"Elder Vortexian?"
"Yes?" Elder Vortexian of the Azure Clan looked up from his desk at the intruder of his peace.
The scrawny man gulped when facing his glare, so he diverted his gaze to the parchment in his hands, "Ahem, since Heavenly King Cepheus is in closed-door cultivation to reach the peak of the Sovereign of Realities Realm, the council has requested you show the promising disciples to the Eternal Library."
Elder Vortexian let out a long groan, "Annoying."
"Sorry?"
"Dealing with those brats is annoying." Elder Vortexian waved the man away, "Get one of my personal disciples to show them instead."
"But... these are the top hundred youths of Spatial Peak! If they don't receive the techniques hidden in the Eternal Library, they may fall behind Lunar or Dream Peak!"
Elder Vortexian snorted, "As if. Spatial Peak can never fall out of favor since one of the four Heavenly Kings lords over it."
"That is true, but Heavenly King Cepheushasn't exited closed-door cultivation since he created the Eternal Library pocket realm." The man said in a whisper, "Some fear he may not have succeeded his ascension and may be crippled in some rift in space somewhere—"
Elder Vortexian slammed the desk and rose to his full height, scaring the life out of the fool who bothered him. "If you speak one more word of doubt against a Heavenly King, I will feed you to his pets that guard the library. Do I make myself clear?"
"Y-Yes Elder Vortexian." The man threw himself into a ninety-degree bow, "Please accept my deepest apologies."
"Whatever," Elder Vortexian walked past the man, "Just bring these so-called promising disciples to the dimension gate in the main hall and enough spatial spirit stones to compensate for my loss."
His loose blue robes swished around his form as he walked down the grand hallway of his pavilion. From behind, he heard that useless servant call out about putting in a request with the treasury regarding his payment.
Does that useless council think dimension travel is a cheap affair? Just activating that gate created by Heavenly King Cepheus will cost me a week of Qi despite my Monarch Realm cultivation. If they don't compensate me with a mountain of spatial spirit stones, I will take them from the treasury myself.
Reaching the end of the corridor and feeling lazy, Elder Vortexian vanished from his pavilion and entered his inner world. An endless expanse spread out all around him, and by simply drifting a few meters to the side, he exited his inner world and found himself miles away from his home on Spatial Peak and was now standing before one of the many dimension gates.
I wonder when I should get around to making a pocket realm of my own? The only question is, what will its purpose be? The sect will pay me good money to make an educational one, like a training ground for the youth, but I would much rather create one to leave an inheritance behind. Elder Vortexian stroked his chin. Getting someone to build a temple filled with traps and riddles to make my inheritance seem more profound sounds expensive, though. How annoying.
Soon, Elder Vortexian heard a gathering of people behind him, but they remained dead silent in his presence as none dared to interrupt his musing of useless things.
This is how it should be. The loud ones don't deserve to enter the Eternal Library.
Over an hour later, it seemed everyone had arrived, so Elder Vortexian turned to face a hundred disciples of Spatial Peak, all wearing the dark blue robes of the inner clan. Everyone had similar features as they were one large family, but due to multiple political marriages, the Azure bloodline had thinned considerably over the years.
Scanning the group, he could see a few pure bloods scattered around, evident by their pale blue eyes and pointed ears.
"Esteemed disciples of Spatial Peak." Elder Vortexian said, and everyone hung on his every word, "Behind me lies the dimensional gate to a pocket realm made by the legendary Heavenly King Cepheus."
He paused for dramatic effect, "It's thanks to his accumulation of knowledge in the Eternal Library that our great Spatial Peak is known throughout the realm as the peak of all Spatial Peaks. As promising youths of our clan already at the Star Core and Nascent Soul Realm, you have been granted access to this place by the council. Naturally, if I catch anyone defiling or causing trouble in the Eternal Library, you will be executed on the spot, no matter your affiliation to the clan."
Everyone nodded.
"Good. Once inside, you may read as many technique manuals as you wish. However, none may be taken back with you," Elder Vortexian turned and placed his hand on the gate. Inserting some Qi caused a portal to ripple into existence and a wave of power to rustle his clothes and push the disciples back a step, "The gate is now open. Follow me."
The portal rippled around Elder Vortexian, and he stepped into the Eternal Library and breathed in the all-too-familiar scent of wood and books. Looking up, he could see the top of the spire that rose up into the sky and housed the runic formation that kept the pets of Heavenly King Cepheus from coming in.
A few of the disciples also stepped through behind him, and that is when he noticed the grand door that led outside of the library was slightly ajar.
That's strange. There should be nobody else here, and it's forbidden to leave the library and bother the Heavenly King's pets. Elder Vortexian spread out his spiritual sense, and he immediately looked to the right, where he detected multiple life signs.
A blonde girl who looked to be in her teens was leisurely sitting with her feet up on the desk, leaning back and reading a book in one hand while munching on a fruit in the other. Their eyes met, and she froze mid-bite. Their short staring contest was broken by the ring on her finger flashing with silver, and all the books stacked on the desk vanished inside.
"You dare?!" Elder Vortexian felt a blood vessel pop in his forehead from rage. He hadn't attacked straight away since the girl had a spatial affinity, so there was a chance she was authorized to be in here, but this disrespect warranted unquestioned execution. She had even brought her pets in here! A giant spider was reading a book beside her, with a legion of smaller spiders flipping the pages for it, and a bloated squirrel slept on her head.
A wave of power went out as Elder Vortexian activated his domain. Within this purple hue, he had absolute command over his affinity and could manipulate reality to his will.
"Spatial Lock," Elder Vortexian muttered, and he felt as if he had the girl's soul in the palm of his hand and unable to leave his grasp. It was one of the most famed techniques of the Spatial Peak of the Azure Clan.
"Now you stay right there, thief," Elder Vortexian grinned as the girl seemed totally frozen and unable to move. A sword of spatial Qi appeared in his hand as he walked over. "By the rules of the Azure Clan, I sentence you to death for disrespecting the Eternal Library that belongs to one of the four Heavenly Kings!"
A small yawn filled the frozen space as the squirrel awoke and looked around while lazily scratching its stomach.
How can her pet move within my domain? Elder Vortexian felt something was terribly wrong. He focused his spiritual sense on the squirrel to try and discern its cultivation realm but could not. That thing is dangerous. I need to kill it first.
Elder Vortexian wasted no time and activated multiple high-level techniques at once. Time Dilation made his Spatial Stepseem even faster as he slowed down time for everyone else within his domain. Reappearing beside the girl through a ripple of space, he tried to reach forward with Qi-coated hands to crush the squirrel to death.
The squirrel turned its head toward him with a bored look as if he were nothing but an annoying bug. The beast then yawned, and a mass of void tendrils exploded out of its tiny mouth, effortlessly consuming his arm. Elder Vortexian didn't even get time to blink before a life-saving artifact activated his Spatial Anchor, and he was pulled through space and time back to his stronghold under his pavilion.
A second later, the pain of his missing arm registered, and he screamed out in agony. Stumbling through the dark room, he reached for a glowing ball upon a stone pedestal and pressed his remaining hand on it. A ghostly human appeared over the ball, and a hollow voice spoke to him.
"Elder Vortexian? What happened?"
"Councilman. A girl was in the Eternal Library and attacked me."
The ghostly figure seemed startled, "Someone snuck into the Eternal Library? Impossible. It has been sealed, and the only entrance is in our heavily guarded clan hall! No Monarch Realm such as yourself could just walk in there..."
Elder Vortexian shook his head as he gripped his bloodied stump, "The girl had a Worldwalker disguised as a pet squirrel. I fear the girl is some daughter from a realm far greater than ours who took an interest in the Eternal Library."
"A Worldwalker?" The ghost seemed about to pass out from shock, "As a pet?!"
"She also seemed to have tamed a Royal Class Ashen Spider that was reading books."
"Elder Vortexian, are you joking?"
"Do I look like I'm joking to you? I'm missing my arm, my Spatial Anchor got automatically activated before I could even react, and the promising disciples of our Spatial Peak ARE STILL INSIDE."
"If they all die, our peak will be set back for generations to come!" The ghost shouted off to the side at someone that Elder Vortexian couldn't see, "Someone go awaken the Heavenly King! I don't care if he kills you for disturbing him. The Spatial Peak will honor your sacrifice!!!"
The ghost vanished, and the ball dimmed.
Elder Vortexian collapsed to his knees, stared at the floor, and began to tremble. Just who had he offended? Was that blonde girl the daughter of some divine being who was bored? How did she even tame a Worldwalker?
"I'm doomed..." He muttered as he huddled his legs.
***
Stella took one more bite of the sweet-tasting language comprehension fruit under the gaze of a hundred people. They were all clearly human, but some had weirdly vibrant blue eyes and pointed ears as they looked at her with disgust, contempt, and outright confusion.
"What did you do to Elder Vortexian?" One of them shouted as they stepped forward.
"You talking to me?" Stella pointed to herself. She didn't know of any Elder Vortexian. Was it the man who just suddenly vanished?
"Stella, run away." Maple whispered into her mind, "I made the Monarch Realm Elder flee, but there are many Nascent Soul people here."
Ah... that's not good.
"Ahem, excuse me, members of the... Azure Clan?" Stella slowly stood up to not cause alarm, "But I... Sol blind them and protect me!"
Stella closed her eyes and covered them with her hand as she dashed toward the door. Despite her precautions, everything went white. She then heard angered and confused shouts behind her as something furry scooped her up and charged forward.
Recovering from her daze, she found herself on Larry's back with an exhausted and less fat Maple lying in the fur beside her. Sol was running behind them and hurling balls of light at the Azure Clan members.
"The spatial formation around the building blocks portals from forming," Stella shouted as Larry charged through the doors, "They shouldn't be able to follow us for a few seconds. We just need to make it back to the Bastion, and Tree might be able to save us from them!"
***
"Stella, is there any chance of us escaping peacefully from them?" Ashlock asked the girl who collapsed on the black stone of the Bastion as he looked at the horde of blue-robed cultivators that were pointing at the Bastion.
"No! Maple ate their Elder's arm, and I stole many books!" Stella said in a panic as she scrambled to her feet and summoned her sword, "Tree, get ready. They will come any second—"
A clang rang out as a blue-robed man materialized before Stella and swung his sword at her. She only just managed to deflect the blow, but it sent her back a step.
"What?! How did he get through the shield..." Ashlock shouted in a panic as he activated {Consuming Abyss}, and a void lake spread out, which seemed to concern the man as he stepped back while eying it cautiously.
"The shield only blocks—"Stella replied in her mind so the man wouldn't hear and grunted as she parried another hit "—external attacks. I can move through it just fine, so I assumed they could, too."
Ashlock cursed as he sent hundreds of void tendrils at the man, but he simply Spatial Stepped away and avoided them with ease. "Oh, you want to play that game?" Ashlock calmed his mind and began to use Qi Resonance to disrupt their soul ripples.
They seemed to notice the interference, and bands around their wrists glowed with power and began to automatically counter his attempts.
"Who are you?" The man demanded as two others appeared beside him. "And what did you do to the Elder?"
Stella snorted, "Your Elder was a nuisance to me, so he was sent away."
Ashlock noticed Stella's eyes begin to take on that relaxed and tranquil state. Her bloodline was activating.
"So, knowing that your Elder was no match for me, have you come here to die?" Stella fearlessly walked at them while swirling her sword.
The man in the center with strange eyes and pointed ears, who Ashlock believed was in the Nascent Soul Realm, actually took a slight step back as Stella walked toward him with void tendrils at her flank and an utterly calm look. Her bluffing was working.
"Kill—" The man in the middle muttered, and all three of the Azure Clan intruders Spatial Stepped before Stella, but she effortlessly countered the man's attack and bent her body to avoid the other two whistling swords.
All three of them went wide-eyed, and Spatial Stepped away before Ashlock could devour them with the void tendrils that curled around Stella's arms.
"Larry and Sol, I don't care for eating them. Push these bastards off the ship!" Ashlock commanded.
Stella might be capable of fighting them for a short while, but Maple was passed out, and there were multiple Nascent Soul Azure Clan people looking ready to teleport over.
A beam of light illuminated the Bastion as Sol blasted the man in the middle. To Ashlock's surprise, only the Nascent Soul's clothes suffered anything more than a slight burn, but the sudden attack seemed to spook the man enough for him to teleport away. The two that had joined him exchanged glances and vanished before Larry's wave of ash hit them.
With them gone, Ashlock could focus on the outside.
The spatial shield rippled around them, and the ship rocked slightly as space ripped and exploded around the Bastion. The gathering of a hundred spatial mages was unleashing everything in their arsenal at them, and Ashlock felt his Qi being depleted from his main body at an ungodly rate.
"We need to leave, and fast." Ashlock cursed as he tried to make the Bastion float away faster, but it was too slow.
"Willow, return fire while I come up with a solution," Ashlock said, and the tree acknowledged his order. All the large artillery plants blooming from the ship's sides lit up with spatial flames and began hurling black holes at the spatial cultivators.
"Let's see..." Ashlock opened up all his system menus. He could improve the ship, maybe sign in with the points he had, or even activate a spatial storm. But none of those were real solutions. He needed to leave because if what Stella said about killing an Elder was true, then more Elders or even a Grand Elder of the Azure Clan may come through those doors any second, and when that happened, nowhere in this pocket realm would be safe.
After all, if they had disciples on the same level as the Patriarch of the Blood Lotus Sect, he didn't wish to find out how strong their Grand Elder was.
"Wait, this entire ship is now part of Willow, the tree I am linked to. So if I was to use Dimension Overlap..." Ashlock brought up the menu and decided it was the best way out. If he made a portal to Red Vine Peak, there was a chance these bastards would follow and wreak havoc.
Bringing up the menu, he selected the one with the Redclaws.
[Fire Qi Realm:
Description: Blaze Titan Graveyard
Qi Level: Star Core 2nd Stage
Environment: Treacherous
Monsters: True
Current Occupants: 5]
Pressing the [Free] cost button, he felt the world twist around him.
[Dimensional Overlap Initiated]
A moment later, everything went still.
The Bastion, with everyone still on board, was floating over a burning hell, and up ahead, a titan was engaged in an intense battle with a majestic man flying around on a sword of crimson flame.
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