Chapter 1522 - 442: Where’s the Sect? I’m Asking You, Where Did Such a Huge Sect Go?

Half a month later, a gilded flying ship descended through the clouds and quietly landed among the mountains.

On the deck, a dignified man dressed in a robe adorned with nine dragons stood with his hands behind his back, none other than the current Emperor, Xuanyuan Hao.

He slightly turned his head towards the cabin, his voice authoritative yet calm: "Why are you still standing there? Don’t you want to see your elder and second sisters?"

A shadow moved at the cabin door, and Lu Yuanchen gracefully stepped out in a moon-white palace dress, her complexion three shades paler than her attire.

As soon as she stepped out of the cabin, an invisible force pulled her before Xuanyuan Hao.

"Back then, when you brought the Nine Nether Demon Lotus into the palace, I suppose you were after that secret recipe from the beginning?"

Xuanyuan Hao’s five fingers clamped around her neck like iron tongs, "Even I don’t know its whereabouts, and yet you dare covet it?"

Lu Yuanchen struggled to breathe, yet stubbornly held her head high.

Xuanyuan Hao sneered coldly: "I investigated for years before discovering that the two newly-ascended Spirit Severing Realm members of the Taiqing Sect are your two sisters."

He suddenly leaned in, his piercing gaze boring into Lu Yuanchen’s eyes as he spoke slowly and deliberately: "What do you feel right now?"

Consort Chen’s pupils trembled slightly, her fingers twisted tightly under her sleeves.

"Back then, you went to the White Jade Taixu Courtyard with a fake recipe just to help them break through to Spirit Slash," Xuanyuan Hao’s lips curled in mockery.

"But now? They’ve long ascended to Spirit Slash and ignored you, not even bothering to send a word—"

He lowered his voice abruptly, staring at Consort Chen: "Don’t you think it’s pathetic?"

Lu Yuanchen’s throat moved slightly, her voice barely audible: "That’s because... they fear... implicating me..."

"Fear implicating you?" Xuanyuan Hao scoffed, a cold gleam flashing in his eyes, "It’s just selfishness! They’re afraid I’ll use you to control them!"

Lu Yuanchen met his gaze directly, a sorrowful smile on her lips: "Isn’t that so?"

Xuanyuan Hao burst into laughter: "Indeed, so they are smart people, and so are you. If you’re smart, you know what to do and what not to do. Don’t forget Mu Qian."

Lu Yuanchen’s face changed drastically, a cold light shooting from her eyes: "Even a tiger doesn’t eat its own cubs! You have a truly ruthless heart, achieving your ends by any means necessary. That is your flesh and blood daughter."

"The daughter is naturally my own," Xuanyuan Hao remarked indifferently, "But with the Dynasty’s fortune supporting me, my lifespan in the Spirit Severing Realm is long. Offspring... as many as I want, that’s no issue."

Lu Yuanchen looked at Xuanyuan Hao, feeling an unprecedented sense of estrangement: "They say there’s nothing more heartless than the royal family... Xuanyuan Hao, are you truly this ruthless!!"

Xuanyuan Hao suddenly laughed heartily, a chill imbued in his laughter: "Yes, I am indeed ruthless. But you? What is the outcome of your deep feelings and righteousness?"

He gripped Lu Yuanchen’s jaw, forcing her to look up: "Have the two sisters you yearn for ever thought of you? The daughter you risk your life to protect, isn’t she now a pawn for me?"

Xuanyuan Hao gazed into her eyes full of despair and emitted a low, cold laugh: "The most laughable thing in this world is valuing some things too much..."

"The precious friendship you treasure is nothing more than a disposable burden to others; the vow to protect with your life is just a self-inflicted humiliation in the face of fate."

His fingers slowly tightened, "The most ironic truth in this world is — the deeper the obsession, the heavier the pain."

Lu Yuanchen’s eyelashes quivered violently, but she ultimately did not argue.

Because she knew, everyone has something they are obsessed with; sometimes enduring all humiliation and swallowing all pain is worth it, even at the cost of being wounded all over.

Yet at that moment, Xuanyuan Hao loosened her neck and said coldly: "Due to the constraints of the Dynasty Alliance and the Cultivation Alliance, our dynasty indeed cannot attack a sect with four Spirit Severing realm individuals and one fourth-level Array Master outright."

He turned to look at the distant mountains: "But for the secret technique that allows Divinity Transformation Perfection to directly reach Spirit Severing Perfection — the Xuanyuan Family is determined to obtain it."

Xuanyuan Hao suddenly turned to stare at Lu Yuanchen, "And your two sisters are the best keys to achieve that."

"Get the secret recipe," he suddenly put on a fake smile, "I will detoxify Mu Qian and cancel her unwanted arranged marriage, giving you freedom. How about it?"

Lu Yuanchen glared at him and then said, "I hope you keep your word."

"Naturally." Xuanyuan Hao stood with his hands behind his back, "But I also need you to convey this — while the dynasty is constrained, conflicts between sects and noble families are quite common."

His tone turned sinister: "Of the dozens in the Spirit Severing Realm of the Holy Martial Dynasty, which one did not break through with the Xuanyuan Family’s support? They owe us that favor."

Lu Yuanchen rubbed her reddened neck, said nothing more, and headed into the distance.

Xuanyuan Hao watched the departing white rainbow, a cold smile of assured triumph on his lips.

Then he turned and lounged against the gilded railing, waiting.

But after less than half a cup of tea’s time, he received a message from Lu Yuanchen.

Yet when he glanced nonchalantly over the jade scroll’s contents, he seemed to not immediately process them.

Soon he frowned, with a "whoosh" sound, Xuanyuan Hao disappeared from the spot.

When he reappeared, looking at the scene before him, he was struck as if by lightning, frozen in place.

Where was the Taiqing Sect now?

The place that should have been an Immortal Gate Blessed Land surrounded by mountains was now turned into a vast abyss of clouds and fog, with no end in sight.

The edges of the habitat, once towering cliffs, were smooth as a mirror, as though some horrific force had instantaneously leveled them.

Could a human have accomplished this?