"Elders, you have to think very carefully about the move you're about to make. The God-Monarch appointed me as his emissary in the Solar Palace, his direct link to the August Divinity. This show of goodwill is the Taiyang clan's only opportunity to avoid further conflict with the Hengye—a conflict that you have no hope of winning.
But if you kill me now, said bluntly, you would be smacking the God-Monarch in the face. No matter what he thinks of me, or how low my value in his eyes is, at the end of the day, I belong to him. Are you sure that you want to offend the master of the Endless Sea?"
Jingzhao spat facts. Deluded by rage and shame, the Taiyang elders weren't thinking rationally. Taiyang Yuan was willing to bear the shame and lower his head precisely because the Central Domain had no hope to resist the Eternal Night. The gap between the two forces had only been growing larger, so much so that the Taiyang clan's retired elders were not necessarily a match for the Hengye clan's great elder.
As for the Taiyang's elder council, their combined strength would still get dismantled by any top three elder of the Hengye's elder council. The Hengye...just had too many resources. As for their contemporary God-Monarch, he possessed Immortal Emperor level strength at the very least and likely came from the upper realm.
Jingzhao's words forced the Taiyang elders to consider the big picture, but as most floundered at the likelihood of Hengye retaliation, the great elder refused to balk.
"Don't think that you can escape your sentence by using the Hengye monarch's name. If he truly cared, why hasn't he contacted you? The Taiyang clan might not be a match for the Hengye anymore, but the Central Domain isn't a force that can be trampled at will.
If the Hengye want to fight, we will meet them head-on, but never will we allow your corrupt existence to keep smearing our divine dignity! Xue Jingzhao, as the great elder of the Taiyang clan, and leader of the elder council, I sentence you to body and soul destruction through our Solar Flames! You deserve 100 times worse, but to prevent interference, we will have to settle for that." With irresistible momentum, the great elder announced Xue Jingzhao's sentence.
His words revitalized the lower-ranked Taiyang elders and made the last of Xue Jingzhao's hopes break down. The other consorts sneered openly, already looking forward to Jingzhao's screams. But as the Noble Consort's knees buckled at her imminent death, one voice resounded within the council meeting room.
"Dull sentence, and what if I disagree? Xue Jingzhao is my whore, yes—which makes her rank above you. I have not sentenced her to death, so what gave you the courage to do it in my stead?" The voice stayed at a level tone, yet with each word, the Taiyang elders and consorts shook like glass cracking under wild tremors.
"Who? The level of Divine Power in the voice alone...could it be the...no, impossible. Clearly, this is a God!" All elders spread their Spiritual Senses out, desperately trying to locate the owner of that voice. They couldn't. Worse, their knees buckled, and prompted by an irresistible impulse, they fell on their knees, prostrating themselves at Xinzi.
The soul tried to fight, but the body refused to obey, almost as if it recognized the sovereignty of the voice's owner over all spirits—divine or not.
"You're trying to execute my envoy, yet cannot even recognize my voice. The insolence is baffling. You can die," Xinzi said, and as Xue Jingzhao realized who'd just joined the chat, from the lowest-ranked elder to the great elder, the assembled Taiyang immortals burst into sparkling smithereens—destroyed in body and soul.
Immediately, a cacophony of ear-splitting bells resounded from the Taiyang clan's Ancestral Hall, announcing the demise of the entire elder council.
The consorts couldn't believe their eyes. Xue Jingzhao too failed to process the scene, and in the deepest recesses of the Taiyang clan, the August Divinity's eyes opened wide, his Divine Soul shaken by the realization of his elder council's obliteration.
"What...have these idiots done?" Alarmed, Taiyang Yuan left seclusion, spreading his Divine Sense to trace the energy fluctuations. Xinzi allowed the tracking, enabling the August Divinity to realize where the blow came from.
"From the Evernight Palace?" The August Divinity recoiled from this news. Even Qingxin at his apex couldn't have blasted through the Central Domain's defenses and destroyed the elder council all from the comfort of the Evernight Palace!
"This doesn't make any sense! And why?" With one step, Taiyang Yuan vanished, appearing in the council meeting room. His eyes swept the scene, going from the petrified Jingzhao to the terror-struck consorts, and instantly, Taiyang Yuan put the pieces together!
"Idiots! Idiots!"
"Indeed, they were very silly. Consistent foolishness is a dangerous habit, one that can lead even the mighty to ruin. Taiyang Yuan, don't you agree?" Xinzi's voice reverberated in the room, driving the August Divinity to stare at the ceiling.
"I didn't..."
"I know. No need to explain. Taiyang Yuan, you are not guilty. My Divine Self can see it all and doesn't blame you for the actions of the vermin. Truth be told, My Divine Self once wanted to kill you. But now...I can see that the attempt wouldn't be so wise. Mischievous little thing, you are far bolder than I gave you credit for," Xinzi said, and feeling as if all his secrets had been laid bare by an omniscient entity, the August Divinity reeled back.
"Don't worry, it will be our secret. I can spare the Taiyang clan from the death penalty. However, for attempting to execute my envoy, the Central Domain will have to pay a price. Your sentence only ends...after Jingzhao receives due reparation." Xinzi's voice vanished here. A radiant halo formed around Xue Jingzhao, shrouding her in a sheltering sheen of Divine Power.
Right afterward, from the Endless Sea to the Central Domain, all the great lakes, rivers and oceans, rose towards the sky, coalescing into unprecedented tidal waves that raced at the Solar Palace!
"What the hell is..." A group of random Central Domain spirit cultivators barely had the time to glance at the all-encompassing waves' shadow that the sea deluge collapsed upon them, flooding them all in its way to bulldoze through ancient cities.
The Central Domain's spirit clans, the highest nobility of the Four Continents, reacted without delay, but from Divine Transformation to Supreme Clarity, all suffered the same fate, getting swept by the waves and crushed by divine pressure into gory meat pastes.
So alarming was this deluge that the Taiyang clan's retired elders emerged from torpor, immediately rushing out to stop the catastrophe. They barely managed to halt the waves' advance, but couldn't prevent the leaks that squashed ancient clans.
In the history of the Great Desolation World, this event will be remembered as the Great Flood, a punishment sent by the Heavens to purge the Central Domain for daring to worship the Sun above the Night.
