Ascension of the Immortal Asura

1120 The Yang-Sovereign's Plans

The Yang-Dao Stadium, a place that held ten million powerful cultivators, was as silent as a grave as the audio began to play for all to hear.

"Why...why are you and the Yang-Sovereign doing this?" the Grandmaster's hoarse voice sounded out, his voice alone giving enough insight into his condition when he said these words, as the pain and agony he felt was audible for all to hear. "What are you going to do?"

"Hmph," Seraphia scoffed, her tone smug and haughty. "What, so you can escape and tell that little Prime Shadow of yours our plans, hoping that he can put a stop to it all?"

Silence lingered for a moment before Seraphia's laughter could be heard, at which point she spoke again.

"l suppose I've already stripped you of everything, and this formation is beyond your means to break free from, so consider this as fulfilling the last wish of a dying man," she said, her voice growing louder as she was approaching the Grandmaster at that time. 'The full details are too exhausting to explain, but by the time the Three Dao Tournament is over, my husband will have successfully absorbed the Nine-Petal Yang Lotus, and by doing so, will ascend to a level of power beyond even the Eternal Serpent. This world will become his once our plans have been achieved."

"1m...possible..." the Grandmaster replied weakly. "The Nine-Petal Yang Lotus is far too powerful for the Yang-Sovereign, for anyone in this world, to absorb. Doing so is suicide."

"You are correct," Seraphia replied, "and carrying out this plan is still a great risk to my husband and the Yang-Dao Sect, but the alternative is far worse for us."

"Alternative?" Grandmaster Darkcloud repeated questioningly.

"What alternative?"

"Tch, it's all that stupid lotus' fault," Seraphia sneered angrily. "If that lotus knew what was good for it, it would have allowed my husband to absorb it long ago, and together they would have been able to rise to heights beyond the scope of this world..." her voice trailed off, silence filling the air for some time.

"But," she chimed up eventually, "instead of being absorbed, that stupid lotus is trying to bring ruin to everything my husband and I have built over tens of thousands of years. It continues to defy us, continues to grow stronger and stronger, and has begun to reach a level of power that can no longer be contained by the formations of this world. Once that happened, once it broke free from our formational confines, its power would destroy the entire Yang-Dao Sect, as well as the surrounding land for tens of thousands of miles."

A rhythmic tapping sound played next, as if Seraphia was drumming her fingernails on a nearby table.

"So, realizing this issue hundreds of years ago, my husband and I have been tirelessly planning to deal with that problematic lotus," she continued. "And the culmination of our plans will play out at the end of the Three Dao Tournament, and, if successful, will change everything!"

"Why...why not ask the other powers for help? Surely together-" the Grandmaster's voice was cut off by a loud scoff.

"Hmph! Ask the Mage-Dao Sect? The Sword-Dao Sect for help?" Seraphia sneered with obvious disdain. "There's no way either of them would ever agree to help."

A short silence hung in the air before Seraphia spoke again.

"What? You don't believe me? Well then, let me ask you this question," she said with a loud whisper, as if she were leaning close to the Grandmaster. "Now that the Yang Intus is reaching a level that can no longer be contained, there are two ways to deal with it. The first is to use everything to destroy it, although neither my husband nor I know if that's even possible."

She paused momentarily again, as if she were considering that option for a brief moment.

"Even if it was, the Yang-Lotus is the cornerstone of our sect. Destroying it would be akin to destroying the future of the sect itself. That is out of the question. The second option," she said after drawing in a deep breath, "is to absorb it, permanently. And there's only one person strong enough when it comes to Yang Qi to absorb it without perishing, my husband. Now, my question for you is this; do you really think the Mage-Dao Sect or Sword-Dao Sect would help my husband absorb something that will give him power to dominate them completely? If my husband absorbed the lotus, he would become the true hegemon of this world. Do you really think the other Dao Sects' would allow such a thing? Allow them to be surpassed by another?"

"No," the Grandmaster's soft whisper sounded out after a long, deafening silence. Seraphia's words rang true.

"Exactly," Seraphia sneered disdainfully. "The Sword-Sovereign would never allow such a thing to come to pass, and would sooner destroy the entire Yang-Dao Sect before allowing my husband to absorb the lotus. The only reason that old sword-fanatic hasn't tried to destroy my husband already is because he does not believe it possible for the Yang-Lotus to be absorbed. But he's wrong, so very, very wrong," her voice trailed off with heated hatred, as if the mere thought of the Sword-Sovereign filled her with rage.

"So you see, Grandmaster," Seraphia said, her voice firm once more. "While our actions may be reprehensible to you, we were left with no choice. It's either us, or them. And I chose us."

"l see," the Grandmaster whispered again, defeat in his voice, as he could not argue against her logic. "Then, how do you plan...to do it?" he asked another question. "Is it even possible to-"

"To absorb the Yang-Lotus?" Seraphia cut him off. "Of course it is, otherwise, why would we even bother with this plan of ours. If our plan fails, we lose everything, so it must work!"

Her footsteps could be heard as she paced back and forth, then returned to speak with Grandmaster Darkcloud.

"As for how we are going to do it, well we've been planning for it for centuries as I mentioned," she continued. "And while I'll spare you the boring details, let's just say that there's a reason we built the Yang-Dao Stadium to hold ten million of the strongest cultivators in the world. Their Qi and blood will be very useful in subduing the lotus, at least long enough for my husband to absorb it and make it his own."