A palace stood tall, its sweeping roofs curving skyward like a crow's wings. The walls were painted in gold and black, accentuated with purple carvings of crows flying around majestic trees. Wide courtyards filled with pebbled paths and giant fish ponds surrounded the central hall, where massive wooden doors opened to reveal numerous pathways.
Delicate windows cast intricate shadows on the polished marble floors, and silk lanterns hanging from carved beams and pillars bathed the space in its warm light.
At the heart of the palace, a garden flourished, its plum blossoms and bamboo groves swaying gently in the breeze ing from the open balcony.
There were a few people here, specifically two men surrounded by twelve women.
Accurately, the twelve women were just fawning over one man, and the other man was just a servant. The women were all beauties of high caliber.
Among them, one of the women was his third wife. She bowed elegantly towards the man.
"Realm Master, as you can see, the beautiful maidens here are all willing to bee your wives. It is up to you to choose the beauty you fancy and make her your seventy-third wife."
The Realm Master wore an amused expression as he nodded and panned his gaze over the beauties. The maidens in front of him were all Level Nine Immortal Emperors from branch families. They had powerful backings and were here to increase their family's might by getting together with them.
Naturally, he was aware of this fact. Even if he married them, it was up to them to bee his favorite and gain privileges.
He wasn't worried they would harm him. As he leisurely spent his time, wondering which beauty pulled his strings the most based on their appearance, upbringing, background, and various skills in the art that they showcased for him the past few days, he abruptly frowned.
"Are they not to your liking?" The third wife probed with an unexpected look.
It was going good so far. Why the deep frown?
She cast a side glance at her cousin, whom she was low-key, helping to get into the harem and gain more influence as a result.
*Whoosh~*
The Realm Master abruptly spread his dark wings as it kicked up a small breeze. The ladies were startled, but they fervently looked at those wondrous wings. They were the feature that these ladies were struck smitten the most. Their eyes gleamed as they saw him turn to look into the distance.
Abruptly, he disappeared from their gaze.
"What? Where did Realm Master go?"
"Is he playing hide and seek with us?"
The ladies all looked at the one who suggested it with approval. As Ghostly Crows who can conceal themselves, hide and seek was their favorite game, but it was not lady-like for them to start it on their own.
However, if the Realm Master started it, they could only 'reluctantly' ply.
Their expressions were filled with joy when it was suddenly interrupted by constantly ringing messaging talismans in their spatial rings.
"What!? We have to return?"
They weren't given a reason, but their people told them to return home soon and forget about the matchmaking that would change their fate. It riled them up so much, but with the constant barrages of messaging talismans, they got worried.
In another chamber, the Ghostly Crow Realm Master stood before a teleportation formation, his expression unsightly.
He could feel the realm core trembling, which could only mean something untoward was happening to the core or this realm. He instantly tried to visit the core, but he was bombarded with numerous messages that allowed him to learn what was going on.
Steeling himself, he appeared here, only to be stopped by two individuals who read what he would do.
"Realm Master, no! You can't head to the rumored Annihilative Heavenly Tribulation's spot! It is dangerous! We have called the Heaven's Warriors! They would soon head towards the disturbance!"
"Indeed. Although we received word that it has only been twenty seconds- now twenty-three seconds since the tribulation started, the distance is too long. It's said that they're in the Bloodied Rocky Plains. That would take approximately eight teleportation formations, and each one would require thirty seconds to activate. They would be long gone by the time you- you, no, don't!"
Two Grand Elders sent him soul transmissions to talk fast, but he seemingly didn't hear, so he activated the teleportation formation.
He arrived trillions of kilometers away and broke a black stone within the palm of his hand.
It sent him trillions of kilometers away again, far more distance than what the teleportation formation covered. However, he was still nowhere near the Bloodied Rocky Plains.
His expression grim, he took out a few more black stones. These were spatial stones that allowed him to travel vast distances. Each one of them was precious as a Mid-Level Autarch Grade resources, but he had no choice but to shatter them to get to the calamitous region.
As he broke the fourth stone and appeared above a mountain, he was suddenly struck by a tremendous wave of sinister aura that cowed him temporarily. His purple hair swayed in the wind as he stood there dumbstruck.
In the distance, he could see that the entire world had almost turned red.
It was almost like the Asura Dimension he had heard from the myths: the skies were red, and everything inside was hostile. He just didn't want to take a step there, but his duty made him take a step forward.
*Crack!~*
He crushed another spatial stone and appeared above a sea that separated the two regions, and the region on the other side was where he was heading. He could see the dark crimson tribulation clouds from here. His heart sank, and his body chilled. Clenching his teeth, he bit his tongue to stop himself from shuddering and strode forward to the eye of this storm.
His speed was extreme, more than a hundred million kilometers per hour. His body became one with the dark skies and disappeared, not leaving a single trace.
A few seconds later, he encountered a mirage.
"An Empyrean Beast…!"
From the aura of the mirage alone, he could tell it was put up by a beast. He couldn't tell the cultivation level, but he sure was able to see the mirage.
'What should I do? It's clear that this is an Immortal Emperor Tribulation but there's an Empyrean Beast guarding the Anarchic Divergent?'
The Ghostly Crow Realm Master's mind raced before he took out a wooden branch. It was nearly pitch-black. The moment it appeared in his arm, his concealment became even more profound, and his mind entered a state of utmost focus.
'With the Shadowveil Heart Branch, I should be able to get into the mirage and easily break free from it while the concealment may or may not be broken, which leaves me with one chance to kill the Anarchic Divergent…'
The Ghostly Crow Realm Master's determination was empowered with one of the three great Ghostly Crow Realm's Legacy Treasures in his hand, the Shadowveil Heart Branch.
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