Chapter 26: The Magnolia Parliament

"Crack, crack..."

As the transcendent gate opened,

Morland Elcli stood at the entrance, his expression gloomy.

"Something big has happened," Morland Elcli said in a deep voice.

"Is it related to that faint world lament just now?" Gune asked softly.

"You sensed it?" Morland Elcli raised an eyebrow.

"Yes," Gune nodded.

That subtle shift in the world just now had gone unnoticed even by peak ninth-tier transcendent masters.

Only beings on the level of divine envoys and ancestral spirits could perceive it.

He hadn't expected Gune to be able to sense it as well.

"It seems Gune's understanding of the world's mysteries is already considerable," Morland Elcli mused inwardly.

"The evil god and the Southern Church have jointly activated a massive formation to extract the world's essence. This is no trivial matter."

"The high council of the Transcendent Association is convening a meeting to discuss countermeasures. You need to attend."

"Come with me now; we'll use the teleportation array."

"Yes."

Gune nodded and followed Morland Elcli down the corridor.

"Will Senior Nigel be there?" Gune asked as they walked.

"Yes, Nigel will also attend."

Morland Elcli said as he walked.

"Except for those with critical duties, most of the powerful figures will come."

"After all, this concerns the survival of our Oya Continent."

"Additionally, some peak ninth-tier transcendent masters will also be present."

"These peak ninth-tier experts have the potential to become divine envoys or ancestral spirits in the future."

Deep beneath the Star Observation Tower,

Gune and Morland Elcli entered the teleportation array.

As light flared,

Gune felt space rapidly shift.

After the milky white light dissipated,

the venue for this high-level meeting of the Transcendent Association appeared before him.

It was a vast, ancient hall of gray stone.

At the center lay a huge oval table.

Beyond that were tiered seats for observers.

Behind the observer seats stood massive stone pillars, a hundred meters tall and five or six meters thick.

Beyond the pillars was a thick, almost solid fog.

An invisible barrier kept the dense fog at bay.

Already, many divine envoys and ancestral spirits were seated in high-backed chairs around the oval table.

Some sat with eyes closed, resting.

Others were shrouded in mist, whether observing or also resting was unclear.

A few chatted cheerfully with others.

But most wore grave expressions.

"This place is a world transformed from the ancestral spirit space within a deceased deity,"

Morland Elcli said softly.

"In that fog, there are many still-living strange creatures. Remember, don't venture into the black mist; it's dangerous."

"Yes," Gune nodded lightly.

In fact, upon entering, Gune had already sensed exceptionally powerful beings deep within the mist.

His perception of this world was quite formidable.

"Find a seat in the observer area. You may speak only when called upon," Morland Elcli said softly as they reached the assembly area.

"Understood," Gune nodded.

Gune was about to find a seat nearby when

"Gune."

A very familiar voice reached him.

Gune turned and saw Nigel sitting in the observer area not far away, looking at him.

"Senior Nigel!"

Gune smiled and walked over.

"You're here too," Nigel said in a low voice as Gune sat beside him.

"Yes, Senior Morland Elcli brought me," Gune nodded.

"It's been a while, and you're already at late seventh-tier transcendent. You'll likely break through to eighth-tier soon."

After scrutinizing Nigel for a moment, Gune said.

"You're not slow either, you've also advanced to Transcendent Master." Nigel smiled.

As the two talked.

White light surged continuously from the teleportation array nearby.

Divine Envoys, Ancestral Spirits, and powerful beings at the peak or late stage of Transcendent Rank Nine kept entering this peculiar space.

Gune also noticed that there were over thirty high-backed chairs here.

That is to say, the Transcendent Association had more than thirty Divine Envoys and Ancestral Spirits.

This number surprised Gune slightly.

But after thinking carefully, Gune understood.

The two major churches in the south had about ten or so powerful beings of the same level.

The three empires in the north had vaster territories and more transcendents; it was not strange to have over thirty Divine Envoys and Ancestral Spirits.

As everyone waited.

More than two hours had passed.

At this time, fully twenty-two powerful beings had arrived at the high-backed chairs.

In the surrounding gallery, there were also over forty transcendents at the late or peak stage of Transcendent Rank Nine.

The power gathered here was more than half of the peak strength of the three northern empires of the Oya Continent.

Feeling one after another vast and mighty aura.

"I guess I have the lowest cultivation here," Gune thought to himself.

"Since most are here, let the meeting begin!" A vigorous voice rang out.

The speaker was an old wizard in a wizard's robe and hat, with a pale beard.

Immediately, those who had been whispering stopped talking.

All eyes converged.

Everyone had heard about what had happened.

This matter concerned the prosperity of the three northern empires of the Oya Continent and the Transcendent Association.

"Just a few hours ago, the War Church and the Healing Church in the south have completely allied with the evil gods, disregarding the lives of nearby humans, and have activated a massive ritual array capable of drawing the world's essence."

The old wizard spoke in a resonant voice.

"Currently, our world is having its essence drained."

"If not stopped, in five or six years, our world will enter its first withering period."

"This will cause irreversible damage to our entire world."

"At that time, the life force of our world will decline; flowers, grass, and trees will become fragile; the number of deformed and stillborn infants will increase; even if born, their lifespan and constitution will be greatly weakened."

"For transcendents, the risk of mutation and loss of control will increase."

"Even you Transcendent Masters, who have mostly escaped the possibility of losing control, will also face the risk of losing control as the withering period arrives."

"In about ten to twenty years, our world will enter a decline period, and the number of transcendents will sharply decrease."

"After a hundred years, our world will enter a death phase."

"However, we won't even make it to that point. In ten to twenty years, those evil gods will use the world's essence to gradually integrate into our world and exert their true power."

"At that time, we will be in great danger."

The old wizard's words had already caused many to change color.

Although they knew the evil gods' actions were cruel and destructive.

They had not expected the destruction to be so great.

Gune also furrowed his brows.

The destructive power of draining the world's essence was indeed astonishing.

"Fortunately, we had already considered this scenario before." The old wizard's voice rang out.

"Once they activate the ritual array to draw the world's essence."

"They will inevitably gather all their forces to guard near the array."

"This may not be an opportunity."

"At this time, they have no strength to come north to attack and destroy."

"We can take this chance to attack them; they will surely defend to the death."

"This attack may not aim to annihilate them all; even killing a few is an effective countermeasure."

After carefully considering the old wizard's words, Gune found them quite reasonable.

"But won't they set a trap there?" A powerful being asked.

"Without a doubt, they will."

The old wizard replied calmly.

"Moreover, they will establish a massive defense system to prevent us from attacking the array."

"They may even prepare some killing moves for us."

"But our methods may not be fewer than theirs."

"Everyone... now is the critical moment. Those evil gods have already impatiently launched an attack on our world."

"And now, it is time for us to counterattack."

The old wizard's voice was resounding and forceful.