The Guardians Guild's group was led by someone called He Jia. He was someone from the same generation as Uncle Yuan, one of those old monsters who had remained almost exclusively in seclusion for many years. He was once one of Venerable Yuan Shi's subordinates, but he was not placed in any important position back then. Now, he seemed to have turned rather loyal to Qin Hongyan.
After Xiang Shaoyun forced Mo Dingtian to leave, everyone stopped fighting. The Guardians Guild people had only remained because they believed that Xiang Shaoyun wouldn't do anything to them. They were even prepared to question Xiang Shaoyun.
"Xiang Shaoyun, your mother is an imperial nether devil. You have the blood of the Imperial Nether Clan in your body. As a devil, what else do you have to say for yourself?" He Jia ignored Wu Xie and Uncle Yuan and questioned Xiang Shaoyun directly.
"What do you want me to say?" asked Xiang Shaoyun indifferently.
"Shouldn't you give the guild an explanation? Don't you owe the world an explanation?" asked He Jia.
Xiang Shaoyun smiled. "I heard that you canceled my candidacy as the young guild master candidate. Why do I still need to explain myself to the guild? Also, why do I care about the world? Who are they to me? Do I owe them anything at all?"
Xiang Shaoyun's repeated questions caused He Jia's face to turn gloomy.
"Everyone living on the dominion is subjected to our rules. You have devil blood in you and are ruling over more than what you deserve in the Western Desert. You better listen and come back with me to the Divine Dominion City. You will await your judgment there. The Ziling Sect should be disbanded. Do all that, and we might consider sparing your life. Otherwise, you will be considered an enemy of humanity. The guild won't spare you," threatened He Jia.
"Out of respect for the guild, piss off. If you stay here, I won't be able to stop myself from killing all of you," said Xiang Shaoyun coldly.
"You dare?" berated He Jia.
Right after those words left his mouth, a loud slap landed across his face.
"Scram. If my martial nephew hadn't spared you, I would have killed you myself!" said Wu Xie furiously.
When He Jia saw that the person who had slapped him was Wu Xie, traces of fear flickered on his face. He felt indignant, but he did not have the courage to say anything else. He could only leave gloomily with his people.
"People like him are born without any sense of respect. If you don't slap him, he will keep running his stinky mouth off," said Wu Xie.
"If my master knows that I turned into the guild's enemy, I wonder if he will blame me," said Xiang Shaoyun with a helpless smile.
"I now know why my senior brother refuses to return. It was because of these sanctimonious fools who are actually filled with schemes and conspiracy. They are merely acting up because they're jealous of others growing strong," said Wu Xie with disdain.
"Martial uncle, I don't think I'll be able to get the young guild master position anymore," said Xiang Shaoyun apologetically.
Wu Xie waved his hand. "It doesn't matter. I don't even care about that stupid seat anymore. I believe my senior brother will agree with me as well. Furthermore, you have conquered over half of the Western Desert. You can declare yourself emperor at any time and establish a new dynasty. If you want, you can always conquer the entire world as well.
"However, you can't be careless. The Ziling Sect is only able to contend against the likes of the Celestial Alliance, the Guangling Palace, and the Immortal Road Chamber right now, but those organizations can't compare with the guild. Before you challenge them, think properly."
"Um. I know what to do. I only wish to protect my own place for now. I'll continue cultivating in peace. I'll consider conquering the world after entering the Reincarnation Realm."
"You are quite ambitious, kid," said Wu Xie with a smile. "With your identity exposed, those under your rule might waver. You need to keep an eye on that."
"Don't worry. They won't be able to do much," said Xiang Shaoyun nonchalantly.
They then returned to the sect together. The crowd gathered around the sect had all scattered. Facing a powerful Ziling Sect, few of them dared to say anything. After all, this was still a world ruled by the strong.
While Xiang Shaoyun was enjoying his reunion with his mother, Xiang Yangzhan had a gloomy expression. Evidently, he was unhappy about the timing of her appearance. He believed that her appearance had harmed their son's reputation and ruined the sect's chance to grow further. The moment news of Xiang Shaoyun's identity spread, those under their rule would waver. Who would wish to be ruled by devils?
However, Xiang Shaoyun ignored all that for now. He called his women and son over and had them greet his mother. Ming Fu kept crying, and she had nothing to say. She was happy just being with her family. Of course, she also felt greatly guilty about what her appearance meant for Xiang Shaoyun.
Only after Xiang Shaoyun consoled Xiang Yangzhan and Ming Fu repeatedly did the two ease up on each other. That was as much as Xiang Shaoyun could do. They would have to rely on themselves to fully repair their relationship.
Xiang Shaoyun then called Tuoba Lingtian over and told Tuoba Lingtian to slow the sect's expansion. They should focus on consolidating what they have for now. He could imagine that things would grow even more chaotic before long. They had to be ready for that.
And unsurprisingly, a rumor started spreading throughout the Western Desert. News of Xiang Shaoyun being a devil spread everywhere. Before long, the news even spread over the entire dominion. The faction led by the Celestial Alliance even started using words such as "devil's spawn" and "human traitor" to fan the flames against Xiang Shaoyun.
The first ones to act up were the subordinate organizations under the Ziling Sect. Some requested independence, while some rose up in rebellion. The entire Western Desert sank into chaos. The Ziling Sect did not react, as though they did not care.
They merely strengthened their supervision of their territory and spread stories of Xiang Shaoyun's contribution to humanity over the years, hoping that some of the people under them could maintain a rational mind.
Unfortunately, that did not work well. Apart from using force, they barely had any way of stopping their subordinate organizations from rebelling. There were a few times where the sect was about to send their army out to squash the rebellions, but Xiang Shaoyun stopped them.
Tuoba Lingtian did not understand what his father was planning. However, both he and Guo Po did not get the chance to ask as they were both taken into Xiang Shaoyun's astral cosmos sea to cultivate.
Meanwhile, Xiang Shaoyun quietly went to the outside domain. With his divine dao eyes, his gaze pierced through all obstructions and discovered a fleet of warships heading toward the dominion. The aliens were coming.
"The entire dominion is in chaos. There won't be any rebuilding without destruction. I might as well let there be more chaos," muttered Xiang Shaoyun before returning to the sect. After strengthening the sect's defenses, he announced that the sect was going to go into seclusion, ignoring all the affairs of the dominion.
That move caused the masses to believe that the sect was hiding out of fear. Not long after the Ziling Sect went into seclusion, the aliens invaded.