CHAPTER 590: UNENDING NIGHTMARE

Venedikt knew that after their performance in the yearly competition, his sect had become popular overnight. And popularity, whether wanted or not, always drew attention both from new rivals and from old enemies.

His disciples only wielded incomplete aspects of the Void, fragments he had given them after going through a great deal of trouble.

He did so because, though it risked exposing the presence of the Amorphous Void codex, he had no other choice but to do it if he wished to complete his epochal trial.

Venedikt took such a risk not because he feared the minor penalty of losing his law tokens, but because the trial offered an invaluable reward.

The second epochal trial presented many things: a high-grade Ruler’s Wish, Law Tokens, but more importantly, the location of the Amorphous Sect’s monastery.

It was Xnoura who told him that, while she did not know all the details, the monastery was the second most valuable thing their sect had possessed, second only to the Codex itself.

The price to uncover the truth was costly. A silver-grade Ruler’s Wish, yet what Venedikt learned in return far outweighed what he had paid.

The Amorphous Sect’s monastery was no mere forgotten castle. It was an ancient-grade relic, inscribed with formations and arcane devices of the highest order.

At its full potential, it could not only take flight but travel through the Void unseen, wrapped in a Tier Zero barrier that rendered it invisible to even the sharpest senses and most advanced detection methods.

Also, that same barrier was nearly unbreakable, able to withstand anything short of a world-grade artifact with specialised means, something so rare that only a handful of powers could claim to have it.

Within its walls lay grand chambers crafted for training, enlightenment, and imprinting, alongside sprawling gardens, libraries of old knowledge, and many other wonders.

In simpler words, the monastery was indestructible, untraceable, and overflowing with treasures. A foundation not merely worthy of a sect, but something that could stand as the very backbone of an imperial sect.

The second year ended on a high note, but the third year began like a nightmare.

In the real world, Venedikt got kidnapped, costing his brother dearly to bring him back safely. It was after this bitter experience that he learned that his father, whom he had long believed dead, was still alive, now reduced to a robotic shell with no will of his own.

When Venedikt returned to the ancestral realm weeks later, the nightmare did not come to an end. It only grew worse, darker than anything he could have imagined.

Out of his seven disciples, an unknown imperial sect had kidnapped one, another had been thrown into jail for murder, and his first and most precious disciple, Xnoura, had gone missing.

He found her in less than a week, but by then it was already too late. Xnoura had been twisted into a mutant, just like the countless others now rampaging through the Cultivator Domain, their numbers growing day by day.

Venedikt had always believed that while they had grown famous, the only true link they carried to the old Amorphous Sect was its name. Any major power with grudges against the ancient sect or desires for its legacy would surely wait and watch before making a move.

He had expected his disciples to be targeted, tempted, even bullied. But nothing like this, for two major powers to strike, and to do so with such cruelty, was something he had not anticipated.

And yet, Xnoura’s case was strange. The way he found her so easily made it seem like she had simply fallen into terrible luck rather than being directly targeted.

But at the same time, he knew with absolute certainty that she would never disobey his direct orders and wander off on her own like the other two idiots had.

Then there was the unknown sect that had taken Oryne. The only proof of their deed was a message, delivered by someone calling herself Lady Oryne, using the same name as his disciple.

She claimed to be a representative of an imperial sect and expressed interest in building a friendly relationship with the Amorphous Sect. And said if they needed anything, they could seek her out.

She declared that they could reach her through the Dream Courtyard in Cloud Rest City. There were no demands, no deadlines, yet the message was clear.

Korath had killed someone of high status, or at least been accused of it, and was swiftly captured by the Celestial Wardens.

That in itself was an anomaly, because Venedikt had armed his disciples with sufficient means of escape, making capture impossible unless someone truly powerful and prepared intervened.

Korath was the only one still accessible, the only one who could explain what had really happened to him, and whether an imperial sect was behind it as well or not.

But meeting him meant stepping into the Wardens’ den, inviting more trouble not only for himself, but for the rest of his disciples as well.

For that reason, Venedikt decided that his first priority would be to retrieve the sect’s monastery. Its resting place was deep within the Dread Spire Wastes, a land of death and broken laws.

Securing it would not be an easy task.

All the while, his third epochal trial loomed above him.

Its demand was simple: once again, linked to his sect, this time telling him to teach each of his disciples an aspect of the Void to lesser mastery. However, with three of his disciples lost, failure seemed certain unless he took extreme measures.

He saw two paths before him.

The first was simple and cruel: Abandon those who were captured, require three new ones, and complete his trial, but that would mean betraying his disciples, who trusted him with their lives.

The second was to bend the knee to the unknown imperial sect. That would at least allow him to complete the trial, but then the sect would be alive just in name, and he would be no more than a slave.

The third was to strike back, tear apart those who had wronged him, and set right everything that had gone wrong. Or fail trying, and in failing, lose not just his disciples, but the trial as well.

The reward this time was unlike the previous two. It did not grant new treasures, wishes, or revelations. Instead, it offered some of the missing sections of the grand arrays, the very formations required to restore the sect monastery to its true peak.

But this trial was no longer about rewards. For Venedikt, it was about his disciples, the ones who had chosen to follow him even while knowing they might be walking into their deaths.

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"Now to the Present Day"

A lot had happened in the past two months.

Venedikt had secured the monastery, and currently, five of his disciples were imprisoned there, not as punishment, but for their own safety.

Korath’s execution loomed just one month and ten days away, and there was still no word of Oryne’s situation.

Xnoura’s state remained dire. Even though she had been placed in stasis using a precious artifact, the damage to her body and soul spread like a relentless plague, growing stronger with each passing day.

The only certain cure was direct aid from the Realm Ruler herself. But such help required a gold-grade wish, and despite all his fortunate encounters, Venedikt had none to spare.

It tore at Venedikt’s heart to see Xnoura, that young girl, suffer such cruel agony. Yet his hands were tied, and all he could do was struggle, step by step, to set things right.

He had tried securing one through trade with other adventurers, but that too led nowhere. Very few were willing to sell, and those who did demanded astronomical prices, bids easily matched by the great powers of the realm.

As for making contact with Oryne and Korath, Venedikt had not attempted to meet them. Since he had no intention of submitting, there was no point in doing so.

As for how he plans to go against not one, but possibly two imperial sects. Powers that stood at the peak of the ancestral realm, commanding thousands of disciples and dozens of Rulers who could crush him like an insect.

The answer was simple, he had a plan. In fact, several plans depending on how things went.

But before any of them could be set into motion, he first had to uncover who had truly kidnapped Oryne and who was behind framing Korath for murder.

Not even a diamond-grade wish could give him that information, since the other party had used a wish to prevent anyone from finding them using the Realm Ruler.

On the other hand, a diamond-grade wish was what he would need to have the Realm Ruler rescue a single disciple. And with his two disciples needing a rescue, it required two such wishes, something impossible to obtain in the time left.

So he needed someone else. Someone who could tell him which powers were pulling the strings against him from the shadows. But as always, the problem came down to the price.

After spending a gold-grade wish to retrieve the monastery, Venedikt had only one such high-grade wish left in his possession. And while valuable, it was nowhere near enough to buy the answers he sought.

After careful consideration, Venedikt fixed his sights on the Umbryssan Clan, one of the three great hegemon clans, holding authority equal to that of the great empires themselves.

The choice was deliberate. The Umbryssans were bound to the Empire of Iron, and their bitter history with the Tharokarn Clan and, by extension, with the Cultivator Domain, made them the perfect entity to approach.

But first, he needed leverage. Something valuable enough to buy the intelligence he required.