178: Chapter 178 A Decree Issued to the Immortal Realm: Prepare for War!

The mark from the Boundary Sea was an invisible poison thorn, deeply embedded in Li Xuan's heart.

This piece of land had just begun to have some peaceful days.

That was not a provocation; it was a death notice.

The opponent's Rank was very high, and their methods were very strange; it was no longer something a "Grand Unity Golden Immortal" could explain.

After watching his own group of lively "God Generation Two" legions, the last bit of unease in Li Xuan's heart transformed entirely into cold Killing Intent.

He returned to the Lingxiao Treasure Hall.

This palace, which he had built with his own hands, represented the face of the Heavenly Court. Now, in his eyes, it was not just a place for meetings, but the command center of a massive war fortress.

Ao Qingxue felt that the Qi on her husband was not right; it was heavy and stifling, similar to the oppression before a storm arrived.

She tactfully did not ask more, just quietly brewed him a pot of Enlightenment Tea from the Pantao Immortal Realm.

Li Xuan picked up the teacup but did not drink.

He looked at the tea mist in the cup, his gaze drifting.

In the mist, he seemed to see that little imperial palace in the Lower Realm, seeing those little faces.

Those were all his hope.

His journey had been about signing in, taking concubines, having children, and then becoming stronger.

Every step was to ensure that this kind of peaceful life could continue.

Now, someone wanted to snatch away everything he had in his hands.

Then, they needed to be prepared to have everything overturned, with interest.

"Ao Qingxue."

Li Xuan's voice rang out.

"This concubine is here."

"Transmit my Heavenly Emperor decree."

Li Xuan stood up, his gaze sweeping across every corner of the Heavenly Court.

"From today on, everyone in the Heavenly Court will enter the highest state of war readiness."

"All Disciples of the Heavenly Court Academy are to practice, Cultivate, perform Alchemy, and set up arrays. All rest is cancelled, and resources can be used freely. There will be a small test every ten days, a major competition every month. The last place will have their resources cancelled."

"Everyone who follows us, the Yuhua Immortal Dynasty and the Dragon Clan, gather all the soldiers capable of fighting outside the Southern Heaven Gate and wait for my command. Anyone at the Golden Immortal Realm or above must be present."

"Order Li Yuanbao of the Finance Department to support the war at all costs. Open the treasury; Immortal Stones, divine Materials, and Spirit Medicine—everything—convert it all into combat power that can be used immediately. At the fastest speed, build me a batch of 'War Immortal Ships' and 'Array-Breaking Immortal Crossbows'."

"Order Li Daoyan and Li Qingyue of the Array Department to study how to upgrade the Zhou Tian Star Array together. I want to see a peerless killing array capable of withstanding attacks from an Immortal King in the shortest possible time."

Beams of golden light flew out from the Lingxiao Treasure Hall, spreading across the entire Heavenly Court in the blink of an eye, and even further to the ancestral land of the Yuhua Immortal Dynasty and the depths of the East Sea Dragon Palace.

This was not a drill.

Every word carried an irrefutable majesty, as well as the murderous Aura of clashing weapons.

The entire eastern part of the Immortal Realm, this land that had just achieved peace under the deterrence of the Heavenly Court, was surrounded by a tense atmosphere.

In the air, it seemed as if the smell of rust and lightning was drifting.

… Heavenly Court, Finance Department.

Li Yuanbao received the "at all costs" order, and his chubby little face twitched.

The purple-gold abacus in front of him hummed, as if it were also feeling the heartache.

"At… at all costs?"

The little guy counted with his fleshy fingers, muttering:

"Dad wants to fight again… Fighting costs money. Even the lowest-tier 'Dragon-Pattern Immortal Ship' costs 300 million High Grade Immortal Stones. One arrow for the 'God-Slaying Crossbow' requires a piece of 'Sun Immortal Gold' the size of a fist… This… This spendthrift dad!"

The several Taiyi Golden Immortal managers nearby didn't dare to breathe, cold sweat breaking out on their foreheads.

In the whole world, probably only this little God of Wealth could dare to speak about His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor like this.

However, Li Yuanbao only felt the heartache for less than three seconds.

Immediately, a sharp light burst forth from his small eyes.

He jumped off his throne and waved his small hand.

"Transmit this Bank Manager's order!"

"Everyone in the Finance Department, calculate how much money we have left immediately! Count the family assets clearly!"

"Open the treasuries from A-1 to C-7. Give priority to using all Materials related to the war!"

"Notify the Artifact Refining Division: within three days, get me the blueprints and material lists for one hundred 'Dragon-Pattern Immortal Ships'! If you can't do it, have your director come see me with his head!"

"Also, go tell that old emperor of the Yuhua Immortal Dynasty not to hide it anymore! Have him send over those three thousand tons of 'Starry Sky Secret Silver' in his national treasury. Count it as an interest-free loan from our Heavenly Court Bank! Pay it back three times over after the war, or…"

"Pay it back with their enemies!"

Although the little guy's voice was childish, the Aura of mobilizing the wealth of the world made every expert present admire him.

"War is the most expensive thing, but it is also the most profitable thing!"

"As long as we win, the enemy's stuff will all be ours!"

On Li Yuanbao's little face, there was a kind of almost pathological excitement.

For someone with the God of Wealth Destiny, war was a gamble on everything, but it was also a…

Super big business that could win the whole world!

The training ground outside the Southern Heaven Gate turned into a huge war furnace.

The million elites of the Yuhua Immortal Dynasty and tens of thousands of Dragon Clan experts, under the unified command of Li Changsheng, began a desperate grinding.

This was not the kind of sparring that stopped at a touch like before.

Every battle was with real knives and guns. Although experts were watching and no one died, it was common to break arms and legs, or have bodies blown apart.

Li Changsheng stood on the command platform holding a branch of the Pantao tree.

On his face, the previous youthful maturity was gone, and his usual laziness was gone too.

In those clean eyes, there would occasionally flash a chilling Killing Intent, identical to the [lu xian sword], that even Li Xuan would be surprised to see.

"Formation! Disperse!"

"That stupid Dragon on the left!"

"Who told you to charge out?"

"Want to be a hero?"

"You still have three thousand brothers behind you. If you die, what will happen to them!"

"Yuhua Army on the right!"

"Didn't you eat?"

"Your Immortal Yuan shield is as thin as paper! Bring out the 'Yuhua Immortal Flight Array'—your dynasty's signature skill! Now is not the time to hide things!"

Every one of his roars shook the mind of every soldier.

In just a few days, this "Heavenly Court Allied Army," put together by two major forces, was forcibly ground into a rudimentary war machine by him with blood and sweat.

… The entire "Little Heavenly Court" had completely turned into a high-speed war machine.

In the Alchemy Department, countless Alchemists were frantically refining Medicinal Pills for healing and replenishing Immortal Yuan. Freshly ripened Pantao peaches were sent in basket by basket, turning into Immortal Pills carrying life energy, which were then distributed to the army.

In the Artifact Division, the Immortal fire burned day and night. Countless Immortal gold and divine iron were thrown into the furnace. With Li Yuanbao spending money at all costs, war Immortal ships with ferocious shapes and flashing cold light began to take shape.

The Talisman Department, where the Great Masters of the Yuhua Immortal Dynasty were the main force, was working day and night to produce various attack, defense, and auxiliary Immortal talismans, piling them up as high as mountains.

The Heavenly Court Academy had broken all rules; as long as you had talent and were willing to work hard, you could get countless Cultivation resources.

Countless Loose Cultivators who had been stuck at a Bottleneck for several years, stimulated by this crazy atmosphere of Cultivation and large amounts of resources, made a Breakthrough one after another. The middle-tier power of the entire Heavenly Court was surging at an alarming speed.

This thunderous mobilization capability scared the forces in the Immortal Realm who were watching from the shadows.

They finally realized.

How terrifying the newborn Heavenly Court, which they used to laugh at as a "infrastructure fanatic," could be when it truly bared its fangs.

It was like an awakened ancient Vicious Beast, wanting to grind all covetous people into dust!

Li Xuan stood at the highest point of the Lingxiao Treasure Hall, watching all of this.

It was not enough.

Far from enough.

Facing whatever ghost thing came from the Boundary Sea, these preparations might not even withstand a probe from them.

His gaze looked toward the center of the Zhou Tian Star Array.

There, Li Daoyan and Li Qingyue were working together to remodel this mountain-protecting array.

Li Xuan took a step, his figure merging into the Void Realm and disappearing.

Waiting to be beaten had never been his style.

He wanted to turn this array that guarded the Heavenly Court into a…

Killing array that could take the initiative to attack and slaughter all invading enemies!

The appearance of that mark was the signal for war.

Since the horn had already sounded, as the Heavenly Emperor, what he needed to do was not wait for the enemy to come to his door.

But to ring the… for the incoming enemy in advance.

Death knell!