Heaven Palace, outside the highest temple.

The Earth God emerged from the grand hall with a solemn expression. As the heavy doors behind him slowly closed, he couldn't help but turn his head for another glance.

The Earth God saw the Heavenly Emperor standing before the throne, robed in blue, without a hint of Divine Light around him.

CLANG!

The temple doors sealed shut, cutting off any external attempts to probe its interior.

The Earth God withdrew his gaze. He looked up at the seemingly close firmament and let out a heavy sigh.

This conversation had taken place just a moment before, inside the temple he had just left.

"Your Majesty, I believe that cleansing the powers of the Human race in the Southeastern Region at this time is not a wise move."

"Your Majesty, I have been observing the Human Domain for a long time and have already formulated a plan to deal with it.

First, we only need to sever the Human Domain's trade routes across the East Sea and West Sea. Then, we can use rumors from within to strike at their vulnerabilities.

Second, since the Human race is currently playing the card of uniting the Human Domain against the Hundred Races, Heaven Palace can counter this. We could drive some races that no longer produce strong individuals to the Human Domain. We'll see if the Human Domain accepts them, thereby disrupting their internal stability.

These two steps would only take a few decades. In the meantime, we can plan the third step: select and support some fringe powers within the Human Domain, allowing them to grow gradually, with the aim of dividing the Human Domain.

Although Lin Nuhao's rebellion was swiftly crushed by the Human Domain, its underlying impact on them was immense..."

"Earth God, what I want to do right now," Emperor Shun said with a smile, his gaze calm and indifferent, which made the Earth God slightly uncomfortable, "is to cleanse the Human race's powers in the Southeastern Region three years from now."

"Your Majesty, doing so would merely waste Heaven Palace's strength for no good reason."

The Earth God pondered for a moment. "If Your Majesty has a compelling reason for this, please tell me. I do not wish to be mocked by the beings of the Human Domain, as the Head Manager has been."

"There is no need for you to know the specifics of this matter," Emperor Shun said indifferently. "Just follow orders."

The Earth God fell silent.

Your Majesty, you promised us once that the many gods would govern together, with no oppression or forceful commands among us, he wanted to say.

But as the words reached the tip of his tongue, the Earth God wisely chose to swallow them.

Things were different now; Heaven Palace was already different.

The Head Manager kept making concessions, and the gods kept bowing their heads, but the Heavenly Emperor stood ever taller.

When Heaven Palace was first established, was there any high platform at all? The Heavenly Emperor's throne was merely on a set of three steps. Looking back, those times had become an incredibly distant past...

"I shall obey the command," the Earth God replied quietly, bowing respectfully.

"Earth God, there's no need to worry," Emperor Shun said soothingly. "You are one of Heaven Palace's main pillars; I certainly would not risk your safety. The offensive against the Southeastern Region need not be too grand. Just make a show of it, enough to make the Human Domain anxious. As for the reason, I will explain it to you in detail after the matter is settled. Go and make the arrangements."

"Yes." The Earth God felt slightly relieved. He bowed and then turned to leave the temple.

Standing before the doors, listening to their dull thud as they closed, a contemplative look filled the Earth God's eyes.

Suddenly, he felt that the problem might not lie with the Head Manager. The Head Manager, once so gentle and refined in ancient times, had become half-mad and half-crazed... truly...

HEH.

A familiar, mocking laugh came from ahead, causing the Earth God to stop. The sturdy god of the earth looked ahead, somewhat helplessly.

There, the very Head Manager he had just been internally criticizing stood with his hands behind his back, smiling as he watched him.

When would this end? They had already had seven or eight confrontations in this short period. What exactly was the problem?

The Head Manager chuckled. "Earth God, you truly are close to His Majesty."

The Earth God's mouth twitched.

Here we go again, he thought.

「In the Human Domain, at the Annihilation Sect, in the pavilion before Wu Wang's cave dwelling.」

The Sect Master sat calmly behind a wooden chair, while four maidens bustled about under Lin Suqing's command.

The Innate Spirit, 'Little Water', barely disguised as a young woman, tended the stove, gently fanning the flames. She watched with fascination as a pot of clear spring water came to a boil, after which it was ladled out.

Yu Fenman, the Second Maiden and princess of the Feather Country, wings retracted, carefully handled a teapot, brewing tea.

Not far away, inside the cave dwelling, Xiong Li, a young girl from the Northern Wilderness, timidly eyed a silk quilt that looked frail enough to tear at the slightest touch, trying to make her movements as gentle as possible.

Once the tea was ready, Lin Suqing and the Qingqiu fox-girl each took a cup. Lin Suqing placed a cup beside Wu Wang, and the fox-girl put hers before the Sleep God. Their movements were gentle, yet they seemed overly tense and stiff.

Wu Wang chuckled. "Suqing, are these the maidens you've chosen? Can any of the four actually do this work?"

"Well..." Lin Suqing stuck her tongue out playfully before quickly retracting it. She whispered, "Young Master, don't be so picky. If you don't want maidens like these, then I'll just do the work myself."

Wu Wang glared at Lin Suqing.

Good heavens! he thought. Others usually 'talk big but act scared,' but this old aunty has escalated to 'speaking the toughest words in the meekest tone'! She even dares to threaten me, the Young Master of the Northern Wilderness, the Little Golden Dragon of the Human Domain!

Wu Wang declared decisively, "Alright... let them practice more then."

"Alrighty!" Lin Suqing, holding a tray, winked at Wu Wang and floated away, summoning her four subordinates for a meeting inside the cave dwelling.

The Sleep God frowned. "Little brother, is this really okay with you?"

"What's not okay?"

"Letting a little cultivator, not even an Immortal, push you around like that?" The Sleep God grinned at Wu Wang, mischief dancing in his eyes, practically urging him to fan the flames.

Wu Wang snorted. "I just think she's usually overworked, so I can't bring myself to scold her."

"TSK," the Sleep God laughed. "People in the Human Domain are saying the Tianyan Saintess is your destined partner, but it's Miss Suqing who calls the shots in your household. TSK, TSK, TSK."

"Enough, brother!" Wu Wang, somewhat amused and exasperated, said seriously, "The Queen Mother of the West sent an Innate Spirit over. Do you think there's some scheme behind it?"

"There's definitely a scheme." The Sleep God sipped his tea, dragged his stone stool closer to Wu Wang, and transmitted his voice, "The Queen Mother of the West is not to be trifled with; you'd better be careful. This Goddess controls the Divine Punishment Dao. The core of her Great Dao is to punish all wills between Heaven and Earth—even any will that Heaven and Earth themselves might generate would be suppressed by her Great Dao. In other words, the Divine Punishment Dao exists to ensure that Heaven and Earth remain as they are. Because of this, the Queen Mother of the West has remained outside the established order from the Third God Generation until now. Regardless of who holds power, no one wants to provoke her. If she were to push back even slightly, and Heaven and Earth generated their own will, the position of all Innate Gods would become quite awkward."

Wu Wang looked enlightened. "So that's what the Divine Punishment Dao means."

"Let's not dwell on that." The Sleep God chuckled. "The Queen Mother of the West giving you benefits means she sees potential in you, or she's foreseen something. She's an old monster—COUGH—a rather ancient Strong God, I mean. No one can be sure of her true strength. Who knows, by the time the next God Generation arrives, she might ascend to become the supreme ruler of that era. Innate Spirits are straightforward. Compared to living beings, their way of thinking is simpler, like beings with only partially awakened spiritual wisdom."

"Partially awakened spiritual wisdom?"

"You see her in human form, but essentially, she's just a mass of water. She only takes on a human-like form to blend in here more easily." The Sleep God thought for a moment before adding, "If you practice water-based cultivation techniques, having her assist you can significantly aid a cultivator's comprehension of the Great Dao."

Wu Wang immediately thought of Ling Xiaolan, who was currently in seclusion, seeking enlightenment. Although he cultivated the Star Dao, supplemented by the Dao of Fire, Ling Xiaolan focused on purely supportive water-based cultivation techniques. If the Queen Mother of the West had specifically chosen a water-attribute Innate Spirit, it meant she had put some thought into this gift. If it was because the Queen Mother of the West had no other Innate Spirits to offer, that would make this grand gift even more significant.

Does the Queen Mother of the West want something from me? Wu Wang was puzzled, feeling there was something profound about this.

The Sleep God chuckled. "Perhaps the Queen Mother of the West sees you as the next Human Emperor. It's not surprising for such a powerful god, who remains aloof from Heaven Palace, to secretly cultivate ties with forces that could oppose Heaven Palace. You can keep her without worry. It's highly unlikely for an Innate Spirit to spy on you, and the Queen Mother of the West wouldn't need to resort to such troublesome methods to monitor you."

Wu Wang mused with feeling, I still don't know what price His Majesty paid to get that special Spiritual Medicine from the Queen Mother of the West.

The Sleep God smiled without speaking, returned his teacup to its place, and chuckled. "Next time you want to recruit maidens, brother, I'll give you some of my precious wooden carvings. They'll surely satisfy all your fantasies about women."

Wu Wang smiled but didn't respond.

Watching several Annihilation Sect disciples joking as they passed by in the distance, he, having just broken through to the True Immortal Realm, felt his spiritual mind enveloped by warm clouds. It was warm, comfortable, and close to the Dao, making him somewhat reluctant to leave this state.

Wu Wang sighed. It's wonderful to be free of troubles.

"See? Isn't it great to just lie back and relax?" The Sleep God squinted, smiling. "Why bother competing? It's all just fleeting clouds. Only our own Dao is eternal, and both you and I can exist with the Dao forever. Isn't this the most marvelous thing in this world?"

"Being all alone isn't marvelous," Wu Wang glanced towards the inner cave and smiled. "If I were to be alone forever, I'm afraid I'd go mad."

"That's for you to figure out." The Sleep God swayed slightly. Seeing Sanxian Daoist approaching from a side path, he added, "I do have some admiration for this human."

"Oh? Why is that?"

"To face life and death so calmly," the Sleep God lamented. "The longer an Innate God lives, the more they fear their own demise."

Wu Wang said, "Many things in this world are simply about doing one's best and leaving the rest to fate."

"Doing one's best and leaving the rest to fate?"

"The 'fate' or 'heavens' I speak of isn't the Heavenly Emperor," Wu Wang added with a smile, rising to greet Sanxian Daoist as he approached.

The two men and one god chatted and laughed about everything in the pavilion, enjoying pleasant companionship.

The matter of the maidens caused a stir in the Human Domain for a while but gradually died down. Wu Wang hiring a few maidens—and paying them, no less—wasn't something that inherently warranted so much attention. It only gained such traction because the Benevolent Emperor Pavilion's affairs were still a hot topic.

Wu Wang didn't fully trust the four new maidens. Even Xiong Li, the girl from his own Bear Embrace Tribe, required constant observation. Wu Wang had the Grand Elder carve out a brand-new cave dwelling next to his own, with inner chambers for the four of them.

On reflection, the number of unusual 'beings' within the Annihilation Sect seemed to be growing. The residents included Yun Meng, the Sleep God (an Innate God); Wu Wang himself, a True Immortal, son of the Ice God, and inheritor of the Star God's bloodline; and people from the Small People Kingdom, Feather Country, and Qingqiu Country. Also present were the 'Little Bane' of the Four Seas Pavilion, who had been struck by Heavenly Punishment while trying to transcend; the Tianyan Saintess of the Human Domain; and the Human Emperor's daughter, a reincarnated spirit in a demigod's body.

Lin Suqing, whose most significant trait was being an "ordinary" female cultivator, was thriving in this place, which was truly somewhat miraculous.

After being tutored by Lin Suqing for half a month, the four new maidens had mostly adapted to daily life. Wu Wang didn't undergo any drastic nighttime personality changes, which greatly relieved the little princess of the Feather Country, somewhat disappointed Xiong Li from the Northern Wilderness, and left the Qingqiu fox-girl doubting herself.

Previously, Wu Wang had wanted to give the Qingqiu fox-girl a new name. After half a month of deliberation without finding a suitable one, he decisively gave her a unique nickname—Qingqing. This was already the pinnacle of Wu Wang's naming prowess. The few truly good names he had mulled over many times were, of course, reserved for his future children.

Time flowed endlessly, and the years passed quietly.

In these idle and leisurely days, Wu Wang's mental state and cultivation saw considerable improvement. The slight impatience and restlessness that had been in his Dao heart after advancing to the True Immortal Realm gradually subsided. He would occasionally discuss the Dao with the Sleep God and sometimes guide Lin Suqing in her cultivation, quietly waiting for Ling Xiaolan to emerge from her closed-door cultivation so they could make their joint cultivation a daily routine. Life gradually became more fulfilling.

Another month passed in this way.

Ji Mo and Le Yao, after a brief departure, returned. The couple had handed over their respective duties to spend a few years resting at the Annihilation Sect. Ji Mo is probably worried I'll encounter trouble and be harassed by the old ministers of the Benevolent Emperor Pavilion, Wu Wang was well aware. With the Military Family's influence, Ji Mo felt somewhat more at ease.

The reform of the Benevolent Emperor Pavilion, vigorously promoted by Senior Shen Nong, was in full swing. The Benevolent Emperor Pavilion was restructured into the Human Emperor Pavilion. It ascended from being one of the original eight pavilions to a 'direct administrative institution of the Human Emperor,' with authority over the Military Family, the eight pavilions, and various Sect powers.

Shen Nong presided over the Human Emperor Pavilion, holding minor court sessions every three days and major discussions every half-month. Significant issues within the Human Domain were now reviewed by the Human Emperor Pavilion before being submitted to the Human Emperor for approval.

The Punishment Hall also became independent within the Human Emperor Pavilion, transforming into one of the new eight pavilions, though it retained its original name. The position of Hall Master remained vacant, and the officers who had participated in the investigation of the Southeastern Region's grain case now held the most important positions in the Punishment Hall. That was essentially Wu Wang's team.

As the Human Emperor's authority grew, the dissenting voices within the Human Domain diminished. The overall environment of the Human Domain was also developing favorably, almost exactly as Wu Wang had envisioned.

「One day, Sanxian Daoist sought out Wu Wang to express his intention to leave.」

"Senior, you're leaving?" Wu Wang's eyes showed reluctance as he smiled. "Do you plan to return to the Southeastern Region, or do you wish to travel elsewhere?"

"I'll return to the Southeastern Region," Sanxian Daoist replied with a smile. "I've found a burial plot for myself, to be among some pure and kind-hearted beings. Calculating the time, my end shouldn't be far off."

Wu Wang said, "Have you truly not reconsidered the matter I mentioned before, Senior?"

"No, I haven't," Sanxian Daoist sighed softly. "I was actually quite tempted. After all, I only promised others not to become an Immortal. If you were to use your Feng Chun ability on me, perhaps I could live many more years, just like Xiao Deng. But Wu Wang, what would be the point of me clinging to life in this world any longer?"

Wu Wang said earnestly, "Seeking to live longer isn't merely clinging to existence; it's simply wanting one's will to persist for a while longer."

"But I no longer have much to seek; I have no desires left," Sanxian Daoist said softly. "I've lived a splendid enough life. In the end, I just want to be free. I shall ride the wind and depart; to have roamed the world freely this one time is enough."

Wu Wang sighed softly. "It's up to you, Senior."

"Shall we go for a walk outside the Sect gates?"

"The surroundings are all barren mountains and harsh waters. Why not go to the hot springs for another soak?"

"Let's go, let's go!" Sanxian Daoist waved his hands repeatedly, his interest piqued. This time, he didn't invite anyone else.

The two of them, with a few guards, and with the Grand Elder and the Whistling Snake secretly protecting them, merrily set off to the hot springs a hundred li away.

Just as the old man and the young man were leisurely chatting, a thunderous explosion ripped through the Southeastern Region. Countless figures suddenly erupted from the Eastern Wilderness, charging with the force of wind and thunder directly towards the large swathes of territory under the Human Domain's actual control.

Heaven Palace had launched a surprise attack on the Southeastern Region without any declaration of war. Any pretense of face or the dignity of Heaven Palace was utterly disregarded this time.

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