Aurelius glanced at him.

He gave a slight shake of his head and let out a quiet chuckle, his tone laced with both contempt and control.

“Kill them? Why would I do that?”

He rose slowly to his feet.

His broad, sacred robe swept across the floor as he descended the golden steps, hands clasped behind his back. From above, he looked down over the entire great hall, his presence pressing down with overwhelming authority.

“The Celestial Palace may have fallen, but they still possess quite a few things our Celestial Basilica needs. Resources from the secret realm, the secrets of Sacred Mountain—even the physical body of a Ghost Clan Venerable. We’ve wanted those for a long time, and we’ve never been able to obtain them.”

“If we kill them now, all of that could be lost forever. We might never find it again. Wouldn’t that be a complete waste?”