Fuying Star Domain.

Here, on the edge of the Cloud Dream Immortal Domain, the resources are abundant. It is one of the important territories that Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace has firmly controlled for ten thousand years without losing it, despite calamities.

This is because the more than ten unique resources produced here are indispensable for the female cultivators of the sect to purify their marrow through the Book of Changes and establish their Dao foundation. Hence, despite internal and external troubles, the high-ranking members of Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace spared no expense to retain this place.

Above a floating land spanning over thirty thousand miles, rolling dark demonic mists obscured the sky, forming dense clouds that devoured all scenery within sight, exerting a suffocating pressure that seemed to echo with faint demonic chants from the depths.

In midair, Xuebing Xuan, Cheng Yulan, and other women formed the core of a grand formation, surrounded by hundreds of Elemental Immortal-level female cultivators. On the outermost layer, nearly a thousand Feather Transformation and Ascending to Immortality realm female cultivators united, their aura and magical power intertwined, collectively resisting the onslaught of the Magic Clan progeny army from the firmament.

From a distance, it appeared as a massive and beautiful golden flower, enveloped by thick black clouds, with layers of dark serpentine lights coiling around, eroding the petals’ edges, and a deluge of black blood rain falling, voraciously devouring the formation’s brilliance.

The struggle and slaughter had been ongoing for a while, but the female cultivators of Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace were not at a disadvantage. Sword beams, tens of thousands of feet long and dazzlingly bright, crisscrossed the sky like frenzied flood dragons, occasionally plunging into the demonic clouds to wreak havoc.

Occasionally, blue comets streaked across the sky, transforming into countless needle-like projectiles; golden gourd phantoms flickered in and out of existence, spewing rolling flames that incinerated everything; and an ancient and elegant harp spanned the high sky, its nearly tangible sound waves turning into roaring waves that shattered the demonic clouds within a thousand miles.

Amidst the shrill screams, countless Magic Clan progeny hidden in the clouds were slain by the sword beams and various magical treasures, their dismembered bodies and organs mixed with blood, raining down like a downpour.

“Everyone, be careful and hold steady, remember not to act rashly!”

As the core of the formation, Xuebing Xuan naturally assumed command, calmly and methodically directing the battle since the engagement began, inflicting heavy casualties on the Magic Clan progeny while keeping their own losses minimal.

The attacking Magic Clan progeny army was enormous, but there were no particularly troublesome opponents. The strongest among them were only at the True Immortal realm, so Xuebing Xuan was not worried. As long as her sisters fought steadily, they would eventually exhaust these aliens.

Even if a formidable figure suddenly emerged from the opposing side, the formation’s power could support them for a while, allowing Senior Sister to summon reinforcements. The Supreme Elders lurking in the shadows would also take action depending on the situation.

Xuebing Xuan and the other women were all in the late stages of the True Immortal realm, wielding Postnatal Spirit Treasures as their flying swords, with terrifying killing power. A full-force attack could clear out the Magic Clan progeny within a thousand miles, the fearsome sword qi permeating the void, grinding those in the center into dust, leaving not even corpses intact.

After several hours of relentless slaughter, the ground below was piled high with the remains of the Magic Clan progeny, their dark blood forming rivers that flowed into depressions, creating large lakes.

The toxicity of these aliens was extremely fierce; even in death, their bodies and blood were dangerous pollutants. The corpse of a single Understanding Mystery realm progeny could devastate ten miles of land, rendering it barren and making the cleanup quite troublesome.

Fortunately, this floating land had a poor environment and had always been used as a mining field, with few mortal inhabitants. Otherwise, even if they repelled the Magic Clan progeny’s offensive, the number of innocent lives lost would be unimaginable.

After another hour, seeing their losses escalating while the female cultivators’ formation showed no signs of collapse but instead fought more fiercely, the commanding beings of the Magic Clan progeny finally considered retreat.

A quarter of an hour later, with eerie roars emanating from the depths of the demonic clouds, the massive Magic Clan progeny army suddenly halted and then retreated like a tide, quickly moving out of the formation’s attack range.

“Senior Sister, should we pursue them?” asked Luo Wanqing.

“No need,”

Xuebing Xuan shook her head: “We must beware of deceit. These aliens are as intelligent as humans. Besides, with the Supreme Elders around, they can’t escape if they dare to come.”

Sure enough, as the alien army fled into the void, they hadn’t gone far before a blood-red battle flag unfurled effortlessly, covering the sky in an instant, almost enveloping the entire firmament.

The numerous Magic Clan progeny within the demonic clouds had no chance to react before being swept into the blood-red flag, their screams echoing faintly before falling silent.

“Phew… We sisters fought hard for hours, and yet it seems we didn’t achieve as much as Elder Yuying with just one move. It’s quite disheartening!” Luo Wanqing grumbled.

Qi Yalan gave her a look: “She’s a peak Taiyi Golden Immortal, three whole realms above us. That blood-red flag is no ordinary Spirit Treasure. What’s there to be puzzled about?”

The gap in strength beyond the True Immortal realm was like a chasm, making breakthroughs increasingly difficult. Many immortals wasted millions of years only to find their lifespan nearing exhaustion without glimpsing the path to a higher realm.

“That’s true, but with Junior Brother around, one day we’ll reach the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm too. Even becoming a Great Golden Immortal is just a matter of time!” Cheng Yulan said with a slight smile.

This was communicated through mental messages, as it wasn’t meant for the other sisters to hear. It was enough that the few of them understood.

The women exchanged smiles. As long as they wholeheartedly supported Qing Muling’s growth, they could look forward to the Dao and eternal life, more effective than any chance or opportunity.

Yu Binghua’s eyes roamed as she looked down at the ravaged land below, sighing softly: “It’s a pity Junior Brother isn’t here. Otherwise, purifying this place would be easy, and restoring it to its original state would be just around the corner.”

“It’s okay. Once he’s able to travel, cleaning up these things will be effortless, and he’ll even gain a lot of heavenly merits!” Luo Huan added.

Those Supreme Dao Lineage powers, including Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace, certainly had divine abilities to purify and transform the environment of floating lands. Unfortunately, only True Immortals and above could use them, and the cost was enormous and inefficient, so they were rarely used. Unless it was a particularly important area, the sect’s high-ranking members were usually unwilling to expend the effort.

Only the Dao Court, with its vast wealth and abundant resources, was generous in this regard, which is why it always ranked first in terms of cultivation environment and the number of mystical realms.

Of course, once Qing Muling reached the True Immortal realm or above, purifying and transforming these floating lands would become much easier, and the territories of Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace would undergo significant changes.

“Let’s return to the camp to rest. This place… is no longer suitable to stay in, alas! These damned aliens!”

Xuebing Xuan sighed softly, summoned the heavenly boat, and invited all her sisters to board and leave. The temporary camp was set up on another beautifully environed floating land, not too far from here.

“We still have nearly two months before we can see Junior Brother again.”

Inside the luxurious cabin of the boat, the elegant and noble Yu Binghua murmured softly, glancing at Qi Shuyu, Su Yunmo, and other close besties, wondering when they would fulfill their wishes.

Since Qing Muling had to close-door cultivate to heal the Supreme Elders, he couldn’t accompany them, so Mu Yinghua assigned them this task: to support the front lines and inspect certain important territories, with a three-month term.

Cheng Yulan hesitated to speak, and the impassive Qi Yalan said, “It’s not a big deal for us to be out on a mission, but I’m worried about some shameless vixens in the sect who will desperately try to seduce Junior Brother at the first opportunity… It’s so annoying!”

The vibrant and bold Luo Wanqing casually propped her long legs on the table, grunting, “Exactly! Those flirts are just lusting after his body, unlike us who truly love him and see him as a lifelong Dao companion.”

The gentle and delicate Luo Huan chuckled inwardly, thinking, aren’t you the same? If not for Junior Brother, would you be so cold to everyone, as if they all owed you?

The dignified and radiant Xuebing Xuan pursed her lips, speaking calmly, “This matter… we can’t stop it. The Sect Master must have arrangements, and perhaps when we return, we’ll see one or several new sisters.”

At her words, the women in the cabin couldn’t help but grit their teeth, as such a thing was entirely possible. Those high-ranking elders left in the sect, each with outstanding disciples and descendants, were all eyeing Junior Brother!

Worse, some shameless elders might even consider stepping in themselves, regardless of their status. Even the thought of dealing with the Supreme Sect Master was exhausting.

“Speaking of which, it’s also because we are a pure female Dao Lineage. If we were in those male-dominated sects, Junior Brother wouldn’t be so noticeable, right?” Qi Yalan remarked.

The grand Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace, not to mention the billions of maids and servants, and the miscellaneous disciples, had tens of millions of registered disciples, not counting the vast number of peripheral personnel, affiliated sects, and closely related forces.

For thousands of years, the sect had never accepted a male disciple until Qing Muling, who was the first and only exception, and there would never be another like him.

Because he was unique and extraordinary, it was only natural that he was universally favored by the sect.

“It would be the same!”

Xuebing Xuan shook her head: “With someone like Junior Brother, any vixen who sees him can’t help but be tempted. It’s also fortunate that we don’t have other men in our sect. If it were those male sects, not only the unmarried women but even those with Dao companions would look for opportunities to play tricks in secret, and who knows how many grudges and karmic entanglements would arise!”

As Qing Muling’s Dao companions, they were well aware of his many virtues, so they had the clearest understanding of his allure. In the face of immense benefits, worldly ethics, reputation, and appearance were all trivial.

The Dragon Ritual Princess from the Dao Court had hesitated because she wasn’t fully aware of Qing Muling’s true value; otherwise, she wouldn’t have given up so easily.

The Dao is eternal, and for countless cultivators, eternal life is the unchanging pursuit. When the hope of becoming immortal and indestructible is within reach, even the king of heaven must be pushed aside. What use is there for reputation?

…

At the Main Altar of the sect, on Imperial Dao Peak.

After a brief rest, under the arrangements of the Xinyu Emperor, Qing Muling continued his closed-door cultivation, healing the remaining Supreme Elders one by one.

The severity of these slumbering Supreme Elders’ injuries varied, but none exceeded Qing Muling’s capabilities, so the process went smoothly.

Golden Immortal realm elders usually required ten or so treatments to fully recover and regain their peak strength. If Qing Muling was willing to put in more effort, even the lifespan lost for various reasons could be mostly restored.

Taiyi Golden Immortal elders were more troublesome. Based on Qing Muling’s ability to use his divine abilities up to nine times a day, it usually took about ten days to completely heal one; as for the few Daluo Golden Immortal realm elders, it took even longer, about one to two months per individual.

However, with the hundredfold time acceleration formation, the time spent wasn’t too long. As two months passed outside, nearly twenty years had flown by in the mystical realm, and more than two thousand Supreme Elders had been restored.

Among them, the highest-ranking were the eight fellow disciples of the Xinyu Emperor, all peak Daluo Golden Immortals, including the ultimate source of the lineage of Mu Yinghua and Yu Lingzhou, the Xinyu Emperor’s third sister: the Fengge Emperor.

She was only half a step away from the Quasi Holy realm, so she had also received the title of Emperor in advance.

“…I never thought I’d see the light of day again.”

On the cloud bed, the imposing and awe-inspiring Fengge Emperor sat majestically, her beautiful eyes examining the fair-skinned, mysterious young man before her, nodding slightly:

“An extraordinary being like you should enjoy supreme glory and authority. With you, the sect will not only surpass the Dao Court in time but also dominate the Great Void. By the way, do you have a Dao companion yet? Would you like me to find a few for you? I guarantee you’ll be satisfied!”

Qing Muling: “……”