Destiny in Cinders

The lotus part of the drone setup was the main unit while the six lotus seeds served as subunits. Though it had decent battery life, it was a bit poorer in terms of fine control and remote distance. The main unit, however, could serve as a signal repeater to allow the subunits to fly farther and scout out more locations on top of serving as a charging dock for the subunits, extending surveillance time.

An Jing used five subunits, one for each of the exits at the second, third and fourth floors, leaving two flanking him. The main unit, on the other hand, was scouting out the second floor in greater detail. The final subunit flew close to the ground quietly towards the exit on the top floor.

Thanks to the mist of hot blood and dust, the little green lotus seeds didn't catch much attention as they quietly flew up the corpse-laden winding snake of a stairwell. From the point of view of the drone unit, An Jing looked like an inconspicuous speck of white dust amidst the chaos.

The little drone units went to their respective stations. Eventually, An Jing could see the half-closed main entrance of the black market. It was said to be around twelve layers thick, being the same type of door used for treasuries and banks. However, it had been forcefully bent and pushed apart, allowing An Jing to send the drone unit through it.

The black market's plaza was entirely silent. There were no corpses or living people, not even the smallest insect. Though shocked, it didn't take An Jing long to realize something. He gulped and turned the drone unit's camera upwards, causing the visual feed to blur out.

The color and resolution began to bug out to the point that he could only barely make out two figures up in the sky. One seemed like a crimson decaying sun peeking out from the snow-covered horizon. The other looked like a streak of bright lightning that poked out of the cloudy iron curtains above. The top of the plaza was filled with many powerful cloudy vortices that exuded lightning bolts nonstop.

The sight looked similar to the separation between yin and yang on the Taiji diagram, clearly splitting the firmament into two distinct and polar regions. One was white with a hint of red, containing peaking yang and receding yin. The other was black with a hint of green, heralding true profundity.

The people behind the black market and Fengdu Guard, the Luofu and Xuandu Groups respectively, have made their move!

As thundering roars came from the depths of the dark clouds, snow fell heavily like a river streaming down from the heavens. The lightning that was created by the chilling frost sun's power caused the whole place to howl, shattering all windows nearby.

Ripples of spirit qi spread out far and wide, shaking the ground and everything upon it. An Jing's drone subunit immediately shattered. He could feel the tremors despite being three floors underground. Panicking, he took off his drone goggles.

Trying to leave while Purple Mansion sages were fighting was no different from suicide. All he could do was wait. He could still spend a bit more than a day within Skysource, so it was enough time for him to find a place to hide and wait it out. He could return to Void Embrace at any time, so he wasn't feeling particularly stressed out. Considering the gear he had, even if he couldn't kill the vilespawn fiend, he would be able to wound it heavily. However, such considerations weren't his main concern.

It didn't seem like the black market would recover from such a blow. No doubt, the whole area would be sealed off by some large corporation for quite some time. While Yvelbane allowed him to select an entry point into Skysource around five hundred meters from where he last left, it would no doubt still be within the sealed zone. Even if he managed to escape the zone, he would be wanted by those large corporations if discovered.

An Jing decided to wait and observe the situation to ensure that he would be able to return to Skysource and access Deepnight City in the future. The black market had to have other entrances or exits, such as those used for loading in new stock or large equipment.

"Let's see if there are other emergency exit pathways. Then again, the Luofu Group might've already secured those routes. I might be stopped the moment I leave, but I will be able to find a chance to escape back to Void Embrace, I'm sure."

"Despite the development of this civilization's technology, it seems that their brutality doesn't pale in comparison to Void Embrace's." Yvelbane said, having seen everything through An Jing's eyes. "The two Purple Mansion cultivators fighting without a care for the common folk is one thing, but the Fengdu Guard doesn't even care about executing the subjects under their rule. They are completely merciless!"

Yvelbane's voice carried a hint of sharp rage. "Back during the golden age of Void Embrace, immortals and mortals were clearly separated, with cultivators not affecting affairs of the mundane world. Even if they did enter the mundane world to fulfill promises or hone their hearts and minds, they acted justly and would never commit atrocities on scales like these! The cultivators policed their own to ensure this was the case!"

An Jing was quite shocked. "To think that such order once existed in Void Embrace... Does that mean that massacres like this never happened back then? What about people feasting on their own like the demonic cult?"

Yvelbane fell silent for a moment. "Perhaps those happened all the same. The Void Embrace of the past was not completely free of strife. However, they stuck closely to the rules. The Heavenly Dao was binding, and virtuous cultivators and immortals policed the state of affairs, so things were much more peaceful. However, savagery and debauchery still existed where these influences do not reach."

"But it's much better than what we have now! I'm not hoping for a utopia where evil doesn't exist. I just want much less of it. At the very least, I want evil to receive their just desserts!"

Yvelbane let out a sardonic laugh. "An Jing, I know what you want to ask. You want to know whether the law and order from back then can return to Void Embrace. Perhaps you even extend that to Skysource. You are bursting with ambition, that's for sure. However, times have changed. Void Embrace can no longer support qi cultivation, and most of Skysource is a poisonous wasteland. The Heavenly Dao has become twisted.

"The idyllic days when majestic constellations filled the skies and immortals roamed freely are long gone. Any past experience from back then would be useless, if not a liability. An Jing, it's pointless for me to tell you this now. In fact, it might even lead you astray. You have to forge your own path, one that will meet the requirements of both Void Embrace and Skysource. Once you do, I will tell you what truly transpired back then. Only then will you be able to find your own true path, your own true dao."