"Master Yontu, there is someone waiting for you, for over a week." Jiang Kang said grimly.
"Who is it?" Yontu suppressed the yawn as he walked toward the stairs. Last week was tense. After the destruction of Poseidon's Kiss, the capital went into a state of war. Civilians were storing food, while cultivators were storing weapons. On the bright side, thanks to this, Aodhfionn received tens of orders, but also, unintentionally, this situation allowed cultivators to be armed, thus helping Xiao Chen inadvertently.
Because of orders raining down on them, his master forced him to help, and Ezio was busy for the whole week. He didn't come to Jiangs for once. Because of that, he had to cultivate the techniques he acquired in the night, it cut his sleeping time a lot.
"I don't know, sir but he is strong. Just the aura he emits unintentionally suffocates me." The elder Jiang said with a shiver.
"Oh," Yontu said as he walked up. In the meeting room, there was a man sitting all by himself. His eyes were closed, and he was deep in meditation. A week of time for cultivators wasn't long at all. Some close-door cultivations could last years. So the man didn't seem bored or flustered.
Yontu took a closer look and the first thing he noticed was the pink beard. The hair and mustache were also orange but that was still in the range of acceptable. The man was muscular and the pressure he was emitting was potent as the elder Jiang said.
Acting as confident as he could, Yontu took the head seat and started to tap on the table rhythmically. This was normally a taboo. He was disturbing someone's meditation which could lead to mishaps, but he had to play his role of the strong.
The man opened his jewel-like eyes and looked at him. Yontu, although feeling pressure, shook it off. The man wasn't targeting him, it was just a side effect of his strength.
"Master Yontu, sorry for my misconduct." The man rose to his feet as he bowed down. "I decided to meditate while waiting for you, as no one knew when you would come back."
"No harm done." Yontu smiled wisely. "Squeezing every second is a good quality for cultivators."
"Wise words. I will keep them in my heart, Master Yontu". The man said with genuine respect. "Sir, I am Taro Mars. I am an Envoy from Purple Gem Sect, a Kingdom III Tier power.
The Prince Consort is my nephew and I am here to oversee the operation he currently runs in this kingdom by the order of my sister, The Supreme Elder, Karo Mars."
"You came from afar, Mr. Mars," Yontu said indifferently, but inside, he was freaking out. How f*cking deep is this scheme of theirs? What the hell is going on in this country? "Why are you telling me all these?"
"Sir, I want to be as honest as I can. I know Master Yontu is not interested in this Kingdom nor the operation we conduct, but some of your actions are inadvertently hindering us." Taro said slowly. Seeing a frown on the old man's face, he hurriedly added, "I don't mean to say you should limit yourself, I am just saying, we will take care of them. But I still require your understanding."
"What do you want, Mr. Mars? Tell me?" Yontu said as calmly as he could.
"The key, Master Yontu," Taro said without giving much information. He was hoping the old man didn't know what it was, although it was practically impossible. Many people knew the legend after all.
"Ah, the key to Pandora's Box," Yontu said with a chuckle. "Interesting legend, don't you think?"
"It is not a legend, Sir. It is true." Taro said to earn some brownie points. Since the old man knew the legend, revealing more would earn his trust. "Thousands of years ago, this Kingdom and many adjacent lands were part of a single empire. The Purple Lands was the overlord of this part of the world and was a force to be reckoned with. The ruler of these lands, the Purple King was a strongman with unfathomable cultivation. Not only could he cultivate Qi, but he was also loved by Mana. With his Duo Cultivation, he terrorized anyone challenging his rule.
Until one day, he fell ill, and all of his descendants failed him. No son or daughter he had could rival his genius and all of them fell short. After his demise, it was certain his empire would crumble. With no other choice, the Purple King forged five keys for his personal domain and hid his heritage there. He gave the five keys to his five aides and ordered them to hand the key to the most suitable descendant born after his demise. His aides were soul bound to him, they couldn't refuse his words. But there was a loophole in that condition.
'After his demise' wasn't a definitive time frame. The Purple King didn't say just after I die, he said after my demise. So, five aides played with his word and told his descendants that the most suitable descendant hadn't appeared yet, and they would wait.
The wait continued for hundreds of years until the five aides died, and their sons took the keys. Since they weren't soul bound, they could use the keys for their selfish reasons. All of them wanted the heritage. The power allowed the Purple King to conquer the lands and threatened the Emperors! They were blinded by greed. The civil war lasted for years. The empire was divided into many factions, then these factions found their own Kingdoms. Until there remained a small piece of land with five greedy powers." Taro narrated very vividly. Yontu was listening with amazement.
"It is such a coincidence that your Sect is also called Purple Gem Sect, isn't it," Yontu asked with a smirk.
"Master Yontu is wise," Taro said with a slight bow. "It is not a coincidence, we are the descendants of the Purple King. It is our hereditary right to own that inheritance. And now, after thousands of years, another genius with the same talent as the Purple King has been born. He can cultivate Mana and Qi. He can also step into the Qi Crystallization Realm at the age of 20."
"The Prince Consort," Yontu said slowly.
"Yes, sir," Taro said as he leaned forward. "We need that key, Master Yontu. Whatever the cost."