Ch. 1131..1140

Chapter 1131 - 1131 – Impact On The World

Everything had happened a bit too fast for Gravis and Mortis to process properly.

A moment ago, everything had appeared fine, but then, the Black Magnate had arrived, and before they knew it, two Heaven's Magnates were about to fight to the death.

Even Orpheus and Eve were taken aback.

Hadn't Orpheus basically come to an agreement with the Undying Doctor? How did this suddenly become a battle between two of the most powerful Cultivators in the Cosmos?

The change was nearly instantaneous. Shortly after the two Heaven's Magnates had vanished, the Energy in the atmosphere started to drop.

Cultivators from all over the world noticed that change.

The Energy had dropped significantly in the very moment the two Heaven's Magnates had left, and then it continued to drop more and more as time passed.

They were fighting. They were not fighting in the highest world but in the void between worlds.

However, they were still siphoning Energy out of the highest world to continue fighting, which made everyone in the world feel the movement of Energy.

Nearly all the powerful Cultivators in the world became nervous when they felt that.

Were Heaven and the Opposer about to clash again!?

What was going on!?

Only the most powerful Divine Gods knew that two Heaven's Magnates were currently fighting, and their eyes shone with greed.

"Prepare everyone for a war!" one Divine God ordered to his Vice-Sect Master. "Two Heaven's Magnates are battling, and one of them will die. You know what will happen when a Heaven's Magnate dies."

The Vice-Sect Masters nodded and readied the entire Sect for a war.

They were one of the Peak Sects.

In a different Sect, a similar scene played out. "Ready the disciples. We are going to take the Lightning Peak Sect's greater God Stone mine," a woman ordered.

The two Vice-Sect Masters quickly put everything into motion.

Anthorian, Heaven's Child, watched the battle. As a Heaven's Magnate, he had the ability to see through the veil of the worlds, which allowed him to spectate the battle.

"What's your goal in all of this, Black Magnate?" Anthorian asked himself. "You've had a couple more million years to live. Why are you risking your life now?"

"Are you planning on fighting for my position in the future?"

Anthorian huffed in disdain. "You're still a long way off."

Meanwhile, in a nearly empty room.

"Yay! My God Stone ocean is about to explode again! Honey, would you be a dear and watch over it?"

"Yes, honey," the Opposer answered absentmindedly.

The entire world started going into motion. Sects were preparing? to defend their resources. Other Sects were preparing to attack. The Information Pavilion got a ridiculous number of requests for information. The Research Company held a meeting with their leaders. The Heaven Company called all their available Judges and informed them about what would happen soon.

And while the entire world was changing, Gravis and Mortis only looked with shock at the place where the two Heaven's Magnates had been just a moment ago.

Meanwhile, the Myriad Sect got several reports from their disciples.

"Sect Master, our second middle-grade God Stone mine has stopped producing God Stones!"

"Sect Master, our first middle-grade God Stone mine has stopped producing God Stones!"

"Sect Master, our God Stone storages are shrinking! God Stones are vanishing!"

Manuel received several messages at once, and even he couldn't immediately react to them. All of this had happened way too quickly!

Yet, several seconds later, the world felt another shift.

The Energy was vanishing at several times its earlier speed!

The speed at which the Energy in the atmosphere was vanishing was so fast that in only ten seconds, over 5% of the Energy in the atmosphere had vanished.

Yet, that wasn't even the worst thing.

In actuality, the Energy of the world had dropped by over 40%!

So, why had the Energy in the atmosphere only dropped by 5%?

Because the Energy in solid states had been converted into gaseous Energy.

40% of the God Stones in the world had transformed into Energy to supplement the atmosphere!

"It's about to end!" a Sect Master shouted at his elite squad. "The sudden increase means that one of the Heaven's Magnates managed to comprehend the True Law of Energy. The fight will be over soon!"

Then, the density of the Energy in the atmosphere stopped reducing.

Silence.

WHOOOOOM!

It was like a wave of Energy had suddenly hit the Cosmos!

Every Cultivator in the highest world felt a massive wave of Energy wash over them.

It was so much Energy!

It was unfathomable!

"Sir! Our storage exploded!"

"What!?" an Ancestral God shouted at one of his disciples.

"The God Stones have suddenly violently multiplied, which resulted in a crack in our Formation Array! The disciples are violently picking up the loose God Stones!" the informant told the Ancestral God.

"How dare they!? No one steals from me!" the Ancestral God shouted as he charged to his warehouse.

The biggest God Stone mines in the world immediately saw violent battles breaking out above them.

Divine Gods were fighting each other, and the weaker Cultivators quickly grabbed the God Stones from the overflowing God Stone mines.

As soon as the Energy had returned, the God Stone mines literally exploded with God Stones.

It was like they were erupting volcanos!

"Quick! Get as much as you can! You only have five more seconds!" one of the attackers shouted.

"Stark Contrast, you shameless bastard!" his opponent shouted. "I treated you like a brother, and that's what you do in return!?"

The whole world was seemingly embroiled in an instantaneous war.

There weren't even enough Judges in The Heaven Company to overlook everything, which meant that Anthorian had to overlook nearly 70% of all the fights.

Even more, most Judges were also part of some powerful organizations, and they felt bitter. They wished to help their organizations, but they were forced to help The Heaven Company in overlooking the fights.

Some seconds passed.

"Retreat!"

Across the entire world, the battlefields featuring the most powerful Cultivators had stopped in an instant.

The attackers were retreating with all their speed.

The weaker Sects, which had no idea of what was going on, were shocked and confused by the sudden retreat.

"Everyone! Gather around the God Stones!" every powerful leader ordered.

After that, the leaders gave their underlings a number of God Stones they had to absorb, and the underlings were shocked.

So many!

"Get ready for the second wave!" the leaders shouted.

For a second, the highest world fell into silence.

Everyone waited in anticipation.

And then, the second wave came.

WHOOOOOM!

The second wave was even more overpowering than the first wave.

God Stone mines, storages, even Spirit Spaces exploded by the ridiculous expansion of the God Stones.

The disciples of the Peak Sects quickly absorbed as many of the new God Stones as they were allowed to take.

The same went for the attackers. The God Stones they had stolen had now multiplied ferociously.

Above a blue ocean of God Stones, the Economistress was grinning from ear to ear.

Waves were dancing through her ocean, and it was like the flood had arrived!

The Energy density in the atmosphere also shot up, but it quickly returned to normal.

The overflowing Energy in the atmosphere had condensed into a solid form again, which was the reason for the explosions of God Stones all over the world.

The fight had ended.

The first drop in Energy had been when the two Heaven's Magnates had left the highest world.

The continuous drop had been their absorption of Energy during the fight.

The sharp drop had been one Heaven's Magnate using the Law of Energy to launch a violent offensive.

The short pause had been the moment when the battle had ended.

The first explosion of Energy had been the corpse of the dead Heaven's Magnate. The Heaven's Magnate's being had exploded, and their Energy had rejoined the Cosmos.

The second explosion of Energy had been the conversion of destructive powers back into Energy. All the Energy that had been converted into attacks had been converted back into Energy by Orthar. Then, this Energy had been shoved back into the highest world.

The number of God Stones in the world had increased by about 30%.

Yet, the wealth hadn't been distributed equally.

The God Stone mines had given out far more God Stones due to how they worked. This was also why the Sects had immediately attacked the God Stone mines.

"Destiny, blah blah blah!"

Gravis looked to the sky and saw the Black Magnate.

Apparently, he had won.

Chapter 1132 - 1132 – Sinister Sally

"You won?" Gravis asked the Black Magnate.

"Of course I won!" the Black Magnate answered with a snort. "You think Sinister Sally can fight me? She always only uses tricks. She always weakens her enemies slowly before their fight to give her a higher chance of victory."

Gravis looked with an awkward expression at the Black Magnate. "Why did you attack the Undying Doctor?" he asked.

The Black Magnate snorted. "Undying, eh? Not so undying anymore, right?" he said with a laugh.

Gravis wasn't in the mood to laugh since something was weighing on his mind.

Why did the Black Magnate attack the Undying Doctor right now?

If it were because of him, Gravis wouldn't feel comfortable. It felt like too big of a favor.

"Tch," the Black Magnate spat when he saw Gravis' expression. "It's not because of you," he said.

"Then, why?" Gravis asked.

"I was supposed to be her opponent anyway. Her longevity would have run out in around three million years, and I was the closest one in power to her. I would have been her opponent regardless. The only difference would have been the time," the Black Magnate explained.

"As I've said, Sinister Sally loves weakening her opponents. I've already seen how her sinister claws had started to extend towards me. She made my life harder through several means. Old friends suddenly didn't want to talk to me as much. Other Heaven's Magnates suddenly started talking in an even more depressing manner."

"She was trying to sap me of my motivation to continue living. In her mind, I would have spent the remainder of my life resisting these influences, which would have slowly weakened me by a bit. However, a bit could already make the difference between life and death."

"So, instead of waiting, I decided to fight her right now. I'm not fighting her on her terms but on my terms. Also, I've always hated these false, hypocritical assholes," the Black Magnate ranted.

Gravis was relieved when he heard the Black Magnate's words, but he also knew that he had been somewhat involved in today's fight. "Thank you regardless," Gravis said.

"You better thank me," the Black Magnate said with another snort. "Sinister Sally's fan club would have hounded you for the next three million years."

Suddenly, the Black Magnate looked at Eve.

Eve was still hanging from Orpheus' spear, and she looked at the Black Magnate with shock in her eyes.

"Look at all these Law fragments around you," the Black Magnate commented with a laugh. "You're mostly shocked, but deep inside, you're unwilling. You think that I'm some monster that killed your teacher out of selfish reasons."

"It's actually ironic. The person that should hate Sinister Sally the most actually defends her."

Eve's eyes widened in shock and confusion.

"Oh, don't believe me?" the Black Magnate asked with a laugh. "What destiny? What rebirth? What growing stronger?"

"You think you're so talented that Sinister Sally wanted you to become a Heaven's Magnate by dying again and again? That's not how it works, idiot!"

"There's a reason why we generally don't resurrect people. If you can't do it on your first try, you won't ever be able to do it. Resurrecting you doesn't make you stronger, but weaker," the Black Magnate explained with a laugh.

Horror and shock were written on Eve's face.

"You think you're Sinister Sally's first disciple? No, she's done that plenty of times. Sinister Sally is bored like every other Heaven's Magnate. So, she tries to find a way to amuse herself."

"What was her method of amusing herself? Well, it was to grab someone with an outstanding mindset for Cultivation and slowly morph their mindset into the opposite."

Eve couldn't think right now. The Black Magnate's words only confused her.

It was like he was telling Eve that everything she had ever known was a lie.

"Look at you! You're so entitled that you actually break the rules of your dream job because of a personal vendetta. Even worse, you didn't even realize you were making a mistake. You're an Ancestral God, for fuck's sake! You should know that you can't just speak for The Heaven Company."

"Then, when you inevitably commit your mistake and get thrown out, you get angry with the very victim you wanted to doom. You didn't even think for a moment that you might have been in the wrong. Such a mindset is understandable for a Unity Realm Cultivator, but not for an Ancestral God."

"After that, in your blind rage fueled by stupidity, you actively try to kill the two most outstanding, special, and extraordinary Star Gods in existence. A retarded monkey would have realized that the origin of those two couldn't be simple."

"Even more, you spent several years just waiting for them in front of a level five Ancestral God inside the Sect closest to those two."

"If you had simply looked at that guy over there for a bit." The Black Magnate pointed at Orpheus. "You would have realized that he isn't weak. Yet, he didn't even enter your mind."

"Also, even if he were super weak, he could have informed their background. What then?"

"It's like you wanted to die. Everything you did was a perfect example of the phrase seeking death."

"And then, the best part, you get all sad and hurt because you're about to die. Like what? How? You were searching for death with all your power, and you are unhappy when you achieve your goal?"

"Honestly, Sinister Sally did a tremendous job on you," the Black Magnate finished.

Eve's world was breaking down.

The Black Magnate's words made Eve feel like an absolute idiot. If the Black Magnate had talked about someone else, she wouldn't even have believed him. The actions of that person were just that inexplicable.

Someone like that couldn't possibly reach the Ancestral God Realm!

Yet, Eve realized that she had been the one acting this way.

Eve's mind fell into chaos. She sounded like the stupidest Ancestral God alive when the Black Magnate narrated her story, but in her mind, she still thought that she had only made a couple of mistakes.

The main mistake in Eve's mind had been that she should have made sure that Mortis and Gravis had died the first time.

"Complete inability of introspection," the Black Magnate added. "It's like Sinister Sally crippled your brain or something. You can't even grow anymore."

Eve felt like something inside her had shattered.

She wasn't even sure what she should think anymore.

Meanwhile, Gravis looked at Eve with a raised eyebrow, his expression showing a slight bit of pity.

It wasn't even funny anymore.

Eve's decisions had been so bad that it was almost sad.

It was like she was missing something integral that made it unfair to compare her to normal Cultivators.

Orpheus looked at Gravis.

Gravis looked at Orpheus and gestured to Eve with his head.

Orpheus nodded.

BANG!

Eve of Order died.

Orpheus had made her head explode.

So what if Gravis felt pity?

She was an Ancestral God.

Sure, she was to some degree a victim, but as an Ancestral God, she had the power to analyze herself and change. She was an adult, not a child.

She was responsible for her own actions.

Also, even if she weren't, Eve had tried to kill Gravis and Mortis, and for that, he wouldn't let her live.

Her reasons didn't matter.

And with that, Eve died.

She had been nothing more than the Undying Doctor's plaything.

Chapter 1133 - 1133 – Making Up

Eve was dead, and that was that.

Orpheus had dealt with her.

Now that everything was over, Orpheus, Mortis, and Gravis only looked at each other awkwardly.

The Black Magnate saw that the atmosphere became weird and simply teleported away.

"I'm happy you're still alive," Orpheus said after some seconds of silence to Gravis and Mortis. Orpheus didn't only see Gravis as his little brother, but Mortis too. In a sense, Mortis was even more similar to the little brother he had met back then.

"What did you do?" Gravis asked with a sigh as he rubbed the bridge of his nose in a mix of frustration and annoyance. He had pushed Orpheus away, but Orpheus had come to help him anyway.

How was he supposed to not feel guilty?

How was he supposed to be angry at Orpheus?

Orpheus knew what Gravis referred to, and he only answered with a smile. "I simply assumed the position of Ancestor in the Myriad Sect. I don't have a Sect anyway, and you all need an Ancestor. Without an Ancestor, the Myriad Sect can't talk and negotiate with other powerful Sects."

"I know," Gravis said. "I meant, what did you do to help me with my Sin Aura? You were responsible for paying back nearly 50% of my Sin Aura."

Orpheus looked at Gravis in surprise.

First of all, Orpheus wanted to know how Gravis could know these things. Gravis hadn't even seen what Orpheus had done, but Gravis still somehow knew how much of his Sin Aura had been dealt with by Orpheus.

Did father tell them?

Orpheus wasn't sure.

Sadly, no one knew that Gravis had already talked to the highest Heaven several times. The things they had talked about had to remain a secret.

Not even Stella knew that Gravis had talked with the highest Heaven.

However, Orpheus still believed Gravis. Gravis had spoken these words very naturally, and it was obvious that he thought his sources to be reliable.

Orpheus awkwardly scratched the back of his head with a bitter laugh. "I actually didn't want to tell you all what I did. Not even Manuel knows what I have done to help you."

Orpheus sighed. "Well, seems like I can't keep it a secret. I wanted to keep it hidden to show you some of my sincerity, but that's impossible now."

"Just tell me," Gravis said.

Orpheus looked at the Myriad Sect. "The Myriad Sect has more than one Ancestral God now. Several Ancestral Gods of the Sects we have destroyed wanted to join us. Without an Ancestor, this would become very awkward. Ancestral Gods can't directly interfere with the war, but they can inform the other Sects and cause some indirect damage to the Myriad Sect."

"In actuality, it was Manuel that contacted me. He wanted me to assume the position of Ancestor in the Myriad Sect. He was also the one that told me about your Sin Aura."

Gravis nodded. "So, what did you do?" Gravis asked again.

"Well, I dealt with the Ancestral Gods of the destroyed Sects. I accepted three of them for a lot of money, but I didn't directly hand the money to the Myriad Sect."

Gravis' eyebrows rose in skepticism, but he didn't interject.

"Instead of giving the money to the Myriad Sect, I gave the money back to the Ancestral Gods and made them reach the next level in the Ancestral God Realm," Orpheus added. "I told them that the only reason I'm doing this is because of you, which is the truth. If you hadn't condensed a Sin Aura, I wouldn't have given them their money back."

Gravis' eyes shone in recognition.

So that's how Orpheus managed to repay so much of Gravis' debt.

The Ancestral Gods had probably paid a couple billion God Stones, and by making them reach the next Realm, Orpheus would gain credit for their advancement in the form of Karmic Luck.

However, Orpheus had credited the entirety of the Karmic Luck to Gravis.

In short, Gravis had received Karmic Luck equivalent to a couple Ancestral Gods reaching the next level.

It was like a couple of Gravis' disciples had advanced to the Ancestral God Realm.

'No wonder,' Gravis thought.

"And you wanted to keep that hidden?" Gravis asked.

Orpheus nodded. "I even made them sign a contract, which states that they are forbidden from telling the truth about their advancement."

"Can I see the contract?" Gravis asked.

Orpheus' expression turned into a bitter smile.

Gravis wanting to see the contract meant that he still didn't fully trust Orpheus' sincerity.

However, Orpheus handed over the contract, and Gravis looked over it.

After reading through it, Gravis nodded to Mortis. "It's real," he said to Mortis.

Mortis frowned in uncertainty.

He wasn't sure how he should feel right now.

Some seconds of silence passed.

Then, Gravis groaned loudly as he violently scratched the back of his head in frustration.

"How am I supposed to be angry at you now!?" Gravis asked in exasperation. "How am I supposed to think about your conduct in the past when you've done so much for me?"

Orpheus only smiled bitterly. "I'm sorry, but I don't want to lose either of you."

Gravis groaned again as he waved his hands dismissively. "Fine. Fine!"

"You wanna be my brother? Fine! You won! Hope you're happy!" Gravis shouted with annoyance.

Orpheus smiled brightly and laughed loudly.

After a while, Gravis also stopped acting like a child and laughed alongside him.

"In actuality, I missed you, Orpheus," Gravis said. "I just haven't been certain of when I should talk with you."

Orpheus came closer and smiled at Gravis. "So, can your big brother have a hug?" he asked.

"Sure," Gravis said.

Then, the two brothers embraced for the first time in forever.

All the bad things were forgotten.

They parted after a couple of seconds, and both of them looked at Mortis.

Gravis wasn't certain how Mortis would react.

Mortis slowly lifted his gaze and looked evenly into Orpheus' eyes.

"It's less what I think and more what my lightning thinks," Mortis said. "The last time we met, you were so very close to becoming my enemy. Only a tiny bit more, and my lightning would have demanded your life."

Orpheus knew that. He knew how lightning could be.

"Even without your help, we now know that Gravis would have survived. Surviving another 5,000 years was an uncertainty, but surviving 3,000 years shouldn't have been a problem. At that point, the Myriad Sect and our own efforts would have already dealt with the Sin Aura."

"So, while you gave your best, your actions didn't have as much of an impact as you might have believed," Mortis added.

Orpheus' smile weakened when he heard these words.

"However, you have done enough to appease the hatred in us," Mortis said. "With that, you no longer are an enemy."

Orpheus sighed. "Well, at least that's something, right?"

Mortis didn't immediately answer.

"And then, you saved our life by killing Eve," Mortis added. "That should have a comparable value to your earlier action, and I think that's enough."

"I'll consider you my brother again from today onward," Mortis said evenly.

Orpheus' face brightened into a smile.

"I'm not the hugging kind," Mortis said as he looked at Orpheus with narrowed eyes.

"Oh, okay," Orpheus said.

WHOOSH!

Suddenly, Mortis disappeared, and behind him, a shocked Gravis stood.

Gravis had just attempted to kick Mortis to Orpheus, but Mortis had made himself intangible.

Mortis appeared beside Gravis.

"You can't force me to hug him," Mortis commented.

Chapter 1134 - 1134 – Price

Gravis lowered his leg awkwardly and looked to the side in embarrassment.

"I don't mind," Orpheus said to Gravis. "I know Mortis, and I know that his words are true. I'm just happy that I can count both of you as my little brothers again."

Gravis and Mortis nodded.

"I bet you want to meet your friends again, right?" Orpheus said. "I'll leave you to it. If you want to talk, simply tell me."

Gravis nodded with a smile. "Thanks, Orpheus."

Orpheus only teleported away with a smile.

Then, Gravis and Mortis only looked at the Myriad Sect from afar.

Mortis didn't show it, but he also considered all of Gravis' friends as his friends.

If one didn't know Mortis, one would think that Mortis looked at the Myriad Sect like it was just some random stone, but a deep feeling of belonging could be seen in Mortis' cold eyes.

Gravis knew how important the Myriad Sect was to Mortis.

"Let's go," Gravis said.

Mortis nodded.

Then, the two of them teleported to the Myriad Sect, and when they arrived in front of the Sect, there was only silence.

The people of the Myriad Sect looked at Gravis and Mortis with relief.

Finally, this crazy war could end.

Enough people had died during this war, and the survival of Gravis meant that they could finally relax.

So many disciples had died, and so many other disciples had comprehended several new Laws in their battles.

The average power of disciples in the Myriad Sect had violently soared.

Gravis only looked at the Myriad Sect with a peaceful smile.

"I'm back," he said quietly.

As soon as Gravis finished these two words, the Sect exploded into a loud cheer.

However, it was uncertain if they were cheering for him or for the end of the war. Probably for both.

SHING!

Someone appeared in front of Gravis and jumped into his arms.

Gravis immediately knew who it was, and he hugged the person back with all of his love.

"I'm sorry, Stella," he said.

Stella was only crying.

She wasn't only crying out of happiness.

Gravis knew Stella, and he could immediately feel her feelings.

Stella was elated that Gravis survived, but there was also a deep pain inside her.

She had lost something dear to her.

Gravis immediately knew how much Stella had gone through just by looking at her.

Stella was a level three Star God with a Will-Aura equivalent to a level eight Star God.

The growth of her Realm wasn't surprising, but the growth of her Will-Aura was.

Stella had put her life on the line more than once during Gravis' absence.

Stella only quietly cried in Gravis' arms as Gravis hugged her.

"I'm sorry I worried you that much. I won't do it again," Gravis said softly.

Stella didn't answer.

She only held Gravis dearly as she cried.

One could only hear the cheering of the Myriad Sect. Stella's crying was swallowed by the celebration of the Myriad Sect.

When Mortis saw Stella, a dark light shone in his eyes, but he didn't say anything.

He only inspected the Myriad Sect with his Spirit Sense and took note of all the Auras.

"I'm glad you survived," Manuel said with a voice transmission. He didn't want to stand beside Gravis while Stella was crying in his arms since that would be a bit awkward.

"I did thanks to you," Gravis transmitted back. "I thought that I had to get through this crisis all on my own, but the Myriad Sect has actually dealt with around 30% of my debt, which is more than I had accomplished up to now."

"I know that we did a lot, but you don't have to talk down your own accomplishments," Manuel answered. "Over 100,000 Peak Immortal Emperors have already joined us, saying that they came from a Gravitas Sect."

Gravis only smiled lightly. "That's not even 5%," Gravis transmitted. "You will get millions upon millions of Peak Immortal Emperors in the next millennia. I hope you're ready to accept them."

Manuel was deeply shocked. He knew that Gravis had done a lot, but so much!?

It was already shocking that one Star God could raise 100,000 Peak Immortal Emperors in only 15,000 years, but Gravis was talking about several million!?

That was absolute insanity!

However, Manuel's shock was replaced with elation.

A lot of their Peak Immortal Emperors had died in the wars, and these new recruits would secure the future of the Myriad Sect.

Every Peak Immortal Emperor was a potential future Star God!

The Shining Purity Sect had already had an insanely high number of Peak Immortal Emperors, but they would get even more!?

The Myriad Sect could block several more level one Star Gods with all of them.

In just 15,000 years, the Myriad Sect had transformed from a newcomer to one of the favorites in the surroundings.

The remaining Sects in their surroundings even started to band together to deal with the Myriad Sect.

"I'm glad to hear that," Manuel said. "However, to a certain degree, I'm also not glad to hear that."

"Why?" Gravis asked.

"Because I thought I was able to repay you for your kindness over the years, but now, our actions seem incomparable to the gift you have given us this time."

"Don't say that," Gravis immediately transmitted. "Without you, I would have most likely died. These new recruits can't repay your deeds."

Surprisingly, Manuel didn't immediately answer.

"In a way, I think you're right," Manuel answered.

When Gravis heard Manuel's tone, nervousness rose inside his chest.

Gravis had expected Manuel to say several more humble statements, but Manuel had pulled back.

Did this mean that the Myriad Sect had paid more than Gravis had thought?

Gravis looked at Stella.

Stella was still crying.

Her emotions were in absolute turmoil.

Gravis knew that this was not normal. Usually, Stella should have already calmed down, but she hadn't.

"Stella, what's going on?"

Stella looked at Gravis with a heartbroken expression.

"So many of our friends have died," Stella said with difficulty.

A cold shudder ran down Gravis' back.

Mortis had already turned his eyes away.

"So many of our friends have died, and Liam… and Liam," Stella said.

Gravis' eyes widened.

"Liam was one of them!"

Chapter 1135 - 1135 – Death

Gravis was inside a dark room below the Myriad Sect. No light reached this room, but the grass still grew here.

The room was very long, and several small columns were placed inside the room. On top of every column was an emblem, which released a peaceful, white glow.

Every emblem represented one person that had given their life for the Myriad Sect.

Gravis was in front of the biggest column, and he looked with forlorn eyes at the emblem on top of it.

Heart Seeker

Vice-Sect Master of the Myriad Sect

Died in the war with the All-Metal Sect

This was Liam's grave.

Liam had chosen the title Heart Seeker since he felt like this title reflected himself the most. The original meaning behind the title was his wish to reach his sister's power, but after that, it transformed.

In the end, it had been about searching for true love.

Sadly, Liam would never find his heart.

Only silence filled the room as Gravis and Mortis silently looked at Liam's grave. Memories of their past with Liam filled their minds.

The moment Liam had tried to interfere in the fight between Gravis and Stella, even if that meant his death.

The moment Liam had decided to help Gravis to allow Stella to comprehend the Law of Freedom.

The time Liam had worked in the Gravitas in the higher world.

The moment Liam had decided to leave Gravis and Stella to become more powerful.

The time Liam had spent with Stella in the Purist Sect.

Liam's incredible power in the battle between Gravis' friends.

The moment Liam decided to search for his own love.

Liam had rarely been the decision-maker, but he had always been there. He had always supported Stella, and by extension, Gravis.

No one in the Myriad Sect had believed Liam to be unworthy of his position as Vice-Sect Master.

He had been powerful, charismatic, and helpful.

Back when Gravis had evaluated all of his friends, he had believed that Liam would become a Divine God in the future. On top of that, Liam's Battle-Strength had always been powerful.

He definitely wasn't one of the weak Star Gods.

Sadly, Liam's time was up.

He had fought against a very powerful disciple of the All-Metal Sect, but the enemy had just been more powerful than him.

That was it.

There was no trickery.

There was no heroic sacrifice.

The enemy disciple hadn't even been the most powerful of the Sect.

There were no special reasons for why Liam had died.

The only reason was that Liam was weaker.

That's it.

Gravis released a shaky sigh.

He hadn't felt this feeling in a while, the feeling of losing one of his close ones.

'When was the last time I felt something like that?' Gravis thought. 'It was so long ago.'

'I'm partly responsible,' Gravis thought. 'If I hadn't been so careless, the Myriad Sect wouldn't have needed to jump this violently into war. They had just gone through a war, and they needed time to comprehend Laws again.'

'Yet, my carelessness forced them into war again.'

After a while, Gravis slowly stood up as he walked to the next emblem.

The column that held the emblem was of similar height to Liam's column, but it stood apart from nearly all of the columns.

This column represented a special position, one outside the normal hierarchy.

Wise Ape

Oracle of the Myriad Sect

Died in the war against the Storm Brand Sect

This was Styr's grave.

Styr had fought with one of the most powerful Peak Immortal Emperors. Yet, when his enemy had suddenly comprehended a level seven Law, Styr had died.

Styr hadn't had enough time to learn enough about a level seven Law to comprehend it.

The war came too soon.

Memories of his time with Styr filled Gravis.

The time the Red King had unveiled that Gravis could kill Styr with a thought and how Styr hadn't even minded. Styr had simply said that all of this was too complicated and that Gravis shouldn't be that tense.

The time Styr had made fun of Gravis' naming sense, which made Gravis realize that his naming sense sucked.

The time Styr had killed that one snake, which had been a spy of the sea beasts.

The time Styr had sent the Inquisitor to keep watch over Gravis.

The time Styr had taught Gravis about how to run an Empire.

The time Styr had tempered Gravis' Will-Aura.

Styr had always been one of Gravis' weaker friends, but his mindset, experience, and personality more than made up for it.

The beasts inside the Myriad Sect had seen Styr as their connection to the humans. Styr had been the one that represented all the beasts in the Sect.

'This is also partly my fault,' Gravis thought. 'I made them go to war too early. Styr hadn't had the time to comprehend a level seven Law yet.'

Gravis took a deep breath to deal with his emotions.

He knew that he was partly responsible for these deaths, but he wouldn't break down.

Yes, it hurt immensely to see the death of his friends, but he wasn't a kid anymore.

He could deal with these things.

Gravis slowly stood up and went to the next column.

The size of the column indicated that the person lying here was an Elder, and the placement of it indicated that the Elder had been responsible for recruitment.

Life Mother

Recruitment Elder of the Myriad Sect

Died in the war against the Storm Brand Sect

This was Sary's grave.

Sary had been one of the weakest of Gravis' friends, but her unique charm had made her popular amongst everyone. With her abilities, she had been able to gather an incredible number of Peak Immortal Emperors.

Out of nearly all of Gravis' friends, Gravis' interactions with Sary were probably one of the fewest in number.

Gravis had only talked to Sary briefly in the middle world.

Back then, Azure had introduced Gravis to Sary, and Sary had tried to hit on Gravis immediately.

After that, Gravis had said some careless words, and Sary had immediately fought against the sea beasts.

Lastly, she had thrown a wink at Gravis before ascending.

After that, Sary hadn't had many interactions with Gravis. She had seen that Gravis already had a partner, and she kept herself in the background.

However, even if Sary hadn't interacted with Gravis a lot, Gravis had still seen her life through Samsara, just like with all of his friends.

Sary had been one of the brightest lights in the Myriad Sect, not due to her power but due to her personality and likable character.

Sadly, she had died against another Peak Immortal Emperor.

Styr's death could be attributed to the sudden breakthrough of his opponent, but Liam's and Sary's deaths couldn't be attributed to anything.

They had simply been weaker.

Sadly, even though Sary had amazing qualities, these amazing qualities were not as important as power in this Cosmos.

In a sense, the Black Magnate was right when he had said that power was everything.

Gravis sighed as he slowly stood up again.

Gravis looked around the hall and went to the next grave.

He was only halfway done.

Chapter 1136 - 1136 – Everyone Will Die One Day

Gravis went to the next Emblem.

This one was also amongst the Elders.

Stormy Horizon

Gathering Elder of the Myriad Sect

Died in the war against the Storm Brand Sect

When Gravis saw this grave, another wave of pain hit him.

It was Skye's grave.

Gravis' mind was filled with memories of Skye.

The time the two of them had met. Back then, Gravis had only wanted to try his new power by fighting an Energy Beast, but then, the Lightning Guild and Fire Guild had attacked.

The two of them had fought against the enemies together, and they had eventually won.

The time Skye's parent had returned and how Skye had protected Gravis from her parent's wrath.

The time Skye had decided to follow Gravis.

She had been Gravis' first real friend.

She had been the one that allowed Gravis to feel some form of happiness in the lower world.

The time the two of them had fled from the ambush of the Lightning Guild in front of the Heaven Sect. Skye had nearly died back then.

The time Skye and Gravis had visited the Wind Guild because of Wendy. Skye's parent had also been there.

The time Skye and Gravis had fled from the Heaven Sect.

The time Skye and Gravis had fought against the disciples of the Fire Guild.

The time Gravis had to leave Skye. Leaving Skye had been the only correct choice since she had been growing more powerful without fighting herself.

That was a painful memory.

The time Gravis had seen the corpse of Skye's parent, knowing that Skye was now completely alone in the world.

The time Gravis had met Skye again after he had killed the lower Heaven.

Back then, Gravis had been devastated by the uncountable lives he had taken by taking his revenge on the lower Heaven.

Yet, Skye had accepted Gravis for who he was.

There had been no judgment.

The time Gravis had spent four Immortal Stones to allow Skye to enter a different middle world.

The time Gravis had heard from his father that Skye had comprehended the Law of Freedom, just like himself. Gravis had felt that the two of them were truly kindred spirits.

Skye had managed to reach the highest world all on her own. She wasn't part of the group of the lower world or the middle world.

She had been completely alone, and she had managed to reach this point.

She had been born from an Energy Beast in a lower world.

Yet, she had nearly managed to become a Star God.

But now, she had died.

Skye had also died against the Storm Brand Sect. Judging by the casualties, that war had been one of the most brutal ones.

Skye had rampaged through the Peak Immortal Emperors, her speed and offense unhindered by the Formation Arrays, Will-Auras, and different Laws with suppressive effects.

One of the Star Gods had noticed that Skye was slowly turning the tide of the war in the Peak Immortal Emperor Realm nearly all on her own, and they had realized that she had to die.

The Star God had killed Skye.

However, the distraction had allowed Azure and her legion to kill the Star God.

Skye's death had happened because she had been too outstanding, and her death had saved an uncountable number of lives. When Skye had died, the Peak Immortal Emperor Realm part of the war had stabilized again, but the death of her attacker had resulted in the collapse of the Star God part of the war, which spelled victory for the Myriad Sect.

Gravis could only sigh heavily.

'Sleep well, big sister,' Gravis thought with a sad smile.

Gravis slowly stood up again and went to the next Emblem.

This one had been placed amongst the uncountable graves of the normal disciples.

Lightning Calamity

Core Disciple of the Myriad Sect

Died in the war against the Storm Brand Sect

Gravis was surprised to see the grave of this person here.

It was Yi Lu's grave.

He had taken Gravis' old title from the lower world for himself.

Yi Lu had joined the Myriad Sect after his last battle. He had believed that this was only natural. After all, Gravis was his master.

Gravis had never truly accepted Yi Lu as his disciple, but Yi Lu had always tried to help him.

His appearance and actions had been ridiculous back then, but his intentions had been pure.

Yi Lu had seen how powerful the enemies had been, and he had still been willing to protect Gravis from all of them.

He had been willing to put himself in front of danger to protect Gravis.

He had even attacked a Star God.

Yi Lu had died similarly to Skye, but due to a different reason.

A Star God had targeted Skye due to her danger to the enemy's Peak Immortal Emperors.

Yet, Yi Lu had directly attacked a Star God with his form of Mortality.

The Star God had blocked Yi Lu's Mortality and had directly killed Yi Lu, but that had created an opening, which allowed Liam to kill the Star God. This gave the Myriad Sect enough time to survive until Skye had broken the equilibrium.

Liam had still been alive in that war since the war against the Storm Brand Sect had happened before the war against the All-Metal Sect.

Yi Lu had had a significant impact on that war, and he had given his life.

His sacrifice had saved uncountable lives.

'I'm proud to have had such an outstanding disciple, Yi Lu,' Gravis thought. 'You have only been a random mortal, and I have only given you my memories of the lower world. Yet, you managed to reach the highest world.'

'I have only helped you during your start, and you've achieved everything else on your own.'

Gravis sighed and stood up.

Then, he walked to the last Emblem.

It was placed outside the Myriad Sect, in a place that represented Exar's organization.

Shadow Hunter

Ally of the Myriad Sect

Died in the war against the Starburst Sect

When Gravis saw that grave, he furrowed his brows.

'Was the Black Magnate right? Does resurrecting someone actually make them weaker?' Gravis thought.

It was Siral's grave.

Siral had attempted to assassinate a Star God during the war, but the Star God had managed to block the assassination.

Then, Siral had run away to buy time for everyone else while the Star God tried to kill him. Siral had learned from Dorian how to run away, and he had managed to buy a couple of seconds for everyone.

These couple of seconds of delay had saved uncountable lives. The Myriad Sect had had fewer Star Gods than the Starburst Sect, and if Siral hadn't bought several seconds, the Star God would have killed thousands upon thousands of Peak Immortal Emperors. He might have even killed another Star God.

Siral hadn't killed anyone in that war, but his contributions in that war were unparalleled.

Gravis remembered how he had met Siral.

Back then, Siral had tried to assassinate Gravis, and Gravis had decided to spare his life.

Then, Siral had followed Gravis under the influence of the Life Ring.

Then, when Siral had been freed of the effects of the Life Ring, he had decided to remain Gravis' friend.

Siral had joined Underworld and had kept Gravis informed about everything.

Siral had also been the only one of Gravis' friends that had died to Gravis' Samsara.

This had allowed Siral to survive for another 50,000 years.

Sadly, he hadn't been able to undergo his second Samsara due to his mindset. He had been working on it, but there was still a lot that had to be done.

'You were a great companion, Siral. Sadly, you have chosen the wrong path in your life. This was as far as I could take you,' Gravis thought.

Gravis slowly stood up and looked at the hall again.

There were thousands of Emblems, all representing a dead member of the Myriad Sect, but these had been the most relevant to Gravis.

Six of his friends had died.

This had been the biggest number so far.

Gravis took a deep breath.

'Death comes for us all one day,' Gravis thought. 'Father is not an exception. Orthar is not an exception. Stella is not an exception. I'm not an exception.'

'I will also lie here one day.'

'Will I still have friends or a family by the time this happens who will grieve for me, or will I be alone?'

Silence.

'I don't know.'

Gravis remained in the hall for another 30 minutes, just thinking about his friends.

Then, he left the hall with Mortis.

Mortis had only silently looked at everything, just like Gravis.

However, Gravis knew that Mortis was in just as much pain as Gravis.

These people had also been Mortis' friends.

"Done crying? I need to talk to Mortis!"

Gravis' rage exploded as he noticed Joyce in front of him.

Mortis narrowed his eyes.

Chapter 1137 - 1137 – Friction

Gravis had just been in a pretty depressed mood, and then Joyce just had to come up and leave that comment.

"Listen," Gravis said with a heavy voice and annoyed expression. "I know that you have issues, but keep your issues to yourself while others are in a bad headspace. You only make enemies by acting like this."

Joyce only sneered. "Making enemies? Since when are Cultivators afraid of making enemies? In comparison to you, I'm not afraid of making enemies. Enemies only make me more powerful."

"And how has that worked out for you up to now?" Gravis asked. "You only just reached the Star God Realm. Everyone else is more powerful than you, and they also don't act like insensitive assholes."

Joyce immediately gritted her teeth. Gravis had hit her weak point. "Insensitive? Listen to your own words. We kill others to become more powerful, and you complain about someone being insensitive."

"Additionally, you don't even have the right to feel bad. All of these people died because of your stupidity! You were the one that decided to do something idiotic, and everyone else paid the price for it," Joyce said with a cold smirk.

"You're right," Gravis said coldly.

Joyce's smirk vanished.

"I am partly at fault for all these deaths. However, I have never forced them into battle. I have never forced them into war. I haven't even asked for their help except for some God Stones."

"All of these people had taken on these dangers out of their own free will. The Myriad Sect doesn't forbid people from leaving the Sect or not fighting in a war. Yet, all of them were willing to put their lives on the line for me."

"They are my friends, and I'm privileged to have them. I would also do the same for them!"

"Also, don't forget that you have also fought for the Myriad Sect. I also see you as a friend, even if your intention was not to save me. So, stop spouting this bullshit before you lose your last friend in this world."

Joyce's emotions were going wild. She could feel nervousness, rage, hatred, and frustration.

"Last friend? Who needs friends!" Joyce said with a snort. "Friends only make you weak! You can only rely on yourself to the path of power! If someone stronger than you attacks you, you can only rely on your own power!"

"To a certain degree, you're right," Gravis added emotionlessly. "However, that's exactly why people band together and form Sects. They stand together because they can't remain safe alone. If someone stronger than you attacks you, you will die, but having a backing will dissuade these people from attacking you."

"The life of a Cultivator isn't only fighting, Joyce," Gravis said. "We also need peace to comprehend Laws. We need others for our equipment and resources. Throwing your friends and the help of others away for some stupid purity on your path to power is not brave. It's just stupid. I've learned that."

Gravis' words hit Joyce where it hurt. She even felt a tinge of regret inside of herself.

Yet, that little bit of regret was stomped out by an avalanche of hatred and anger.

"You're really a hypocrite," Joyce said with a snort.

Gravis had just wanted to walk past her, but he stopped and turned around.

"You say backing is important? Why is it important in your mind?" Joyce said with a cold smirk. "Isn't it because you just so happen to have the strongest backing in the Cosmos?"

"You have the strongest backing, and you say backing is important. To me, it simply sounds like you're relying on your backing to deal with all of your problems. You use your backing as your shield and your weapon."

"What's the difference between you and that one Ancestral God that just died outside our Sect?"

Gravis walked up to Joyce and looked deep into her eyes.

Joyce became anxious, but her demeanor didn't falter.

However, surprisingly, Gravis didn't even appear that angry.

"You don't even believe these words yourself," Gravis said slowly. "You know that your words are empty. If you know it, and I know it, what's the point of even saying them?"

Joyce hadn't expected such an answer.

She had expected Gravis to become angry, but he hadn't gotten angry.

"You said these things, knowing fully well that they are a pathetic attempt in riling me up," Gravis said calmly. "It's not a good attack. It's not a good manipulation tactic."

"It's just you grasping for straws. Why? Because you're helpless in actually doing anything to me."

"You're weak."

Joyce's rage exploded, but she somehow couldn't muster the courage to attack Gravis right now.

"And you know what? The thing you just talked about has happened. You just managed to make someone stronger than you attack you. Yet, since you have a relationship with that person and since you are a member of the Myriad Sect, your attacker won't attack you."

"If you were someone unaffiliated to me, you would have already died by my hand," Gravis said slowly.

"When you try to call me weak-willed and too emotional again in the future, Joyce, keep one thing in mind."

Gravis only emotionlessly looked into Joyce's eyes.

"Even in the lower world, I have killed far more living beings than you have killed in your entire life, and the living beings I killed in the lower world aren't even numerous enough to be relevant for how many I have killed after that."

After saying that, Gravis turned around and left.

Mortis only watched the two of them neutrally.

When Gravis' eyes left Joyce's eyes, something inside her broke.

Joyce took out her saber as uncontainable wrath exploded in her being. All her control left her body as she slashed at Gravis.

Joyce activated all her Laws as she attacked Gravis with her full power.

This was a genuine attack aimed to kill Gravis.

Mortis didn't react.

When Joyce unleashed her attack, Gravis simply turned around.

BANG!

Heavenly Lightning exploded on Joyce's saber, breaking it into many pieces.

PACK!

Gravis' hand grabbed Joyce by her throat as he pulled her closer. His Will-Aura made it impossible for her to move.

Joyce tried to do her best to fight against Gravis' Will-Aura, but she couldn't do anything.

She was helpless.

Gravis only coldly looked at her as she fought against Gravis' suppression.

This continued for nearly a full minute.

There was only silence in the hallway since Joyce couldn't even make a sound.

After a minute, Joyce managed to regain control of herself.

Gravis looked into her eyes, and he could perceive part of her emotions. She was a Star God now, which made it impossible for Gravis to see through all of her Law fragments, but he could still discern a lot.

There was no regret.

There was only disdain.

In Joyce's mind, Gravis didn't have the guts to kill her.

In her eyes, Gravis was just as pathetic as he had always been.

Gravis calmly blinked once.

"Let's see if someone is willing to save you," Gravis said with an emotionless tone.

Then, Gravis clenched his hand.

Joyce's head was squeezed off, and it fell beside her body.

Joyce's mind filled with horror and terror as she realized that her Spirit and Life Energy were quickly vanishing into nothingness!

She was dying!

Gravis turned around and walked away, leaving Joyce to die.

She wouldn't be able to survive on her own, and Gravis wouldn't save her.

Someone else had to save her.

Chapter 1138 - 1138 – Fallout

Joyce was dying.

There was no more hatred or anger in Joyce's mind, only fear of death.

No one wanted to die!

The very reason why Cultivators wanted to become stronger was that they didn't want to die!

Joyce was no exception.

Gravis was no exception.

Mortis was no exception.

Mortis looked at Joyce's head with furrowed brows.

Joyce's eyes looked at Mortis with fear.

Silence.

Mortis sighed.

Mortis gathered his Soul and Life Laws.

Joyce felt her Spirit recovering.

Her body was regrowing.

A couple seconds later, Joyce had received a new body, and her Spirit was no longer leaving her.

For a while, Joyce only lied on the ground, shock written on her face.

She had nearly died!

Joyce couldn't formulate any thoughts for a full minute.

Her mind was in disarray, and she had never been so close to death.

If Mortis hadn't saved her, she would have died.

Even worse, Joyce had felt the Spirit Sense of at least a hundred other Cultivators inspecting her when she had been dying.

They had only looked on as she was dying.

No one had appeared in front of her.

Joyce felt hurt, betrayed, angry, afraid, and many different things.

She didn't even know what she was feeling right now.

She only knew that she hated feeling like this.

"Take this as a parting gift," Mortis said slowly.

Joyce looked at Mortis.

"I thought long about our situation, and I decided that I don't want to be with you," Mortis said calmly. "Being with you doesn't make me happy, only miserable."

"I wish you luck in finding someone else," Mortis said.

Mortis walked away under Joyce's shocked gaze.

Mortis was breaking up with her!?

Why!?

They had been perfect together!

Mortis had been the perfect man in her mind!

Everything in their relationship had been perfect!

Why would Mortis suddenly break up with her!?

"You're weak!" Joyce suddenly shouted in rage as she stood up. "I don't make you happy!? Is it because you can't handle a strong woman!? Is your confidence so small that you can't feel like a man so long as a woman doesn't just fall down in front of you to suck your dick!?"

"Well, I'm not such a weak-willed pussy! I have power and a strong mindset!"

Mortis sighed again as he turned to look at Joyce.

When Joyce saw Mortis' eyes, her being shook.

Those eyes were filled with pity and sadness.

"Then, why can't I see it?" Mortis asked with a sad voice.

SHING!

Mortis teleported away.

He didn't want to stay near Joyce right now.

Joyce's mind was going through the greatest upheaval ever since she was born, and she had completely lost her ability to create rational thoughts.

She gritted her teeth, pulled at her hair, and looked around in confusion.

It was like this wasn't reality!

Nothing made sense anymore!

What was going on!?

SHING!

Joyce felt a teleportation and looked over. Mortis had to have come back!

Yet, the person in front of Joyce wasn't Mortis.

It was Manuel.

Manuel looked at Joyce with cold eyes that hid a deep regret.

"I once said that the next time you try to kill someone of our Sect, I will banish you," Manuel said with a cold and reprimanding tone.

These words had hit Joyce like a sledgehammer, and her mind lost all sense of rationality again.

SHING!

Joyce's emblems and Formation Arrays left her Spirit Space out of their own volition. The Sect Master had control over all these things, and he could summon them even if they were in someone else's Spirit Space.

Manuel put them away.

"You are no longer a member of the Myriad Sect. You have ten minutes to leave the Sect. If you ever return, you will be treated as a member of a different Sect."

"Goodbye, Joyce. I hope you can deal with your issues," Manuel said.

SHING!

And then, Manuel teleported away again.

Joyce remained unmoving for two full minutes.

Her mind had received one hit after the other today.

Her entire world was breaking down!

Then, all her emotions gathered and transformed into pure rage.

"That weak-willed kid isn't even part of our Sect!" Joyce transmitted to Manuel. "I haven't broken any rules!"

"Not part of our Sect?" Manuel repeated calmly. "Don't play this political game. You know exactly that the Myriad Sect exists because of Gravis. If he isn't part of the Myriad Sect, nobody is."

Joyce's anger exploded once again.

This was so unfair!

This hypocritical Sect!

They were protecting an outsider while dooming their very own commander!

Joyce punched the side of the hallway.

Yet, her punch had been halted by a powerful force.

The Ancestor of the Myriad Sect had gotten involved. If Joyce had punched the walls like this, a gigantic part of the Myriad Sect would have been destroyed, and many Immortal Emperors would have died.

The power of a Star God couldn't easily be unleashed.

Orpheus's Spirit pulled Joyce out of the hallway, and Joyce was pulled into the sky above the Sect.

BANG!

And then, she was thrown into the distance.

Joyce couldn't stop her fall, and she destroyed kilometers of land as her body was stopped by the earth.

For a moment, Joyce could only look at the shining sun above her as she lay on the ground.

Joyce didn't move for another minute.

Eventually, she slowly stood up and dusted herself off.

Her movements were surprisingly calm and orderly.

It was like all her rage had left her.

Joyce calmly looked back at the Myriad Sect and turned around.

There was no rage in her eyes.

All her rage left her, but what replaced them was something different.

Hatred.

It was pure hatred.

Many people thought rage and hatred to be the same thing, but they were actually very different.

Rage was hot. It was like the emotions and mind of a being started to boil into a chaotic mess that wanted to destroy everything around them.

Yet, hatred was the opposite.

Hatred was cold. All the emotions and the mind of a being gathered together with only one goal in mind.

Vengeance!

Rage was trying to destroy everything blindly.

Hatred was trying to destroy a very specific thing with calm planning and determination.

Joyce was no longer just lashing out.

No, her plan was now to destroy the Myriad Sect.

These idiotic weaklings had abandoned her after she had done so much for them.

The Myriad Sect was ungrateful, and they were only interested in appeasing Gravis.

They obviously had never cared for her, and she should have seen that earlier.

They had used her, and as soon as their tool had shown that she was actually a person and not a tool, they had decided to abandon her!

They only wanted to create an army of mindless zombies that followed their orders and ideology!

Such a Sect didn't deserve to exist!

Several people in the Myriad Sect noticed Joyce's cold eyes, and they knew what this meant.

Gravis put his hand on Mortis' shoulder.

"It's not your responsibility," Gravis said calmly.

Mortis' body stopped shaking, and he calmed down.

Manuel took a deep breath with closed eyes.

SHING!

In the distance, Joyce's eyes opened as an unstoppable force neared her.

A moment later, Joyce fell into two pieces.

Manuel had destroyed her Spirit by bisecting her vertically.

The Myriad Sect had been willing to allow Joyce to leave due to her many years of hard work, but the hatred in her eyes had betrayed her actual goal.

Joyce wouldn't peacefully leave.

She would do everything in her power to destroy the Myriad Sect.

Leaving someone like that alive was putting the disciples' lives unnecessarily at risk.

They couldn't keep someone like that alive.

The reason why Mortis' body had shaken was that he had intended to do the job himself.

Mortis had realized that he had been partially at fault for Joyce's meltdown, and he wanted to take responsibility by killing her himself.

However, Joyce had been part of the Myriad Sect, and it was the job of the Sect Master to deal with disciples that wanted to damage the Sect.

Manuel usually always had a lighthearted smile on his face, similar to Arc.

But now, the smile was nowhere to be seen.

Instead, only a dark shadow could be seen on his face.

He had known Joyce for nearly his entire life, and they had worked together during all of these years.

And now, Manuel had killed her.

Even if Joyce had to die for her actions, it still wasn't easy for Manuel.

Yet, this was the job of a Sect Master.

The job didn't only have benefits.

It also carried the heavy weight of responsibility.

Chapter 1139 - 1139 – Peace?

Gravis wasn't sure how he should feel right now.

Joyce had definitely become someone that couldn't be saved anymore, and her actions were more than enough to kill her.

Yet, Gravis just couldn't forget the young girl he had met back then.

Joyce had traveled the lower world to hand out gifts for eventual repayment.

When Gravis had met Joyce again in her Clan, their start had been rough, but Joyce had even managed to convince Gravis somewhat that he was running away from his emotions.

Joyce had been a very kind girl back then, and she even had issues accepting when anyone died in front of her. She saw these deaths as unnecessary.

However, this was exactly one of the things that had drawn Gravis to her.

Gravis had been in a dark place back then, and he had acted like a cynical teenager. He had constantly told everyone how difficult he had it and how many bad things had happened to him.

In a sense, Joyce had been a pure and innocent light in a world of oppressive darkness for Gravis. Joyce had had something that Gravis had lost.

They had even promised each other that they would be together when they reached the highest world.

Sadly, they had both changed severely, and they were no longer compatible.

Mortis shared these same memories, and maybe that was also one of the reasons why he was even attracted to Joyce.

If Joyce and Mortis hadn't met each other before, they might not have ended up together. They weren't even truly that compatible.

'Maybe her extreme purity back then resulted in her becoming the other extreme,' Gravis thought with a sigh. 'Her innocence couldn't possibly have survived until now, even if she tried to preserve it.'

Joyce's death made Gravis think, but he didn't have any great emotional reaction to her death.

It was like Gravis had long accepted that Joyce would eventually die like this.

Because of that, Gravis' mind quickly went back to the deaths of his other friends.

Liam, Styr, Sary, Skye, Yi Lu, Siral.

All of them were gone.

"You shouldn't feel guilty, dad," Aris said from beside Gravis. "They made their choice, and they had known about the danger."

"But it has only been a chance," Gravis said while looking at Joyce's corpse in the distance. "Everyone believes that they won't die. After all, it hasn't happened before. We know in our minds that we can die, but our emotions don't truly accept that possibility."

"We've had so many close brushes with death that it has become normal. Being close to death is so normal that it doesn't feel as dangerous anymore. We've gone through it numerous times, and we have always managed to survive."

"Would they have fought if they knew that they would certainly die?"

Aris didn't answer.

"Our main priority is survival and power," Gravis added. "I have no problems with risking my life for any of you, but if I had to sacrifice my life, I don't know if I could do that for anyone, including you and Stella."

Gravis looked at Aris.

"Tell me, would you sacrifice your life for me?" Gravis asked.

Aris sighed and shook his head.

For some reason, Aris felt guilty when he gave his answer.

Gravis noticed and put his hand on Aris' shoulder. "Don't feel guilty. We are Cultivators, and we chase power so that we can survive. I don't want you to sacrifice your life for me. There is nothing to feel guilty about."

"Mortals might not understand, but it is different for us Cultivators. We've gone through so much pain and have lived for so long that we can't give up now. The more we survive, the more we have invested. Surviving has reached an unfathomable level of importance to us."

"The only Cultivators that can sacrifice their lives for someone else are the ones that have given up on the path to power," Gravis explained.

Aris listened to Gravis' words, and his guilt vanished.

He shouldn't feel guilty for feeling exactly like everyone else was feeling.

Ten seconds of silence passed in which Aris was only thinking about Gravis' words.

"How come, even though our age difference is negligible by now, you are still able to teach me such things?" Aris asked with a slight smile.

Gravis also smiled slightly. "Teaching isn't necessarily a superior instructing someone inferior. A Forger can teach an Alchemist about forging, and an Alchemist can teach a Forger about alchemy."

"Everyone went through different things in their lives, and they learned different lessons. In our case, I just know a lot about Sentience and, by extension, intelligent life itself. That is simply my specialty," Gravis explained.

"Not lightning?" Aris asked with a smirk.

Gravis laughed a bit. "I know a lot about lightning, but that mostly comes from my Spirit's disposition. If I didn't have the ability to just directly absorb Heavenly Lightning, you would know more about lightning than me. After all, you even have a level seven Battle-Law for lightning. I don't have one."

Aris was a bit surprised when he heard that, but he quickly realized that Gravis was right.

In Aris' eyes, Gravis' usage and knowledge about lightning had always been far superior to his. He still remembered how Gravis had shown Aris how to use lightning properly, and even now, Gravis knew the level nine Law of Heavenly Lightning.

However, if it weren't for that ability, Aris would be superior to Gravis right now in terms of Lightning Laws.

In a sense, Aris had overtaken Gravis in that field.

Aris had realized that he had truly grown powerful.

He had even overtaken his father in one of his strongest fields.

However, Aris also knew that this wasn't actually worth that much. In the end, Battle-Strength was the most important thing, and Aris knew that he couldn't compare to Gravis.

"What are the new positions in the Sect?" Gravis asked, changing the topic. "Liam died. Do you have a new Vice-Sect Master?"

Aris nodded. "Broad Walker," he said. "Broad Walker is still more powerful than me since he knows two level seven Laws, and he's the perfect candidate."

"Makes sense," Gravis commented.

Gravis involuntarily thought about the remaining people he knew inside the Myriad Sect.

Manuel, Dorian, Ferris, Azure, Stella, Aris, Broad Walker, Exar.

They were the remaining ones.

As Gravis thought about it, he realized that he actually still had a lot of friends left. Six had died earlier, which was a lot, but there were still eight left.

After having that thought, Gravis realized that he actually wasn't alone. Hearing about all of his friend's death had awakened dark feelings inside Gravis, but parts of these dark feelings vanished when he thought about his remaining friends.

Even more, Gravis had just recovered from his Sin Aura. His life could finally return to normal, and the Myriad Sect could slowly recover.

The long war had ended.

The Will-Auras of nearly all the disciples were a level above their Realm or more.

The hard part was over, and now, it was time to concentrate on Laws and Realm.

A long time of peace was necessary.

However, would the other Sects allow the Myriad Sect to be peaceful?

The Myriad Sect was at its weakest right now, and it needed time to recover.

Gravis looked into the distance, and a cold light shone through his eyes.

'They have suffered for me, and I won't let them suffer even more,' Gravis thought.

"Manuel," Gravis said.

"Yes?" Manuel asked. He had still been in thought about his killing of Joyce.

"Accept me into the Myriad Sect," Gravis said.

Aris' and Manuel's eyes widened in shock.

"I'll give you enough time to grow."

Chapter 1140 - 1140 – Grand Gravity Sect

There was a humongous, deep, dark hole not far away from the Myriad Sect. It was thousands of kilometers wide, and it seemingly stretched into infinity.

The hole was hundreds of thousands of kilometers deep. If a mortal fell into the hole and ignored the pressure, the mortal would die of starvation before hitting bottom.

Along the walls of the hole, many buildings could be seen. They were black, and they could be found all over the gigantic hole. Many Cultivators left one building and flew to the next one.

Every flight was difficult and dangerous due to the immense gravity.

Obviously, this was a Sect, and the Sect rules stated that every disciple had to live close to their limit when it came to gravity.

This was the Grand Gravity Sect, arguably the most powerful Sect in the area.

They had over 80 Star Gods, and several of them were in the third level.

Right now, Gravis flew towards that hole. Gravis wore the robes of the Myriad Sect, and an emblem representing the Myriad Sect could be seen on his chest.

Gravis was still a level one Star God. Normally, going to an enemy Sect as a level one Star God was suicide.

However, Gravis wasn't worried.

If the Ancestral Gods hurt Gravis, the Eternal Fire Sect would eradicate the offending Ancestral God. No Ancestral God in this place would want to make the Eternal Fire Sect their enemy.

Only those below the Ancestral God Realm would be allowed to interfere with Gravis' actions.

After coming within a million kilometers of the gigantic hole, someone came to greet Gravis.

A level two Star God appeared in front of Gravis, and he smirked at Gravis coldly.

"Seems like you got lost," the Star God said. "Sadly, you won't-"

The Star God stopped talking as Gravis simply continued flying forward leisurely.

It was like the Star God didn't even exist to Gravis.

When the Star God saw that, he snorted coldly.

Who was this arrogant level one Star God? He didn't even have an outstanding Battle-Strength, and he felt extremely average.

The Star God activated his Will-Aura and tried to suppress Gravis.

However, the Star God's eyes opened wide in shock when Gravis simply continued as if nothing had happened.

By now, Gravis had passed the Star God as he continued flying towards the hole.

The Star God exploded with anger and pulled out his sword. He had wanted to keep the invader at his peak so that one of their Star Gods could temper themselves against him, but that guy had infuriated him!

The Star God unleashed the Law of his Star, the level seven Battle Law of Gravity's Pull!

The gravity around Gravis intensified.

Yet, Gravis only continued flying forward.

The Law of Gravity counted as a suppressive Law, and Gravis' Law of Freedom had the power of a level eight Law right now.

The mind of the Star God stopped working when he noticed that Gravis simply continued forward.

This was too abnormal!

"Fine! So you have some tricks, but power is everything!" the Star God shouted.

The Star God charged towards Gravis and attacked him with his sword.

Gravis pointed at the Star God without looking at him.

BANG!

Heavenly Lightning came out of Gravis' finger, and the Star God's head exploded.

He was dead.

Was Gravis afraid of the damage to his Karmic Luck?

No.

Why?

Because the Star God had attacked him first. One couldn't be faulted for defending themselves.

When the Star God died, the entire Sect seemingly exploded.

Several Formation Arrays were activated.

Tens of Star Gods teleported out of the Sect to appear in Gravis' path.

Their expressions were cold and solemn as they stood in front of Gravis. They all took out their weapons, ready to attack him.

Gravis only continued flying.

The Star Gods all activated their Laws, and tens of Stars were summoned.

Gravis only continued flying.

As Gravis came closer, a surprising thing happened.

Nothing.

Nothing happened.

That was the surprising thing.

None of the Star Gods had attempted to attack or suppress him. They had only stood in front of him in a threatening manner.

Gravis wasn't surprised.

Their threatening demeanor may have fooled someone else, but Gravis knew a lot about sentience.

He had seen the hidden fear and restraint in their eyes.

They didn't want to stand in front of him, and they didn't want him to attack them.

How was that possible?

Gravis was pretty sure of the reason.

An Ancestral God had warned them.

After the death of the level two Star God, the Ancestral Gods had probably inspected Gravis. Gravis' Battle-Strength couldn't be felt by Star Gods, but Ancestral Gods could feel Gravis' Battle-Strength and Will-Aura.

Of course, that was only true if Gravis didn't change their perception with the Law of Perceived Reality, but Gravis didn't want to do that right now.

"What do you want?" a level three Star God asked after seeing that Gravis didn't retreat.

Gravis didn't answer and simply continued flying forward.

The Star God thought about threatening Gravis with their Ancestral Gods, but he realized that it would be useless. Gravis was part of the Myriad Sect, which meant that he knew the rules.

The Star God tried to ask Gravis about his purpose for coming here several times, but Gravis always ignored him.

Eventually, Gravis passed the wall of Star Gods and flew towards the Formation Array protecting the Sect.

And then, Gravis simply passed through the barrier like it didn't even exist.

Silence.

A shocked silence fell upon the Grand Gravity Sect.

What was going on!?

After a while, Gravis arrived above the hole.

For the first time, Gravis actually stopped.

SHING!

Gravis took out a saber.

BZZZZ!

Gravis' saber was loaded with a Lightning Crescent, and the entire Sect exploded in panic.

Immortal Emperors were all trying to teleport away, but Gravis was stopping them from teleporting with his Laws.

Whenever an Immortal Emperor tried to get out of the hole, they entered a wall of absolute suppression, which immediately forced them back into the hole. Going through the wall of the hole resulted in the same outcome.

The Star Gods breathed heavily from a distance.

There was so much power in Gravis' saber!

They knew that if they got hit by that attack, they would die!

There was no possible way to survive that!

Every single Star God would die if Gravis unleashed that Lightning Crescent right now!

Even worse, the Star Gods couldn't even flee! Gravis' Will-Aura was keeping them stationary!

Why hadn't they fled earlier!?

The area around and above the hole was deathly still as the area inside the hole was a loud and chaotic mess. The current atmosphere in the hole could only be likened to a jar of wasps placed above a small fire.

"What do you want?"

For the first time, Gravis actually looked at someone that had spoken to him.

An Ancestral God had arrived near Gravis, and he had a frustrated expression on his face.

"I'm the new member of the Myriad Sect," Gravis slowly said, still carrying his saber in his right hand.

"Then what do you want? Do you want us to capitulate?" the Ancestral God asked.

"No," Gravis said.

"Do you want to kill us?"

"No."

"Then what do you want?" the Ancestral God asked with annoyance and confusion.

"I will only be part of the Myriad Sect for the next 100,000 years," Gravis said. "After that, I will leave it again. The Myriad Sect won't attack another Sect during that time, and I better not see any Sect attack us during that time."

"Just to be clear, I see you remaining Sects as one entity, not as separate ones," Gravis said. "If even one of you Sects decides to go against us for the next 100,000 years, I will pay a visit to all of you."

"And after I'm done, you might need to join the Eternal Fire Sect via the old-fashioned way," Gravis explained.

The Ancestral God had expected far worse demands. He had expected for their Sect to pay him tribute or straight-up capitulate.

100,000 years of peace?

Sure, he could do that.

However, the later parts of Gravis' speech made the Ancestor nervous and angry.

"I can't speak for all the Sects, and I also can't make decisions for the other Sects. I can only speak for my own Sect," the Ancestral God said.

Gravis looked at the Ancestral God.

"That's not my problem."

After saying that, Gravis made his way back to the Myriad Sect, leaving behind an enraged and nervous Ancestral God.