Ever since Krysmidonia had first been detected by Theodore's Subordinates, it had been apparent that its cluster of worlds was unusual–at the very least to a certain extent. It consisted of 25 worlds in total, 24 of which were Plane-type worlds, and only a single one was of Universe-type.

  That aside, their positions were also quite noteworthy. All of the Plane-type ones were 'underneath' the Universe-type one, propping it up somewhat like pillars. It was highly unlikely that this sort of arrangement was natural, although it wasn't entirely impossible.

  In any case, this detail–combined with the fact that the Krysmidonites were described to be rather mysterious by the Sybillans–had been sufficient to make Theodore treat this civilization with a fair bit of well-warranted caution. After all, anyone could take over a couple of worlds rather easily, but very few could reposition them.

  Having expected to run into some difficulties from the very beginning, the moment that Navya had arrived at her first designated Plane-type world to investigate it, she immediately detected the mind-polluting influence suffusing it in its entirety.

  'It's too late to alert most of them, they've already stepped into this trap.'

  A little disgruntled at this realization, she nonetheless sent out a warning via the group chat, hoping to reach... well, pretty much anyone. Her duty of leadership had caused her to be stuck with making sure that everyone else was on the right track first, before then also jumping into the fray herself. This had delayed her ever so slightly–which had been enough to cause the majority to lose contact with her.

  Sighing at the fact that nobody was responding to any messages, she contemplated her options, investigating the world she was currently at first, hoping to pick up on some clues–and she indeed found what she was looking for.

  'The people's and animals' behaviour... I'm certain that I've seen it before.'

  Recalling a particular moment during her lengthy training, she felt a hint of relief, as she was most definitely correct about who they were facing. And this meant that perchance, no confrontation would have to take place.

  "Harmony, cease this at once! We all have been sent by the Winter Family to investigate your lands, unaware of your presence here. I apologize for the intrusion, we were not aware that this was part of your territory. Let the others go, and we shall show our gratitude and be on our way."

  After a short period of silence, a surprised voice rang out right next to Navya, the world itself curiously observing her from all angles, as if she was a rather atypical specimen.

  "Oh? You know me? But how? And what is this Winter Family that you speak of?"

  Almost instantly, the touch of confidence at resolving this mess peacefully all but vanished, but she was not yet ready to throw in the towel. Surely, a concise explanation would suffice to defuse the situation.

  "I have indeed met your main 'body' beyond this place, in the territory of the Heavenly Court. As you are likely aware, this is part of the event venue for the Heavenly Succession..."

  Quickly laying out the essentials and answering a handful of questions that the other side asked her, it took her some time until Harmony appeared to be satisfied with what it had learned. Choosing to strike while the iron was still hot, Navya gave a respectful nod, then bade her farewell, almost certain that this entity had grasped how severe of a conundrum it would be in if it didn't play along.

  "As a token of apology, we shall be delivering a huge number of Energy Veins the moment that it's confirmed that everybody is safe. Let me just get them really quick."

  Before she could even take a single step, however, she felt a huge pressure bearing down on her. She had been transported to this world's very core as well. Only now was it finally fully apparent that negotiations had failed and today, the gloves would have to come off.

  "... do you realize what trouble you're getting yourself into?"

  Her face a mixture of annoyance and pity, she glared at everything around her. Yet, instead of reconsidering the ramifications of its actions, Harmony snickered in defiance.

  "The Winter Family, huh? My, I'm so afraid! Now be good and accept your assimilation!"

  The ambient pollution became even denser, and almost visible to the naked eye, despite its incorporeal nature. But obviously, it couldn't affect Navya whatsoever. She simply stood there and ignored it, contacting Theodore in the meanwhile. As she awaited his response, she couldn't help but shake her head at this foolish entity in disapproval and disbelief.

  The true Harmony had originally been encountered by the Heavenly Court not too long into its initial expansion period. It had once been a humanoid creature, but then had made use of its unique Talent to fuse itself with its local World's Will, transforming into something completely new.

  It had taken over and incorporated many worlds in its vicinity into itself, until it was found by the now-deceased Heavenly Emperor, who showed it compassion and allowed it to join his realm. However, further spread would be highly regulated, and usually suppressed.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  To earn more territory, Harmony would have to send out its assimilated lifeforms to fight on the Heavenly Court's front lines, making contributions. As for Energy Veins, it could either send out its puppets and gather some unclaimed ones itself, or earn them through other, above board ways.

  In general, Harmony had a good relationship with the Pillars and Supreme Pillars, as it was fully aware that they could wipe it out in less than a heartbeat. It did, however, occasionally have some conflicts with regular Named Families, yet those rarely escalated too far.

  What Navya and her team had encountered here appeared to be an entirely disconnected fragment of Harmony, which only knew its own name, but was utterly ignorant of the reality of its situation. A part of her couldn't help but suspect that this was exactly how its main 'body' had initially been like, before it got beaten into obedient submission by the Heavenly Emperor or his forces.

  Regardless of her own speculations, this rogue segment still presented a non-negligible problem for her and the others. Knowing roughly about the Talents of the rest of the group, she was certain that she herself as well as Xie Mei would be perfectly fine, but everyone else would either struggle or be totally helpless.

  Contrary to its complete self, this Harmony did not have Unique-grade mind pollution abilities, merely sporting rather unimpressive Mythical-grade ones. Still, that alone was already far too tough for the regular rank and file of Theodore's Subordinates to endure. Even Han Junqiao would have a hard time.

  That was why she wanted to settle this once and for all as soon as possible. And considering that all of these assimilated beings couldn't really be classified as potential Students, because they had long since become a part of a greater whole, losing their individuality in the process, she was confident that Theodore would give her the go-ahead.

  She didn't have to wait for long, as her Lord's response was swift and to the point. He even posted it in her team's group chat.

  'Perfect. It's time to clip its wings. Then, I'll present its core to my Lord, earning his praise and approval! And after that... hehehe...'

  Lost in her depraved thoughts for a split second, she quickly recovered and focused on her duties again. First, she pacified Xie Mei's worries, then she coordinated with Annis, who was still holding on as well. As for Han Junqiao, she hadn't been able to reach her yet, therefore she simply left her a message, hoping she would see it.

  "... what's wrong with you people?! One of you is far more powerful than her cultivation stage would indicate, and the other one–you–is just completely ignoring me? Do you really think I'm powerless to do anything to you!?"

  Finally paying attention to Harmony again, Navya pondered for a moment, considering every single possibility... and then nodded.

  "Yes, exactly."

  "You...!!! I'll make you regret that!"

  This merely served to further incense the very world itself, the pressure on her shoulders mounting to even more extreme heights. Yet, it was as if all of that power simply disappeared into nothingness when it was about to reach her–it couldn't influence her whatsoever.

  "The only one who will be doing any regretting here is you."

  Whispering to herself, she shook her head, then she did exactly what Xie Mei had done a little earlier in another part of Krysmidonia... and erupted with incredible power, shattering the world that she was in within moments.

  Having already handed off the duty of saving the others who couldn't help themselves to Xie Mei, she had something else to worry about and focus on–that singular Universe-type world of Krysmidonia. It sported a far higher Energy concentration and was likely to be the core of this Harmony segment. That aside, as could be gathered from the fact that Krysmidonia's worlds were arranged in a certain pattern... it should be able to move!

  Fortunately, she could set up the Lesser Void Guarding Array in only a few minutes with the Compound Array Disks that she had on hand. Whilst it wasn't exactly intended to confine worlds that could relocate on their own, it could still suppress them to an extent.

  Before Harmony's flight had even truly begun, its Plane-type worlds began to shatter one after another, and a terrifying might was about to restrain it. Realizing that everything that could possibly go wrong had indeed done so, it panicked and attempted to run, heavily impacting the Energy-comprised barrier now caging it.

  'Shit, that really hurt!'

  Almost coughing up a mouthful of blood as a result of the collision, Navya endured the Array's backlash. Her head felt as if it was about to split open, and her entire body was trembling as she madly infused her own Energy and perception into this impromptu, incomplete, and subpar creation of hers in an effort to keep it stable.

  She had needed to cut a few corners to get the Lesser Void Guarding Array set up in time, and what made it worse was that Harmony's attack had struck it before she was fully done. Worst of all, though, was that it had somehow targeted the Array's most fragile weak points!

  'This really isn't going to be easy...'

  Smirking helplessly to herself, she was aware that she would have to endure quite the torturous period for a time. It would have been extremely easy for her to simply destroy Harmony outright, but she didn't want her Lord to end up empty-handed. To that end, she would have to hold on until he was back!

  'He'd better give me a nice reward after this.'

  Continuously reinforcing the Lesser Void Guarding Array, the Compound Array Disks were soon all used up–but naturally, she hadn't been able to rest at all. Having grown a little pale and weaker, she finally had a moment to divert her attention towards her comrades.

  Upon noticing that they were allowed to go all out, Han Junqiao and Annis had managed to escape their dilemmas on their own, although their minds weren't exactly in the best state at the moment.

  As for Xie Mei, she had obliterated all remaining Plane-type worlds and freed everyone else, but they were completely unresponsive, with that creepy smile plastered all over their faces.

  "Good work."

  Nodding at the usually somewhat mischievous girl in approval, Navya utilized targeted, relatively 'gentle' Soulquakes to rattle the guards and maids awake, breaking them free from this initial assimilation. Still, this came at a cost–their souls were ever so slightly damaged, necessitating a period of recovery.

  "All of you, don't blame yourselves. For now, have a rest and leave everything to me and the others."

  Turning her head to look at Xie Mei, Han Junqiao and Annis, Navya winced a little–Harmony had launched yet another attack, but she didn't want to let it show how badly she was truly hurt.

  "Qiao'er, Annis. You two rest for a while, then come and help out with stabilizing the Array. Mei'er, please support me at once! We will need to hold on, so that we can offer our catch to our Lord when he returns!"

  With an opportunity to assist her beloved right in front of her, Xie Mei naturally didn't have to be told twice.

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