When Mira and Aelina finished discussing their plan, Aelina clapped her hands. Immediately after, the maid from before materialized and bowed her head.
"Stop all current missions and investigate the other Sects and major powers for any sightings of beast spies. I don't care if they're Orthodox, Unorthodox, or unaffiliated. Compile a report and bring it back to me as soon as possible." Aelina ordered the maid, who silently bowed her head once again and disappeared without a trace.
"...So convenient," Mira muttered in slight envy.
"Power isn't everything in this world, Mira," Aelina said, donning a rare serious expression. "Unless you're invincible and unparalleled, there will always be someone or something out there that can kill you. Thus, intelligence is often more important than strength, as that way, you know which battles you can and can't take. At a certain point, you can even control those stronger than you to do your bidding. How do you think the major Sects have lasted so long while those lesser powers eventually fade out of existence?"
Mira nodded in understanding, taking Aelina's words to heart, but she couldn't help but add, "That's why omnipotence is the best. You don't have to worry about other people and can do whatever you want whenever you want without consequences."
"Heh~" Aelina hummed with a smirk, "Really? I think omniscience is better. With the right strategies, even gods wouldn't be able to escape the wisdom of infinite knowledge."
The two stared at each other, sparks seemingly emitting from their eyes before Mira clicked her tongue in annoyance. She understood the underlying meaning behind Aelina's words, which was essentially, 'No matter how strong you are, as long as you can't escape my sight, you'll be within my grasp'.
'This woman's thoughts are too terrifying. The more I talk with her, the more I realize how great of a decision it was to join this Sect.' Mira told herself to try and stay on Aelina's good side.
Surprisingly, Aelina's thoughts weren't too different from her own. 'With her talent, Mira might really be able to become invincible in this world. I'm glad I formed a connection with her early on. It'd be a huge pain in the ass if I had to face off against her in the future.'
"Alright, enough about that," Mira said, switching the subject, "For us to maximize the benefits of your plan, first, we have to understand the limits of the Celestial Nectar. To do that, I need plenty of beasts, both dead and alive, to test on, as well as people who are willing to integrate with the 'enhanced' bloodlines."
Before Aelina could say anything, Mira then added, "We don't need to start with Rank 6, 7, or 8 beasts. I think we should start with Ranks 1 and 2 and test the effects on mortals first."
There was a good reason for this. Although the Infinity Garden increased the production of Celestial Nectar, she didn't have a readily available unlimited supply. She still had to wait for it to form.
Using it on Rank 7 Beast Blood Essences and higher used up way too much. She'd only be able to run a few tests a day if she used them! However, since Rank 1 beasts were weaker, she wouldn't need to use as much and could run more tests!
Rhydian could also subdue a whole bunch of them without effort, saving them time and money!
"Mhmm. That's fine by me. We don't have any Rank 1 or 2 beasts here, but I know a few places that have an abundance of them."
"Also, give me a few books on Alchemy," Mira stated, though it came across as an order.
Aelina's lips twitched as she remembered Mira was in possession of a large number of the Sect's herbs. "...Why?" She asked.
"To learn. Why else?"
"..."
Aelina's smile faltered, but she had a few guesses as to why Mira wanted to learn Alchemy. "Is it because the process of enhancing bloodlines is similar to alchemy?"
Mira nodded, but that wasn't the whole reason, "Yes, but I also feel like it's about time I learned how to do something other than kill. And since I'm going to be involved in alchemy-like stuff, I might as well learn how to do it properly."
"...I see." Aelina muttered before she released a bitter smile, "Alright. I'll have someone gather a few books on alchemy for you. Just don't experiment with my herbs."
"Don't worry. Plenty of them have multiplied by now. It'll still be a net positive even if I waste a few of them."
"..."
With that, Mira stood up, ready to leave. Now that they had a plan set up, all that was left for them was to wait. She wouldn't even need to be the main character for the little 'play' they had planned.
"I'm going to leave tomorrow morning. Please have everything ready by then."
Aelina really had half a nerve to smack Mira upside the head. Wasn't her tone a bit too brazen? She was still the Sect Master! Her Sect Master!
She understood that this was just how Mira spoke, but Aelina wasn't a fan of being talked to like she was HER subordinate.
"Someone-" However, before she could finish that, Mira interrupted.
"Ah!" Mira suddenly exclaimed and stopped in her tracks. "Just a reminder, but the disciples aren't the only ones who can benefit from this. If the tests prove to be successful, you'd gain something. As long as you find a suitable bloodline, that is."
After saying those words, Mira left with Rhydian, leaving behind a stunned Aelina.
Truthfully, she'd thought of Mira's words before. Before Mira even entered the Sect, the thought crossed her mind more than a few times. But, with her strength, any beast under Rank 10 was useless to her.
Even a Rank 10 beast wasn't all that useful. Perhaps she'd see a minor increase in strength and talent if she was lucky, but it wouldn't be enough to change things.
To break into the Central Continent by force, she needed to be at the Ascension Realm. Even then, it was highly unlikely she'd be able to pull it off, considering she was just one person.
However, the Western Continent didn't have the necessary resources to bring one to the Ascension Realm. Reaching the peak of the Divine Sea Realm was already nearly impossible.
But, if she could obtain an Ascendant-Grade Bloodline or higher… Now, that was a different story. Not only would she see a significant increase in strength and talent, but merging with a bloodline like that would come with a massive surge of energy. Whether that energy was used to improve her cultivation or strengthen her body, it didn't matter. Her power would increase by leaps and bounds regardless.
The only problem with this was that she didn't want to take in any unwanted impurities. Throughout her entire cultivation journey, she's made sure to deepen and consolidate her foundation as much as possible. Anything that might put a crack in that foundation was a huge no.
She didn't want to reach the Immortal Realm and realize that she'd used up all her potential in the Mortal Realm. However, if the Celestial Nectar could remove these impurities and allow her to reap all the benefits without any of the downsides, then she'd be like a tiger that gained wings!
'That sly little fox,' Aelina settled down her thoughts and chuckled. 'Getting me all excited. When she gets back, I'll show her that she's 1,000 years too young to play with me.'
Looking off into the distance, her eyes narrowed to one location where she could see the faint outline of a barrier. If it weren't for her incredible cultivation, she wouldn't have been able to spot it.
'Well then, let's kick off this new era with a bang!'
Gathering her focus, she conjured two compact, black gravity balls within her grasp. Infusing them with Qi, she set them to orbit one another with increasing speed. The seamless synchronization caused them to whirl at such incredible speeds that they appeared as one donut-shaped entity.
After she pumped about a quarter of her Qi into them, she vanished from her spot and reappeared on another mountain far away from her Sect. Then, with a flick of her fingers, she sent the two orbs hurtling across the sky so fast that even she couldn't keep track of them with her naked eye.
Almost instantly, they traveled over a thousand kilometers, and-
*BOOOOOOM!*
The very continent seemed to shake from the impact, but Aelina only saw the barrier ripple.
Aelina smirked before she disappeared and proceeded to do this three more times, all from different directions.
*BOOOOOOM!*
*BOOOOOOM!*
*BOOOOOOM!*
After she was finished, she immediately went deep underground, concealed her aura, and began recovering her Qi.
Then, just like she expected, a thunderous roar echoed across the continent, causing billions of beasts to stop whatever they were doing, look up into the sky, and roar in anger alongside the original.
'Fufufu~ That should help kickstart the tension.' Aelina chuckled darkly before she focused on recovering her Qi, pulling out numerous Peak-Stage Spirit Stones.
This was just the beginning of their plan. Its only purpose was to take the beast's attention away from whatever they were doing, a reminder that they were still here.
Would they become more defensive? Hole up inside their Clans? Or would they go on the offensive? Maybe sending out more beasts and spies to keep an eye on them.
Either way, Aelina was ready. As long as she held the momentum, then she could control the flow.
'What will their response be? I'm looking forward to it.' Aelina thought while shutting her eyes, entering a meditative state.
