Baxian tried to find a hidden meaning to Xinzi's words, failing to realize that our monk spoke straightforwardly. Xinzi loved colors. In Heaven, black and white dominated, with blue and green coming afterward, and entire divine domains reduced to either one or two colors. In the Pure Lands, gold and gray held sway, again with green and blue acting as the next tier. Then came hell with the biggest variety. But Hell despised bright colors, leaving them to the other paradises. Its perpetually red sky reminded Xinzi of Tusha's Soul Refining Workshops, sanguine matrixes that lured ignorant prey in with deceptive illusions and promises of endless fulfillment before reducing them into grotesque lifeforms that forever chased all they'd lost along the way.
Dongli alone offered more colors than the three paradises combined, and as far as Xinzi was concerned, that…was quite the shame.
'Greatest One, our men have tracked down the Northern Dark Sea Palace and investigated the situation. As you suspected, Divine Souls cannot get in. The same goes for anyone that cultivates techniques specifically meant for Divine Spirits.' To a certain extent, Soul Force was a lesser version of Divine Power. Unlike blood and qi cultivation methods, one could only practice one soul cultivation art, and Divine Spirits made that art the foundation of their battle prowess.
Typically, God-Child candidates reserved their souls for the Records of the Eternal Night. But once a God-Child was selected, they'd settle for another technique and start their Divine Soul cultivation. But as all know, the records have been stolen by Qingxin. This meant that in the current Evernight Palace, Baxian and Xinzi were the only ones without a soul cultivation method. Of the two, only Xinzi could sneak into the Northern Dark Sea Palace—if he chose to leave his Divine Soul behind, of course.
'Our Scrying Formations couldn't travel far, but from what we've gleaned, that Northern Dark Sea Palace has existed from times that predate the branch clans' descent, and hides resources connected to all three paradises. What a pity that we can't get in directly. The 14th elder wishes to send a detachment of sea creatures in for a more thorough exploration. Should he proceed?'
'Interesting. Don't bother, but to be safe, set up a formation to block and conceal the entrance to the palace, and send me the runic keys. I will take care of the rest.'
'As you command, Greatest One!' Later that day, obsidian runes would appear before Xinzi, settling in his Divine Soul. In the meantime, our monk stepped into his office and sent the great elder a mental message—he arrived right afterward.
"Greatest One, your servant greets you!"
"You may rise. I will be brief. The time has come for us to overhaul the main halls. Though in the past, the Night Slave hall served both as spies and cauldrons for the God-Monarch, now that we have the Mourning Shadows, the Night Slave hall's intelligence gathering has become redundant. Moreover, I don't like the name.
From now on, the Mourning Shadows alone handle the intelligence gathering. The Night Slave hall becomes the Night Flower hall, an entity focused solely on the God-Monarch's needs. Whenever necessary, the members can become emissaries or diplomats for the God-Monarch to connect with the Myriad Sea clans." Xinzi started, but immediately, the great elder's face twisted at his words.
"Greatest One, as the master of this dynasty, you naturally have the authority to overhaul the halls in any way you see fit. Still, your servant hopes you can reconsider these changes. Shifting the duties of the Night Slaves is not an issue. Emissaries and diplomats? That's fine as well. But why do you need a connection to the Myriad Sea clans? They are servants—slaves. We command, they obey. You dispatch a decree, they receive and fulfill it, even if it must drive their nine generations into extinction. At best, dispatching diplomats to inferior clans implies that we're giving them relevance or esteem. At worst, they can see it as the Night recognizing them as independent factions. Neither cases are acceptable.
The name change is even worse. Names carry great conditioning power. Each day that a member of the Night Slave hall wakes, each time that they breathe the superior air of the Evernight Palace, they must remember to who they owe their fortune and the perpetual servitude that is their lot. The more ingrained the notion of servitude is, the easier controlling them becomes.
The Night Slave hall owns a city in the Evernight Palace and receives considerable cultivation resources each month. We can't afford to have them grow comfortable, conceited, or convinced that they represent a genuine 'royal family.' Left unchecked, it won't be long before they start interfering with clan politics and demand influence that they have no business holding. Greatest One, please reconsider!" Hengye Mochen fell on his knees, bowing towards Xinzi.
'Well, that's a good start.' Having expected strong opposition, Xinzi wasn't surprised by the great elder's reaction and would naturally not give up this opportunity to truly take over the Endless Sea.
"Only Night Spirits are qualified to interfere with clan politics. Since I don't plan to keep any in that new hall, you don't have to worry about them growing conceited. From the lowest of shrimp soldier to the noblest of divine beasts, none of the Endless Sea creatures need a daily reminder of who owns their domains. On the contrary, having kept them down for so long, this little gesture can go a long way in fostering genuine loyalty. That loyalty can, in turn, help me develop and harvest the faith of all Endless Sea lives. I will do the work with my decoy shell, and harvest the results following my Divine Consecration." Xinzi's counter came without delay, making the great elder panic instantly.
"Greatest One, the Night Slaves represent a direct link to the reigning monarch, even more so with the changes you request. How can we empty it of Night Spirits and enable lesser creatures to monopolize a direct link to you? That would be an insult to your prestigious name. Likewise, one Divine Spirit's prayer is worth 10,000 mortals'. Why would we need them to complete the Ancestral Task? They're not worthy and deserve no consideration."
"The Great Desolation world houses tens of billions of mortals. How many Night Spirits do we have?"
"…"
"You do not want the Night Slaves to become a threat, but you refuse to let inoffensive creatures hold the key seats. The current Night Slave hall was selected by Yuemi and owes her more than they owe me. What are you trying to accomplish by denying my revamp?"
"Your servant…"
"The women of the Hengye clan have always been displeased by this patriarchal theocracy. After all, Yongye is female. Many of them feel that dominion over this branch should fall into a woman's hand. If not for the fact that the branch dispatched here was at first led by a male God, a God that felt smitten by the patriarchal tendencies of this world, women would rule here as well. Since you seem so determined to keep ancient norms intact, perhaps we should find a talented female to take over the reins of this branch.
"…"
"No? Nothing? Moving on." As the great elder's jaw sank and any form of coherent retort died in his throat, Xinzi waved his right hand, conjuring a map of the Endless Sea.
"I am the law. I am the norm. And the norm believes that traditions should adjust to fit modern realities. The Chained Dragon hall will no longer serve as spare bodies for the Evernight Palace's elite. The majority of the dragon race descends from divines. Divine Beasts and Divine Beast Descendants fill their ranks. They are different from lesser spirits and deserve more respect. The Immortal Dragon Palace no longer exists—humiliating them makes no practical sense." Xinzi added, and this time, the great elder blinked in disbelief, not knowing how to argue.
Xinzi didn't care about dragons receiving respect. But he did care about the Evernight Palace's residents being able to jump into top mortal shells for whatever need they wanted fulfilled. Each of the Chained Dragon hall members possessed a heavenly bloodline, and in the case of the Immortal Dragon Palace's direct descendants, their mortal shells didn't lose to most of the Night Spirits'.
"This…Greatest One, you're favoring aliens over your kin. The Chained Dragon hall isn't just a war machine. Many of the Evernight Palace's lords and ladies use them as playthings. You're…denying them their fun for nothing—forcing them to question your intent."
"War machines cannot be playthings. It's either one or the other. Are you not worried that, should the younger generation's excesses go unchecked, more Wuxins will rise from their ranks?" Faced with Xinzi's rhetorical question, the great elder held his breath, again at a loss. Xinzi could have stopped here, but decided to bury him entirely.
"You're worrying about drivel. Once I complete the Ancestral Task, every single mortal creature of the Great Desolation is doomed to destruction. They're effectively helping me to speed up their deaths, but here you are, arguing semantics when within a century, we will be back in Heaven.
Chained Dragon hall, Night Slaves or Flowers, will any of this matter in a century? Tens of thousands of years of existence, but you're worried about…a century?"
"I…" Hengye Mochen's breathing grew ragged, and his pale cheeks burned red.
"Good. It's settled. Now if you'll excuse me, my maids and I will handle the logistics of my Night Flower Selection. The maids will reach out to the Endless Sea's clans, you don't have to worry about anything. With that said, I'd appreciate it if you could go to the Northern Dark Sea and reinforce the arrays we've laid down. Bring them to the highest level you can. I'm counting on you," Xinzi said, tapped the great elder's shoulder, and walked off.
For reasons he couldn't comprehend, Hengye Mochen felt like his lord was venting frustration from an unknown source on his head. Still, he bowed and said:
"As you command….Greatest One!"