Chapter 1143: The Return of the Xuanhuang Stars

Li Fan could keenly sense that Derivation Law Jade had long since awakened.

At this moment, she was still sprawled on the long table, clearly pretending to sleep.

The three Dao Integration Guardians were well aware of this, and their request for Li Fan to wake the little girl was merely because he was the "newcomer."

Li Fan understood Derivation Law Jade’s temperament well: childish, vindictive, and petty.

Anyone who disturbed her rest would certainly not receive a friendly look.

As Guardians, their role was solely to monitor her. They truly couldn’t do much to Derivation Law Jade.

When the little ancestor’s temper flared, they could only coax and indulge her.

Noticing the two divine senses fixed on him, Li Fan did not refuse.

Following the method Elder Nangong had taught him earlier, he invoked the sealing power of this Derivation Law Space, conjuring a bronze gong above the little girl’s head.

Then, he struck it hard.

Clang!

Derivation Law Jade’s body jolted, and she abruptly raised her head.

In an instant, she locked onto Li Fan, the culprit, her small face brimming with anger.

Li Fan shrugged, feigning innocence: “Your rest time has exceeded six hours. It’s time to get up and work.”

Derivation Law Jade continued to glare at him with wide eyes, as if he had committed some unforgivable crime.

Li Fan, maintaining a stern expression, continued: “Oh, and per the rules, the excess time will be deducted from your next vacation.”

He paused, touching his face: “Also, the time you’re spending staring at me counts.”

Li Fan seemed unbothered by Derivation Law Jade’s persistent glare, as if inviting her to keep looking.

Upon hearing that her next vacation would be shortened, Derivation Law Jade reacted like a cat with its fur standing on end.

Her large eyes welled up with tears, and she looked aggrievedly at the other two Guardians.

Zhang Xu and the others promptly turned their heads away.

Li Fan, meanwhile, flashed a gentle smile, observing Derivation Law Jade as if watching a good show.

He even conjured an hourglass to track the passing time.

After a tense standoff, as the sand piled up at the bottom of the hourglass, Yanfa Jue finally couldn’t hold back.

She shot Li Fan a fierce glare and slammed her small hand on the table.

The character-filled light spheres, which had been somewhat stagnant, instantly began evolving rapidly again.

Li Fan’s smile remained unchanged.

For hundreds of years here, the only way to pass the time was by teasing the little girl.

While Li Fan successfully infiltrated and grew closer to Derivation Law Jade...

Elsewhere in the Great Qi, Holy Capital:

After eight years of transformative development, the aura of the Holy Dynasty had shifted from crimson to purple.

Li Ping, his clone, had also successfully advanced to the fourth level of the "Heavenly Emperor Qi Classic" through cultivation.

“By harnessing the vast fortune of billions of beings, I now have the strength to contend with a perfected Soul Transformation cultivator of the Xuanhuang Realm.”

“If I develop this small world to its fullest potential over a few more decades, I might even rival a Dao Integration cultivator.”

“But to take it further, to compare with a Longevity Immortal…”

The clone Li Ping shook his head slightly.

"The Great Formation of Myriad Spirits of Heaven and Earth has been preliminarily established. It is time to expand our territory."

With a thought from Li Ping, Sun Erlang and Wang Xuamba soon appeared before him.

"We pay our respects to Master," the two said in unison, bowing respectfully.

With a wave of his hand, the clone Li Ping conjured a map that shimmered like a sky full of stars.

Each white dot represented a Cave-Heaven or a small world.

The location of Great Qi, however, glowed with a sacred purple light.

Sun Erlang gazed at the map, lost in thought.

As his divine sense focused on the white dots, information about the corresponding small worlds flooded his mind.

"I have already explained the current situation of the Xuanhuang Realm to you," Li Ping said.

"For now, we have not yet confronted the forces of the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance or the Five Elders Association directly. Therefore, our national policy for the next century is to unite the power of various small worlds and expand the territory of our Holy Dynasty."

"A Federation Of All Worlds, striking back at Xuanhuang."

The clone Li Ping did not shy away from acknowledging the current weakness of the Great Qi Holy Dynasty. Instead, he painted a bright future for his two beloved disciples.

Sun Erlang and Wang Xuamba were not entirely ignorant of the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance. They even knew of the existence of its highest authorities, such as the Dharma-Transmitter and the Mirror-Holder.

Hearing the grand plan of the Heavenly Mandate Holy Emperor, Sun Erlang felt no sense of futility, as if they were eggs dashing against a stone.

Instead, his blood boiled with enthusiasm, eager to take action.

This was not due to Sun Erlang’s naivety but because, over the past eight years, he had witnessed the extraordinary changes in the Holy Dynasty. Comparing them to what he had seen of the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance, he firmly believed that one day, the Holy Dynasty would vanquish the Alliance and unify the Xuanhuang Realm.

In these eight years, the population of the Great Qi Holy Dynasty had quintupled, and the average lifespan had soared from forty to seventy-three years.

Gone were exploitation and oppression; everyone could now study and cultivate.

Compared to the ancient texts’ descriptions of the Sage’s Governance, this was a hundred times more splendid.

Over the past eight years, Sun Erlang had secretly visited nearby small worlds.

They were no different from the corrupt Great Xuan Dynasty of the past.

In some places, the people’s lives were even worse than those of Great Xuan’s citizens.

Sun Erlang believed that spreading the glory of the Holy Dynasty and the Holy Emperor to these decayed small worlds was a noble and honorable mission.

Thus, upon hearing the Holy Emperor’s clear declaration, boundless fighting spirit ignited in Sun Erlang’s heart.

The Great Qi Holy Dynasty now had nine legions.

Each legion commander had reached the Nascent Soul cultivation level.

As the leader of these commanders, Sun Erlang, who practiced the Sitting Immortal Art, had strength approaching the Soul Transformation realm.

If not for the Holy Emperor’s warning that his foundation was unstable and needed further consolidation, he might have already absorbed the life-transformations of heaven and earth to achieve a breakthrough.

To reach Soul Transformation in eight years—Sun Erlang believed this cultivation speed was astonishing, even in the Xuanhuang Realm.

Those so-called prodigies of Xuanhuang could not even compare to the legion commanders under his command.

…

The more he learned, the more confident Sun Erlang became in the Holy Dynasty’s future.

"You have one year to prepare," Li Ping declared.

"One year from now, the Holy Dynasty’s armies will set out from the Holy Capital to conquer the myriad worlds."

With Li Ping’s solemn proclamation, the purple dot representing the Xuanhuang Realm on the map suddenly extended countless purple threads. Like tentacles, they tightly bound the thousands of small worlds in the Xuanhuang Realm.

They wove into a vast net, enveloping the entire map of the Xuanhuang Realm.

Witnessing this, Sun Erlang and Wang Xuamba held their breath, their hearts surging with excitement.

Filled with this fervor, Sun Erlang eagerly departed to summon the legion commanders and plan for the upcoming war.

Wang Xuamba, however, stayed behind, entrusted with a secret mission from the Holy Emperor.

“‘All Stars Return to Their Position’?” Wang Xuamba murmured, puzzled by the mission’s codename.

“First, go to the Congyun Sea and Yin Yin Island to find a cultivator named Master Yin,” he repeated to himself.