Looking at the enormous tree, Aotian and Liu Taixuan began to plan.
"The sect really won't act?"
Old Liu asked with difficulty, discreetly glancing at the ancestors hidden in the void, who remained seemingly unmoved by his words.
Aotian frowned slightly, thoughtful.
"The seal on the elders and ancestors is not simple. They will act, but the power they can invoke right now is very limited and not enough to deal with those so-called Venerables." He shook his head after quickly reflecting, with his numerous minds, on flaws in the lie.
This was not the time to let allies, especially his most valuable one, be deluded by lies that the sect could save everything at any moment. He did not like revealing weaknesses, but he needed to, as the matter involved the life and death of everyone.
Liu Taixuan had a heavy and slightly confused look regarding why the sect's elders and ancestors imposed such restrictions on themselves, but at no moment did he think the sect lacked true immortals. The Dao pulsing around him thanks to them left no room for such thoughts.
Fortunately, Aotian quickly changed the subject.
"What do you think about destroying their families? Will they come out if we do that?"
He asked, interrupting Liu Taixuan's thoughts.
The old man looked at the boy beside him, surprised by the sudden coldness on his face.
"I would not recommend such an approach," he immediately denied, with a complex expression.
"Why? I don't intend to kill everyone without thinking, just control them, eliminate the trash, and temporarily imprison those who don't have major issues. And, of course, take all their belongings," Aotian asked, frowning, and quickly elaborated, wondering if the old man had misunderstood him.
Liu Taixuan looked at him in surprise and then with amusement.
"Boy, I think you're thinking too highly of me. I am not as kind as you and the sect. If it's necessary to kill the families of those old bastards to save the world, I won't hesitate."
He laughed softly as he explained, watching the boy's embarrassed face.
'Uhh… okay, I forgot I'm in a cultivation world—a place where even nice people aren't that nice.' Aotian's mouth twitched. 'And here I was thinking I wasn't a very good guy after killing so many people… turns out I'm actually kind of decent compared to these guys.'
Aotian pondered, scratching his head awkwardly, but didn't dwell on it.
"Then why wouldn't the plan to kill their families work?" he asked the old man.
"The problem is that those people are a bunch of cowards. Killing their families won't make them rush out desperately to save them, it will only turn them into cornered beasts."
Liu Taixuan explained with a sigh, and then continued, elaborating while looking at the tree of life in the distance.
"To understand the problem, you need to understand how families like theirs, and like mine, called ancestral families, function."
"All of our families were founded by a Mahayana in the past. That is to say, a bearer of a Divine Physique has existed one or more times in our bloodline throughout history."
"Each of our families, in fact, has its base established on one of the branches of the tree of life, created by a Mahayana in the past, just as the Dragon Sovereign did for the dragon clan back then."
"It is impossible for a Tribulation Transcendent to invade such a place. Even for Mahayanas it is not easy, and none in history have attempted to destroy another's ancestral residence, so as not to create a precedent, which could allow the next one who appears to destroy the one they leave behind. It is something like an unwritten rule, and not even the Dragon Sovereign dared to violate it, despite all the enemies he had."
He explained, stroking his red beard and sighing.
Aotian blinked, thoughtful, understanding where he was going.
"So… you mean that if we destroy their families, they won't dare come out, because it would be proof that a greater power is involved, something they cannot handle?" he asked to confirm.
Old Liu nodded helplessly.
"Not only that. I'm not sure how they would react, but there is a possibility that, upon learning their families are being destroyed, they will become cornered beasts. Without access to a Silent Cadaver Orchid and with a powerful enemy outside… in desperation, it is even possible they will implode the formations and take the tree of life and the entire Lingxi world to the grave with them."
Hearing Liu Taixuan's words, Aotian couldn't help but swallow, his pupils dilating.
Without thinking twice, he immediately discarded that route, for now.
"And what about using the Silent Cadaver Orchid as bait to lure them out?" Aotian took a deep breath and kept trying.
This time, to his relief, Liu Taixuan hesitated, but nodded.
"It's possible. But they likely wouldn't all move away from my grandson's body. In the best-case scenario, several of them would come out after making a soul oath to avoid internal conflict. Perhaps all of them might come out, carrying my grandson's body."
"But in the worst-case scenario, they might send only one of the Venerables—or several subordinates—to retrieve the herb. And once we start killing, it's impossible to predict how they'll react from within."
The old man was honest in his words, addressing the various scenarios, and Aotian nodded, already forming a plan in his mind.
"Alright, that can still be used. However, when we do this, we need to be prepared to go all the way, eliminating all of them, whether inside or outside the barrier, as quickly as possible, before they can take any drastic action."
Aotian, in a serious tone, narrowed his eyes, looked at that dead tree in the distance one last time, and then turned around.
The ancestors immediately opened rifts in the void, and everyone departed, with Liu Taixuan coming last, smiling slightly at the plan, which did not seem unfeasible.
Soon, that mountain returned to its empty state once more.
…
While crossing space toward the sect, Aotian couldn't stop thinking.
In truth, there was one more path, and that was… negotiation.
But he was not foolish enough to run to those scoundrels and negotiate for them to let him pass and heal the tree.
The prerequisite for such a negotiation to work would be for Liu Taixuan not to reveal himself, nor his Mahayana cultivation, as that would put the opponent in a state of crisis, making them fear being killed or losing the body they held. In either case, the measures they could take would be far too unpredictable.
Thus, without being able to reveal power to balance the situation, the Infinite Dao Sect's side would be at an extreme disadvantage. Not only would they expose themselves, but they would also have to place the ancestor of the alchemy pavilion in their hands to gain access to the tree and heal it.
It might solve the problem, but it would be extremely humiliating and disadvantageous.
Even so, it was a possibility. In four years, if he did not find a better path, it could be an option, instead of using the pill that would damage his foundation. After all, ancestors could still be bought after being destroyed.
Taking a deep breath, his heart calmed at that moment.
He had been under a lot of pressure in recent days, ever since he discovered the end of the world. But now, with so many ways to solve the problem and a clear direction ahead, he could finally breathe in relief.
'Now I can focus again.'
With a confident smile finally returning to his face, he returned to the Infinite Dao Sect.
…
While Aotian regained his confidence and calm, in the World Tree he had left behind, a solemn meeting was taking place.
On the trunk, near the beginning of the roots above the ground, a small pocket world existed.
It was there that, in its depths, a meeting place for the ancestral families was located.
That place had existed for countless years, being extremely important, having witnessed innumerable decisions that shaped the Lingxi world and the lives of the trillions of existences that inhabited it.
But now, the place had become a den of selfish thieves who only cared about their own lives. Or perhaps… it had always been like this.
There were no allies there, only interests.
At the head of the table, a place that was once reserved for the patriarch of the strongest family — a position that for many years had been held by the Liu family — was now occupied by an old man in plain gray robes, with eyes indifferent to the world.
His name was Luo Tianhao, an old monster with his days numbered, yet clinging to life more than anything else.
He was the one who had organized the hunt for Liu Shun'an to obtain the Dao Rhyme from his body. And it was he who was now leading the remaining sacred families—those who still had a voice and whose Venerables had not fallen into Patriarch Liu's hands during the terrible battle of that day.
"Everyone should be aware of the sudden chaos the Central Continent has fallen into," he spoke suddenly, his aged voice calm as his eyes slowly closed. "The leadership of several sects disappeared overnight, and that was the spark that ignited this chaos. Now, we are gradually losing control of the world."
His words echoed in the silence, but the expressions of the others did not change much upon hearing the news.
One of them, the second strongest there, had the appearance of a young man no older than twenty. He was the one who had brutally grabbed Rihai's hair to threaten her father at the time.
Despite his youthful appearance, he had not lived much less than Luo Tianhao, who sat at the head of the table and was the strongest present.
His name was Dong Zhenye, and it was he who spoke at that moment.
"Patriarch Luo, there is no need to take such a trivial matter seriously. As long as we are here, who in the world would dare disobey us?" he scoffed, unconcerned.
But Luo Tianhao opened his eyes and stared at him coldly.
"Patriarch Dong, I'm afraid you lack vision," his cold voice rang out. "Indeed, we have power, but with the world in panic, who will proactively listen to our voice? Now everyone believes that not only those Void Refining sect leaders are fleeing, but that we are as well."
"And what difference does that make?" Dong Zhenye snorted, frowning and slightly gritting his teeth at the old man's mockery.
"The difference is that we will no longer be able to mobilize the other trillions of people to the Shadow Domain so easily."
As soon as his words fell, the sound of wood creaking echoed. Many armrests were being gripped tightly by the anger of the cultivators present.
Indeed, it was true that they intended to send even more people, not only to continue the search for the herb, but also as sacrifices to weaken the impurities there and facilitate future searches.
But suddenly, things had become complicated, and they only realized it now.
They had a vast workforce, but even for them, if they could not mobilize the countless sects and people of the continent, it would be very difficult to gather so many cultivators as sacrifices.
Now there was chaos from top to bottom across various sects, and even with the threat of the ancestral families, the result might not be very good.
A single troubled sect was easy to deal with. Now, all of them in such a state, was not.
"What happened to those bastards who disappeared? If we bring them back, things should be easier to handle," Dong Zhenye asked irritably, this time taking the matter much more seriously.
"No clues have been found. But all signs indicate that they truly left, even taking their soul lamps with them. As for their whereabouts, I've already sent people to search every corner of the Central Continent."
Patriarch Luo explained calmly, and everyone nodded approvingly.
Dong Zhenye, however, still looked dissatisfied.
"Damn Void Refining ants. Curse that Dragon Sovereign for destroying all the Silent Cadaver Orchids back then…" he began cursing angrily.
But his voice was suddenly interrupted by another, female and older.
"And what about the other continents? Could they have gone to hide there?"
The one who spoke was one of the few women among the fourteen people present. She had a small red circle on her forehead and an extremely aged appearance, with white, clouded hair and eyes.
But if anyone truly thought that she, Gu Yuanzi, was fragile, they would be completely mistaken. She was the third strongest in combat power in the room, and her voice was equally respected.
Old Luo Tianhao slightly frowned at the question.
"Unlikely. Void Refiners cannot even cultivate in those continents, so they would not go there."
He denied firmly, but then, thoughtfully, added:
"But we are in times of crisis, so it is not impossible. I will send someone to check, and at the same time mobilize the forced opening of the Shadowfallen Burial Mountains to continue the search for the orchid in those places as well."
"Additionally, the previous trillions of sacrifices should have yielded results, and we do not know if we will be able to mobilize another round later. Now may be the best time to send the elite of our respective families to the Shadow Domain in search of the Silent Cadaver Orchid. Let them serve as fuel for our ascension."
As soon as his cruel words, spoken so naturally, fell, several nods came from the members at the table.
"I agree."
"I agree."
"I agree."
"I agre—"
Soon, the decision was made unanimously.
Luo Tianhao nodded slightly, and then his gaze fell upon the long, cold table beneath his hands.
That table was, in fact, made of ice. The old man extended his hand and gently brushed over its surface, clearing the fog from a certain spot.
Below, it was possible to see, frozen within it, the handsome face of a young man with hair as red as fire.
His softly closed eyes and his pale, lifeless complexion could not hide the majesty he once carried.
Old Luo stared fixedly at that face, his eyes devoid of emotion.
'Soon, Liu Shun'an… soon we will tear from you what you were never worthy of possessing.'
With thoughts colder than the ice beneath his hands, he closed his eyes, entering meditation once more.