Chapter 979: Eventuality P3: King Runiye’s Faction Arrives

While Aksai was with Humeyin, his Aether Clone sat naked at the bottom of the pool, his eyes closed and his breathing steady.

There was no hesitation when the clone received the main body’s command. He immediately began forming a series of complicated Mudras.

Spirit Essence surged through his body and the surrounding sap-like liquid began to ripple. At the same time, the Fortune Flames Aksai had accumulated began to manifest around him.

One after another, the plundered Fortune Flames emerged.

The Aether Clone’s expression became solemn as he activated the Fortune-telling Arts.

The moment the technique began operating, the surrounding space seemed to distort faintly. Invisible threads of cause and effect emerged around the Fortune Flames.

The clone carefully guided them toward the connection between himself and Aksai.

Then he began transferring everything.

The Fortune Flames trembled violently.

One after another, they were consumed by the technique and transformed into a massive surge of Fortune that flowed toward Aksai’s Fortune Flame.

The process was anything but gentle.

The Aether Clone’s body began aging at an astonishing rate. His skin gradually wrinkled and his muscles withered. His hair turned white as well.

His once youthful appearance rapidly transformed into that of an old man.

Yet the clone didn’t stop.

The white sap-like liquid around him began disappearing at an equally astonishing rate.

The life essence within the pool poured into his body, desperately replenishing the lifespan he was consuming.

But even that wasn’t enough.

The Aether Clone continued aging faster than the pool could restore him.

The liquid level dropped.

Then dropped further.

Until the bottom of the pool became visible.

The Demon Tree’s branches continued pumping sap into the chamber, but the newly supplied liquid was immediately consumed by the clone’s rapidly aging body.

Finally—

The last trace of Fortune was transferred.

The Aether Clone’s hand seals stopped.

His body trembled slightly. This was the longest and most taxing level of fortune manipulation he had done on Aksai’s orders. He would have taken things more slowly and gently if they had time. However, the enemy was almost knocking on their doors.

The pool was completely dry. Not a single drop of the white sap-like liquid remained.

The Aether Clone sat motionless at the bottom of the empty pool, his body looking considerably older than before.

But the task was complete.

The Fortune Flames Aksai had accumulated had all been used.

Every last trace.

The clone slowly opened his eyes. Through their shared consciousness, he sent a single message to the main body.

"It’s done."

Aksai received the message that his Fortune had been boosted.

And whatever consequences awaited him had already been set into motion.

***

Three figures streaked across the sky like shooting stars.

The vast expanse of the Orveth Sea stretched beneath them, its blue waters glittering beneath the afternoon sun.

The pressure radiating from their bodies was faintly concealed, but even so, the occasional Spirit Beast beneath the waves would instinctively dive deeper whenever the trio passed overhead.

The man flying in the middle looked to be in his early sixties by mortal standards.

His silver hair was neatly tied behind his head, while a short, well-trimmed beard framed his weathered face. Despite his age, his body remained exceptionally fit, with broad shoulders and a straight back. He wore crimson robes embroidered with faint golden flames—the standard color associated with the Runiye Dominion.

His name was Rumaal Vaal.

He was a Peak Lord of King Runiye’s faction.

And at this moment, he looked extremely uncomfortable.

Mostly because of the woman flying beside him.

"How could you be this stupid, Rumaal?"

The woman’s cold voice carried through the air.

She appeared to be in her early forties by mortal standards. She had long auburn hair, sharp crimson eyes, and an elegant face that would have made her look approachable if not for the murderous expression currently plastered across it.

Her name was Anaah Vaal.

She was Rumaal’s first wife.

And she was also a Peak Lord.

"Anaah, I already said that I didn’t know she would—"

"You didn’t know?"

Anaah suddenly turned her head toward him.

Rumaal’s mouth snapped shut.

"You didn’t know that young harlot Kalina was using you?"

Her voice became even colder.

"She took your jade slips. She took your resources. She used your position to interfere with matters within the faction. She even used your influence to get herself included in the campaign against Orveth just to shake those idiot sword cultivators off her back."

Anaah’s eyes narrowed.

"And you still thought she was going to become your third wife?"

Rumaal’s expression became bitter.

"At the time, things weren’t exactly as simple as you’re making them sound."

"Oh?"

Anaah sneered.

"Then enlighten me."

The third woman flying beside them finally glanced over.

She appeared younger than Anaah, perhaps in her mid-thirties. She had long black hair tied into a simple ponytail, pale skin, and soft features that contrasted sharply with the other woman’s expression.

Her name was Mirelle Vaal.

She was Rumaal’s second wife.

Unlike Anaah, Mirelle didn’t seem particularly interested in the argument.

She simply flew beside them with her hands folded behind her back, occasionally glancing toward the horizon.

Her cultivation was in the Late Lord realm.

"Perhaps we should focus on finding the jade slips first," Mirelle calmly said.

Anaah gave her a sideways glance.

"You’re far too forgiving."

Mirelle smiled faintly.

"I’ve already accepted that I married him."

Rumaal’s face twitched.

"Why does that sound worse than being angry at me?"

Neither woman answered.

Rumaal could only sigh.

The matter had begun several years ago.

Kalina had been exceptionally talented.

She possessed extraordinary Fortune, remarkable cultivation talent, and a temperament that made many people within the Runiye Dominion believe she would accomplish great things in the future.

Rumaal had been among them.

Perhaps a tad bit more than anyone else.

He had even developed the idea of taking Kalina as his third wife.

Anaah had naturally objected.

Mirelle had barely cared.

But Rumaal had been confident that Kalina would eventually agree.

After all, he was a Peak Lord of the Runiye Dominion and held considerable influence within the faction.

To make Kalina indebted to him, Rumaal had even given her several important jade slips.

Some contained portions of the Runiye Dominion’s core legacy techniques.

Others contained information that was normally restricted to cultivators of a certain standing within the faction.

It was an outrageous amount of trust.

And Kalina had accepted everything.

She had also been extremely good at making Rumaal believe that she appreciated him.

Whenever he helped her, she thanked him.

Whenever he tried to approach her, she gave him just enough attention to keep him interested.

Whenever someone within the faction questioned her actions, she subtly used Rumaal’s name as a shield.

Before long, Kalina had become involved in all sorts of factional disputes.

And Rumaal had somehow found himself defending her every single time.

Even when she eventually used his influence to secure a position in the Empire’s campaign against the Orveth Subcontinent, Rumaal had considered it a sign that she trusted him.

Anaah considered it something else entirely.

"She played you like a fiddle," she muttered.

Rumaal’s face darkened.

"I know that now."

"No. You know that because she’s dead now. If she were alive, you’d have been far too busy trying to get between her legs to understand this simple fact."

That sentence silenced him.

Anaah continued flying while staring ahead.

"The worst part isn’t that she used you."

Her voice became colder.

"It’s that she died while still carrying those jade slips."

Rumaal’s expression became solemn.

Kalina could die. That alone wasn’t enough to implicate him. But the jade slips were another matter.

If even a portion of the Runiye Dominion’s core legacy techniques had fallen into the hands of outsiders, the consequences would be severe.

And Rumaal had personally given them to her.

If King Runiye learned about it before they recovered those jade slips...

Anaah didn’t even want to imagine the consequences.

"Our entire family could be implicated," she said.

Rumaal nodded silently.

"Not just you," Anaah continued. "Me. Mirelle. Our descendants. Everyone connected to us."

Mirelle finally frowned.

"That’s right. It’s why we’ve spent so much time investigating this."

The trio had been investigating Kalina’s death ever since the faction’s intelligence department reported that her soul lamp had been extinguished.

Initially, they had assumed finding her killer would be easy.

It wasn’t.

Whoever had killed Kalina had done an exceptionally thorough job cleaning up afterward. There were no obvious traces.

Even the intelligence department had failed to produce anything useful. They only deduced that a regional sect known as the Purple River Sect was involved in the incident. However, the sect was already no more and the entire sect as a target was far too broad to search for their situation.

But Rumaal, Anaah, and Mirelle weren’t ordinary cultivators.

They belonged to one of the most powerful factions of the Shinayin Empire.

They had access to methods that ordinary Lords could only dream of.

Secret intelligence networks.

Forbidden tracking techniques.

Even cause-and-effect investigations.

And then there were techniques that were officially prohibited within the Empire.

They had used almost everything available to them.

And even then, it had taken several weeks.

The price had been enormous.

Rumaal had even suffered a temporary backlash from one of the methods.

But eventually, they found the answer.

Aksai Everwood.