Athos
Similar to the outside world, it was also nighttime in Athos, but despite that, the brilliant illuminating lights from the countless cities of the Athos tree made the scene resemble daytime. The scene was beyond mesmerizing; the luminescent brilliance from the branch-made cities, the multitudes of floating technological infrastructures and facilities with each emitting lights, the solidified pure Qi which made the atmosphere fresh and soothing, and most of all, the shimmering green glow of the Athos tree.
All these accumulated factors contributed to the magnificent scenery of Athos; it imitates, no, the present Athos was a technological and magical utopia. And far up in the skies above the Athos Tree was the floating residence of the One Above; the flowing blue water which poured down the Athos tree glowed blue, like blue energy; the plants constantly glowed green or their respective flowery colors, making the garden have a heavenly scenery. One could also see green life energy radiating from the plants and trees on the floating residence.
The floating residence represented heaven on earth, as even the plants radiated endless amounts of life essence.
Including the hundreds of billions of Athosians plus the visiting cultivators, there were at least two trillion people in Athos. But despite how crowded it sounds, most of the occupied cities of the Athos tree were either less noisy or completely silent; that was because, within every guest-occupied city in Athos, one could see countless cultivators, be it in groups or individually, all meditating and cultivating as they absorbed the endless amounts of pure Qi in the surroundings.
These events weren't that surprising, even for the Athosian citizens; on the contrary, it would have been unnatural for the cultivators if they didn't go into cultivation meditations.
Within a technologically advanced residence in one of the cities, three of the seven Dao children stood by a glass window as they spectated the spectacular scenery of the branch city. Their faces were filled with awe and amazement as they saw the reality-shattering creations within Athos, one of the female Dao children couldn't help but exclaim.
"Heavens! What an imaginary sight! It's as if a god brought the Athos realm from the God Realm itself; that must surely be the case. Because how can such a realm even exist in the Immortal Realm? Not even our best cultivation abodes at the Immortal Gate can compare to the items, magical structures, and endless amounts of pure Qi here-
Funny, it looks like someone has fallen in love with Athos already~."
Suddenly, the burly man interrupted the female Dao child as he chuckled. He sat on a wide couch with spread legs and arms with his head leaned back; he also had his feet on the glass table. But then, their fair-skinned male leader, sitting not far from the burly man, spoke while inspecting the square-shaped badge floating mid-air.
"But she isn't wrong; our residences at the Immortal Gate can't compare to this one or any of the residences. And besides, aren't you also fascinated by the endless pure energy? A year of cultivating in Athos would significantly affect your cultivation prowess; reaching the Saint Ancestor realm then wouldn't be a fantasy, especially for someone of your talent. Nevertheless, you are also right; it would be best if little Dao sister doesn't become too attached to Athos; after all, we are visitors."
"... I shall be mindful of my attachments, elder Dao brother; anyways, why are you still looking at the visitor badge? Does it perhaps have something we don't know about?"
The female Dao child uttered, noticing their leader's constant focus on the badge, she asked.
But unnoticeably, an irritated expression flashed across the male leader's face as he instantly canceled it after; it was as if he had tried to get something and failed. He resumed his impassive face as he rose from his seat and walked close to the glass window; he didn't even bother answering the woman's question. Instead, he looked up as he murmured.
"It seems you are smart and craftier than I anticipated, Administrator."
At another residence in a city far down the Athos tree, Lian Zu and many of his companions sat in cultivated stances as they basked in the endless pure energy. Lian Zu had an elated expression as he absorbed massive amounts of pure energy every second.
'Such endless amounts of Qi, even after cultivating for two days straight, I haven't yet ruffled the Qi inside the residence, let alone the one outside. To be able to create such a perfect realm, just how powerful must the creator be? A god? I can feel every part of my body swell with the heavenly Qi; even the cracks in my cultivation base have been completely reformed and refined.'
Lian Zu internally monologued as he was amazed by his quick progress. But suddenly, a voice sounded in Lian Zu's mind, "You have quite the potential, lad; I will be borrowing your body for a while," followed by the glint of light from earlier, simultaneously flashing into Lian Zu's temple and his consciousness. Lian Zu wasn't even fast enough to comprehend the voice's words, let alone react by retaliating against the glint of light taking over his body. Not long after, the present Lian Zu opened his eyes as he stretched his neck and arms; he smirked as the next unimaginable instant, he was gone from the scene.
"How exactly are we supposed to bargain with Athos? Everything here is beyond our comprehension. What can we even offer to a realm that has everything? They would be showing us mercy if they even allowed us to be their servants. This is truly heart-wrecking."
At a residence within the same city, the Head Manager of the Star Commerce Alliance worriedly fussed as he drank from a glass cup. He had a depressed expression while thinking of how insignificant they would be if they even tried negotiating with Athos. Even his sister couldn't help but express a sympathetic smile for her elder brother's unfortunate situation.
This situation was the same for many other powerhouses and ancient institutions. Some had brought their Saint Kings and even Saint Ancestors in hopes of becoming subordinates of Athos, but after thinking about how five Saint Ancestors were mere welcoming escorts, each of these Saint Ancestors stronger than most of them combined, how exactly can they be accepted? Such disappointing thoughts sent many of the cultivators into despair as they felt completely useless, despite their resources and powers.
There was a mixture of emotions all over the cities; on one side was how fortunate they were to be in the presence of unlimited pure energy, and on the other was the depressing thought of how they won't stay in this realm for long and how useless they would be if they even tried negotiating becoming subordinates of Athos. One can only imagine how bothersome it must have been for the cultivators; it was like swimming in mountains of gold but can't take any with you, truly depressing.
Suddenly, every city or building in Athos trembled like a wind shaking the branches of a tree as every living thing within Athos became aware of what was happening. Soon after, the badges on every cultivator shone as they brought every cultivator, citizen, or guest from their residences and cultivation states and brought them within the city. This same scenario happened in all the other cities, as every cultivator stood in orderly formations, and those in the facilities were also brought inside the cities.
The scene was magnificent as trillions of living organisms; all separated into countless cities on the Athos tree, stood in orderly formations as if they were military. Although they were forced into standing in formations, not even a single cultivator had the will to grumble, they even felt satisfied with their current situation.
Suddenly, fairy Marine's voice resounded throughout Athos, making every Athosian citizen knell on one knee.
"All prepare for the presence of the One Above and his Omni Queens!"
"We hail the God Fairy! Glory to the One Above! Glory to the Omni Queens!"
The Athosian citizens chanted in unison as they slowly prostrated with hands on the ground; they all had extreme faces of servitude and reverence as they willingly prostrated themselves happily on the ground. The visiting cultivators also felt their hearts instantly generate feelings of reverence and servitude as they also willingly fell on the ground and prostrated themselves while chanting.
"Glory to the One Above! Glory to the Omni Queens!"
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