Days turned into weeks, and in less than half a month, Qin Shilei discovered that the spiritual energy within his blessed land had become a hundred times that of Blue Star.
Only then did the blessed land's absorption speed of external spiritual energy begin to slow down.
Currently, Qin Shilei's cultivation speed within the blessed land was nearly thirty to forty times faster than before his promotion, and this was achieved simply by lying down.
Even though the experience required for him to level up was now immense, at his current pace, it was likely that in another half month, he would be able to advance to Platinum Two Stars again.
One morning, as Qin Shilei emerged from the blessed land with An Qian and the other two women, Tan Anguo was already waiting for them at the Qin'an Royal Mansion.
"King Qin'an, the Demonic Sect has completely taken over the Amaterasu Country. Outsiders are now attributing these actions to us, and the international community is condemning us. Should we offer a rebuttal?"
Qin Shilei opened the chat channel and indeed found it filled with various attacks and condemnations directed at him.
"Baka, the detestable King Qin'an has stolen all our teachers, he's cutting off everyone's spiritual sustenance. Everyone, condemn him quickly!"
"Great Amaterasu God, your subjects implore you to descend and smite this damned King Qin'an!"
"Indus, the people of Amaterasu have completely succumbed to King Qin'an's tyrannical might. One wonders which unfortunate country will fall next?"
"King Qin'an, you warmonger, you invader, I curse you to a miserable death!"
"Our country is only tens of thousands of kilometers away from Great Xia, and now we can only cower in a corner."
Information spreading from the Amaterasu Country indicated that the Demonic Sect had forcefully conquered the entire nation with their overwhelming martial prowess.
All valuable items were plundered, crystal cores were snatched whenever possible, and women were all taken away.
Whenever the Demonic Sect was in a bad mood, or simply disliked someone, they would unleash a massacre.
The people of Amaterasu were living a life akin to slavery.
When compared to the tragic plight of Amaterasu, the survivors of Indus felt a fleeting sense of their own fortune.
Qin Shilei asked, "Does the Demonic Sect also acknowledge that they are our people?"
Tan Anguo shook his head, "No, they haven't. They have also issued statements denying any connection to us, but few people believe them. Later, the Demonic Sect stopped their explanations and simply let us take the blame."
Qin Shilei pondered for a moment, then directly released a video statement declaring that the Demonic Sect had no relation to the Qin'an Royal Mansion, and then paid it no further mind.
As soon as he closed the chat channel, the Thousand-Mile Sound Transmission Talisman on his waist vibrated.
Upon activation, Huangfu Feng's voice came through.
"King Qin'an, we have discovered a secret realm. Would you be interested in exploring it together?"
Qin Shilei paused for a moment and replied, "Sect Leader Huangfu, I sincerely apologize, but I have some matters to attend to recently and unfortunately have no time to accompany you in exploring the secret realm. I am truly sorry."
Huangfu Feng chuckled, "It's alright, perhaps we can cooperate another time if the opportunity arises."
Qin Shilei was somewhat interested in the so-called secret realm, but it was clear that the other party wanted his help without explicitly stating it, so he couldn't be blamed for refusing.
Far away in the Amaterasu Country, Huangfu Feng's expression turned grim after ending the Thousand-Mile Sound Transmission.
"Secret realms usually represent some kind of opportunity. I didn't expect him to refuse." His grand-uncle, Shi Yongzhen, said with a frown.
Huangfu Feng's face turned cold, and he said fiercely, "Grand-uncle, why don't we gather all our forces and charge into the secret realm to directly fight and kill that monstrous snake?"
Shi Yongzhen pondered for a moment, "The secret realm is, after all, that beast's domain. Rushing in again might result in too great a loss. Why don't we find a way to lure that monstrous snake out, and then draw it into our country? I don't believe King Qin'an won't intervene then?"
Huangfu Feng's eyes lit up, and he agreed, "Grand-uncle, this plan is excellent. We won't have to deal with the monstrous snake ourselves, and we can easily obtain the Seven-Leaf Marrow Cleansing Fruit within the secret realm."
The two then scoured through various ancient texts and finally found a method to lure out the monstrous snake.
Soon, several Snake-Inducing Pills were refined.
Shi Yongzhen, holding the Snake-Inducing Pills, approached a waterfall and jumped through the spatial exit beside it.
Huangfu Feng, leading dozens of his subordinates, hid behind a large rock, intently watching the entrance and exit of the spatial secret realm.
Time ticked by.
Half an hour later, Shi Yongzhen's slightly disheveled figure suddenly emerged from the spatial secret realm.
Immediately following him, a massive figure also chased out of the spatial secret realm.
It was a giant snake with eight heads.
Each head was over a meter wide, and the snake was one to two hundred meters long.
As soon as the giant snake appeared, it roared and lunged at Shi Yongzhen.
Shi Yongzhen might have sustained some injuries, but he paid no mind to them. He aimed towards Hope City and transformed into a green rainbow, flying away at high speed.
"Roar!"
The giant snake hesitated for a moment, then stepped into a giant rock and shot a white light towards the entrance of the spatial secret realm.
Under the impact of this white light, the entrance to the spatial secret realm suddenly shrank and then disappeared.
Seeing that its lair had been sealed, the eight-headed giant snake then pursued Shi Yongzhen.
The Demonic Sect members hidden behind the large rock were dumbfounded.
"Sect Leader, what should we do?" an elder asked.
"Damn that stinking snake," Huangfu Feng gritted his teeth. "Let's go up and see if we can open the entrance to the spatial secret realm."
The group gathered around the area where the spatial secret realm's entrance had been, trying several methods but failing to reopen it.
Huangfu Feng had no choice but to take out his Thousand-Mile Sound Transmission Talisman and try to contact his grand-uncle.
After a considerable delay, the connection was established.
"Grand-uncle, the giant snake has sealed the spatial secret realm. Should we have the giant snake return first to open the spatial secret realm, and then we can enter to slay it?"
Shi Yongzhen hesitated for a moment. "The giant snake is too powerful. If we let it back into the spatial secret realm, we might not be able to deal with it. It's better to use King Qin'an's might to eliminate it first, and then consider the matter of the spatial secret realm."
He paused and then added, "You should notify King Qin'an now with the Thousand-Mile Sound Transmission Talisman to avoid any unnecessary trouble."
Huangfu Feng was a bit perplexed. "Grand-uncle, notifying King Qin'an at this moment might also incur his displeasure. I think it would be better to follow the plan and lure the giant snake to Bei'an City or any other city, and then slip away."
There was no sound from the talisman for a long while.
Then, an enraged voice suddenly boomed, "I told you to notify him, so notify him! If you talk back again, you'll be waiting to collect my corpse!"
"If I could slip away, do you think I wouldn't?"
"And you all, hurry and follow. I fear that even with King Qin'an and myself working together, we might not be able to handle this damned beast."
Listening to the somewhat rapid breathing on the other end, Huangfu Feng finally felt the gravity of the situation.
He immediately took out another Thousand-Mile Sound Transmission Talisman and contacted Qin Shilei again.