"Should we leave?" Dai Chen somberly asked.
After Vice President Tao Wen and Chief Inquisitor Zhu Qiu had left, they had remained there for a whole minute stewing in silence and the ironic loudness of their thoughts surrounded by a ruin devoid of life.
No building was left, no plant was left, nothing that had life remained in the area except them, Yang Qing's plant clone, and one other object that looked to be well on its way to its death, closing curtains on all life on Ice Emerald Sect.
The central grounds of the sect had been eviscerated and nothing was left standing. All 50,000 years worth of history had just been erased within an hour.
All that was left of proof that the Ice Emerald Sect existed, was the seven survivors, who will more than likely never come here again or raise the banner of the sect considering the scale of destruction left in the area.
As for the other proof of their existence, sadly enough was the manner in which they were destroyed.
The way in which they were destroyed; the horrific scale of it, and the transpiration of events, were likely to keep the sect immortalized in the annals of the history of the southern continent.
Thousands of years down the line, the sect will likely still be freshly remembered by mortals and cultivators alike, as another cautionary tale and also a reminder, that this was still a cultivation world, even with the presence of the Order.
Despite the era, or the illusion of peace in the continent, any organization out there despite how old it was, as long as it wasn't powerful enough to guarantee its existence, it was at risk of suffering the same fates as the sect, clans, empires and countless other organizations that existed thousands and thousands of years ago, before the Order came to be.
Back then organizations came and went like the rising and falling of the sun, and with the destruction of the Ice Emerald Sect, that fact still rang true even now.
That destruction served as a reminder to those that had forgotten, power still reigned supreme.
Power was what drove the Ice Emerald Sect to do what they did, and power was what enabled the Order to do what they did. In the middle of it, power started and finished today's events, and power was the lesson countless of people had learned from today's events.
Some had their bellies reignited with ambition towards it, while some reigned theirs in when they saw the display of real power.
Despite the varying conclusions and outlooks all around, today's events had an impact on the whole continent, from the seven survivors to the five young judges who executed the sentence, to those with relation to the victims of the punitive activities of the Ice Emerald Sect like the Tang family, to those with a relation to the sect, to the bystanders, today's events were firmly engraved on them and on the continent.
In that silence, another voice suddenly sounded, spreading to every land on the continent, It didn't matter whether it was a holy land or just a shack in a village, cultivator, mortal, spirit beast, spiritual plant, regular animal, insect, reptile, amphibian, bird.
When that voice sounded, every single living thing understood the contents of the speaker.
"The Ice Emerald Sect is no more. While justice was served on behalf of their victims, it's still a sad affair. The lives lost can never be brought back on both sides.
While cultivating is considered to be going against the heavens and breaking free of our mortal shackles, it does not mean we act with impropriety and disregard.
We need to ground ourselves and look inwardly as an anchor and as a guide on our paths and hearts, so we may not lose ourselves, and if you cannot do that, or are unwilling to do that, you will more than likely lose yourselves, along with everything you are pursuing and hold dear.
Choose to ground yourselves, or we, the Order will do that for you, no matter your cultivation base, rank, or background.
Take care denizens of the continent.."
The voice was gentle, and serene, and had an ethereal mystique-ness to it along with a profound vastness like just a single word could birth life.
"Who was that?" Yang Qing asked with a dumbfounded look on his face.
He could feel as if the speaker was talking next to his ear.
"I don't know, I've never heard that voice.." answered Zhang Qingge as she closed her eyes in an effort to recall if she had ever come across that voice.
"Me neither."
"Me too.."
"It could be the third vice president or some big shot from the high council.." said Wei Ying.
"Could be.."
"Huh! I've forgotten it!!" Yang Qing suddenly said with his eyes wide open.
"Everything about the voice is suddenly gone, except the message! How is that possible?!.. Do any of you..."
"I can't remember it either.." Dai Chen answered with a stupefied expression, similar to the one Yang Qing had on him.
"Today has surely been a humbling experience.." Mo Liwei said as he shook with a bitter smile on his face.
"It has.." the rest somberly said.
There was the display from the tree, and the intervention of Vice President Tao Wen, and now whoever this speaker was, they were powerful enough to even tamper with their memories from wherever they were.
...
At the same time in different parts of the continent,
"Who would have expected them to grow this strong in just a few short years.." said a middle-aged man with a slender build, black silky smooth flowing hair, and a tranquil look to his eyes.
He had on a simple black robe with a coat that had the image of a mountain filled with dazzling swords revolving around it,on his back.
He was calmly seated by a pond with a tea set next to him, along with a wet stone that he used to gently polish a silver blade that was seven feet long.
Every movement he made produced a dazzling light like he held the light of the galaxy within his palms and used it to refine his sword, which let out a hum of satisfaction as it released radiant light.
As he was leisurely polishing his sword, an elderly man with piercing eyes appeared behind him.
"What is it, Qian?" the middle-aged man gently asked without turning.
"Sect master, the inner sect disciples chosen for the crimson tide subjugation and investigation, are about to head out.."
"Oh..elder Nianzu will be heading out with them?" asked the middle-aged man.
"Yes.." the elderly man respectfully answered.
"Mmh, add one more inner core elder, and two disciples from the radiant sword hearts.."
New novel 𝓬hapters are published on fre ew𝒆bnovel.com