340: Chapter 338 Everything is looking up, the ten-year promise

After the turmoil completely subsided, the world finally began to slowly recover its vitality.

Everything was developing in a better direction, bit by bit.

In the imperial palace of the Zifu Immortal Dynasty, the first main hall had been rebuilt from the ruins.

It was small in scale, just a solitary main hall, with no side halls or corridors, looking exceptionally crude.

But The Old Emperor had already moved in.

Having lived for so many years and witnessed the rise and fall of dynasties as well as life and death partings, he long ago ceased to care about extravagant displays. To him, the stability of the country and the survival of his people were more important than any magnificence.

Outside the imperial palace, the entire Tianyuan City was also slowly warming up.

The common people who had fled during the war were returning one after another. Everyone built temporary shacks amidst the ruins, bit by bit clearing away rubble and repairing their homes.

The deathly silent city once again had signs of human life.

The streets became increasingly lively; some people focused on clearing ruins to rebuild their homes, while others brought out odds and ends from their households to set up small stalls by the roadside to do business.

The former site of the Tianbao Market, which had been completely destroyed, now gathered quite a few merchants.

They sold only low-grade Spirit Stones, ordinary Medicinal Pills, basic Spiritual Plants, and small Magical Artifacts; the grades were not high, and the variety was not rich. Yet, this scene of desolate liveliness was enough to prove that Tianyuan City had come back to life.

The former subordinates of the Princess Royal were responsible for maintaining order in the city.

The soldiers' armor was worn and tattered, but kept spotlessly clean. Each of them was high-spirited, patrolling and standing guard day and night, firmly maintaining the stability of the city.

On the other side, the reconstruction work of the Shenduan Sect was also steadily progressing.

The Grandmaster chose the new mountain gate in a plain area eight hundred miles west of Tianyuan City. This place was originally an Outer Sect stronghold of the Shenduan Sect, featuring a few low mountains, a flat open space, and several Spiritual streams flowing through it.

The Grandmaster personally walked through the entire area to investigate, and in the end, only calmly commented: "Barely usable."

The Grandmaster did not meddle in these trivial construction matters. The construction of the Sect and the scheduling of manpower were all left to Yun Ming to worry about; he only occasionally went over to take a look at the progress, supervised with a few simple words, and then left, remaining very leisurely.

Not only the Shenduan Sect, but the Grand Elders of the ancient Sects that had been rescued previously—such as Cangwu Divine Mountain, Taixu Grotto-Heaven, and the Star Palace—had all returned to their respective Sects.

They had been trapped for countless tens of thousands of years; their Sects had long since become desolate and dilapidated, Disciples were scattered, and the Legacy had almost been completely severed. Now that they had returned, everyone threw themselves heart and soul into reconstruction.

Clearing out the remaining remnants of the Yao Race, gathering the scattered Disciples, repairing the damaged Sect protection Formation, and continuing the severed Sect Legacy. The work was complex and exhausting, but for them, being able to guard the Sect again and continue the Daoist tradition was the greatest comfort.

After the great chaos, Yun Ming did not return to the East Xuan Region, but instead remained in the Zifu Immortal Dynasty.

The Old Emperor understood that he liked quiet and did not enjoy liveliness, so he specially arranged a quiet little courtyard for him next to the imperial palace. The courtyard was not large, but it had the advantage of being secluded and having abundant Spiritual Qi, far from the complex trivialities of the imperial city, making it exceptionally suitable for quiet cultivation.

Yun Ming personally took care of the small courtyard, planting his own Spirit Medicine properly, and transplanted a few mystic pattern jade seed sunflowers from the map of mountains and rivers.

The plants in the courtyard were lush and green, and Spiritual charm flowed faintly. He brought over a bamboo chair, and when he had nothing to do, he would sit under the shade of the trees, brew a pot of Spirit tea, bask in the warm sun, and quietly enjoy this rare stability.

Days passed by, day after day, just as plainly and steadily.

Having experienced countless life-and-death battles, this quiet passage of time seemed exceptionally precious, even making one feel somewhat unreal.

Until one evening in early autumn, when a cool breeze disrupted this tranquility.

Yun Ming was leaning on the bamboo chair savoring tea when the previously stable Void Realm in front of him suddenly rippled, and then tore open silently.

The Old Emperor appeared out of thin air.

He brought the news that Yun Ming had been long awaiting.

But at this moment, The Old Emperor no longer had his usual composure and relaxation; his entire face was gloomy and grave, and the twilight made his expression seem exceptionally heavy.

The first sentence he spoke broke all the tranquility: "Xue Ji has been taken away."

Yun Ming's fingers tightened abruptly, his fingertips gripping the teacup curled up instantly, and his heart sank suddenly.

He raised his eyes, speaking very quickly, with unconcealable tension: "Who did it?"

"The Yao Race."

The Old Emperor's tone was low as he slowly recounted the cause and effect.

"I finally found the whereabouts of the Princess Royal some time ago, but Xue Ji was not by her side at all. According to the Princess Royal, Xue Ji was taken by a powerful expert of the Yao Race from the Cangmang Demon World."

"That Yao Cultivator's cultivation base is extremely high, at least the Late Stage of Soul Transformation. It did not harm the Princess Royal, nor did it touch anyone accompanying her; the goal was very clear from beginning to end—only to take Xue Ji away."

"The Princess Royal said that the way that Yao creature looked at Xue Ji was very strange; it was not like looking at a person at all, but rather like examining a one-of-a-kind, rare treasure."

In order to verify the truth, The Old Emperor had even personally gone to the ruins of Paradise to investigate.

The traces at the scene were very clean; there was no large-scale fighting, no signs of slaughter or damage, and no mass casualties.

This was not a scene of a Yao Race army invasion at all, but rather a single person breaking in to abduct someone with precision. The opponent had come only for Xue Ji, and withdrew immediately after finishing the task, with frightening cleanliness.

The evening breeze in the courtyard became increasingly cold, blowing the bamboo leaves to rustle, and the atmosphere was so oppressive that it was suffocating.

Yun Ming was silent for a long time, suppressing the panic surging in his heart, and asked hoarsely: "Why did it take Xue Ji away?"

The Old Emperor shook his head: "I cannot find out, nor can I guess the reason."

Yun Ming raised his eyes, the leisure and indifference in his eyes completely faded away, leaving only a stubborn determination: "Where is she now?"

"It must be the Cangmang Demon World."

These few short words were as heavy as a thousand catties.

Everyone knew that the Cangmang Demon World and the Xuanhuang Small World were not on the same level at all. There, experts were as numerous as clouds, Yao Beasts ran rampant, and danger was everywhere; it was a desperate situation that countless Cultivators turned pale just mentioning.

Yun Ming lowered his head to look at the teacup in his hand; the tea had long since gone cold, its color dark and dull, just like his state of mind at this moment.

All the panic and anxiety settled down at this moment.

He raised his head, his tone calm but carrying an unshakable resolve: "Ten years from now, take me to the Cangmang Demon World."

The Old Emperor looked at him deeply, his eyes complex and full of worry: "Have you thought it through? It is too dangerous there, far exceeding any region you know. You are currently only at the Early Nascent Soul Stage; rushing over there would be a gamble with your life."

Yun Ming's tone was steady but incomparably certain: "I have the Reincarnation seal to protect me, so I might not die. But Xue Ji is left alone in the Monster Realm, with no one to rely on, and could be in danger at any moment."

The Old Emperor was silent for a long time, and finally nodded.

"Good. I promise you. Ten years from now, I will personally take you into the Monster Realm."

He changed the subject and solemnly urged: "But you must also promise me that for these ten years, you will cultivate properly, improve steadily, and absolutely must not act recklessly and throw your life away. I do not want to travel far to the Monster Realm in the future only to bring back your corpse."

"I promise you." Yun Ming nodded solemnly.

The Old Emperor said no more, turned, and merged into the twilight.

The once dignified and upright figure of the emperor now revealed a hint of vicissitudes and stoop, yet his steps were extremely fast, and in a flash, he disappeared at the end of the alley.

Yun Ming stood alone in the courtyard, quietly watching the direction in which the other had left, standing there for a very, very long time.

The night breeze of early autumn carried a biting chill, blowing through the entire small courtyard, and also cooled the last remaining stability in his heart.

He walked back to the bamboo chair and sat down, picked up the cold cup of tea, and drank it in one gulp.

The tea was bitter and astringent, spreading throughout his mouth, but his expression was calm; he did not even frown.

He slowly put down the teacup, leaned against the back of the chair, and closed his eyes.

Ten years.

He still had a full ten years of time.

In these ten years, he had to cultivate desperately, polish his Foundation, and accumulate strength.

He had to be strong enough—strong enough to step into the dangerous and unpredictable Cangmang Demon World, strong enough to personally bring Xue Ji back from the unknown dangers.

The road ahead was long, the fortune unknown; perhaps it would be a life-and-death gamble, perhaps it would be covered in wounds.

But his mind was made up; he had never wavered.