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(Southern Region- Xercopolis Empire)

(The Forbidden Desert- Ancient Ruins)

The sun was now beginning to peak over the horizon and warm orange rays of light washed over the sand dunes and the barren earth.

A group of tribespeople slowly travelled beneath the shadow of enormous dunes. Camels carried small children, the elderly, and important supplies.

The procession was protected by men and women carrying curved swords whose edges gleamed under the sunlight.

A woman walked in front of the group with quiet steps. She had dark brown skin and lovely black eyes that shone with an unknown emotion.

She wore long white robes that covered most of her body which protected her from the scorching heat and the sandstorms that raged through the desert.

The group continued to walk for several long hours until they arrived at the site of mysterious ruins.

An expression of sorrow flashed across the woman\'s face as she observed the new cracks and the damaged sections of the buildings.

It did not take a genius to realise what had happened here. Especially when numerous corpses lay helplessly on the ground.

Cultivators...

The only part of the site that was not damaged was the statue of the kneeling figure in the middle of the structures.

"Let me go by myself," the woman spoke firmly to the guards next to her.

"Mehistan... are you sure? The cultivators could still be around here," one of the guards replied with a worried expression on his face.

"If they come... they will die..." the woman whispered with a tinge of hatred in her voice.

The guards were not happy with the decision of their leader, but no one dared to resist her command.

The woman took in a deep breath and then walked towards the statue. With every step that she took, her heart began to beat louder and louder.

She could feel the dark tattoos covering her skin pulsate with a foreign energy that felt sticky and warm.

It was an uneasy feeling and yet the woman\'s face did not show a hint of the discomfort that she felt.

This power... was a gift.

It was the only way that mortals could survive against gods and goddesses. The ability to strip away the source of their powers.

A terrifying ability.

The Mehistan approached the statue and knelt down respectfully. The statue\'s face morphed and changed ever so slightly.

One moment it resembled a woman and the other a man.

The statue\'s face was an always changing mirage of different facial features and expressions.

The woman stretched out her hand and placed her fingers on the bottom leg of the statue. She shivered violently as she felt a voice echo through her mind.

There was a seductive purr to the mysterious voice and yet a hint of danger lay beneath its sweet feminine tone.

[Apostle... why are you contacting me?]

"I have carried out your will... five sinful cultivators have died... their corpses have long been buried in the desert sands," the woman slowly spoke.

"But I have failed to kill the one who investigated their disappearance. She retreated too quickly for my hand to grasp her body."

[Hmm... I see... well no matter...]

[All is proceeding as planned. It is only a matter of time before cultivators will disappear from this world]

"Yes, my lady," the Mehistan raised up her head and madness shone in her eyes.

She longed for that day ever since she was a little girl, and she witnessed firsthand just how merciless cultivators were.

Her father the previous head of their tribe was killed for no reason by a wandering cultivator just for looking at him.

She would never forget the smug look on the cultivator\'s face.

Or how the killing was done so effortlessly.

A flick of his sword and her father\'s body was neatly bisected in half as if a gust of wind had managed to inflict such horrific damage.

"Do you have any other requests for me? I am your weapon... my life and the lives of my people... they belong to you," the woman respectfully asked.

[No. I thank you for your loyalty my dear apostle but your role in this plan is at an end. Go now and live in peace]

"My lady please! Don\'t abandon me!" the Mehistan screamed desperately as she collapsed on the desert ground in despair.

She continued to scream and shout but the mysterious voice in her mind had already disappeared.

The statue slowly crumbled away, and bits and pieces of obsidian fell down on the sand.

.

.

.

.

(Unknown Location- Temple Of The Fallen God)

Numerous rooms, passageways and corridors formed a complex labyrinth underground. The air inside this place was humid and stale.

Only the faint light from the torches attached to the walls provided any source of relief from the never-ending darkness.

Intricate carvings, paintings and writings in a language long forgotten were carved onto the walls and parts of the ceiling.

This was an ancient place.

There was primordial sense of danger to the vast emptiness of the tunnels as if the darkness could somehow swallow a person whole.

The room located in the deepest part of the underground complex was a massive hall.

At the far end of the large space was a simple throne made from stone.

Sitting down on the throne was an extremely beautiful woman with gentle facial features, sharp cheekbones, and a warm smile.

She had olive coloured skin and piercing grey eyes that shone with kindness and mercy.

The woman on the throne wore a rough outfit made out of hemp. It was a cheap attire and yet the poor clothing did not diminish her sense of beauty.

She was surrounded by a group of heavily tattooed men and women whose dark markings wriggled and squirmed as if they were somehow alive.

"Why did you not take her power away? She has fulfilled her part and it is not necessary to have a useless apostle,"  the man closest to the woman slowly spoke.

"Oh? I seem to recall that you no longer have any role in the grand plan and yet I have allowed you to keep your strength Yang Jian," the woman smiled kindly as she spoke.

"Perhaps I should have stripped you of your ability..."

A fit of giggles burst out of the mouth of the youngest looking woman in the group. A teenage girl who appeared to be no older than fifteen.

The man shot the young teenager a warning look but the girl simply stuck out her tongue and mocked him silently.

Seeing that the atmosphere was getting a bit tense, the woman slowly raised up her right hand and the hall fell silent.

"We must always remember the true enemies... cultivators," the woman spoke with a calm tone and her words echoed around the hall.

"Do not underestimate our enemies. Even with our gifts... it is impossible to rid the world of their loathsome influence... at least for now..."

"But if we follow the plan outlined by our forebearers... we may succeed. But for that to happen... I do not want infighting."

"Do I make myself clear?"

There was a brief moment of silence as Yang Jian and the teenage girl looked at each other sheepishly and then apologised to the woman sitting on the throne.

"Good now let us discuss the martial arts conference," the woman changed the topic and her tone became more serious.

"This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to announce ourselves to the world and strike fear into the hearts of all cultivators whether they belong to the side of \'righteousness\' or demonic."

"It is time to make the gods bleed..."