifying number, in particular when used to refer to time. A mortal lived for a billion breaths, and a single breath was an extremely short period of time. If these breaths of time were changed into years, the amount of time would be unimaginable!
This was a city that had constantly developed over a span of several hundred million years; it was easy to imagine how terrifying it was!
Although Lin Ming had mentally prepared himself, he was still shocked when he truly saw Immemorial Imperial City with his own eyes.
"This is Immemorial Imperial City?"
Lin Ming gazed at the massive metropolis in front of him. Rather, it was better to call it a floating continent!
In the skies above True Martial Great World, a super continent floated by itself. This massive chunk of land was tens of thousands of miles long and wide.
Immemorial Imperial City was surrounded by a city wall that was thousands of feet high and hundreds of feet thick, as if a mountain range were surrounding it. For all these hundreds of millions of years, countless array formations and mind-boggling amounts of energy were used to support this city wall, and thus the city wall exuded a simple and boundless aura.
Although this city wall was vast and tough, there were still scars left behind by all sorts of attacks. There were even some areas where the gashes were particularly deep and dreadful. It was obvious that in the history of Immemorial Imperial City, it had encountered the endless flames of war. To fight in a city like this, it was possible that it was a war between World King level Holy Lands.
The truth was that martial artists could fly, and no ordinary wall could stop them no matter how high it was. But, this city wall formed a massive energy barrier in the sky that covered the entire city sky; the number of violet sun stones consumed each year could be imagined.
Beyond the covering of the energy barrier, there were countless saint beasts and massive spirit boats and spirit shoats that shuttled about. These saint beasts and spirit vessels had to descend as they came close to Immemorial Imperial City and the martial artist who rode them had to then walk into the city.
At the front gates of this city, there was a squadron of guards in golden armor. These guards were all at the Divine Transformation realm, and there was a divine war chariot next to them. These divine war chariots were crafted by grandmaster refiners. As long as one placed enough violet sun stones in them, they would be able to display an incredible destructive power.
"Immemorial Imperial City… this is where the Celestial Tyrant Manual and some other treasure are hidden?" Lin Ming came here this time with Mo Eversnow in order to take the Celestial Tyrant Manual jade slip as well as the other hidden wealth. He thought that these treasures should be buried in some wild and barren mountain range or hill, or perhaps even somewhere in a divergent mystic realm where they would be covered under the protection of numerous array formations. But, he never imagined they had been hidden in the largest and most prosperous city of True Martial Great World!
Lin Ming thoughts this was strange. How could there be treasure hidden in such a place?
That's right, they're hidden right here. The situation in the past was complicated. Some treasures were stored in different areas. I kept some, my little sister took some, and even my aunty took part of it away. And a part was also left in Immemorial Imperial City's Starbind Bank. The power that is behind Starbind Bank is the True Martial Holy Lands. True Martial Holy Lands is exactly what you think it is: it is the top Holy Land of True Martial World! It is also the Holy Land established by the Great World King of True Martial World! Only such a Holy Land would dare to use the name of a great world for themselves. Starbind Bank is an extremely safe place to deposit treasures. There are many supreme elders of the Divine Realm that would choose to place their treasures here, and this has led to Starbind Bank having a very good reputation. They will not privately steal the treasures of their guests. Of course, this is on the premise that there are no treasures deposited that would cause a Great World King to go mad for them…"
As Mo Eversnow explained this, Lin Ming suddenly became aware. A bank that was supported by a Great World King was truly a safe place to store treasures. The only exception would be if the True Martial Holy Lands was exterminated, otherwise those things that were deposited in Starbind Bank would be safe.
"You're saying that the jade slip and wealth have been stored here for 50,000 years?" Lin Ming found this hard to wrap his mind around. He had only lived for a total of 30 some years. But to a World King level powerhouse, 50,000 years wasn't anything at all.
"Yes, 50,000 years!"
"I never thought that the Divine Realm would have such a method to store treasures. A bank… isn't too different from how it's done in the mortal world."
"Of course, this Immemorial Imperial City doesn't have just banks, they also have pawn shops, houses, and all sorts of other businesses that sell countless kinds of treasures. There are saint artifacts and even spirit artifacts that are sold. There are even pill pavilions that sell earth-step and heaven-step pills, but these sorts of things can only be dreamt of – they are far too difficult to purchase. I even heard that in the past, there was a transcendent divine pill auctioned off at Immemorial Imperial City. That auction gathered together over a hundred World King level powerhouses from the Divine Realm as well as the rulers of countless Holy Lands. There were even said to be 20 Great World Kings among them! Finally, this transcendent divine pill was purchased by a Great World King, but the price he paid was kept secret so that no one knew."
What?" Lin Ming was stunned. A transcendent divine pill was something on the same rank as a transcendent divine might. Because these pills were one-time use treasures, they weren't as valuable as a transcendent divine might jade slip. But, these were pills that could potentially save the life of a Great World King, so they were truly priceless treasures!
"Even a transcendent divine pill was sold! This… that is something that would need to be refined by an Empyrean!"
"No, there are many Empyreans that do not practice alchemy. On the contrary, there are some peak Great World Kings that have extraordinary accomplishments in alchemy and thus have the ability to refine transcendent divine pills. True Martial Great World is the most bustling trading hub of the Divine Realm's 3000 great worlds. There is a massive amount of martial artists from all over the Divine Realm that come here to sell and trade their goods, and this includes even Great World Kings!"
As the two spoke, they arrived at Immemorial Imperial City's gates.
The two city gates were thousands of feet high, and the aura they exuded was grand and towering. There was a massive stream of people pouring through the gates. A great number of them were at the Divine Sea realm, Divine Transformation realm, and even Divine Lord realm.
This was a city of martial artists!
"Mm?" Lin Ming was faintly startled. He didn't find it strange that there were so many powerhouses here, but as he entered, he discovered that there were many young people. Moreover, each one of them had a solid foundation and amazing talent!
These people would all be at least direct disciples of an ordinary Holy Land. And yet there were so many of them here…
Were these the disciples of the True Martial Holy Lands?
Lin Ming didn't dwell on this too much as he paid the fee to enter. In Immemorial Imperial City, one had to pay 10,000 violet sun stones to enter if they didn't possess a permanent residence inside. This sort of wealth would cause the vast majority of Divine Sea realm martial artists to shrink back in fear and not dare to approach this city! It had to be known that in the past, when Lin Ming was at Phoenix Cry Palace and had entered Saint Artifact Pavilion to choose a treasure, he was able to do so by paying an equivalent of several thousand violet sun stones. And, this was an amount of wealth that many Life Destruction and Divine Sea disciples had to save up diligently for.
Of course, this wealth was only a fine drizzle to Lin Ming. Not to mention the treasures that Mo Eversnow left in Starbind Bank, but just the wealth he had obtained after killing the genius disciples of Splintersoul Mountain and the Occult Bone Clan came to a total of 150 billion violet sun stones. This sort of wealth had been comprised of violet sun stones, violet sun crystals, and other materials. Mo Riverbliss had helped Lin Ming change all of this to violet sun crystals using her connections.
Now, the current Lin Ming was ridiculously wealthy.
"Starbind Bank is here!"
Lin Ming stopped in front of a magnificent building. On the top of this building was a signboard with the words 'Starbind Bank' written in large golden red characters. Each of these words contained faint fluctuations of the Metal Laws.
Upon stepping into Starbind Bank, one would enter into a different space. The space inside was dozens of times larger than the exterior and one could even fly!
This was also a reasonable matter. After all, Immemorial Imperial City was the headquarters for two World King level Holy Lands. In addition, there were also many peak and upper level Holy Lands that had set up a base here. This caused Immemorial Imperial City to have a ridiculously inflated cost for property. Thus, there were many buildings here that would have their own minor dimension built within to expand the building and make the most of the limited space.
As soon as Lin Ming entered Starbind Bank, he saw a group of young martial artists. These people had middle and late Divine Sea cultivations and they appeared to be around 30-40 years old. They were all excited and in high spirits.
And behind them were several old men that acted as stewards. These old men were each at the late Divine Lord realm. Such a powerhouse could be a Great Elder in Carefree Palace. But following behind these youths, they were only stewards.
"So many outstanding characters. I've walked just this distance and yet I've encountered countless geniuses. This Immemorial Imperial City is truly lively!"