7 The Three Matriarchs.

The Mashyan World.

Located on the Golden Lower Crown, it was one of the 300 major worlds of the Mortal Realm.

It was world of cultivation, the stronger beings of this world turned out to be women.

This was due to a war that happened almost 15,000 years ago.

Although there were male cultivators, because the battle at the time took the lives of a good portion of the stronger male cultivators, leaving only the stronger females, the younger males had a hard time rising to power. Whenever one was close to the same cultivation as the female leaders, they would go missing.

The Mashyan World boasted four Continents of various sizes.

Northern continent called Northern Ravages was full of wild beasts. The number of beasts in this continent, outnumbered the humans by one to a hundred thousand. The Northern Ravages has the second largest size and the second smallest population.

The Dragon Blossom Sect was an upper class sect which was located within this continent on the midsection of the Dragon's Peak Mountains. The sect was home to an unusually high number of female disciples, known for their exceptional beauty and formidable martial prowess. It also harbored tens of thousands of disciples, and its members were said to practice a unique form of cultivation known as Dragon Vein Cultivation.

The Dragon's Peak Mountains were a majestic mountain range located in the northern region of the Linwu Kingdom.

Linwu Kingdom was a vast and prosperous kingdom located in the central part of the continent, bordered by mountain ranges to the north and expansive plains to the south.

Mu Lingxi stood with grace on the blade of her jian as she traversed the Dragon's Peak Mountains.

The majestic, towering peaks loomed around them.

With a thoughtful gaze, she turned to Yang Wei, with whom she'd been gliding through the skies.

Her eyes met his, reflecting a blend of curiosity and disbelief.

"It is incredible, the strength you possess," Mu Lingxi remarked. "But it's still beyond my understanding how you can wield such power without being a cultivator."

Yang Wei, levitating beside her, met her gaze. "I, Yang Wei, would never lie," he stated firmly. "Unless it was absolutely necessary."

Mu Lingxi pondered for a moment, a thoughtful expression marking her lovely features. "Considering your extraordinary capabilities, saying you're from another world outside ours does hold merit, I guess," she contemplated. "It wouldn't make sense for a male cultivator to be this powerful and have peacefully lived in the Mashyan World for so long."

"Hm?" Yang Wei uttered.

"Nevermind," Mu Lingxi replied. "It's not important."

Yang Wei continued to soar silently, his hands clasped behind his back.

"And you're called a, uh," Mu Lingxi rubbed her chin, trying to get the words out of her mouth. "...a mage."

Yang Wei affirmed, "Yes, that's what my kind are called. Unlike the cultivators, mages aren't battle seeking wild animals." He then muttered under his breath, "And besides, mage sounds a lot better than cultivator..."

Mu Lingxi nodded pensively, acknowledging the varying nature of cultivators.

"True, their behavior is influenced by the worlds they hail from. But I guess in the end, most of the cultivators I've encountered do tend to exude ruthlessness."

In truth, Yang Wei was being partially hypocritical.

This was due to the fact that in his world, mages from across the lands would all challenge him, hoping to attain the title of Strongest. However, this was only because Yang Wei existed and the power balance had completely been altered.

Had it not been for that, there was every possibility that mages would calmly live their lives peacefully as adventurers.

...

Their journey led them to a grand palace nestled deeply within the layers of the sect.

It was the Palace of the Golden Palace.

On her jian, Mu Lingxi gracefully landed in the palace courtyard, inviting Yang Wei to join her.

He descended with equal grace as he curiously looked around.

"So, what's this palace?" Yang Wei asked as his eyes scanned the magnificent structure. "Is it some sort of gateway, or does it hold another role?"

Arching an eyebrow inquisitively, Mu Lingxi regarded Yang Wei. "Are you sure you're not a cultivator?" she challenged in jest.

Even so, Yang Wei replied confidently, "Even mages can possess such knowledge..."

Within each of the countless number of worlds in the Mortal Realm and beyond, there were spatial nodes that spread around them and when accessed, they could be used as a portal to another world. While the spatial nodes of minor worlds could easily be found and accessed, those of the major worlds were rarer. This was because each of the major world possessed more beings of higher power. The more powerful the beings in a world, the harder it was to access it.

Mu Lingxi turned to Yang Wei and invited, "Alright, follow me. Let's seek an audience with the Matriarchs at the palace."

Yang Wei nodded and fell in step behind her.

Together, they entered the palace, and the sight that met their eyes was beyond anything one could have imagined.

The interior of the palace resembled the vast expanse of outer space, with pulsating stars, cosmic gases, and majestic asteroid belts encompassing the surrounding realm.

The space inside the palace was astronomically larger than its outward appearance.

Amidst this cosmic spectacle, a woman with wavy brown hair and brown eyes emerged from a dense cluster of stars. Her body was ravishing, her shape would make other women green with envy as she had curves in all the right places and a spotless skin.

Her name was Ling Meiyan.

She was in the 2nd level of the Spirit Ascension Realm; a Spirit Ascendant.

Conversely, she was a 2nd Path Cultivator.

As they caught sight of Ling Meiyan, Mu Lingxi respectfully bowed as she greeted, "3rd Young Miss, it's been a while."

With a warm smile, Ling Meiyan inclined her head in return and responded, "6th Young Miss, likewise."

Much like Ling Meiyan, Mu Lingxi was one of the young masters of the sect, but due to gender they were referred to as "Young Miss".

Being modest, Mu Lingxi expressed, "You don't need to go through the trouble of calling me that; Miss Lingxi or even Junior Sister is fine."

Tilting her head a bit as she tucked her hands behind her endowed backside, Ling Meiyan considered her words with a gentle smile and said, "I'll keep that in mind."

A pause ensued, and then Ling Meiyan's gaze fell onto Yang Wei. "Hm?" she hummed curiously.

Realizing her oversight, Mu Lingxi stepped in and said, "Oh yes, he's actually the reason we came here."

"Oh, is that so?" Ling Meiyan responded thoughtfully.

"Yes," Mu Lingxi confirmed, "I was hoping to have him speak with the Matriarchs."

With an initially solemn expression, Ling Meiyan remarked, "Normally, I wouldn't grant just anyone an audience with the Sect Masters, but I suppose I could make an exception this time."

Gratitude shone in Mu Lingxi's eyes as she said, "Thank you, Senior Sister."

Ling Meiyan reassured her, "It's fine," and then addressed Yang Wei directly, adding, "Besides, I already like him."

Engrossed in his own thoughts, Yang Wei seemed oblivious to the conversation, preoccupied with cleaning his ear with his pinky finger.

As the column of light opened, Ling Meiyan gestured for Mu Lingxi and Yang Wei to step into it.

Mu Lingxi led the way into the column, and Yang Wei followed closely behind.

Immediately, they entered a multi-dimensional space, and before them stood a grand, golden palace that glowed like a glow stick.

Although the sight always took Mu Lingxi's breath away, Yang Wei seemed underwhelmed.

"Really? A palace within a palace. How impressive," he quipped sarcastically.

Feeling some frustration, Mu Lingxi replied, "Can't you at least show some respect to the Sect Masters?"

Yang Wei shrugged nonchalantly. "I'll only give them the respect they deserve if they've earned it."

Frustrated, Mu Lingxi sighed, holding her face in her hand.

Yang Wei continued, "But they're already doing that little by little."

"Really?" Mu Lingxi asked incredulously.

"Yes," Yang Wei nodded, observing the dimension around them.

The space was plain white, with only them and the golden palace present. In truth, it was no ordinary space.

Yang Wei remarked, "This space looks like it's above 10 dimensions, at least 12."

Mu Lingxi acknowledged his observation, "The Head Matriarch is almost at the pinnacle of 3rd Path Cultivation, so feats like this are quite easy for her."

As they conversed, Yang Wei walked forward through the plain white space, making his way toward the golden palace.

Inside the palace, the Matriarchs - Blossom Dragon Moon, Blossom Dragon Sun, and the Head Matriarch, Blossom Dragon Star were seated together, engaged in a game of Azure Tree Xangqi. The game was set on a round table, surrounded by an Azure Rain Drop and small cosmic roots representing the countless minor worlds that was located at the Bronze Tap Root. With each move, the state of the game determined the fate of the cosmic roots, either flourishing or withering.

Matriarch Blossom Dragon Star remarked, "Today's game is quite interesting."

"Of course," replied Matriarch Blossom Dragon Sun, as she made another move in the game, casting an inquisitive glance at Matriarch Blossom Dragon Moon.

Blossom Dragon Moon sighed, expressing her indifference, "It's okay," though her stoic demeanor concealed her deep involvement in the game.

Only someone that was at the 6th level of the Immortal Realm could initiate a game of Azure Tree Xangqi. In other words, one had to be an Immortal Ascendant. But, in order to play Azure Tree Xangqi, one had to be at least an Immortal Junior, the 1st level of the Immortal Realm.

Matriarch Yuèhuī Ménglóng, the Blossom Dragon Moon, was an Immortal Junior, at the 1st level of the Immortal Realm.

Matriarch Míng Huīrán, the Blossom Dragon Sun, was an Immortal Junior, at the 3rd level of the Immortal Realm.

And finally, Matriarch Liáng Xīnyuè, the Blossom Dragon Star, was an Immortal Ascendant, at the 6th level of the Immortal Realm.

In summary, they were all powerful cultivators.

Although, there were three Matriarchs and the Head Matriarch was Liáng Xīnyuè, she wasn't the current or direct Sect Master. That position belonged to the 3rd Matriarch, Yuèhuī Ménglóng.

Since Liáng Xīnyuè had almost broken through to the pinnacle of 3rd Path Cultivation, she couldn't effectively stay and guide the sect while pursuing her own cultivation as the Azure Tree (the space that contains the Mortal and Semi-Immortal Realms) didn't have the necessary resources to flourish her cultivation anymore. As such, she initially left it in the hands of the cultivator closest to her in strength— 2nd Matriarch, Míng Huīrán, but then Yuèhuī Ménglóng emerged and then the 2nd Matriarch passed it on to her to free some time for herself, but she would occasionally come to help the 3rd Matriarch.

As for the Head Matriarch, some disciples had never even laid eyes on her and some didn't believe she even existed.

In the end, it was all a matter of hierarchy and cultivation progression that determined who would be the Sect Master and how they would lead.