Nine's rage shook the ocean floor, her power shattering space itself. She was truly pissed off.
The method her ancestors found was truly ingenious.
One begins forming a nascent soul after becoming a higher existence, but it isn't fully and perfectly formed until one transcends. In order to skirt this issue, Dream Panthers did what they did best and relied on themselves.
They used a star grade aphrodisiac known as Soul Bind along with numerous auxiliary herbs along with their special dual cultivation technique known as Soul Transcends. By relying on a husband and wife pair, they are able to slowly push their souls past the limit of the mortal plane. Once this was complete, it would be possible for them to sense their Heaven's Staircase and call it down to begin their tribulation.
The problem was that her clan didn't have a single male!
It was the world's greatest joke. They had the solution right before them, yet they couldn't use it. Her Clan was made up of 9 virgins including herself, all of whom wouldn't hesitate to copulate with a male Dream Panther if he ever came along… But they were extinct!
Her Clan was essentially waiting for the day the last of them would die out… they had no hope…
'Stop roaring. Didn't I say I could help you? Since there are no male Dream Panthers, we'll just make them.'
Nine suddenly felt the need to clean her ears out. Did she hear correctly? Did this fool just say he would create male Dream Panthers? Who did he think he was? God?
'I didn't misspeak. That's what can happen when you follow me. I can make the impossible, possible.
'You say that I'm young, too young to lead you, when the reality is that my age is irrelevant to our positions right now.'
Though Dyon didn't say it out loud, there was a reason he stopped caring for age recently. His father lived for far less time than he had, yet Dyon still didn't feel that he was as great of a man. Others might think that age meant something, but Dyon felt it was next to useless.
"H-how…" Somehow, Nine didn't feel like Dyon was lying. He was serious.
'Truth be told, even if I told you the method, you wouldn't be able to do it without me. However, I would still prefer to not tell you for now. So tell me, what is your decision. Will you die here, or will you continue to carry the torch of your Dream Panther Clansmen.'
Nine fell into silence.
Her Clan was truly in a terrible position, one that would only get worse if she went back to BPA.
She was the only dao expert of her Clan. The difficulty in cultivation their Clan faced wasn't just in becoming Higher Existences, but was something they faced for every major cultivation hurdle.
In order to become dao experts, they needed to cultivate dao souls in the celestial realm. Before becoming celestials, they had to cultivation celestial souls while in the saint realm. This trouble only grew more exaggerated the more steps forward they took.
This was the reason why their bodies were so powerful. They had to be or else they would never be able to hold their souls properly.
Nine was certain of something else as well. As long as BPA decided to take her life, they wouldn't leave her clansmen alone. Dream Panthers were too powerful and too talented. They would never let a possible seed of destruction grow. In fact, her Clansmen might already be in danger right now.
BPA had soul jades that cracked when numbered warriors died, just like human clans did. The only saving grace was that One through Eight had gone to the Conference, but that didn't mean the true Fifteen and below numbered warriors couldn't kidnap her Clansmen now to force her hand.
The more she thought about it, the less returning to BPA seemed like a viable option. In fact, she had already used a special means of her Clan to tell them to retreat from BPA territory and lay low until she could come to get them. Of course, Dyon noticed this, but did nothing to stop her.
Nine grit her teeth. "How?"
This question was different. Before, she meant to ask Dyon's method, but now she wanted to know how their alliance would work.
'It's simple, you and I will sign a soul contract. The rules are simple. In fact, there'll only be one line to this contract.
'You will join my Mortal Alliance and be bound by the same rules as all other Clans of my Alliance are.'
Nine's eyes sharpened. This sort of prospect was appealing. If they were only bound by the same rules as everybody else, then that meant that Dyon also couldn't treat them poorly unless he also treated everyone within his alliance poorly as well.
"Let's sign another soul contract first." Nine suddenly said. "One that says you cannot lie to me about the rules of your Mortal Alliance as I ask a few questions."
Dyon shrugged. 'Fine.'
And so a meeting began with the Dark Ocean waters as cover. Dyon signed the first soul contract with Nine, stipulating that he could not lie to her about the Mortal Alliance as she asked her questions.
The more Nine learned about the Mortal Alliance, the more intrigued she became. In a world where everything was ruled by power, it was rare to find an empire that allowed its subjects so much freedom. Plus, there were so many checks and balances.
Of course, when Nine asked questions that were too invasive, Dyon refrained from answering. After all, it wasn't lying if he directly told her he couldn't answer the question.
Finally, Nine agreed to sign the second soul contract. It only read one line.
'From this day forth, the Dream Panthers of this generation will be bound by the rules of the Mortal Alliance and the Empire it will bloom into in the future so long as Dyon Sacharro lives.'
This final part caught Nine completely off guard, but she suddenly understood. Jaws and Dyon… They were the same person!
When she signed the contract, Nine sighed. 'To think a mere celestial could bind me with a soul contract.'
One had to know that soul contracts only worked for those with powerful souls. If your soul was weak and you attempted to sign a contract with someone with a more powerful soul, the more powerful individual could easily break it when it suited them.
Nine had thought in the beginning that even if she decided to break the contract later, it would be fine. The backlash she would face would be weak because Dyon was weak. She never expected to be so wrong. But, she wasn't angered with the reality either… The more heaven defying Dyon was, the better chance there was that he wasn't lying.
"Can you finally tell me how you plan to help my Clan now?" Nine asked tentatively, hoping with every fiber of her being that Dyon really hadn't been lying.
Dyon smiled. 'It's simple. We merely have to break the fate of some lesser panthers.'
That was right, Dyon's solution was the very same Fate Breaking Pill that evolved his mother-in-law into a Celestial Fox!
Like this, the saga below the Dark Ocean came to an end. But, the storm brewing on the celestial floors and the Sapientia Quadrant were long from over.
Little Yin did her everything to protect Clara's unconscious body, but she was reaching her limit quickly.
