Chen Hai had always believed that as a Half-God realm cultivator, he stood near the peak of this mortal world. He had destroyed sects, conquered provinces, and reduced cities to ash with a single wave of his hand. But now, floating inside the Grand Celestial Hall, he began to question everything he once held certain.
His breath came heavy. His vision wavered.
The nine elders of the Celestial Sect surrounded him like phantoms. Each one looked calm, bored even—yet he could feel an indescribable pressure from them, an aura not just of power, but of something ancient and boundless. No energy signature, no spiritual fluctuations. They stood in complete stillness, like mountains carved by the hands of gods themselves.
Chen Hai's brow furrowed. Where were their auras? Their cultivation levels? Not a ripple of power emanated from them. And yet... they were standing there, watching him fight, unguarded, unconcerned.
That was when the fear began to sink in.
---
He remembered his furious strike from moments ago. A full-force attack laced with his Divine Serpent Flame—a technique that had obliterated dozens of peak Soul Form cultivators. He had unleashed it on that screaming buffoon, Elder Yao Jin, only to watch it dissolve mid-air like it struck a cosmic wall.
Yao Jin had merely swatted it aside with one hand, like a man brushing off an insect.
Impossible, Chen Hai had thought.
But it wasn't.
The Grand Celestial Hall fell into a deathly silence after that. Not even the howling winds outside dared to whisper.
Now, Chen Hai looked again.
The Sect Leader, Yuan Xian, floated in the center, dressed in simple robes, not a single wound on his body. The battle they'd just fought had been a dance—Yuan Xian hadn't even broken a sweat.
In one corner, the traitor from the Heavenly Fire Pavilion, Hua Liang, lay crippled. His breathing was shallow, his body broken. It was Elder Qin Lei who had dragged him in, tossing him aside like garbage.
Chen Hai's mouth turned dry.
Yao Jin, the wealth-crazed lunatic, was calmly writing down numbers with glowing ink in mid-air, muttering things like, "Hmm, that wall alone was worth seventy spirit crystals... and the jade inlay—oh heavens, five hundred years old. Tragic."
Then, slowly, Yao Jin looked at Chen Hai.
His eyes glinted behind the golden lenses of his spectacles.
"I have decided," Yao Jin said cheerfully. "Your lungs will pay for the western wing. Your kidneys—those should fetch enough for the jade flooring. Your skin? Hm. Good for parchment. Durable."
Chen Hai's body shivered. He's serious...
Yao Jin raised his hand. The world around them changed.
---
The hall twisted. The skies outside churned like a maelstrom. The vast independent space created by Elder Yun Yi rippled. For a moment, it seemed as if they were no longer inside a mortal realm.
A crushing pressure fell upon Chen Hai. The power of at least nine Half-Gods descended on him simultaneously.
No... it's not just Half-Gods... these people... they...
He looked around in panic. If they can resist my attack that easily, without even using spiritual energy... that means...
He couldn't finish the thought.
Then he realized—he couldn't move.
Elder Qin Lei chuckled. "Do you really think we'd let you walk in here and disrupt our home without punishment?"
Elder Xue Tong appeared beside him with a wave of green mist and spoke coldly, "You dared bring war to our door. Now you'll become part of the Celestial Sect's treasury."
Elder Yun Yi nodded. "We're not a mid-tier sect. We only let the world believe that."
Sect Leader Yuan Xian took one step forward. "Celestial Sect does not forget. Celestial Sect does not forgive."
Chen Hai's heart pounded like a war drum. This is no ordinary sect. This is a behemoth. No—a monster that slumbered through ages... and I woke it.
And then it happened.
Yao Jin pulled out a small black seal.
With a tap of his finger, space fractured.
Chains formed from celestial laws wrapped around Chen Hai's limbs, tearing into his divine body, each link heavy with karmic weight.
"No! Wait! I am a Half-God!" he screamed. "You need at least my level to even wound me!"
"That's the thing," Yao Jin whispered, "we all are... or worse."
Snap.
His leg tore away first.
Crack.
An arm followed, spinning into a golden cube floating nearby. Each limb was precisely removed, cauterized instantly, then categorized and stored like mere commodities.
Chen Hai's vision blurred. Pain was irrelevant now—terror consumed him.
"You'll pay for this!" he roared.
Yao Jin leaned in. "You already are."
---
Far away, deeper than any mortal could reach, hidden in the heart of the Celestial Planet's innermost layer, an ancient eye opened. It had been watching since the first strike fell.
It blinked once.
It saw the formation.
It saw the power.
It saw the truth.
It hummed quietly, the sound echoing across dimensional boundaries.
"Interesting," it whispered.
"Very... interesting."
---
Back in the Grand Hall, only the remnants of Chen Hai remained—his headless, dismembered body sealed in jade containers, labeled with pricing tags floating beside them.
Yao Jin wiped his hands.
"Cleanup complete," he said with a satisfied smile.
The other elders vanished into the mist, silent as shadows.
Yuan Xian looked to the horizon.
"We've stayed hidden long enough," he said.
The era of slumber had ended.
Celestial Sect had awakened.
And the universe... would tremble.