99: Eight years

Time is a funny thing; it slips away incredibly fast when you’re not paying attention.

In a blink of an eye, eight years had passed.

These eight years, the Immortal Realm had been anything but peaceful. It was basically eight years of the Star Palace and the Asura Clan clashing fiercely, interspersed with the task of clearing out Xuan Gu’s remnants and some small, unruly factions.

To put it crudely: just get it done!

And in these eight years, the changes in the Star Palace were beyond 'earth-shattering'; it was more like 'earth-shattering and then shattered again'!

The biggest change, of course, was our Palace Master Lin Xuan.

This guy was simply a cultivation monster! He was already terrifyingly powerful at the early Immortal Monarch stage, and these eight years, he hadn't been idle. While coordinating the overall situation, he also cultivated frantically. Most importantly, his system, with its ten-thousand-fold return, was truly powerful!

Good things offered by disciples, after passing through his hands and being returned, would often yield top-grade items. As for what he kept for himself, the return multiplier was even more exaggerated. Whether it was a chaotic source crystal, rarely seen in ten thousand years, or an ancient dao pill containing fragments of the Great Dao, various outrageous treasures, terrifying energy fluctuations could be sensed from his secluded cultivation spot every now and then.

The result was that in eight years, this guy rocketed from the early Immortal Monarch stage to the late Immortal Monarch stage!

Late Immortal Monarch stage! Eight years ago in the Immortal Realm, that was a giant who could walk unhindered, a figure whose presence would make the ancestors of major factions cautiously come out to speak with him. Now, well, any faction near the Star Palace's territory would have their legs tremble three times upon hearing Lin Xuan's name.

The Palace Master was awesome, and his disciples below were even more impressive.

Senior Sister Yun Qingyao was truly steady. She became increasingly adept as the front-line general commander, having experienced countless battles, always composed in her command, and her own cultivation didn't fall behind. Eight years ago, she was at the late Heavenly Immortal stage, approaching Immortal Monarch combat power; now, she was a true late Golden Immortal expert! Her Ice Soul Divine Light Sword was wielded with divine skill, offering both area-of-effect freezing and single-target elimination, incredibly formidable. Her presence on the battlefield was like a stabilizing force, reassuring the disciples.

The “Annihilation Duo” Leng Yuechan and Ye Chen, these two were genuinely terrifying. One was at the mid Golden Immortal stage, the other at the early Golden Immortal stage, but their efficiency in slaughtering the Asura Clan was ridiculously high. Leng Yuechan's “Fleeting Moment” Sword Intent was even more dreadful; a flash of her sword light seemed to slice away a piece of time itself, causing affected enemies to instantly age and decay. Ye Chen was even more extraordinary; his presence was so low that sometimes even his own people almost forgot about him, but every time he acted, an Asura Clan commander or important figure would inexplicably vanish, utterly dead. These two, working together, were simply the Asura Clan's nightmare.

Mo Sha and Kong Ming were also incredibly fierce. Mo Sha, at the mid Golden Immortal stage, his Ancient Demon True Body was even larger and more ferocious, with explosive power; when he went berserk, he could tear apart the Asura Clan's war beasts with his bare hands! Kong Ming was also at the mid Golden Immortal stage; this guy's defensive Buddha's Light was thick enough to inspire despair, and his healing range was even wider, one burst of healing could save a large area. With him around, Mo Sha charged even more recklessly.

Linglong and You Ye, who was at the early Golden Immortal stage, these “Illusory Charm Twin Beauties” were masters of psychological warfare. Linglong's Seven Emotions Demonic Sound could now cover half the battlefield, making enemies cry and laugh at turns, throwing their formations into utter chaos. You Ye's Blood Hell Illusion was even more realistic and terrifying; she often pulled an entire squad of Asura soldiers into it, and when they emerged, only skeletons remained. Their combined destructive power might not be the strongest, but the chaos they caused was absolutely top-tier.

Su Yuan, this “Human Supercomputer,” also reached the early Golden Immortal stage. His computing power was now terrifyingly capable of simultaneously processing data from N battlefronts and conducting super-large-scale simulations. Many Asura Clan sneak attacks and schemes were clearly calculated by him in advance, leading to the Star Palace turning the tables and ambushing them instead. He was the strongest brain of the Star Palace army.

Feng Qiqi, Qing Xuan, and Mu Ling Nannan, these “Logistics Three Treasures,” also didn't fall behind. Feng Qiqi, at the early Golden Immortal stage, controlled the Nanming Separating Fire with divine skill, capable of both large-scale enemy incineration and precisely burning away foreign energies within severely wounded individuals, saving countless lives. Qing Xuan, at the early Golden Immortal stage, with a sweep of his Life Purification Light, could purify large areas of Asura blood fiend energy, and also quickly restore teammates' conditions. Mu Ling Nannan was special; her cultivation couldn't be measured by ordinary realms, but her ability to communicate with the World Tree and rapidly grow demonic vines was more than ten times stronger! Many of the Star Palace's front-line fortress defenses were now “grown” by her on-site, and she could also produce large quantities of spirit fruits and herbs for supplies, essentially a mobile base vehicle!

Jin Bao and A Zi, these “Thunder-Fire Twin Fiends,” also reached the early Golden Immortal stage. They were still as ferocious in battle as ever, one with vast dragon breath, the other with fierce thunder magic, specializing in assaulting strongholds and bombing difficult targets, simple, brutal, and remarkably effective.

Even Chu Xinghe, responsible for infrastructure and formations, cultivated diligently to the early Golden Immortal stage! His mastery of formations was now unfathomable; his “Star Chain Barrier” system had been upgraded repeatedly, now covering a wider range, offering stronger functions, and capable of linked attacks, becoming the core of the Star Palace's defensive system.

Let's put it this way: in eight years, Lin Xuan's direct disciple group, at the very least, were all at the early Golden Immortal stage! Looking back at the entire history of the Immortal Realm, such a luxurious lineup of Golden Immortal disciples was truly unique!

The core disciples were powerful, and the ordinary disciples below them weren't idle either. With a continuous supply of resources and the life-and-death pressure of years of war, the average cultivation of all Star Palace disciples surged upwards.

The original million Sky Patrol Army now had a minimum cultivation of Heavenly Immortal! True Immortals were everywhere, and Heavenly Immortals were as common as dogs! Although Golden Immortals were still high-end combatants, the number of core forces at the Heavenly Immortal realm was frighteningly large.

The main combat legions had expanded to nearly ten million! And their combat power was incredibly strong, with seamless coordination and strict discipline. In battle, they executed various formations and unleashed coordinated immortal arts, incredibly fierce.

Territory? Even more was recovered, an unknown amount. Centered around their old lair in the Flowing Fire Desert, the Star Palace's controlled area expanded like an inflating balloon. The Obsidian Star Belt had long become an inner lake, and dozens of large and small worlds, hundreds of resource planets in the surrounding area were all conquered, establishing stable rule. The Asura Clan was gradually pushed out, and the Star Palace had already become a formidable and influential power in the Immortal Realm!

Bi Xiao, Elder of the Void Palace’s Void Palace was now incredibly powerful; the teleportation network and void monitoring network he constructed covered the entire Star Palace territory, making support speeds so fast that enemies despaired. Liu Ruyan managed internal affairs and the Sky Patrol Army meticulously, keeping the rear as stable as an old dog.

Deputy Palace Master Bai Li sat at the central command, coordinating all parties, her contributions invaluable. Grand Elder Bi Xiao, Elder of the Void Palace occasionally took action, and those were always crucial moments that decided the outcome of battles.

In short, these eight years, the Star Palace had advanced with great momentum, with everyone seemingly on a cheat code, engraving the words “powerful” on their foreheads.

Of course, the Asura Clan did not sit idly by. Blood Butcher Prince seemed to have brought some formidable characters from some “ancestral land”—ancient Asura warriors with purer killing intent, who caused some trouble for the Star Palace. Xuan Gu’s remnants also acted like rats underground, occasionally popping up to cause mischief and launch sneak attacks. Although they didn't cause major losses, they were quite annoying.

But none of this could stop the Star Palace's expansion.

On this day, Lin Xuan awoke from a brief period of secluded cultivation, feeling the surging, star-ocean-like power of the late Immortal Monarch stage within him, and nodded in satisfaction.

He stepped out of his quiet room, his divine sense sweeping across, taking in the prosperous scene of the entire Star Palace. Countless disciples were cultivating, sparring, and carrying out missions, exuding powerful and vibrant energy.

His gaze lingered particularly on the Golden Immortal disciples who had grown into towering trees, his heart filled with a father-like sense of gratification.

“Eight years…” Lin Xuan murmured softly, “The territory is large enough, and the disciples have basically all been trained. It’s time…”

His eyes sharpened as he looked at the star map, at the starfield where the Asura Clan's forces were most concentrated, and at the red marker indicating “Xuan Gu’s possible hiding area.”

“It's time to make a big move and thoroughly resolve these troubles.”

With a thought, a decree was issued:

“All disciples above the Golden Immortal level, and all army commanders, quickly come to the main hall for a meeting!”

The Star Palace, this war machine, after eight years of rapid development and refinement, was finally about to reveal its sharpest fangs once again, pointing towards its ultimate goal.