Chapter 126: The Return (Part 4)

{THRONE ROOM, DUANREN EMPIRE PALACE }

A loud buzz was prevelent in the hall as all the nobles and commanders talked among themselves. Zhao Shu observed his surroundings and spoke to Huang Xiaolong, who was standing behind him acting as his student in low voice, "Sovereign!! It seems that something major has happened. Maybe those Cultivators have given Deities Templar, a very big wound. This can be good news or bad news for us."

Haung Xiaolong, " I think that this situation will be bad for us."

Zhao Shu, " Why?"

Huang Xiaolong, " If those Cultivators have caused enough harm to Deities Templar then, all the disciples will be called back immediately. Deities Templar will become more aggressive and ruthless in dealing with it's enemies in order to regain their lost reputation. This will not bode well for us as Li Lu is a very important member of the sect. On the other hand, if those Cultivators were beaten back then this will tremendously increase the influence of Deities Templar and people will be lining up to get in an alliance or servitude to the sect. They will become unstoppable on this world. Again, this will not be favourable for us. It is entirely possible that senior brother will surrender to Deities Templar or join hands with them. After the meeting is over, we will go into hiding, regardless of the news."

Zhao Shu, " Sovereign!! We will need to gather enough resources to continue your future cultivation as well as laying down proper protections around our retreat. Thankfully, this continent has many good hiding places. But, we will need to hurry as we will not be the only ones attempting this. We will also need to fend off the worms who will try to capture us in order to curry favour with Deities Templar. Your fight and arrival of those foreign Cultivators is the general knowledge among the nobles and commanders of this empire. Maybe surrounding empires also know about this by now. We are in quite a dangerous situation."

Huang Xiaolong nodded with a tense face and said, " We will leave right after this meeting."

Zhao Shu, " Duanren is coming, Sovereign. He also has two people with him. I can't sense their cultivation but I can hear their footsteps."

A commotion rose as The Duanren Emperor entered the throne room. There were two new people walking behind him. They wore black cloaks with their hoods on. The cloaks were designed such that it was not possible to tell the gender of the cloaked figures for normal people. But everyone here was a cultivator so they could tell that the one on the Emperor's left was a man and the other was a woman.

Huang Xiaolong, "The way these nobles and commanders are tripping over their feets to curry favour with the emperor is amusing even under such circumstances. These slumbering snakes are the ones to watch out for. Only they have the clout and manpower to hunt us down at this point."

Zhao Shu, " Let's wait and see, what he had to say!!"

Emperor Duan reached the center where the throne was kept but surprisingly didn't take his seat. He looked around the room and said, " I have some news to tell all of you. Ask your questions after I make the announcement."

After he saw that he had the entire room's attention, he spoke, " Two days ago, Deities Templar was wiped out....." Emperor Duan's words caused a massive shock to all the people present. The shock gave into fear and tredpetion as the assembled people thought about the implications of the news. Thankfully, the assembled people were intelligent enough to not starting shouting at their ruler. The two cloaked figures standing silent behind the Emperor now had drawn the eyes of everyone present. It didn't required much intelligence to guess that the strangers belonged to the force which had wiped out probably the strongest sect of their world.

Emperor Duan continued on seeing their faces, " Yes!!! These honourable guests of mine are from that force. Now, why they are here?.... The higher ups of that force have decided to make this world, a part of their territory. They like to rule unchallenged so all the empires and sects present of this world are given the choice of submition or annihilation. As they have dozens of God Realm Cultivators under their command, I have wisely decide to submit. This is not a hoax. They have already proven their authencity. At present , they have atleast 100 God Realm Cultivators on this world. Now, you can panic or scheme. I honestly don't care and will not speak more on this matter."

One of the commanders stepped forward and said, " Your Majesty!! what of the empire's people?"

This time, the cloaked man spoke up, " We don't alienate or suppress any newcomers. They all will be given ample resources for cultivation. So that, they could atleast join us."

The Commander, " Join you?"

The cloaked man continued, " To become a official citizen of the empire, you have to be at least Tenth Order Saint Realm Cultivator."

The cloaked man's answer made the assembled people whisper furiously among themselves. A few words like "Empire" and "Tenth Order" were the most prominent among the buzz that had risen in room.

A noble stepped forward, " Venerable Senior!!! Can you tell us about the force you belong to?"

The cloaked woman answered in a bored tone, " Only official citizens are given information about the empire but I will tell some of it. The empire has total control over 1,000 galaxies. This galaxy is not included in that list but soon, we will conquer this one also. Now, your emperor has submitted to us. We will completely take over this empire in 3 days. Further instructions will be given after that. For those who want to run away, don't!!! We have 10 Peak Tenth Order HighGod Realm Cultivators on this world; you will not be able to hide from us. Now, go!!"

The room quickly emptied. Once the room was empty, the cloaked man took out his communicator and spoke, " Huang Xiaolong plans to bail out. We have the city surrounded by a battalion. He should not be able to run away but we will not take chances. Stay Alert!! The mind readers will be arriving soon."

{SIN CITY, BADLANDS}

The crown jewel of the Badlands was burning. Sounds of fierce fighting could be heard all over the city as millions of Cultivators fought against each other. Alexander surveyed the city and spoke, " Our recruits are good. They just need exprience. I think we should organize more events like this. We have plenty of criminals jailed. They could be used as sharpening tools for the new recruits."

Li, " Won't such an act will decrease the future powerhouses of our kingdom, Your Highness?"

Alexander, " That will not happen. The threat upon their life will motivate them to train harder. Don't fell into the trap that common cultivators often fell, power is not everything; skill also matters. After the subjugation of Badlands, we will kill the worst and the rest will used as a training instrument for the recruits. The mind readers will be arriving soon."

Jonathan, " What caused the delay, Your Majesty?"

Alexander, " Our actions in the other universes are being noted by some extremely paranoid native forces. Small fights have broken out in the contested areas. Our armies have left no survivors. The speed of conquest has been stepped up. We plan to conquer 10 million galaxies in each universe to officially establish the empire in the eyes of the natives. Targets are being marked. In 6 months, a collective operation on the marked galaxies will be launched. As for the mind readers, they are deployed to the frontlines to examine the minds of all soldiers to weed out any spies. The information that our soldiers have is incredibly precious for the natives."

Sam, " What about the ongoing campaign, Your Highness?"

Alexander, " It has been put on hold for now, to allow the soldiers to recover. They are new to this, we cannot push them too much. I think two decades of constant warfare is enough. We will begin again after a decade. After the empire is consolidated in the native universes, we will call them back."

{TWO DAYS LATER, HUANG MANOR }

A few figures were surrounding the prone figure of Haung Xiaolong. Alexander watched as his people examined Huang Xiaolong's mind. Huang Xiaolong was allowed to safely return to his family manor so that he could let his guard down for a moment. The mind readers had recommended this course of action. Now, they were thoroughly examining his mind one by one for a few hours. The whole Huang Manor was put under a very powerful sleep inducing ward so that no one would disturb them. Till now, the mind readers had not found anything in his mind. The common theory among them was that the knowledge was in Huang Xiaolong's soul but they didn't have the means and courage to read someone's soul right now.

Soul reading was a difficult and dangerous task. It required a special ritual. In soul reading, one had to form a connection between the two participants. All the aspects of a person was revealed to the other, the drawbacks were quite severe also. The connection was assessible from both the sides. Linking of souls can also lead to devouring of weaker soul by the stronger one; if the stronger one desired to do so. The one who were devoured would be reduced to a state of undead as they were not able to pass on to afterlife as they had no souls. The Dementors were the husks of the people who were devoured by the stronger ones. They took the souls of other to fulfill the void left behind their own souls but it was not possible. None of the mind readers wanted such fate to befall on them.

Alexander sighed and spoke, " Such a waste of potential but we cannot take chances. Should I kill Li Lu and the remaining Huang family or should I spare them? What do you think about this, Jonathan?"

Jonathan, " We should curse them with 'Timeless Sleep' and keep them secured."

Sam, " This plan has merits. Even if some cosmic entity has designs on this universe, he or she would not be able to do anything but we will also lose a good combatant."

Daniel, " I hope that your theory is correct. But what is this curse?"

Jonathan, " The Curse of Timeless Sleep is a very power and terrible curse. It puts the curse bearer in a timeless state. He will not age at all till the curse lasts. The reason it was not used for achieving pseusdo immortality is because of it's drawback. The drawback is that he will be extremely aware of the flow of time around him and the curse will induce a terrible longing in him to experience the world. He would be trapped in his own mind with no way out. The curse is terrible in the sense that it protects the cursed from going insane till it is lifted."

Daniel, " What happens after the curse is lifted?"

Jonathan, " Their mind and soul shatters and they die."

Daniel asked in horrified tone, " Who made such a curse?"

Jonathan, " We don't know."

Li, " But Haung Xiaolong is only 18 years old. He is equivalent to a two years old child if we compare him to the age of children of our kindom. How can you suggest such a thing?"

Daniel, " Don't forget about the other occupants of this manor."

Jonathan, " When you have the responsibility of 950 quadtriliion people over your shoulders, you learn to make hard decisions."

Alexander, " Don't argue. Wake up the occupants of this manor and tell them their fate if they refuse to submit. Let's see what happens then."

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