Kun Wei glanced at Lan Xiaobu, then waved to all the cultivators of the Taihan Sacred Court. After the people of the Taihan Sacred Court boarded the spaceship, Kun Wei controlled it to depart swiftly.
He had to rush to Taihan Sacred Mountain as quickly as possible and establish the Eternal Life Dao Court. Moreover, he needed to do his utmost to rally all the forces he could.
Unlike before when he had no title, he was now the Dao Lord of the Eternal Life Dao Court, possessing a grand justification. Some sects unable to vie for the Eternal Life Dao Court would surely align with him.
As the Dao Lord of the Eternal Life Realm’s Dao Court, he had the power to strip Heavenly Dao recognition from dojos that had previously gained it. Just as with the Eternal Life Sacred Dao, he had directly stripped even their sect’s title away.
For a Dao Lord like him to cause a dojo to lose its recognition was a simple matter, so he could just as easily strip the titles of other dojos or sacred sects. For small and medium-sized dojos and sacred sects, aligning with the Eternal Life Dao Court was only natural.
As for the larger sacred sects and courts—those with a chance to contend for the Dao Lord position of the Eternal Life Dao Court—they would undoubtedly wage war against the Eternal Life Dao Court under his control. That’s why he needed to hasten the accumulation of his strength.
Seeing Kun Wei leave, the sect cultivators who had previously wanted to confront Lan Xiaobu also quickly departed.
Kun Wei had established the Eternal Life Dao Court and gained the recognition of the Eternal Life Realm’s Heavenly Dao. It was imaginable that the coming period would see various sacred courts banding together to challenge Kun Wei for control of the Eternal Life Dao Court. Naturally, they had to hurry back to their sects.
“Dao Lord Lan, what do we do now?” Ti Fo asked proactively.
Emperor Pu He was now Lan Xiaobu’s staunch follower, naturally doing whatever Lan Xiaobu did. Xi Nianmo, as Lan Xiaobu’s friend helping out here, wouldn’t ask questions. As for Liu Xing, he was just a passerby.
Ti Fo, however, wanted to quickly solidify Lan Xiaobu’s position in the Great Desolate Divine Realm, making him the one most concerned about Lan Xiaobu’s next steps.
Hearing Saint Ti Fo’s words, Liu Xing understood clearly—this fellow was likely serious about aligning with Lan Xiaobu. He couldn’t help but inwardly disdain Ti Fo, thinking, “You were once one of the Eight Great Saints. Even now, you’re a Second-Turn Saint. Yet you’d stoop to aligning with a mere Lan Xiaobu? How disgraceful.”
“Immediately reinforce the outermost defensive array here, then designate a portion of the area. In the future, this place will surely become an open-air temporary market. Next, continue improving Eternal Life Sacred Dao City and build a grand plaza outside it,” Lan Xiaobu said decisively.
He was certain that the Eternal Life Realm was about to face its most terrifying chaos. The Heavenly Dao of the Eternal Life Realm was imperfect—if it were complete, it would never dare to pressure him, a Dao Lord. It was precisely this imperfection that would once again spark internal conflict in the Eternal Life Realm.
Such a massive conflict would inevitably cast doubt on the progress of perfecting the Eternal Life Realm’s heavenly and earthly rules, perhaps even halting it. If some realms broke away from the Eternal Life Realm and merged into the Great Desolate Divine Realm, the Eternal Life Realm’s fortune would cease to grow. In this vicious cycle, the Eternal Life Realm would eventually collapse.
Once signs of collapse appeared in the Eternal Life Realm, countless cultivators would have nowhere to go. Those unable to escape into the vast void would surely seek to enter the Great Desolate Divine Realm through Eternal Life Sacred Dao City.
The threshold for entering the Great Desolate Divine Realm wouldn’t be low—forget entering the Great Desolate Divine Realm, even the threshold for entering Eternal Life Sacred Dao City would be steep. Thus, he allowed people to establish a temporary market outside Eternal Life Sacred Dao City to gather popularity.
“Haha, great idea, Dao Lord! I’ll stay here to support you,” Saint Ti Fo laughed heartily, saying without hesitation.
He didn’t explicitly pledge allegiance to Lan Xiaobu, but his actions fully supported him, little different from outright allegiance.
Emperor Pu He sneered inwardly, thinking, “Ti Fo, you may know Lan Xiaobu is a strong ally, but your approach to clinging to him is all wrong. At this point, you’re still holding onto your pride as one of the Eight Great Saints? How laughable. When the Great Desolate Divine Realm fully absorbs the Eternal Life Realm, do you think being a saint will earn you a higher rank? Only by swearing allegiance to Dao Lord Lan first will you gain greater recognition.”
Lan Xiaobu naturally understood Ti Fo’s mindset. He also knew Ti Fo was waiting to see if he could weather this storm. A saintly powerhouse like Ti Fo wouldn’t easily swear an oath unless the situation was completely clear. Still, offering full support at this moment was akin to sending charcoal in the snow. After all, Lan Xiaobu currently lacked strong allies, and Ti Fo was the only Second-Turn Saint by his side.
For Lan Xiaobu, it wasn’t a major concern. His most difficult times were already behind him, and they’d passed surprisingly easily. The reason was his ruthlessness and stubbornness—he’d directly cast aside the Eternal Life Realm. Anyone else might have hesitated and deliberated, but he’d done it without a second thought.
“Friend Ti Fo, I plan to enter secluded cultivation for a while. I’ll need you to take care of things here,” Lan Xiaobu said, then addressed the others, “Senior Sister Xi, Friend Pu He, Friend Liu Xing—if you wish to cultivate in seclusion, you can each choose a spot in Eternal Life Sacred Dao City to establish your own cave dwelling. The city will surely be overcrowded and priceless in the future. Choosing a cave now will only benefit your Great Dao.”
Lan Xiaobu planned to reach the First-Turn Saint realm, then take Saint Ti Fo to Blooming Love Sacred Dao City. There was definitely something amiss with that city, and he had to investigate.
“Rest assured, Dao Lord Lan, go into seclusion. With me here, no one will disturb this place in the short term,” Saint Ti Fo said decisively.
He genuinely admired Lan Xiaobu now, finally seeing how correct Lan Xiaobu’s decision to abandon the Eternal Life Realm had been. In his place, he wouldn’t have cast it aside but would have chosen to swear a Great Dao oath.
Not abandoning the Eternal Life Realm would have meant not only swearing a Great Dao oath, binding himself to it, but also facing a united assault from its numerous sacred sects and courts.
By decisively casting aside the Eternal Life Realm, Lan Xiaobu avoided swearing a Great Dao oath and evaded attacks from the major sacred sects. These weren’t even the greatest gains—his biggest advantage was sitting back to reap the benefits of the ensuing chaos between the Eternal Life Realm’s sacred sects and courts. A primordial saint was indeed a primordial saint, planning ten steps ahead—far beyond what Ti Fo could foresee.
Once Lan Xiaobu stepped into the First-Turn Saint realm, Ti Fo resolved to immediately swear allegiance to him.
Lan Xiaobu embedded piles of top-grade divine spirit veins beneath Eternal Life Sacred Dao City, with even more high-grade ones. Beneath his Dao Lord cultivation cave, he even planted several chaos divine spirit veins.
Such a cultivation environment left Xi Nianmo stunned, and even Liu Xing was secretly amazed. Just how many treasures had Lan Xiaobu acquired? With so many riches, no wonder Pu He was sticking with him.
Eternal Life Sacred Dao City sat at the edge of the Primordial Chaos Dao laws, where the heavenly and earthly rules were clearest, and the surging fortune of the Great Desolate Divine Realm began here. With such abundant divine spirit sources, even without active cultivation, one’s strength would soar in Eternal Life Sacred Dao City.
In less than a year, Xi Nianmo advanced to the third layer of Quasi-Saint. Liu Xing reached the late Quasi-Saint stage, his heart pounding with excitement. Though he had no intention of pledging allegiance to Lan Xiaobu, he wouldn’t miss out on such benefits.
As for Emperor Pu He, he was so thrilled he wouldn’t waste even half a breath. He was determined to ascend to First-Turn Saint, shedding the label of pseudo-Saint for good.
In the Eternal Life Realm, a pseudo-Saint couldn’t help Lan Xiaobu much—only a true First-Turn Saint could make a difference.
Saint Ti Fo’s realm could no longer advance purely through cultivation, so he focused on sensing the cosmic Dao law traces left by the Primordial Chaos Dao laws. Most of his energy went into the protective array around Eternal Life Sacred Dao City.
Beneath Lan Xiaobu, piles of divine essence pills turned into divine essence qi, swept away by the charm of the Eternal Life Technique. Sitting atop chaos divine spirit veins, aided by the Primordial Chaos Dao laws, his cultivation surged once more. His divine essence rapidly accumulated, and his sea of consciousness expanded continuously.
Compared to cultivating in the Rootless Divine Realm, Lan Xiaobu found it far better here. Though the Rootless Divine Realm’s rules were still perfecting, they couldn’t match the Eternal Life Realm or Great Desolate Divine Realm. Here, the rules were clear, and as the Dao Lord of this domain, his grasp and control of the heavenly and earthly rules far surpassed others.
In just ten years, Lan Xiaobu reached the fifth layer of Quasi-Saint.
By the fiftieth year, he advanced to the sixth layer—a pace several times faster than his seclusion in the Rootless Divine Realm.
Originally, Lan Xiaobu planned to push straight to the seventh layer of Quasi-Saint, then check on the integration of the Primordial Chaos Dao laws into the Great Desolate Divine Realm before continuing to aim for First-Turn Saint.
At that moment, he received a message from Ti Fo saying someone was looking for him, claiming it was an important matter.
Lan Xiaobu halted his seclusion. Emerging from his cave and gazing at the vast, boundless Eternal Life Sacred Dao City, he felt utterly satisfied.
What other place could rival the divine spiritual qi of Eternal Life Sacred Dao City? Every street here was infused with divine spiritual qi—walking through it was a refreshing delight.
Saint Ti Fo had clearly put in effort. The wide streets of Eternal Life Sacred Dao City were lined with top-tier divine dao trees, and outside the better caves and shops stood seventh-grade divine moon bamboos as adornments.
Lan Xiaobu was very pleased with Ti Fo’s dedication. He’d initially sought a partner for mutual cooperation, but he’d found someone who helped so attentively. Even Emperor Pu He hadn’t managed this much. Still, Lan Xiaobu understood—Pu He was dead-set on reaching First-Turn Saint, leaving him no time for such tasks.
…
“Dao Lord, the one looking for you is him,” Ti Fo said with a grin, approaching with a thin man sporting an eight-shaped mustache behind him.
Lan Xiaobu didn’t even need to scan with divine sense to tell this was a pseudo-Saint, far weaker than Emperor Pu He.
