Yao Shen’s eyes snapped open, just in time to gaze at the receding tribulation clouds. It all made sense now- those who sought the esoteric Human Dao by pretending to show kindness or living amongst mortals, some even going so far as kidnapping mortals for experimentation, could never attain it, not even in a thousand years.

Why did he sympathize with the plight of mortals as a powerful cultivator? A person can never fully deny the impact their environment has on them, not without access to outside information or perhaps a mortal who left a lasting impact on him, changing his worldview.... but Yao Shen had none of these experiences. Then why did he respect mortals, when he had no qualms about killing his fellow cultivators?

Because he had lived as one. The mind may forget, but the soul remembers. Was there truly anyone more qualified to study Human Dao than him, who knew the true potential of mortals? No, such a derogatory term was no longer necessary.

The true potential of humanity. Somewhere out there in the stars, perhaps galaxies away, was a planet named Earth. One day, Yao Shen would like to return.

He felt the nearby Qi submitting to his control, but for weaker threats he no longer required it. His physical body alone was enough to tear through a peak Core Formation Cultivator expert's defenses. His two Nascent Souls, after going through the process of compression and refinement with each strike of tribulation thunder, before a final refinement directly by the Heavenly Dao, had been fused into one, single soul that exceeded a Peak Nascent Soul Cultivator's soul by a hundred times in potency.

He had not just ascended to Soul Emperor, but achieved perfection. The esoteric Human Dao invited the greatest punishment from the Heavenly Dao, the red lightning that had attacked him earlier was the Divine Lightning of Extermination, the full power soul attack of an Early Stage Soul Emperor.

Had he not displayed his Human Dao Domain, the tribulation would have continued on as normal, but he would no longer be able to progress in the pursuit of Human Dao.... his Dao Heart forever incomplete. Yao Shen was not a reckless man, merely a talentless one- if he had continued to attempt it the normal way, his patchwork rotating domain that was a combination of Minor Dao’s would have shattered to pieces, and he himself, miserably perished.

Soul Cultivation had never been his specialty, but due to the sheer volume of his soul he could overwhelm any Nascent Soul Cultivator with his Divine Sense alone, a feat that he doubted that many Soul Emperor's could match.

His divine sense was currently in ‘passive mode’, in Earth’s terms. He was not focused on scanning anything particular in his surroundings, but everything in a distance of hundred kilometers was being monitored for any threats.

His divine sense was far more responsive than before, and Yao Shen detected eight silhouettes approaching in his direction, including rival sect leaders, who approached with solemn footsteps- knowing every subsequent step could be their last. If the Heavenly Dao did not strictly forbid interference during the tribulation, even when it desperately wished to kill the cultivator in question, he had no doubt they would have interfered. Then again, if it did allow interference there would hardly be any cultivator who succeeded.

If there was one thing Yao Shen appreciated about Eliria over Earth, then it was the fact that there were no cowards among cultivators. Cruel, yes. Despotic, indeed. Vicious barbarians? Fair. But no true patriarch would choose to flee and abandon their sect when death came knocking at their doorsteps. If fighting was possible, then they would fight till both sides were bloodied and hurting. If the gap was unfathomable, then they would offer up their lives and hope the other party was merciful.

For a cultivator, shattering one’s own Dao Heart to flee was an ordeal worse than death.

“Patriarch! You succeeded!” Three inner disciples knelt on the floor in reverence, speaking the same words in unison with an indescribable joy in their voices, trailed by Elder Han, who was trembling from a mix of shock and disbelief, his hands trembling.

“Indeed,” Yao Shen nodded and then gave a wide, toothy grin that was unbecoming of his stature.

His disciples blanched at that gesture, their faces going white and the female even took two steps back.

“P-P-Patriarch…. Please calm yourself,” The girl, who was roughly sixteen years of age pleaded.

Yao Shen gave her a questioning look, before realizing that…. He didn’t really smile. Ever. Except for the one time he’d gone out looking for vengeance.

Sighing wearily, a pang of guilt was hurriedly buried in the corner of his heart, before he spoke, “Relax, Child. I am in a very pleasant mood today.” He walked over and patted her on the shoulder reassuringly, before walking past them and towards the two aged men with stern, poised faces, who stared at him with ferocity in his gaze.

He took one step forward, and for them, death grew closer. They flinched not.

Soon, he was face to face with them, two core disciples from each sect shivering in fear by this point, on the verge of fainting.

“Patriarch Kang Long. Patriarch Lei Weiyuan,” Yao Shen spoke, his words calm and pleasant to the ear, as if he were gazing at two old friends.

“Patriarch Yao Shen,” Patriarch Kang Long replied in return, followed by Patriarch Lei Weiyuan repeating the same greeting solemnly.

“I am here to kill you both. You will not run?” Yao Shen asked curiously, his tone bearing no curiosity or doubt, only certainty.

“You two, get out of here,” Patriarch Kang Long spoke with a long, weary sigh, and the two disciples behind him belonging to different sects sprinted away in unison, to the large congregation that was watching the spectacle from far away, though disciples of the other two sects were in the process of frantically fleeing from the scene.

“Our old lives are already considered forfeit. Patriarch Yao Shen, we are all members of the righteous path. I hope the blood debt is resolved with our deaths. The Elders of our sects may have had.... differences, but Nascent Soul Cultivators are still a priceless force against the demons, ” He implored with staunch determination on his face, and both of them moved to bow in unison.

Two robust hands were placed on both their shoulders, preventing them from doing so.

“Raise your heads, Patriarch Long! Patriarch Weiyuan!” Yao Shen’s voice boomed out, causing the two Patriarchs to look at him- stunned.

“What do you mean, Patriarch Shen?” Kang Long asked, shocked when the reaper's scythe he was waiting for never struck.

“If I was the same person I was before my ascension, I would have killed you both. For decades, you have conspired against my sect, killed my disciples as mine have yours and I suspect, even assassinated an elder… your crimes are too many to count. I should kill you as you stand, along with all the vile elders that were behind these crimes against my Heavenly Sky Sect. Because you would do the same if our situations were reversed, in a heartbeat,” Yao Shen spoke, decades old frustration and enmity seeping into his voice.

“Indeed,” Patriarch Kang Long replied, staring back into his eyes without any falsity or deceit. He would have killed him, and would lose no sleep over it.

“Then why haven’t you?” Patriarch Lei Weiyuan asked, completely perplexed by this change in demeanor.

“The histories of our sects can be traced back to thousands of years. Back then there were hundreds of sects, but after the great calamity, only our three sects survived in the Azlak Plains. Tell me, do any of you remember why we fight? Why do our sects, generation after generation, take pride in killing each other's disciples, the seeds of our future?” Yao Shen asked slowly, deliberating on each word.

“Our sect records show..-,” Still unable to understand Yao Shen’s intentions, Kang Long decided to answer the question truthfully.

“Not the sect records!” Yao Shen snapped angrily, pointing a finger at Kang Long’s chest. “Do you personally remember? Were you there when the original grievance took place! The Azlak Plains have been in conflict for the past thousand years, fighting upon grievances of old fossils that have long since rotted in the ground! Tell me, Patriarch Kang Long, can you truly verify the authenticity of events that occurred generations before you were born? Thousands of years ago?” Yao Shen roared at them, taking both the Patriarchs by surprise.

Beads of sweat rolled down their forehead, as they realized the true meaning behind his words, the insinuations striking at them more viciously than tribulation lightning. They were smart individuals, who knew that it was possible for the Sect Records to have been doctored before they were born. Cultivators did not prize historical records even half as much as they did tomes containing powerful techniques, legacies, pill recipes, and anything with ‘real value’, at least in their eyes.

Tattered old records written in obsolete script… was that all they had to justify the conflict?

“Does the reason matter when the hatred has been renewed every subsequent generation?” Patriarch Lei Weiyuan asked, for after a point it became less about the original conflict and more about resources and interests.

“Ah, yes. Conflict. Is that not how we justify gambling the lives of our disciples each time a new inheritance ground is discovered? Sure, we may not ask them outright, but all of us are aware of what happens when two disciples of rival sects meet, without the oversight of elders. Conflict separates the wheat from the chaff, hones the disciples, and acts as a way to distribute the resources of the Azlak Plains. Tell me Patriarch Kang Long, did you not just say that we belong to the righteous path?” Yao Shen spoke in a self-deprecating tone, but the other Patriarchs were too high-strung to catch it.

“I did,” he responded simply, seeing no issue with his statement.

“Sure, we do not practice any arts that require blood sacrifice. We do not kill mortals to advance our cultivation techniques. But Patriarch Kang Long, is that your definition of righteous? Not sacrificing mortals? The Demonic Path fights among themselves like we do. The Demonic Path sacrifices their disciples, like we do. The Demonic Path’s greed is insatiable like ours is! Then Patriarch, what is the difference between heartless animals who have abandoned their humanity, and us?”

“That is…. That is simply the way things have always been!” Patriarch Kang Long defensively rebutted, not even knowing why he felt the need to defend an accusation that was leveled at them all.

“What if I offered an alternative?” Yao Shen smiled, and for the first time, both the Patriarch’s flinched at the same time. But he made no further movements, remaining there and continuing to smile.

“An…. alternative….?” Patriarch Kang Long muttered, while Patriarch Lei Weiyuan seemed thoughtful.

“You mean…?” Lei Weiyuan muttered out loud.

“A unified Azlak Plains,” Yao Shen spoke with certainty in his voice, as he stared at the sky, knowing that somewhere out there was a planet that defied all expectations, and a planet that gave him the courage to do the same.

“Impossible,” Both of them blurted out at the same time.

“The hatred of centuries cannot be washed away so easily,” Lei Weiyuan muttered with a tinge of sadness in his voice.

“That would be true, Patriarch Lei Weiyuan. After all, A Soul Emperor, no matter how powerful, cannot fight all the nascent soul experts of three sects. That would be true, if I were a normal Soul Emperor,” Yao Shen smiled even wider, and this time a part of the old, vicious, Yao Shen could be seen within.

Yao Shen released fifty percent of his True Soul's pressure, distributing it equally among the two patriarchs. Their pupils dilated in horror as they remained rooted to the spot- feeling true, all-consuming terror at that moment. An equal fight was the last thing a cultivator feared, for it meant they had ample chances to either take advantage of an opening or retreat. But this…. This was their nightmare. A single step in any direction, and their souls would instantly shatter into nothingness.

This was… the gap shouldn’t be this exaggerated. This gap couldn't be this exaggerated.

Yao Shen withdrew the pressure, and the two Elders broke out into hacking coughs…. More out of psychological pressure than real harm.

“I…. would rather die…. than be enslaved. And the same is true for my disciples!” Lei Wuiyuan shouted out, and Kang Long's stern glare mirrored his emotions.

“Patriarchs, Patriarchs, you misunderstand my intentions. What I seek to create here is not a Sect which you are forced into joining, but you wish to offer your loyalty to! In front of absolute power, all tricks are meaningless. There is no one left to oppose me in the Azlak Plains, so I will unite it, ” Yao Shen stated, and the two Patriarchs stared at him as if he were a lunatic, but they would be lying if they said that their old, shriveled hearts did not beat just a tad faster.

“You wish to create a utopia, one which I have a hard time believing can exist,” Lei Weiyuan muttered, even when the outcome was favorable to him. Because such a thing was simply unthinkable in the world of cultivation, and Yao Shen himself was no saint!

“All I require is an oath of first betrayal from you two, and all the Elders in your sects. The new sect that I create shall be named after none of our Sects, and the law shall apply to everyone equally, regardless of which sect they originally came from. For there will be only one sect, The Modern Sect. And we shall accomplish what none of our ancestors dared to dream of! After thousands of years of obscurity, the Azlak Plains shall once again be united, and rise together!” Yao Shen’s voice boomed out loudly, moving the two patriarchs' hearts. This was an offer that sounded too good to be true, but Yao Shen was powerful enough to instantly destroy them all! What use was there in lying to dead men?

“What did you see? What can a man possibly see… to change this much?” Kang Long could no longer hold back his curiosity, asking what was a taboo for cultivators.

Yao Shen broke out into a grin, sending chills down both their spines before he responded,

“A miracle.”