Chapter 15: The Supreme Power

Before long, within the grand hall.

An Yue’er sat upon the principal seat, while Yu Qiushui and the others were seated below her.

“Your Highness, you have come all this way—may I ask what guidance you wish to offer?” Huang Xiantang inquired.

Yet An Yue’er replied, “There is no rush. I have a question for you all: Is there a great master hidden behind your sect?”

At these words, Yu Qiushui and his companions’ eyes flickered with alarm.

This princess is remarkably shrewd.

“No matter how powerful your family’s influence may be, at most it’s a transcendent force! In Senior Zhu’s grand scheme, you are still pieces upon the chessboard, unable to escape your fate,” Yu Qiushui and his companion thought to themselves.

Huang Xiantang’s gaze remained calm as he responded, “And what connection does this have with Your Highness’s purpose in coming here?”

Hmph! Still trying to uncover Senior Zhu’s whereabouts? Even the royal family is not qualified.

An Yue’er paused before smiling. “Let me speak plainly, then. What happened in the northern region of Anluan is entangled with many matters.”

“Especially the enemy your sect faces—the fierce Scarlet Flame Sect is not an ordinary sect. If you have no formidable expert supporting you, I have no wish to ally myself with the weak.”

She spoke with utter confidence!

As a member of the Anluan royal family, she belonged to a truly extraordinary power. Even if the Fire Moon Sect had the potential to become a Sun-ranked sect, in the eyes of the royal family, it was but an ant.

Huang Xiantang’s eyes flickered. “Master, what should we do?” he transmitted his thoughts to Yu Qiushui.

Yu Qiushui pondered briefly, then replied, “It appears Senior Zhu’s scheme is vast, involving ever greater powers.”

“But who is Senior Zhu? A peerless master of unfathomable cultivation. If we were acting wrongly, he would have warned us long ago. Since he has not, our actions must all be within his expectations.”

“In that case, let things proceed naturally.”

Huang Xiantang nodded in agreement, then fixed his gaze on An Yue’er. “Your Highness need have no concerns regarding this matter.”

“With that senior present, all is under control.”

Seeing Huang Xiantang’s unwavering confidence, An Yue’er raised her eyebrows, a teasing smile on her lips. “Since you are all so certain, does that mean you do not even fear the Evil God?”

What? The Evil God?

At these words, everyone in the Fire Moon Sect turned pale.

In the world of Tianwu, the Evil God was an exceedingly unique existence.

If a cultivator reached perfection at the Unity Realm, they could place half a foot in the Immortal Realm. Yet to break through to the Immortal Realm was nearly certain death!

Over countless millennia, there had been peerless geniuses and unrivaled figures in Tianwu who neared the Immortal Realm, but in the end, none escaped the trial of inner demons; all were barred at the threshold and fell into demonic corruption.

Such beings were known as Evil Gods.

Beneath the Immortal Realm, above all Supreme beings, their power could shatter heaven and earth, yet they possessed not a shred of humanity—becoming entities of pure slaughter and evil.

It was said that whenever an Evil God appeared, calamity befell heaven and earth.

The world would tremble, all beings would suffer, a war of Supremes would ignite, and the very order of existence might be reset.

“The Scarlet Flame Sect… is it connected to the Evil God?”

Yu Qiushui was deeply shocked, his words faltering. “Could it be that a master as terrifying as Senior Zhu would set his pieces into motion for this reason? I should have realized…”

“If an Evil God has entered this game, then Senior Zhu’s design is no longer merely about Anluan—it is a supreme contest spanning the entire Tianwu world!”

Huang Xiantang was equally astounded. “Perhaps the game Senior Zhu set is to leave a sliver of hope for all living things.”

Beside him, Leng Qianxue seemed to sense something as well; her eyes shone with resolve.

With Senior Zhu’s terrifying strength, what of the Evil God’s emergence? He would surely not be its match.

A long moment passed before Yu Qiushui and the others regained their composure.

“The Evil God’s power is formidable, but with that one present, all is in hand,” Huang Xiantang replied.

“Oh?” An Yue’er’s eyebrows arched higher, her surprise deepening.

An Evil God—a being who strikes terror through all of Tianwu—and yet this small Fire Moon Sect showed not the slightest fear?

Could it be that the master of Fire Moon Sect was truly a Supreme?

What is an Evil God? A terrifying entity born when a Supreme fails to step into the Immortal Realm; to disregard such a being, one must at least be a Supreme, likely at the very peak.

But in the southern lands of Tianwu, there were but a handful of Supreme Sects.

The living Supremes dwelled only within these legendary sects—three or four at most.

Could one of them be resident in Fire Moon Sect?

It seemed utterly inconceivable.

“If you are all so confident, then I have one more thing to tell you,” An Yue’er continued. “Typically, when an Evil God descends, it slaughters all living things in the land where it is born! As a being with half a foot in the Immortal Realm, only by bathing the land in blood and constructing a domain of carnage can it circumvent the world’s laws and fully descend!”

“According to our intelligence… the place where the Evil God is to descend is likely in the northern reaches of Anluan!”

“What?”

Yu Qiushui and the others were visibly shaken.

The birth of an Evil God means utter destruction—would the north of Anluan, perhaps the whole country, be drawn into this calamity?

“If Senior Zhu’s strategy is aimed at the Evil God, then he must learn of this at once,” Huang Xiantang said to Yu Qiushui.

Yu Qiushui nodded. “Indeed! With so much at stake, we cannot be careless. We must inform Senior Zhu immediately.”

An Yue’er’s eyes flashed. So this great master’s surname is Zhu?

But among the Supremes of the southern Tianwu world, was there one surnamed Zhu?

She spoke up at once, “I wish to accompany you and witness this senior’s presence for myself. Furthermore, I possess intelligence on Anluan which might be of use.”

Her curiosity about the true identity of Fire Moon Sect’s hidden master only deepened.

Yu Qiushui considered briefly, then agreed. “Very well.”

Soon after, Yu Qiushui and his entourage departed in their flying vessel, streaking across the sky until they arrived at the outskirts of a small mountain village.

“That senior lives here?” An Yue’er asked in astonishment.

The mountain village was shrouded in the smoke of cooking fires, nestled at the foot of the mountains, its inhabitants all ordinary people.

“It was my oversight,” Huang Xiantang said hurriedly. “Though Senior Zhu’s cultivation is unfathomable, he favors peace and quiet, choosing to dwell among mortals and savor the flavor of the mundane world.”

He paused, then added, “When Your Highness meets him, you must not act rashly or give offense.”