As the young man in the blue robe spoke, Lin Beisheng finally noticed him.
This young man wore a flowing cloud-blue robe and had an extraordinary temperament. But at first, due to his youthful appearance, Lin Beisheng had naturally overlooked him.
"And you are?" Lin Beisheng asked cautiously.
"I am Grand Empyrean Supreme Void," the blue-robed youth replied.
Beneath him, the nine-phoenix mount let out a sharp screech. Flames of bright red burned around it, and the piercing cry shook the entire sky.
"Grand Empyrean Supreme Void..." Lin Beisheng almost bit his own tongue.
The elders and disciples below were trembling, unable to utter a word.
In that instant, Lin Beisheng felt his scalp tingle, as if he had been locked onto by some terrifying existence.
He should have realized sooner: anyone who could have a peak Fusion Heaven-level Fire Phoenix as a mount couldn't be an ordinary powerhouse. Not even North Sky could pull that off.
The only explanation was that the Fire Phoenix was the mount of a Grand Empyrean.
The title of Grand Empyrean alone could shatter anyone’s pride.
In this era where Godly Monarchs were nearly extinct and stepping onto the Immortal Dao Bridge was nearly impossible, Grand Empyreans were the ultimate pinnacle.
A sect with a Grand Empyrean could stand unrivaled in the mortal realm.
Grand Empyreans were called such because they stood at the top of the Grand Dao, able to connect to heaven, penetrate earth, and were unimaginably powerful.
"Lin Beisheng, Sect Master of the Nine Heavens Sect, greets Grand Empyrean Supreme Void," Lin Beisheng said, cupping his hands and bowing slightly.
"I did not come here today to use power to suppress others. As a Grand Empyrean, I have no need to quarrel with juniors, lest people say I am narrow-minded," Grand Empyrean Supreme Void said. "I’ve come only to seek fairness. Black is black, white is white. Black and white cannot be reversed."
"Wise words, Grand Empyrean," Lin Beisheng nodded in agreement.
"Let me ask you, when your Nine Heavens Imperial Sect was in decline, was it not our Nine Heavens Empyrean Sect that supported you and established the Nine Heavens Grand Gathering to give your young generation a brighter future?" Grand Empyrean Supreme Void asked.
"The Nine Heavens Empyrean Sect did help us, but wasn’t the Nine Heavens Grand Gathering not just for us?" Lin Beisheng replied.
"What do you mean by that?" North Sky, standing nearby, frowned.
"If the Grand Empyrean wishes to hear the truth, then I don’t mind tearing off the pretense today. We all know it deep down," Lin Beisheng said after a moment of thought. He continued, "The Nine Heavens Empyrean Sect’s assistance to our Nine Heavens Sect is real. But the young disciples are the future of any sect. You created the Nine Heavens Grand Gathering and took all the young talents into your Nine Heavens Empyrean Sect, making them your own. This setup makes it feel like our sect exists only to raise and supply you with fresh blood. There are even distinctions between main and branch sects, with the main sect looking down on others. You've also secretly sown discord among the nine mountains within our sect, so we check and restrain each other, just to serve your purposes. Isn’t that so?"
"Nonsense!" North Sky above shouted coldly. "Lin Beisheng, do you have any proof for these claims?"
"I have no proof, but just as Grand Empyrean said: black is black, white is white. It cannot be twisted. Everyone knows what’s going on," Lin Beisheng said.
"I don’t wish to argue about the past anymore. Now that the Nine Heavens Sect stands on its own, we no longer wish to be tied to your superior ‘main sect.’ Must you force us?"
"You may be eloquent, but surely you cannot deny that you killed Elder Qin Hansheng of our Nine Heavens Empyrean Sect?" Grand Empyrean Supreme Void said. "Bring out your son. I want to ask him face to face where he found the courage."
"Qiu'er has already left. He is no longer in the sect," Lin Beisheng shook his head and said.
"A father is responsible for a son’s failure in discipline. I won’t bully the young with my power," Grand Empyrean Supreme Void said.
"I’ll spare your Nine Heavens Sect. But you, come with me to the Nine Heavens Empyrean Sect. When your son comes, he can exchange himself for you."
Hearing Grand Empyrean’s words, Lin Beisheng’s eyes narrowed.
Though Grand Empyrean said he would only take him, the truth was clear: without Lin Beisheng at its core, the newly independent Nine Heavens Sect might collapse. The disciples had weak loyalty, and if the Nine Heavens Empyrean Sect stirred things behind the scenes, the sect could fall apart quickly.
"And what if I refuse?" Lin Beisheng looked at Grand Empyrean Supreme Void and said calmly.
With the pretense already torn off, there was no point in holding back.
"This is not something you get to decide," Grand Empyrean Supreme Void replied.
"In this vast Southern Region, other than the Eternal Godly Monarch, who among you could stop me?"
"Has the honourable Grand Empyrean never wondered, what gave us the courage to kill Qin Hansheng and go independent?" Lin Beisheng asked.
"Oh?" The Grand Empyrean Supreme Void looked at Lin Beisheng with curiosity. "Then I’d really like to know, where does your courage come from?"
At this moment, even Lin Beisheng himself wasn’t sure whether the guardian beast left by Xu Zimo could resist a Grand Empyrean. But there was no turning back now.
"If Grand Empyrean truly intends to use power to suppress us, then for the future of the sect, I, Lin Beisheng, will face death without fear. I’ll try everything I can," Lin Beisheng shouted.
"I offer you some advice, turn back now. The rise of the Nine Heavens Sect is unstoppable. If we meet again, we may still call each other fellow Daoists."
"Arrogant!" Grand Empyrean Supreme Void snorted coldly. "Do you know what happens to those who offend a Grand Empyrean?"
As he finished speaking, the Fire Phoenix let out a sky-shaking cry, and raging flames burst from its sharp beak.
Seeing this, the disciples at the base of Grand Heaven Mountain all turned pale. It was too late to dodge.
Lin Beisheng’s eyes widened in desperation. He threw out the Beast Command Token and shouted, "Where is the guardian beast of the sect?"
As the token was thrown, there was a loud boom. The spiritforce within it exploded outward.
The entire sky was swept up in a storm of spiritforce. In the center of the peaks surrounding Grand Heaven Mountain, a pair of crimson eyes slowly opened.
A thick beastly aura covered the entire Nine Heavens Sect.
Purple mist rolled in from the east for ninety thousand miles. The ground trembled, as if a terrifying beast was awakening.
Thunderous explosions mixed with deep, low beastly roars echoed across the sky.
The disciples of Grand Heaven Mountain trembled violently, unable to even lift their heads under the pressure of the beastly aura.
Most visibly affected was the Fire Phoenix in the sky. It screeched in unease, flames covering half the heavens.
But looking closely, one could see the Fire Phoenix was trembling uncontrollably, as though it had encountered a terrifying existence.
"Ancestor..." North Sky looked at Grand Empyrean Supreme Void in confusion.
"Do not fear," Grand Empyrean Supreme Void gently patted the Fire Phoenix’s head, trying to calm it down.
Then he looked deeply into the distance and said, "For something to scare a peak Fusion Heaven-level Fire Phoenix like this... I fear..."
Before he could finish, North Sky’s expression changed. "Impossible... how could the Nine Heavens Sect possess such power?"