"So fate can indeed be plundered, but the conditions and methods are not as simple as I imagined."
Watching the fate of the Lingyuan Sect's mountain gate dissipate, but a faint green dragon of fate did not disappear, Yang Hong's eyes held a hint of surprise and a hint of understanding.
He used his遁术 (Dùn shù - escape technique) to examine all three mountain gates with his [洞彻之瞳] (Dòngchè zhī tóng - Insightful Eyes) before returning to the royal city of the Guli Kingdom.
"Immortal Master, this disciple has completed the power handover and abdicated to my nephew. May I bring my family with me?"
Yang Hong shook his head and said, "Our sect's mountain gate is located in the west of the Zikun Mountain Range, a place with extremely harsh climate. It is not easy for mortals to survive there. A single sandstorm could kill them."
"It was this disciple's presumption."
Gu Boji originally intended to bring his offspring and concubines to cultivate immortality and establish a cultivation family. However, Yang Hong disagreed, and he dared not ask further, fearing that a single misplaced word would cost him his chance at cultivation.
Moreover, he had one son and one daughter who had earned the opportunity to be accepted into Qingfeng Villa.
Yang Hong paid no mind to his ulterior motives. The first batch of disciples would eventually intermarry and have offspring within the territory of Qingfeng Villa, slowly fostering the prosperity of a region.
Furthermore, he would not only recruit this batch of disciples; the second batch was arriving soon.
The three sects annihilated by Zhu Yuyan and her companions were nominally fifth-grade sects. However, they were all declining fifth-grade sects, which was why they were assigned to the Guli Kingdom, a place with scarce spiritual energy.
Of course, the mountain gates of the three sects were located outside the borders of the Guli Kingdom, in areas with relatively abundant spiritual energy.
Moreover, even a sinking ship has three nails. The three sects still possessed a considerable number of flying vessel-like magical artifacts. Transporting the entire sect, along with their families, was not an issue.
Thus, by the afternoon of the third day, all the members of the three sects had arrived at the royal city of the Guli Kingdom, causing a rather crowded situation.
"Husband, these three are the sect masters of the three sects. They wish to make a request."
Yang Hong sat in the [破空梭] (Pòkōng suō - Void-piercing Shuttle) as Zhu Yuyan brought three Nascent Soul cultivators before him.
"Ran Boren, Qiu Kun, and Zhang Zhengyan pay respects to the Sect Master."
The three former sect masters, as introduced by Zhu Yuyan, bowed respectfully.
"Kneel!"
Without Yang Hong's command, Song Yuzhi's voice, cold as ice, rang out.
The three bodies trembled, and with considerable reluctance, they knelt before Yang Hong.
Only then did Yang Hong speak indifferently:
"Speak. What are your requests? I may not necessarily agree."
Zhang Zhengyan spoke on behalf of the group, "Your subordinate~ disciple wishes for the Sect Master to show leniency and allow our offspring and families to continue to survive and reproduce near the Guli Kingdom."
"Granted."
Yang Hong certainly couldn't take so many people. The three sects, excluding mortals, had over a hundred thousand cultivators. Yang Hong already found bringing the cultivators troublesome; bringing mortals would be an even greater burden.
However, if a mortal possessed exceptionally good fate, they could be considered for relocation.
"Thank you, Sect Master. Disciples also wish to retain some cultivation resources..."
Before Zhang Zhengyan could finish, Yang Hong waved his hand to stop him, saying, "Leave the spirit mountains to them. Take the spirit stones and the treasures within."
"This~ As you command."
"Furthermore, can our cultivation techniques be preserved? May our three sects become branches of Qingfeng Villa."
"Hmm~ Hmm!"
As Yang Hong finished agreeing, he suddenly stood up. This was because the originally deep green fate of the three individuals suddenly shifted, turning directly to blue.
This meant that after experiencing the sect's destruction and joining Qingfeng Villa, their fate had not weakened but had actually improved?
A gleam appeared in Yang Hong's eyes upon thinking this. He then said, "It can be done, but all your Nascent Soul realm cultivators, including the sect masters and elders, must relinquish their current positions and enter the mines to dig!"
"This~ How can this be? We are Nascent Soul cultivators, how can we go mining?"
"Then you can die!"
As soon as Zhang Zhengyan expressed his objection, Yang Hong's killing intent erupted. The three were immediately pressed to the ground, trembling uncontrollably, and constantly begged,
"Sect Master, spare our lives~ Sect Master, spare our lives~~"
The three were all in the Nascent Soul realm, and naturally, they had also discovered that Yang Hong was also in the Nascent Soul realm, which was why they dared to make demands.
They had not expected that Yang Hong was a true dragon disguised as a small snake.
Yang Hong's nose suddenly twitched; there was a strange smell.
He peered down at the three individuals~~
They had urinated themselves!
Was it that exaggerated?
He had only intended to test the impact of his decision on their fate, but he hadn't expected to scare them to the point of soiling themselves.
When he mentioned sending them to dig, the fate of the three had regressed to a deep green. When he emanated killing intent, their fate instantly turned ash-white.
Indeed, different choices would lead to different feedback from fate.
If one faced a power they could not resist, their own fate would be entirely controlled by another.
In essence, as long as your strength completely crushed the other party, you could control and influence their fate.
And their destiny!
However, this was also understandable, in a single sentence: prosper by following, perish by resisting.
Having figured this out, Yang Hong looked at the three terrified, urine-soaked Nascent Soul cultivators with a hint of disdain. He decided not to let them enter the main peak of Qingfeng Villa.
"Get up. I will not kill you. But you must consider carefully how you will disband your disciples and how many people you wish to bring.
I will leave when the sun rises tomorrow. Once a decision is made, there can be no turning back!"
"Thank you, Sect Master, for sparing our lives."
The three quickly scrambled up and retreated dejectedly. However, they were not entirely unintelligent; as they stood up, they wiped the floor with their sleeves.
Watching the three retreat in disarray, Yang Hong felt a sense of ease and a hint of excitement. Was this the feeling of controlling others' life and death?
It seemed~ pretty good.
Afterward, Yang Hong briefly explained the phenomenon of fate, "Prosper by following, perish by resisting," to Zhu Yuyan and the other two.
The three immediately understood the principle, and Song Yuzhi had a new speculation.
"Husband, does this mean that if we encounter someone whose strength is vastly different from ours, yet we cannot control their fate, it signifies they possess great fortune?"
"Heh heh~ If such a person truly exists, their original fate must be orange or red. Even those with golden fate would not possess such powerful fortune.
So, you can rest assured."
"However, if you encounter a similar situation and I am not by your side, then simply avoid them."
Having been in the Guli Kingdom for so many days, he had gained further insights into [洞彻之瞳] (Dòngchè zhī tóng) and the study of fate.
With half a day remaining, Yang Hong left the royal city square and, under Gu Boji's guidance, toured the Guli Imperial Palace. He also performed the technique of [灌顶] (guàndǐng - consecration/infusion) on 20 ordinary plants, obtaining 20 ninth-grade ordinary plants.
"Little Gu, this is the foundation I am leaving for your Guli Kingdom. These are specially cultivated crops, very useful for mortals but of little use to cultivators. Use them well."
"Thank you, Immortal Master, for your benevolence!"
The newly appointed Emperor of the Guli Kingdom knelt and expressed his gratitude. Although he couldn't discern anything special about a few stalks of rice, some wheat, and a few peach trees, if the Immortal Master said they were good, they must be.
Yang Hong nodded slightly and continued forward. As he was about to exit the Imperial Garden of the palace, his heart suddenly stirred.
He looked up towards a corner of the Imperial Garden, and his pupils widened in disbelief!