Each Immortal City exuded an overwhelming aura. Inside the cities, one could clearly see enormous populations—each holding tens of millions of people—along with vast numbers of elite soldiers. On the city walls stood countless siege crossbows and various types of rune cannons. The surfaces of the walls were covered in mysterious runes, weaponized to the teeth. Everything about these colossal cities screamed terrifying war potential.
Each one was an imperial-level Immortal City. As they emerged over the sea, an immense pressure swept outward.
Then, the cities directly sank into the sea.
As they descended, a protective barrier automatically activated, enveloping the cities. This barrier isolated them from the outside world. The pressure of the surrounding seawater seemed to have no effect on the cities at all. The barrier not only repelled seawater but also extracted vast amounts of oxygen from it, allowing the residents inside to breathe freely, unaffected by the deep-sea environment.
It was like a crystal palace—separating the seawater, yet still allowing the rich aquatic spiritual energy to permeate. The essence of water could be clearly felt within the city, creating a strange but wondrous environment.
As soon as the cities entered the ocean, they began to move throughout the sea. Wherever they passed, the majesty of Great Yi followed.
This act immediately shocked countless aquatic races in the sea.
Countless gazes turned toward these massive cities entering the ocean, and not long after, endless sea beasts surged toward them like sharks that had smelled blood.
Slaughter erupted instantly.
A tidal wave of ferocious beasts charged at the cities as if confronting mortal enemies. They aimed to destroy them completely. The scale of this beast tide was nearly unprecedented. The ocean, the natural domain of these beasts, was teeming with uncountable numbers. With the cities dropping in like intruders into a beast lair, it triggered instinctive resistance and bloodlust from the sea beasts.
Without mercy, they launched their assault.
Faintly, one could sense that unseen wills were at work—guiding the sea beasts, helping the tide form and push against the cities.
But the Immortal Cities were fully prepared. The city walls were lined with Great Yi soldiers. Densely packed siege crossbows and ferocious rune cannons turned each city into a deadly hedgehog—immovable and bristling with power.
Cold-eyed soldiers unleashed attacks on the oncoming beast tide. The barrage of crossbow bolts and rune cannon blasts shattered the sea beasts into pieces. Rune bullets from rune rifles were fired without hesitation, carving through the tide.
When sea beasts slammed into the barrier, the watery shield drained away 90% of their strength. The defense seemed fused with the ocean itself—nearly impossible to shake.
This was the terrifying strength of imperial-grade Immortal Cities.
Every inch of these cities was as resilient as an innate spiritual treasure. Destroying one would be unimaginably difficult. The formation within each city was no longer linked to the land but to the sea, ensuring a steady and endless supply of energy. Unless someone could split the ocean with a single blow, the barrier was nearly unbreakable. Even with endless waves of sea beasts, they couldn't breach it. Since its inception, the master artisans of Great Yi had prepared for this.
With such strong defenses, the soldiers didn't even need to worry about defending—they simply attacked. Massive numbers of sea beasts were slaughtered like weeds.
The cities had entered the ocean.
The beast tide raged for a full three days and nights. The battle turned the sea into a river of blood. Countless sea beasts relentlessly assaulted the cities, but in the end, they left behind mountains of corpses and scattered in defeat. The vast beast tide collapsed.
In that moment, the three-day battle cemented Great Yi's Immortal Cities as an undeniable presence in the ocean realm.
The spying gazes from various aquatic tribes quickly withdrew. It was as if the matter of Great Yi establishing itself in the ocean had become an accepted reality.
No one dared voice opposition.
Resistance was pointless.
With the Immortal Cities now stationed underwater, the destiny energy in the surrounding seas surged explosively—swallowing up the world's ambient fortune at a terrifying rate. The quality of destiny being generated rose dramatically day by day.
Above the Xuanhuang Immortal City, the True Dragon of Destiny could be seen growing at a visibly astonishing pace.
"The True Dragon of Destiny has reached 33,000 zhang long."
Yi Tianxing raised his eyes to the void, observing the tremendous form of the dragon stabilizing after this rapid surge.
"The dragon's growth is incredibly fast. Great Yi's foundation is truly extraordinary. At this rate, reaching the peak of the Holy Court realm is no longer a distant dream."
Queen Mother of the West appeared beside him, her eyes flashing with a complex light.
She had been monitoring the True Dragon's progress, and from what she saw, under normal conditions, Great Yi was gaining two or three dozen zhang per day. That might not seem fast—but this was golden destiny, the destiny of a Holy Court. Compared to a Dynasty's destiny, this could be equivalent to hundreds of zhang per day.
At the current rate, reaching the 1-million-zhang size required for ascension to the Immortal Court realm would take only about a century of steady accumulation—assuming nothing unexpected occurred. If Great Yi continued to expand and draw in more realms, and with Eternal Coins constantly generating destiny through their alignment with universal principles, this timeline could be shortened.
For an ordinary Holy Court, such accumulation might take over a thousand years. But with Eternal Coins embodying cosmic law, Great Yi gained destiny like a tide.
"Destiny is just one part. Ascending to the Immortal Court realm isn't child's play. There's still much to prepare. But within the next hundred years—Great Yi will become an Immortal Court. Only then will we have the strength to face all threats."
Yi Tianxing said calmly, a confident smile on his lips.
At present, they were purging and integrating the territories of Great Yi—reorganizing to consolidate more destiny. Once the governing policies were perfected and standardized, expansion into new realms would follow a replicable model, ensuring everything progressed smoothly.
"The Blood River Ancestor has sent word. Everyone involved in the plan must gather."
Queen Mother of the West spoke.
"The Blood River Ancestor? So there's news on the investigation."
Yi Tianxing nodded. He immediately guessed the reason for the summons.
Without hesitation—they both used their command tokens to cross space and appear in the Blood God Hall.
When they arrived, the others were already there, seated in silence. A heavy atmosphere filled the hall.
"Everyone's arrived. Let Lady Pingxin explain the results of this investigation."
The Blood River Ancestor said slowly, gesturing toward Pingxin.
"I used the Karma Mirror, the Reincarnation Disk, and the Three Lives Stone to investigate the Nine Heavens World. Unfortunately, the results were disappointing. The Nine Heavens Dao Sovereigns are indeed beings separated from the Heavenly Dao itself. Their origins are deeply hidden. The Karma Mirror couldn't peer into them. The Wheel of Reincarnation couldn't trace their source. Their names don't even appear on the Three Lives Stone. They have other methods—something that conceals their very essence. I could not identify which of the Nine Heavens Sovereigns is the Eternal Night Demon."
Pingxin radiated calm and gentleness as she explained, but her words dropped like stones into the room.
She had indeed investigated—but found nothing. This was likely due to the unique nature of the Nine Heavens Sovereigns—their origins tied to the Heavenly Dao itself, making them nearly impossible to unravel.
"Even Lady Pingxin couldn't uncover anything? This is serious."
"If we can't identify the real target, how do we strike?"
Dark looks filled the faces of those in the hall. The problem was massive.
"My Haotian Mirror couldn't pierce their origins either. However, I did detect a trace of Eternal Night demonic energy—within the world of the Xuantian (Golden) Dao Sovereign. Still, I can't confirm that he's the demon."
Zhang Bainian finally spoke after some thought.
"Xuantian Dao Sovereign? Could he be the one?"
Lü Dongbin frowned.
A trace of demonic energy wasn't enough to confirm anything. If Xuantian were truly the demon, how could he be so careless as to leave behind such a clue? The suspicion alone was troubling.
"Whether he is or isn't, it's certain now that one of the Nine Heavens Sovereigns is aligned with Eternal Night. Since we can't identify them, we must prepare for the worst—assume none of them are allies. Treat them all as potential enemies and follow the plan. Eventually, they'll expose themselves. And for that—we'll need Great Yi's help."
The Blood River Ancestor inhaled deeply, his gaze settling on Yi Tianxing.
It was clear—Great Yi was about to be deployed.
"What does Ancestor have in mind?"
Yi Tianxing asked calmly.