In a plane adjacent to Blue Star.
This was a world recently occupied by the Sky-Shattering Clan. They paid no mind to Blue Star.
This was because their priests had prophesied that the humans of the adjacent world were completely in a period of declining magic, and cultivators had already become extinct.
To them, Blue Star was merely a transit point, a place where their clansmen could engage in a bit of slaughter to boost their morale.
Their true target was the plane beyond Blue Star, the 231st Immortal Cultivation World, a realm boasting several Immortal Emperors and a formidable challenge.
The reason for the three-year rest was to await the Sky-Shattering Clan's main army, which was advancing from the plane behind the 231st Immortal Cultivation World.
They planned to muster nearly ten Supremes and launch a pincer attack to utterly destroy the 231st Immortal Cultivation World.
However, what they did not know was that over a year had passed since their Sky-Shattering Clan priests last made their prophecy, and Blue Star was no longer what it once was.
Valieva, seated on his throne, idly toyed with the long spear in his hand, bored.
Three years, for the long-lived Sky-Shattering Clan, was but a blink of an eye.
The last time he fought in this world, he had been wounded by the final Immortal Emperor's self-detonating attack, and had not yet recovered.
"Lord Valieva! A message has arrived from our clansmen campaigning in other worlds!"
Valieva looked at the Ninth Realm Sky-Shattering clansman kneeling before him and asked with a frown, "What message?"
"From a world over two hundred planes away, one of our armies failed its invasion. While the Supremes sustained no casualties, all our clansmen were completely annihilated. Over three million clansmen perished, not a single one escaping."
Valieva's gaze sharpened, and he immediately sat up straight.
This was no minor matter. With their ability to tear through planar barriers, even in defeat, it was exceptionally rare for them to experience such a total annihilation.
"What exactly happened?"
"My lord, please see this..."
Among the Sky-Shattering Clan, there were some with special physiques. With this physique, they could utilize a miraculous secret art.
This secret art was information sharing, a form of cross-planar information transmission.
However, this secret art could only be used at the moment of death.
The Eighth Realm peak Sky-Shattering clansman, Hasa, who fought Wu Yuan last time and wounded him, possessed this special physique.
Before his death, he had applied this secret art to his body, and after his death, he transmitted the memories he designated, in a certain form, to all clansmen with the same special physique in all planes.
Thus, he transmitted everything that happened to him after the Ice Sword Mercenary Group arrived in that world to the Sky-Shattering clansmen in other planes.
It was through this method of information transmission that the reputation of Emperor Zaohua became known to all Sky-Shattering clansmen.
A memory entered Valieva's mind, and his expression grew increasingly grave.
He then stood up abruptly.
"The Ice Sword Mercenary Group, a total of twelve top-tier prodigies. In which world did they originate? And why can they traverse planes so freely?"
"This subordinate does not know..."
"Li Qingyun, Luo Xiaowei, Bai Nianchen..."
Valieva recited the names from the memories, his eyes turning exceedingly cold.
Human prodigies were their nightmare. Before ascending to Supremacy, he himself dared not face human prodigies of the same realm, as countless examples demonstrated that these prodigies possessed strength far exceeding that of Sky-Shattering clansmen of equivalent cultivation.
The appearance of so many was not terrifying in itself, but when so many were within a single organization, it became exceedingly alarming.
The incident in the Thirteenth Immortal Cultivation World, where a Sky-Shattering clansman also shared his memories before death, had also been transmitted.
They had learned of the appearance of Emperor Zaohua, which led to their heavy losses.
At that time, Wang Teng and Xiao Long were also in that world, which led Valieva to speculate wildly.
"So many top geniuses, from the same organization, and possessing the ability to traverse planes—this is by no means achievable by ordinary Immortal Emperors. There is a more terrifying existence behind them. Could it be Emperor Zaohua? But even Emperor Zaohua could not traverse planes so easily..."
Valieva was utterly perplexed, but this uncertainty made him quite worried.
"Issue an order: the twelve members of the Ice Sword Mercenary Group are to be placed on the kill list. Once encountered, spare no effort, even if it costs your life, to destroy them all!"
"As you command!!"
...
Li Qingyun and the others were entirely unaware of this matter, but even if they were, it would not matter. They were no longer pushovers to be bullied by just anyone.
Once they all entered the Mahayana stage, they would have the opportunity to challenge Ninth Realm powerhouses. As for kill lists, a formidable figure like Emperor Zaohua had long been on such lists, yet even the Supremes of the Sky-Shattering Clan fled at the mere sight of him.
Upon their return, they naturally engaged with their brothers.
Chu Yang had also granted them seven days of leave.
As a former professional streamer, Luo Xiaowei, after a long time, went live, sharing his encounters and experiences in the Immortal Cultivation world with his iwei fans.
Wang Teng took Zhuang Hongxia to experience the conveniences of modern society, transforming her into a person belonging to Blue Star.
Meng Zibin took Chen Xiaohan on their honeymoon.
Zhang Xiaohu was engaged in fierce battles with the Nine Heavens Blazing Emperor within the [Ascension Pagoda]. His talent was inferior to others, so he had to work harder than everyone else.
Liang Zifan had also intended to slack off for a few days, but seeing Zhang Xiaohu's diligence, he also joined in and began playing with the Nine Tribulation Thunder Emperor.
He Guangxin, having been part of the army before, returned to his unit. As a senior, he lectured the juniors, imparting combat experience.
Xiao Long returned home discreetly, as his family had been quite worried about him.
Shen Yingxue also returned home. Due to the significant change in her personality, her mother almost suspected that her daughter had been possessed by some ancient demon.
As for Li Qingyun, he sought out Chu Yang. He wanted to use these few days to check on the state of his wife and daughter.
Ten years had passed in the blink of an eye. Li Mengyun might have grown into a young lady, and he wondered if any impudent fellow had taken a liking to his daughter. If so, this was the perfect opportunity to break their legs.
Meanwhile, Chu Yang was gazing at the system panel. The progress of the Immortal Cultivation Era's opening was currently at 49.98%. If nothing unexpected happened, upon reaching 50%, there would be a major gift package, and he wondered if it could allow him to directly ascend to Immortal Emperor.