Chapter 450 - 448: Welcoming the Sovereign Lord
After Javier Sinclair left the secluded village with Celeste Grant in his arms, they appeared in the Demonic Domain in the blink of an eye.
This world was divided into the Immortal and Demonic Realms, and its lands were vast and boundless. Here, the territory of a single power was as large as an entire Cultivation World in the Lower Realm. This meant there were abundant resources and a much richer supply of Spiritual Energy for Cultivation. The concentration of both resources and Spiritual Energy was more than ten times greater here.
The Immortal Domain contained nine great powers, led by Sancthelm. As for the Demonic Domain, it once had seven great powers, but Javier Sinclair had unified them all three thousand years ago. Now, the Demonic Domain revered Javier Sinclair. Beneath him were the Seven Great Hall Masters, each governing their own region, and his personal Four Guardians.
In other words, Javier Sinclair’s territory occupied half of this world. When it came to conquering land, he was truly second to none. Although he remained an enemy of the Immortal Domain, his empire was undeniably vast.
No matter how much people cursed him behind his back, in reality, they all wanted to be him.
After leaving Kheris, Celeste Grant and Javier Sinclair didn’t rush back to Ashkaron. Instead, they spent a few days enjoying a world of their own.
As the saying goes, absence makes the heart grow fonder!
Their bond was strong, and while Celeste Grant’s pregnancy was an inconvenience, Primordial Spirit Cultivation was still an option. Being apart for so long, they naturally needed to deepen their connection. Thus, by the time they reappeared, three days had passed.
It was afternoon.
「Above Ashkaron.」
Javier Sinclair had one arm wrapped around Celeste Grant’s waist as their figures materialized out of the void.
He had made no attempt to hide his aura or conceal his form, so the moment they appeared, the Cultivators in Ashkaron sensed them. First, they looked up at the sky, then they all fell to their knees in unison.
"We welcome The Sovereign Lord."
"We welcome The Sovereign Lord..."
Javier Sinclair hovered in the air.
He glanced down at the Demon Cultivators in Ashkaron before his gaze shifted to Celeste Grant. Reaching out, Javier Sinclair placed a hand on her pregnant belly and announced her identity without preamble.
"This is my wife, the Empress of the Demonic Domain."
"Henceforth, to see her is to see me. Her word is my will."
His voice was soft, yet it carried an authority that resounded clearly in the ears of every Demon Cultivator in Ashkaron.
The moment his voice faded, the Demon Cultivators in Ashkaron roared in unison.
"We welcome our Lady."
"We welcome our Lady..."
After all this time, the Demonic Domain finally had a matriarch.
They had heard rumors that The Exalted One had secretly married a wife and even had a child in the Lower Realm. They had been eagerly awaiting the day he would bring his lady back. Still, amidst the anticipation, there was doubt. ’After all,’ they thought, ’our Sovereign Lord has been solitary for ten thousand years. What are the odds he suddenly has a wife?’
But now, seeing her beautiful face today, they finally believed it. The Exalted One really had married a wife without them knowing. And looking at her pregnant belly—the Demonic Domain was going to have a Young Master!
Celeste Grant stood beside Javier Sinclair, her gaze sweeping over the Demon Cultivators below.
’Back in the Cultivation World of the Lower Realm,’ she thought, ’reaching the Golden Core Stage was considered incredibly powerful. Anyone who reached the Divinity Transformation Stage was a regional powerhouse, a one-in-ten-thousand genius.’
Now, having ascended to a higher-plane Cultivation World, she truly understood the meaning of the phrase "Golden Cores are a dime a dozen, and Divinity Transformation experts walk the streets."
Reality was often more absurd than she had imagined.
’Cultivators at the Golden Core and Divinity Transformation Stages were a rare sight in the Lower Realm, but here, they were everywhere you looked. If it’s like this in the Demonic Domain, then the Immortal Domain must be the same.’
’There was no comparison. Simply none at all.’
Celeste Grant sighed with emotion.
’So this is the Upper Realm?’
’It feels like a country bumpkin who’s been farming for decades suddenly stepping into the big city.’ Fortunately, Celeste Grant had seen her share of grand spectacles and could keep her composure. After all, if she wasn’t even afraid of The Demon God, why would she fear anyone else? ’If some naive college kid were put in my place,’ she mused, ’their legs would turn to jelly, and they’d probably drop to their knees on the spot.’
No wonder mortals had a saying: to be born in the Imperial City is a blessing in itself. The same logic applied here.
Cultivators in the Lower Realm, for example, had to fight and bleed for scarce resources to ascend to the Upper Realm. But children born here possessed the best resources from the very beginning, allowing them to cultivate much faster. They were standing on a higher starting line.
At that moment, she felt it with absolute certainty: the Cultivators of the Upper Realm were terrifyingly strong.
The domain of Ashkaron was vast, stretching as far as the eye could see.
Ashkaron Palace was not built within the city itself, but atop the mountain peaks to the city’s north. Hidden among those peaks were thousands of halls and palaces, an intricate complex of artfully arranged pavilions and towers.
This was Javier Sinclair’s lair, the very heart of power in the Demonic Domain.
The moment Javier Sinclair and Celeste Grant’s figures appeared above Ashkaron Palace, countless people materialized to welcome them. They were the elders, protectors, and disciples of the Demonic Domain.
"We welcome The Sovereign Lord."
"We welcome our Lady."
None were happier to see The Exalted One return with a wife than the elders of the Demonic Domain. In the past, they had worried themselves sick trying to get him to marry and produce an heir. Unfortunately, The Exalted One had shown no interest in women; their enthusiasm was entirely one-sided, and he remained completely unmoved.
At first, they had been hopeful, but they eventually gave up. Some elders even began to suspect that perhaps The Exalted One simply wasn’t interested in women, and they gradually stopped bringing the matter up.
That is, until The Exalted One returned from a trip and announced he had a Taoist Companion—and a child. On that day, the long-dead hopes of the Demonic Domain’s elders were suddenly rekindled.
For the Sovereign Lord of the Demonic Domain to have found a wife was a joyous event.
The fact that she was with child—meaning the Demonic Domain would have a Young Master and an heir—was the icing on the cake. They had waited with joyful anticipation, and at long last, the day had arrived.
When Celeste Grant appeared in the plaza outside the main hall of Ashkaron Palace, countless pairs of eyes locked onto her.
The leading elders’ gazes swept across her face, and they clicked their tongues in silent admiration. ’So this is our Exalted One’s wife. She truly is a natural beauty. Fair-skinned, lovely features... her pregnancy doesn’t detract from her looks in the slightest.’
In that moment, they understood.
’It’s not that The Exalted One has no interest in women,’ they realized. ’It’s that ordinary female cultivators are simply not worthy of his gaze.’
Their gazes fell upon Celeste Grant’s pregnant belly, their expressions filled with kindness. In Celeste Grant’s eyes, however, they were just a bunch of wily old Demons.