Chapter 635 356: Intricate and Complicated

Xinghan Mountain Range.

Upon the majestic main peak, an abundance of jade towers and magnificent palaces stood. A sprawling complex of magnificent palaces with upturned eaves and intricate brackets, Daoist Temples, and Cave Mansion Blessed Lands stretched as far as the eye could see.

As the vital heart of a ten-thousand-year-old Noble Family, a place they had managed for ages, every brick, tile, blade of grass, and tree had been meticulously crafted and tended to by numerous High Rank Cultivators. Every step revealed a new vista, each a work of breathtaking craftsmanship. Every detail was the very definition of extravagance.

But with the family's sudden downfall, this place had changed hands. It now served as the main headquarters of the Ling Family.

In a rear garden, vibrant flowers vied for splendor amidst a rich, fragrant Spiritual Mist.

Ling Changqing was on a leisurely stroll, surrounded by a bevy of beauties. All of them were dressed in their finest, each a peerless beauty with her own unique charm and style. The group lacked for nothing, from mature, elegant women and cool, queenly figures to sweet young maidens.

As for their Cultivation, they ranged from Golden Core to Nascent Soul, Divinity Transformation, and even the Void Refinement and Integration Realms.

Nowadays, any Female Cultivator qualified to serve Ling Changqing had to have at least a Golden Core Cultivation. Even the lowest-ranking Maids and attendants were required to be at the Foundation Establishment Realm to meet the standard.

"...Master, our new home just keeps getting bigger and bigger."

Mu Yuxin, dressed in a lovely ink-wash palace gown, spoke with a voice full of adoration and attachment, her eyes brimming with worship.

"This is nothing," Ling Changqing said with a relaxed smile. His hair was held up by a jade crown, and his eyes were as dark as lacquer. His magnificent blue-purple robes were adorned with splendid patterns of stars and clouds, giving him a mysterious and profound aura. "In the future, we'll have an even better home."

Over half a year had passed since he had taken down the Cui and Mu Families, yet there had been no word from the Taiqing Divine Dynasty. He wondered what wicked scheme His Majesty the Emperor was plotting.

Ling Changqing now knew that the Taiqing Divine Dynasty was only supported by a single Integration Realm Great Power, though they did have a considerable number of Void Refinement Realm experts.

That Integration Realm Great Power was in the prime of his life, but he had been injured in the war against the demon race some years ago and was currently in seclusion to recuperate.

The Taiqing Divine Dynasty's current foundation was still formidable. However, with most of its forces tied up dealing with the Primordial Demon Palace and the demon race, it was stretched too thin to intervene decisively in Yuzhou's affairs.

But the Ling Family wasn't one to sit and wait. They had spent these past few months busy absorbing and consolidating the foundations left behind by the two great Noble Families and had moved their family headquarters to the Xinghan Mountain Range.

All the protective mountain Arrays and entry and exit Restrictions had to be completely redone—a truly staggering amount of work.

Fortunately, with Immortal Venerable Doumu overseeing the grand project and Bai Qingyi, Qin Mengxuan, and Liu Ying Ziying providing their full assistance, it wasn't too much trouble. Everything was completed last month.

"...Have all the clan members and resources been moved?" Ling Changqing asked as he reached out and took a green jade lotus pod from Ye Binghua, who was beside him.

"Mhm, all the Immortal Seeds, along with the direct lineage clan members and the Elders, arrived a month ago."

Ling Qiyue, noble and radiant in a bright yellow brocade palace gown embroidered with motifs of the sun, moon, and phoenix, her cloud-like hair adorned with golden pins, replied softly,

"They've all been assigned their own Cave Mansion Halls and given new Cultivation Techniques and Elixirs. Right now, they're all in closed-door seclusion, training hard.

As for the many resources in the family treasury, we've only moved half of them for now. The rest can just be stored at the old location, and we'll arrange for some clan members to stay behind and guard it.

Besides, the treasury here is filled with all sorts of good things. We could use them freely for several hundred years without any issue."

"Is that so? Very well."

Ling Changqing nodded. The Ling Family's former foundation was on the coastal Linsha Continent.

Although the environment there was good and its resources were abundant, it ultimately only had a few Grade Four Spirit Veins, which were no longer sufficient to meet the needs of the family's upper echelons.

The Xinghan Mountain Range, however, possessed several large Grade Six Spirit Veins, which gave rise to numerous Spiritual Acupoint springs, Cave Mansion Blessed Lands, and Spirit Field Medicinal Gardens. The number of Grade Five Spirit Veins was even greater.

All the Female Cultivators in the family at or above the Divinity Transformation Realm could be assigned their own Rank Five Cave Mansion Hall, and so could Ling Changqing.

Not to mention, the environment at the Mu Family's main headquarters was just as good. There were also the territories of the fallen Divinity Transformation powers, which had many Grade Five Spirit Veins awaiting allocation.

These auspicious lands produced a considerable amount of high-end resources annually. Furthermore, the countless industries within their territories had now all become the Ling Family's spoils of war.

There was more than they could ever distribute. It was simply too much!

Ling Changqing paused for a moment. 'Such a vast territory…' "Can we manage all of it right now? Will we have enough people to station everywhere?"

The combined directly-controlled territories of the two great Cultivation Families were no small area. There were also their vassal forces, as well as cities, Marketplaces, mountain passes, Medicinal Gardens, Spirit Fields, ranches, ports, Spirit Gold Veins, and other important industries. All of them required enough manpower to take over and resume operations as quickly as possible.

If they were left idle, they would become liabilities to the family, requiring a significant input of resources each year just for maintenance. The losses would far outweigh the gains.

Beside him, Su Qinglian, dressed in robes as white as snow, her Yu Yan radiant and lovely, said softly,

"You needn't worry, Husband. The Sect has already arranged for enough disciples to come and assist. Sister Yue and I have already discussed it..."

The Ling Family alone certainly couldn't manage such a vast territory. Therefore, Lu Hua Palace, Xianyin Pavilion, and the Liu Ying Clan had all dispatched some of their forces. Each was given a piece of land roughly equivalent to the territory of ten Divinity Transformation powers.

Ostensibly, this was a pledge of goodwill from the Ling Family, a "benefit fee" paid to curry favor with these three factions of Female Cultivators.

In reality, the three factions were merely managing the territories on their behalf. In the future, when the Changqing Immortal Dynasty was established, these lands would all fall under the Immortal Dynasty's jurisdiction.

Of course, such actions could not escape the notice of observant outsiders. This led the upper echelons of many powers to conclude that the three female Cultivator factions had secretly formed an alliance.

Factoring in the potential intervention of the Deep Sea Dragon Race, anyone who might want to move against the Ling Family in the future would have to give this alliance serious consideration.

Dealing with just the Ling Family was one thing; dealing with the Lu Hua Palace, the Liu Ying Clan, and the Xianyin Pavilion combined was something else entirely.

"That's for the best,"

Ling Changqing said with a nod. "However, I don't think certain major powers will give up so easily. For instance, the Beichen Family and the Shenluo Celestial Palace."

Bai Qingyi, noble, graceful, and stunningly beautiful, smiled faintly. "Even if those two join forces, they can't hope to change the grand tide of Yuzhou's unification."

Of the three major powers in Yaozhou, the Shenluo Celestial Palace was foremost. This faction, composed entirely of Female Cultivators, occupied nearly forty percent of Yaozhou's territory and resources.

The Beichen Family came second, with the Taiqing Divine Dynasty ranking only third. And the backer of the Saint Yu Immortal Dynasty was none other than the Shenluo Celestial Palace.

The Taiqing Divine Dynasty's schemes in Yuzhou had been utterly thwarted, and the Ling Family's next targets were the Yin and Feng Families. The backer for these two families was the Beichen Family.

The Beichen Family's foundation was stronger than the Taiqing Divine Dynasty's, but only by a limited margin. They also had only one Integration Realm Great Power, though they did have more Void Refinement Realm experts.

Some years ago, the perverse actions of the Primordial Demon Palace had drawn the demon race from the Outer Heaven to wreak havoc upon the Qingyao Continent. This caused the various major provinces to suffer grievous losses from which they still had not recovered.

Therefore, Bai Qingyi believed that even if the Beichen Family decided to throw everything they had into a direct confrontation, they still wouldn't be a match for the Ling Family.

"That makes sense, but we still can't let our guard down. We can't skimp on necessary preparations."

Ling Changqing added. 'These two opponents are just the appetizers. The real trouble is yet to come.'

For example, the Shenluo Celestial Palace was constantly searching for the Child of Destiny. Then there was the Da Xia Divine Dynasty in the distant province of Yuzhou, a power that held sway over an entire major province by itself.

"You don't need to worry, Husband,"

said Qin Yanran, her peach-blossom face of peerless beauty wreathed in a charming smile. "If the situation truly becomes dire, we can just have the Sect dispatch a group of sisters to support us. I guarantee not a single one of our enemies will survive!"

The Xuannü Palace and the Ye Family from the Qingming Continent were true behemoths. If placed in Yuzhou, even a limited force from them would be more than enough to handle the Ling Family's opponents.

"That's true, but it's best if we rely on ourselves."

Tang Qiu Yao chimed in from the side, her words born from concern for Ling Changqing's safety.

The other women understood her meaning. Those two powers wouldn't help for free, and in the end, Ling Changqing would be the one to bear the cost.

"Let's not talk about that,"

Ling Qiyue said, her eyes glinting. "For the future of the family, Husband, you should hurry back and accompany the sisters in their Cultivation! When the flames of war ignite again, things won't be as leisurely as they are now."

"Alright!"

Ling Changqing sighed inwardly. 'I just left the bedchamber. I haven't even had much time to relax, and now I have to go back to my 'labors' again.'

Yu Ruoshuang, gentle as water, serene and charming, suppressed a giggle and asked with a straight face,

"The new round of selection for the Immortal Seeds is about to begin. Husband, you will surely have to oversee it personally, so why not..."

"There's no rush for that,"

Ling Changqing's eyelid twitched, and he quickly declined. "The current situation doesn't quite allow for it. Let's wait until we've unified all of Yuzhou!"

The family had suddenly acquired such a vast territory, with a mortal population numbering in the countless billions. If he were to hold a mass selection and take all the most outstanding female Immortal Seeds for himself, Ling Changqing felt he probably wouldn't be able to handle it.

"Very well, then it's settled!"

Ling Qiyue smiled, not pressing the matter further.

...

Yaozhou, a province adjacent to Yuzhou, was also a vast and boundless land, rich with resources.

The Shenluo River served as the natural border between the two great provinces. It was a massive river, a thousand li wide and stretching for untold millions of li.

This majestic river, the subject of countless legends in the River of Time, originated in the Shenluo Mountain Range. Its main peak was also the location of the Shenluo Celestial Palace's main gate.

At this moment, the Sect's Saintess, Chen Chuyu, had returned from her travels. She was currently meeting with the Sect Leader to report on the latest developments in Yuzhou.