It wasn't just a matter of power. The aura that spread after the Tribulation ended carried a certain gravity that the weaker heroic assets weren't able to define with their words.
A purple cloud spread in the position where the lightning storm had unleashed its power. The sole existence of a being at that level was enough to modify the nature of the air that surrounded him.
The laws that ruled the Mortal Lands seemed to disappear as God's Right Hand's influence spread. It was evident that his control over his newfound power wasn't perfect since his aura leaked and changed the environment around him.
'Strange,' Noah thought as he analyzed the event with wide eyes.
Generally speaking, the matter of the world would crumble if a powerful entity was to absorb its energy. Yet, nothing similar happened after that breakthrough. Actually, it was something almost opposite to an absorption.
God's Right Hand's aura turned the world in part of his individuality, without taking its structure inside his centers of power.
There was a limit to how much Noah could understand due to the distance and his poor cultivation level. He was sure that there were laws involved in the breakthrough of the mighty entity, but he couldn't grasp their meaning just yet.
There was an issue though. The purple halo kept on spreading and didn't seem inclined to stop anytime soon.
A blue light suddenly pierced the purple halo and stopped its advancement before it could even begin to threaten the northern coastlines of the two continents. Time seemed to slow down as the two lights interacted only to resume flowing at a normal pace when they both disappeared.
Everything had happened too quickly for anyone to analyze the event, but it was evident that the god of the Empire had intervened to prevent God's Right Hand from losing control.
Nevertheless, the purple spots on the sky and sea didn't disappear. God's Right Hand's individuality had tainted that part of the world and changed it forever.
The world fell silent after the god intervened. The heroic cultivators of all the other organizations didn't dare to speak or, rather, didn't know what to say after witnessing that massive event.
A cultivator at the peak of the sixth rank had just won against the Heaven Tribulation that blocked its path toward the divine ranks, and he had even used two rank 6 creatures to help him with the task.
It took only a day for all the rank 4 and 5 cultivators of those Mortal Lands to feel incredibly small when put in front of the hidden dangers of the world.
"What now?" Elder Austin asked.
He was the first to break the silence in the sky above the forest of White Woods, but the other Elders quickly understood the meaning behind his words.
The Hive had classified and studied the knowledge retrieved from the Mortal Palace. So, all its higher-ups knew about the peculiar behavior of the god of the Empire. The only problem was that they couldn't be sure if the divine existences had already left that lower plane.
"He has yet to ascend." Dreaming Demon said at some point.
"You'll know when that happens." Flying Demon added.
There was no need to explain how the two Demons knew that. They had been alive when the two powerhouses of the Papral nation left the Mortal Lands.
'So, you don't have to leave the world right away.' Noah thought after hearing their words.
That was a matter that had always been unclear in the records that he had studied. Some said that the divine existences would ascend during their breakthrough. Still, others stated that gods had remained in the Mortal Lands for a while before leaving.
He didn't think much of it since the behavior of the divine beings was quite unpredictable, but hearing the testimony of the two Demons made him inclined to believe that cultivators were free to decide when to ascend once reached that level.
None of the Elders left after their words. There was still someone that they had to hear before deciding on their next move.
As if hearing their thoughts, Chasing Demon soon reappeared in their vision and floated until he stood right in front of his underlings.
"This world now has two divine beings." Chasing Demon announced.
His first words confirmed what the Elders were already believing, but he didn't show any trace of fear.
"I've already exchanged messages with the powerhouses of the other nations," Chasing Demon continued, "According to what happens next, we will decide how to act. Gods generally avoid interacting with weaker beings, but most of them leave something behind for their organizations. I know that you are eager to invade the Empire, but we should still make the necessary preparations for an assault. We might obtain good terms if we struggle enough."
There was some helplessness in his words. He knew that the Hive would have no chance if the Empire decided to attack and use its new divine asset. So, he was just trying to prepare the Elders for the worst possible outcome.
"You four," Chasing Demon said as he pointed at the two Demons, Elder Julia, and Noah, "Follow me in my quarters. We need to make a back-up plan."
The other Elders didn't mind that the Patriarch had chosen only the four of them. Someone had to prepare the assets in the various domains of the Hive. Also, the four cultivators that he had summoned had shown exceptional survival abilities, which were more than needed in the possibility that a god attacked.
The group of five reached for the underground quarters under the forest of White Woods and sat on a table that Chasing Demon had promptly taken out from his space-ring. He didn't serve any wine though, but no one was in the mood to drink in that tense situation.
"I know for a fact that divine entities have limited power in the Mortal Lands," Chasing Demon announced as soon as everyone sat. "I don't exactly know how it works, but refilling their dantians in the lower planes is quite troublesome for them."
None of the Elders on the table heaved sighs of relief once learnt that. The sole existence of a god was enough to work as a deterrent.
Chasing Demon nodded at their reactions and continued. "I've already contacted Thirty-seven. He is moving all our resources inside the separate dimension. If anything happens, I want all of you to hide inside it and come out after a thousand years. This is an order."
Struggle appeared on the rank 5 cultivators' expressions, but they eventually nodded. There was simply nothing that they could do to oppose a divine being.
However, Chasing Demon suddenly smiled after the four of them accepted his orders and placed an old tome on the table. Everyone could recognize it since the title "Rise and Fall of the Empires of the bored god" was right in front of their eyes.
"Now that we made plans for the worst outcome," Chasing Demon said, "Let's decide how to act for the best one."