Here, he had all the resources he needed. The Abyss was his home base. Whether he advanced or retreated, he had plenty of options. However, the Dark Moon Demon Lord clearly had no intention of swallowing this loss quietly.
Revenge — he wanted fierce, merciless revenge.
The Great Yi Dynasty wanted to seize control of the Dark Realm — that alone was something he would never allow. Even if he couldn't break the seal for now, he would make sure to cause Great Yi as much trouble as possible.
"Please rest assured, Demon Lord,"
"With the Demon God Battlefortress, as long as the fortress stands, we're unshakable. No one can touch us. Within the fortress lies the Ten Thousand Demons Pool. Once activated, it can spawn an endless tide of demon soldiers. However, the quality of those soldiers will depend on your orders, Demon Lord."— The Dark City Lord spoke respectfully.
This time, the Black-White Twin Fiends had delivered the Demon God Battlefortress specifically to support the front, a testament to their confidence.
The Demon God Battlefortress was forged by the Eternal Night, a superweapon created specifically to invade and conquer other worlds. It had complete war infrastructure — massive internal space, abundant reserves of war resources, and most importantly, the Ten Thousand Demons Pool.
This pool was similar to the ones on the Eternal Night battlefield — capable of absorbing the energies of the Seven Emotions and Six Desires, all forms of lust, sin, and negative energy to generate demonic soldiers. However, the Ten Thousand Demons Pool was far superior and could freely spawn a vast variety of demon types. Even their strength and rank could be adjusted at will.
With the Battlefortress, they could sustain a prolonged war — even for a thousand or ten thousand years. It had a self-sufficient war system capable of continuous recycling and regeneration of war resources.
It was no less powerful than the Heavenly Demon God Weapons.
Forging such a fortress was incredibly difficult. Even in the Eternal Night, it was rare and only used when large-scale wars broke out. This time, they deployed it to the Dark Realm to fully support the Dark Moon Demon Lord in his offensive against the Eternal World. They were willing to pay any price, as long as it hurt the Eternal World.
The Battlefortress now held a mountain of Eternal Night Demon Crystals. Just one such crystal could spawn billions of demon soldiers. The scale of this resource was terrifying.
"Ordinary demon soldiers pose little threat to Great Yi. Set the base quality at Tier Three, and follow the ratio: 100 Tier Threes become 1 Tier Four; 1,000 become 1 Tier Five; 10,000 become 1 Tier Six."— The Demon Lord commanded coldly.
Tier Six was the limit. To go beyond that would demand a resource cost that was simply too high.
"Understood, Demon Lord,"— The other veteran demons responded in unison.
They had longed for war, especially against Great Yi — a dream opportunity.
Meanwhile, unaware of the demons' plotting, Great Yi was not shaken. The only significant change was the addition of a new domain — a detached realm, one not easily accessible under normal circumstances. Aside from that, everything continued as planned.
The imperial examination (Keju) had been completed smoothly. Great Yi now had a fresh batch of talented individuals at the City Lord level. It was also officially announced that the exams would be held every three years, with special exceptions made for imperial grace examinations.
Great Yi continued its steady, upward trajectory.
Each day, the Auspicious Cloud of Merit above Xuanhuang Immortal City grew denser. The True Dragon of National Fortune coiled in the void, growing rapidly. Even a single glance at it would shake one's soul. Its size was immense — utterly magnificent and peerless throughout history.
Suddenly, a new piece of news began circulating, stirring up waves across the realms.
Great Yi would soon hold a Peach of Immortality Festival, hosted alongside a Divine Treasure Banquet.
The moment this news spread, it attracted attention from across Great Yi and the surrounding realms, even many extraterritorial powers.
The last Immortal Peach Festival had been held with incredible grandeur. Everyone who attended had nothing but praise. The peaches offered — especially the Heaven-Fortune Longevity Peach — were priceless treasures. Only the Great Yi Sacred Court possessed them. Others had never even seen one, let alone tasted it.
These peaches could increase lifespan, boost luck, and grant countless benefits — the dream of any cultivator.
Upon hearing the news, countless cultivators became excited, secretly desperate to obtain an invitation.
However, this time, only 300 anonymous invitations would be released. Each one was of immense value, instantly sparking interest among many high-level experts. For those nearing the end of their lifespan, a Heaven-Fortune Peach could offer a new lease on life.
After all, who wants to die, if they can live?
But these matters were of no concern to Yi Tianxing.
At this moment, he was seated in the Mystery Auction House.
In that mysterious space, Yi Tianxing sat calmly on his throne. In front of him floated ten mysterious tokens, each glowing with strange power — the Mystery Auction Tokens.
Each year, ten of these tokens were created for each auction. Since the auction's founding in the 10th year of the Eternal Calendar, and now in its 62nd year, 52 years had passed — resulting in 520 tokens and 520 seats within the auction hall.
Others might see emptiness, but in Yi Tianxing's eyes, each seat was visible — marked with unique sigils. However, several of them had gone dim, signifying their owners had died due to various circumstances. Still, the seats remained. Even in death, if they were ever to reincarnate and regain their true soul imprint, they could return and reclaim their seat.
This was a rare kind of hidden opportunity.
"These ten new tokens bring us to 530 seats now. More and more are participating."— Yi Tianxing smiled faintly and cast the ten tokens into the void.
He hoped this round would attract new, unique auctioneers — ideally bringing rare and exotic treasures into the fray.
The more participants, the higher the chance of discovering top-tier artifacts.
In recent years, the Mystery Auction House had started gaining traction among elite cultivators. But even those aware of its existence couldn't enter without a token — adding to its allure. Those with tokens cherished them dearly. As the auctions gained in reputation, the quality of items also rose. Many treasures acquired during auctions simply didn't exist in their own realms.
"One day, there will be tens of thousands, even millions of participants in this auction. That will be a true spectacle."— Yi Tianxing mused.
Now was still the time to lay the foundation.
Mirror Mountain.
In one of the spirit realms, the Queen of Spirits opened her eyes with a flicker of interest.
"The Mystery Auction House is about to open again. I missed the last five years due to my closed-door cultivation… I can't afford to miss this one. There might be some good mirrors this time."
Her passion was spiritual mirrors — or rare materials to craft them. And the Mystery Auction House was the best place to find such things. A reclusive by nature, she would never leave her mountain unless something truly compelling arose.
With a thought, she vanished from Mirror Mountain.
In a hidden valley…
A giant hole in the ground echoed with sharp metallic sounds — mining was underway.
If one approached, they would see a golden lucky cat digging feverishly in a glittering gold-veined mine. This wasn't any ordinary mineral vein. It shimmered with time-imbued sands, exuding a strange aura.
Even nearby beasts who wandered too close had long ago died and mummified — some looked like they'd been dead for ten thousand years.
This was a Time Sand Gold Vein — among the rarest in existence. Containing time-attributed minerals, it emitted powerful temporal energy. Any ordinary cultivator would be instantly drained of their lifespan upon nearing it.
Only those with special means could approach or mine it.
But clearly, this lucky cat had the ability.
Suddenly, its eyes lit up, and it yowled in delight:
"It's starting again! My lovely Eternal Coins~ I've got so many goodies this time. These Time Sands are gonna make me rich!"
Gold sparkled in its eyes as it darted toward the auction.
Scenes like these were unfolding across the many realms of the Eternal World.
Some couldn't attend due to other obligations. Others eagerly made their way. But at least over 400 participants were confirmed.