Minghan Empire's capital, Da Ke, had once been occupied by cultivators from beyond the region. Fortunately, these cultivators had intended to settle and take root here, so the damage to Da Ke was not extensive. After several months of restoration, most of Da Ke had regained some of its original appearance as an imperial capital.

Emperor Bei Yingshang of the Minghan Empire held the first court assembly after the extraterritorial war once the palace had been repaired.

Looking at the sparse gathering of princes and ministers in the hall, Bei Yingshang's expression was somewhat displeased. The sudden arrival of the extraterritorial cultivators in Da Ke had caused the greatest losses to the Minghan Empire. The nation-protecting sect, the Quasi-Celestial-ranked Aoyuan Sect, was directly annihilated, and the several True Lake Realm experts and one Void God Realm national guardian mage did not survive either.

"This invasion by the extraterritorial cultivators has caused the greatest losses to our Minghan Empire. Although Da Ke has basically restored order, it is still far from recovering. You are all pillars of our Minghan Empire, so do you have any good suggestions?" Bei Yingshang's tone was somewhat somber.

He wasn't so much saddened by the destruction of the nation-protecting Aoyuan Sect; with the resources produced by the Minghan Empire, there would be plenty of Quasi-Celestial-ranked sects willing to provide protection. His concern was that the neighboring Tianshang Empire and Qianyang Empire might attack them before the Minghan Empire could establish a firm footing.

"Your Majesty, this extraterritorial cultivator invasion has hit our Minghan Empire the hardest. It will take at least a year or two to recover. To maintain the Minghan Empire's status, I believe the first thing to do is to find a Quasi-Celestial-ranked sect to serve as our nation-protecting sect, and the second is to spend a large amount of money to strengthen the Minghan Empire's military strength." A thin old man stepped forward and bowed.

Bei Yingshang nodded. "Marquis Bi is right, but the Minghan Empire's treasury is depleted after this event, and we don't have that much money."

The thin old man, whom Bei Yingshang called Marquis Bi, calmly said, "The Fourteenth Prince and Twenty-sixth Prince have been managing their affairs very well, and I hear they both possess vast amounts of gold coins, calculated in the billions. Now is a critical time for the survival of the Minghan Empire, and the two princes should prioritize national affairs. Of course, in addition to that, some of the unaffected fiefdoms should also support the empire's reconstruction."

No one echoed the sentiment; this involved a dispute between the princes, and it was best not to intervene if possible.

Bei Yingshang had naturally known for a long time that his two sons were making a fortune in the Tianji Sect, but he had simply turned a blind eye. Now, hearing that their gold coins were calculated in the tens of billions, he was immediately stunned. With so much money, not contributing to their old man was truly outrageous.

"Someone, summon the Fourteenth Prince and Twenty-sixth Prince," Bei Yingshang said without hesitation, intending to call the two princes and inquire about it.

Another minister stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, these two princes returned to Da Ke two months ago for a short time and then left again. It is said that the two princes recruited a large number of builders in Da Ke."

In the Minghan Empire, princes were free to leave the capital at will, without any restrictions.

Bei Yingshang snorted coldly. "Immediately bring them back. The Tianji Sect has been destroyed, and we can't let them continue to mess around there."

In Bei Yingshang's view, recruiting a large number of builders naturally meant occupying all of the Tianji Sect's territory and rebuilding. No matter what, this was unacceptable. The Tianji Sect was still a sect, and even if it was destroyed, his empire couldn't casually intervene.

A middle-aged man stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I was just about to report on the matter of the Tianji Sect."

Bei Yingshang's expression softened when he saw who was speaking. "General Fei Zhen, speak plainly."

Fei Zhen replied with an affirmative and then said gravely, "I believe not only should the two princes not be allowed to go to the Tianji Sect again, but they should also be confined. Our Minghan Empire also cannot state that we want to take over the Tianji Sect's territory."

"Why is that?" Bei Yingshang frowned.

The Tianji Sect was only a Profound-ranked sect, and now it had been destroyed by the Yulin Lei Clan. What was there to be cautious about?

Fei Zhen said in a low voice, "I have received news that the Yulin Lei Clan was annihilated not long ago, leaving no one alive. And the rumor is that it was the Tianji Sect that destroyed the Yulin Lei Clan."

"What?" Bei Yingshang suddenly stood up. Although he wasn't a member of a sect, he was still a cultivator. He naturally knew how powerful the Yulin Lei Clan was; it was a sect that was infinitely close to the Quasi-Celestial rank. It was destroyed by the Tianji Sect?

Even at its peak, the Tianji Sect could not have destroyed the Yulin Lei Clan, unless the Tianji Sect had a hidden expert who had just emerged and learned of the Lei Clan's destruction of the Tianji Sect and then retaliated.

He immediately understood the terrifying implications of this. If the Tianji Sect really had such a powerful person, then they might come to settle accounts with his Minghan Empire next.

The Minghan Empire's two princes had forcibly occupied an auxiliary peak in the Tianji Sect. Would the Tianji Sect not hold this against them? What's more, these two audacious fellows were now going to build Tianji Peak. Once this expert found out, the Minghan Empire would be finished.

"Is there any error in this rumor?" Bei Yingshang couldn't care about anything else. If the Tianji Sect really had such a powerful expert, and the Minghan Empire was now weakened, then it would truly be dangerous.

Fei Zhen nodded. "It is definitely true. On the day of the Yulin Lei Clan's incense offering, the Tianji Sect's expert used a top-grade disposable magic treasure to destroy the Yulin Lei Clan's ancestral hall. Not a single one of the Lei Clan's disciples survived; they were all killed. After that expert left, the Tianji Sect's dozen or so low-level disciples slaughtered the entire Yulin Lei Clan, leaving no descendants. Except for Lei Hongji, who went to the True Mortal Continent, the Yulin Lei Clan is already dead in all but name."

"Doesn't that Lei Hongji know about this?" Bei Yingshang's expression became unsightly.

Fei Zhen continued, "Lei Hongji knows, but he didn't stay. Instead, he chose to leave the Lost Continent with the experts from the True Mortal Continent. Perhaps many years later, he will return to destroy the Tianji Sect for revenge, but at least not now."

Bei Yingshang no longer had the mind to discuss state affairs. He said sharply, "Immediately send someone to bring those two fools back."

...

"Sect Leader Brother, this Heaven's Mouth Town is built so beautifully?" Standing on the flying ship, Sang Yiping looked at Heaven's Mouth Town, whose outline was beginning to take shape below, and exclaimed in admiration. Heaven's Mouth Town had only revealed a rough outline, but it was already extremely magnificent and beautiful.

Mo Wuji was also very satisfied. Although Heaven's Mouth Town was far from finished, the layout was already apparent.

"Sect Leader Brother!" As soon as Mo Wuji's flying ship landed, Pu Qian and Zhuang Yan greeted him.

"Oh, you two have both broken through to the Core Formation Realm?" Pu Qian said in surprise as soon as he saw Sang Yiping and Nie Zhengnong.

Mo Wuji's cultivation was higher, and his spiritual aura was fainter, so he couldn't tell.

Sang Yiping smiled and said, "We all owe it to Sect Leader Brother that we have been able to progress so quickly."

Pu Qian didn't think much of it. He had been able to advance to the Core Formation Realm so quickly for the same reason: because of Sect Leader Brother.

"Sect Leader Brother, Bei Sen and Bei Fangjian have come and have been waiting here all along," Zhuang Yan said from the side.

Pu Qian and Sang Yiping exchanged glances, both inwardly admiring Mo Wuji. Sect Leader Brother had said that there would be no problems letting these two people go back, and now that was indeed the case.

"What did they bring?" Mo Wuji asked. He had expected these two to return. What he cared about was how many construction workers these two had brought. The construction of the Tianji Sect was far more complex than that of Heaven's Mouth Town.

"They brought more than ten thousand craftsmen, all of whom are proficient in construction. In addition, there are more than ten billion gold notes and some gold bricks," Zhuang Yan replied.

Mo Wuji was very satisfied. "Bring those two here, and also bring the person in charge of reconstructing Heaven's Mouth Town. There are some things I need to explain."

Before long, Zhuang Yan brought Bei Sen and Bei Fangjian, whom Mo Wuji had tamed into obedient grandsons, over.

The two had long recognized Mo Wuji's power, and they quickly bowed and greeted him, "Greetings, Sect Master."

When Mo Wuji saw that the test subjects beside these two had disappeared, he knew that these two had gone back and experimented several times, resulting in the deaths of four family servants who had taken the same medicine.

Mo Wuji ignored these two and said to Fang Changxu, who was also respectful, "You are in charge of Heaven's Mouth Town, right? You've built it very well. Now I want to ask you to be responsible for rebuilding the Tianji Sect according to my requirements. Do you have the courage to do it? Of course, your reward will be ten times the reward for building Heaven's Mouth Town."

Fang Changxu had already received a lot of benefits from reconstructing Heaven's Mouth Town. Now, the Immortal Master of the Tianji Sect was asking him to rebuild the Tianji Sect, and the reward was ten times greater. How could he refuse? "Immortal Master, I am willing, but I can't find so many construction masters. I'm afraid that the Immortal Sect that is built won't meet the Immortal Master's requirements."

Mo Wuji pointed to Bei Sen and Bei Fangjian and said, "You just need to do as I say. In the future, if you need any talent, just tell these two, and these two will be responsible for purchasing any materials you need."

After saying that, Mo Wuji took out two pills and handed them to Bei Sen and Bei Fangjian. "These two pills will temporarily suppress the medicinal effects in your bodies for a year. If you perform well in a year, I will help you detoxify."

"Sect Master Mo..." Hearing that Mo Wuji didn't directly detoxify them, but only gave them a year of suppression and would observe their performance, the two were immediately anxious.

"What, you don't want them?" Mo Wuji's tone turned cold.

The two thought of the killings that this Sect Master Mo had committed on Heaven's Peak and Heaven's Constant Peak, and they immediately shrank their necks and didn't dare to say another word. They knew that this new Tianji Sect Master was not easy to talk to and would not hesitate to kill them.

"Zhengnong, you and Yiping will be responsible for the construction of the Tianji Sect. I will be in seclusion on the Tianji Sect's main peak. If anything happens, call me immediately," Mo Wuji instructed.

"Yes, Sect Leader Brother, please rest assured. We will definitely rebuild the Tianji Sect on time according to Sect Leader Brother's requirements," Nie Zhengnong and Sang Yiping said, suppressing their inner excitement.

From the scale of Heaven's Mouth Town and the drawings that Sect Leader Brother had taken out, they knew that after the Tianji Sect was rebuilt, it would be more than ten times more magnificent than the previous Tianji Sect.

After explaining everything, Mo Wuji chose to go into seclusion. He had to study the formations of the Storing Star, prepare to set up a sect-protecting array, and improve his cultivation. The Minghan Empire's strength had been greatly weakened, but he didn't know it, just as the Minghan Empire didn't know the current strength of the Tianji Sect.

(The third update is here for monthly ticket support. That's all for today's update, friends, good night!)
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