Book 15: Chapter 103
The orthodox sects’ faction provided figurative big trees to shelter the next generations, and the resources they provided made growth readily accessible. The unorthodox sects’ faction ruled independently, but they provided other unorthodox faction members with a sense of backing. Both factions had been competing against each other forever, though it had reached a stalemate in the last century until Divine Moon Cult’s rise.
With a lack of balance came an abundance of opportunity. It was only natural for every animal and whatever else would come out to divide the body of a fallen titan. By extension, the power balance gradually skewed in the orthodox sects’ favour more and more over time following Demon Sect’s fall.
Nobody expected the vacancy left behind following Divine Moon Cult’s fall would be so significant. Save for those who the orthodox eliminated, survivors of Divine Moon Cult took refuge with the three remaining unorthodox sects.
League of Assassins never made any moves, and business carried on as usual. The only change was that they didn’t have to kill Divine Moon Cult’s members. They remained as dangerous as ever.
Sky Realm Palace never showed up. They were basically off the radar ever since You Shili returned to Demon Realm. Not a soul alive thought for a second that they just weren’t interested in competition. If one looked close enough they’d see traces of what was called “sadclouds”, which was the image of a crying cloud that Sky Realm Palace liked to sew onto their garments.
It was Valley of Villains that suddenly became active across the lands after Divine Moon Cult’s demise. No matter if it was an escort company, a gang, or whatever other entity that recruited manpower, someone or some people from Valley of Villains would join. While their skills did their backgrounds justice, they never mentioned a word of their time in the valley as if a curse was placed on them. It didn’t blow anyone’s mind that some new faces start popping up, but the death of over two thousand bandits of Shanxi’s biggest gang overnight was big news. When Emperor’s Entourage’s agents were dispatched to investigate how a group that the imperial court couldn’t stop in years was decimated overnight, they couldn’t find anything besides a new rock tablet outside of the den that read, “For good or evil, it is all evil. Hidden in Valley of Villains.”
Thanks to the text on the tablet, Valley of Villains became a topic in everyone’s mouth once again. Later on, the tablet would show up frequently across the lands, and a group would be wiped out wherever the tablet was found. In the three following years, innumerable warriors from all sorts of backgrounds met their ends and earned a tablet for themselves, totalling five digits worth of bodies. As a result, Valley of Villains were on track to replacing Divine Moon Cult.
It was the second time Valley of Villains made such a big move. The first time was seven years ago, which was when they became acknowledged as one of the four great unorthodox groups in the unorthodox faction. Before then, they were considered a mythological existence.
It was said that Valley of Villains was paradise, a place where they only experienced spring all year round. There were no conflicts, no tall tales, and no oppression. They’d toil when they sun came out and rest when the sun went down. Supposedly, it was such a great place for the soul that nobody wanted to leave once they visited. Irrespective of your past, irrespective of your character, there was a place there that you could call home in the valley, the utopia for villains. Anybody in their right mind would’ve considered the claims as authentic as the underwater dragon kingdom.