This artifact was a colossal floating Ice Palace, sculpted entirely from ice, from which a dreadful cold capable of freezing one's very soul emanated and spread outward into its surroundings, though, like the blazing Sun, its terrifying aura was fortunately restrained.
Within and around the Ice Palace stood a group of more than 200 cultivators, all of them women—and not merely women, but breathtakingly beautiful fairies—each wearing an expression as cold and emotionless as the frost that surrounded them, while releasing a freezing aura that forced even the most enamored men to keep their distance, not daring to approach these untouchable beauties.
All of these cold fairies were dressed in beautiful ice-blue Taoist Robes, robes which also had frost-white highlights that only accentuated the freezing impression they gave.
An eye-catching detail about them was that there wasn't a single one who could be called ugly, with all of them being heavenly beauties, the only exceptions being a few among them who were already old women, but aside from that every single one was resplendent.
Another thing about these cold fairies was the fact that nearly all of them possessed silky silver hair and cold icy blue eyes.
And these 'details' weren't trivial, because all of the above were signs of cultivating the Silverfrost Jade Scripture, the main cultivation method of the Frozen Serenity Sect, which bestowed those very characteristics upon its practitioners.
If the Silverfrost Jade Scripture was cultivated from a young age, it not only refined one's natural aptitude but also drastically enhanced beauty, granting silver hair, icy blue eyes, a deeper attunement to the Ice Dao, while at the same time of dulling emotions.
And when all of these things were taken into account, it was abundantly clear who these fairies were, they were cultivators of the Frozen Serenity Sect!
Just as the Wandering Sword Sect members were observing the other cultivators around them after arriving, the two other Overlord Sects began to move.
A small group detached itself from the Flame Sovereign Sect, led by Sect Master Qin Yanlong, whose cold crimson gaze and fiery aura, touched with calmness, seemed to weigh upon the air as he advanced with a handful of followers toward the flying sword where the Wandering Sword Sect stood.
At the same time a group from the Frozen Serenity Sect moved as well, led by Sect Master Rong Xueyin, her silver hair gleaming in the light while her cold, icy blue eyes swept across her surroundings.
Crsssht.
The air itself seemed to freeze as the beauty, her voluptuous figure wreathed in an aura of extreme cold, advanced toward the Wandering Sword Sect.
"Sigh," a lazy sigh escaped Qiu Yuelan as she saw that, 'Why can't these two just quietly wait for the Secret Realm to open and not bother me?' she inwardly complained, but she knew she had to greet them.
So with a lazy effort the mature beauty rose from her meditative position and took flight.
"Greetings, Sect Master Qin, Sect Master Rong." Qiu Yuelan's voice had the same lazy undertone as ever, but at least she made an effort… she was more formal than usual, after all…
The two Sect Masters flew to her position, and as these two powerhouses' gazes crossed, invisible sparks seemed to fly between them, neither addressing the other as they greeted the lazy beauty.
"Greeting Sect Master Qiu!" the cold and rational, yet faintly fiery voice of the Sect Master of the Flame Sovereign Sect resounded.
The mature beauty who was Rong Xueyin performed the usual cultivator's salute, but with her emotionless expression it became downright unsettling, only made worse when she spoke in the same detached manner, "Greeting Sect Master Qiu, it's a pleasure to once more meet you."
For a brief moment silence filled the air as the three Sect Masters hovered in place, their auras pressing against one another and the atmosphere subtly tightening, until the other cultivators instinctively distanced themselves from the three powerhouses.
Sect Master Qin Yanlong's crimson gaze lingered for a moment on the Wandering Sword Sect disciples below before returning to Qiu Yuelan, "Congratulations Sect Master Qiu, it seems that the Wandering Sword Sect's younger generation is rather talented."
Qiu Yuelan froze for half a second, uncertain how to answer, as she never kept herself informed on matters like the disciples talent or strength, not knowing what to answer she simply gave a lazy nod, "Hum."
A faint glint passed through Qin Yanlong's eyes as though he had confirmed something.
This didn't escape the notice of the two other Sect Masters, for they were all old foxes whose cunning had been tempered by the years, while Sect Master Qiu was more of a young fox, but still…
Qiu Yuelan saw his attempt to dig for information but she didn't care and was far too lazy to answer, yet the same could not be said for Rong Xueyin.
The cold and mature beauty lifted her chin as her expression grew haughty—as haughty as such an emotionless visage could appear—as she fixed her icy gaze upon the Sect Master of the Flame Sovereign Sect.
"As expected of the 'great' Sect Master Qin, your courage is unparalleled, trying to dig information out even now, this lady can only be impressed," her voice, laced with sarcasm and colder than a thousand-year glacier, resounded.
"Snort! I don't expect you to understand, your heart and spirit are far too… frozen to comprehend the thing which is called a 'conversation,'" he answered, his fiery gaze locked on the icy fairy with not a trace of appreciation for her unreal beauty, only dislike and even faint hints of hate.
"Fufufu," an emotionless laugh that sounded faker than fake escaped Rong Xueyin as she cast a disdainful glance at Qin Yanlong, her cold words striking like a blade, "Conversation? That's what we are calling 'information gathering' now?"
"I think Sect Master Qin is confused, because he has never truly had a proper conversation—after all, how could he when he is only ever surrounded by subordinates and has no friend, no equal, and nobody with whom he can exchange words sincerely? All he has are people who fear him, not a single one who loves him."
A glint passed in her beautiful icy blue eyes as she continued, her voice like frozen steel, "Now that I think about it, how is little Qin Lei? Poor child… gone without ever receiving his father's love… poor, poor him…"
"BITCH!"
Whoooomph!
The words uttered by Sect Master Rong were so venomous that even the usually calm and rational Qin Yanlong couldn't contain himself, and with his son having just died he was extremely, extremely sensible on this subject, so when she spoke these words…
His anger manifested in reality as, with a cry of rage, his aura, full of fiery rage, exploded outward, bringing with it a heat hot enough to burn everything to ash.
If it was allowed to spread unobstructed, it was certain that the surrounding miles would be reduced to a burning hell, with every living being in it burnt to ash!
Which meant that every cultivator unfortunate enough to be caught in that range—whether they had descended from their Sect's Flying Artifact, or their Artifact simply lacked the strength to shield them—would have been annihilated without the faintest chance of survival.
'This crazy bastard!' was the thought that passed through both Rong Xueyin and Qiu Yuelan as the auras of the two mature beauties erupted outward, one in an explosion of coldness and the other with… intellectuality or some kind of runes or formation?
Boom!
Hissss!
The three auras clashed in a world-shaking collision, fire meeting ice with a terrifying hiss, yet neither side gained the upper hand, the clash making it clear that the Sect Masters of the Flame Sovereign Sect and the Frozen Serenity Sect were evenly matched in strength.
Fortunately for all the nearby cultivators who could only watch these two elements collide with dread and horror, unable to understand how the situation had suddenly spiraled to the point where their survival was in critical danger, there wasn't only these two Sect Masters present, for the lazy beauty Qiu Yuelan was there as well.
Woooooom!
In an instant heaven and earth shifted as a terrible formation unfolded, surrounding all three Sect Masters but placing the brunt of its weight upon Qin Yanlong, who immediately found himself being forced back under the dual suppression of ice and formation.
'She's gotten stronger!' was the thought that passed through both Qin Yanlong and Rong Xueyin as they felt the power contained within the lazy beauty's formation, power that was now superior to their own!
The three auras clashed for a moment longer before the fiery Sect Master finally withdrew his, with the two beauties following suit.
"What is the meaning of this, Sect Master Qin?" coldly inquired Qiu Yuelan, her lazy eyes having lost some of their tiredness as they took on the seriousness and bearing that could be expected of someone of her power.
"I hope Sect Master Qin can provide us with an explanation! Your anger was reckless and endangered everyone, you don't only need to explain yourself to us but also to all the cultivators you placed in danger!" emotionlessly declared the frozen fairy.
'This bitch!' inwardly Qin Yanlong's rage only burned hotter as he heard the words spoken by Rong Xueyin, who with the way she worded it, made it seem like he had suddenly erupted in rage without reason, when it was clear that her provocation was what had ignited his burning fury.
At that moment the hatred he bore for her multiplied, for if previously he had only disliked/hated her mainly because of the ancestral… dislike at best and hatred at worst between their two Sects, something that wasn't helped by the couple of times he had crossed paths with this frozen fairy which had all ended badly.
But this time, with what Rong Xueyin had said, he truly began to hate her with all of his heart, but—
Sect Master Qin felt the gaze of every cultivator burning upon him as they all looked at him with anger, it was obvious that they were all enraged by his aura erupting outward in a moment that could very well have cost them their lives.
Because of that every bit of their attention was on him, and it wasn't the positive kind… not at all.
Sect Master Qin kept silent for an instant as he forcefully calmed himself before giving a small bow, "Pardon me for my outburst, Sect Master Rong's words about my now dead son put me outside of me!" his voice echoed loud and clear, carrying to every ear present.
As not everyone had been listening to the earlier exchange between the three Sect Masters, a large part of the furious crowd now gained a clearer understanding of the situation, and their gazes shifted toward Rong Xueyin who let out a small, emotionless laugh.
"Fufufu, who would have thought that Sect Master Qin couldn't endure a little joke and would erupt in rage like that… I certainly never imagined that a reputed Sect Master like him would be so… short-tempered!"
Her words which were as venomous as earlier once more brought the attention back to Sect Master Qin who responded in turn, then she answered back, and this back and forth continued on for a while.
'These two really are annoying…' thought Qiu Yuelan as she remained floating beside them, her visage the perfect picture of a "serious Sect Master," something she outwardly projected even as inwardly she wished for nothing more than their argument to end so she could finally go back to sleep…
'Alas reality isn't that nice…' she gloomily thought as she stayed in place, her expression never shifting from its mask of seriousness.
The fiery and frozen Sect Masters went back and forth for a while longer, and by the time all three of these powerhouses separated, the animosity between the Flame Sovereign Sect and the Frozen Serenity Sect had only deepened.
At the same time the Flame Sovereign Sect also experienced a small fallout with the majority of the important powers of the Suncrest Region who had been present to witness the scene.
This fallout certainly wasn't enough to make them into pariahs or anything of the sort, but it was clear that the Sect's reputation had taken a hit from it.
Author Note:
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The joy of politics, I tried to do a kind of 'mix' so to say between real politics which would be logical and make sense while including the 'politics' of Cultivation Novel/World which generally end at "How Dare you! You are Courting Death!"
Generally it end there but I am trying to mix the two, showing both the 'realistic' side and the face side which is oh so important in a Cultivation World/Novel.
What do you think of this approach?
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