Inside a mansion located in the Core Haven of the Cloud Haven Sect, 11 figures were seated around a circular table.
Each had an unfathomable, suppressive aura exuding from their very beings. These cultivators all had relaxed expressions and causal postures as they sat comfortably in their chairs.
"Is there no news from Planet Voxotis yet, Elder Equus?" The man sitting at the head of the table broke the silence.
"No, nothing to report yet." Elder Equus answered casually, he wasn't stressed about not receiving the message from Vasari. It had only been about 2 months since Vasari left and he only expected to receive a message after a year or so.
"Alright then moving on. Elder Shen, I heard you have a report for me?"
Elder Shen, a beautiful middle-aged woman with black hair tied into a bun and stunning purple irises, cleared her throat before answering.
"Yes, Sect Master. Near The Scented Fjord, a small piece of Mystic Aqualon Ore was said to be found. This Mystic Aqualon Ore would be very useful to the Elders who have already comprehended Water Intent and for disciples trying to comprehend Water Intent. However, the Eastern Knights Sect and the Scorch Hallow Sect are currently fighting to claim ownership of The Scented Fjord."
"And you want to beat them to the punch?" The Sect Master closed his eyes in thought before opening them again, releasing a brilliant light of intelligence. He continued, "Although the Scorch Hallow Sect and the Eastern Knights Sect are located closer to The Scented Fjord, the fjord is not monopolised by any faction. Therefore it is possible to hijack the Ore, however, what if the other sects get their hands on this information? A lot of unnecessary trouble will ensue."
On the Westernord Continent, 11 leading powers were commonly known as First Rate Powers. These powers all had similar strength and ruled over most of the Westernord Continent. These 11 powers were:
Cloud Haven Sect
Church of Prasufis
Glacier Bay Sect
Heavenly Sword Sect
Shade Vale Sect
The Sacred Tower
Azure Spirits Sect
Millguard
Eastern Knights Sect
Scorch Hallow Sect
West Gate Sect
And last but not least, the Storm Coast Sect.
Scattered throughout the Continent were plenty of weaker powers such as kingdoms, independent cities and smaller Sects known as Second Rate Powers.
If possible, these first-rate powers tried to avoid contact with each other outside of annual competitions or in case of an emergency.
The reason was that none of these powers had a very good relationship with each other, and most of the time their meetings would end up in large-scale battles, of which 50% of the time ended with casualties, only creating more animosity between powers.
"That is precisely why we need to act quickly, Sect Master. I can lead a small unit and get there before any other sect can claim it."
Sect Master Jin Reynolds stared at Elder Shen for a long time as he contemplated the pros and cons of this situation. Although the youngest cultivator in the room, his intelligence and experience were not to be underestimated. There was a reason HE was called Sect Master and not one of them sitting around the table.
"Alright, you can go to the Scented Fjord, but you must take at least 5 Inner Haven Elders with you."
"Thank you, Sect Master."
"Im sure I don't need to tell you, but your own life takes priority. Resources can always be found again."
"The only thing I value more than my life is the sect." Elder Shen deeply bowed before vanishing from the room.
"Is there anything else to discuss?" Sect Master Jin asked, receiving silence in return. "Okay, then all is dismissed. Except you Elder Equus, I need to discuss something with you."When only Sect Master Jin and Elder Equus remained in the room, Sect Master Jin stood up from his seat and walked to the only window in the room which painted a scenic view of puffy clouds aimlessly floating about.
"Elder Equus, I need one of your beasts to keep watch over Elder Shen. I don't think retrieving the Mystic Aqualon Ore will be possible without a fight."
Elder Equus was highly valued in the Cloud Haven sect not only for his powerful cultivation and vast wisdom but also for his beast-taming abilities. He was literally a one-man army and his wide variety of powerful beasts earned him respect not just on the Westernord Continent but the entire Noblia World.
"I understand, Sect Master, I will have my Shadow Horned Eagle watch over her and the others."
Sect Master Jin nodded and motioned for Elder Equus to leave before disappearing from the room himself.
–––––
Back on Planet Voxotis, a week had passed since the formation masters of the Church of Prasufis tried disabling these formations.
Unfortunately for them, they were struggling. The formations protecting this castle were not only high quality but also unique and ancient. From the hundreds of formations protecting the castle they only managed to get past 12. It looked like it was going to be a long mission for these cultivators after all.
In a mansion not far away, Vasari and Adele continued to spar only stopping when he needed to rest or to eat. He improved quite a bit during this past week, his endurance and pain tolerance was now much better than before.
Every day Adele would beat him to a pulp, but he took it like a champ and carried on. He treated these beatings as a form of mental training. He was training himself to not feel pain or at least to not react to pain. When fighting for your life any sort of disturbance or discomfort can lead to your death, so by training your willpower you can eliminate these weaknesses and fight to your best ability even through immense pain.
To outsiders, however, he looked like a crazed man who enjoyed getting beat up by strong and beautiful women.
*DOMF!*
For what felt like the thousandth time, Vasari crashed to the ground. His body was bruised, blood leaking from his lips and a few broken bones in his arms and hands.
Joanna sighed seeing this now common sight and took out a few pills from her alchemy cauldron that was 3 times larger than the one Vasari used to train on. Throughout the week she would make healing pills for Vasari, luckily, because of his cultivation being in the Mortal Ascension Realm he only needed rank 2 healing pills to heal his wounds and mend his broken bones. The ingredients for this pill were really cheap for someone like her.
She flicked a single pill towards Vasari and guided it with her mana to directly enter his mouth which was wide open from his heavy breathing. The pill went down his throat and into his system. It wasn't long until a subtle glow shone through his skin and his injuries slowly healed.
"Why don't we call it a day, you can spar again tomorrow," Joanna said while walking onto the platform. In her hand was a rectangular-shaped device that immediately caught the attention of Adele.
*Did you receive a message from home?* Adele asked through spirit communication. Joanna would only receive a message if something important is happening back on Westernord.
*Yes, my eldest son messaged me saying that someone found a Mystic Aqualon Ore in The Scented Fjord.* Joanna didn't withhold the information and told Adele who sported a look of genuine surprise when she heard the news.
*A Mystic Aqualon Ore?! With that, your Gentle Water intent would improve greatly and you might be able to take it to the next stage!*
This was a heaven-sent opportunity for Joanna, but they couldn't leave the tomb now that they found it and were in the process of trying to enter it. If they had not found the tomb then Joanna would already be back on the Westernord Continent and rushing to The Scented Fjord. And Adele knew that.
*What are you going to do?*Adele asked.
*I'll send my sons to try and retrieve the Mystic Aqualon Ore, but if they can't then it's just not meant to be.* Joanna answered and put the device back into her spatial ring.
*What if you ask the other Archbishops for help?* Adele enquired even though she knew what the personalities of the 4 other Archbishops were like.
*Definitely not, those cunning old men can't be trusted. They won't help me without asking for excessive compensation.*
Their secret conversation ended there. Turning her attention back to Vasari, Joanna felt her little sister throb in yearning. Since he started sparring with Adele every day, Vasari was too tired to put his bread into her oven.
A flash of inspiration suddenly struck her and she turned to face Adele with an evil smile drawn on her gorgeous face. It was a smile that sent shivers down Adele's spine, but before she could run away Joanna grabbed her arm and her movements instantly froze.
"Vasari, I think it's time for Adele to receive her punishment. What do you think?"
Vasari's eyebrows raised in confusion before he remembered what she said a week ago. A smile nearly identical to Joanna's appeared on his face when he thought of getting revenge on the playful yet ruthless milf.
Adele's eyes widened to the extreme when she heard what they were talking about, but she couldn't even move her lips to speak and Joanna blocked her from sending spiritual messages.
She was left completely helpless while being carried like a sack of potatoes through the halls of the mansion. The trio soon arrived inside the master's bedroom where Joanna sat Adele on a chair facing the bed. Joanna bound her arms and legs together using thin rope, then she took one of her clean panties and stuffed it into Adele's mouth.
Adele could easily break these 'binds' that held her in place, but the sight in front of her was so mesmerising that she found herself not even trying to flee.
'Holy shit, that's a pussy splitter!' Adele exclaimed internally when she saw a naked Vasari lying on the bed. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the dragon resting between his legs and her thoughts went haywire.