It wasn't long before Hua Zhan, Yuan Xunyu, and several others followed Mo Tian in achieving the Spirit God realm.

"Boom!"

Two days later, a pillar of azure smoke abruptly condensed into existence.

Beneath the smoke column, Qing Yue's delicate and exquisite form suddenly transformed into a colossal "Azure Moon Illusory Heart Orchid." The orchid then swayed violently, threads of faint blue energy seeping out, coalescing in the void into a slender, beautiful woman clad in cyan robes.

This woman's features were identical to Qing Yue’s, but her body had expanded manifold, reaching the size of a normal human.

"This little lass, daring to remodel her physical body while achieving the Spirit God realm," Nie Kong couldn't help but chuckle upon seeing this spectacle.

"Nie Kong, your grandma is a Spirit God now too."

A moment later, the pillar of smoke, along with the "Azure Moon Illusory Heart Orchid," merged back into Qing Yue's body. The moment she saw Nie Kong, she fluttered over excitedly, clapping her arms as if she used to, intending to swing from his ear like a child on a swing. But when her fingers brushed his earlobe, she froze.

Seeing her bewildered expression, Nie Kong nearly burst his sides laughing.

"Oh dear, I totally forgot Grandma has grown so big! Time to find a new grandson to play with." Qing Yue let out a couple of sly chuckles, her eyes darting around as she immediately set her sights on the small, fair, and plump gourd several dozen meters away.

"Hoo! Hoo..."

Wrapped in dense Spirit Power and Divine Power elements, the gourd's milky white belly swelled intermittently. The aura within was rapidly ascending; clearly, it too was at a critical juncture.

Qing Yue rested a hand on her chin, silently circling the gourd, her eyes gleaming with mischievous light.

Nie Kong paid no mind to Qing Yue's subtle maneuvers. His gaze swept over the assembled group, his brow furrowing slightly as he seemed lost in deep thought. Up to this point, every Celestial Spirit Master and Ninth-Rank Black Spirit Master he had invited to cultivate in the "Violet Luo Space" had broken through to the Spirit God realm.

Several minutes passed before the deep furrow in Nie Kong's brow finally smoothed out. A single thought conveyed itself to Zhan Xinzi.

Zhan Xinzi suddenly opened his eyes and looked at Nie Kong, his gaze holding an expression of disbelief. But quickly, he suppressed this shock, gave a slight nod, and the Divine Power elements swirling around him dispersed. Simultaneously, a thread of black light separated from within his body.

This black light solidified into a phantom image of Zhan Xinzi and settled at the bottom of the Violet Luo Space.

Instantly, a spiritual thought roared out from Nie Kong, enveloping Zhan Xinzi entirely. The next moment, he vanished from the "Violet Luo Space."

Nie Kong sent another thought toward Mo Huang.

In an instant, the Pill King of the Sky Evasion Sect ceased his cultivation and almost perfectly replicated Zhan Xinzi's actions, being escorted out of the "Violet Luo Space" by Nie Kong's spiritual thought.

Time flowed quietly, and the figures seated in the space rapidly diminished.

Jing Ji, Hua Ruxian, Long Tiangong, Hua Caidie...

With every person who departed, a faint phantom image was added to the base of the space. In the end, only Mu Xueyi, Hua Pianxian, Grand Sovereign of Great Evolution, Tai Yan, and Hua Mei remained in the space, while the number of phantoms had already reached twenty-four. Each departing Spirit God had separated a sliver of soul power to form one such phantom.

Tss! Tss...

Nie Kong flicked his fingers in succession, sending out streaks of chaotic divine power that thoroughly shrouded those phantoms, completely severing their connection to their main bodies.

In the future, even if the main bodies of Zhan Xinzi and the others died in the outside world, the souls left here would remain unaffected.

As long as Nie Kong lived, he could use these souls at any time to help Zhan Xinzi and the others reconstruct their physical bodies and bring them back to life. This was the fallback plan Nie Kong had prepared for them.

"Kong'er, send Mother back to the Yin Ruins as well." At some unknown point, Mu Xueyi had interrupted her cultivation and approached Nie Kong's side.

"No, you must stay here." Nie Kong rejected the idea without thinking. Once the Boundary Gate opened, how could the Yin Ruins possibly be as safe as the Violet Luo Space?

"You child, you sent away Dragon King and Empress Hua; how can Mother abandon the Yin Ruins to hide here? Your Aunt Qing... Third Aunt... and Qingying are all in the Yin Ruins." Mu Xueyi shot Nie Kong a look, irritably pinching his ear.

"Mother, let's talk nicely, please let go first." Seeing Grand Sovereign of Great Evolution and Hua Pianxian watching him with amused grins, Nie Kong felt a flush of embarrassment and quickly pleaded.

"..."

After much struggling, Nie Kong ultimately could not prevail over Mu Xueyi and sent her out of the Violet Luo Space. However, like Long Tiangong and the others, a trace of her soul remained here. Furthermore, when Nie Kong returned from Yin Yue City, he brought several more souls back with him.

"Nie Kong, are you worrying too much? Even if the Boundary Gate is forcibly ripped open and those Spirit Gods from the Grand Sovereign Spirit Realm enter the Celestial Spirit Continent, are they going to start slaughtering ordinary Spirit Masters?" Hua Caidie frowned, seeming quite unimpressed by Nie Kong's actions.

"Who can say for sure about such things? It's better to be careful," Nie Kong said calmly, casting a sidelong glance at her. Ever since sensing the roaring emanating from the Boundary Gate, Nie Kong had harbored a terrible premonition. Now, the roar was growing stronger, the gate on the verge of being forced open, and his sense of foreboding intensified.

Regardless of whether he was overthinking it, Nie Kong had to make preparations.

As he spoke, Nie Kong once again separated several dozen spiritual thoughts, which surged out of the Violet Luo Space and radiated outward. Jiyang City, Luo City, Spirit Imperial City, Flower Butterfly Secret Realm, Dragon Island, Sea God Palace, Sand Empire, Ice and Snow Kingdom... wisps of souls were quietly drawn out by Nie Kong and brought into the space via the spiritual thoughts.

Almost simultaneously, numerous figures were enveloped by Nie Kong's spiritual thoughts, rapidly traversing thousands of miles of space to enter the Violet Luo Space...

Roughly an hour or two later.

"Brother, I didn't realize Fairy Mei and Fairy Ting Lei both had daughters; they are so adorable," Tai Yan followed Nie Kong out of the "Violet Luo Space," recalling the two rosy-cheeked, porcelain-doll-like little girls she had just seen, her face full of envy. Then, she looked confused, "Brother, is Ting Lei Sister's daughter really yours? I didn't even know you two had fought—"

"Tai Yan, I'll tell you about that later." Nie Kong couldn't help but give a dry laugh; as for his entanglement with Yu Ting Lei, not only did she not know, but he himself had been kept in the dark at the time.

Tai Yan nodded obediently, while Grand Sovereign of Great Evolution merely pouted, showing a hint of disdain.

Nie Kong ignored the Grand Sovereign of Great Evolution, moved his mind, and Xiang Xiang manifested from within his body. Nie Kong placed the little creature into Tai Yan's arms and instructed, "Tai Yan, I'm entrusting this little one to you. Once we reach Yin Yue City, you and the Great Evolution Sovereign must enter the 'Violet Luo Space' first. If there is no danger in the Yin Ruins, don't reveal yourselves; if you do show yourselves and encounter danger you cannot handle, you must immediately enter the 'Violet Luo Space.' This little one will guide everyone to hide, and no one will be able to trace your whereabouts."

"Brother..." Worry filled Tai Yan's beautiful eyes, while the little creature remained carefree, letting out an "Ah-ya-ya" sound as it burrowed into Tai Yan's full chest.

"Don't worry, Brother won't die!"

"..."