Chapter 1300: Meeting the Northern Emperor

Aldrian, after hearing the report from his avatar, then sent his consciousness to one of his avatars in the First Heaven.

After that, he checked on what Randolf was doing, and what he found made him raise his eyebrows.

He found Randolf in his family's mansion, and his condition was like someone who had not taken care of himself for a long time.

Inside his room, Randolf sat in his chair with a bottle of liquor on the table in front of him. Around the room, many empty bottles were scattered across the floor, showing just how much he had drunk.

The state of his room was also a complete mess. The bedsheets were untidy, the glass and furniture were broken, and stains of dried water and even blood could be seen on the floor.

Randolf himself looked like a beggar, wearing an untidy robe, while his dull face no longer showed any of his former charm. There were dark circles around his eyes, and his beard had started to grow in thinly. He looked completely lost and dispirited, his blank gaze fixed on the scenery outside the window.

Seeing him like that truly surprised Aldrian.

'It looks like what I did to him had quite a great impact,' he thought.

But that was as far as his feelings went. He was only surprised by Randolf's current condition before continuing to think about his plan to use this man for his own purpose.

Aldrian teleported behind Randolf, but he did not say anything. As for Randolf, he simply kept staring out the window.

If not for the slight flinch from Randolf, Aldrian would have thought that he had not sensed him at all.

Aldrian had not made any effort to conceal his presence, so he thought Randolf had sensed him but simply chose to ignore him.

Seeing that Randolf did not say anything and kept staring ahead, Aldrian walked over and stood beside him. Only then did Randolf finally turn to look at him. His deadpan gaze regained a bit of its clarity when his eyes met Aldrian's.

"It's you," Randolf said flatly.

Aldrian did not say anything and took a vacant seat beside him.

"So, has the time finally come for me to show my usefulness?" Randolf asked.

Aldrian kept his silence as his gaze remained fixed on Randolf, and Randolf himself did not shy away as he continued to meet his gaze.

It was as if there was nothing left for him to hope for in those eyes. He had already resigned himself to whatever would happen to him.

"That's right. Your time has come. This is why I kept you alive," Aldrian said in a calm tone.

Randolf then looked outside the window again.

"What are you going to do?" he asked.

"I will bring you much closer to your god," Aldrian replied.

Randolf's eyes slightly widened, and he glanced at Aldrian. Aldrian did not show any expression and only looked at him calmly.

What did he mean by bringing him closer to his god? Did he mean death?

Seeing that Aldrian gave no further explanation, Randolf did not ask anything else and simply turned to look out the window again.

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At the Second Heaven, the avatar in Tarius' followers' territory passed through an area where he could see destruction everywhere.

The land was devastated, covered with countless burn marks and even gigantic pillars of cold ice that stretched as high as the sky, remaining unaffected by the surrounding environment.

All of them exuded the lingering remnants of Immortal Saint cultivation.

It was obvious that a great battle had taken place here.

In the distance, he also saw the remains of a gigantic structure, and from its shape, he understood that it was one of Tarius' altars—the place where his followers could offer their prayers and sacrifices to call upon his blessing.

The size of the altar was comparable to Zhang Haoran's palace on the Barisan Continent, an altar capable of helping Tarius descend.

"My apologies, Your Excellency, for making you witness such a humiliating sight. Those bastards are destroying our altars throughout the territory. They are making sure that we can no longer connect with our lord, isolating us in the Second Heaven from the Higher Heavens," the man guiding the avatar said. Restrained fury could be heard in his voice.

"They will not remain arrogant for much longer. I have brought something that will make even God Avergis pay for playing tricks against us," the avatar said calmly.

The man's eyes glistened.

"I see. That is great to hear, Your Excellency,"

They then arrived at the desert region and landed on the ground. Strong winds carried sand into the air, greatly limiting their visibility. Worse, the wind also carried dense devil energy that was clearly visible to the naked eye.

The entire area looked as though it were engulfed in a terrifying crimson storm. Spiritual sense was obstructed by the overwhelming devil energy in this place to the point that anyone would have difficulty sensing anything beyond five meters around them.

The devil energy here was enough to affect even Immortal Saint cultivators. Even the man guiding the avatar had to protect himself with his own energy barrier.

The energy here was far too violent to allow it to come into direct contact with anyone's body.

"Please wait for a moment, Your Excellency," the man said.

He dropped to one knee and touched the ground. He buried his hands in the sand and rubbed around as if he were searching for something before finally finding what he was looking for.

He injected his energy into it, and suddenly a hidden path leading underground opened. The sand above the entrance fell into the passage, but it did not bury the path because it was diverted to both sides instead.

There was a kind of drainage system along both sides of the passage that prevented the sand above from completely burying the entrance.

The path itself was wide enough for two adults to walk side by side, and the man looked at the avatar after the entrance had fully opened.

"Let's go, Your Excellency."

They quickly entered, and only after they were inside did the entrance close again. Within moments, it was buried beneath the sand once more.

Inside the underground passage, the man and the avatar continued walking down the stairs. The only source of light came from illumination crystals embedded along both sides of the walls. They walked for another fifteen minutes before the avatar arrived at a large underground space where he saw a number of cultivators.

It was nothing like the underground city of the resistance group. Instead, this place looked exactly like the kind of hideout people would imagine.

There were no luxury or grand structures.

Instead, countless simple chambers were scattered throughout the area, each occupied by cultivators busy with their own affairs.

There were hundreds of them, and with just a single glance, the avatar knew that this hideout had been established not long ago.

Those who saw the avatar and the man guiding him immediately turned their attention toward them. It was obvious they were wondering about the avatar's identity since they had never seen him before.

The avatar continued walking until they arrived in front of one of the chambers, which was located far away from the others and covered by a plain white cloth.

The man guiding the avatar then spoke softly.

"My Lady, there is an envoy from our lord who has come from the Higher Heavens. He said he has brought something important for you."

Not even two seconds later, the cloth suddenly opened by itself, revealing the person inside. The man was briefly stunned before stepping aside to make way for the avatar.

"Please, Your Excellency. You may enter by yourself. This is as far as I can accompany you," he said.

The avatar did not say anything and simply stepped inside. After he entered, the cloth behind him closed again, but the avatar ignored it.

At this moment, his focus was on the person before him, the one known as the Northern Emperor.

She was a beautiful woman with sharp eyes and long black hair. Her sinful body, like that of a succubus, was covered by a tight black robe that accentuated her alluring curves and long legs.

She sat in a meditative position, looking at him with narrowed eyes.

When he had first heard the title Northern Emperor in the past, he had thought that the Northern Emperor was a man.

But he later found out that the Northern Emperor was actually a woman. He did not know why a woman bore the title "Emperor" instead of "Empress," but he did not care.

Now that he had finally met her, it was time for him to execute his plan.

But before he could say anything, the woman spoke first.

"Who are you?"

The avatar's expression did not change, nor did he show any signs of surprise or panic. Instead, he answered calmly.

"What do you mean?"

"I know that everyone personally appointed by our lord from the Higher Heavens is someone he trusts. Everyone who descends bearing the responsibility of an envoy is also someone well known among us, and I know every person our lord trusts," the Northern Emperor said.

The restrained aura surrounding her seemed ready to erupt at any moment. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ

"I'm certain that I have never seen your face, yet your aura undoubtedly comes from the Higher Heavens. But I have never sensed your aura before. So... who are you?"

As she asked that, she narrowed her eyes even further. At that moment, the avatar knew that she would attack the instant he gave a suspicious answer.