Two months slipped by in the blink of an eye, and the vast desolate regions occupied by the Great Han Dynasty underwent significant transformations.
The imperial court, based on the terrain, divided the land into seven major prefectures: Fire Prefecture, Blaze Prefecture, Scarlet Prefecture, Ancient Prefecture, Dew Prefecture, Horizontal Prefecture, and Feather Prefecture!
Under the leadership of the Minister of Works, Yuwen Kai, and with strong assistance from each prefecture, hundreds of cities sprang up across the seven prefectures. Academies were established, and armies were stationed firmly in the newly established cities.
In these two months, Yang Hao cultivated the Cosmic Sky Emperor Scripture, continuously nourishing his Golden Body of the Great Emperor. His cultivation realm advanced from the third layer of Creation to the fifth layer of Creation!
Although he still possessed twenty million faith points, it was insufficient for Yang Hao to step directly into the Nirvana realm. Therefore, he had not used them extensively.
The vast monster territory he had claimed, perhaps due to the absence of any human race within its borders, did not yield significant faith point harvests. The extensive land only provided a meager twenty million faith points, not even enough to upgrade a single military camp.
Fortunately, the heroes He Yuanqing and Liang Shitai, after decades of arduous cultivation, finally achieved the Nine Revolutions Nirvana Golden Body, reaching the peak Nirvana realm.
The heroes such as Wu Yong and Zhu Sheng, who were previously stuck at the Heaven Transformation realm, subsequently broke through to the Heaven-Piercing realm. In two months, not only did the heroes make substantial progress, but the soldiers of the major legions all reached the peak Divine Mansion realm.
The tens of millions of soldiers recruited from various regions and stationed in major cities, under the recent support of the court, also showed considerable improvement. Though not as powerful as the major legions, they were sufficient to defend their territories.
The first batch of martial artists who entered the academies had gradually converted their cultivation techniques. With the help of the academies, they were continuously healing the damage caused by their interrupted cultivation methods. The human race, after enduring ten thousand years of slaughter, was already at a disadvantage in terms of cultivation realms compared to the major desolate regions. Their lower cultivation realms meant that the damage sustained was not significant.
With the first batch of students successfully converting their cultivation techniques, the second batch of students was being gradually recruited.
“Human Emperor!”
In the sleeping chambers of the imperial palace in Great Han's Chang'an city, Yang Hao, with his eyes closed, was diligently cultivating when Mao Xiang’s voice, urgent as if conveying important news, echoed from outside.
Yang Hao rose and pushed open the palace doors, only to see Mao Xiang kneeling on one knee, his head bowed and panting.
For several months, the Savage Realm had been peaceful. Even the Blood Devouring Desolate Lord, who had transformed from the Emperor's corpse, had remained dormant since his defeat at Nine Nether Mountain, making no moves.
Apart from the upcoming celebration banquet, what major event in the Savage Realm could warrant Mao Xiang's haste?
“Reporting to the Human Emperor, half a month ago, Venerable Wu Yang suddenly appeared outside Ancient Prefecture City (Ancient Prefecture: formerly the northern part of the Primordial Desolate Region). Suspiciously, Venerable Wu Yang lingered in the jungle outside the city for a considerable time before disappearing.”
“General Ma Yuan, stationed in Ancient Prefecture, feared something was amiss. Three hours after Venerable Wu Yang’s departure, he personally went to the jungle where Venerable Wu Yang had lingered. There, he discovered a strange formation!”
As he spoke, Mao Xiang produced a drawing of peculiar, winding patterns that resembled a skull.
Yang Hao looked at the skull formation and asked in a deep voice, “Are there any similar formations in other territories?”
“Yes!”
“According to recent reports from various locations, Venerable Wu Yang also appeared in Dew Prefecture (formerly the Snake God Hall territory) and Feather Prefecture (formerly the Blood Feather Crane clan). He stayed for a long time in both places, leaving behind identical formations.”
“After leaving the formation in Feather Prefecture, Venerable Wu Yang proceeded east and went to the Blood Spring Desolate Region!”
“Four days ago, he suddenly appeared at Nine Nether Mountain and shattered the four heads of the Nine Nether Desolate Lord with a single finger. However, just as Venerable Wu Yang was about to imprison the Nine Nether Desolate Lord, Ji Hongwen reappeared, and the two of them engaged in a fierce battle at Nine Nether Mountain. After one day, they both vanished without a trace!”
“It seems Venerable Wu Yang will not die anytime soon!”
Yang Hao frowned. With a single finger, he had suppressed the Nine Nether Desolate Lord, a peak Nirvana realm expert, shattering his four heads with no chance of retaliation!
“Human Emperor, the latest invitation from Nine Nether Mountain for the celebration ceremony has been postponed by two months!”
Mao Xiang then presented an invitation, identical to the previous one, still devoid of any oppressive aura.
“Has Yuan Tiangang, of the Imperial Observatory, examined this bizarre skull formation?”
Venerable Wu Yang had not truly died in a million years. It would be strange indeed if he were dead now.
“Reporting to the Human Emperor, I sent this drawing to the Imperial Observatory long ago. It should not be long before His Excellency provides some news.”
Yang Hao nodded. Such an intricate formation, originating from Venerable Wu Yang, was surely not created for idle practice. The three formations that appeared within the Great Han territory, two of which were in the core areas of the Savage Realm, were no mere coincidence.
“Mao Xiang, immediately order the spies lurking in the Blood Spring Desolate Region and the Nine Nether Desolate Region to meticulously investigate all areas and see if there are any strange formations present.”
“Yes!”
“Human Emperor, Yuan Tiangang of the Imperial Observatory requests an audience!”
“Summon him.”
Half a month later, in the sleeping chambers of the Great Han imperial palace in Chang'an city.
“Human Emperor, your humble servant Yuan Tiangang, pays his respects…”
“Enough, rise. Have you made any progress with that formation?”
Yang Hao smiled and gestured with his hand. This strange formation had weighed on his mind for days, and he was eager to understand its purpose.
“Human Emperor, this formation is similar to our human race’s teleportation array!”
“However, this teleportation array is far more advanced and stable than the condensation methods that Great Han currently controls!”
“Teleportation array?”
Yang Hao’s expression changed. What was Venerable Wu Yang's purpose in setting up these teleportation arrays? Having survived for a million years through chance and circumstance, was he perhaps establishing his own influence in the Myriad Beast Realm by creating these arrays?
“Human Emperor, I personally went to Feather Prefecture to investigate. That formation is beyond our current ability to break. Furthermore, I detected demonic energy within it!”
“Demonic energy?”
Yang Hao’s expression shifted slightly, his brow furrowing. According to the intelligence brought back by He Yuanqing and Liang Shitai from the far north, Venerable Wu Yang had indeed fallen into demonic practices, which led to his primordial spirit being weakened by the Fire Cloud Cave and exiled to this place.
“Human Emperor, Mao Xiang, Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, requests an audience outside!”
At this moment, Wei Zhongxian entered softly.
“Summon him.”
“Human Emperor, there are also strange formations in the Blood Spring Desolate Region and the Nine Nether Desolate Region. A total of three have been found so far, with two of them located in the Nine Nether Desolate Region!”
Hearing this, Yang Hao said in a deep voice, “It appears Venerable Wu Yang intends to use these teleportation arrays to annex the entire Savage Realm and thereby contend with the Fire Cloud Cave of the Myriad Beast Realm.”
“Order the Azure Dragon Legion to guard the teleportation array in Ancient Prefecture!”
“Order the Qiongqi Legion to guard the teleportation array in Dew Prefecture!”
“Order the Liantian Si Legion to guard the teleportation array in Feather Prefecture!”
“All other legions are to advance to the borders!”
“Whatever emerges from those teleportation arrays, no matter what it is, shall be executed!”