Chapter 252: He is watching

Deep within the grandest tower of the Emerald Purity Sect, the air inside the Sect Leader’s private sanctuary was suffocatingly tense.

Heavy mahogany doors stood tightly sealed, locked behind double-layered sound-isolation arrays.

Sunlight filtered weakly through towering arched windows, illuminating the swirling clouds of incense smoke that hung above a polished obsidian table.

Seated around the table were the highest authorities of the region: the Sect Leader of the Emerald Purity Sect, three of his core grand elders—including the renowned Divine Hand Elder—and a delegation from the prestigious Myriad Heaven Sect, led by their Senior Envoy.

At the head of the table, the Emerald Purity Sect Leader held a thick stack of crimson-sealed parchment.

His expression was grim, his knuckles white as he tightened his grip around the documents.

“These are the finalized reports from the shadow scouts we dispatched across the northern borders,” the Sect Leader began, his deep voice heavy with dark foreboding.

“Every word written here has been double-checked by our high-level diviners.”

He unfolded the first parchment, clearing his throat as his eyes scanned the blood-red ink.

“It began three weeks ago in the lower valleys of the Northern Hashian Mountains,” he read aloud.

“Massacres. Tens of thousands of innocent civilians slaughtered in cold blood. Entire trading hubs, farming villages, and mountain towns were reduced to smoldering piles of black ash in a matter of days. Women, children, local cultivators—none were spared.”

The elders present leaned in, their faces darkening.

“And what of the regional ruler?” Divine Hand Elder asked, his brow furrowing into deep ridges.

“The Glorious Mythical Sect holds absolute domain over the Northern Peaks. How could they allow such unchecked slaughter on their own soil?”

“That is the most disturbing part,” the Sect Leader replied, shaking his head bitterly. “The Glorious Mythical Sect stayed completely silent. Unbothered, indifferent, and entirely passive as countless deaths mounted right outside their gates. They did not raise a single defensive array. They did not dispatch a single squad of enforcers.”

He flipped to the second parchment, his breath hitching slightly.

“And now we know why. Our spies managed to record visual signatures from the high atmosphere. This was no localized beast stampede, nor was it a bandit raid. It was a holy war. An army deployed directly from the overseas headquarters of the Church of the God of the Sky has descended upon our continent.”

A sharp gasp echoed through the room.

“An army… from the Holy See?!” one of the Myriad Heaven Sect elders stammered, his tea cup clattering against his saucer.

“Three thousand Holy Paladins, fifty Martial Generals, and ten Martial Lord High Priests,” the Sect Leader read, his voice dropping into a somber whisper.

“And leading them at the front… Cardinal Ryoger himself has made a move. A living Martial Saint.”

Silence fell over the sanctuary like a lead weight.

The air grew thick and heavy as the true weight of the news settled into the hearts of everyone present.

They could sense it with absolute clarity—doom had officially befallen the four Hashian Mountain ranges of the Jura Eastern Continent.

For centuries, the mountain ranges had enjoyed a delicate balance of regional sovereignty, free from the crushing reach of the monolithic overseas religious empires. Now, that peace had been shattered into fine dust.

The Senior Envoy of the Myriad Heaven Sect sat back in his high-backed chair, his brow furrowed into a deep frown.

He closed his eyes, rubbing the bridge of his nose as a long, heavy sigh escaped his lips.

“I suspected as much,” the Envoy spoke softly, his tone laced with deep grief and apprehension.

“When the early reports of sky-vessels reached our main hall, I prayed it was merely a rogue faction or a diplomatic escort. But hearing the truth… it makes my heart heavy beyond words.”

The Envoy opened his eyes, a sharp, icy resolve replacing his previous sorrow. He slammed his palm down onto the obsidian table.

“Starting today,” the Envoy declared firmly, “the Glorious Mythical Sect will be officially designated as absolute enemies of the entire Jura Eastern Continent! They must be purged without mercy! Any regional power that openly colludes with an overseas religious order to bring slaughter upon our people has committed high treason against the continent. They must be culled to the very last root!”

“It is easy to declare a purge, Senior Envoy,” Divine Hand Elder interrupted, his voice laced with pragmatic skepticism as he stroked his long, grey beard.

“But how exactly are we going to take out the Glorious Mythical Sect when a literal Cardinal dwells within their domain to protect them? Facing a Martial Saint and ten Martial Lords is nothing short of suicide for our regional coalition.”

Hearing the question, the Emerald Purity Sect Leader slowly set the reports down on the table.

A slow, sinister grin spread across his face, his eyes glinting with ruthless calculation.

“Do not worry, Divine Hand,” the Sect Leader purred, leaning forward over his folded hands.

“I have already devised a way.”

The Myriad Heaven Sect Envoy raised an eyebrow, leaning in with keen interest. “Oh? What way could possibly bypass a Cardinal’s divine gaze?”

The Sect Leader let out a soft sigh, taking a slow sip from his jade cup before explaining his strategy.

“Look at the geopolitical layout of our continent,” the Sect Leader began, pointing toward a massive map hung on the eastern wall.

“The North is already razed. The East, where we stand, is heavily fortified and watchful. Thus, I suspect that the next immediate targets of the Glorious Mythical Sect and the Church of the God of the Sky will be either the Crimson Key Sect—who rules the Southern Hashian Mountains—or the Soul Ordination Sect, who governs the Western Hashian Mountains.”

He paused, his eyes narrowing into cold slits.

“The Holy Church does not march without a target. Their main objectives, according to all intelligence, are the hidden followers of this rising ‘God of Beast’. They are hunting them like rabid dogs across the continent.”

The Sect Leader’s smile widened, twisting into a downright evil grin.

“So… why don’t we drop a bait?” he proposed smoothly.

“We secretly leak fabricated intelligence to the Sky Church’s informants, leading them to believe that the core leadership of the God of Beast’s cult is hiding deep within the territory of either the Crimson Key Sect or the Soul Ordination Sect. We force the Cardinal to overextend his forces into a full-scale invasion of those sovereign grounds. While the Sky Church and those southern behemoths tear each other apart in a bloodbath of mutual destruction, our joint coalition can march north, cut off the Glorious Mythical Sect’s supply lines, and slaughter them while they are completely unprotected!”

The elders around the table began to murmur in hushed, approving tones, nodding at the sheer ruthlessness of the tactical scheme.

They envisioned a grand victory achieved by letting their rivals bleed each other dry.

Unbeknownst to any of the high-ranking masters in that sealed room…

High above the obsidian table, perched invisibly on a dark wooden rafter near the ceiling array, a tiny, emerald-scaled lizard sat completely still.

Its slit-like, golden eyes flickered with cold intelligence, its delicate throat pulsating rhythmically as its sensitive ears caught every single word, plan, and conspiracy spoken by the Sect Leader.

Without making a sound, the small green lizard slowly backed into the dark shadows of the roof beams, carrying the grand scheme of the Emerald Purity Sect straight back to its divine master.