Volume 1, Chapter 454 – Mission Complete

“Today, I will not only make Tianyan Sect the sole master of Yunyan, I will also sweep away every great clan and aristocratic house under heaven in one stroke!”

Hearing Shi Lan’s words, the surroundings fell into silence. Families large and small alike felt their hearts pounding like drums, full of unease.

The fate of that King Realm expert from before was still vivid in everyone’s mind. No one doubted whether Shi Lan truly had the strength to do as she said.

The gathered King Realm experts no longer dared to speak, and all shifted their gazes toward Qin Liang.

“Please calm your anger, Sect Master!”

Qin Liang drew a deep breath and hurriedly spoke:

“We will obey every order and deployment from Tianyan Sect without question. We harbor absolutely no intention of offense!”

“Obey without question?”

Shi Lan’s pale brows lifted slightly.

“Then from this day forth, aside from what your own clan members require for cultivation, all remaining territory, mineral veins, and spiritual herb gardens are to be handed over to Tianyan Sect.”

As soon as the words fell, every family with even a little power went pale. The members of the four great royal clans in particular looked utterly stricken.

The reason they were able to stand above the masses as great clans and aristocratic houses was precisely because they controlled vast resources beyond the imagination of ordinary people.

In truth, the members of the four great royal clans were not especially numerous. Powerful cultivators often found it difficult to produce thriving bloodlines.

And in order to ensure that their descendants would be outstanding enough, royal clan members usually only continued their bloodlines after achieving success in cultivation, which led directly to the four great royal clans having very sparse populations.

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They not only had peak experts of their own clan holding the line, but also possessed large private armies recruited from smaller families.

These private armies were the true foundation that allowed them to completely dominate Yunyan Star.

And once they lost those resources, they would have no way to support such enormous private forces.

A power at the height of its glory would collapse in an instant.

Aside from the great royal clans, the other somewhat larger families also looked ashen.

Without abundant resources to serve as their foundation, as time went on, one of their future generations would be very likely to suffer a break in continuity, causing the family to decline.

As for resistance, they did not even dare think of it. The ashes left behind by that King Realm expert were still giving off heat. How could anyone muster the courage?

Qin Liang remained silent for a long while. His aged face was clouded and obscure. In the end, he could not summon the hot blood he had possessed in his youth, did not dare to fight, and slowly lowered his head.

“If you still wish to preserve your current status, I can give you another choice.”

Hearing a possible turning point in Shi Lan’s words, Qin Liang abruptly raised his head.

“Please enlighten us, Sect Master!”

“Become subordinate to my Tianyan Sect. Abandon sectarian prejudice. Turn your clan houses into schools and sacred lands. Open your mountain gates wide, and select disciples to pass on your teachings.”

“If you do so, you may retain a portion of your mineral deposits and spirit veins.”

Shi Lan had no intention of making Yunyan Star the headquarters of Tianyan Sect. In the Qiongluo Realm, she had already prepared territory vast enough for Tianyan Sect.

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What she wanted to do now was draw out the full potential of the human race on Yunyan Star and foster more powerful experts.

The immortal path did not necessarily suit everyone. A hundred flowers blooming was always better than a single branch standing alone.

As the true ruler, the more experts this star produced, the more beneficial it would be for her.

Once the prejudices between the great clans were broken, and their strengths fused together, Yunyan Star might well kindle a very different kind of spark.

Upon hearing Shi Lan’s words, many of the families were tempted almost at the same moment.

If Shi Lan had presented this choice from the very beginning, they might have hesitated. But compared with instantly losing everything, this choice was no longer so hard to accept.

Moreover, there was a great deal of room for maneuver in the matter of opening one’s mountain gates. Whether they actually taught their most treasured secrets was, in the end, entirely up to them.

“I will establish inspectors from Tianyan Sect in every sect to ensure that none of you withhold anything.”

Before those families could think further, Shi Lan’s next sentence instantly shattered their illusions.

Sectarian prejudice had existed on Yunyan Star for countless years. Many families were stubborn and unyielding. Even if they lost their present status and wealth, they would still refuse to pass their teachings to outsiders.

Shi Lan did not make things difficult for such families either. Under circumstances where Tianyan Sect controlled all cultivation resources, competition between the sects transformed from these great clans would only become fiercer.

Families as isolated and weak as these would be the first to suffer exclusion. As time passed, they would naturally decline and fade into the masses.

“My Qin family respectfully obeys the Sect Master’s decree…”

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After a long silence, Qin Liang bowed, and the Seven Saints of the Qin Clan standing not far behind him bent their backs as well.

Among the four great royal clans, three bowed their heads. Only the Zhao family chose to give up most of the resources they possessed and withdraw to a remote corner.

They were full of confidence. As a royal clan, even if they lost their cultivation resources, they still believed they could command the shifting winds of Yunyan Star.

…

…

What happened atop Golden Cauldron Mountain quickly spread across the whole of Yunyan Star.

For a time, the common people at the bottom of society were overjoyed. They raised living shrines to Shi Lan, and some even set up longevity tablets for her in their homes.

This reform of Yunyan Star gave those who had been at the bottom for generations a chance to soar to the heavens in a single bound. The grace involved was no different from recreating them anew.

…

…

After returning to Tianyan Sect, Shi Lan directly handed all the remaining trifling matters over to Li Canglan, then hurried into the Qiongluo Realm, pulled open the system panel, and entered the mission section.

[Long-term Main Mission: An Empress cannot personally handle every matter herself and needs the support of a powerful faction. Initial completion requirement: possess a faction above third grade in the Lingyang Realm.]

[Initial stage of main mission completed. Mission rewards issued.]

[Congratulations, Host, for obtaining Immortal Mountain Abode x1.]

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[Main mission updated. Completion requirement: possess a faction at the peak of second grade in the Lingyang Realm.]

[Mission completion reward: ten sets of eight-star battle gear, one ultimate lottery chance (guaranteed minimum nine stars).]

Looking at the updated system entry, Shi Lan’s pupils contracted slightly. She could not help drawing in a light breath, her gaze fixed on the words “guaranteed minimum nine stars” for a long time without moving away.

Ten sets of eight-star battle gear, plus a guaranteed supreme treasure on the same level as a Sovereign Weapon—the reward was simply too generous, and

correspondingly, the mission requirements were anything but simple.

The peak of second grade meant being second only to a first-grade force. It required an expert at the absolute peak of the Emperor level to hold the fort, and perhaps even the possession of a Sovereign Weapon.

For her as she was now, that was simply too difficult.

Thinking of this, Shi Lan could not help sighing. Unfortunately, the living beings of the Qiongluo Realm were clearly not counted by the system.

If that were not the case, then the moment she swallowed the Qiongluo Realm, her main mission should already have been completed.

Unable to appear in the Lingyang Realm, they were effectively useless to her at present.

Shi Lan shook her head slightly and set these thoughts aside for the time being, then entered the system storage.

A hazy mote of light leapt from her fingertips, then swelled in an instant and shot straight into the clouds.

An enormous black shadow fell from above, stretching across thousands of li like a mountain range, making the void thunder and roar.