Meanwhile, a remote cliff overlooking the ocean became the scene of an unusual spectacle. Every now and then, a cultivator flying without the help of a spirit treasure would appear from the horizon and would disappear in a fold of the vertical rocky escarpment.
Inside the well arranged and furnished cave, rows of torches illuminated the excited eyes of a dozen of cultivators making small talk. Most of them were old men, each with his own unique beard.
Their robes came in all sorts of styles and colors, but all had an identical embroidered blazon on the right chest area. It depicted two parallel vertical golden swords on a bright green shield. The two swords would never be crossing; this was the symbol of the Sword Union.
Minutes slowly passed in wait. The air was moist due to the western winds coming from the ocean, especially at this late hour. This night, the waves crashing on the cliff were unusually heavy. A storm was brewing.
Three figures suddenly appeared at the entrance. Unlike the others, they had come on flying eagles. If one looked closer, they would have realized that these eagles were not alive. They were just puppet creations.
"Fellow Daoists of the Puppet Sect, it is a pleasure to meet again."
"No need for pleasantries, let's begin."
The youngest looking man from the Sword Union stepped forward with a genuine smile and invited everyone around a large table. "Fellow Daoists, I will be representing the Sword Union for this meeting.
I understand that everyone has heard the news. However, it is still best to reiterate the details to make sure we are all on the same page. The structure that has been unearthed 6 months ago turned out to be a necropolis that predates the Dark Centuries. More specifically, the investigation by our Sword Union and Puppet Sect researchers show that it had been discovered and used by the Ming Dynasty, so 1000 to 3000 years before our era. They had built an additional layer of construction with their greatest formations to hide and defend the place.
It is perhaps why the complex wasn't impacted by the destruction caused by the fall of the Ming Dynasty and remained hidden till now. After around a thousand years, most of the Ming Constructions and Arrays have stopped functioning. The rest have been dissembled with a little work from our experts.
The problem is that the structure is far more complex than what we initially thought. We estimate the inner structure to be at least 10 thousand years old.
It appears that the Ming Dynasty hadn't been able to brute force their way into the main tomb. From the records we have obtained in the necropolis, they did everything they could to keep the necropolis secret from the Black Rainbow Sect. And it seems that they had succeeded.
A secret order was established to guard the necropolis, which their members followed like a divine mission. Only two types of people had the opportunity to enter the order. Ming Dynasty Nascent Soul elites reaching the end of their lifespan and rejects of the royal line. In any case, when one entered the necropolis and the order, they had to live to the end of their life inside it.
The rejects were used to find ancient inheritances by completing trials within. Most would be killed in the trials or after completing their missions, with only the inheritances being passed on to the Ming Dynasty.
Most interestingly from our perspective, the secret order's Nascent Soul Elders also began burying themselves at the necropolis. The benefits we recieved from those tombs aren't small, and we can reasonably birth a couple new Nascent Soul cultivators from the resources obtained.
However, the level of the arrays used deeper into the Necropolis is greatly superior to what the Ming area could produce. I'm talking here about the original sepultures.
In the best case, it would probably take us decades, if not centuries to crack those down and find the true prizes. Of course, we don't have time for that. And considering that the Ming Dynasty failed to crack those arrays during their two thousand years of existence, it's safe to say that we don't have a complete idea of the difficulty of the task yet.
As of now, the only method found to enter the central area is through the intended way: be under 20 years old and follow the trials. From the testimony of our scouts, we can reasonably deduce that not one, but several inheritances are waiting for us. The exact figure should be near one hundred. With the level of the methods used and their capacity to withstand the test of time to this extent, it is reasonable to assume that the main inheritance should be from a cultivator at the Emperor realm.
This necropolis could become a decisive factor in the troublesome times ahead of us. But there are still a lot of questions to answer.
First of all, since we have discovered it 6 months ago, the Black Rainbow Sect obviously learned about this place. So why haven't they showed themselves yet? They don't seem to want to claim it."
A cushy old man snorted. "There could plenty of reasons; this thing could be of too little level to interest them, or it could have a link with the Rainbow faction or something. Anyway, it is none of our concern and it's not our place to discuss the motives of the Black Rainbow Sect, so let's not lose time on this."
The two men stared at each other from the opposite side of the oval table.
A third man interjected, ending the stare down. "I have an interesting hypothesis. This Emperor senior resting here could be from the Black Rainbow Sect, and more specifically from the Rainbow faction. The so-called Edera continent protector could be preventing them from setting foot here."
"Pff, that's just baseless assumptions. And some of our scouts have died in the trials. You would never find that in a Rainbow's faction tomb."
"But if he is from the Rainbow faction, that would explain why the Black Rainbow Sect hasn't made a move since the necropolis was unearthed. As we know, the protector is currently from the Rainbow faction. The second element going in this direction is the deadliness of the trial, or rather lack of. Out of all the trial paths, only one appears to be a path of no return.
Scouts that failed the other paths have only been sent out the array formations. This last path should be the one leading to the main inheritance, it has to stand out.
Think about it, these methods actually do correspond to the ways of the Rainbow faction. Keep in mind, we are talking of the Rainbow faction from thousands of years ago, they didn't have much of a pacifist mentality back then.
By making one path deadly and the other risk free, this ancestor essentially encourages the ones seeking his treasures to choose a path carefully according to one's affinities, rather than only targeting the greatest prize.
Like this, the ancestor that imagined this configuration essentially helps spread out the cultivators to the many inheritances it contains. A black faction cultivator would rather have only one path."
"All of this is based on the assumption that the master of the tomb was once a Black Rainbow Sect Cultivator. Who would claim for certain knowing all the powerful figures from thousands of years ago? The Black Rainbow Sect was most certainly not the only ones to have cultivators above the Nascent Soul Realm. This tomb might have no link at all to the Black Rainbow Sect."
The fat man erupted. "SILENCE all of you! It doesn't matter anyway where that master came from!"
"And yet it does." The Sword Union representative interrupted him. "This issue touches on the two of the three crucial questions we are here to answer. First, the position of the Black Rainbow Sect and the reason why they have yet to claim the necropolis. Second, are we planning on sending disciples on the trials? The degree of deadliness cannot be dismissed."
"Of course, we send disciples en masse. But, I will personally be banning disciples from going on the death path. These idiots don't understand the word death. And what's this third question?"
"Heh. What measures to take against the SCA?"
The three cultivators from the Puppet Sect had remained silent until now. Suddenly, one spoke up for the first time. "Our actions cannot escape the eyes of the SCA for long. It's best to capitalize on the inheritances as quickly as possible. It will be impossible for the SCA to sit still. War isn't out of the question either."
The cushy man snorted. "Kang Chang are you becoming senile? These old farts from the SCA would never dare risk their lives. They are oh so happy to maintain the peace that lasted for more than 500 years."
The Puppet Sect cultivators shot disdainful glances at the man. "What do you know? The equilibrium of the Edera continent's forces was only forcefully maintained by the Edera protector. Rumor has it, he will soon get called back to the Black Rainbow Sect. The forces of the continent might very well see a change. And the SCA has long fixed their sight on the continent. Just by naming their secular state an Empire it's enough to show their intentions regarding the Edera continent. It was like this 500 years ago, and it still is today."
The representative from the Sword Union showed a bright smile. "Everyone, what Elder Kang said is right. The alliance between our two organizations, the Sword Union and the Puppet Sect, is more than ever crucial to keep our place.
We can first agree on sending our elite disciples to the necropolis. Only special or desperate cases will be allowed into the main inheritance. Without an incredible genius rarely seen in thousands of years, one has no chances of coming out from the main path. So let's not focus too much on it. With this, our forces will inexorably rise in power, and it would be our turn to sight on the SCA."
The cushy man laughed lightly. "Hehe, you are going a bit too fast, little Ren. Let's not forget internal matters before pointing at external threats. How are we going to distribute the resources and inheritances obtained from the tombs? Even if the SCA is an important, it would take years for such a power to prepare for war. And for events of this scale, such huge movement won't be able to hide from our notice. I also think you overestimate the SCA far too much, they are not as united as they once were. By the time they would have sorted out their internal struggles, we will have devoured the inheritances clean. So, mister Sword Union representative, please stop avoiding the subject and explain to us lowly Sword Union members how the resources will be distributed. Precisely."
This Elder Ren's face darkened. In the end, he answered coldly. "The resources obtained by a disciple belong to them. Once one exits the necropolis, the sect they are from is the only one capable to claim it. Except for the main inheritance. The Sword Union will advise if its content is ever revealed. For now, the priority is secrecy. Only top young disciples from our top factions will enter. Let's set the number of places to the quotas of this year's Western Summit. Once the SCA catches wind of our operation, we will dispatch all our disciples."
The cushy man smiled faintly. The other old men exchanged murmurs and whispers. Many were agreeing and soon the rules were refined. The three Puppet Sect cultivators didn't add another word.
In this little cave of this unknown cliff, were thus discussed events implicating the whole Edera Continent.