The Five Lineages Gather

Ling Emperor's Palace.

This was an emperor's palace in a world of cultivators, a hundred times more magnificent than any in a mortal kingdom.

The hundred-zhang-tall palace complex gleamed with gold and splendor. Deep within its vermilion walls, boundless imperial fortune took the form of white qilin beasts, an auspicious sight.

The White Qilin Beast was the symbol of the Ling imperial clan. Like the Spirit Flood Dragon, Mystic Tiger, Azure Sparrow, and Divine Tortoise of the other four great royal lineages, it was descended from the divine beasts of heaven and earth.

The grand and splendid Heavenly Origin Hall was where the Ling Emperor held court. Every day, his officials gathered there to report on the affairs of state.

Today, however, was a little different.

The four kings-the Spirit King, Mystic King, Azure King, and Light King-had all arrived. The officials withdrew, and the morning court session was canceled.

At the top of the ninety-nine steps leading to the Heavenly Origin Hall, five figures with profound presences each occupied a seat. The atmosphere among them was somewhat somber.

"Everyone, let us begin. You all know the situation by now. There is no need to hold anything back; whatever suspicions you have, speak them."

The Ling Emperor was the first to break the silence. The strongest person in the Ling Kingdom had always been mysterious, and few had even seen his true face. Now, he restrained the imperial presence surrounding him, revealing an incomparably majestic face.

The others exchanged glances. After pondering for a moment, the Spirit King said, "In that case, I shall speak first."

After all, the trouble had first appeared in the Spirit King's Manor, so it was only right that the Spirit King reveal what he knew first.

The Spirit King wasted no time. After gathering his thoughts, he said, "In truth, the traces of evil cultivators in my Spirit King's Manor can be traced back ten years. It was the time of the triennial audience, when the kings from across the land came to court."

"One of them, a border vassal king called King Chen, approached me and proposed a marriage between his daughter and my heir. I gave him a verbal answer, intending to leave the decision to Yun'er once he grew up."

"Only, I remained asleep afterward, and it was not until I awoke some time ago that I learned King Chen seemed to have been a 'Nether Envoy' among the evil cultivators, and had died inside the Spirit King's Manor's Royal Mausoleum."

"Only then did I learn that everything the manor suffered some time ago had been part of King Chen's scheme. He was willing to spend ten years bringing about the manor's destruction, and his goal seemed to be the Forbidden Heart inside the Royal Mausoleum!"

The Spirit King frowned deeply. After a pause, he continued, "There is one very strange thing. I do not know how King Chen died inside the Royal Mausoleum. What is certain is that he did not trigger its killing formation; he seems to have been killed by someone. But I cannot imagine which reclusive Primordial Spirit Realm cultivator in the Ling Kingdom would help the Spirit King's Manor."

The Spirit King's words took everyone by surprise.

"Could it have been the mysterious person who cured your poison?"

A sudden flash of inspiration struck the Azure King, and she ventured a guess.

"Him?"

The Spirit King was uncertain. That person had been able to cure the poison of the Sinister Insect within him, and in his view, his strength should indeed have been terrifying.

"I still don't know what method he used to cure your poison." The Ling Emperor was somewhat curious, and the other three were interested as well. After all, they all knew the Spirit King's original condition; to put it bluntly, he should have been certain to die.

The Spirit King said, "Three supreme-grade, fifth-tier spirit pills called Cold Essence Pills. They were extremely effective at countering the sinister poison in my body. Moreover, those spirit pills each had eight pill markings, making them eighth-grade spirit pills!"

"Supreme-grade, fifth-tier, eighth-grade spirit pills!"

Everyone found it incredible.

"It is understandable that someone could refine supreme-grade, fifth-tier pills. After all, across the Eastern Desolation, the Pill Empyrean Sect alone, that great Pill Dao power, has quite a few people capable of it."

"But... eighth-grade spirit pills? I've never heard of anyone who could refine them. Even the 'sixth-tier pill masters' of the Pill Empyrean Sect, who are known as the Eastern Desolation's Pill Dao grandmasters, can only refine seventh-grade pills."

The Light King spoke in utter astonishment. He knew a fair amount about many things in the Eastern Desolation, but even so, he found the Spirit King's words hard to imagine.

Seeing this, the Ling Emperor said, "Someone who could help cure your poison is presumably not an enemy, but you should still remain on guard. For now, continue reporting on the situations in your respective manors."

The Azure King readily took up the conversation. "As for our Azure King Manor, the only contact with evil cultivators I can speak of was with that 'Soul Nether Envoy' some time ago. Looking further back, I cannot find any traces either."

That was the case for the Azure King, and the other two kings had even fewer clues.

Seeing this, the Ling Emperor formed a preliminary conjecture. "The emergence of the evil cultivators is already inevitable. But they seem to have changed their strategy in the early stages. They did not strike at us directly, and even the people they sent as a vanguard were pitifully few."

"That can only mean they are no longer pinning their hopes on stealing the Forbidden Heart. Sending people was merely an attempt they could not bear to give up. They have very likely found another way to deal with us."

The kings had no idea what it might be. "What could it be?"

The Ling Emperor shook his head. "Our mission is to protect this land. You should still remember the oath of our ancestors."

"So long as the will to slay evil endures, after a thousand years we may return to the holy lineage. Fate is already set; there is only the duty to protect, and no need for further words."

They recited the words that had been passed down for a thousand years. A summons came from the depths of their souls, making them even more resolute in their thoughts.

"In any case, we must protect this land and allow no mistakes. Once the evil cultivators emerge, the oath will guide us to the right choice."

The Ling Emperor's voice was distant.

"But before that, annihilate every evil cultivator who shows themselves."

The kings nodded. Then the Azure King thought of something and could not help asking, "Does the emergence of the evil cultivators mean... that their Dao Palace Realm experts have already returned to their peak numbers?"

A thousand years ago, the Ling Clan's side had seven Dao Palace Realm Perfection experts, while the evil cultivators had a full sixteen. With that advantage in numbers, the two sides had fought until heaven and earth went dark. In the end, more than half the evil cultivators were killed or wounded, while the Ling Clan's experts all fell.

Yet the evil cultivators had not dared to fight to the bitter end. The reason, naturally, was that the Ling Clan's Forbidden Heart was its true trump card. It was something a terrifying existence had bestowed upon the seven founders of the Ling Kingdom.

"Their return to their peak is inevitable. But we are incompatible with this world, and it is truly difficult for us to break through to that level."

The Ling Emperor shook his head.

"I can only make an attempt before then, to see whether I can take that step and give us a little more confidence."

The others fell somewhat silent at his words. In the end, they continued their discussion, until roughly two hours later, when they all took their leave.

From that day on, calls to suppress the evil cultivators began to ring out throughout the Ling Kingdom, and many legends about the evil cultivators of a thousand years ago began to spread.

It was said that there were seven branches of evil cultivators in the world, each inheriting a portion of the power of a certain legendary, terrifying fiend.

The seven powers of ultimate evil between heaven and earth had once unleashed terrifying demonic calamities upon the Eastern Desolation time and again. Only when the Ling Kingdom was established here a thousand years ago did this land gain guardians in the open.