While the average cultivator was going through a crisis of decisions, the top echelon finally arrived in their airships. They had already sent people ahead of time to observe the location and find any suspicious points, and what they reported back had them trembling till now.
If what their men said was true, then the Pan Suppression Sect's name would come true in but a few years! Heck, by the time people of their stature are done with one closed-door cultivation session, they might come out and find that they had new suzerains.
Their problem with this was not that the Pan Suppression Sect may harm them or might change the way of life of the people. In fact, given what Darius had done on Fallon, one could infer that he was like Prometheus, coming to bring the Neanderthals fire to upgrade their lives.
In fact, once he truly 'owned' them, they would now have legitimate reasons to acquire his top-tier goods which could change the fate of an entire species for themselves for either low prices or for free!
Bluntly speaking, there were more benefits than detriments in directly knowing Darius when they met and pledging allegiance. It was the best choice for them Pan and their future!
However, they cared about none of that! None of the above was their concern in the least!
To them, the only thing that mattered was the power, prestige, and control they had as the leaders of their various forces in their various territories.
How good did it feel to have the life and death of billions in your hands, from mortals to cultivators?
How good did it feel to have people kowtow to you in greeting everyday for you to act casual and indifferent despite their standing?
How good did it feel that if you disliked someone, you didn't even have to hit them? One dissatisfied look and others would bully them to death on your behalf after 'interpreting' your intentions.
How good did it feel to be horny and then just randomly pick out a jade beauty in your territory to coerce into your bed for a one-time thing and then throw her out after you are satisfied, not caring about how she would find a partner now?
How good did it feel to be greedy for something belonging to a weaker power and instead of making everyone know your selfishness and greed, you could call them a demonic sect and annihilate them for 'virtuous' reasons?
There were many other benefits that came with the position they occupied, and they could do almost anything they wanted in the way they wanted without having to answer to anyone.
What if Darius imposed rules limiting their actions? What if Darius interfered with their benefits and powers when he took over?
With that in mind, who cared about the right choice and the benefit of Pan? Who cared if there might be a disaster as a result of their actions? The only important thing was to retain their power, everyone else and everything else could go to hell!
They knew, of course, in the back of their minds, that this choice might and would probably lead to the death of trillions of mortals and billions of cultivators across Pan, further weakening the continent and making them open for invasion.
They also knew, that there was a significant chance that they might die to lose in the end despite fighting back, and their ending would be worse than if they had just submitted from the onset.
However, none of that mattered. Even if there was a 0.0000001% chance that they could succeed and maintain the status quo, they would gamble everything on it!
After all, the ones doing the fighting and dying would not be them, but the innocents beneath them who sought refuge with them for protection and a better life.
Anyway, it was now their turn to make themselves useful for the protection provided! It didn't matter that they milked those below them of all their use through missions, contribution points, and other methods, those were things they naturally deserved as leaders and didn't count.
Only by wholeheartedly fighting and then dying for their purpose, and even thanking them in the afterlife for this chance, was enough to payback what they had done for them!
As such, before they even landed in Darius' territory, their eyes had become bloodshot with killing intent and hostility. However, the more they were like this, the calmer they were for they understood that there could be no mistake.
As such, meetings were held between them and they discussed how to suss out Darius's power. Tournaments and the like were pointless because they were not enough to dig everything out, only a true life-and-death scenario can do that.
However, they were not sure if they had the capital to force Darius into a true life-and-death scenario. They needed more power and more prowess in order to achieve that, and they began to suggest things that would normally leave them flabbergasted on a better day.
Eventually, they came to a conclusion. A very shocking one too.
They would have to ally with someone strong to take down Darius together and share the spoils!
After looking at their options, the cultivators of Pan could only grit their teeth and choose there perennial rivals from Houto!
This was why Darius loved the human race, and especially all sapient species that had logic and emotions. After all, which beast-like species without 'logical' capabilities would willingly harm itself like this?
He had strained himself thinking of way to get Pan and Houto into conflict for chaos, and the cultivators of Pan had rushed ahead of him to facilitate means for him to achieve that!
They sent messages to the leaders of Houto and shared their concerns with them. They also sent information containing what they had seen in the outer section through their men to the upper echelon of Houto as proof.
When those fellows saw this, their genitals stood upright from desire. Just look at that condensation of Spiritual Energy, if it was brought here and converted to their local power system, how much could they grow?
Would it not be possible to eventually conquer all of Faust for themselves? Especially now that those False Gods were sunk and the Demons of Armadon were unable to even breathe under the siege of Miranda?
Thinking like this, the upper echelon of Houto trembled with craziness and desire that they could no longer suppress. As for Pan trying to play any tricks, they were aware that those immortals who loved to scheme would not do this for free.
They definitely had a scheme behind this, but couldn't they also scheme back? Anyway, both sides knew that the most important thing was to capture Darius and then carve out his value from his flesh then toss him aside.
After that, they would fight with each other to split the benefits.
Both the upper echelon of Houto and Pan relaxed greatly. The threat that was Darius greatly diminished in their eyes because they - as rivals for so long - knew the strength of the other party very well.
If both sides teamed up, it was not even impossible to slaughter those False Gods with ease. Darius should be grateful that they were willing to go this far for a mere mortal like him, and now, he should even be the one to bow to them.
Thinking like this, the various cultivator powerhouses of Pan couldn't help but burst into raucous laughter. Their red eyes dissipated and they regained their calmness and superiority.
There was even a small smirk playing at the edge of their lips as their eyes narrowed slightly, showing severe disdain. One could see the confident gleam in their eyes and the sneer from they way they upturned their nose.
The airships eventually landed and disembarked in a specially designated area where each of the upper echelon were received by the maidbots which Darius was already known for, so none were surprised.
These upper echelons seemed dissatisfied that Darius himself did not come out here to kneel before them and graciously welcome them in, but they held it back as they sneered.
Hmph, Darius could have these last few seconds of being arrogant. When their reinforcements came and the operation began, would he even be able to act so high and mighty?
Meanwhile, Darius was in a meeting room with all his inner circle, and he projected the details of the plan the cultivators made with the member of Houto, down to the exact wording and even the timestap in which they were sent.
My Brother in Christ, if you were going to scheme against Darius, why do you still wear the damn HoloBrace on your wrist?
Seriously, who plotted to overthrow the government with their friends while holding their phones, laptops, tablets, and any device with an internet connection and a microphone nearby?
While the average cultivator was going through a crisis of decisions, the top echelon finally arrived in their airships. They had already sent people ahead of time to observe the location and find any suspicious points, and what they reported back had them trembling till now.
If what their men said was true, then the Pan Suppression Sect's name would come true in but a few years! Heck, by the time people of their stature are done with one closed-door cultivation session, they might come out and find that they had new suzerains.
Their problem with this was not that the Pan Suppression Sect may harm them or might change the way of life of the people. In fact, given what Darius had done on Fallon, one could infer that he was like Prometheus, coming to bring the Neanderthals fire to upgrade their lives.
In fact, once he truly 'owned' them, they would now have legitimate reasons to acquire his top-tier goods which could change the fate of an entire species for themselves for either low prices or for free!
Bluntly speaking, there were more benefits than detriments in directly knowing Darius when they met and pledging allegiance. It was the best choice for them Pan and their future!
However, they cared about none of that! None of the above was their concern in the least!
To them, the only thing that mattered was the power, prestige, and control they had as the leaders of their various forces in their various territories.
How good did it feel to have the life and death of billions in your hands, from mortals to cultivators?
How good did it feel to have people kowtow to you in greeting everyday for you to act casual and indifferent despite their standing?
How good did it feel that if you disliked someone, you didn't even have to hit them? One dissatisfied look and others would bully them to death on your behalf after 'interpreting' your intentions.
How good did it feel to be horny and then just randomly pick out a jade beauty in your territory to coerce into your bed for a one-time thing and then throw her out after you are satisfied, not caring about how she would find a partner now?
How good did it feel to be greedy for something belonging to a weaker power and instead of making everyone know your selfishness and greed, you could call them a demonic sect and annihilate them for 'virtuous' reasons?
There were many other benefits that came with the position they occupied, and they could do almost anything they wanted in the way they wanted without having to answer to anyone.
What if Darius imposed rules limiting their actions? What if Darius interfered with their benefits and powers when he took over?
With that in mind, who cared about the right choice and the benefit of Pan? Who cared if there might be a disaster as a result of their actions? The only important thing was to retain their power, everyone else and everything else could go to hell!
They knew, of course, in the back of their minds, that this choice might and would probably lead to the death of trillions of mortals and billions of cultivators across Pan, further weakening the continent and making them open for invasion.
They also knew, that there was a significant chance that they might die to lose in the end despite fighting back, and their ending would be worse than if they had just submitted from the onset.
However, none of that mattered. Even if there was a 0.0000001% chance that they could succeed and maintain the status quo, they would gamble everything on it!
After all, the ones doing the fighting and dying would not be them, but the innocents beneath them who sought refuge with them for protection and a better life.
Anyway, it was now their turn to make themselves useful for the protection provided! It didn't matter that they milked those below them of all their use through missions, contribution points, and other methods, those were things they naturally deserved as leaders and didn't count.
Only by wholeheartedly fighting and then dying for their purpose, and even thanking them in the afterlife for this chance, was enough to payback what they had done for them!
As such, before they even landed in Darius' territory, their eyes had become bloodshot with killing intent and hostility. However, the more they were like this, the calmer they were for they understood that there could be no mistake.
As such, meetings were held between them and they discussed how to suss out Darius's power. Tournaments and the like were pointless because they were not enough to dig everything out, only a true life-and-death scenario can do that.
However, they were not sure if they had the capital to force Darius into a true life-and-death scenario. They needed more power and more prowess in order to achieve that, and they began to suggest things that would normally leave them flabbergasted on a better day.
Eventually, they came to a conclusion. A very shocking one too.
They would have to ally with someone strong to take down Darius together and share the spoils!
After looking at their options, the cultivators of Pan could only grit their teeth and choose there perennial rivals from Houto!
This was why Darius loved the human race, and especially all sapient species that had logic and emotions. After all, which beast-like species without 'logical' capabilities would willingly harm itself like this?
He had strained himself thinking of way to get Pan and Houto into conflict for chaos, and the cultivators of Pan had rushed ahead of him to facilitate means for him to achieve that!
They sent messages to the leaders of Houto and shared their concerns with them. They also sent information containing what they had seen in the outer section through their men to the upper echelon of Houto as proof.
When those fellows saw this, their genitals stood upright from desire. Just look at that condensation of Spiritual Energy, if it was brought here and converted to their local power system, how much could they grow?
Would it not be possible to eventually conquer all of Faust for themselves? Especially now that those False Gods were sunk and the Demons of Armadon were unable to even breathe under the siege of Miranda?
Thinking like this, the upper echelon of Houto trembled with craziness and desire that they could no longer suppress. As for Pan trying to play any tricks, they were aware that those immortals who loved to scheme would not do this for free.
They definitely had a scheme behind this, but couldn't they also scheme back? Anyway, both sides knew that the most important thing was to capture Darius and then carve out his value from his flesh then toss him aside.
After that, they would fight with each other to split the benefits.
Both the upper echelon of Houto and Pan relaxed greatly. The threat that was Darius greatly diminished in their eyes because they - as rivals for so long - knew the strength of the other party very well.
If both sides teamed up, it was not even impossible to slaughter those False Gods with ease. Darius should be grateful that they were willing to go this far for a mere mortal like him, and now, he should even be the one to bow to them.
Thinking like this, the various cultivator powerhouses of Pan couldn't help but burst into raucous laughter. Their red eyes dissipated and they regained their calmness and superiority.
There was even a small smirk playing at the edge of their lips as their eyes narrowed slightly, showing severe disdain. One could see the confident gleam in their eyes and the sneer from they way they upturned their nose.
The airships eventually landed and disembarked in a specially designated area where each of the upper echelon were received by the maidbots which Darius was already known for, so none were surprised.
These upper echelons seemed dissatisfied that Darius himself did not come out here to kneel before them and graciously welcome them in, but they held it back as they sneered.
Hmph, Darius could have these last few seconds of being arrogant. When their reinforcements came and the operation began, would he even be able to act so high and mighty?
Meanwhile, Darius was in a meeting room with all his inner circle, and he projected the details of the plan the cultivators made with the member of Houto, down to the exact wording and even the timestap in which they were sent.
My Brother in Christ, if you were going to scheme against Darius, why do you still wear the damn HoloBrace on your wrist?
Seriously, who plotted to overthrow the government with their friends while holding their phones, laptops, tablets, and any device with an internet connection and a microphone nearby?
