Just as the two sister wives were about to glide onto its back, the sudden whooshing sound of a few individuals arriving caught their attention.
Clara and Ri's feet touched down upon Little Wind's smooth but strong back, watching these new guests approach.
From what they could tell, there were four of them, all of whom were women and all of whom the two of them recognized. In fact, one of them was a disciple even Dyon would recognize quite easily.
Ri smiled brightly, her delicate features seemingly livening the atmosphere. She was truly a breathtaking beauty who seemed almost ethereal at times. Her soft white tails only proved this fact all the more so.
"First Elder Viola, what brings you here?" Ri didn't seem to acknowledge the fact that there were three others with her, she also seemed to ignore the fact this First Elder Viola she was referring to had a look of anger and indignation written all over her face. That said, these emotions were clearly not aimed toward Ri.
"Alex, there's no need for you to do this. I've spoken with the Palace Master. Sending anyone below the high celestial realm for this duty is only sending them to their death. You know that the Palace Master is fond of you, you never have to do anything you don't want to." Her last words seemed to carry a hidden but very clear meaning.
The political structure of the Water Mist Sect was very complicated. Although it tried to maintain a system where no single Clan lorded over others like the Flaming Lily Sect, it had failed to do so. Or, more accurately, it had succeeded for a time before this structure began to slowly crumble.
The truth of the matter was that having a system like the Flaming Lily Sect's was only possible due to the interference of the Golden Crow Sect. Whenever overtly powerful females appeared, they'd be taken out, crippled, or forced to marry into their Clans. With this happening continuously over such a long time, it became difficult for any powerful experts to rise up and lay a foundation for their future generations.
However, the Water Mist Sect had no such problem. Much like the Hydra Clan of the 6th ranked quadrant, it was the lone power here, controlling over fifty universes alone. As a result, the advent of top experts weren't stifled by unnatural means, resulting in the rising of several powerful Clans, but none more powerful than their Mist Clan… The very same Clan Chrysanthemum and her elder cousin happened to be a part of, not to mention the currently sneering Second Elder and the currently absent Grand Elder of the Sect.
Simply put, although the Palace Master position was filled by someone not of the Mist Clan, due to the secular power this family controlled, she was almost forced into being nothing more than a figure head. However, even as a figure head, she could still protect Ri!
By now, it was the Mist Clan who had taken the role of the Golden Crow Sect in this Water Mist Quadrant, snuffing out talents left and right. The current Palace Master had worked all her life to change their cruel ways, managing to work her way up and earning the acknowledgement of the Sect's Mist Symbol. However, she was too naïve.
Even after gaining this power, she realized that it didn't mean much. She had ignored others for so long in her life, focusing on building individual power, that she didn't have a faction that she controlled unto herself. By the time she realized just how necessary this was, too many years had passed…
It was no wonder the Palace Master personally sent out an invitation to Ri when she learned of the fact their Mist Ancestor's Legacy had been taken by her. This breeched all forms of proper etiquette, but the Palace Master was desperate. She feared that soon the Mist Clan would be brazen enough to no longer care for her title as Palace Master. In fact, with the birth of God Mist, they might not even need to cheat their way to her position…
However, what the Palace Master did have was time. She was a False True God of the previous generation who had never been allowed to take the God trial due to the Mist Clan monopolizing the Key. If it wasn't for the Mist Clan systematically cutting off her resources, or the fact she was too worried for the Sect to leave in search of her own, she might have long since reached the Peak Dao Formation realm.
What this Palace Master needed was for Ri to mature and build her own faction capable of rivalling the Mist Clan. What they needed was balance!
But, who would have thought that before these plans could even start budding that these lowlifes would send Ri off to the Dark Ocean?
"First Elder, there's no need to be so anxious. Is this not Core Disciple Alexandria's own choice?" An apathetic but mature voice spoke out, escaping the full lips of a beauty with a lazy appearance. It wasn't that she looked unkept, but rather that she seemed bored with everything that crossed her.
This was none other than God Mist.
The blue haired beauty could barely keep his eyes open. Yet, the aura that swam around her was fierce and unbridled. This sort of dichotomy was the scariest to face… No one could predict what she would do next.
Ri smiled as though she was watching a clown show. Anyone with half a brain understood that she had far more potential than God Mist. The only difference between them was age. While Ri had a God Constitution, hers was of the Heaven Grade. While Ri graduated to the celestial realm as a 9th order expert, God Mist was only of the 6th order. Plus, to top all of this off, Ri had gained the acknowledgement of the Water Mist Sect ancestor while God Mist had tried and failed herself many years ago.
Such a shocking difference in abilities should have made this clear cut. However it was exactly because such a difference existed that the Mist Clan was going out of their way to end the troubles as soon as possible. The problem for them was that not only was Ri her own variable… So was Clara. In fact, the latter was likely the reason they had come here today while the First Elder was sent to ensure they couldn't go too far.
"I hope that Grandmaster Clara isn't hoping to follow Junior Sister Alexandria?" Chrysanthemum asked with a seemingly innocent smile. She had long since come to hate Clara as well considering it was her who protected Ri as she accepted their ancestor's legacy.
"And so what if I am?" Clara said coldly.
"Oh." Chrysanthemum tilted her head as though she was shocked. "It's quite brave of you to do so, but there are rules here that even a Grandmaster such as yourself must follow." She explained patiently. "The Dark Ocean might be a dangerous area, but it still represents a former holy land of our Sect, not just anyone can enter as they please. Do understand."
The Second Elder cleared her throat. Something but her overly wrinkled exterior made those around uncomfortable instead of eliciting the will to protect that was more normal.
"Grandmaster Clara, although Core Disciple Chrysanthemum speaks of matters of etiquette, these can mostly be ignored due to your background. We believe in the Sapientia Quadrant's neutrality in all matters, and although your origins remain unknown, we trust that you would remain neutral to our Sect's matters as well.
"Instead, I'd like to touch on something more potent. You can see for yourselves how ghastly my appearance is. I appear to be nothing more than a loose bag holding together my old bones. However, I'm actually far younger than First Elder and even the Palace Master who've maintained their looks so well. This is none other than a result of the entering the Dark Ocean…
"The Water Mist Sect has maintained very good relations with the Sapientia Quadrant and we know how much they value you. For the sake of your safety and maintaining this relationship, we cannot allow you to enter. Our own disciples putting their lives on the line for the Sect is one matter, but we cannot risk the lives of outsiders."
