"Let death spread..."

In the coming days, the Virtues under Kami instructed and guided their factions to launch an attack against the factions of the Demonic Emperor.

With weapons and medicinal resources gifted in abundance by the Virtues and Kami, the factions on their side were motivated to take revenge against the Celestial Beasts who had raged over their homes.

But the factions supporting the Lord of Shadows were also warned beforehand. They too were provided more resources to brace themselves against the incoming attacks.

. . .

In the Realm of Abezan, at the heart of Phoenix City, Ember was having a discussion with her core team.

She had just received multiple Spiritual arrays, weapons, and medicinal pills.

"They have told me to expect an attack soon," she stated, glancing at groups of cultivators moving about.

"And they just want us to sit here and defend?" Ryujin asked in surprise. He did not wish to see war being brought to the doorsteps of the city he had protected for so long. Rai shared his sentiments as he too didn’t like their strategy.

"Lord of Shadows must have his reasons," Salar quickly came to the defense of his true lord.

Once again, Ozul was dragged to the meeting by Ember and Rai.

The only Trancendents who were present during their meetings were the two disciples of Jaka and Ozul’s group.

Even though he did not wish to listen, the voice involuntarily entered his ears. He couldn’t do anything about it.

"A siege around the city should be better for us," he sighed before voicing out his thoughts. He had seen the state of the battlefield and knew that anything could go wrong in that chaos.

For his safety and the trio’s, a siege was a much better option.

"He is right and so is the Lord of Shadows."

Ember finally replied, earning grateful eyes from both Salar and Remal as she seemed to understand their Lord better.

"Letting the battle get so close to the city doesn’t seem wise," Jaka also spoke in support of Rai and Ryujin.

Even Salar and Remal would have opted for something else, but they were soldiers trained to follow orders. They grew up learning to trust their superiors.

"You all think that, but what’s the alternative? Go against their forces someplace else?

What will happen when they are already prepared for the battle and divide our forces? Do you think they would hold back their Sages again this time?"

As Ember questioned, no one had a reply to that. They just did not like the fact that the war was coming to their doors.

If their forces were scattered once again, the number of enemy Sages would overwhelm them quickly. Before long, only Ember and the Celestial Phoenix would remain.

"Besides, we have resources for a siege now..." As she said this, there was a sudden sensation of Spiritual Essence.

A wave started from one end of Phoenix City and spread to all four corners quickly.

*Zoom*

With a vibration, a dome appeared in the sky, covering not only the city but even the surrounding forests.

Ozul felt the quality of Spiritual Essence shift in the air with the appearance of the shield.

"Even if someone drills a hole in it, this barrier will stay intact at other places."

Salar and Remal proudly watched the glad expressions on everyone’s faces.

Rai was expecting Spiritual arrays from Jaka, but this was even better than his expectations.

"How much can it handle?" Ryujin asked.

It was Remal who replied as she was familiar with this particular Spiritual array, "During the battle, if the array is fed Spiritual Stones constantly, even peak Transcendents won’t put a dent on it."

"Sages would need some effort to cause damage," Ember added.

"A siege it is then..." Jaka muttered, observing the thick barrier that pulsated every so often.

With the barrier protecting the city, they could focus on fighting the battle. If the barrier could hold out, it would be no different than fighting on a faraway battlefield.

Ryujin was convinced after Ember had asked about alternatives. This defensive Spiritual array only gave him more confidence.

"This is too dense. Do you have enough Spiritual stones to keep this up?" Ozul spoke after he had probed the shield enough.

Ember flashed a toothy grin and spread her arms, "The Lord of Shadows provided enough Spiritual Stones to keep this up for months."

All the second thoughts that she was having previously about joining the Lord of Shadows had already vanished. No more did she doubt whether it was the right choice to choose revenge over what appeared more reasonable.

She also received weapons and armor in bulk which she instructed Ryujin to distribute to the soldiers based on merit.

With those doing better receiving more resources, it further fueled their motivation to outshine others in the upcoming battles.

Unfortunately for them, Kami had caught on and was now supporting his allies with resources as well.

On the opposite sides of the Realm of Abezan, the Immortal Sect and the Wilderness were allocated resources by Jidu personally. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Not only did he distribute the weapons and Spiritual tools provided by Kami, but even gave them his own. After all, he hated both Ember and the Celestial Phoenix.

Seeing so many resources, the Elders of both organizations finally stopped pestering their leaders because of the ’injustice’ they were facing.

To add to their excitement, Jidu told Kai and Hakuja to reply in kind to Ember and the Phoenix.

The Elders from both organizations were seething in rage and wanted nothing more than to bring the battle to Ember’s doorstep.

They started preparing their forces immediately after somewhat recovering from the recent attack.

The Immortal Sect wasn’t able to fix the damage done to their sect structures as the Phoenix had caused too much destruction.

However, with their centuries of history and heritage, they were able to relocate their disciples to a new location with little to no problems.

Having lost their original home where they had grown up to the rage of the Phoenix, all the disciples of the Immortal Sect were seething, and even though they were afraid of her, were still excited at the prospects of revenge.

A battle was brewing and the two factions were planning to clash soon. And it would cause just as much or even more bloodshed than before!

. . .

The Realm of Abezan was not alone in this situation.

Other Realms faced similar scenarios where the factions supporting Kami had received their new resources and were more than equipped to take their revenge.

All planned to start a new battle again and this time, they were confident to get the upper hand.

The Lord of Shadows had Qingyu and Baoshi keep a close eye on all four Realms where the Celestial Beasts resided.

He was very strict in his orders not to let a single Beast fall as they were the backbone of his resistance. As long as they remained alive, the war would keep raging on all fronts.

To help the two Heavenly Virtues, he even allowed an Empyrean subordinate of his to help them.

Unlike Old Gu, none of the other Heavenly Virtues had a subordinate in the Empyrean Realm as cultivating one to such a Realm required not only effort but even luck. After all, not everyone was destined to reach that Realm.

So an additional Empyrean helping Qingyu and Baoshi eased their burden in managing the situation in the four Realms.

In terms of defense, the Celestial Tortoise was a cut above the other Beasts. He could hold his ground against a Virtue and more for far longer than others. As such, Baoshi arranged for the three of them to each look after the remaining three Realms.

If the Celestial Tortoise needed help, they could first finish their business in the other three Realms and whoever was faster would go help him. Such were the arrangements in the worst-case scenario.

Baoshi wondered silently just how many people the Lord of Shadows really had under him. To this day, she had seen two Empyrean subordinates serving under him.

She couldn’t even confirm if they were all.

The Lord of Shadows was a mystery even to the Heavenly Virtues.

When they were under the Heavenly Emperor, he refused to talk more than necessary whenever it came to the topic of the infamous ’Demonic Emperor.’ Even with their vast knowledge that came at the expense of time, they knew only so much about him.

Even now, when interacting with him, Baoshi and Qingyu were both hesitant and on edge.

They were one of the strongest beings in existence, yet in his presence, they felt just as small as when they were in front of the Heavenly Emperor.

It did not help them that at their level unless they were to fight it out, they couldn’t estimate each other’s true strength.

Baoshi and Qingyu silently agreed not to ask him any personal questions. The air around the Lord of Shadows did not allow for such pleasantries.

The man in question sat silently in his castles in the darkened Realm.

The shadows shifted behind him. They slithered and rose from the ground while coiling around the air like a snake before settling into the form of a man.

"The son of the Heavenly Emperor arrived at the Divine Palace. The latter shows no movements-"

The man covered in shadows stopped his sentence in the middle when he noticed the raised hand of his Lord.

"The fact that he allowed you to return is proof enough of his idleness.

You are excused."

The man in the dark felt goosebumps, his eyes opening wide at the realization that he had escaped death, but they quickly went dull right after. He bowed, and as if transforming into a dark liquid, dissolved into the ground.

"How much blood is too much for you, Master?" muttered the Lord of Shadows, silently gazing out of the window.