“This is...”

Shin held his arm out, stopping the advance of his fellow companions. He placed one foot into the Payirci, taking some time to observe the insides. Guardian Sword had taken down dozens of Payircis, and they knew better than anyone that each Payirci had their own unique feature. Some of them looked like gloomy dungeons with grey walls and dead moss falling from the ceiling. Others had verdant fields with lush trees and smooth, natural smells that would make one question their senses. There were even a select few that were completely aquatic in nature. However, as Shin stepped foot into the Payirci, he could feel his skin crawl and his inner being felt completely laid bare.

There was nothing of note within the Payirci… As if it had been cleaned out by a horde of locusts. Lack of elemental energies… Lack of lifeforms… All that it had was smooth grey walls that made it rather gloomy to be in.

“There’s nothing here?” Shin thought out loud. He placed one hand on the floor, sending out a simple surge of energy to probe the surroundings. It was common for a Payirci to take the form of a dungeon, but this was bizarre, even by the Black Masks’ standards. Frowning, the muscle man exclaimed: “Now this is really looking more and more like a trap.”

“No, it might not be only that...” Isadore stroked his hairless chin. “Remember the information that Kin and Gin shared with us? The one about each of the Payircis being a tower for the Nine Coloured Noble Beasts?”

“Yeah, what about it?”

“Kin and Gin have left the Black Masks, voiding their connection to the Allfather. Momo the Moon Rabbit and Midori, the Gargantuan Treant, had passed on. Which means that four Payircis suddenly turned ownerless.” Isadore laid out his hypothesis for all to hear. “Based on their testimonies, each Payirci was meant to be a labyrinth based on its owner’s element. Midori would have a forest in his Payirci, Kin would have Golden Totems all around, and Gin would make his Payirci look like the Moon Valley…”

“Ah, I see your point now.” Shin nodded his head and stared at the empty walls ahead. “So this Payirci’s owner should be one of the four Noble Beasts that we’d taken down, huh? Without the constant elemental energies from its owner, it couldn’t sustain its altered form and reverted back to how it was built?”

“Exactly,” the Hall of Whispers Master nodded. “Though I can’t be completely certain. I believe that this Payirci was owned by either one of the four Noble Beasts we took out.”

“Then it should be convenient to take down then!” Suji slammed his Spirit on the floor, sending sparks flying all over the cold dungeon. “Leave the Paradise Heart to us, Shin! The Master of Guardian Sword should be sitting back, sipping tea! By the time you finish your first pot, the Payirci will be conquered!”

All of the other Hunters raised their Spirits as if chanting in unison to Suji’s overbearing claim. Potent cultivators which had seen decades of war glared menacingly at the layered tower, waiting in earnest to run rampant and tear this object of evil down once and for all.

“Don’t be too overconfident Suji,” Shin rolled his eyes. “This is a Payirci that’s used to power the barrier protecting the Tree of Darkness. I’m certain that it’ll be more fortified than the others. I’ll be providing back-up support.”

“Hahaha, suit yourself!” Suji exploded into a fit of laughter before waving his war blade up. “My brothers and sisters! Let’s do this!”

“ARGHHHH!!!”

War cries echoed out within the solemn Payirci as all of Suji’s elites charged forward with him into battle, ignoring the helpless expressions of Shin and his companions. The bullet had been fired. There was no stopping them now. Like war dogs on the hunt, the elites charged up the Payirci, clearing the floors one room at a time. Traps, Umbras, Black Masks, be damned. Against the full might of Guardian Sword, it was only a matter of time before the Payirci fell, no matter what the Allfather threw at them.

“Hah… Suji’s moniker is really well-deserved...” Elrin chuckled as she watched the Son of War lead his army into battle. “Now I’m curious as to how the Lasgeor Family reigns him in. Once peace arrives, I doubt that he’ll have many chances to ride into battle as he does with Guardian Sword.”

“He’ll manage,” Kanari beamed. “The Lasgeor Family had just sworn fealty to Highgarden. I can’t think of a better restrainer than my mother.”

“Ah… They did?” Shin turned his head, only to meet his wife’s smiling eyes.

“Of course! Our Saniela Family isn’t to be underestimated!”

“Haha, yeah...”

‘Like mother like daughter… My mother-in-law is really a formidable force...’ Shin hid that thought in the recesses of his mind while he began his mission to take down the floating tower that protected the Allfather’s heart.

❖❖❖

The Tree of Darkness. The Apex of the Tree.

The Tree of Darkness. A physical manifestation of the Allfather’s Spirit and currently, the world’s most hated object. Thousands of cultivators, be it Spirit Saints or Spirit Practitioners, hated the dreaded withered tree that reached towards the heavens. It was the source of all the darkness in the Neutral Lands, and it was also the source of all the pain and suffering that had befallen upon the material plane.

Ever since the Allfather created the Black Masks and launched his era of terror, the whole world had wanted to see the Tree of Darkness fall. It had long become the symbol of the suffering sustained by all mortals, whether they were young or old.

Meanwhile, on the side of the Black Masks, the Tree of Darkness wasn’t the idol of terror that all mortals feared. Instead, it was the stairway to heaven that all living beings sought after. It didn’t matter if they were cultivators or Spirit Beasts, the Black Masks all joined the Allfather for one reason only… To enter the Immortal Realm and gain eternal life.

And the most esteemed location in the entire Tree of Darkness was naturally… The very peak of it all, where they were just inches away from touching the sky.

“Allfather, the Alliance had infiltrated our Payircis as we’d anticipated.” A black-haired man bowed down to the hooded figure, who sat silently on his throne made of black wood. “It’s a four-pronged attack to take down the weakened Payircis and destroy our barrier… Should we send the Brahmins to counterattack?”

“There’s no need,” a brooding voice came out from the covered hood. “The Alliance has more forces than we do. They are also far more superior in quality. If we send Brahmins over, we’ll just be sending them to their deaths without accomplishing anything.”

“So we let them take our Payircis?”

“Yes,” the Allfather replied with no emotion whatsoever. “They don’t matter anymore. Eventually, the Alliance will break our defences. The fact that we’ve delayed them this long is sufficient enough.”

“Allfather...” Kuro stared at his liege, bitterness creeping up his very heart. If he’d executed all of the Allfather’s plans to perfection, they wouldn’t be in such a one-sided situation. The Grand Scheme originally had the Allfather gaining Immortality with all Nine Coloured Noble Beasts with the world being plunged into a state of complete chaos. However, wedge after wedge had been thrown into the Allfather’s plans and the failures of the Black Masks were partially to blame.

Of course, there was the unpredictable factor which was Shin Iofiel which had also ruined many of the Allfather’s plans thus far.

“Should we at least kill that bastard?”

“Who, Shin?”

Kuro gave a succinct nod. “No Spirit Saints are protecting him. The Azure Dragon Lord’s ability to protect him is at a disadvantage due to our Payirci restrictions… If I personally act with Shiro, just as we did with Saint Suhavis, I believe that I can kill him without any hassle. There won’t be a more perfect opportunity after this.”

“Haha, you’re underestimating Shin Iofiel, Kuro.” The Allfather stifled a laugh, turning his attention to the northern Payirci where his nemesis was. “He’s much stronger now than he was before. If you want to successfully assassinate him without drawing any attention from the Spirit Saints, you’ll need to send all of our remaining Noble Beasts over.”

“You’re kidding...”

“Kuro, I may be weakened, but I’m not blind.” The Allfather sighed. “My ‘Eyes of the Dark’ had been observing Shin ever since he’d made an impression on me. He’s recently advanced into the Spirit Venerate realm. By my calculations, his power should be on par with a Spirit Saint’s.”

“No way.”

“Yes, way.” The hooded figure floated away from his throne and pointed to his finger to the north. “Not only that… There’s something powerful pulsating out from his body. Something that I can’t quite put my finger on. I doubt that he’s just a Spirit Venerate that can fight against Spirit Saints and Primordial Beasts. There’s something else… Something dangerous.”

“Still! Time and time again, he’s the one responsible for foiling our plans! If we leave him alive, there’s a chance that he’ll destroy our Heaven’s Gate!”

“I know that...” The Allfather raised his arm, signalling for his trusted subordinate to keep hush. “He’s the most critical factor in our Grand Scheme. But he’s also my best shot at advancing through this stupid Rank 99 bottleneck.”

“Allfather...”

“Leave him be.” The Allfather’s voice boomed. “Once they conquered the final four Payircis, that’s when our final resistance begins. I suggest you get our men prepared for that instead.”

“I… understand...”