A lonely island in the open ocean. Tropical rainforest. A few thatched huts.
This place had been hidden. At first, a Formation had merely kept satellites from seeing it, radar from detecting it, and lost ocean-going ships from finding their way in. Now, with the power of the Celestial Mirror, it had vanished from even more mysterious reaches, leaving no trace of itself in this world.
A cushion, a tea table, a cup of coarse tea.
Cao Ci sat cross-legged in loose robes.
Across from him sat a long-haired figure.
"What a thunderous assault. In just a few days, the foundation we spent decades building has been crumbling before our eyes." The long-haired man lifted his cup of coarse tea, though no worry showed on his face. "They're determined to keep you from ascending to Godhood."
"They always have been."
Cao Ci's voice was just as calm.
On closer inspection, he looked markedly older than he had a few years ago.
His lifespan was nearly spent. Spiritual Decline was close.
Yet he remained the strongest Ninth Tier in the world.
And the hardest Ninth Tier to kill.
No one in this world but a Deity could truly destroy him. With the Celestial Mirror in his possession, even finding him had become difficult for the nations.
If they could not destroy him, they would destroy the Dream Moon Cult and the foundation on which he could earn the recognition of the World Will and the Origin.
It had to be said: it was a fine move.
The battle now underway was, in fact, a contest between the Celestial Mirror in his hands and the Four Great Systems, with the Esoteric Sect taking the lead, Celestials supporting them, and the Buddhist and Daoist schools playing auxiliary roles. Without question, the Four Great