Chapter 2346: Compromise and Struggle
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
These words from Princess Donghuang stunned everyone who had heard them, and many cultivators changed their expression. They clearly understood that this was Princess Donghuang giving the Lost Clan a chance to survive.
By asking the Lost Clan to accept the authority of Donghuang Imperial Palace as a part of the Divine Prefecture under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Palace, Donghuang Imperial Palace may then legitimize its involvement in the whole affair.
This was giving the Lost Clan a chance to make a choice. Of course, the Lost Clan was free to refuse. But in that scenario, it was very possible that the Imperial Palace from Divine Prefecture would choose not to intercede. After all, for Donghuang the Great to dominate all of Divine Prefecture, his concerns had to be much broader, and he would never involve the Imperial Palace in an all-out battle with several other major worlds on behalf of some irrelevant clans.
Naturally, the finer points of this reasoning were not lost on the Lost Clan. Therefore, after hearing the pronouncements from Princess Donghuang, the elder of the Lost Clan hesitated only for a moment before he made a decision. Determination flashed through his eyes as he replied, “The Lost Clan is willing to submit to Donghuang Imperial Palace and accept the command of the Imperial Palace. From now on, we shall be a part of the 3,000 Realms of the Great Path in the Original Realm.”
When they heard the reply from the Lost Clan, the cultivators from other forces were not thrilled, to say the least. Under such circumstances, it was obvious that Donghuang Imperial Palace would be involved. If so, it would be extremely difficult to move against the Lost Clan again, especially for principalities from the Divine Prefecture.
Princess Donghuang surveyed the crowd around her slowly and said, “All the forces from Divine Prefecture, hear me well. Now that the Lost Clan belongs to Divine Prefecture and has accepted the command of our Imperial Palace, please do not treat the Lost Clan as a foreign invading force. If opportunities allow in the future, you should befriend one another and learn together.”
Indeed, Princess Donghuang intervened with her influence, and she had started with the principalities from Divine Prefecture first.
Many from the top forces in Divine Prefecture appeared pensive as their eyes flickered and their brains were thinking hard. They found the current circumstance a little hard to swallow, especially those who had lost cultivators in the previous violent exchanges with the Lost Clan. They had not had the chance to settle these scores before they were asked to drop the matter altogether and get along with the Lost Clan.
Then, had those cultivators who had perished died in vain?
“Princess, my brothers-in-arms fell at the hands of the Lost Clan. Where is our justice?” a cultivator asked. He was the cultivator of the Ancient God Clan. He asked his question bluntly without backing down, not scared even in the face of the Imperial Palace.
Princess Donghuang looked at the cultivator and calmly responded, “After this confrontation settles down, if you still ache to settle the score, I will allow you to fight with the Lost Clan. The Imperial Palace will not get between the two of you over personal grievances.”
The eyes of that cultivator narrowed. She would allow them to fight with the Lost Clan?
On the Shenyi Continent, with the tyrannical power displayed by the Lost Clan, even the Ancient God Clan was an unlikely contender to take them on alone; the difference in power was simply too great. The other side was a major clan made possible by the energy of an entire continent. However, unless…
But even if they were greatly displeased in their hearts, they could only endure in silence, suffocating on those unspoken words. One glance at Princess Donghuang revealed that the princess was no longer a young lass anymore. After many years of cultivation, she had become even more magnificent and ravishing. Aside from her status and position, she was a peerless empress in her own right.
“Since the Princess said so, we will have no choice but to put it aside for now,” the person responded with a bit of displeasure in his voice. Even facing Princess Donghuang, he was not overly servile. After all, they were not under the direct jurisdiction of the Imperial Palace, and the Imperial Palace could not do much to them. If the Imperial Palace were to come down on them too aggressively, it would risk total and utter alienation.
“Mmm.” Princess Donghuang didn’t seem to display the slightest emotion. She nodded nonchalantly, haughty and indifferent. She glanced at the cultivators from the other worlds and said, “Once upon a time, in a battle long ago, the Original Realm came under the jurisdiction of Divine Prefecture. Now that changes are upon the Original Realm, which was why the Divine Prefecture did not object to your presence here, though you were uninvited. As the Lost Clan had recognized and submitted under the authority of the Imperial Palace, accepting its command, everyone, please feel free to disengage and take your leave.”
Once the Lost Clan agreed to assimilate, then the Imperial Palace of the Divine Prefecture may directly intercede on its behalf, preventing the others from fighting against the Lost Clan.
“Princess Donghuang, should this matter be forgotten just like this?” A cold voice queried, and it was a top cultivator from the Dark World, whose tone was tinged with a few degrees of iciness. They had already declared war and broken down the matrix of the Lost Clan. If they continued with this momentum, they would surely take down the Lost Clan sooner rather than later.
At this time, the Imperial Palace from Divine Prefecture unexpectedly interfered to prevent the battle from continuing.
“Since the Lost Clan has now submitted to Imperial Palace, the Imperial Palace will ask you to stop fighting with the Lost Clan. If you refuse to let this go, you should know that we don’t mind taking this as far as it needs to go,” Princess Donghuang replied. Divine generals stood guard behind her, creating a frightening atmosphere. Once again, Ye Futian saw Spear Emperor Du You. However, this divine general stood behind several other people and didn’t seem to occupy too conspicuous a position.
Obviously, because of the involvement of peak cultivators from several worlds this time, the Imperial Palace had dispatched a much more powerful delegation than before.
For a time, the space was completely silent, as all the cultivators remain hushed.
The Lost Clan was already very powerful on its own, and these cultivators, with great difficulties, had paid a heavy price for breaking down their defenses. Now, the top forces from Divine Prefecture would not continue to fight against the Lost Clan and may even fight for them in this latest reversal of fortunes. As long as Princess Donghuang was around, it would be impossible for the forces of these principalities from Divine Prefecture to get involved further. They had lost considerable strength on their side, but the other side was now being backed up by the supreme power that belonged to Donghuang Imperial Palace.
If the battle continued under these conditions, they would most likely suffer losses and have no chance to take down the Lost Clan.
Suddenly there was a voice coming out of this silent space, and a cultivator from the Human Realm said, “The Lost Clan, a major clan in the world of cultivation, has not done anything wrong. If you refuse to give up and insisted on persecuting the Lost Clan, the Human Realm will not stand idly by.”
This voice reverberated in the quiet space. The power between Divine Prefecture, the Human Realm, and the Lost Clan was enough to stymie any hopes for the other worlds to vanquish the Lost Clan.
But to give it up just like that seemed rather anticlimactic and unsatisfying.
“The Human Realm is indeed the agent of righteousness. How come you didn’t intervene and allied with the Lost Clan earlier?” A cultivator from the Dark World commented, his words dripped with thick sarcasm, full of unsaid accusations. It seemed that when the Imperial Palace of Divine Prefecture had arrived, the Human Realm was much more willing to stand beside the Imperial Palace. Together, they had completely cut off any recourses the Dark World may have.
“Since the Imperial Palace of Divine Prefecture has taken a stance, then we will drop this matter for the time being and will not make further demands on the Lost Clan,” a cultivator from the Empty Divine Realm piped up to show that they were willing to let it go. In this case, what choice do they really have but to call it quits?
“However, now that the Original Realm is going through these changes, I’m sure Donghuang the Great must know very well that while we can agree not to touch the Lost Clan, the control of the Original Realm should be relinquished now. The turbulence in the Original Realm means that it shouldn’t no longer be under the control of any single entity.”
Everyone was surprised because none of them expected the Empty Divine Realm to make a statement of this nature. The Imperial Palace of Divine Prefecture had always regard itself as the master of the Original Realm, and now it was time for a change.
This was a thought shared by cultivators from the Dark World as well as the Devil World, and their attention now fixed solely on Princess Donghuang!