Why was the Hall of Calamity targeting Serpent Valley? Even they themselves didn't fully understand. All they knew was that the order had come directly from the Emperor Tong, and when it was issued, the tone was unusually serious. In the days since, they had gathered considerable information on Serpent Valley, including the fact that a powerful tribe of serpentfolk resided within.
Most importantly, through a secret channel, they discovered that Serpent Valley was the very site of the ruins of the Academy of Jixia.
Even Yi Tianxing himself had come here.
Yi Tianxing came. The Academy of Jixia had been here. The serpentfolk tribe had been here as well. Yet despite the Academy having left long ago, the serpentfolk still thrived here. That alone puzzled them. It was clear that these serpentfolk were no ordinary beings.
Otherwise, the Hall of Calamity wouldn't have dispatched them here.
Now, with the sudden appearance of the Beastman Horde, each of them inwardly felt that something monumental was about to happen—something capable of shaking the heavens.
Hearts burning with urgency.
This must be reported to the Hall of Calamity, and directly to Emperor Tong.
"I'll contact the boss."
The Dog King spoke decisively.
Regardless of why the beastman army had arrived, the information must be relayed immediately.
With a thought, he activated his communication talisman.
Whoosh!
A flash of light erupted from the talisman, projecting a light screen. The image of Emperor Tong appeared on it. Though they were outside the territory of the Great Yi Dynasty, the communication device could still force a connection through the infusion of true essence, albeit at a greater cost.
Thanks to these communication devices, Hall of Calamity agents could move about the wilderness with great ease. Messages could be transmitted with lightning speed—countless times faster than normal channels.
"Dog King, contacting me like this—have you uncovered something major?"
A voice rang in their minds, Emperor Tong speaking clearly, as if face to face. Video communication made distance irrelevant.
The group wasn't surprised; they were already well accustomed to this.
"Greetings, Hall Master,"they all greeted quietly.
"No need for formalities. Has something happened in Serpent Valley? Last time, unidentified beastmen were spotted lurking nearby."
A sharp glint appeared in Emperor Tong's eyes.
"Boss, it's big. A large beastman army has just arrived outside Serpent Valley. Judging by our observations, it's the legions of the Myriad Beast Imperial Court. There are Behemoth-class powerhouses among them. They've already surrounded the valley. They're definitely up to something. We couldn't get close, so we don't know the exact details yet."
Dog King quickly reported.
"Serpent Valley… the Myriad Beast Imperial Court…"
Emperor Tong's expression shifted. He immediately said:
"Dog King, keep watch. Monitor everything closely. I'll report to the higher-ups at once. If you see the Serpent Queen, make sure she's kept safe—at all costs."
His tone left no room for argument.
"Serpent Queen?"
Fu Chang looked startled.
"Understood, Boss,"Dog King replied without hesitation. He didn't ask further—clearly, this Serpent Queen was no ordinary figure. The Emperor's command made that much clear.
The call ended swiftly.
Dog King and the others exchanged glances. They all knew—this mission would be far from easy.
At the same time, Emperor Tong had already rushed toward the palace to find Yi Tianxing.
But at this moment, Yi Tianxing was not at the palace.
After returning from the Thorny Plains, a massive number of refugees had already been resettled across various Immortal Cities under the oversight of Huang Chengyan and others. Yi Tianxing, however, had gone straight back to Xuanhuang City, not even setting foot in the palace. Instead, he entered the core space of the Immortal City.
Now that he had acquired the Well of Eternity, he was eager to fuse it with Xuanhuang City, allowing the city to evolve completely.
Inside the core space, the first thing he saw was the Money Tree towering in the void. It had grown to an incredible height of over a hundred zhang, with countless branches and leaves sprawling outward like a canopy blocking the sky.
It was truly immense.
This entire tree was composed of Eternal Coins—a priceless treasure.
Clink! Clink! Clink!
Above the tree, spent white Eternal Coins floated up into the air, merging back into the tree. At the same time, fresh golden Eternal Coins constantly fell from its branches, endless as a waterfall.
Beneath the tree lay a mountain of Eternal Coins, densely packed, beyond counting.
Any cultivator who saw this would probably faint from shock.
The Money Tree glowed faintly. If one looked closely, every coin's square hole glimmered with white and black lights.
Gradually, from these lights, white Will Beads and black Demon Thought Beads condensed. The square holes were soon filled, making the coins appear solid—no longer hollow at their centers.
These altered Eternal Coins covered the tree, falling endlessly like rain.
The white Will Beads vanished into the void as they fell, merging into the city's core, nourishing and expanding it. Every day, Xuanhuang City grew larger—its body expanding invisibly, even though to the common folk it still appeared the same size.
"The Money Tree has reached such a state… With more Eternal Coin circulation, it can grow to a thousand zhang, ten thousand zhang… becoming a true supreme treasure tree. The larger the tree, the stronger my Great Yi."
Yi Tianxing was secretly pleased.
The Money Tree was one of the Great Yi's foundational cornerstones. Without it, the nation wouldn't have grown so rapidly. Thanks to the tree's ability to regenerate coins, Eternal Coin supply never ran dry. Without it, coin shortage would've strangled expansion.
This was a business of pure profit—money making more money, day after day.
Clink! Clink! Clink!
Yi Tianxing willed the tree to shake slightly.
At once, the mature white and black beads fell like ripe fruits, unleashing a dazzling rain of black and white in the core space.
There was especially a mountain of Demon Thought Beads.
"These can't be left lying around. They must be refined into Eternal Coins to maximize value. Leaving them here is wasteful."
He waved a hand, sweeping the Demon Thought Beads into the Hongmeng Heavenly Emperor Tower, sending them into the Heaven-Earth Coin Foundry. Soon, they would become a sea of Eternal Coins.
Since the Great Yi expanded—accepting human refugees, opening trade with foreign races, even running black markets—the demand for Eternal Coins had surged astronomically. No one in the administration truly knew how many coins existed. Only Yi Tianxing knew they were infinitely renewable.
"Let's do this—Well of Eternity, merge with the Supreme Immortal City. Become its new core energy source!"
Gazing once more at the Money Tree, he wasted no time. With a flash of light, he summoned the Well of Eternity, a chaotic-colored divine well.
With a shout, it floated into the center of the core space and began fusing with it.
Boom!
The moment fusion began, every citizen clearly felt the ground beneath their feet shudder violently—like an earthquake. Then, the entire city emitted radiant white jade light.
The streets turned jade-white. Energy currents surged like dragons. Countless runes flashed. Buildings everywhere began glowing.
The Scripture Pavilion, Heaven-reaching Tower, Moon Well, Rainbow Fountain—all radiated divine brilliance, fusing completely into the city, their energy flows fully integrated.
The most striking change was to the Palace Treasure Tree, which now glowed brilliantly and began growing visibly.
One zhang… two… three…
It was as if it had been injected with divine steroids—growing frenziedly.
Roar!!
The Twelve Zodiac Statues in the city also began glowing, each emitting fierce battle cries. One of the statues—previously lacking an Innate Spirit Vein—suddenly surged with spiritual resonance and skyrocketing vitality.