The Evercrown Ceremony's stage was a gargantuan multi-faceted world of a myriad environments. There were rainforests, deserts, rocky mountainous regions, valleys, oceans, glacial tundras, and many more. Each environment spanned tens of thousands of miles, interlacing with each other at distinguishably demarcated borders.
There was no star, no moon, yet there was night and day, moonlight and darkness, the noticeable passing of time itself. The air was clean. The energy was pure. The mana was stable. This was a suitable world for any activity, be it peaceful cultivation or bloody battles.
The cultivators present fought aggressively, fled swiftly, hid silently, or traveled freely, but the environments never broke down regardless of how they interacted with it. Their devastating mystic power that could rupture planets, sunder skies, and rent space never twisted any of the environments despite their inconsiderateness. Unlike Shui Fengbao, few would take into account the world itself, unleashing strong strikes for the sake of survival, yet not a single environment was destroyed.
The Evercrown Ceremony's world was abnormally tough. Not even these Chosen from the World Beyond with cultivation bases at the Mystic Ascendant Realm left any significant damage in the surroundings. The earth was sturdy, and while people smashed against it with sufficient force to pierce through large-sized planets like jelly to a searing arrow, they only produced a small crater, some barely human-sized.
The air was pure, and regardless of how the cultivators infused their Intents or dispersed their powers throughout the world, it was never tainted for too long.
The mana was incredible, and it was not normal mana. Cultivators without Mana Dominance would find it difficult to move it even an inch, disallowing flight or certain arts. Those with Mana Dominance, possessing the Spirit at the Origin State, could only gain slight control of it comparatively to their level. Even still, flight was a difficult feat to achieve across the board without exerting mystic power or equivalent strength, while various sensory means were greatly restrained, like trying to see through mist.
As for those like Shui Fengbao, the Child of Fire had little issue imposing his will on this mana through the aura of law, yet he similarly found that the mana was difficult to seize total control of despite his Origin State's level, but those without such profound powers would be left flightless and hapless.
Additionally, the gravitational forces of the world were stupendously high, varying in certain regions. Some unfortunate Chosen from the Sealed Regions found themselves unable to move more than a few inches from the moment they arrived. They sprawled out helplessly, sweating profusely, their veins protruding as they struggled to not be crushed in body and soul. Others were immediately turned into meat-paste pancakes that seeped into the ground, not even a sign of their distressed whimper before their deaths. It was as if they were destined to die.
These unique properties of the Evercrown Ceremony generated an astonishingly difficult environment for mere Mortals and a hard-to-navigate environment for Ascended beings. It added to the air of violence that was slowly permeating the world.
Near an upright cylinder made of translucent material set within a desert region, a woman was curiously analyzing the cylinder with a studious, investigative look. It was large enough to fit a dozen bears comfortably, but there was no indication of what was inside.
The woman gently caressed the surface as a feedback sent to her a specific list of requirements. She heard: "Spiritual Strength, Two Million Units." The voice was androgynous and mechanical. She instinctively felt that it belonged to a different existence from earlier.
"Two million?" The woman softly murmured. Spirit Units were a representation of Spiritual Strength used to measure its sturdiness and strength, denoting each 'connective cell' contained in a single wisp of Spiritual Energy. Wei Wuyin, at the Soul Idol Phase, had nearly reached 40,000 Spirit Units, a nearly unprecedented level for someone of his cultivation. As for two million...
The sound of moving sand by footsteps resounded from afar. Someone was approaching. Their steps and presence weren't concealed in the slightest, denoting a level of inherently possessed confidence in their abilities and strength. Or, it could be out of pure ignorance of the situation and dangers of the ceremony.
"A demonic spawn?" The steps belonged to a young man in golden-brocade robes, adorned by a golden crown with inlaid jewels. There was a kingly presence to him, exalted to an extreme. He wasn't extremely handsome, or typically handsome, having relatively ordinary features, height, and stature, but his demeanor was far too mighty to ignore, granting him a unique charm that elevated his attractiveness by a few degrees beyond the norm.
The young man was roughly a few hundred meters away from the cylinder, yet his hazy golden irises and jet-black pupils looked as if it could contain entire worlds with a single glance and his words felt as if they were spoken from the heavens themselves, easily heard regardless of distance, elevation, or obstacle.
Directly beside the cylinder was a woman. She had light, richly violet-colored skin and lustrous, long, and velvety violet hair with each strand like the finest silk. The woman had a voluptuous and buxom figure that felt as if they were sculpted by the heavens themselves, breathed life to by mountains, granting her pair of prideful mounds the weight of the earth and the feel of comfortable clay. Unfortunately, only a single man and a few women had ever experienced such a demonically heavenly feeling in this universe.
Her astonishingly explosive figure that could ignite heated passions in eunuchs was covered by figure-hugging, darkly-colored battle robes with bronze bracers and greaves, her armpits, elbows, and knees possessed unobstructed movement. Underneath her robes were signs of leathery armor, especially those of her abdomen and chest. She presented the air of a battle-veteran mercenary.
She stood out from anyone else as her figure was a full eight feet tall. However, with her body proportions having no disjointedness from common humans, she simply looked like a giantess.
The golden-robed, crown-wearing young man immediately noticed her demonic presence within her tall, exquisitely shapely body. Moreover, he could sense traces of her lineage with a mere glance, not describing her as a demon with his words but as a demonic spawn. A clear indication that he was fully aware that she was a hybrid born from a demon and not a demon in the form of a humanoid.
"Wasn't procreation between demons forbidden by the Infernal Sovereign? The Titan Race decline continues." The young man's words contained no disdain, maliciousness, or anything negative as if he was speaking a fact gained from irrefutable evidence. Since it was outlawed, for a titan-demon hybrid to make it to the Chosen King Competition was genuinely signs of the Titan Race's decline and inability to maintain their societal rules and Laws.
"..." Da Shan ignored the young man, seemingly as if he didn't exist. She touched the cylinder thoughtfully as if deciding her choice to open the cylinder or not.
The golden-robed, crown-wearing young man kept walking, completely unfazed by being ignored. He eventually reached the cylinder on a different side to Da Shan. He lightly touched the cylinder, his well-maintained eyebrows lifted slightly with surprise.
"Two million, huh?" After thinking about it, he glanced at the cylinder with a glimmer of spiritual light. "Clearly an Evil Sentinel is contained within," he said as if stating a fact. This wasn't supposed to be opened with a single person, but the joint effort of multiple individuals, perhaps even a few dozen elite Chosen that had come to an agreement.
"It's an alchemist," Da Shan flatly stated.
The young man didn't even glance Da Shan's way as if even placing his gaze on her body was too much of a fortune for her, unwilling to spare any of it. To him, Da Shan was a demonic spawn that was only a mere mortal who snuck into the Chosen King Competition through nefarious means trying to eke out some justice for her specific brand of racial lineage. There had been countless hybrids, half-breeds of demons and other species that have tried to overturn their fate throughout known history and even more in the unwritten annals of the heavenly past.
Alas, none has succeeded so far.
And none will succeed in the future.
He turned away, leaving the cylinder and Da Shan behind as if they were memories best buried away and forgotten, unworthy of further thoughts or recollection. There wasn't an inkling of killing intent or the will to harm in his actions, simply pure disregard.
Da Shan didn't spare the young man a look either. Since he decided to keep his life, she didn't feel the need to take it. She instead felt the pulsing of a mark within her body, indicating the close proximity of an Ascendant. Since the voice had informed them that the containers possessed Alchemists and Evil Sentinels, she knew that the container had one of the Hepta-Dawn Alchemic Corps' Alchemists inside.
The golden-robed, crown-wearing young man's steps stopped as he turned toward the west.
Woosh! Woosh! Whoosh!
Da Shan immediately sensed three incoming auras. Her eyes also looked over. They were coming towards her!
The three sped through the desert with steady steps, each time their foot touched the desert, the sands gathered and solicited enough to create a stable footing, and then they pushed off to traverse tens of meters in an instant. They were fast. In a few breaths, they were already a few hundred meters from the cylinder.
"Titan?" One of the three said. It was a Celestial Race's female cultivator with star pupils and dark blue eyes. The other two were also females, and they resembled each other, as if they held some relation to each other, but their star pupils were of notably different colors, with one possessing dark red and dark yellow. Their hair was all of equal lengths and style, but matching their eye colors, created a clear distinction between them. This alongside their slight differences in facial features and height allowed them to be determined as non-twins.
They were all outstandingly beautiful women, but the lines of falsity could be seen by those of the keenest of eyes. They covered their faces, their ample breasts, and their curvaceous figures. It was clear that they had their appearances shaped to certain features.
These women were a match for Da Shan in terms of looks, rivaling Tian Xiaolu's beauty with ease, if only their lines of falsity didn't exist. Seeing such women, Da Shan wasn't disdainful as she knew that the pursuit of beauty was as strong and worthy of a passion as the pursuit of greater cultivation.
The young man, however, had a faint glint within his hazy golden eyes as he observed the three women that looked like triplets but didn't, that looked related but weren't. "Highwoven Manor's Concubines? How courageous." Amused, he formed a slight smile that could dazzle the hearts of men, making them feel as if they had been blessed.
The three women didn't even notice the golden-robed man until he had spoken, shaking them considerably because when they did notice him, it was as if he was all they could notice. They had aghast expressions as the words they were about to send Da Shan's way were stifled in their throats.
The woman with dark yellow eyes and hair suddenly had her pupils constricted to their limits. "The 76th Noble Prince! Why are you here?!" Her words seemed to have inspired realization in the eyes of the others and their eyes widened as their expression paled considerably.
The dark-blue-eyed Celestial woman didn't even hesitate. She erupted with the fullest extent of her cultivation, and explosively kicked off! She fled! SHE RAN AWAY!
The others were taken aback a little, but their reactions weren't too slow. The two women flew, but they went in different directions! It was as if it was pre-planned prior. They had arrived at the cylinder first a few minutes ago, but after realizing the conditions, the dark red eyed woman had gone to fetch her 'sisters' for assistance. It was difficult to find a container, and they couldn't be sensed through normal means, and even then could only be seen after coming into a certain distance that was roughly a hundred meters.
She felt extremely fortunate to come across a container that she could potentially unlock with her allies. With excitement, she rushed to link with the few others nearby to amass enough power to open this container. How could she have guessed the 76th Noble Prince would be here? Why was he here?! Shouldn't he have aged out twenty-three years ago?!
"I've been looking for some maidservants to accompany me on these eighty-one days. Your pure bodies are enough for at least three days, taking three slots." The 76th Noble Prince smiled gently and warmly as if he had grown fond of something.
Da Shan sensed the three women's panic and flaring auras. They had extremely pure yin auras with cultivations at the Soul of Mysticism Phase. It was clear they cultivated some yin cauldron-nurturing method, but their talent and strength were not low at all. They were extremely high-quality cultivators.
Da Shan frowned slightly; she didn't care about that or them nor paid them any mind. The 76th Noble Prince made his move, bringing forth his right hand in a light grab, but Da Shan didn't pay attention to his terrifying means as she gently touched the container and slowly poured her Spiritual Strength within, drawing additional power from her World-Bound Star Domain.
"You bastard! If Overlord Highwoven learns of this, she'll castrate you! CASTRATE YOU!!" The dark red woman roared as she was suddenly attached to her two 'sisters' in an unwilling pile, their limbs restrained by an invisible force as they dangled like mortals hung on hooks. They seemed like dangling fish waiting to be eaten.
"Sure. Sure." The 76th Noble Prince seemed entirely unconcerned by the violent threat.
Suddenly, a heavy thrum began to resound throughout the area. The three struggling women were taken aback as they looked toward Da Shan. Even the 76th Noble Prince looked over.
The container was...opening!
