402 The Paradise Sect
No matter how Yaan pictured his conquest of the world progressing, he could never have imagined that it would turn out like this.
After confirming that Shi was really here, within the white layer of Rainbow Mountain, and after confirming that she had not been followed by Defiance Sovereign, he immediately suppressed her.
Shi couldn't protect herself at all, she simply lost consciousness as Yaan's aura swept through her. He casually lifted her up and dropped her at his feet, then examined her curiously for several minutes.
After confirming that she was't going to die or wake up unexpectedly, Yaan turned his sights towards the mountain.
"What are you going to do?" The Sage immediately asked, before he could act.
Yaan paused, considering how to respond to that.
In the end, he just said:
"You still want to observe me, right?"
"Indeed."
"Then just observe."
"…"
And so, Yaan released his domain, spreading it to encompass all of Rainbow Mountain.
Immediately, all of those Deities across the mountain found themselves completely paralysed, unable to do anything at all other than think, watch and listen.
Yaan sat down atop the mountain peak after using the illusion dao to reform the top of the mountain into a flat circular surface.
"You three can come in now, the mountain is mine."
Love Empyrean, Shadow Deity and Typhoon Deity were startled when a projection of Yaan appeared above the mountain, and they heard his calm voice echoing throughout the region. They had been studying this mountain themselves and understood its suppressive powers, so it was really quite shocking that he could so easily project his voice, as if he wasn't hindered at all!
Well, he really wasn't hindered at all at this point. After travelling up the mountain with Conceal Truth, Yaan could completely ignore Rainbow Mountain's restrictions, and he could even harness its enhancing powers for himself.
A tunnel of white light opened up between the mountain peak and the trio of divinities. Love Empyrean was the first to fly into the tunnel, not hesitating at all. Shadow Deity glanced at Typhoon Deity with a wry expression, but the latter didn't say anything and followed silently after Love Empyrean. Shadow Deity sighed and shook her head, but still flew into the tunnel.
Before long, the three were stood before Yaan on the mountain peak, each on platforms that put them a few feet lower than Yaan himself.
When they saw the battered woman lying unconscious at his feet, they were at first very curious as to her identity. Yaan didn't bother saying anything; they would recognise her soon enough, once her injuries cleared up.
Finally, his voice resounded throughout Rainbow Mountain as white tunnels appeared between each of the Deities, leading to the mountain peak.
"I have obtained Rainbow Mountain for myself. Come."
The sudden appearance of the voice and these tunnels frightened the Deities terribly. They knew that no matter how long they spent in this place, they would never be capable of producing such power on this mountain.
Their status and power in the outside world was irrelevant, because here and now, they were in the palm of the mysterious individual at the peak.
One by one, each of the five Earthly Deities silently stepped into the tunnel of light. They felt the suppressive forces massively decline, but they also felt that they would be suppressed to an even greater extent if they dared to flee.
And so, within half an hour, all of the divinities who had been either on or around Rainbow Mountain, now found themselves standing on white stone podiums, looking up at the red-robed child who was seated in the lotus position, clearly placing himself above them.
When they realised this person's identity…
When they saw the Sage silently standing behind him…
When they finally recognised the woman lying unconscious at his feet…
When they saw one another, and they realised that this group on this one mountain was enough to shake the entire world of divinities…
Nobody dared to complain. Nobody dared to even utter a word.
Yaan allowed them to stew in nervous silence for another quarter hour, during which time he casually split his attention between the perfection of his body's fusion, Shi's condition and recovery, the Rainbow Mountain itself, the distant Chaotic Sector, and of course, these divinities around him.
For now, Yaan had a tight grasp over the situation, but that was only on this mountain.
Sure he could threaten them. Sure, he could even kill them all right now if he wanted…
But why would he kill his future subordinates?
After letting them work up some more fear towards him, Yaan finally gazed across the group and spoke.
As his eyes passed by each person, they felt their bodies tremble in instinctual terror under his might. Everyone present could feel that this might wasn't limited to this mountain…
"Everyone, I take it you know whom I am?" Yaan asked calmly.
Everyone nodded, their expressions varying. Love Empyrean was totally enraptured, Typhoon Deity and Shadow Deity were more calm, but the others were all very nervous. Land Deity was a bit better off, since he knew the World Demon should be on their side…
But he was the World Demon! What if he had betrayed them, that wouldn't be strange at all!
Gradually, their fear towards Yaan increased. Especially when the new divinities saw how Love Empyrean was looking at him, they simply felt so afraid that they wanted to cry.
He could even conquer the heart of an Empyrean of the Divine Court?! What chance did they have?!
How did he capture Destruction Empyrean?!
And what was the Primordial Sage doing…?
When Yaan saw the divinities quickly nodding, he sighed and shook his head.
"To think that most of you actually mistook my identity…"
"Huh?!" Forest Deity couldn't help but cry out, finally unable to hold her nerve. Yaan glanced at her and raised an eyebrow, causing her heart to lurch. Feeling like she needed to explain herself, she quickly straightened up, clasped her hands respectfully, then said matter of factly:
"You are the World Demon, the Empyrean born from the Primordial Devil's heart demon, the one who killed the Primordial Devil, destroyed the cycle of reincarnation, the karmic river, the dao of karma, and the Spirit Plane!"
Yaan nodded continually, making her feel relieved, until he said:
"No, you're mistaken."
"…"
Forest Deity wanted to cry.
Feeling like he'd been unreasonable enough to scare them into staying in line, Yaan chuckled and showed a sincere expression.
"The World Demon is the Divine Court's title for me, but what does that really say about me? The Divine Court Lord calls himself 'Law Empyrean', but he is really the most vile outsider, the God of Evil himself! So, when someone like that calls me 'World Demon', you should be able to tell that he's lying, and that I am actually the World's Saviour."
Everyone stared at him silently. Nobody seemed to be taking his words seriously, but at least he had their attention.
"I have said it before, and I will say it again. I have one ambition in this life; to save this cursed world. We have all lived long, shocking lives, have we not? You have all suffered greatly, you have lost those you care for along the way, no? This shared suffering plagues our world, but I suppose you could argue that at least, we all achieved success in the end, becoming divinities…right?"
Yaan chuckled mockingly, and many of the Deities understood what he was getting at, making them look bitter.
"In less than 30 millennia, the world as we know it will be destroyed. Unless you achieve Origin Ascension, you will die. And even if you do succeed…what then?"
Yaan paused, now talking more slowly and solemnly. He subtly released his domain and utilised Define Truth to overlap with it, creating an atmosphere wherein the world was painted according to the true emotions behind each word that he spoke.
"We cultivate, we kill, we inflict suffering, we ascend. And then what? We repeat this cycle, again and again, until we fail and die. That is the world we live in. That is the world I hate. That is the world I wish to change. This world is too cruel, even surviving often feels like a punishment in itself…but let me make this clear, for you Deities…none of you will survive the end of this Era."
Yaan's domain was subtly influencing their emotions. At this point, everyone noticed what he was doing, but he was no longer hiding it - he didn't need to. He was using his domain to show the world the truth that he believed in, what did he need to hide? Yaan only wanted those around him to see the truth, to see the one way in which they could bring meaning to their lives as they walked towards the unavoidable end.
"We live in a broken world that is now falling apart, so what do we have to lose? What does this world, in its current state, have to lose? I say - nothing. The world as it is, is hopeless…but I can bring you hope. I can show you true meaning. I can give you something to live for, even if you are fated to die, along with nearly everyone around you…"
"I hate this world…but I see the potential, the hope, for a world that I could love. And so, I make you this offer - join my path, join the Paradise Sect! No matter how many around me die, I will live. No matter what must be done, I will continue pursuing a better world without regrets. I will kill whomever I must, I will destroy whatever I must, I will do whatever I must to attain absolute power and absolute understanding, such that one day, this cursed world will flourish into a true utopia."
Yaan paused briefly and looked around.
He hadn't convinced everyone, of course he hadn't. Divinities weren't so easily manipulated, they all had their own dao, their own understanding of life and 'meaning'…but he had made his point, and he hoped that he had shown his sincerity.
"The Paradise Sect is not my sect, because it is the sect of my ideal. It is the group that I am creating to further my dao, such that one day, all will know paradise. I know that you won't be so easily convinced, so how about this - let's establish the Paradise Sect first, let us conquer this world, let me show you the heights that I can reach and the things that I can achieve. For now, you can join for the benefits granted by a newly established yet very powerful group, but once I stand at the peak of this world, I hope you will seriously consider the true meaning of the Paradise Sect."
Yaan looked around, feeling satisfied when he saw a few hearts wavering, a few minds pensive.
"So, who wants to join the Paradise Sect? I'm going to take over from the Sage and finish this conquest of the Four Divine Star System, then we can look towards the wider world!"
Yaan nodded in satisfaction when Love Empyrean lowered her head and clasped her hands.
"I will join the Paradise Sect, Paradise Sect Master!"
Soon after, Typhoon Deity and Shadow Deity quickly copied her.
As Yaan looked around at the others with a gentle smile, they felt chills rush through their bodies and souls…
It was a genuinely gentle smile…and they didn't doubt that he would slaughter them all with that very same smile if they declined, or if they posed an obstacle to his ambitions. He had made this quite clear to them, even if he didn't say it directly…
The Paradise Sect Master cared about one thing and one thing only, and that was his own ambition!
And so, one by one, each of the Deities bowed and clasped their hands respectfully.
The last standing was Land Deity, who hesitated as he looked back at the Primordial Sage. When Yaan raised an eyebrow, Land Deity's heart skipped a beat, he lowered his head and hastily said:
"Paradise Sect Master, I acknowledge you! I'm just wondering about the Primordial Sage, and where she stands in the Paradise Sect…if she is part of the Paradise Sect…?"
Everyone perked up at this question. Yaan had casually stated that he would take over from the Sage, but she just stood there silently, expressionless as always.
Actually, Yaan was just as curious about the Sage's answer. He looked up at her and asked:
"Well, Sage? Where do you stand, exactly?"
The Sage was silent for a long while. She looked at Yaan, then slowly examined each of the divinities below him, all with their heads bowed.
It was several minutes later that she finally sat down beside Yaan.
"Consider me the Guest Elder of the Paradise Sect."
Yaan nodded. This was within his expectations.
The more time he spent with the Sage, the more he came to understand her. Because of her apparent lack of emotions, many struggled to comprehend the Sage, they simply found her far too mysterious.
But to Yaan, it was quite simple; the Primordial Sage was a true dao seeker, no more and no less. She believed that she had seen her dao within Yaan, so naturally, she would follow him until she finally understood what it was that she was truly seeking.
