"Yi Prefecture—such a name is acknowledged by Heaven and Earth itself. It carries with it destiny and providence. Whoever unites this land first will naturally gain Heaven's favor. The unification of Yi Prefecture under the Great Yi Dynasty is now an irreversible fact."The Hanhai Dragon King spoke in a deep voice.
This battle, within the Hanhai Sea Region, was also among the grandest and most earth-shaking. Naturally, the Hanhai Dragon Palace could not remain ignorant of it. In fact, they had employed special methods to observe the entire battle. They had personally witnessed the duel between Yi Tianxing and the Behemoth King, seen the Behemoth King's burning fighting spirit, his death through exhaustion—an honorable and upright death, worthy of a sovereign.
But they also personally witnessed the terrifying power displayed by Yi Tianxing.
Especially at the moment when the Hongmeng Heavenly Emperor Tower appeared—its power had clearly surpassed the limits of the Nascent Soul Realm. Even those in the Yang God Realm would be hard-pressed to reach such heights.
That suppressive force—it was inhuman.
"Father, that treasure must be the Yi Emperor's life-bound artifact. It is said to be the Hongmeng Heavenly Emperor Tower. Judging from what we saw, its power is immense. Even though it's only a Heaven-grade exotic treasure, it already has the ability to destroy worlds. No doubt, it contains space within and exerts immense suppressive force—similar to the legendary Twenty-Four Heavens Pagoda or the Golden Exquisite Pagoda," said Ao Qi.
Only a Cave Heaven treasure could exhibit such tyrannical force—capable of overwhelming resistance and unleashing astonishing destructive power. These treasures often drew upon the power of a self-contained world to attack or suppress foes.
Naturally, such treasures were also notoriously difficult to improve.
"This tower doesn't yet reach the level of the Twenty-Four Heavens Pagoda, but its potential is immense. Still, upgrading it is no easy feat. Being only Heaven-grade now is telling. Cave Heaven treasures are not invincible—if someone brought out an Innate Spirit Treasure, this tower might still be shattered, no matter how powerful it is. At that level, it's a clash of laws and the Dao itself," the Dragon King stated calmly.
In his eyes, while the Hongmeng Heavenly Emperor Tower was powerful, whether it could ever grow to its full potential was still a big question. Nurturing such a treasure required an immense amount of resources—enough to bankrupt a great faction.
Most Cave Heaven treasures required the devouring of various space-based treasures to expand their internal world. And the materials they could absorb had strict requirements.
Of course, what he could not know was that the Hongmeng Tower was a glutton without restraint, containing a chaotic space that could devour almost anything, reducing it to primordial energy and merging it into its own world—turning all into chaotic origin energy.
It could devour anything and refine everything. This marked a fundamental difference from other Cave Heaven treasures, which were limited in what they could consume.
Its efficiency and foundation were unmatched.
Add to that the Nightmare World as a deep reservoir, and today's Hongmeng Tower was no longer what it used to be. Its potential was virtually limitless, far beyond the Dragon King's expectations.
Still, the Dragon King wasn't wrong. If the Hongmeng Tower clashed head-on with a true Innate Spirit Treasure, it might not end well.
"Now that Yi Prefecture is unified, it won't be long before the Great Yi's reach extends to other areas of the Hanhai Sea. The flames of war are about to spread," Ao Qi said with a smile.
The Hanhai Sea didn't need peace. Chaos and constant killing were what allowed the Dragon Clan to maintain its position at the top, aloof from worldly struggles, growing stronger with every conflict—until the right time came to sweep across the world and decide the fate of Heaven and Earth.
Yi Prefecture—north of it lies the Ten Thousand Beasts Plain. With the fall of the Beast King Court, this region naturally came under the control of the Great Yi.
To the south were the major non-human tribes, led by the Winged Men and the Three-Eyed Gods. In the recent war, these tribes participated and, upon their defeat, either went into hiding or fled overseas.
With the Great Yi army sweeping through, the southern lands were soon subdued. Few dared resist—the tides of fate had turned.
To the west, scouting revealed large numbers of nomadic tribes—Xianbei, Xiongnu, Mongols, and others. Once they learned of the Great Yi's victory over the Beast King Court and its control of the east, south, and north, panic set in.
Responses varied. Some fled overseas or used rare treasures to forcibly relocate their tribes beyond Yi Prefecture. Others, lacking such means, chose surrender after much deliberation.
These barbarians, while ethnically diverse, were still mostly part of the human race. Any tribe that had not committed atrocities against Han civilians was accepted without hesitation. But those that had enslaved or treated Han as food were given no mercy—the army crushed them. All males over one meter tall were executed. Only women and children were spared.
Children, not yet indoctrinated by barbarian ideology, could be re-educated. As for the women—the wombs of humanity, even if of barbarian origin, they were still human and could bear children for the Great Yi. If they were willing, they could marry Great Yi men and raise families.
On this point, the Great Yi was especially generous toward women and children.
After all, the future of humanity depended on women.
In truth, many of the women in these barbarian tribes were originally from Han lineages.
The western campaign lasted less than a month before all threats were purged. An enormous population was absorbed—five hundred million people from barbarian surrenders.
Add to that one billion from the Beast King Court, and another two to three hundred million humans from the Ten Thousand Beasts Plain.
Additionally, the south yielded another five hundred million Han civilians.
In total, Yi Prefecture now held over three billion human beings.
Great Yi Dynasty.
Within Xuanhuang City, the Imperial Palace perched atop a divine tree, commanding the entire realm.
In the imperial garden pavilion, Yi Tianxing stood gazing into the sky. Through his Innate Yin-Yang Eyes, he saw immortal cities appearing one after another across Yi Prefecture. Almost every thousand kilometers, one would descend.
Each city naturally drew in the earth's essence, forming geomantic lines, and resonated with existing Great Yi cities—connected in qi and fate.
And as time passed, streams of national destiny emerged from the ground. The longer the cities stood, the more powerful these streams became. Eventually, they began to turn blue.
"The East and West are now under our control. The North is mostly subdued. It won't be long before the entire Yi Prefecture is covered with immortal cities. Once the South is fully integrated—Yi Prefecture will be ours," Yi Tianxing said, taking a deep breath.
"This was all thanks to Your Majesty's brilliance and tireless effort. Today, over three billion people are offering incense and painting portraits of Your Majesty at home, treating you like a living god," said Cao Zhengchun, respectfully standing by.
He was deeply grateful to have followed Yi Tianxing from the start. Now high-ranking within the palace, he was known everywhere as Lord Cao, in charge of all palace affairs.
More importantly, he had witnessed the rise of humanity, and the ever-strengthening Great Yi.
Today, Yi Tianxing was like a living Buddha of all families, revered by all.
"Seizing the land is easy; ruling it is hard. Only through relentless self-strengthening can we ensure today's gains aren't lost," Yi Tianxing remarked.
The war was difficult, but construction was the real test.
Although the Great Yi had expanded several times over, internally, it was still fragile. There was no way around it—only time could solidify the foundation.
It would take months, years, or even more to absorb it all.
Xuanhuang City now floated in the air—not stationary, but drifting constantly, its position ever-shifting. One moment here, the next elsewhere. It was near impossible to locate unless one used the teleportation arrays in the immortal cities.
This constant drifting allowed it to oversee all of Yi Prefecture, never fixed on a single area—an approach that fostered unity and balance across the region.
"Your Majesty, the Serpent Empress is about to give birth. Please come quickly!"At that moment, a peerlessly beautiful palace maid rushed over. Upon seeing Yi Tianxing, her eyes lit up with urgency.
"What? The Serpent Empress is in labor?"Yi Tianxing's heart raced with excitement and anticipation.
After years of pregnancy, the birth was finally near—his second child was about to be born.
"Good. I'll go at once."
In a flash, he vanished from the pavilion and reappeared in the Serpent Palace, where the Serpent Empress resided. There, he saw Cai Yan and the other consorts already gathered, all with visible baby bumps—their own due dates not far off.
"Husband!!"Cai Yan and the others called out joyfully upon seeing him arrive.