Crystals, hundreds of them, were inlaid into the expansive palace walls, emitting shimmering, multi-hued halos. A faint, crisp electric hum—zizizi—passed between them, transmitting messages and gathering the latest intelligence.
These very crystals connected disparate realms and stars, capable of reaching corresponding nodes in the Void Sea, ensuring any message could sweep across heaven and earth in the shortest possible time.
Across the vast expanse of the star sea, encompassing countless races, only the Phantom Tribe possessed the means to gather, integrate, divide, and disseminate information with such divine efficacy.
For hundreds of thousands of years, the Phantom Tribe had garnered immense profit solely by trading in this vital intelligence.
Meiji’s expression was grave. She stopped before a colossal shattered crystal, connecting her soul consciousness to the block, delving into the boundless ocean of data to seek any update regarding the movements within the Cloud-Covered Realm.
A dozen or so Phantom Tribe maidens were scattered throughout the chamber, each one diligently busy.
Crack!
The heavy bronze-iron door suddenly burst open. Just as Meiji’s face contorted in shock, several figures materialized abruptly within the secret room.
Led by Candice, supported by Vandler, they brought several comely Phantom Tribe men who instantly sealed the doorway. Under Meiji and the others’ stunned gazes, the figures of the Phantom Tribe men moved like lightning. Utilizing their power at the Immortal Realm, they swiftly subdued the young maidens attending Meiji one by one.
All the assailants were cultivators at the Immortal Realm, the strongest among the Phantom Tribe males. Most of the maidens engaged in activity within the chamber were not profoundly or exquisitely advanced in their cultivation, and they were subdued with ease.
“Insolent! Have you revolted?”
Meiji cried out sharply, her voice ringing out as a sphere of ice light exploded, transforming into tens of thousands of ice blades that spun coldly throughout the chamber, like lethal weapons descending upon the aggressors.
The ice blades turned into pale white crystal light, and the room’s temperature plummeted violently. Even the information stones frosted over and froze.
Except for Vandler and Candice, the hair and beard of the warriors inside the chamber were coated with frost, and their divine bodies began to freeze. The formidable Meiji struck in anger, her mastery of the Ice Profundity almost freezing the very heavens and earth!
Krak-krak-krak!
The chilling sound of cracking bone echoed alarmingly. The male Phantom Tribe members flanking Candice and Vandler had ashen faces and could barely stand.
Candice’s eyes were like sharp blades of light. At this moment, she suddenly roared, “How dare you strike in my presence! You show utter disregard for your superiors and dare to commit acts of insubordination!”
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Astonishing wind howls emanated from her tall, slender body, like rampaging tornadoes. Deep within her pupils, a hazy gray vortex began to coalesce.
Meiji’s expression shifted. Seeing Candice’s demeanor, she knew Candice was about to unleash her full power. She shouted, “With external enemies glaring at us, why must you incite internal strife? Can you not pause for the sake of our people?”
“I was not the one who started the internal conflict; it was my dear elder sister! And you, Meiji!” Candice raised her hand, and a vortex formed by the Profundity of Wind manifested in her palm. An aura capable of tearing the heavens apart instantly erupted. That wind vortex burst forth and surged toward Meiji, grasping her abruptly like the hand of the firmament. “It was you who first invaded the Cloud-Covered Realm and tried to kill Vandler. Moreover, my actions today are to prevent the Phantom Tribe from plunging into endless war due to my good sister’s ambition!”
She sneered, “As long as Shi Yan is restrained, the potential conflict between the Seven Tribes will be resolved effortlessly. Our tribe will thereby attain stability, and thousands upon thousands of our kin will not have to hide, disappearing forever into the star sea, turning to dust, utterly annihilated.”
“Grandmother will not let you get away with this!” Meiji spat through gritted teeth.
The wind roar inside the vortex intensified. Now trapped within it, Meiji felt hundreds of tornadoes churning inside, exerting their force, biting at her like the jaws of monstrous beasts, making escape impossible.
Candice was at the second tier of the Domain Ancestor realm, one of the strongest in the Phantom Tribe. The terror of her full power was beyond what Meiji could resist.
“Her?” Candice’s face was filled with mocking derision. “She can barely protect herself; it’s doubtful she can return to the tribe safely. Even if she does, she will naturally be injured. What do I have to fear? Meiji, I won’t kill you. I promised Vandler I would deliver a whole you to him. For now, I will only restrain you, making you watch the fate of my good sister, and watch how that Shi Yan marches toward destruction!”
“You dare plot against Grandmother too!” Meiji shrieked.
“She dared to attack me, so why shouldn’t I strike back?” Candice continued to amplify her power while speaking, addressing Vandler: “I know you have deep feelings for Meiji, but you cannot move against her for the time being. She is a bargaining chip against my good sister and Shi Yan. Until those two parties make their intentions clear, you can only watch her closely.”
In the depths of Vandler’s eyes, a fierce heat burned. His affection for Meiji was now fully evident. He nodded, took a deep breath, his expression strangely resolute. “I understand where the line is drawn.”
“Good, then,” Candice said, satisfied.
...
A corner of the Void Sea.
Nine honeycomb-like dead stars hung isolated in the void. Countless cavernous holes riddled the surfaces of these nine dead stars, like an uncountable swarm of bee cells. From a distance, the nine stars vaguely formed a circular arc, hinting at some profound mystery.
The nine dead stars were not intact; all bore traces of fragmentation and explosion. Their proximity and eerie alignment suggested they were arranged by an overwhelmingly powerful expert using unimaginable means.
This location was called the Dead Silence Domain Corner, a remote nook within the Void Sea, not far from the Phantom Tribe or the White Bone Tribe, and extremely desolate, rarely visited by living beings. Perhaps millennia passed without a single warrior setting foot here; it was a forsaken edge of existence.
Mandis had chosen this place for her meeting with the Bone Tribe members. Mandis and Xi Luo had finalized the details and were preparing to join forces to resist the Four Tribes, agreeing to advance and retreat in concert, having already signed detailed treaties regarding territorial division afterward.
Dozens of massive warships were docked on the surface of one of the dead stars. Each vessel was as large as half an Endless Sea, piled high with countless supplies and crewed by thousands upon thousands of powerful beings.
This was only a fraction of the Phantom Tribe's deployed strength.
They were accompanying Mandis as escorts, intended to disperse as scouts to gather intelligence on the details of the Four Tribes’ allied forces.
Mandis was aboard one of these warships, issuing final instructions. She commanded the individual vessels to depart and proceed according to plan.
She herself remained in the Dead Silence Domain Corner, overseeing the initial stages of the battle, intending to pinpoint the exact location of the Four Tribes before returning to the Phantom Tribe.
In a blink, ten days passed. Initially, the scouts transmitted messages back daily.
However, in the last few days, those who had left earlier suddenly lost contact, not a single dispatch reporting the latest situation.
The inherent danger of the Dead Silence Domain Corner descended without warning!
A colossal ship constructed from the skeletal remains of a Demon Dragon sailed forth through rolling black clouds. A demonic banner, depicting myriad monsters worshipping something, was erected in the distance. Beneath the banner, Bei Fuli of the Ancient Demon Tribe gradually emerged, her expression cold and grim.
From another direction, a war chariot forged from the condensation of tens of thousands of colossal living souls slowly revealed itself. Countless specters drifted beneath the chariot, resembling vengeful spirits from the deepest Netherworld. At the very front of the chariot stood You Yu of the Soul Tribe, arrogant and radiating fierce dominance.
For the first time, a look of utter horror crossed Mandis’s face. She instinctively looked toward a direction behind her, and then her small, exquisite body convulsed violently!
Within intense demonic flames, the imposing figure of Rupert flickered in and out of view, backed by tens of thousands of Black Demon Tribe experts whose savage, bloodthirsty aura already permeated the area.
The Skin-Green Tribe members, divided into segments according to their different Profound Meanings, were led by Ega, seated upon bizarre floating islands exuding profoundly perilous auras.
Snap! Snap! Snap!
The instant the members of the Four Tribes appeared, the crystal stones embedded in the chests of several subordinates beside Mandis suddenly exploded, leaving their chests a bloody, mangled mess.
One tall, stunningly beautiful Phantom Tribe woman—her full, soft breasts flattened like erased peaks, blood streaming like a rivulet—was a gruesome sight that chilled the heart upon a mere glance!
The detonated objects were the sound stones. Unless the initial scouts who left earlier were completely annihilated and someone had deliberately tampered with the sound stones, the communication network linking them should never have shattered this way.
“Mandis, look over here.”
Bei Fuli of the Ancient Demon Tribe, her face like cold ice, pointed toward the edge of the Demon Dragon skeleton warship. The black clouds parted, quietly revealing the blood-soaked heads hanging from the ship’s railing.
They were the heads of the Phantom Tribe members—the scouts who had departed earlier. They had all been decapitated!
Instantly, surging blood rushed to the faces of every Phantom Tribe member present, their eyes blazing with deep-seated hatred.
“The bloodshed Shi Yan has caused among our Four Tribes is far greater than your temporary losses. Those who dare to protect such a frenzied villain deserve to pay the price in blood!” Bei Fuli declared viciously.
“Mandis, if you desperately try to leave, perhaps we truly cannot stop you, but your subordinates will not escape,” You Yu of the Soul Tribe stated, hands behind his back, utterly dominant and arrogant. “If you agree to stay here, to go nowhere else, I guarantee that you and those around you will remain unharmed.”
“I want to know how you managed to locate this place so precisely?” Mandis forced back the manic desire to kill, her gaze like a sharp blade stabbing into You Yu’s face.
You Yu did not answer immediately. He glanced at Bei Fuli, Rupert, and Ega; the three nodded in succession, signaling that there was no need for discretion now.
“Then we shall show you.”
You Yu smiled calmly. Above his head, streaks of vengeful, grim spirits condensed, slowly evolving until they formed a vague image. The image shifted continuously, gradually revealing the scene inside the Phantom Tribe's ice-cold secret chamber...
The image clarified, showing Shi Yan sealed by spatial power within the chamber, and Zhen Ru, who had revealed her true form, becoming increasingly distinct.
“Zhen Ru of the Myriad Forms Tribe!” Mandis hissed through clenched teeth.
In the projection, Zhen Ru gave her an elegant nod. “Long time no see, Mandis. Oh, no, we have met before—inside your palace, when Meiji specified Shi Yan’s exact location. It’s just that you didn’t know I was present. By the way, let me inform you: Shi Yan has already been subdued by me and will soon lose all resistance. And your carefully nurtured Meiji has been controlled by your good sister. She is in charge of the entire Phantom Tribe now. It’s useless for you to return.”
Mandis’s delicate face turned pale.