Chapter 1938 The Truth (I)
"If you want this cooperation to continue, I must take the lead," Wu Hong directly stated. "The last thing I need is someone else questioning my decision, or managing everything I do. I need your full cooperation, and in return, I will willingly sign a binding agreement to prevent you from abusing my power."
"Saintess, what do you mean exactly by full cooperation?"
"I mean the power to mobilize all resources, including war deployment," Wu Hong calmly stated.
The Holy Lord hesitated.
"Is that an issue? If it is, just tell me, and we can go our separate ways."
"Personally, I don't have an issue with your demands," the Holy Lord said. They've been observing how Wu Hong operated and knew she was a domineering individual. Such a fact was obvious: she had slowly and methodically taken power from Long Aojing, forcing him to raise his cultivation to compete.
"But?" Wu Hong asked.
"Even we don't have full control of the sect."
Wu Hong frowned. "The Xu Royal Clan?"
"That's right," Han Guo nodded. "There are certain aspects of the sect that require their permission to utilize."
"Certain aspects, you say? Such as?"
"For example, we need their bloodline to fully deploy the Saint Array or the Emperor Sword," the Holy Lord explained.
Wu Hong thought about it for a moment, her finger rhythmically tapping on the throne's armrest. "But you do have the majority control?"
"We do."
"Will they intervene in my actions?"
"Well, they might," the Holy Lord explained. "If it were before, we could easily suppress them. However, this generation's Crown Prince is an unparalleled talent with the highest bloodline concentration in history. As such, they have become a bit greedy."
Wu Hong pondered. Her first reaction was to eliminate the Xu Clan, but she swiftly removed that thought from her mind. Firstly, the Holy Land has too much respect and adoration for their ancestors; as such, they would never do anything to harm his descendants. Secondly, there was a high chance that the Supreme Emperor had left protection for his family.
"You should have conflicts, right? How do you usually resolve them?"
"Through competition. In fact, one of the duties of the Saintess or Saint Son is to suppress the Xu Clan."
"That's fine then," Wu Hong said.
"Saintess, do you have any other demands?"
"No, that's all. Prepare the contract."
Han Guo waved to someone, and after a few minutes, someone brought the highest-level contract available in the Holy Land. The terms were simple. Wu Hong would lead the Holy Land, and they would cooperate with all their efforts. Meanwhile, Wu Hong also could not abuse her power, doing things such as wasting resources, forcing someone to their death for no reason, or doing anything that purposely negatively influenced the Holy Land.
The price for breaking this contract was the destruction of Wu Hong's [Existence] or the complete annihilation of every Elder who signed the treaty, along with the entire Qi Luck of the holy land. After adding safety measures to detect whether someone successfully broke the contract's restraint, Wu Hong signed on the dotted lines.
Roar!
As soon as everybody signed the contract, a dragon roar echoed between Heaven and Earth. The Emperor List once again manifested to release the purple-gold dragon. All eyes focused on it as the majestic creature instantly grew three additional legs for a total of 36. More importantly, a few of its scales began to turn transparent.
"This!" All the elders and Peak Masters watched in shock. It was one thing for the dragon to celebrate the Saintess' arrival; that only meant it could sense her potential. But now, as soon as she officially accepted the position, the Qi Luck of the Emperor Path soared to such a degree.
The dragon roared in joy before opening its mouth to release a golden orb that flew into Wu Hong's body. "Hmm?" she uttered, sensing her personal Qi Luck Dragon had also turned transparent. "Transcendent Luck? Interesting. In that case, let's add fuel to the fire."
Wu Hong waved her hand to condense a rune that contained the method of combining the Dao Sea and the Dao Body; it flew into the dragon's forehead and fused with it.
"My name is Wu Hong, the new Saintess of the Holy Land." Her voice spread not only to the Dao Blessed World, but to every world under the command of the Emperor Path. "I have perfected the Emperor Path, creating a means to combine the Dao Sea and Dao Body. In ten Yuan Epochs, I will preach for 33 million years. All who are destined can come to listen."
Boom!
The dragon grew a dozen more legs for a total of 48. It roared, spreading its voice to everywhere where the Emperor Path prospers. Purple clouds also manifested in the Heavens before also spreading to every corner of the holy land's territory.
Han Guo was the first to wake up from the shock. She swiftly knelt: "Thank you, Saintess, for your magnanimity." The others soon awakened and immediately followed her example.
"Get up," Wu Hong nodded. "You can communicate with the dragon to learn the method in advance. But I recommend you wait after the sermon to try it yourself."
"We will follow your lead," the Holy Lord said. He was convinced. If before he was only doing everything because he trusted Han Guo, now he was convinced. The only person who could be so open about such a powerful technique had either a big heart or was very confident in their strength. And no matter which is the truth, it proves Wu Hong's greatness. According to the sect's rules, the Saintess or Saint Son is the next Holy Lord, and he was prepared to step down from anything.
"Someone should prepare for the sermon. I don't want chaos to spread."
"Don't worry, Saintess, there won't be any issue," the Finance Peak Master said.
"Good," Wu Hong nodded. "Lang Zhelang said something about the truth of the Red Cloud. Does your sect have any evidence for your claim?"
"Of course, we do," the Holy Lord said. "It's stored in the Vault."
"Lead the way."
The group discussed their subsequent task, and eventually, the Holy Lord, Han Guo, and the Array Peak Master were chosen to lead the Saintess. The others went to help the Financial Peak Master or return to their abode to cultivate. After everybody dispersed, the Holy Lord and Array Peak Master retrieved two tokens that condensed a portal after activation.
Wu Hong followed them and found themselves in this small realm with a towering mountain that reached the clouds. And even more impressive than the mountain was a colossal copper gate embedded directly into the feet of the mountain, with chains thicker than the forearms of giants.
"Such a powerful seal," Wu Hong thought as she glanced at the chains. The Saint Dao Rhymes emanating from the chains were awe-inspiring, and for a moment, she wanted to take the time to comprehend their essence. Unfortunately, now was not the time.
The Holy Lord and the Array Peak Master once again used their tokens, and the door released a powerful suction force that pulled them inside. Wu Hong calmly glanced around while keeping her guard up. The sight that greeted her was also magnificent. At the center of the room was a red rock tablet more than 50 meters tall, releasing an unknown aura. About 10 other smaller black tablets surrounded the central one, followed by rows of books at the far end.
"Holy Lord, Peak Masters." An elderly man thinner than a skeleton, with a loose black robe, cloudy eyes, and a missing tooth, suddenly appeared in front of them. Wu Hong squinted: she didn't notice when this man appeared.
"Saintess, this is Elder Wong, the Sutra Guardian. He's been guarding this place for some time now, but, unfortunately, he's —"
"Infected by the Curse of Forbidden Knowledge," Wu Hong finished. "His [Existence] is on the verge of collapse. If he didn't somehow fuse his being with the remnant Saint power in this place, he would have died long ago."
"Exactly."
"This is?" Elder Wong asked.
"This Wu Hong, the Divine Seal Empress — also, our new Saintess."
Elder Wong immediately knelt. "This old man has seen the Saintess."
"Get up." A gentle power lifted him. "You were able to fuse with the Supreme Emperor's Saint power without being assimilated. Such a talent is rare in my world. It's a shame you won't live long."
"I've lived a long life— in fact, I'm the longest-living guardian," Elder Wong smiled. "I have no regrets except one: find a worthy successor. Once that's done, I will die in peace."
"Saintess, is there really no way?" the Array Peak Master asked. If not for the guardian, she would have died in the recent crazy attack of the Array Dao Path.
Wu Hong shook her head. Even her Saint Dao Heart couldn't do anything in the situation. Suddenly, she thought of something: "Well, there might be a chance."
"Saintess, please give us your advice," the Array Peak Master swiftly said. Meanwhile, Elder Wong remained calm and composed, with a gentle smile on his face.