Chapter 0677: Change

Regent's Palace

Just as the Regent was dealing with some bureaucratic affairs in his study, his expression suddenly changed. He saw the shadow beside him distort, and the dual pupil youth walked out. The youth usually had an unhurried expression, but this time it seemed a little grave.

The Regent placed down the folder in his hands as he asked curiously upon seeing this rare sight, "What happened?"

The youth had remained indifferent even when Li Taixuan and Tan Tailan had appeared during the Housemeet.

"Pang Qianyuan has made his move. He has used the Dragon Bone Holy Grail to suppress the Ichythian King. At the same time, he's currently repairing the void tear. If he succeeds, the Umbra Cave's danger will be resolved and he will be able to roam freely," the youth explained simply.

The Regent's pupils shrank. Pang Qianyuan was the source of their troubles. There was only one King Stage cultivator in the entire Xia Kingdom, and he was the only one capable of instilling fear into the Regent and the rest.

This situation was of deep concern to the Regent. It wasn't good news as once Pang Qianyuan extricated himself from the thorny Umbra Cave, he would be able to return to the Xia Kingdom, undoubtedly attending the coronation ceremony.

Although the Astral Sage College was a neutral faction, Pang Qianyuan was absolutely unrestrained in whatever he wished to do as the Xia Kingdom's only King cultivator.

In fact, he didn't even need to interfere. He simply had to stand behind the Little Emperor and then all of the Regent’s plans would disintegrate naturally.

"What do you plan to do?" the Regent asked the youth. He knew that their aims were the same, and it was to prevent Pang Qianyuan from escaping his predicament.

The youth grinned. "Now, now, there is no need to worry. We have planned for so many years, so how can we let our efforts go to waste by letting Pang Qianyuan escape from his cell? That would be underestimating our methods. This is merely just a single sage college. It's not the first time we have destroyed one after all."

As he spoke, he touched a pocket sphere on his wrist and removed a black, palm-sized clay figurine. The figurine's facial features were blurry, but the black runes on its body were like a living fish constantly squirming atop its surface.

The youth glanced at it before casually crushing it into pieces.

……

At the very same moment that happened, in the Astral Sage College.

On top of the Tree of Resonant Power.

𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

A single Violet Vibrance mentor would remain at the highest location atop the Tree of Resonant Power at all times, guarding it. In the center of this location was a wooden platform where a single Violet Vibrance mentor was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed.

His body suddenly shuddered and his expression showed a trace of internal strife. Then distorted colors surfaced on his face and his skin began to twist uncontrollably as though a fish was swimming inside his body.

He opened his eyes again a moment later, but both of his eyeballs had turned inky black, looking extremely bizarre.

He then raised a hand and stripped off his upper robes, revealing his bare body. He swiped a finger across his chest, slicing through his own flesh and blood to reveal his beating heart.

He then forcefully wrenched his heart out, and it continued to beat violently within his grasp.

As the heart started to beat with greater intensity, one could see a single drop of an obsidian substance being squeezed out from inside it.

The substance emanated a foul and evil presence, seemingly condensed from countless wicked thoughts. It was but a mere drop, yet it possessed a corruptive power that even a Duke was unable to resist.

When the single drop of obsidian substance landed atop the tree, it quickly burrowed itself like a drop of ink dripping into a massive lake, instantly disappearing before one's very eyes.

After the act was done, the Violet Vibrance mentor returned his heart to his chest and the wound healed up as though nothing had ever happened.

A cold wind rustled past.

The Violet Vibrance mentor's eyes seemed to contain a hint of confusion as he glanced around him curiously. He seemed to have lost himself for a moment, but he could not remember what he had just done.

In the end, after discovering nothing was amiss, he shook his head and attributed it all to a misunderstanding. He closed his eyes and continued to cultivate.

……

In the depths of the Umbra Cave.

The ancient dragon elephant manifestations were gradually shifting the space itself, sealing up the void tear.

At this instant, Pang Qianyuan raised his head and glared at a specific part of the void. He could clearly feel that there was a tiny disturbance in the space itself, which had marginally weakened his connection with the world.

He could feel that the influence of this disturbance had affected and slowed down the sealing of the void tear.

"This feeling of energy being stripped away... could it be the Tree of Resonant Power?"

Pang Qianyuan frowned. The Astral Sage College's Tree of Resonant Power suppressed the Umbra Cave, and as the Principal, he would naturally tap upon its vast reserves of energy. This was one of the reasons why he was able to keep the Ichythian King suppressed here.

However, his connection with the Tree of Resonant Power seemed to have become somewhat blurry and unstable.

"Has an issue arisen with the Tree of Resonant Power?" The thought sent tremors through Pang Qianyuan's heart. The Tree of Resonant Power was having issues at such a critical moment? This could not be a mere coincidence.

It seemed odd as the tree was under the strict surveillance and protection of the college. A Violet Vibrance mentor was always on duty, so how could a problem crop up?

A glint flashed through his eyes as he glanced at the river of evil within the void tear. The Ichythian King was quietly floating atop its surface, glaring at him with its frightening, white eyes and a mocking expression.

"Pang Qianyuan, did you think that you were the only one plotting throughout the years?" The Ichythian King's icy voice transmitted through the void.

Pang Qianyuan coldly stared at the Ichythian King. Only after one confronted a King Stage Other could one fully appreciate the terror and difficulty of dealing with them. He and the Ichythian King had engaged each other in contests of varying degrees over the years. Despite all of his caution, he had almost fallen into its traps multiple times. An Other was basically the manifestation of evil thoughts and emotions, able to clearly discern humanity's weaknesses and to seduce them with honeyed words as well.

In their numerous exchanges, revealing a minor flaw would have resulted in his heart being shaken. That was when the seeds of corruption could be sowed, insidiously corrupting him.

What was happening with the Tree of Resonant Power might not have been due to an outside influence, but rather from someone within the college itself.

Pang Qianyuan seemed a little gloomy as he stated, "It looks like you've secretly planted seeds of corruption throughout the college."

"Pang Qianyuan, you cannot beat me in this battle. Give up. Don't you want to become stronger? Although you're a King Stage expert, you can gain even greater strength if you enter the shadow world!" the Ichythian King offered.

"Your efforts to entice me seem to have become worse." Pang Qianyuan shook his head. "The fact that you had to activate a hidden card to obstruct me means that you've gotten scared. If this is the case, then I have even more reason to continue sealing this void tear. Additionally, this will only delay me for a slight amount of time. What's the point of it? Just what are you trying to do?"

At this very moment, a thought flashed through his mind. "What could happen in the next few days in the outside world? Hmm? Could it be the coronation ceremony? You don't want me to participate in it? What does it have to do with you? If I don't personally attend it... the greatest beneficiary would be who? That ambitious brat Gong Yuan?"

His gaze turned even colder at this instant.

"You and Gong Yuan are in cahoots?" When faced with Pang Qianyuan's question, the Ichythian King only chuckled softly. It then submerged itself back into the depths of the river of evil.