Bingo! They had long exposed their presence."The Three-Eyed Empress had already kept an eye on my movements since the moment I was out seeking flaws in the ancient formation. Not only that, but she also purposely loosened the restrictions and invited me in," Nox elaborated.Both Queenie and Nineve immediately gasped in shock.'No way! Could this be a trap?' Both mused in unison."She has long been watching us closely, huh? Oh, how interesting. Milord, if my guess is correct, we will be indirectly enslaved by the Three-Eyed Empress if we are sealed by spiritual energy, right? It looks like she has her eyes on us," Kirin said, narrowing his eyes."Actually, she has her eyes on me. You're different, though. The blood of the Golden Kirin flows in your body. So, you can ignore threats from any arcane arts, including this eye technique," explained Nox."But Lord Nox, you are also a master of the eye technique. Although you're not skilled at the soul technique, you are a cultivator who
"Since these puppets were created in a later period, this means there are cultivators who practice the contraption technique, still alive. But as far as I know, this technique originated in Faeast, and its knowledge had been kept within the nation," Aphrodite said.Just then, the contraption puppets standing in the square suddenly moved.Their metal surfaces began heating up, and a heat wave surged within their bodies. Meanwhile, everyone actually felt the presence of aura in the body of these contraption puppets."It is rumored that the Mahayana contraption technique can create a living contraption puppet with a conscience! Could it be that these puppets have reached this stage?" Aphrodite remarked in surprise."Whatever! I don't give a fuck what they are! We will follow our plan. Lord Nox will charge and break through enemy lines while I protect you girls." Kirin clicked his tongue."Yes, Kirin is right. Leave all the problems to me. Also, who told you that the Mahayana contrapt
"The strength of these metal puppets ranges from the Intermediate to the Advanced stages of the Pinnacle Legend Realm. So far, I don't know if they can wield arcane arts. But their physiques are absolutely stronger than those of cultivators in the same realm. Is Nox planning to blast each of these Pinnacle Legend Realm Intermediates apart one blow at a time?" Aphrodite's mind was blown.Last time, Nox had his hands full simply from saving her. Therefore, he had no chance to attack Voltaic when he rushed over and imposed himself on Tremeus, the leader of Sect Alliance. Now that Aphrodite looked at it, she seemed to have underestimated Nox.In the whole of Mystia, any practitioner with the cultivation level in the Intermediate stage of the Pinnacle Legend Realm would make a conspicuous figure. Although the strength of these metal puppets was generally not on par with the cultivators who had mastered arcane arts in Mystia, the gap between the two wasn't big. In other words, Nox basicall
"Lord Nox, how interesting. Do you think he's a human or a contraption?" Kirin had already gleaned some clues and turned to look at Nox.At this moment, Queenie also came closer. She wanted to calm the frightened boy with Nineve. However, it seemed that he couldn't understand a word they said at all.Since the boy was also freaked out by Kirin, whose eyes burned with golden fire, he kept shouting something.Nox frowned. He already had a rough idea of the boy's origin."The boy is speaking ancient Faeastian. I can understand it, but I can't speak it. Go and talk to him. Ask him who he is and where are the rest of the people here," Nox urged Kirin.Taking the order, Kirin shed the golden fire in his eyes. After that, he approached the boy, knelt before him, and flashed him an extremely ferocious smile.When the boy saw this, he nearly fainted out of fright. It wasn't until Kirin spoke to him in the same awkward-sounding and incomprehensible language that his eyes lit up. Like Kirin
From their conversation, it became clear that Eldric was a descendant of the Ironhands—the very pioneers of the contraption technique."Wait. The Celestial Kingdom was made up of foreigners, wasn't it? Back then, all the cultivators of the world joined forces to annihilate the kingdom. How could they have taken a kid with them?" Nineve asked, her brows furrowed in confusion."Hold on. Let me ask again," Kirin said, switching back to speaking ancient Faeastian.By this time, Nox had already pieced together some suspicions.Aphrodite, sharp as ever, caught the subtle shift in his expression."Lord Nox, have you figured something out? This boy… He has no breath and aura. He's not human at all," she said gravely."Exactly. That must be why he's able to survive in the Celestial Domain," Nox replied.Moments later, Kirin finished his exchange with Eldric and turned back to relay what he had learned."It turns out that 70,000 years ago, the Celestial Kingdom hired the Ironhands to con
"How interesting. Even a repository of memories can rebel. Seems they're not so different from us—except for their inability to grow through learning," Kirin quipped with a smirk."That doesn't make sense! If the Three-Eyed Clan is hunting them, how is this little boy living so openly in the imperial city?" Nineve asked, her confusion evident."Calm down, Princess Nineve. Don't get your knickers in a twist," Kirin teased. "A group of the Ironhands sneaked into the imperial city earlier, looking for some kind of materials. Because of his small size, this kid was harder to spot, so they brought him along. As for why he's the only one left, his parents and relatives got caught. They sacrificed themselves to make sure he could escape. With nowhere else to hide, he snuck back into his old home."He translated the boy's story."Hmm, two critical pieces of information here," Aphrodite said, her sharp mind already piecing things together. "First, the Ironhands rebelled. Second, they entere
"You idiot! That's an alarm device the Ironhands placed on their puppets!" Nox snapped.The flashing red light was a harbinger of danger!Aphrodite unleashed her Divine Sense but found nothing."As I expected, Divine Sense doesn't work. That's why this kid managed to survive alone for so many days," she said thoughtfully.No sooner had she finished speaking than a massive explosion shook the room. A gigantic metal fist crashed through the walls, and the shockwave shattered the metal house into pieces.With his back to the giant metal hand, Nox casually raised his arm, effortlessly blocking the blow with just his arm."Leave everything to me, Kirin. Protect them, including that kid," he said quietly."OK! I got this! Don't worry, milord!" Kirin thumped his chest in assurance.Just then, another colossal fist slammed into the space with a boom.Nox reacted first, turning to meet the impact with a punch of his own. The explosion rang out as the giant metal hand was blasted into s
"You're not Lord Nox's woman anymore, so I don't have to show you any respect—ha!"Kirin's shameless teasing left Aphrodite fuming, though she couldn't do much about it.Meanwhile, the dozen or so Three-Eyed Clan members hovering in the sky began to sense that something was amiss."They've figured out that you and Lord Nox are the real threats," Aphrodite remarked, her eyes narrowing."Is that so? Great. If they strike first, self-defense is perfectly justified, isn't it?" Kirin grinned wickedly.To the Three-Eyed Clan members watching, his expression was nothing short of a blatant provocation.Just as they prepared to subdue the arrogant rogue, Nox warned them through telepathy, "Your opponent is me."An immense surge of spiritual energy erupted from Nox's body, rippling outward like a tidal wave. In the blink of an eye, over 100 metal puppets and dozens of surrounding metal buildings were reduced to rubble, leaving nothing but scattered fragments.The Three-Eyed Clan members
The commotion did not go unnoticed by the nations around the area, especially the island states. They issued a notice of natural disaster, and as the roaring waves spread, the nations and their people started panicking.Once White Tiger got to a safe zone, he got a message from Imperia. Azure Dragon was the one calling. "What happened over there? The meteorological department says a super storm is gathering in that area. If the storm clouds start to move, it might affect Faeast's waters!"Faeast's government had issued a notice of natural disaster to the coastal cities. The Southern Sea's fleet was evacuating the people as fast as they could."I don't know. I think the lord's fighting the boss of the place," said White Tiger. He didn't know much. He told Azure Dragon that Voltaic and another half-Saint were helping out as well."Shit, someone's after me. Talk later!" White Tiger hung up. The enemy was too powerful for him. He couldn't take the guy head on, but just when he was abou
Nox's talismans were dispeled, and tens of thousands of talismans came flying back. The ancient cultivators didn't give Nox a chance to counter their talismans. The moment the talismans came close, they exploded. The combined force of the explosion razed the ancient city into the ground.When the dust settled, the city was no more. Even Kirin had to use his avatar to stop the explosion's force from hitting the ladies. Even Aphrodite was shocked at how the explosion took out the city. This was unbelievable. "I underestimated them. They're more powerful than I thought," said Aphrodite."Naturally. Spiritual energy was abundant everywhere in their era. Everyone had the same resources, and they had a lot of secret arts back then. On average, ancient cultivators fight better than modern ones," said Kirin.The Mystians weren't much weaker than ancient cultivators, but the modern ones were. A dozen or so of them would be a problem, and Nox had to face more than a hundred of these ancient c
"You guys are useless and toxic for the world. I should kill you where you stand. You'd be good fertilizer." Voltaic unsheathed his swords and pointed them at Hyde. "You shall die for your crimes, Hyde! Now tell me, how do you wish to go out?"Hyde burst into laughter, and he waved his hands. Hundreds of gods appeared all around. These were the Mystians cultivating in Celestial Domain. The Yin energy they summoned covered the island, and a wave of violent energy engulfed Mufasa and Voltaic."Now tell me, how do you wish to go out?" Hyde looked at them coldly.Mufasa gasped. "We're in trouble, Voltaic."Voltaic wasn't expecting a big company hiding here. Mufasa felt his hair rise just from facing so many enemies. They might not get out alive."Quite a lot of maggots here. Good. I just became the world's top swordsman, and your blood is perfect to prove that." Voltaic's eyes filled up with will-of-the-sword. The boundless waves of a river crashed into the Mystians.Kirin rubbed his
Voltaic and Mufasa landed on the island. Unlike the city, this place's spiritual energy was haywire. Some came from the outside world, some came from Mystia, but most of it came from Celestial Domain."Interesting. Energy from three different places gathered here. You can live longer if you cultivate here, and the empress can't affect you." Voltaic took a deep breath.Mufasa sensed the aura of some powerful mystical artefacts. There could be sacred artefacts lying around too. "The Mystian energy must come from the artefacts. Heavens know how long they've been here, these people. They must be really powerful." He was solemn. The guy wanted the artefacts for himself. The cultivators weren't much of a threat, he thought."Don't let your greed take over. We have a job to do," said Voltaic."They won't get away, don't worry." Mufasa grinned. Then, someone scoffed.An old man in white came out, his hands behind his back. Voltaic's eyes shone, and he smirked at the man. "Hyde. Long way a
Aphrodite talked to Nox telepathically, telling him to get a move on. Nox looked at her. 'I guess she's finally gotten over herself.' The path of humanity wasn't as complicated. Cultivators of that path would do whatever they thought was right.The Heavenly Dao, however, required the cultivator to have epiphanies about themselves if they wanted to go forward unobstructed. "I changed her path, but now you're telling her to cultivate the Heavenly Dao. What are you trying to do? You guys really love to speak in riddles."The puppets were gone, and Nox made his way toward the city. Hundreds of silhouettes were standing atop the city walls. Their auras were terrifying. Even the weakest was a Pinnacle Legend Realm, and one close to an Emperor too."They must be the cultivators who attacked the empress. They lost because they were imprisoned in this domain and couldn't cultivate, but the empress could, even though the energy in this place is scarce. Even an idiot could be a Saint after cul
Even now, Aphrodite had no idea who she really was as a person. The old man would turn into whoever she wanted him to be, so she thought of the founder of Magic Mountain, and the old man morphed into him."Founder, this is a suicide mission. If I would die anyway, why'd you ask Lord Nox to save me? You're taking away my only hope to live. Every creature, no matter how small, always clings to life desperately. I'm the same," said Aphrodite.Unlike the unhinged Aphrodite, the founder was calm and collected. "I see no reason to answer that question, nor am I the founder you speak of. I do not know what went through his mind when he made his decision. I am only the image your heart wants me to be."I represent the side of justice that lies within you, and if this is the first person you thought of, that should give you enough to go on, no?" the old man answered.Aphrodite froze. She then thought of Nox, and the old man turned into the spitting image of Nox himself. Before she could sa
"Doesn't matter. I'm going to see their boss anyway, so might as well get the lackeys out of the way." Nox stretched and summoned lightning from the skies to cover himself in Quintuple Lightning. He dashed ahead.He crashed into the formation, and waves of spiritual energy surged. Explosions rattled the air. Nox lashed out with his lightning and cut through the metal puppets. The puppets shattered, leaving only shards and chunks of their bodies behind.Aphrodite sighed. "Shame. If Faeast takes these puppets, we will have nothing to fear." She thought it was a waste to destroy all these puppets."You wish. Only the Ironhands know how to maintain this stuff. None of us are good at contraptions. Well, technically, one family was good at it, but they chose the wrong path and got wiped out. Even if we take all these puppets back, I give it months before they give out. Tops."Also, an army of puppets this big needs a lot of spiritual energy to maintain. We don't have that much in our res
'They say that brilliant minds can predict their future. Whenever death comes near, people will panic, and that's why they act out. Even when death comes for her, she's still complaing about the lord. She must love him a lot,' Kirin thought quietly, but he said nothing.The founder told her to come for a reason. Even if she had to die, she had to be useful.Nox ordered, "Let's go." Just when everyone was going to make their way toward the empress, Hellensky suddenly went mad. He lost his mind and lunged at Nineve. Nox narrowed his eyes, and spiritual energy danced in his hand.Kirin was faster. He froze Hellensky in place, and the guy couldn't move a muscle. Aphrodite said, "It has begun, just like I expected. The empress has these cultivators' souls under control. She keeps them alive so their descendants could come to her domain. Now that the one she wants is here, she has no use for them anymore."Nox used his optical power to look into Hellensky's body. His soul was devoured, a
"As you've said, the empress knew I would come sooner or later. She took Grandpa to lure me into her city. I have no choice but to walk into her trap," said Nox. His plan was to take Cassian and go, but then he found out the empress' plan would harm Faeast, so he needed to kill her too.At the same time, the Ironhands offered their help in the fight against the Three-Eyed Clan. Nox declined, "No. They're too powerful, and you can't be of help. One question, though. If I kill the empress and destroy this domain, can you survive?" he asked the leader.The leader didn't answer. He pointed at his metallic body and looked at his people. "Look at us. Do we look alive to you?"Aphrodite snorted. "You know the answer to your question. You know these people are just soulless husks. Even you can't help them. You try your best not to be heartless, but you're the one who's ditching them in the end."Nox noticed the hidden complaint in that retort. "Are you acting up again?" Nox looked at her a