257: Chapter 256 Please bear with us for a moment

Three years passed in a flash.

For ordinary Cultivators in the mortal world, three years is nothing more than a short period of seclusion, passing quietly in the day-to-day practice of breathing exercises, without causing a single ripple.

But for the Canglan Cultivation World, which is currently undergoing drastic changes and hiding the shifting tides of the heavens, these three years have been turbulent, with undercurrents surging.

In the deep palace of the Imperial Dynasty, clouds and mist hung eternally, and Immortal Qi fell year-round, isolating everything from the noise and chaos of the outside world.

In the core of the inner palace, the vast and pure Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi surged like a river, lingering around the halls year-round, constructing a superb Holy Land for cultivation.

Inside the hall, after sending away a certain strange woman, Yuan Chen sat quietly on a meditation cushion, his figure upright, his temperament refined, in a state of having no desires.

Only Yuan Chen knew how hard he had worked over these three years.

These three years could be considered the hardest period since he started his journey.

His iron rod was almost smoking from use.

For three full years, Yuan Chen kept his patience, advancing step by step, polishing the 'profits' obtained from the Immortal Dao Conference, digesting every bit of the dividends.

His offspring and descendants experienced explosive growth and new births during these three years.

With the passage of three years, the number of Yuan Chen's offspring skyrocketed by over a thousand.

Some of the children with outstanding talent who were conceived and nurtured earlier had already been born smoothly. Upon landing, they carried majestic Dao rhymes and were born with clear Dao bodies. Their Comprehension Ability far exceeded that of ordinary Prodigies. At a young age, they had already embarked on the path of cultivation, carrying an extraordinary aura in their every move, causing the Elders of the Imperial Dynasty to sigh repeatedly, lamenting every day that the future of the Imperial Dynasty was promising and the heavens had hope.

There were still a small portion of offspring in the buffer stage of nurturing, waiting for the ten months to pass so they could break through and be born, blooming with Heaven-Defying talent.

The large-scale growth and birth of offspring also brought Yuan Chen a continuous stream of System feedback.

The birth and growth of each offspring fed back into Yuan Chen's own Dao Foundation, allowing his accumulation to climb steadily at every moment. He looked like he was obsessed with lust, but in reality, he was becoming stronger every moment.

As the three years came to an end, the thousand women also made their own choices.

The path of cultivation is long, and most of the female Cultivators were involuntary. When they stepped into the Imperial City and registered to wait for the summons, it was never entirely out of love for Yuan Chen. It was more about carrying the mission of their Family and the expectations of their tribe.

Once the benefits were in hand, major forces sent people to connect with them one after another.

Regarding all of this, Yuan Chen never asked questions and never forced anyone.

They each took what they needed!

With so many wives, there was no helping it if he ended up planting a pasture in the Imperial Palace in the future.

Most of the newly arrived beauties received messages from their Families one after another and chose to return to their maternal homes.

The few remaining female Cultivators who did not leave immediately were also picked up by the Family Elders who arrived one by one after Ye Lingling finished calculating and distributing the child-rearing expenses corresponding to all the offspring.

In the end, fewer than ten chose to stay voluntarily, having no ties and sincerely accompanying Yuan Chen.

Yuan Chen was never a stingy or heartless person.

Over these three years, his offspring grew in large numbers, bringing countless System rewards, and he had accumulated a massive amount of cultivation resources and Heavenly Dao treasures. He specifically instructed Ye Lingling to take half of all the rewards obtained from the offspring and distribute them one by one to the birth mothers of each child.

In Yuan Chen's view, these children were all his own Bloodline, and they were also nurtured by the women for ten months and guarded with care. Whether they were involuntary or had different initial intentions, they ultimately gave birth to offspring for him and inherited his Bloodline, so they deserved corresponding rewards.

What's more, all resources were used to cultivate the offspring and nourish their bodies. It looked like he was giving away benefits, but in reality, he was strengthening his roots and nourishing his own Bloodline Foundation. Ultimately, he would not lose anything.

While the deep palace was silent and the years were peaceful, the entire Canglan Cultivation World had never truly been calm for a single moment in these three years. The heat had been enduring, and the liveliness far exceeded any previous era.

Since the fall of the Daming Dynasty, Yuan Chen's unification of the Eastern Wasteland, the conclusion of the peerless Immortal Dao Conference, the descent of True Immortals, the falling of foreign beings from outside the sky, and a series of shocking events, the public opinion in the entire Cultivation World had never stopped.

From the Eastern Wasteland to the five regions of the Cultivation World, wherever there were Cultivators gathered, the core of the conversation could never avoid Yuan Chen.

In market tea houses, Sect meeting halls, Cultivator markets, and Secret Realm entrances, one could see groups of Cultivators discussing hotly, with voices rising and falling in an endless stream.

Some often reviewed the battle that destroyed the Daming Dynasty, sighing at how the top power that had dominated the Eastern Wasteland for eons had collapsed and vanished overnight, the former Imperial Family had surrendered, and the Foundation of eons had been handed over to others, sighing at the impermanence of the world and the replacement of the strong.

The younger generation of Cultivators discussed the grand occasion of the Immortal Dao Conference every day, envying the supreme Opportunity of those Prodigies on the list, marveling at the broad-mindedness and bearing of the Palace Master, longing for the cultivation atmosphere of the Imperial City, and even taking the stunning Prodigy duels and the figures of the peerless female Cultivators at the conference as topics of conversation after tea and dinner, passing them down from generation to generation.

And what truly made the entire Cultivation World continue to boil and endure was the descent of True Immortals and the foreign Cultivators.

With the outside world noisy and turbulent, inside the deep palace, Yuan Chen, who had been in seclusion for three years, finally opened his eyes slowly.

Hum—

With a barely perceptible roar of Dao sound, the seclusion hall, which had been silent for three years, suddenly saw a surge in Spiritual Qi, and Immortal light shot into the sky. Endless Dao rhymes surrounded his body, sweeping across the entire sky above the Imperial City.

Yuan Chen slowly stretched his body and rose lazily. His white clothes moved slightly with the wind. The aura around his body was restrained to the extreme, looking plain and unremarkable, without any pressure, but deep in his eyes, there was a profundity and weight far exceeding before.

Three years of 'bitter' cultivation... It was truly bitter!

His overall strength had already completed layers of transformation and been reborn, more than several times stronger than three years ago.

It was just that without a reference point of the same level, even if his own perception was profound and majestic, he could not accurately judge his true combat level now, and he was not clear about what level he was at in the Immortal Realm System.

"Now I could probably crush Golden Immortal Ao Li with one finger, right?" Yuan Chen whispered to himself, a trace of faint thought flashing in his eyes.

He raised his hand and waved, dispersing the remaining Spiritual Qi around him, and then said lightly, instructing the guards waiting outside the palace: "Pass on my order, summon Dongfang Mu to the palace to see me immediately."

The order was passed down layer by layer, and it didn't take long for it to reach Dongfang Mu's communication device.

At that time, Dongfang Mu had never stopped for three years. He had always followed Yuan Chen's orders, traveling everywhere, collecting intelligence, and running outside year-round.

The moment he received the summons from the Palace Master, he dared not delay for a moment. He immediately put down the ancient book in his hand, his figure flashed, and he stepped into the air, traveling thousands of miles in an instant, rushing to the deep palace of the Imperial City.

Before long, Dongfang Mu bowed and stepped into the seclusion hall, his expression respectful, his steps steady, and he bowed: "Old man Dongfang Mu, greets the Dragon Emperor!"

Yuan Chen raised his hand casually, his tone lazy and indifferent: "No need for formalities, get up. I asked you to investigate the secrets of the heavens everywhere, did you find any substantial clues?"

Dongfang Mu stood up straight, his expression instantly became serious and solemn, and he slowly spoke, reporting all the investigation results of the past three years clearly.

"Replying to the Dragon Emperor, in these three years, this old man dared not be the slightest bit slack. I have traversed all the ancient ruins, hidden Sects, and ancient history libraries in the Eastern Wasteland, visited dozens of ancient Sects with eons of Legacy, and read through countless incomplete ancient books and sealed secret scrolls. Finally, I have sorted out a complete clue thread."

"Combined with the conclusions previously deduced by the Palace Master, Venerable Ling Yue's extraterrestrial information, Golden Immortal Ao Li's observations from the Upper Realm, and the sporadic records in ancient Incomplete Manuals, this old man has completely verified one thing: all the phenomena of foreign beings falling into our Canglan World, space dislocation, and boundary wall disorder, all occurred after the Immortals from the Upper Realm descended to the Lower Realm!"

Dongfang Mu paused slightly, organized his thoughts, and continued to elaborate in detail.

"According to statistics, there are records of Immortals from the Upper Realm descending to the Lower Realm more than 700 times, and the arrival of people from outside the sky has occurred eleven times as far as I have found."

"And before each appearance of people from outside the sky, either multiple Immortals descended to the Lower Realm together, or the Immortals descended to the Lower Realm very close to each other in time."

"I estimate that every time the Upper Realm crosses the boundary and forcibly tears the boundary wall, it will permanently damage the plane barrier, causing the originally stable and closed Lower Realm heavens to have subtle cracks and space dislocation. One tearing of space should be the limit that the Heavenly Dao can bear. And because the Heavenly Dao had not repaired the cracks after the first tearing, when the second descent began, it was equivalent to tearing the wound larger, which in turn led to the connection of adjacent Cultivation Worlds and the falling of foreign creatures."

Yuan Chen listened quietly, a faint light flickering in his eyes, and nodded slowly.

"This old man deduced with the Elders of major Sects for several days. It is almost certain that your guess, Dragon Emperor, may be correct. The more the Upper Realm breaks the boundary, the weaker the boundary wall will be, the more frequent the foreign anomalies will be, and the more foreign Cultivators will fall. Until the two sides are completely connected and the planes are aligned."

Yuan Chen was silent for a moment, thoughts flowing in his eyes.

The clues were clear enough. He would call Zhao Miao down and ask him.

By the way, he would observe whether there were any changes in various parts of the Cultivation World after the other party descended many times.

Three years was not considered long in the Cultivation World at all. The scars on the boundary wall from the last time should not have fully recovered.

After all, there were cases in history where people from outside the sky appeared more than ten years after the Immortals left.

Now it was just that his own ability was not enough, and he couldn't find the place where the other party was injured.

With his mind made up, Yuan Chen raised his eyes: "After three years of precipitation, the resources and wealth accumulated by the Imperial Dynasty have already piled up like a mountain, so let's start summoning."

"Pass on my order, let Elder Hei Yan use the Imperial Dynasty's reserve resources to open the cross-boundary summoning Formation and summon Zhao Miao to the Lower Realm again."

"Yes!" Dongfang Mu took the order solemnly and immediately turned to prepare for the message.

"Wait."

Yuan Chen raised his hand to stop him, his eyes looking towards the direction of the deep palace prison outside the palace, and said lightly: "You come with me to the dungeon to see that foreign Cultivator from the Xuanzhou World, Venerable Ling Yue."

Dongfang Mu bowed quickly: "Okay!"

"This is a reward for you!" Yuan Chen threw a book casually: "Immortal Rank Cultivation Technique, I know you love reading, so I'll give it to you."

It was also a reward from the System.

"What?"

Dongfang Mu widened his eyes and froze in place.

The corners of Yuan Chen's mouth curled up, looking at his unpromising appearance: "Don't be surprised, although it's precious, it's nothing here. Just take it."

Dongfang Mu hesitated for a long time and said cautiously: "That, no... Dragon Emperor, I know it's precious, but I can't use it. This Immortal Rank Cultivation Technique requires Immortal Qi, which we don't have in our Cultivation World. In the past, Immortals descended to the Lower Realm and passed down a few, but they were useless!"

Yuan Chen's smile stiffened. It also needed Immortal Qi?

"Then how can I use it?"

"That's right, Dragon Emperor, how can you use it?" Dongfang Mu was also stunned.

After two seconds of silence, Yuan Chen waved his hand: "Not important. I'll change it for you. Take it."

"Immortal-grade Life-Saving Pill, the user can be resurrected directly within half an incense stick of time after death."

"Thank you, Dragon Emperor." Dongfang Mu's palm flashed with an afterimage.

Looking at the empty palm, Yuan Chen curled his lips. I have a hundred bottles of pills like this.

Meanwhile, in the territory of the Immortal Realm.

Zhao Miao, who was guarding the entrance of the teleportation array, felt his body shake suddenly, and a familiar summoning force came from the Formation.

He opened his eyes suddenly, and a trace of surprise flashed in his eyes: "It came so fast? I thought I would have to wait a few decades."

Hum—

As soon as the voice fell, four vast, ancient, and majestic Immortal powers instantly enveloped the entire quiet room. The space vibrated slightly, and four figures appeared out of thin air. They were the core high-level Old Ancestors of the Wanxiang Sect.

Sect Master Zhao Xuanyuan, who was at the head, had deep eyes. He looked at Zhao Miao and spoke slowly, his tone steady and heavy: "You came?"

Zhao Miao stood up and bowed, answering respectfully: "Replying to the Sect Master and all Old Ancestors, that is correct. Yuan Chen has once again used the Luck of the mortal world and the resources of the Imperial Dynasty to summon me to the Lower Realm across the boundary."

Their Wanxiang Sect had an anchor point in the Lower Realm, saving the time of checking which Cultivation World it was.

A white-haired Old Ancestor nodded slightly: "Three years, just a flash, and that young man has taken the initiative to summon again. It seems that his Family background is really not small, otherwise, he would not rashly consume massive resources to open the cross-boundary summoning."

Sect Master Zhao Xuanyuan's eyes were deep, and he spoke slowly:

"Zhao Miao, you descend to the Lower Realm again this time, continue to stabilize the relationship with Yuan Chen, and express our attitude."

"Secondly, try to find out his current true trump cards and Foundation, but don't offend him."

Zhao Miao nodded, because he knew Yuan Chen, and combined with his recognized 'good' personality, all the tasks of shuttling between the two worlds in the future were handed over to him.

An Old Ancestor added in time: "Don't worry about your strength, the Clan will compensate you."

"In addition, keep a close eye on the movements of the Dragon Clan."

Zhao Miao bowed solemnly and took the order, his expression cold and steady: "This subordinate will keep the instructions of the Old Ancestors and the Sect Master in mind. This time, I will act safely, find out all the intelligence, and will never live up to the expectations of the Sect."

Sect Master Zhao Xuanyuan nodded slightly, took out a storage ring, and said slowly: "This is the resource pooled by the Sect. Take it all down to the Lower Realm and give it to Yuan Chen. It is enough for him to summon us to the Lower Realm dozens of times."

Although it looked like a lot, shuttling between the two worlds was not that simple. The loss in the middle was too great. The storage ring was also a space equipment, and it would be squeezed and broken if not careful. In the end, it might only leave one percent.

This was also the reason why the Upper Realm was unwilling to send resources to the Lower Realm; it was too much of a loss!

However, Sect Master Zhao Xuanyuan had to give this intention.

Since they had decided to cooperate, they would spare no effort to gain Yuan Chen's favor.

It should have been the benefit of the Dragon Clan, but now that they happened to run into it by chance, they must not miss it.

"Ah, this..."

The surrounding Old Ancestors looked at each other, looking at the storage ring reluctantly.

Sect Master Zhao Xuanyuan turned to look at the few people: "Next, I will have to wrong everyone slightly."