"Main Headquarters Master, we've found it! That aura seems to be coming from an infant, and right now the child is fleeing under the protection of a killer organization."
After receiving the report, the Grand Elder of the Main Headquarters immediately went to Lydia Snow. Lydia’s face instantly turned cold.
"Fleeing? What do you mean? Is someone hunting them down?"
"Yes, the aura is different from the previous divine-soul aura. Not only can we sense it, but the Five Sacred Lands can too. The ones hunting them are dozens of Saint Sons and Saintesses dispatched by the Five Sacred Lands!"
"If you know that, then why are you still standing here? Gather our forces and go bring them back!"
Taken alone, a single branch might not even match a small clan’s strength, and their strongest experts were only on par with the Flowing‑Light Dynasty.
Lydia Snow paused, then said, "If that’s the case, then don’t rescue them. Take all the Holy Emperor powerhouses and slaughter every last one of those damned Saint Sons and Saintesses—leave none alive! But be careful: don’t let them go crazy and self-destruct. I don’t want to see a mutual-destruction scenario."
"But Main Headquarters Master, if I take everyone away and the Five Sacred Lands come for you, what then?"
"You don’t need to worry about me. They’re not strong enough to hurt me, and besides, you’re not the only one in the Elder Council!"
The Grand Elder left to carry out the order, and a hint of calm finally appeared in Lydia Snow’s eyes.
"Good, you didn’t die. You’ve just reincarnated and come back. If that’s the case, then there’s still hope."
At this moment, there weren’t many people left by Lydia Snow’s side. Most had scattered to search for the aura of the Ninefold Sacred Emperor, and the last remaining powerhouses were taken by the Grand Elder to support the Dark Legion and protect Dylan Chu.
So now, the only experts left with Lydia were five mid-stage Sacred Emperors, three late-stage Sacred Emperors, and herself—just nine people in total.
"The Five Sacred Lands again! Since you refuse to show any mercy, I won’t hold back either. So what if there’s devastation, chaos, disaster, or enemies everywhere?
In my eyes, only he truly matters.
So all these grudges—this time, let’s settle them once and for all."
A hint of madness flashed in Lydia Snow’s eyes as she waved her hand: "Final message—across the Star‑River Dominion, in every star‑region, every Star‑Treasure Pavilion branch, from the moment you receive this order, spare no cost, spare no strength, and go all out against every dynasty, sect, world, mine, and asset belonging to the Five Sacred Lands. In short—if it’s part of the Five Sacred Lands camp, I don’t want a trace left behind.
There are only four words for every action: utterly destroy them!"
That leader’s cultivation was nowhere near Lydia Snow’s, but his arrogance was unmatched. He was from Dragon-Sun Sacred Land.
"Dragon-Sun Sacred Land, Celestial-Star Sacred Land, Radiant-Moon Sacred Land, Soul-Severance Sacred Land, Endless-Sky Sacred Land. Ha, is this all that’s left—just you little minnows? Get someone qualified to speak!"
But now? Lydia Snow was actually mad enough to go all-out and start a total war!
"What? Any objections?"
"N-no, none." An elder sighed, then crushed the jade slip in his hand and sent out the final message.
He knew perfectly well what crushing that jade slip would mean. As for how vast the Star‑River Dominion really was, even he had no clear answer in his heart.
But the saying 'there’s a Star‑Treasure Pavilion everywhere in the star‑regions' was absolutely true. The Pavilion’s branches, scattered everywhere, really did number in the tens of millions.
Taken alone, a single branch might not even match a small clan’s strength, and their strongest experts were only on par with the Flowing‑Light Dynasty.
But from another angle, if these tens of millions of Star‑Treasure Pavilion branches all erupted at once, then no matter how vast the Star‑River Dominion was, it would be turned upside down!
Maybe the Five Sacred Lands should be grateful Lydia Snow chose world-wide retaliation. If she had gathered all her forces to attack the Five Sacred Lands directly, the outcome might have been utterly one-sided.
In Five Saints City, Lydia Snow stood alone at the highest point, while the other eight Sacred Emperors hovered nearby.
"Come out! You Five Sacred Lands cowards—still hiding at a time like this? Is something holding you back? There’s no one left at my side. The most secret leader of Star‑Treasure Pavilion you’ve been searching for is standing right in front of you!"
Countless experts in the Sacred City looked up, but none knew what was happening. A few reckless ones tried to fly up and show off, only to be torn apart and killed instantly by invisible currents.
Even among those, there were some early-stage Holy Emperor experts!
After Lydia Snow finished speaking, still no one answered. She frowned slightly, "What, has the Five Sacred Lands really fallen this far?"
Finally, a group of black-clad figures appeared before Lydia Snow. Their auras were grand and their cultivation was not bad, but to Lydia, they were still quite limited.
Their clothing varied, but on closer inspection it was clear they were all people of the Five Sacred Lands. Even their strongest were only led by four or five Sacred Emperor powerhouses.
How could this be? Lydia Snow sensed something was wrong.
"Is it just you sacrificial lambs?"
"Ha! The Main Headquarters Master of Star‑Treasure Pavilion actually cracks jokes like that? Sacrificial lambs—who’d be so bored?"
That leader’s cultivation was nowhere near Lydia Snow’s, but his arrogance was unmatched. He was from Dragon Yang Sacred Land.
"Dragon Yang Sacred Land, Sky Dawn Sacred Land, Radiant Moon Sacred Land, Spirit Severance Sacred Land, Vast Heaven Sacred Land. Ha, is this all that’s left—just you little minnows? Get someone qualified to speak!"
"Sorry, Main Headquarters Master, everyone qualified to speak to you is gone. All that’s left really are us little fish and shrimp."
With those words, Lydia Snow finally realized what was wrong—this was bad!
For the Five Sacred Lands, the greatest threat wasn’t actually Star‑Treasure Pavilion! Even though they’d spent years suppressing the Pavilion’s growth and investigating its true origins and master, all their efforts had come to nothing.
[Irrelevant line about chapter navigation, skipping translation.]
But all of that was just surface noise. The real threat to the Five Sacred Lands came from only two people: the Frostbane Sacred Emperor and the Ninefold Sacred Emperor!
So even knowing chaos was about to erupt, they still sent out large numbers of experts to wipe out the Frostbane Dynasty. Facing small fry who hadn’t even reached the Sacred Emperor Realm, they were still anxious and uneasy.
And as for the Ninefold Sacred Emperor, just sensing some news was enough for them to mobilize completely, leaving no room for escape!
This shows just how deeply these two have scarred the Five Sacred Lands’ psyche.
Once Lydia Snow figured this out, she realized she’d been tricked! The Saint Sons and Saintesses were just a distraction—the real move was the Five Sacred Lands going all-out to kill the Ninefold Sacred Emperor!
Right now, they just couldn’t confirm the infant’s exact identity, so they hadn’t revealed all their strength. They also feared Star‑Treasure Pavilion’s smokescreens.
So they played along, pretending to defeat the Dark Legion but not wiping them out, waiting for Star‑Treasure Pavilion to make a move.
Sure enough, Star‑Treasure Pavilion went all out to help, and that’s when things truly went wrong. The Five Sacred Lands’ peak forces—including five late-stage Sacred Emperors and nearly all their strongest experts—were lying in ambush, ready to strike Chu Tianlin as soon as his identity was confirmed!
"Retreat!"
Lydia Snow wanted to leave, but how could these people let her succeed? To keep her here, they’d deployed their sect’s most supreme treasures. The cultivation gap was wide, but Lydia’s focus on escape had given them an opening.
Sure enough, Star‑Treasure Pavilion went all out to help, and that’s when things truly went wrong. The Five Sacred Lands’ peak forces—including five late-stage Sacred Emperors and nearly all their strongest experts—were lying in ambush, ready to strike Dylan Chu as soon as his identity was confirmed!
Five Saints City was a fortress built jointly by the Five Sacred Lands. Only they knew what kind of methods were hidden here. Lydia Snow knew she might suffer losses on someone else’s turf, but there was no real danger to her life.
But now, Lydia Snow didn’t care about her own life—what she needed was time!
"Fight your way out!"
The other eight elders were a bit weaker. When Five Saints City activated its powerful sealing formation, their attacks slowed noticeably.
"Heh, you might as well stay right here!"
The Five Sacred Lands’ group tossed out several strange treasures, then quickly sat down to channel their power into the sealing formation. Five Saints City was built like a prison—a cage stronger inside than out!