The Myriad Domains, the Sixteen Kingdoms Alliance's Tiangui Kingdom — these days it remained tranquil beyond measure. The calamity that had struck the Myriad Domains back then had certainly affected Tiangui Kingdom greatly as well, but as a mundane kingdom, it had not faced annihilation.
The Fourth Prince from those years had since ascended to the throne as Emperor of Tiangui Kingdom. In truth, his life these past years had been exceedingly bitter.
When the Myriad Domains had been invaded back then, the entire Sixteen Kingdoms Alliance had seen all manner of factions muscling in. The Purple Sun Sect's branch hall had eventually become the Nine Suns Heavenly Sect's Purple Radiance Branch Hall.
However, a few years ago, that Purple Radiance Branch Hall had suddenly been struck down — wiped out overnight.
With the Purple Radiance Branch Hall gone, one might have thought the Sixteen Kingdoms Alliance would finally enjoy some peace. But before long, the Nine Suns Heavenly Sect had sent their people right back in, and all sorts of rogue cultivator factions had been flooding into the Alliance as well, infiltrating every mundane kingdom.
As one of the Four Great Kingdoms of the Sixteen Kingdoms Alliance, Tiangui Kingdom was a relatively prominent presence — and a place where a great many factions had planted their roots.
Though Ye Rong still sat as Emperor, the interference and manipulation from these various factions had reduced him to little more than a figurehead, a puppet.
Then, roughly half a year ago, the Nine Suns Heavenly Sect's forces in the Sixteen Kingdoms Alliance had abruptly withdrawn.
Once the Nine Suns Heavenly Sect pulled out, the territory they vacated was immediately seized by others. Even now, the entire Sixteen Kingdoms Alliance remained the domain of outside cultivators.
These cultivators hailed from the Red Cauldron Central Domain, from other territories — all manner of factions, a motley assembly of dragons and serpents, and they were the true masters of the Sixteen Kingdoms Alliance.
Though Tiangui Kingdom's Royal Capital was still bustling as ever, the familiar faces from years past were almost nowhere to be found.
In their place were all manner of outside cultivators in strange and exotic garb.
Grand Tutor Ye Chonglou, from those years, had long since vanished. The most loyal Dragon Tooth Guard, Tian Shao, had retired from public life. Though Emperor Ye Rong still had a handful of trusted confidants, they were all far too weak — nowhere near capable of helping him reclaim control of Tiangui Kingdom's situation.
This puppet emperor, he would simply have to keep playing the part.
Tiangui Kingdom was, after all, a mundane kingdom. Rumors from the outside world seldom penetrated such a backwater.
"Have I, Ye Rong, fought and clawed my way to an imperial throne only to spend the rest of my life as a puppet?" Emperor Ye Rong's heart burned with unwillingness.
He missed the Tiangui Kingdom of old. He missed his youth, missed the days he had shared hardship and fortune together with Jiang Chen.
"I wonder where Brother Jiang Chen is now?" In the dead of night, this thought would occasionally flicker through Ye Rong's mind.
Ever since Jiang Chen had left the Treasure Tree Sect, Ye Rong's modest network of connections had been unable to uncover any further news. After all, he was merely a minor mundane kingdom's ruler.
The uncle and cousin Jiang Chen had once left behind in Tiangui Kingdom had long since departed as well — no one knew when.
……
Every bit as overrun with outside elements as Tiangui Kingdom was the Treasure Tree Sect.
The Treasure Tree Sect, one of the Four Great Sects of the Sixteen Kingdoms Alliance back in the day, had been unrivaled in resources among all the Alliance's sects.
Its famous Canxia Treasure Tree in particular had drawn the interest of numerous wandering cultivators.
Now, the Treasure Tree Sect had been taken over by a band of cultivators. These people had originally been some outlandish adventurers who had banded together into a team, seized the Treasure Tree Sect, and proceeded to establish themselves as a so-called "Tree Spirit Sect," recruiting a contingent of rogue cultivators.
In terms of raw strength, the Tree Spirit Sect far exceeded the old Treasure Tree Sect.
The original Treasure Tree Sect had only had two Origin Realm powerhouses. The Tree Spirit Sect, on the other hand, boasted a whole cadre of Origin Realm experts, and the man who had crowned himself Sect Master possessed early-stage Saint Realm cultivation.
This Tree Spirit Sect had usurped the nest without the slightest shame.
Back when the Treasure Tree Sect had retreated en masse to escape the Red Cauldron Central Domain's invasion, they had vacated the premises entirely. The abandoned sect grounds had been promptly claimed by these newcomers.
If the old members of the Treasure Tree Sect were to return now, they would scarcely recognize the place — their former sect had been turned into an absolute cesspool.
This day, outside the Treasure Tree Sect's mountain gate, the void rippled. A slender figure appeared before the entrance.
It was a woman — tall and graceful, with delicate, refined features. Between her brows there seemed to linger a faint trace of sorrow as she alighted before the Treasure Tree Sect's gate.
"Who goes there?" A pair of guards immediately jumped out from the gate to block the beautiful woman's path.
These two were naturally members of the current Tree Spirit Sect. Seeing that the newcomer was a young woman of stunning beauty, they exchanged a glance, a wicked glint flickering through both their eyes.
Clearly, her breathtaking appearance and cool, ethereal aura had stirred something dark within them.
"Well, I'll be — has heaven finally taken pity on us after all these dry spells? Sent us a little treat, has she?" One of them, a gaunt fellow, cackled to his companion.
"Tch, tch, tch — now that's a fine catch! This one's a real prize! That figure, that face — if she weren't so cold and fired up a little, she'd be perfect! Old Yang, this time you gotta let me go first!" The other — a bald brute — leered with undisguised lust.
His gaze roamed over the beautiful woman without the slightest restraint. The way he stared, it seemed he wanted to devour her whole with his eyes alone.
His companion was having none of it: "Old Gao, what makes you think you get to go first? A top-quality piece like this — you think I'm going to sit around drinking your used bathwater? No way in hell, not on your life."