"Are the Moonshade Sect planning to betray the alliance?" The enforcers asked coldly.
The ancestor of the Moonshade Sect ignored them, "May I?" He asked Gu Shang.
Gu Shang understood what he meant, the old man was asking permission to communicate with him through their senses, an ability only immortal kings could use.
He was asking permission because Gu Shang would have to let his guard on his spiritual roots down, which may be very dangerous if the ancestor had ill intentions toward him.
He nodded his head and allowed it.
The enforcers gritted their teeth, there was nothing they could do with prince Shen and Di watching them closely like eagles.
They regretted not using their strongest move when they had the time, if they had.... They could have prevent this from happening.
After sometime, Gu Shang spoke, "I'll accept your allegence to the empire and spare your lives"
"Thank you for your boundlessly generosity!" The ancestor exclaimed loudly.
"Thank you for your boundless generosity!'' The other disciples and elders followed suit.
Though they felt humiliated, they were still glad that they were alive. Though the price was heavy, it was always better to have life, with life there would definitely be a way to reverse the situation. But without life, there was nothing they could do.
Gu Shang looked at the enforcers with a smile, "My first command to the sect will be withdrawing from the Alliance Of Sects, we shall break all connections from them and stay independent" Gu Shang said with a smile plastered on his face.
"We will obey" The ancestor replied before getting up, "From this day onwards, the Moonshade Sect would no longer be part of the alliance of sects" He announced loudly.
The elders and disciples weren't superised, since their decision was going to make them an enemy of the alliance, it would be better if they broke off first, because it won't matter anymore.
The alliance was never going to forgive the sect.
Gu Shang looked at the enforcers mockingly, " With that being said, it's time to leave. You have nothing to do here now that the Moonshade Sect is no longer part of your alliance.
We will now settle our issues internally.
We thank you for coming" Gu said as he pretentiously bowed slightly as he pointed at the gate.
"We'll meet again, we'll definitely meet again" the enforcers said coldly before taking off.
The Moonshade Sect had officially surrendered so there was nothing they could do now. The alliance didn't have any guidance or procedures put in place for such situation.
This was simply because they knew that such a situation would never happen.
They didn't want to go like this, but the presence of prince Shen and Di made things a lot more complicated.
"Don't worry, we'll be meeting a lot sooner than you expect'' Gu Shang replied to the retreating duo.
After they left, Gu Shang turned to the two princes of the United Imperials and clasp his hands to thank them.
Their help wasn't very necessary but it did save him a lot of troubles.
"Young man, there's no need to thank us. It was our duty to make sure that Justice is served" Prince Di said.
"You have to be careful now, the alliance won't let this go easily, they are going to come at you now, and if this place is as important to the alliance as the ancestor claims, then you should be prepared to fight them" Prince Shen said before continuing.
Why don't you join the council of the United Imperials?" Prince Shen offered.
He knew Gu Shang was strong and had the potential to become stronger, because a twenty something year old immortal king was very rare to find.
Gu Shang smiled and replied, "I'll think about it"
"Take your time, no need to rush" Prince Di added, "Oh before I forget, let me introduce you to my great granddaughter Li Hua.
The beautiful women gracefully bowed towards Gu Shang.
Gu Shang replied with a light nod to acknowledge her.
"Then we'll bid you fair well" Prince Shen said before the trio took off.
Gu Shang turned to the sect leader and asked, "Can you truly serve me after I killed your son?"
"The lives of thousands disciples and elders depends on me, I can't fail them twice.
My son's life isn't more important than theirs, we've already lost so many disciples and elders because of me.
I can't fail the remaining ones. Even if my pride is crushed, I'll still serve you to protect them" The sect leader said.
Gu Shang nodded his head, he was impressed, but those words didn't move him.
He invaded the sect leader's spiritual root with his senses and left his mark on his spiritual world before the sect leader even knew what was going on
In his spiritual world, a purple qilin was covering the entire sky.
The sect leader was shocked, Spiritual roots were the most secured parts of every cultivator. They were unbreakable, strength didn't matter, but Gu Shang just invaded his like it was nothing.
He glanced at the ancestor and grand elders to see they all had the same expressions, he immediately understood that Gu Shang had also left his mark on their worlds too.
"Now I can trust you with my life"
"Tomorrow, go to the imperial court and renew your allegence to the empire" He said briefly before strolling out of the entrance.
Taking over the Moonshade Sect was not part of his plans, but now that they've fallen into his hands he'll have to make use of them.
After he left, he met up with the Lion Fang guards and ordered their retreat.
...
Han Prefecture
In an undisclosed forest in the Han prefecture, a bunch of bandits had built a base there were they called home. This gang called themselves the lawless gang, they've terrorized the prefecture for a long time.
In the middle of the forest, a handsome young man in black robes could be seen approaching the base of the bandits with a strange sword in his hands.
Hundreds of bandits came out from the base with their weapons to meet the intruder.
"Who are you kid? And How did you find this place?" The leader of the group asked.
"My name is Zhang Han, how I found out about this place doesn't really matter, rather you should ask me how many lives I'm here to take"