In the Grand Basilica, Godric sat on the throne, his face dark to the limit. Now, the second he thought about Skylar’s casual strike, that terrifying power that crushed everything in its way came back on him like a nightmare, and his whole body shook.
He had lived for ten thousand years. He had ruled the Celestial Palace for thousands more and moved unchecked across the Fourteenth Firmament, yet he had never seen an existence that terrifying. And Skylar had looked so young.
Skylar… the Demon Dragon Lineage… Godric ground his teeth and spoke under his breath. His voice came out hoarse and dry, thick with venom. This hatred can’t exist under the same sky. If that day comes, I’ll tear you into pieces and make you pay in blood for blood…
But the second that hatred rose, something heavier pressed it back down. He lifted his eyes toward the hall entrance and looked at the surviving disciples outside—all of them wounded, all of them hanging their heads.
His heart kept sinking. For this campaign, he had thrown in every elite the Celestial Palace had. Thousands of disciples. More than ten True Immortal elders. Now, fewer than 200 had made it back alive, and only four True Immortal elders remained. Everyone else had either been buried under demonic flames or fallen while fleeing in the collapse.
The foundation the Celestial Palace had built up over tens of thousands of years in the Fourteenth Firmament had been gutted by this one battle, nearly half of it gone. The celestial overlord that had once shaken every direction was nothing but an empty frame now, swaying like it could fall apart at any moment.
What shook him even more was what came next. Once word got out that the Celestial Palace had been crushed this badly, every force in the Fourteenth Firmament would start moving. Back when the Celestial Palace had stood at full strength, it had acted with open arrogance.
With power behind them, they had trampled countless small and mid-sized forces, snatched opportunities, seized secret realms, and slaughtered anyone who refused to bow. There were grudges everywhere.
Worst of all, they had used worship at Sacred Mountain as a cover. They dangled blessings and help through tribulation as bait, then secretly took the spirits and blood essence of more than 10,000 cultivators, all to try to revive a forbidden Ghost Clan Venerable. Godric had done everything he could to bury that matter, but some rumors had still leaked out, and countless cultivators had been left to swallow it in silence.
Now the Celestial Palace had been gutted. Its strength had fallen off a cliff. The forces they had once crushed would definitely use this chance to kick them while they were down and come at them together. When that happened, getting revenge would be the last thing the Celestial Palace could think about. It likely would not even have a place left to stand. Bit by bit, it would be carved up and swallowed until it vanished completely from the map of the Fourteenth Firmament.
“Hall Master, how are your injuries? This subordinate has already prepared an immortal pill for your recovery.” An Elder with white hair and a grave face walked slowly into the main control room in a gold elder’s robe. In his hands, he carried a radiant immortal pill, and the worry in his voice came through plain as day.
Godric took the immortal pill and swallowed it in one gulp. Its mild medicinal force spread through his body. He slowly closed his eyes and said in a heavy voice, “I won’t die. But the Celestial Palace… this time, it’s ruined for real…”
The white-haired elder let out a long breath. Bitterness sat all over his face as he said, “This subordinate understands. We were crushed in this defeat. We lost men, we lost our top fighters, and we lost nearly everything we’ve built.
News of the battle at Cloudhaven City will spread through the entire Fourteenth Firmament in less than half a day. Those forces watching us like tigers won’t let this chance go. I’m afraid we won’t be able to hold the mountain gate anymore…”
Godric opened his eyes. Something sharp flashed through them. “Even if we can’t hold it, we still hold it. The mountain gate of the Celestial Palace is the foundation of our celestial race. How can we throw it away so easily?”
“You must not, Hall Master!” The white-haired elder immediately bent forward and tried to stop him. His voice turned urgent. “We’ve only just come back from a crushing defeat. The disciples are shaken, and whatever fight they had is gone.
The Mountain-Guarding Grand Array is strong, but it needs a massive amount of spiritual power to keep running, and with the forces we have left, there’s no way we can maintain it at full strength. And once the other forces close in around us, we’ll be turtles in a jar… there’ll be nowhere to run.
If we make our stand at the mountain gate, all that’ll do is wipe out the last strength the Celestial Palace still has. By then, not even the final spark of the Celestial Palace will survive!”
Godric’s face kept changing—green to white and back again. Every word from the white-haired elder had struck straight into the weak spot, but asking him to abandon the Celestial Palace he had spent ten thousand years building was something he could not swallow no matter how hard he tried.
Godric slammed a hand against the edge of the couch and barked, “Then what do you think I should do? Drag the remaining disciples around from place to place and end up like stray dogs with no home?”
The white-haired elder fell silent for a moment. Then something in his eyes hardened, and he said in a low voice, “Hall Master, at this point, there is only one way. We have to avoid the edge of the storm for now and find someone strong enough to stand behind us.
Only then can we preserve what is left of Celestial Palace… across the whole Fourteenth Firmament, there is only one power that can shelter us at a time like this, one power with enough strength to stand against the Demon Dragon Lineage and keep the other opportunists in check. That is the Celestial Basilica of the Luminous Sanctuary!”
“The Celestial Basilica?” Godric’s brows pulled tight. The look on his face turned openly resistant, edged with contempt. “That pack of sanctimonious hypocrites has never shared the same beliefs as Celestial Palace.
We’ve been at odds for ten thousand years, fighting over the rightful seat of the celestials, scheming against each other, piling grudge on top of grudge. And now that Celestial Palace has fallen this low, why would they take us in? More likely, they’d use this chance to kick us while they were down and swallow the little strength we have left.”
The white-haired elder shook his head and answered with steady force. “Hall Master, times have changed. Back then, we fought the Celestial Basilica for supremacy among the celestials. But the situation is different now.
The Demon Dragon Lineage has risen out of nowhere, and a terrifying figure like Skylar is sitting behind it. The whole balance of the Fourteenth Firmament has already been broken… yes, we and the Celestial Basilica have old grudges. But in the end, we still come from the same celestial bloodline. Our fates are tied together. If one side rises, the other benefits.
If one side falls, the other bleeds with it… if we are wiped out, the Demon Dragon Lineage’s next target will very likely be the Celestial Basilica in the Luminous Sanctuary. The Lord of the Basilica is no ordinary man. He has the vision to see what is at stake here. If we take the initiative to go over, offer up the remaining forces of Celestial Palace, the resources of our secret realm, and the secrets of the Sacred Mountain, then this would not be bowing our heads as servants.
It would be seeking an alliance among the celestials to resist a common enemy… for the sake of the greater celestial cause, the Lord of the Basilica would never wipe us out completely. He would take us in instead and strengthen the celestials as a whole.”
