Outside Stonelake City.
The sprawling vines that Alia had conjured days ago with her Celestial Botanical Technique had vanished from the sky, leaving behind only a carpet of withered tendrils on the ground.
High above, amidst a toxic, pale-green miasma that obscured both sight and the perception of pri spirits and Competent Force alike, Hudson hovered.
He scanned his surroundings.
He had been battling Isaac and Alia for days.
Isaac, newly ascended to Basic Mastery, was a fifth-rank like Brody, but still far weaker than Hudson.
Yet, to Hudson's surprise, Isaac and Alia, the extraordinary apothecary, had managed to hold him at bay for so long.
They were a truly troubleso pair.
Alia's divine arts were strange.
Hudson couldn't fathom what kind of heaven-defying technique she cultivated.
Her endless vines could even temporarily bolster Isaac's cultivation.
And then there were her pills and strange elixirs, ensuring Isaac remained a persistent thorn in Hudson's side.
A figure flickered within the poisonous fog, moving with such speed that it vanished as quickly as it appeared.
Isaac.
That naturally gifted child cultivated a heaven-sent technique that allowed him to command lightning, making him a deadly and elusive opponent.
And then there was his Heavenly Fire.
A single touch could spell doom, for even ordinary water couldn't extinguish its mystical flas.
"How much longer can you two last?" Hudson bood, his voice laced with amusent rather than concern.
"You can't defeat . Did you really think a century of preparation would be enough to challenge us? What do you have that can possibly stand against us?"
"So you found our weakness. Did you really believe we wouldn't understand ourselves?"
"You may have prepared for a hundred years, but so have we!"
Isaac's youthful voice, sharp with anger, cut through the miasma.
"Hmph, look at you, acting all high and mighty even though you've lost contact with your precious projections."
"And what of it?"
The sudden turn of events had taken Hudson by surprise, just as it had every other projection.
For a mont, panic had gripped him.
But that mont had passed.
Hudson threw back his head and laughed.
"That Miles, he actually thought he could help you destroy us. How naive."
"Let share so good news with you. Miles is dead. He sent ssages to all those factions, relying on his reputation to expose our projections in Sunshine Mansion. We can no longer gather our forces there to crush you Blackwoods."
Alia's brow furrowed at his words.
Hudson continued, his voice like a predator savoring the anticipation of a kill.
"Unfortunately for you, the mont you Blackwoods stepped foot in Sunshine Mansion, you walked into a trap. We've been ready for you."
"I imagine you Blackwoods, with your supposed influence, sought help, didn't you?"
"Radiant Sky Grotto?"
"DruidsMike?"
"The Divine Hall Edge Hall, with its newest mber, the Celestial Star Swordmaster?"
Hudson fairly vibrated with smug satisfaction.
"What about Cloudview County? Duke Phillips? Duke Walker? Or those new allies the Azure Cloud has gathered over the years?"
"None of them are coming! You're alone, with no one to turn to. Here in Sunshine Mansion, you Blackwoods are nothing but trapped prey!"
His words rang with chilling truth.
Every faction he had nad was facing its own crisis.
Deep within Radiant Sky Grotto, General Owen, having received the Blackwoods' ssage and rushed back from the demon realm border, stood before the Grotto Master, a portly, middle-aged man who barred his way.
The sa excuses, the sa pleas for Owen to mind his own business.
Far away, in the Divine Hall Edge Hall, an elder toyed with the storage ring on his pinky finger.
He glanced at the ssage sword that had arrived from afar and sighed.
"Such a pity. A perfectly good psychic vein, wasted like this. Am I, an elder of the Divine Hall Edge Hall, supposed to risk my neck for a re guest?"
The ssage sword crumbled to dust, denied even the chance to be seen by the other elders.
In Cloudview County, the Blackwoods' ancestral ho...
Over the past century, countless individuals had sought refuge in the Azure Cloud, fleeing trouble in the Erald Empire.
Among them, Daoist Holy Fla was the most renowned.
Everyone knew that a Basic Master resided within the Azure Cloud, though he kept a low profile, rarely revealing himself.
Today, however, he had co to Duke Phillips' mansion, accompanied by the forces he had quietly gathered over the years.
Within the mansion, the Azure Cloud army stood ready, alongside Duke Phillips' own elite forces.
They were preparing for a battle, though the exact nature of the conflict remained unclear. Your adventure continues at empire
Duke Phillips' ancestor, a Basic Master himself, sat ditating on a cushion.
He frowned as Daoist Holy Fla approached.
"Daoist Holy Fla, shouldn't you be cultivating in your Divine Fla Grotto? What brings you to my humble abode?"
"Elder Jaxon, when I first arrived in the Azure Cloud, you assured that I was free to go wherever I pleased, with the exception of Glory City. I'm rely here to reminisce with an old friend. Surely, there's no need for such suspicion."
Daoist Holy Fla, his aged face frad by a crimson robe, glanced at the flicker of weakness in Elder Jaxon's pri spirit.
"Did you sustain those injuries facing that unknown expert all those years ago, Elder Jaxon? Have they healed after all this ti? You mustn't push yourself too hard."
Elder Jaxon remained silent for a mont before replying coldly.
"What did they offer you to stop ? I'll admit, you hold the advantage today. Tell you what, split your reward with , and I'll turn a blind eye."
"Well..."
Daoist Holy Fla's lips twitched.
"Very well."
In the heart of the Blackwoods' extended family...
Duke Kenneth of Walker Mansion had gathered with Daoist Leon, Patriarch Ralph, and even Jimmy, the Blackwoods' old friend from the Oracle Chamber in the imperial city.
They had all received the Celestial Star Swordmaster's ssage.
Nathan and Lucas had returned, and they were battling the Heavenly Path in Mount Kylin within Sunshine Mansion.
The mystery that had haunted them for over a century was unraveling.
They felt no fear in standing with the Blackwoods against this seemingly insurmountable foe.
Had they not faced such challenges before?
They believed that together, the people of the Azure Cloud could overco any obstacle, scale any mountain.
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