The Alliance of Loose Factions

On the mysterious and ancient Gulei Planet, everything seemed as calm as ever, but in reality, undercurrents were surging.

The time for the opening of the legendary Great Emperor's opportunity, the Stone Gate within Gulei Mountain, was drawing near, causing various factions to stir with restless anticipation.

Su Ke accompanied his friends and family on the island, maintaining his daily cultivation and training while never forgetting to keep an eye on the situation regarding Kadibus.

The Stone Gate opens in three months. Su Ke felt a secret sense of anticipation, while simultaneously trying to keep his mindset relaxed and striving to do his best. If he gained it, it was his fortune; if he lost it, it was his fate. Maintaining a calm state of mind at all times was crucial.

Kadibus had gathered a lot of useful intelligence from the Shan People, but they had kept the most critical information—the situation inside the Stone Gate—hidden, refusing to tell him until the day it opened.

Furthermore, he had found a lead on how to get Lyumila and the others inside: the rogue cultivators who drifted between the various factions.

There were many powerhouses on Gulei Planet who had not joined any faction. Individually, they could not compare to the major powers, but if they united, they could not be underestimated!

Among them were many high-level Saint-rankers!

They were also aware of the secrets of Gulei Mountain and would certainly arrive on the day the Stone Gate opened. They were even more reckless than the average faction or race because they had no burdens and dared to stake everything on a single throw. Su Ke had already made up his mind to have Lyumila and the others blend in with them when the time came.

Finding them was simple. To avoid the conflicts of the mainland's various factions, these rogue powerhouses either hid in deep mountains and forests far from the hustle and bustle, concealed themselves within cities, or simply established their own domains on islands off the mainland to amuse themselves.

The ones on the mainland were a different matter, but those hiding on islands were quite easy to find.

However, according to the intelligence, there are quite a few powerhouses over at Gulei Mountain, Su Ke thought to himself.

Previously, his spaceship had scouted the entire globe, but it could not detect Gulei Mountain because it was shrouded in thick thunderclouds and possessed an extremely intense high-energy magnetic field, which completely blocked the spaceship's sensors.

But according to information leaked by the Shan People, many of the mainland's powerhouses had gathered and lived in seclusion around Gulei Mountain, even bringing their families and developing clans. Over time, it had actually become a closed-off city.

If it could be counted as a faction, Gulei Mountain was the undisputed number one power on the continent!

"The previous detection result of 10,000 Stellar Rankers on Gulei Planet was wrong." Su Ke stood on the beach in board shorts and a short-sleeved shirt, his posture upright, white hair draped casually, and hands in his pockets as he gazed at the distant horizon. "If we include those inside Gulei Mountain, I'm afraid there are another two or three thousand Saint-rankers, and among them, there are quite a few high-level Saint-rankers..."

Gulei Mountain held a very special status!

Back when the Great Emperor was still alive, he usually resided in the Holy Mountain City of Gulei Mountain, issuing orders from there to command the world.

"Brother Su Ke, what are you doing? Come and play with us!" A crisp voice came from one of Zuo Mu's daughters among the group of young women in swimsuits not far away on the beach.

Su Ke turned his head to look. Well, a sea of fair, long legs.

Although Zuo Mu's third daughter was young, her figure was already quite impressive, though she was completely overshadowed compared to her two older sisters.

At a glance, it was a beautiful sight to behold.

Seeing them laughing and playing, Su Ke sighed that they were indeed Zuo Mu's family; they knew how to have fun wherever they went.

As for Zuo Mu... he was currently by the reef, catching an unknown sea beast and bowing his head, seemingly studying which part was the most delicious.

Further away under a tree, the cold girl Eloy, dressed neatly and showing no intention of getting into the water, stood with her long, smooth blue hair gently stirred by the breeze. Her slender fingers touched the necklace on her chest as she gazed at the distant sea, her crystal-like eyes holding a somewhat inexplicably profound look.

He couldn't help but sigh that these days were truly quite leisurely.

It was about time to go back and train.

In the eastern coastal waters of the Sea Dragon Continent lay an unnamed island, several dozen kilometers in diameter.

This island was thousands of kilometers away from the mainland, but it was not completely isolated from the world. Occasionally, bold merchant caravans would pass by and interact with the islanders. The island was covered in buildings of various styles, which, after thousands of years of wind and rain, had been rendered with the aura of time, appearing exceptionally ancient.

People lived their peaceful, day-to-day lives on the island.

On a mountain on the island stood a three-story pavilion. On the pavilion, an old man with white hair and fish-like scales on his face, dressed in black robes, lay on a lounge chair with his eyes half-closed, seemingly dozing.

In reality, he was pondering the recent gatherings of his old friends.

"The opening date of Gulei Mountain is near, and there are more and more restless people. It truly is an eventful autumn."

The white-haired old man sighed inwardly. He wasn't actually very interested in taking risks at Gulei Mountain; he still had thousands of years to live and cared more about protecting his clansmen and descendants. However, having been invited by those old friends, he found it hard to refuse given their many years of friendship.

Even if he didn't compete with those people, he had to make a trip to Gulei Mountain.

Rogue cultivators had to unite to have the qualifications to negotiate with those major factions; otherwise, they would certainly be excluded and shut out by them.

A breeze blew in from outside the pavilion. The white-haired old man, who had been staring blankly at a seabird in the distant sky, suddenly changed his expression. He saw two streaks of light flying rapidly toward him from afar, and the speed... made his heart skip a beat.

Swish. He didn't dare to hesitate. He sent a telepathic message to the few Stellar Rankers of his clan on the island while soaring into the sky to reach the outside of the island.

In almost the blink of an eye, the two streaks of light arrived before him.

Whoosh. Both streaks of light stopped simultaneously, revealing two figures: a man and a woman. The man was tall and sturdy, while the woman was petite and slender, forming a sharp contrast as they stood together. The white-haired old man looked over and found that these two were strangers; he didn't recognize them at all.

But the aura they faintly exuded made even him, an eighth-level Saint-ranker, feel alarmed.

Peak Saint-rankers! They are actually two peak Saint-rankers! He couldn't help but feel nervous.

"I am the master of this island, Daniella. Who might you two be..." the white-haired old man said politely.

Lyumila and Khair smiled at each other. "Island Master Daniella, rest assured, we are not from those factions. Like you, we are rogue cultivators. We are here today to ask if you have any interest in entering Gulei Mountain."

Daniella thought to himself that it was as he expected. He nodded and said frankly, "My friends and I have indeed thought about entering Gulei Mountain together. Since you two also have the idea, let's go to the island and talk it over slowly."

The connection with the rogue cultivators went very smoothly. Even though they were rogues, they usually kept in touch privately. With a few friends passing on the news, combined with the recent events at Gulei Mountain, these people became active and soon gathered together, forming a massive force.

And even among these people, the strength of Lyumila and Khair as "peak Saint-rankers" easily earned them a place, and through deliberate socializing, they obtained quite a bit of information from them.

Day after day, time passed. Amidst the waiting of Su Ke and all the powerhouses of Gulei Planet, three months finally went by.