Ch106: Unique Strengths

Supreme Huhrz kept his eyes on Bienze. He had hoped that Bienze would recklessly enter the fray himself. Unfortunately, Bienze opted to simply watch at a distance.

The sound of the shattering stone was followed by many screams as a second circular region was exposed. A second major stone pillar set up by One Formation Sect had been destroyed by the silver guards. More beehived corpses soon littered the ground. 

The third followed, then the fourth. The Great Sects' shell advancers soon became smarter, and escaped any formation targeted by the silver guards prior to their destruction. The silver guards did not switch targets in response. Their goal was to remove as many of these pesky surrounding formations as possible.

Some of the Great Sects' shell advancers attempted to attack and disrupt the silver guards. The silver guards simply glared at a chosen target in sync, and said target became melted flesh under an intense heat.

When Rein saw this, he recalled how he had briefly felt an intense burn when he was observed by silver guards during his entry into the Halls.

Some of the Great Sects' shell advancers, desperate, wrapped themselves in aurae shells of various forms. One's aurae shell reformed into that of a tortoise. However, the formation of the silver guards shredded both his protective shell and flesh to pieces.

A few raised their swords in unison in an attempt to launch a combined attack. Unlike the silver guards, they were not modified to share the same 'in-sync' aurae quality. Thus, their combined sword simply shattered against the silver guards' formation power.

Eventually, the remaining Great Sects' shell advancers huddled around the last remaining pillar placed by One Formation Sect. All of One Formation Sect's disciples that came today had long gathered around this pillar-- they had long positioned themselves here such that they could cooperate to ensure that at least one pillar would endure. They did not bother informing the others, hoping to avoid drawing attention to their actions. Doubtless, this would create tension between the One Formation Sect and some of the other Great Sects in the future.

The original two squads of twelve silver guards combined into one formation of twenty four bodies. They waved their silver swords in unison, and the combined aurae gathered in front of the formation to repeatedly slash at the last remaining pillar of the Great Sects.

One Formation Sect disciples' robes glowed as they channeled their strength into supporting this last pillar. The two formations were perfectly in balance, neither side able to gain any advantage.

"Halls' soldiers. Prepare your projectiles," Supreme Guihnes gestured with an arm. 

Rein himself chose to not prepare his third 'Spear of Heaven'. That was his last one, and he knew he needed to save this last unique armament. Wilo, standing next to him, shot forth a number of her unique wooden poison needles, while Chirh simply gathered aurae into one arm to boost his throwing distance, before launching a number of basic elemental bombs.

These projectiles did not strike their target, for three flying swords flashed into existence and began deftly blocking all these projectiles with masterful shifts and strokes.

"They're here," Huhrz uttered to the other four supremes.

"Hm." Jensure rose into the air, his eyes like an eagle as he concentrated his senses. The inscriptions on his shining armor lit up as his body was suffused by a cloud of golden aurae.

"Remember. It will be our complete victory as long as we hold out for a thousand heartbeats. The sun will soon rise above the peaks," Huhrz reminded the others. His lips curled-- a sly smile. The truth is, they have already won. The Great Sects' leaders had reacted much too slow to their surprising incursion. Not to mention, the many outer realm advancers that had easily fallen to his javelins in the early moments of their battle.

Jensure opened his mouth, and on his tongue was an exquisite tattoo of a greatsword. That 'tattoo' flew off his tongue and into his hand, enlarging into a resplendent greatsword, its hilt inlaid with various gems thick with aurae within.

"Hah!" Jensure yelled as that greatsword increased in size until it was a hundred feet tall. He then slashed the greatsword, with every swing crackling the very air.

A grunt sounded as a form of a man materialized in the air, having been thrown backward by the pressure of a blade swing.

This man's appearance could only be described as perfect and immaculate. He appeared to be a man in his very prime, his skin a healthy glow, and slight pink on his cheeks and rounded chin. His eyes seemed innocent, but all who had fought against this man soon learned that behind it must lay a calculative mind. His shoulder-length hair tied into a ponytail was also incredibly… one might even say, artificial, for it flowed smoothly no matter how he moved in the air. And though he had been struck, even his 'thrown backward' was an elegant drift in the wind.

"Sect Master Fienze," Huhrz smiled. "Welcome!" On Fienze's robes was the sigil of the Uni Sect.

Fienze did not deign to reply, immediately gliding up high into the sky, his form blocking the sun, creating the image of some sort of descended divinity.

"All sect leaders be aware," his calming voice sang in a comforting deep tone. "Jensure's physical attacks are capable of pressuring your soul and mind. As for Huhrz's false domain-- prevent their approach and I will have it thoroughly snuffed out."

"Return to balance!" He pushed his palm down and a thick stream of aurae spewed forth over the whole zone. The air flickered as if a thin film was being melted away.

"Leave this to me." An elderly woman with sunken eyes, long white brows and lashes and a narrow nose appeared in front of Fienze. Her greying hair was simply tied with a black braid at its very end behind her back.

With a flick of her sleeves, many gems and totems were thrown into her surrounding air, and these items began forming a spherical formation around her and Sect Master Fienze. Not needing to defend himself, Fienze could now focus on countering Huhrz's false domain as well as launching ranged attacks through his telekinetically-controlled swords.

Five swords, each gleaming with a different elemental affinity shot forth, rotating in perfect balance and formation flight. Those who had seen Bienze in combat immediately saw some similarities. It was quite obvious that Bienze's talent in this art was higher-- Bienze could already control six different swords. However, this Sect Master could contest Huhrz's false domain, whereas Bienze could not.

Soon, another few other sect leaders arrived. One was a woman who's form could not even be clearly seen. She rode a white lily that drifted through the air, and a blinding white light cloaked her face and body. She hovered beside Fienze and greeted him with a simple tilt of her head.

A man also arrived, his robes a mix of black and white circular patterns that were uneasy to the eyes-- the Convergence Sect Master. He wore a mask with concentric circles

"So!" He boomed, voice full of mockery as he examined the bloody battlefield, full of mostly corpses of the Great Sects' disciples. "This is the result of your stewardship, Fienze."

After all, having been embarrassed at the Halls' meet, the Convergence Sect could only take a step backwards. Many of their resources and territories in the Evergreen Mountains had been taken.

To be accurate, it was Bienze who had failed to contain the Halls. However, he is a child of Fienze. Fienze remained completely unflappable. In fact, he even smiled, amused.

"Gustkr. If you wish to demonstrate your capability, I can step aside." His voice was mellow. "I am certain that the Halls will be happy to arrange a duel-- you against a Supreme of the Halls by yourself. And frankly, without the Uni Sect, none of you would even be aware of the Halls' presence here."

Gustkr, the Convergence Sect Master, floated silently in the air, fuming with lips thin. If he dared to participate in such a duel, yet end up losing his life… He, of course, is aware that the Halls' Supremes rose to their position through trial by fire.

The female outer-realmed advancer from Convergence Sect that had luckily avoided entering Huhrz's false domain, approached and whispered words into Gustkr's ear.

Rein suddenly felt a pair of eyes lock onto him. Gustkr was not physically directly his gaze towards him, but Rein's instincts told him that Gustkr, through some unseen magical method, had locked onto him.

"We will remain on the side and observe the proceedings." Gustkr snarled from behind his concentric circle mask. "You seem to have everything well under control."

"One can never make such a claim against the Halls," Fienze replied, his tone as mellow as ever. "Sit aside if you only wish to observe. Though if your hesitation is detrimental to our cause, your heavens might punish you and your line."

The Great Sects are those exiled by the Minhr Nation, then offered to lead a sort of 'outpost' by the lesser heavens in the Fusion Realm. In return for their loyalty, they receive all sorts of benefits. Of course, the lesser heavens, though often bickering with one another, always stood united when facing the Allfather's greater heaven.

Gustkr's choice today could possibly lead to his disaster, but his eyes had been drawn to another goal-- one personally motivated.

Rein, knew himself to be Gustkr's target. After all, he had, under the watcher of the Halls' orders, slain quite a few descendents of the supposed main family of the Convergence Sect.

Then, the final six telekinetic ranked advancers arrived.

A wizened old man, the master of the Pill Ignition Sect. This master arrived, perched on the edge of a greenish glowing furnace-- all could tell that this was the Pill Ignition Sect Master with his famous furnace of high lumite density. Then, a woman with glasses, of a sharp disposition with robes of One Formation Sect. These two stood beside Fienze in support.

Another man in robes carrying the sigil of a sword surrounded by a sun arrived. This Sect Master of the Sun Sword Sect glanced at Fienze then at Gustkr, and frowned as he half-stepped in the air in hesitation.

The cause for his hesitation was obvious to the members of the Evergreen Mountains' Great Sects. The Sun Sword Sect had always leaned towards the Convergence Sect. However, their loyalty was to the Thousand Swords Mountain lesser heaven, and it was expected of him to stand against the Halls when the time came.

He eventually came to a decision and glided behind Fienze. The way he saw it, Gustkr was likely to lose his position sooner rather than later. His movement certainly drew the ire of that outer-realmed female advancer under Gustkr.

As for the last three sect leaders? They were none other than those from Harmony Sect and Demon Taming Sect. Rein had already met the two sect leaders of Harmony Sect, the handsome Aihr and enchanting Meynzy. As for the third, it was a female advancer that rode upon a breed of bear demon, its paws sending out small air shockwaves as it lumbered through the air.

The sect mistress of the Demon Taming Sect was incredibly eye-catching, for she was a tanned beauty wrapped in a robe weaved from vines and leaves. Her chestnut hair initially appeared wild, yet it also carried a sense of chaotic order. Her eyes glowered like a cat's in darkness as she took in the battlefield. She leaned forward and whispered some words to her mount.

Aihr, Meynzy, and this oddly-dressed woman upon her mount separated themselves in a position away from the primary group around Fienze, as well as the solitary Gustkr.

"Your lesser heavens have mostly kept to yourselves to your own detriment. Is this your own position or your lesser heavens' orders?" Fienze queried. "Many of your disciples have been slain. Do you not care for their sacrifices?"

Indeed, the Halls had already slain a few outer advancers and many shell advancers from each of the Evergreen Mountains' Great Sects. To stand aside would be an affront to these sacrificed disciples. Or… An eyebrow of Fienze's suddenly twitched as a thought occurred to him.

"Indeed, we have already contributed significantly to our cooperation, having lost many of our disciples," Aihr replied with a low voice. "My heavens will not lay the blame upon me."

For the first time since his arrival, Fienze's lips quivered. Indeed, technically speaking, the other Great Sects had already participated with their shell-realmed and outer-realmed members. In the case of Harmony Sect and Demon Taming Sect, fringe sects that barely receive any benefits from the jade mine, there was no reason for them to provide more assistance.

At this moment, Bienze's six swords flew towards Huhrz, and his body transformed into a translucent eel that melded into the air, becoming invisible.

"Look at them," Huhrz chortled, a rare sight given his usual efficient executioner, no-nonsense demeanor. "The Allfather is correct. Only under our Halls, under the Allfather, will humans unite and settle all our debts with the demons, devils and spirits."

"Remember. Telekinetic advancers' main strength lay in their fully developed soul capabilities that can meddle with the mind, and control distant weapons with perfection and deftness, unlike our whip-like aurae tendrils," Huhrz reminded the other four Supremes. "As for Bienze, it was by luck that he stumbled upon the godly capability of shapeshifting."

"Allux, Yirmane, and Jensure. We will be relying on you three to limit their soul capabilities. Myself and Guihnes will protect the three of you." All five Supremes are on their way to the peak of the outer realm, and as such, their soul forms had already been born and were on their way to completion. Their telekinetic abilities are thus partial.

Under 'standard' understanding, they stood no chance against a number of telekinetic advancers. However, these five are the chosen of the Halls-- they all have unique capabilities. 

Jensure had already demonstrated his ability to strike the soul with a physical attack. Yirmane's capabilities lay in her mastery of gaseous and poisonous magics, an absolute thorn even to telekinetic advancers despite her being an outer advancer. As for Allux, the other female supreme? The other four supremes knew of her fearsome art that manipulated light in an expansive range that could even mesmerize the soul.

"Old freak! Leave them as grinding stones for our children and blooming flowers," Supreme Guihnes ordered. "Return and defend in my place!" That leader, 'Old freak', led the twenty-four silver guards to return.

The Great Sects' last stone pillar had successfully withstood the silver guards' attack, supported by a whole group of One Formation Sect disciples.

'Old freak' received the formation disc from Guihnes. This freed up Guihnes to rise up into the air. He, similar to the One Formation Sect Mistress, spread many inscribed totems, gems, and treasures to form a spherical formation around himself. Mobile formations are significantly smaller in size, and as such, he could only protect himself and primarily Allux. If Allux and Yirmane stayed close together, then he could shift between the two in defense.

Fienze internally grumbled upon witnessing this. These five Supremes were simply growing increasingly more difficult to deal with-- they seem to all have unique capabilities that transcended the idea of advancer power realms.

Formation magics, for example, only require one to be in the outer realm, such that one could connect with the various points of the formation with aurae tendril and control all the levers. Naturally, most formations are designed to protect against telekinetic meddling of its mechanisms. As such, those who have the resources and will to master formations are often troublesome if given time to prepare their assisting tools. 

Supreme Guihnes originated from a noble advancer clan of the Minhr Nation, and as such, he had access to many resources. His respect for Huhrz naturally stemmed from the fact that Huhrz could very easily prevent him from preparing his formations-- and had done so whenever conflict had arisen between them.

Then, there's Huhrz's false domain, which Fienze needed to suppress with a costly constant flow of aurae that gave balance and order to the area.

"Great Sects! The time is now! The Halls are hellbent on subjugating the Evergreen Mountains, taking advantage of the succession process of the Minhr Nation to establish their branch, simply to wreak havoc against our Great Sects! How arrogant for them to come, believing they will leave here alive?! Strike now! Reinforcements are coming!" Fienze gestured with an arm for the Great Sects to attack.

Those reinforcements, naturally, could not arrive here at the same speed as the telekinetic sect leaders shooting through the skies like a diving hawk. The truth is that those reinforcements are unable to arrive anytime soon-- the Evergreen Mountains are vast, with space to contain many of these proud sects. They would take at least a day if not more to arrive. The initial forces were simply sentires that had long been sent here to watch the jade mines beneath. Bienze had simply gathered them to form a resistance… However, Fienze needed to raise the spirits of his side, and thus made such a claim.

As for why no portals had been set up? The Great Sects thought that having multiple portals to the jade mine would lead to news of its location leaking out through spatial fluctuations. Well. It was too late to establish a stable portal for reinforcements to travel through. As for how the Halls had appeared here? That was something for the Great Sects to investigate themselves in the future.

Not all of the remaining Great Sects' disciples followed Fienze's orders. Those of the Demon Taming Sect, Harmony Sect, and Convergence Sect all backed away to escape.

As for the others? One Formation Sect disciples organized themselves and lifted up that remaining stone pillar and began marching forward, while other disciples withdrew new items, toy pillars that strengthened the moving formation. This was the method to move a large-scaled formation-- to carry the many key nodes of the formation in a relatively stable connecting shape, which requires a high degree of training and cooperation. 

The two formations of the two sides soon clashed, sending lashes of aurae curling in all directions. The two edges of the two formations began to overlap over one another, and the overlapping zone became chaotic under the incongruous rules of the two formations interacting with one another to control the zone.

As such, the advancers of both sides in this overlapping zone lost protection from their formations, and could only rely on their own abilities to survive. The two sides soon began pelting their enemy, especially those unfortunate enough to fall into this overlapping area.

Soon, half of each formation overlayed one another, seemingly equally matched. Rein himself was drawn into the combat zone, and thus he swallowed a pill and launched his third 'Spear of Heaven', its many layers rotating against one another as it burrowed towards the Great Sects' advancers.

Of course, both sides wished to disable the others' formation-- it would signal a victory if one could crumble the other side's formation!

As such, Rein's target was none other than a One Formation sect disciple that was carrying a small stone pillar supporting the main pillar. Many of the Great Sects' disciples made strenuous efforts to protect said One Formation Sect disciple, and Rein discovered that these disciples used many methods to repeatedly knock the path of his flying Spear of Heaven off course, whether it be projectile weapons, thrown elemental bombs, or other magics from their inscribed weapon.

To allow Rein to retain his focus, Wilo stood before him to provide protection. Her poisonous wooden needles flying in the chaos against any that dared to approach.

Chirh, on the other hand, was nowhere to be seen. Rein could only assume that the wimp had given into fear, perhaps fled back towards the portal through the small opening into the slope.

A layer of Rein's last spear shattered into bits, showering explosive bits onto a group of advancers defending a stone pillar. Those shell advancers defended themselves with aurae clouds that formed various types of armors. Rein discovered that since he could only use the weakest form of 'Spear of Heaven', he failed to do much damage against this concentrated and cooperative group of shell advancers. It was unlike the panicking and scattering of the Great Sects' disciples during the initial phases of the battle, after many had witnessed Huhrz slaying many outer-realmed advancers in a row.

As for the silver guards? They now had to maintain the Halls' protective formation. They stood over important points of the formation in order to protect the gems and treasures that were key nodes to maintaining the Halls' defenses. Unlike the One Formation Sect disciples, they barely needed assistance to protect themselves, their gaze focusing in unison to melt the flesh of approaching enemies.

If this continued, the Halls would likely emerge victorious. It was only a matter of time, given the silver guards' dominance.

Meanwhile, high up in the sky, the five Supremes faced off against Fienze, Bienze, the unnamed Pill Ignition, White Lily, Sun Sword, and One Formation Sect Leaders. No additional words needed to be said, and none cared to introduce another.

Both Guihnes and the One Formation Sect Mistress were learned in creating mobile formations using magical tools and items as nodes around them. Their range was naturally limited, as these were mobile formations that moved around their bodies.

The One Formation Sect Mistress focused on protecting Fienze such that he could continuously rewrite the effect of Huhrz's false domain. As for Guihnes? He positioned as a sort of shield for Yirmane and Allux. It was soon obvious as to why he did so.

These two female Supremes were quickest to act. Allux clapped her hands together above her head as her eyes glowed and her hair fluttered in an aurae storm. Above her head, a large ball of light coalesced in the blink of an eye, and a spherical pulse expanded outwards.

Rein found it difficult to describe the sensation he felt at that moment. All his eyes saw was a flashing light that seemed to be refracting through the air that had become a glass prism. His mind felt dull and his vision swam as the 'Spear of Heaven' swerved off in a random direction, skyward.

He, alongside both the Halls and Great Sects' disciples, all groaned and clutched at their heads. Rein himself nearly dropped down onto one knee. The shell advancers of the Halls remained standing, their legs trembling. Many inner advancers crumpled to the ground. Those that did were stuck by the enemy, and lost their lives in a heartbeat.

Fienze and his allied sect leaders had it much worse, as they were in much closer proximity and the primary target of Allux's attack. Their eyes were blinded. They felt as if pieces of glass were attempting to dig into their souls.

Of course, not all of them suffered the same.

The Pill Ignition wizened Sect Master simply closed his eyes as he harrumphed. Fienze closed his eyes as he concentrated his mind. The One Formation Sect Master, barely maintained her defensive formation protecting herself and Fienze as veins pulsated over her body, the many gems and totems supporting her formation trembling in the surrounding air.

As for the remaining others, they all coughed up blood, a rather embarrassing result given their position as Sect Leaders.

Bienze had originally hidden himself as an invisible electric eel. The prismatic light that carried a sort of hypnotizing pattern shattered his concentration, and he physically reappeared.

"So, this is the so-called Allux's Prismatic Pulse Art," Fienze grumbled. Supreme Allux rarely made any appearance in the last few decades, even during her rise within the Halls. It was only now that the six Great Sects truly felt fear towards her.

The light ball above Allux's head pulsed, and another wave of prismatic light expanded again. That wave weakened as it spread outwards, and it became but a thin wisp when it struck Rein far below. Even then, Rein felt his mind freeze for a heartbeat again, as he redirected his Spear of Heaven after it had flown off in a random direction due to the initial strike of Allux's magical art.

"How?!" The light-veiled White Lily Sect Mistress exclaimed.

Fienze understood her question despite its lack of detail. For a rising outer advancer, their attacks should only have partial, weak influence on the mind and the soul.

"It is her manipulation of light aurae, to influence our mind through the eyes of our telekinetic divine sense." Fienze felt certain in his judgement. He had closed eyelids when that second pulse passed by, yet his senses were still stunned. This was also why Allux's attack could bypass the protective formation. After all, Fienze had reached outside of the formation with his divine sense to assess the battlefield…

That did not mean Allux's attack was a soul attack-- Fienze was certain that if he ceased using his divine sense, and kept his eyes closed, his mind and soul would no longer suffer from Allux's magical art. True soul-based attacks would be capable of striking one's mind regardless of what senses were closed. Still, to enter combat under the condition of closing one's physical eyes and divine sense was like a mortal in darkness wrestling against a tiger

Firenze honestly felt the situation to be ridiculous. The five supremes of the Hall seem to have figured out numerous tricks, then created and mastered these complex advancer arts that integrated said tricks-- he was very much aware of how these supposed 'tricks' actually require unique insight and skill.

"Is it not your capability to bring the elements into unison and quell imbalance?" The Sun Sword Sect leader complained. Too often have Uni Sect disciples mocked the Sun Sword Sect of only wielding one single type of sword when they were supposed subordinates of the Thousand Sword Mountain's lesser heaven.

"This twisted refracted light has little to do with imbalance of the elements," Fienze sighed, his head hurting. "I have already suppressed Huhrz's false domain, which has the ability to truly create imbalance and confuse one's control over their body."

"Take the initiative!" Fienze refocused his mind. He kept one palm facing downward, an aurae stream flowing out to quell Huhrz's false domain. He pointed with his two fingers using his other hand, and his five elemental swords pierced towards Guihnes.

The light orb above Allux's head pulsed once again-- Fienze's side could only endure it and force their minds to focus.

Jensure was there to block Fienze's five flying swords. He swung his enlarged greatsword, and his strike shook the soul fragments within these flying swords. However, as he was but an outer advancer-- granted his attacks uniquely pressured another soul-- he was still forced to dodge, only successfully parrying one sword. His movements created a rather wacky image, as Jensure in his shining silver armor spun in the air acrobatically, his body dancing around the supersized greatsword, effectively using it to block before swinging out the cumbersome weapon when an opportunity presented itself.

The original target of Fienze's swords were Guihnes. As such these elemental swords flew past Jensure. Fire, wood, water, metal and earth aurae wrapped around the blades, and stabbed at Guihnes.

The five swords sank slightly into the formation as Guihnes' inscribed gems and totems lit up in resistance. Misty swirls of a silvery aurae wrapped around the tips that had partially penetrated in. Guihnes pressed his palms together, and the five elemental swords were bounced off, as if there was an elastic material reflecting the force within those swords.

The five swords made another attempt, gathering together to form a pentagon. They spun around one another, and a beam of swirling elements shot at Guihnes. Guihnes pressed his palm together once again. That beam of swirling elements entered the surface of Guihnes' formation, then suddenly changed direction. It curled around, passing through a number of block-like containment zones. By then, its direction had been turned around! The beam of swirling elements was sent back towards the formation that protected Fienze instead!

Fienze frowned then snapped his fingers, and his pentagonal swords spun, reabsorbing the beam of swirling elements.

The woman veiled in light naturally had entered the fray. Her white robes flowed in the breeze as her form flashed forward, her right hand carrying a simple and elegant silver sword with glowing white inscriptions and a white sash on the hilt. Following behind her were four similar swords.

Jensure reacted by unsheathing a normal-sized sword and a dagger both exuding a neon green glow due to the infusion of lumite. He controlled these three differently-sized blades to defend himself, taking extreme care to ensure that his aurae tendril connection to these three weapons weren't in a position to be severed by the enemy's telekinetic weapons. This is the greatest danger for outer advancers-- as they could not insert a soul fragment into their weapons, it was possible that their aurae connecting to said weapons could be severed.

The pressure upon Jensure soon rose as he discovered that the woman veiled in light, the White Lily Sect Leader, left behind white lily apparitions with every sword strike. Those white lily apparitions had the effect of soothing his battlelust, and Jensure had to constantly refocus his mind in order to swing one of his blades properly

His strikes, though painful for the soul, were tolerable if one braced themselves for it. As such, the White Lily Sect Mistress grew in confidence as the battle continued. Her form flashed backwards as another pulsing wave from Allux's light orb passed by. Once she refocused her mind due to Allux's disruption, she continued battling Jensure. Soon, Jensure was surrounded by troublesome white lily apparitions.

Meanwhile, Huhrz had clashed with Bienze. Bienze, recognizing his invisible eel form to be pointless, had transformed into a six-armed asura and recalled his six swords to his six hands. Initially, Bienze assumed he would have an advantage, but was soon proven to be incorrect in his assessment.

Despite Fienze having suppressed Huhrz's false domain, Bienze felt himself temporarily lose control of a limb when one of his elemental swords in his hand clashed against one of Huhrz's aurae javelins. Of course, thanks to Fienze, Bienze soon recovered function over that limb. Still, that loss of control lasted for a few heartbeats.

As a result, Bienze, feeling perturbed, engaged in an endless melee against Huhrz. Every single clash would cause a shower of aurae that temporarily disabled one of Bienze's six arms. Luckily, as this shapeshifted form of his has six arms, he was able to cycle through his arms during combat, ensuring that their duel remained slightly to his advantage, forcing Huhrz to occasionally dodge a few of his swords.

As Bienze had focused on physical combat with this form, he knew little of launching a soul attack-- he had spent his time to primarily train his soul defenses, such that those who fail to match his six-armed melee combat capability would fail when switching to attacking his soul. 

Since he was unable to dominate Huhrz, he decisively attempted to launch a soul attack. Yet as his eyes narrowed in focus, one of Huhrz's aurae javelins suddenly aimed for his head. He blocked said javelin which shattered and covered his head in a shower of glittering dust. His mind was momentarily thrown into chaos, and it was through instincts that his six-arms reacted to block a strike to the ribs.

Yirmane remained behind Guihnes, and she clapped her hands together as a few vials floating before her opened. Wind vortexes soon drilled towards Fienze, carrying whatever dastardly mixture was within those few vials.

Pill Ignition Sect Master was ready to respond. He withdrew a cauldron, and the fluid within flowed out as a liquid weapon. Many pills were also launched forward, exploding to dissipate Yirmane's vortexes. He then slapped the surface of that fluid blob gathered before him, sending dangerous spittle drops flying towards Guihnes.

A few aurae-filled gems that functioned as key nodes for Guihnes shield formation flickered as it came under pressure under the effects carried by the fluid, causing Guihnes to frown in concentration. A sizzling sound could be heard as those drops burned before vanishing into thin air.

Grand Alchemist Meehr was floating with his legs crossed behind, working in tandem with his Sect Leader, furiously crafting more explosive pills for his superior's use. A bag of newly-crafted pills flew into the Pill Ignition sect leader's palm.

The light orb above Allux pulsed again, disrupting a few white lily apparitions, and a momentary stuttering of Fienze and his allies' motions.

The Sun Sword Sect Leader realized that disrupting Allux's art was critical. His sword lit up with flames as his body left behind a trail of flaming shadows. This fire has qualities that could burn the soul of his enemies. He circled around, betting that Guihnes would not intercept him due to the threat of the Pill Ignition Sect leader.

He was right-- Guihnes did not respond. Yet as the Sun Sword Sect grinned, he discovered a number of vortexes swirling towards him. He foolishly swung his word, directing a blade of his flame to attack those vortexes.

The result was that he suddenly yelped in agony, plummeting towards a mountain peak to the side like a meteor.

"Fool," that Pill Ignition wizened Sect Leader simply spat.

Yirmane was bemused. If there was one thing known regarding alchemists, it was that they, too, could easily take the life of a far more powerful advancer. After all, their skill came from their ability to create mixtures that could kill or heal. Sometimes, unique enough poisons could even kill unsuspecting powerful gods! Of course, delivering these poisons to their targets becomes much more difficult if said target was careful.

As for the Sun Sword Sect? Their telekinetic advancers connect their soul to their flames to raise the power of said flame. Well… seeing as these are telekinetic advancers, Yirmane had simply made use of a type of poison that attacked the very soul. To clash against her vortex of poison with his flame… was the height of idiocy, it must be said. Perhaps he thought his flame powerful enough, but an advancer with proper common sense would recognize that the form of a spinning vortex was rather effective in dissipating flame. Since he had injected his soul into the flame, which lacked a strong or resistant body…

The reality is that even powerful advancers cannot be careless. Well, Yirmane doubted that the Sun Sword Sect Master suffered any serious injury. Telekinetic advancers should not be that weak, surely…?

The Sun Sword Sect Master's falling body drilled into a mountain side.

"Ah, Zren," the Sun Sword Sect Master muttered to himself. "The path of the sword must be pure. By the fallen gods. These fuckers and those shitters under me just can't help but involve themselves." He caressed the flaming sword he still gripped firmly as his body came to a stop. "My baby. Your flame is not to be wasted on such meaningless chores."

The supposed idiotic mistake of the Sun Sword Sect Leader Zren did not change the battlefield. The five Supremes remained pressured, with the advantage on the side of Fienze and his allies. Especially troublesome was the white lily apparitions that increasingly dulled Jensure's battlelust.

"Switch!" Huhrz ordered, as he suddenly accelerated towards the increasingly expansive zone of white lily apparitions. Jensure gathered his mind and burst towards Bienze. Bienze, originally chasing after Huhrz, found a new opponent blocking his path.

Huhrz began to send many compressed aurae javelins to attack all the white lily apparitions. It was his turn to come under the pressure of White Lily Sect Leader's swords and lilies.

However, with every shattered aurae javelin, some white lilies would become unstable and disappear. Huhrz was using his shattering disruptive aurae to destabilize these apparitions!

Jensure was not as skilled and precise as Huhrz in close combat, but his blows were much more powerful and shook Bienze's soul. To compensate for his decreased precision, Jensure used the gigantic greatsword to limit space while wielding his other blades, making it difficult for Bienze to fully use all six of his arms. It was pointless to sever Jensure's tendril connections to his blades, as Jensure remained right beside his weapons.

Fienze's eyebrow twitched. It was extremely embarrassing that they, as telekinetic advancers, Sect Leaders of the Great Sects, were struggling to put down five Supremes, even if they are upper outer advancers. He felt rather pathetic-- though he had much of his attention pouring into preventing Huhrz's false domain, he did still attempt to attack with his five elemental swords. It was simply that Guihnes repeatedly blocked his attacks with some high rank and costly mobile formation

As for Yirmane, her battle against the Pill Ignition Sect Master was a battle of alchemical knowledge. They repeatedly negated each other to a standstill. Meehr dared not contribute more than crafting pills for his Sect Master-- if he accidentally added some unknown element, it could cause an unexpected alchemical chain reaction.

It could not be denied that these five Supremes all had unique capabilities that allowed them to stand their ground.

Fienze's eyes gazed downwards. Unfortunately, the Halls' silver guards were simply too powerful, cooperating in perfect unison. On the other hand, quite a few of One Formation Sect's key nodes had already fallen. Unless they could subdue the five Supremes immediately, the battle below would be lost. He sighed.

"Wahrzein. Do it." His voice was loud and echoed through the mountains.

Rein's mind shook. He recalled that Aizen, a disciple of Harmony Sect, had mentioned the advancer named Wahrzein during his visit to Harmony Sect. Supposedly, Wahrzein was a Uni Sect prodigy, a man who was born with perfectly balanced high affinity with all elements, enabling him to even create and craft a 'body skin' that could fool even telekinetic advancers!

Rein turned his head to find a silver guard collapsing to the ground with a grunt, his eyes in disbelief at a white-aurae wrapped shortsword stabbing through his silver chestplate and white robes. That white-aurae wrapped shortsword occasionally flickered with various elemental colors. How was the silver guard's defensive treasure so easily penetrated?

Rein's eyes then widened at the identity of the man holding the shortsword-- it was none other than Chirh! No. Perhaps Chirh never existed!

Wahrzein held the gem that originally functioned as a key node. His hands glowed with a white light, flickering between various hues of color. He was infusing various types of aurae from within himself into the formation! It happened so quickly that none could react in time. The keynodes supporting the defensive formation simultaneously shattered due to the imbalance caused by Wahrzein's chaotic insertion of various elemental aurae!

The silver guard nicknamed 'Old Freak' hollered as the remaining silver guards immediately gathered to him, and then formed a weakened star formation to clash against the Great Sects' formation. The downside of this formation, of course, is that it could not be used to effectively protect the Halls' disciples. Still, 'Old Freak' recognized that if he did not take this course of action, the Halls would greatly suffer today.

Luckily, the Great Sects' formation was already on the brink of collapsing due to their earlier disadvantage. When the silver guards grinded with many combined silver sword strokes, the central pillar soon shattered. Both sides had lost the protection of their defensive formations.

Since the Halls' defensive dark dome had been destroyed, the ancient relic surrounded by five pillars that stood at the center was also revealed. And beside those pillars now was Wahrzein! He reached out a hand in triumph to grab hold of the ancient relic, an open chest with a dark mist pouring out from within, a dark mist that flowed into those five surrounding pillars. He had long determined that those pillars weren't defenses, but tools to direct that dark mist from within into the ground. As such, it should be safe to grab the ancient relic chest.

"Attack!"

A few closer Halls' disciples reacted quickly and launched projectiles at Wahrzein. They were both amazed and horrified when at least ten, if not more, different aurae layers simultaneously formed over Wahrzein's skin. First a rocky shell, then a layer of water, a metallic layer, a layer of mud, then a layer of ice and more. All of this happened in the blink of an eye.

Though some of their attacks penetrated a few layers, none were able to pierce through Wahrzein's true skin.

The Great Sects' moment of triumph was here, so Fienze thought as he observed. Not so.

When Wahrzein's hand came close to the opened ancient relic chest, the layers of protection on his hand suddenly turned into a black soot and drifted to the ground. In fear, Wahrzein leaped backwards, clutching at his hand. He had lost the tip of one of his fingers! He decisively jumped back into the surrounding crowd of Halls advancers as his appearance flickered. Many Halls' disciples attempted to strike Wahrzein with their blades and points, but they struck air as the man vanished. When they spun their eyes around in the chaos of the battlefield, they simply could not find Wahrzein's previous form.

Fienze widened his eyes, observing the black mist that flowed into the pillars, drilling into the ground… the jade mine was below! He had planted Wahrzein in the Halls, hoping to strike a blow at a critical moment. When the Halls had successfully retrieved an ancient relic from the Western Wilderness, he was precisely waiting for an opportunity to regain this ancient relic and examine it for himself! He had taken too long. Now he understood. The Halls had already gained an understanding of the ancient relic, and was using its destructive properties to erase the Great Sects' jade mine!

Even if the Halls now simply retreated, a significant portion of the jade mine would have been destroyed. This battle was simply a means to give the ancient relic more time to spread its destruction!

Fienze gritted his teeth. They had been played. At first, he wanted to blame Wahrzein-- if that prodigy had informed him of the effect of the ancient relic… Fienze quelled this thought of his. It was ridiculous for him to expect Wahrzein to know of the ancient relic's effect. No-- Fienze blamed himself. He should have sensed that something was off much earlier.

The truth was that he assumed the ancient relic to be some powerful tool to support a defensive formation. It was only now that he realized that the Halls' dark dome-like formation was to protect and give the ancient relic time to do its work!

As for Rein, he was already in disbelief that Chirh never existed. Now, his mind was further shaken as he recognized that black soot! It was strangely familiar to the black soot that covered the Bleak Mountains, where nothing could grow! It was only deep within its internal caverns, under Master Yirn's hand, that small pockets of vegetation existed.

"Hahaha!" Guihnes was ecstatic. His task was more or less done. He and his clan would soon be rewarded with a position in an aurae-rich realm.

"Halls! Fall back!" Overseer Jeahz's voice sounded in all ears. In fact, he could have interfered but thought it unnecessary.

All five supremes darted backwards to withdraw, with the Great Sects' sect leaders bitter with dismay. How insulting-- Overseer Jeahz was present all along, and had found it unnecessary to participate, simply watching in the background while ensuring the safety of the Halls' escape passage and portal.

"Wait… why is the ground shaking?" A Halls' shell-ranked woman suddenly tilted her head.

"Don't be ridiculous- wait… the ground really is-"

A hundred thick vines unexpectedly burst out from the ground and wrapped around the five pillars and the ancient relic! Many of the vines were repeatedly destroyed by the leaking black mist, turning into black soot, but then more appeared from the ground. The Halls' disciples screamed in fear, but none were attacked by the thick vines. Somehow, the relentless storm of vines eventually managed to close the lid of the chest that is the ancient relic! The black mist ceased pouring out, and the thick vines stopped turning into black soot.

Then those thick vines retreated into the ground, leaving behind hundreds of dark holes. Naturally, the ancient relic also disappeared along with those vines.

Fienze saw new hope for his capture of this powerful ancient relic. Initially, he deemed it impossible, with the path blocked by the five supremes ahead of him. They would no doubt have retrieved the ancient relic and disappeared through the escape route prepared by Overseer Jeahz. Now? It was a different story!

"Follow me!"

Fienze dropped low to the ground, gliding forward as he expanded his divine sense. He drifted down a slope of pine trees, before coming to a stop. He originally used one palm to counter Huhrz's false domain. Now he raised his other palm. A gigantic dense aurae hand formed in the air and slammed down in a thunderous boom.

"Come out!" Fienze yelled as he slammed down again. No response. He sighed. He could not believe he was about to rely on an art he had long abandoned. After all, those of his realm rarely, if ever fought with feet on the ground. As the Uni Sect leader, he had naturally mastered many arts of different elements. That was expected of Uni Sect disciples. To master and combine arts of different natures and elements. Some were successful, while others failed, forever demoted to unimportant positions.

He placed a hand on the ground and activated an earthquake imitation art. The earth began to rumble and quake. An odd squeal sounded as the land split open and out flew a vibrant flower with vines whipping, its body curved in the shape of a woman. It also spewed a yellowish mist from its mouth before darting away.

"That's… that's the Blissful-Endflower!" Bienze exclaimed. "It guarded the entrance to the ancient dwarven ruins! It should have become a telekinetic demon plant! Why… "

Grand Alchemist Meehr launched a number of pure white pills into the air, and the white pills absorbed the sickly yellow mist, clearing the air. This was not the right time to consider as to why the Blissful-Endflower had come for the ancient relic chest!

"After it!"

It wasn't only some of the Great Sects' leaders that chased after the Blissful-Endflower. The five Supremes were also in hot pursuit, a slight distance behind!

As for Rein? He stood in the now silent battlefield, observing his fellow Halls' members as well as the supposed enemy, the Great Sects' remaining disciples. They all wondered the same thing-- are they supposed to continue the battle?

Rein spun his head around as he felt daggers on his back. Gustkr, the Convergence Sect Master, was filled with glee. To him, this was an opportunity to get revenge on Rein for his descendents.

Yet before he could launch an attack, Harmony Sect's Aihr blocked his way. Gustkr was astounded. Harmony Sect rarely interfered. They might not always participate, but they have never attempted to block the actions of the other Great Sects. The same could be said for the lesser heaven behind Harmony Sect!

"Enough has died today. I propose we call a truce." Aihr then raised his voice. "Wouldn't you agree, Overseer Jeahz?"

"Very well." The Halls' destruction of the Great Sects' jade mine was more or less complete. The truth is that none would gain anything from continuing the battle.

Gustkr gestured for the outer realm female advancer below him to take action, only to find her way blocked by the Demon Taming Sect Mistress upon her intimidating mount.

Gustkr was maddened by the situation. He held a grudge against the Uni Sect, and thus opted to not provide assistance during the earlier battle. If he attempted to attack Rein then, he would end up indirectly assisting Fienze. It was almost inevitable that his movement would be revealed by that damn Allux's pulsing light orb.

Now that Fienze, his allies, and the five supremes had run off in pursuit of the being that had stolen the ancient relic chest, Gustkr thought this to be the best opportunity to finish Rein with a single blow. As Gustkr was a telekinetic advancer, he assumed that with cooperation of his outer realm disciple, they would be able to force Overseer Jeahz into choosing between defending the Halls' escape route versus Rein's life. He had no doubt the Overseer Jeahz would interfere to maintain the Halls' dignity and respect.

Still, what Gustkr did not expect was for Harmony Sect to step in. Worse, they had stepped in to call for a truce. Gustkr obviously cannot state that he simply wished to kill a man still in the inner realm. He initially planned to attack Overseer Jeahz and accidentally take Rein's life. In such a roundabout way, he would be able to slay Rein without ruining his own name and reputation. For a telekinetic advancer to set his eyes on an inner advancer was indeed embarrassing…

Well-- that plan could no longer be carried out.

"Yes, I agree! A truce!" Zren shouted as he returned, conveniently after the battle. This Sect Master of the Sun Sword Sect had been pushed, 'tricked' into this position due to his combat ability, he often complained to his disciples. Much of the sect's arrangements were set up by the vice sect leader.

Gustkr fumed internally at the man's agreement. He rarely interacted with Zren-- however, the vice sect leader often told him that Zren preferred not to be involved. Of course, the problem was that this battle demanded all sect leaders to show, forcing the unreliable Zren to come along…

Rein felt relief at having been saved again by the circumstances-- he knew all too well the true strength of telekinetic advancers, having nearly lost his life from a casual flick of Bienze's finger.

Rein's vision suddenly transformed, and he discovered Meynzy, the busty and mesmerizing female Sect Mistress of Harmony Sect standing before him. They stood beside a sparkling cool lake surrounded by cherry blossoms.

"Worry not. This is simply an advanced form of soul transmission," Meynzy informed Rein. "Not even a heartbeat will have passed before our conversation ends."

"How…?" Rein knew that such communication between their souls should not be possible. The body's natural protection should reject such a direct and simple intrusion into the soul. This was why devils needed to use various methods to control slaves.

"During your visit and our… 'little fun'," Meynzy acted all bashful and coy as she said this. "I naturally inserted a mark~"

Though Rein knew this woman to be a powerful telekinetic advancer, a sect leader of the Harmony branch in the Fusion Realm, he still could not resist glowering at the beauty.

Rein also recalled his experience in Harmony Sect, especially that supposed 'love trial' during which Aihr had forcibly taken Suey, while he was forcibly seduced by Meynzy herself.

In truth, he had rather mixed feelings regarding the incident. On one hand, Aihr and Meynzy did provide Suey with a rather incredible advancer art that transformed Suey's body into flesh and bone capable of absorbing and dissipating all sorts of forces. It was quite obviously a valuable, perhaps even a top notch body tempering art. On the other hand, that 'love trial' was rather questionable in its nature.

Rein did not bother hiding his displeasure from appearing on his face.

Meynzy bitterly smiled, having noticed Rein's displeasure. She became serious.

"I see that you hold reservations towards me. Towards us. I am happy to provide you with deeper insight into our supposed trial. But you should first know. We are ready-- ready for a new age."