It wasn’t that they were unaware of the existence of other Dao Manifestation Realm cultivators. At their level, it was almost impossible for such things to remain completely hidden. But even so, the number Raisho mentioned far exceeded anything they had anticipated.

Among the twelve present, they had only ever made contact with four others. Three were rulers of nearby continents, while the last was a reclusive expert who lived alone on a remote island, someone who had no interest in worldly affairs.

That made sixteen in total.

But now Raisho had casually revealed that there were seven more on top of that.

The expressions of the twelve gradually turned more serious. For cultivators at their level to deliberately remain hidden, there had to be a reason. Whether it was to avoid conflict, accumulate strength in secret, or pursue some unknown objective, none of those possibilities were simple matters.

Raisho observed their reactions with a faint smile.

He had seen this kind of situation countless times before. Whenever he arrived at a new planetary system, the same pattern would repeat. Hidden forces would inevitably be dragged into the light, and carefully maintained secrets would be exposed.

Although he had no intention of interfering with the existing power structure, the very act of gathering them here meant that some things could no longer stay hidden.

Plans would be disrupted. Schemes would be forced into the open.

But to him, none of that mattered. As long as they completed the task assigned to them and followed the rules he set, whatever they chose to do afterward was of no concern to him.

"Oh right," Raisho added casually, as if remembering something insignificant. "When I arrived, I saved a group of youngsters from that other planet and brought them back. They’re inside this pyramid."

He gestured lightly toward the planet below. "After we’re done talking, I’ll send them down."

The twelve cultivators were visibly surprised. They had not expected this at all.

In fact, they had already prepared themselves to declare the participants of the Mystic Realm expedition dead within a few more years. Ever since the portals were mysteriously destroyed shortly after the expedition began, all attempts to reestablish the connection had failed.

No one knew who was responsible.

No one knew why it happened.

The incident had remained an unsolved mystery.

Over the past five and a half years, they had kept watch across the entire continent, never lowering their guard. If a new portal were to reappear, even for a brief moment, they wanted to be ready.

But nothing ever came. No fluctuations. No signs. No miracles.

Gradually, they were forced to accept a bitter conclusion. Those who entered the Mystic Realm... were most likely never coming back.

It wasn’t that they hadn’t considered going there themselves. Unfortunately, although the planet for the Mystic Realm expedition was nearby, they could not go there to rescue them. Not with their current cultivation realm.

While Dao Manifestation Realm cultivators could step into outer space for short periods, they could not endure it for long. The sun continuously emitted terrifying solar cosmic rays that tore through their protective energy like invisible blades. The longer they stayed exposed, the faster their defenses crumbled.

They all knew the outcome. Before they could even get close to that planet, they would die in the void.

They had tried to find other solutions.

In the past, they even attempted to create vessels capable of traveling through space. But every effort ended in failure. No material found on their planet could withstand the destructive nature of those cosmic rays. No matter how they reinforced it, no matter what formations they layered onto it, everything eventually disintegrated.

In the end, they came to a different idea.

If they couldn’t fight against space directly, then they would recreate the conditions of their world.

The planet’s magnetic field and its atmosphere. The invisible layers that shielded all life from the dangers of the cosmos. If they could replicate that... then safe travel might become possible.

But that goal proved even more unreachable. To this day, they had not succeeded.

Their formation masters simply weren’t advanced enough. They couldn’t even replicate naturally occurring formations like spirit stone mines, let alone something as vast and complex as a planetary defensive system.

In hindsight, it wasn’t surprising.

Trying to imitate the greatest natural formation sustaining an entire world was far beyond their current capabilities.

As all these thoughts lingered in their minds, one of the twelve stepped forward.

An old man dressed in royal garments, a majestic wolf fur cape draped over his shoulders, cupped his hands respectfully.

"Esteemed Senior... how should we address you?"

His voice was humble, carrying none of the authority he usually displayed.

He was Barkan Van Howler, the King of the Howling Kingdom, and the grandfather of Crown Prince Dastan.

Inside the pyramid, Leyvi leaned slightly forward, watching the figures gathered outside with interest.

"Dastan, is the one wearing the wolf fur cape your grandfather?" he asked.

He hadn’t expected that the first time he would see Dao Manifestation Realm cultivators gathered together would be like this. These were supposed to be the absolute peak existences of their world, yet standing before Raisho, all twelve looked cautious and restrained, their usual authority completely absent. The contrast was almost surreal.

"That’s right," Dastan replied, his gaze fixed outside. "But... this prince has never seen him with that kind of expression before. It feels strange."

There was a hint of disbelief in his voice.

Leyvi glanced at him, then back at the old man outside, then back at Dastan again.

"You don’t look like him at all. Are you really related?"

Dastan nearly stumbled on the spot.

"Dammit, Leyvi! That’s what you’re focusing on right now?" he snapped. "This prince’s handsome face comes from my mother! That’s perfectly normal!"

Leyvi burst out laughing. "Hahaha! I’m just messing with you."

Dastan’s mouth twitched, but he didn’t bother arguing further.

Leyvi’s attention soon returned outside. The initial tension among the twelve had eased slightly. After realizing that Raisho wasn’t as overbearing as they feared, some of them had begun cautiously speaking, likely taking the chance to ask questions they would never have the opportunity to ask again.

A few minutes later, more streaks of light shot upward from the planet.

Four of them, arriving from two different directions, before slowing down and stopping beside the original twelve.

The moment they appeared, the earlier group immediately recognized them.

These were the four other Dao Manifestation Realm cultivators they were familiar with.

That brought the total to sixteen.

Time passed slowly as everyone watched in anticipation.

Then, about twenty minutes later, seven more streaks of light rose together from a distant part of the planet. Unlike the others, they did not immediately join the main group. Instead, they stopped some distance away, maintaining a clear separation.

Their appearance was completely concealed.

Each of them wore robes that hid their figure, their faces obscured by layers of shadow. On top of that, multiple techniques were cast to distort perception, making it impossible to identify them through normal means.

The sixteen Dao Manifestation Realm cultivators who had arrived earlier frowned almost in unison at the sight of the seven cloaked figures.

Now it was obvious. Those seven were not scattered individuals. They were a group. A hidden force that had remained completely undetected until this moment.

A subtle tension spread through the space between them. For beings who stood at the peak of the world, the existence of an unknown group at the same level was not something to take lightly. In fact, it was unsettling.

Many of them couldn’t help but recall the strange incidents that had occurred over the years. Events with no clear cause, disappearances without traces, disturbances that no one could explain.

At the time, they had no suspects.

But now... the answer seemed to be standing right in front of them. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"Fellow cultivators, is it necessary to hide your identities? Why do we not all introduce ourselves?" One of the two female Dao Manifestation Realm cultivators spoke.

She wore a gothic-style outfit that emphasized her voluptuous breasts. She was the Dao Manifestation Realm cultivator representing the Wailing Kingdom. Her tone was calm, but there was a clear edge to it.

A response came almost immediately from the cloaked group.

"No need. We prefer to remain anonymous. The fact that our existence is known is already more exposure than we would like."

The voice was distorted, deliberately altered. It carried neither the clear tone of a man nor a woman, making it impossible to identify the speaker.

That only made the situation worse.

The expressions of the sixteen grew colder. Suspicion thickened in the air like a gathering storm. A hidden group with unknown intentions was already dangerous enough. A group that refused even the most basic transparency was even more troubling.

Just as the atmosphere was about to turn hostile, Raisho’s voice cut through everything with effortless ease.

"Alright, that’s enough."

His tone wasn’t loud, yet it carried an undeniable authority that made everyone fall silent.

"Now that all the top cultivators of this world are here, we can begin."

A faint smile appeared on his face.

"You can deal with your little disagreements later."

To Raisho, their tension was insignificant. Whether they hid their identities or not made no difference to him. With a single glance, he had already seen through every layer of concealment they had placed on themselves.

"First of all," he continued casually, "what do you call your planet? I need to record it in the galactic registry."

The question caught them off guard.

For a moment, no one answered.

The twenty-three Dao Manifestation Realm cultivators looked at one another, their expressions turning oddly complicated.

They didn’t have an answer.

Throughout history, no one had ever given their world a true name. In every record, every conversation, every piece of knowledge passed down through generations, it had always been referred to simply as this world, our world, or the world.

Raisho blinked at their silence, then suddenly laughed.

"What? You still haven’t named your world? Hahahaha! I see... alright then, why don’t you come up with one first?"

And just like that, a gathering of the strongest cultivators in the world began with something almost absurdly simple.

They started discussing a name.

For a brief moment, the tension from earlier was replaced by something oddly grounded. Ideas were exchanged, some serious, some symbolic, some clearly driven by personal pride. It felt almost surreal that beings capable of shaking continents were now debating how to name the very planet they stood on.

Once that was settled, Raisho moved on without delay. He introduced himself properly, explaining his origins and his role, and as expected, every word sent waves through their minds. When he revealed the image of the galaxy, just as he had done earlier for the younger generation, the impact was even greater this time.

These were not ignorant cultivators. They understood what they were seeing. And that made it far more overwhelming. It took them quite some time to truly digest the scale of it all.

After that, Raisho explained his purpose. What he intended to establish here, what needed to be protected, and most importantly, the rules they absolutely had to follow. His tone remained casual throughout, but no one dared to take it lightly. The power he had displayed earlier was more than enough to erase any thought of resistance.

On top of that, he offered something they could not refuse.

A path forward. The method to advance beyond the Dao Manifestation Realm. That alone was enough to secure their full cooperation.

By the time he finished and gave them a way to contact him if needed, the meeting had already reached its end.

The mysterious group did not linger.

The moment it was over, the seven cloaked cultivators left without hesitation, ignoring every attempt from the others to stop or question them. They vanished just as quietly as they had appeared, leaving behind nothing but suspicion.

The remaining Dao Manifestation Realm cultivators exchanged glances. No words were needed. A silent agreement was formed to hold another meeting later to properly discuss this unknown threat.

With that, they descended toward the Protogaea Continent. Messages were immediately sent to their respective kingdoms to prepare for the return of the Mystic Realm participants, while they themselves headed straight for their usual gathering place.

Inside the pyramid, the atmosphere was completely different.

Excitement, relief, anticipation... everything blended together.

They were finally going home.

Raisho’s voice echoed once more.

"Alright everyone, I’ll bring you to this continent first, then to the Cloud Continent. You can start saying your goodbyes to your friends now."

At the same time, the pyramid began its descent toward Archipela.