341: Chapter 339 Ten Years in the Blink of an Eye, Ready to Go

Ten years passed in the blink of an eye.

For a Cultivator, ten years is nothing more than the time it takes to blink, too brief to be worth mentioning.

But for the Xuanhuang Small World, which had endured such a catastrophe, these ten years were enough for the world to recover and all things to be reborn.

The cities that had once been completely razed by the fires of the Yao Race's war were all slowly rebuilt.

Although they could not compare to the extreme prosperity of the ancient era and lacked a bit of that peak grandeur, they at least had people again, and the warmth of human life.

The wastelands outside the cities were reclaimed by the common folk. New seedlings broke through the soil, filling the fields with lush green.

Blocked waterways were dredged one by one, and waterwheels that had been left idle for years began to turn again, the murmuring water nourishing the entire land.

Everything in the world was steadily improving.

Those Cultivators who had hidden away in deep mountains and Secret Realms to save their lives during the chaotic times also emerged one after another.

Some returned to their dilapidated Sects to rebuild their foundations from scratch; some picked up their Family Legacy again to recuperate; others traveled in groups, wandering everywhere to clear out the remnants of the Yao Race left in the world.

The entire world had completely shaken off its former deathly silence and desolation.

Among these, the most intuitive change was in Tianyuan City.

After ten years of recuperation and reconstruction, this imperial capital, reborn from the ashes, had already restored seventy to eighty percent of its former scale.

The damaged city walls had all been rebuilt, thick and sturdy, firmly protecting the citizens within. The brand-new city gates were grand and imposing, replacing the tattered old appearance from back then. The silt in the moat outside the city had been completely cleared away, and the water was crystal clear, presenting the appearance of a peaceful and prosperous age.

The Old Emperor stood alone atop the imperial city wall, quietly overlooking the city at his feet.

There was no obvious emotion on his face, neither joy nor sorrow.

But anyone familiar with him could see that the light in his eyes was much brighter than it had been ten years ago.

Having shed the weariness and desolation of war, he had gained a bit more stability and certainty.

And the plain eight hundred miles west of Tianyuan City had undergone a change that could only be described as a complete transformation.

This was the new mountain gate location for the Shenduan Sect.

Ten years ago, this was just a barren plain, interspersed with a few unremarkable low hills, only enough to serve as an Outer Sect outpost.

But now, it had completely transformed.

The mountain gate was towering and majestic, with continuous halls arranged along the mountain, grand and imposing. The formation patterns constantly circulated in the mountains, with spiritual light lingering everywhere.

Looking from afar, the entire Sect resembled a giant Dragon coiled upon the earth, steady, domineering, and full of pressure.

At the entrance of the mountain gate stood two giant stone pillars, their surfaces carved with dense and complex formation patterns, with spiritual light circulating year-round.

At the top of each stone pillar crouched a lifelike Spirit Beast statue, guarding the mountain gate with solemn majesty.

Passing through the mountain gate, there was a hundred-zhang-wide white jade staircase leading straight to the mountain peak.

Both sides of the stairs were planted with various rare Spirit Medicines, and the Spiritual Qi was so dense that it had condensed into a thin white mist. Walking on the mountain path, every breath of air inhaled was filled with Spiritual Qi, which was of great benefit to Cultivation.

At the end of the long staircase was an incredibly vast bluestone square, more than enough to accommodate ten thousand Disciples.

In the very center of the square stood a massive bronze Pill Furnace sculpture, ancient and heavy; this was the iconic symbol of the Shenduan Sect.

Around the square, various halls were neatly arranged.

The Artifact Refining Hall, Alchemy Hall, Formation Hall, Scripture Pavilion, and Disciple residences were all complete and well-planned.

No one could have imagined that such a grand and complete Sect could be completely built in just ten years.

Ten years ago, the Shenduan Sect was a pathetic sight.

The founding Grandmaster was trapped alone, the Sect was leaderless and nearly destroyed, with only a flicker of life barely hanging on.

But now, under the joint management of Yun Ming and the Old Ancestor, the Shenduan Sect had completely risen.

The Sect now boasted two Soul Transformation Elders, five Nascent Soul Elders, nearly a hundred Golden Core Cultivators, over a thousand Foundation Establishment Disciples, and tens of thousands of Qi Refining Cultivators.

Besides that, countless Mortals lived in dependence on the Sect.

Some were responsible for planting Spirit Medicines and raising spirits, others managed the Sect's miscellaneous affairs; there were so many people that even the founding Grandmaster couldn't be bothered to count them.

Even though the Sect was now grand and imposing, the founding Grandmaster was still full of disdain.

He stood on the mountain peak with his hands behind his back, looking at the rows of halls at his feet, his tone full of contempt.

"In my prime, the Shenduan Sect had eight Soul Transformation, over twenty Nascent Soul, thousands of Golden Core, and over ten thousand Foundation Establishment."

"This little bit of assets now? It's just child's play, not even a fraction of what I had back then."

Yun Ming stood to the side, listening with a mix of amusement and annoyance, and retorted directly.

"You've been gone for ten thousand years; you have no idea how miserable these years have been."

"In the years you were gone, the Shenduan Sect had only one Soul Transformation to hold the fort, and was beaten by the Yao Race into hiding in the mountain gate, not daring to go out at all."

"If I hadn't risked my life to bring the remaining Disciples out and preserve the last bit of Legacy, you wouldn't even have these meager assets now."

The Old Ancestor glared on the spot and retorted unconvinced: "You still have the nerve to say that? When you took people and fled back then, why didn't you come directly to find me?"

Yun Ming said helplessly: "You were trapped in the space fragments of Hancang Dao Province back then, with barriers sealed off; I couldn't get in at all. If I could have gone in, why would I have struggled for so long?"

The Old Ancestor was left speechless by the retort and could only grunt sullenly: "Sophistry."

Yun Ming rolled his eyes, too lazy to continue arguing with this old child.

The old man and the young man stood side by side on the mountain peak like this, looking at the thriving Sect, and were quiet for a moment.

In the eyes of outsiders, the founding Grandmaster was a top-tier powerhouse at the Void Refinement Great Perfection, high and mighty, unfathomably majestic, and the anchor of the entire Sect.

But in front of Yun Ming, he was just an old man with a strange temper, who loved to argue, and was a bit tsundere.

The two of them bickering and quarreling daily had long become the norm for the Shenduan Sect.

At first, the Sect's Disciples and Elders were all so scared they didn't dare to breathe when they saw this scene.

Over time, everyone got used to it, and some bold Disciples even secretly placed bets on who would win each time the master and apprentice quarreled.

Once, a Disciple who lacked judgment saw Yun Ming freely talking back to the Grandmaster and mistakenly thought Yun Ming was good-tempered and undisciplined.

As a result, he was directly exiled to the border of Daliang to clear out the Yao Race year-round, without a chance to return to the Sect for three years, becoming a cautionary tale for the whole Sect.

After a brief silence, the Old Ancestor suddenly put away his playful expression, his tone becoming exceptionally serious.

"One month later, we set off."

Yun Ming was perfectly clear in his heart.

Setting off for the Cangmang Demon World.

Everyone had been preparing for this crusade of revenge and rescue for a full ten years.

The seven Void Refinement Divine Lords each prepared their forces, and major Sects exhausted their resources; Battleships, Magical Artifacts, Medicinal Pills, Formations, provisions, and intelligence—everything was ready, just waiting to set out.

"I know." Yun Ming nodded in response.

The Old Ancestor turned his head to look at him: "Are you all prepared?"

"Almost." Yun Ming pondered slightly and spoke slowly, "There is just one last thing left unfinished."

The Old Ancestor knew him well and never asked what shouldn't be asked, only giving a light instruction.

"Then finish it as soon as possible. One month later, we set off on time."

After speaking, he turned and walked down the mountain, his figure quickly disappearing at the end of the mountain path.

Yun Ming stood alone on the mountain peak, letting the mountain wind blow for a while to calm his mind before turning back to his Immortal Cave.

His Immortal Cave was quiet and elegant, isolating all the noise from the outside world.

Yun Ming walked into the Quiet Room, sat cross-legged on the prayer mat, slowly closed his eyes, and sank his mind completely into his Sea of Consciousness.

With a thought, he brought up the System panel that had been sealed for many years.

The last time he had done a proper large-scale card draw was over twenty years ago in Linan City of Daliang.

After that, he had only drawn sporadically a few times, never getting anything good.

Later, the Yao Race invaded, the world was in chaos, and he was running everywhere, saving people, fleeing, and rebuilding the Sect, so busy he barely had time to stand.

Let alone card drawing, he had pitifully little time to even calm down and Cultivate.

For a full twenty years, he hadn't properly used the System card draw once.

And the System's daily ten-draw guarantee had been silently accumulating.

Over twenty years of accumulation, he had saved up a full seventy to eighty thousand card draw chances.

Just as he brought up the panel, a long-lost System notification sound rang clearly in his Sea of Consciousness.

[Ding! It is a good day for card draws; the probability of obtaining high-tier items has been significantly increased, and the exclusive ten-draw has been automatically issued!]