While the Heigui Enclave was preparing for a showdown to defend their territory, Shin’s congregation were bolting through the skies, flying at speeds that no mere bird could trace. Shin had even forgone using Zishen and Bingbing as mounts, which were the standard procedure when they travelled. He was using his own mana to fuel the rush home, and those that followed him were feeling the strain.

“Shin! Slow down!” A ray of golden light flashed past the flying Prince, gradually slowing down to match his pace. “I know that you’re worried about the Lantis Republic, but if you continue flying at this rate, you’ll run out of mana by the time we reach!”

“Don’t worry, Master! I know my mana reserves well, so you don’t have to worry about me.” Shin rebuked Lady Seph’s claim that he’ll gas out and returned his focus to the path ahead.

“Mmmm... The Lady is right, My Prince.” Zishen interjected from the side. “There’s no need to be too concerned. In all my years living on Celestial Island, never has an invasion passed through the Lantis Republic’s potent defences. Mmmm, not to mention, the Heigui Clan is renowned for their defence. I doubt the Black Masks would have any idea on how to infiltrate them. You don’t have to rush. Please, rest a little.”

“Yip yip yip! Brother Shin, are you not going to rest?” Bingbing asked as a question mark appeared over her head. She was nestled in between Shin’s armour, giving her a chance to rest and take over as Shin’s mount if need be. Naturally, Shin wasn’t going to let the snow-white Kamaitachi work after her long ordeal with the Moon Rabbit and thus, he had to rely on his individual powers.

“Guys, I’m fine… Really!” Shin smiled. “I just want to reach the Lantis Republic as soon as we can… I don’t want to risk it one bit...”

“... Shin,” after a brief silence, Longyu Tian spoke out in suspicion. “Are you hiding something from us?”

“...” The Prince remained quiet. His eyes shifted from left to right, not willing to make eye contact with the Saint of Time. However, in the end, the Prince couldn’t run forever. The Spirit Saint took one leap and was instantly a hundred metres away from his position, forcing Shin to slow down dramatically lest there was a collision.

“So?” Longyu Tian folded her arms and waited for the young Prince to open his mouth.

“I… I have a hunch. But it may not be true, so I didn’t want to alarm you.” Shin frowned after hesitating to speak for a while. “It’s a hunch that even I don’t want to believe and it would make me happy if I were proven wrong. However, if I’m right...”

“If you’re right, then what?”

Shin bit his lip, unsure if he should unveil his irrational thoughts. Alas, how could he back out now? Dropping his shoulders, Shin looked right at the Saint of Time and said: “If I’m right… The Heigui Enclave will fall in a matter of minutes.”

“What?! How’s that possible?!” Longyu Tian turned frantic, unable to comprehend how Shin could have possibly come to this conclusion. “Shin, you better elaborate now… Else...”

“I know, I know...” The Prince closed his eyes, calming his wildly beating heart for now. “The Heigui Clan is practically the most defensive clan in the entire Lantis Republic. Even if there were an earth-altering natural disaster, the Heigui Clan would likely sustain themselves through that, far better than any of our other clans. Why is that?”

“... Because of the Xuanwus?” Longyu Tian gave the most straightforward of answers.

“That’s right… Yes, the Heigui Enclave is fortified. However, the true method in which that Heigui Clan ensures that their clan survives is by spreading the Xuanwus apart. Each one of the Xuanwus possesses an innate spiritual power that could defend against a few strikes from a Spirit Saint. Many of them could even hide underwater if it gets too heated. It truly is the most reliant of defences... Even if the Black Masks had an infinite amount of resources, there’s no way that they could defeat all of the Heigui Clan’s assets.”

“That makes sense...”

“So… Why did the Black Masks think that they could take down the entire Heigui Clan?” Shin threw out a simple question, one that none of the Lantis Republic’s elites had thought to answer.

“They… They knew that we would beach the Xuanwus...” Longyu Tian gasped.

“Exactly. And the only person with the power to do such a thing is?”

“Saint Heigui… Wait, you can’t mean that!!!” Hearing Shin’s hypothesis, Longyu Tian finally realised why the Prince was so reluctant to voice his thoughts.

“Yes...” Shin frowned. “I’m not a hundred percent sure so I can’t confirm that our Spirit Saint had really turned to the other side.”

“No way! Saint Heigui is an honourable man! He had served the Lantis Republic and the Heigui Clan faithfully throughout his entire life! He’s the oldest Spirit Saint and the oldest Lantis Republic citizen alive! How could he possibly betray our land?!” Longyu Tian defended the Saint of Shells with everything that she had.

It was understandable. Before Longyu Tian was the Saint of Time, she was just a mere snot-nosed cultivator in Heigui Zhengkang’s eyes. Although the Saint of Shells hadn’t directly mentored her, he was a good enough influence to make the woman hold him up with huge esteem. After all, actions spoke louder than words. A general that directly led the Lantis Republic to victory during the War of the Oceans. A former Chancellor that sat on the High Council for over a hundred years.

And most importantly… A Spirit Saint that held the ground for the Lantis Republic. Even Shin’s prestige was nothing compared to the current, most seasoned Spirit Saint. Thus, it was no surprise that Longyu Tian found it difficult to accept that the Saint of Shells was a traitor.

“I told you that you wouldn’t like it...” Shin rolled his eyes. “I don’t have the proof, but Senior Zishen’s account of Saint Heigui’s reaction to the news made me feel uncomfortable.”

“Mmmm… His reaction was a little off...” The Azure Dragon Lord backed his Prince up.

“If one were to find out that their beloved clan, the one entity that was more important than their own lives were in peril… How could one remain as nonchalant as Saint Heigui?” Shin thought out loud. “Even the most steel-faced individual would feel anxious, not to mention, Saint Heigui was literally the gatekeeper to everything that the Heigui Clan had.”

“But that doesn’t mean that he’d betrayed us? What motives would Saint Heigui possibly have?”

“What do the Black Masks offer that far exceeds anything our Lantis Republic can, Aunt Tian?” Shin shot the Spirit Saint a quick question.

“Nothing! The Black Masks don't have any resources that could possibly tempt… Wait a second...” The Saint of Time immediately got to thinking, frowning while gazing up down at the vast oceans. Her mind turned into a static machine, pumping out images of the last fifty years she’d spent with the ageing Spirit Saint.

‘Haha, I can’t beat you youngsters...’

‘This stupid law barring Spirit Saints from interfering in world affairs is absurd! Not all of us have the chance to breach the final barrier.’

‘Ah… I’m really getting old… I can’t even see you coming!’

Each one of those memories flashed by Longyu Tian’s mind. She had never thought much of it, thinking that it was just an old man’s ramblings. However, as Shin mentioned Saint Heigui’s possible motives for betraying the clan that he held so dear… Those ramblings started to make even more sense.

“Nothing could tempt Saint Heigui… Nothing except...”

“The allure of eternity.”