To hell with his Brahmins. To hell with his Kunlun, his Zhongnan Sect, to hell with his A'e Ding, and yes, to hell with the Twin Sages of the Buddhist Gate.

Gu Xiechen retreated into the Spiral Starfield, determined to focus entirely on his closed-door cultivation, no longer paying heed to the storms raging in the outside world.

He had finally understood: there were still countless hidden traps within these Nine Heavens, Ten Earths, and Three Realms. Just as the three old Daoists had said, without cultivation surpassing that of a Grand Unity Golden Immortal (Daluo Jinxian), one was utterly unqualified to know the profound secrets involved. He currently only possessed the power of an early-stage Daluo Jinxian; how could he possibly qualify to meddle in those affairs?

The disciples of the Nine Nether Dao completely withdrew, every member pulling back into the impregnable Spiral Starfield to concentrate on their training.

With the Great Dao taught by Gu Xiechen, with the methods and magic arts of righteous and unorthodox paths imparted by the Corpse Emperor, Han Mian, Yang Jian, and the Monkey, and bathed day and night by an endless supply of starlight power, the cultivation and magical prowess of the Nine Nether Dao disciples soared, advancing by a thousand miles a day.

Time slipped by thus, and in an instant, nine years had passed.

On this day, within the imperial bedchamber of the Yafeike Palace, a tide of crimson flushed the sheets, and subtle fluctuations of magical power faintly spread outwards, accompanied by the soft, pattering sound of scattered rain outside.

In the soft, warm embrace of the covers, Gu Xiechen frowned deeply, holding the equally troubled Fuya?Ming. Both sighed simultaneously.

"It seems that the higher the cultivation, the harder it is to conceive. This is the rule of the Heavenly Dao; we have labored for nine years!" Gu Xiechen lamented with resignation.

Fuya?Ming gritted her teeth and fiercely dug her nails into Gu Xiechen's waist. Her alluring eyes flickered towards him as she hissed, "No matter how difficult! I must have a child! When you were running around outside, at least someone was here to keep me company!"

Nodding forcefully, Gu Xiechen gently placed his hands on Fuya?Ming's shoulders and asked, "Then, shall we try once more?"

Peeking half a face out from under the covers, a seductive eye glanced at the light filtering through the window. Fuya?Ming hesitated slightly. "Well, just one more time then!"

They shared a smile, kissed lightly, took a deep breath together, and sank back into the rosy depths of the covers.

Wave after wave began to churn. The bed, several meters long and wide, rose and fell rhythmically according to some hidden cadence. About thirty percent of the starlight filling the heavens concentrated above the bedchamber roof, transforming into unyielding power that merged into the bodies of Gu Xiechen and Fuya?Ming.

For a Daluo Jinxian to successfully conceive, the opportune time, advantageous location, and human harmony must all be perfectly aligned. Nourishing the entire body with the power of the Celestial Cycle Stars, nurturing the flesh with the spiritual energy of the earth veins—Heaven's timing and Earth's advantage were both secured. Now, it all depended on the luck of Gu Xiechen and Fuya?Ming.

To increase the probability of pregnancy, they could mobilize thirty percent of the starlight from the one hundred and eight Heavenly Stars and Earthly Fiends for their use. Such a grand undertaking was rarely matched in the Three Realms throughout history. Setting aside the ancient Great Sages, who else possessed such authority? Who else possessed such power?

Three days and three nights later, Gu Xiechen and Fuya?Ming both let out low moans. After a long spell of heavy breathing, they slowly managed to emerge halfway from the covers. Fuya?Ming bared her teeth and furiously bit down on Gu Xiechen's shoulder.

She complained in feigned anger, "Whose fault is it that you didn't propose to me ten thousand years ago? Now that we've reached this realm, having a child is this difficult!"

Gu Xiechen embraced her tenderly, soothing her gently. "It's alright, it's alright. There are so many Daluo Jinxians in the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, and they all have descendants. This is just a matter of probability. We'll try a few more times—a few hundred, a few thousand, a few tens of thousands of times—and we will surely succeed once!"

Fuya?Ming furiously gnashed her teeth and tore at Gu Xiechen's flesh for a while, only to discover that his skin was incomparably tougher than aged cowhide. Her teeth couldn't even leave a faint white mark on his skin, so she had no choice but to release her jaw and suddenly let out a soft sigh. Gu Xiechen frowned, looking at her confusion. "What's wrong?"

Fuya?Ming wrapped her arms around Gu Xiechen, snuggling deeper into his embrace, and asked in a low voice, "When will this ever end? Cultivate, cultivate again. Continuously accumulate strength—what is it all for?"

Gently kissing Fuya?Ming's forehead, Gu Xiechen murmured, "It's so that our child will never have to cultivate with such desperate urgency, never have to keep cultivating, never have to continuously accumulate strength. So that when he is with his beloved, he never has to worry about the casualties of his sect members. Never have to worry about happiness being popped like a soap bubble with a single touch."

Staring blankly for a moment, Fuya?Ming whispered, "Can we achieve that?"

Gu Xiechen took a deep breath and suddenly bit Fuya?Ming's earlobe. "What do you think? Of course, we can!"

After a brief pause, Fuya?Ming suddenly leaped into the air and laughed uproariously at the sky. "Of course, we absolutely can! I need to inspect the research progress of the newest level of Super Fortress today. What are your plans?"

Gu Xiechen calculated the dates between his fingers and smiled. "I do. I'll make a trip back to Earth. Then, I’m going to the Frozen Hell."

Fuya?Ming didn't waste any more words. When she reverted to her role as Empress of Yafeike, her decisive ruthlessness was several times stronger than any man's. She cleanly pulled Gu Xiechen up, scrubbed him clean in the bath, dressed him in a new Daoist robe, and then kicked him out of the palace.

Gu Xiechen regretfully offered a few instructions to Fuya?Ming, only to see her leading a large retinue of guards and soaring away into the clouds.

Stretching vigorously, Gu Xiechen looked around. Not taking anyone with him, he dove straight underground and used a massive Star Teleportation Array to instantly travel to Earth.

Without alerting anyone, Gu Xiechen emerged from the colossal Star Teleportation Array on Earth, employed his Evasion Technique to fly swiftly for a while, and finally vanished into an extremely hidden ice valley in the South Pole of the Earth.

This ice valley was not large. On the Earth, which had expanded several times in volume over the last ten thousand years, this small valley—only a hundred miles long and three to five miles wide—was as inconspicuous as the finest speck of dust on a rubber ball.

The eternally cold wind swept blizzards over the ice valley. Gu Xiechen slipped into the ice valley, which looked utterly ordinary from the outside, and with a flicker of his form, arrived at its very end.

Here lay a cold pool, about a li in diameter. Even though the external temperature had dropped to nearly minus one hundred degrees, the inky black water of the pool remained unfrozen. A Cold Serpent, entirely pearly white, with a single horn on its head and two dragon claws beneath its belly, was swimming in the pool. This serpent moved sluggishly, like an old man of seventy or eighty, yet whenever its two massive eyeballs swiveled, they were filled with expressions of sharp cunning and deceit.

A sudden gust of wind swept by, and the Cold Serpent reacted swiftly, raising its head to roar in a low voice, "Which reckless fool dares to stir up trouble near this venerable one?"

The Cold Serpent's movement suddenly became lightning-fast. Its body flickered, transforming into human form: a youth who appeared seventeen or eighteen, possessing an arrogant aura, clad in a set of white-boiled immortal armor, holding a broken halberd in hand—truly majestic and radiating an aura of murderous intent.

The gale subsided, and Gu Xiechen's form materialized from the wind's shadow.

The youth that the Cold Serpent had transformed into immediately knelt on the ground with a fawning smile, bowing his head repeatedly. "Esteemed Grand Master of the Sect, is that truly you? Oh my, why didn't you notify this humble demon earlier so we could arrange a proper welcome?"

Glaring at the Cold Serpent, Gu Xiechen cursed with a laugh, "Stop the chatter. Just guard the entrance well. Don't go looking for trouble without cause."

Casually tossing the Cold Serpent a blood-colored spiritual elixir that smelled strongly of fish, Gu Xiechen transformed into a cascade of water and plunged into the cold pool.

This cold pool, only about a li across, plunged nearly a thousand li deep. At the very bottom stood a paifang (archway) carved from white crystal. Arrayed on either side of the exquisite archway in a wild goose formation stood two ranks of demon soldiers. Each one was brimming with vitality, their Daoist aura surging. They were all creatures like fish, shrimp, crabs, and turtles, yet every one possessed cultivation at the Golden Immortal level or higher.

Especially the leaders of these two ranks of demon soldiers—they were two Shark Demons, each at the Taiyi Golden Immortal level. They wore suits of blood-colored armor and held long, serrated halberds, their large eyes sweeping their surroundings, shooting out two powerful beams of light like searchlights, illuminating the depths of the pool as brightly as day.

Seeing Gu Xiechen sink toward the bottom, the demon soldiers immediately knelt down, repeatedly shouting praises to the Grand Master of the Sect.

Gu Xiechen gave a soft command for the lesser demons to rise. He proceeded through the paifang and arrived at an underwater palace.

This water palace was magnificent, shaped entirely like a giant scallop, spanning over a hundred li in circumference. It descended through eighteen levels, each one a palace and pavilion forged from countless rare treasures, filled with countless strange flowers and exotic plants, countless rare heavenly materials and earthly treasures, and housing over a hundred thousand demon cultivators of various sizes training within.

Every corner of this nameless water palace was suffused with a strange, marvelous light. Every part of the palace was warm as spring and bright as daylight. Moreover, the spiritual energy here was incredibly dense, a hundred times richer than the blessed lands of Kunlun or Zhongnan in those ancient years—truly a supreme dwelling, an excellent residence for Dao cultivators.

Ruling this grotto-heaven were two great demons, both possessing the cultivation of early-stage Daluo Jinxian: one was a Three-Headed Poisonous Python, and the other a Two-Headed Flood Dragon.

Upon hearing of Gu Xiechen's arrival, the two great demons, who had been expounding Daoist principles to their subordinates, hurriedly dismissed all the lesser demons and rushed to serve Gu Xiechen. Gu Xiechen said little, merely instructing them to lead the way to an unremarkable side hall deep within the water palace.

This side hall contained three large alchemy furnaces, used by the lesser demons for practice and honing their pill refinement skills. Seven or eight clumsy little demons were currently busy around the three furnaces. Fierce flames billowed from the furnaces, and suddenly, a small rat demon had its tail caught by the blaze. Screaming in pain, it darted around the hall, screeching pathetically—a truly pitiful sight.

Gu Xiechen arrived, led by the two great demons. The lesser demons in the hall seemed not to notice the trio, continuing their tasks diligently. Gu Xiechen, likewise, appeared not to see the small demons. He walked straight to the first step before the entrance of the side hall, formed a hand seal, and shot a beam of spiritual light towards the two Ming Mei beasts guarding the sides of the steps.

The steps beneath his feet suddenly revealed a map of the Celestial Cycle Stars. Countless stars faintly spun, gradually condensing into a streak of silver flowing light that swallowed Gu Xiechen whole.

Innumerable starlights swirled before him. In the next instant, Gu Xiechen arrived in a peculiar realm.

This was a small world constructed from the innate stellar power of the Innate Star Lords of the Celestial Cycle, excluding the one hundred and eight Fiend Stars of the Heavenly Gang—comprised of over eighty thousand Innate Star Lords. The inherent life-force stellar power of eighty thousand-plus Innate Star Lords saturated this place; the concentration of stellar power here was ten thousand times more intense than in the Spiral Starfield.

At the very center of this miniature world was a small planet, only a million li in diameter. This planet was covered in green mountains and clear waters, filled with lush trees and flowering plants, all of which were rare spiritual roots and treasures seldom seen in the mortal world.

Under the full illumination of the innate stellar power from over eighty thousand Innate Star Lords, this planet was truly a place where spirituality permeated every step, and demons emerged from every corner.

Every piece of mountain rock, every peak, every great river, and every lake on this planet had cultivated its own spirituality and materialized into various types of spirits. Mountain gods, earth deities, and the Dragon Kings of the rivers and seas were all born from these rocks, peaks, rivers, and seas achieving sentience and cultivating themselves.

Every great tree here had cultivated into a spirit; every flower had transformed into a demon; every blade of grass was a gaga zhizhi spirit tumbling and crawling across the ground. The insects, fish, birds, and beasts here had all cultivated demon bodies. Those flying in the sky, those walking on the ground, those swimming in the water, those burrowing deep beneath the earth—all had cultivated into demons. Even the planet itself, bathed by the life-force stellar power of over eighty thousand Innate Star Lords, had cultivated spirituality. The core of this planet was incubating a colossal demonic spirit, and every day, people arranged by Gu Xiechen lectured it on Daoist principles and taught it divine abilities. Although this demonic spirit had not yet formally manifested its form, it already possessed the cultivation of an early-stage Daluo Jinxian!

The stellar power of over eighty thousand Innate Star Lords was gathered entirely within this tiny world. Originally, the stellar power of these eighty thousand-plus Innate Star Lords was meant to illuminate all living beings across the entire universe's billions of star domains!

Even the Ancient Haotian God, who governed the Three Realms and held dominion over the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, would never dare to command all the inherent stellar power of all the Innate Star Lords to illuminate only his own celestial soldiers and generals, as Gu Xiechen did. Yet, Gu Xiechen had done precisely that—he had issued the order!

On this planet, atop a great peak a hundred li high, the Daylight Bodhisattva, the foremost disciple under Fuya?Ming, sat cross-legged on a mountain crag, cheerfully chattering on and on to the one hundred and eight thousand neatly arranged demons seated before him.

"You must remember, Grand Master of the Sect, Lord Gu Xiechen, is Heaven, is Earth, is the law of justice, is the symbol of the Heavenly Dao."

"You must remember, the Empress Fuya?Ming, the primary consort of the Grand Master of the Sect, is also Heaven, is also Earth, is also the law of justice, is also the symbol of the Heavenly Dao."

"You must remember, the food you eat is bestowed upon you by the Grand Master of the Sect and the Empress."

"You must remember, the drinks you consume are bestowed upon you by the Grand Master of the Sect and the Empress!"

"You must remember, the clothes you wear are bestowed upon you by the Grand Master of the Sect and the Empress!"

"You must remember, without the Grand Master of the Sect and the Empress, there would be no you, no eternal life achieved through cultivation that you possess today! Your parents only gave you a few litters and dull intellect, but the Grand Master of the Sect and the Empress gave you intelligence, gave you cultivation, gave you divine abilities, transforming you from insignificant ants at the mercy of others into powerful Demon Immortals!"

"Therefore, the Grand Master of the Sect and the Empress are your second parents, even closer than your birth parents… You must always remember, in every moment, that for the Grand Master and the Empress, you can give everything, you should give everything, and you must give everything!"

The Daylight Bodhisattva spoke volubly, ceaselessly spewing forth golden lotus blossoms that deeply engraved his words into the souls of these demons.

Since achieving corporeal form, these demons had had these words imprinted upon their hearts by the Buddhist powers wielded by Fuya?Ming's disciples. These demons had never interacted with beings from the outside world; everything about them, from their lives to their souls, belonged entirely to Gu Xiechen and Fuya?Ming.

On this planet spanning a million kilometers in diameter, there were billions of demons—all suicidal loyalists ready to serve Gu Xiechen and Fuya?Ming with their lives.

In addition to these demons, there were nearly a hundred million citizens from the Earth Federation and Yafeike who had been taken from their parents and brought here immediately after birth. They, too, underwent brainwashing education from childhood. All they did was cultivate, or engage in mutual combat to train. Everything they did was in preparation for discarding their lives and sacrificing themselves should Gu Xiechen and Fuya?Ming give the order.

Among these cultivators raised from youth, Daoist cultivators made up fifty percent, Buddhist cultivators thirty percent, and those of the Heretical Dao made up ten percent. Due to the ceaseless infusion of Celestial Cycle Star Power without cost, the average cultivation of these cultivators was a full great realm higher than that of the Nine Nether Dao disciples in the Spiral Starfield!

All cultivators on this planet, whether they were demons, ghosts, monsters, or Buddhist/Daoist practitioners, were trained according to the standards of a regular army.

Orders obeyed instantly, execution decisive, utterly ruthless—this was a corps of special forces among Daoists, the trump card Gu Xiechen prepared for himself, the greatest source of his confidence in future endeavors.

One planet was not enough. When Gu Xiechen’s cultivation became sufficiently powerful in the future, this secret domain would feature a second planet, a third, a fourth, and a fifth.

The number of cultivators here would continuously grow, and their strength would increase, yet their loyalty would never waver.

A lie repeated ten thousand times becomes the truth. The Daylight Bodhisattva and the others repeated these words tens of thousands of times daily. In their continuous propagation over the years, the Daylight Bodhisattva and the others had become somewhat single-minded, thoroughly trapped by their own sermons—let alone the demons and cultivators subjected to their indoctrination day and night.

Gu Xiechen’s divine sense swept over the planet with satisfaction. In the blink of an eye, he located the person he had come to find this time.

On a grassland spanning ten thousand li, Xin Long'er, the only son of Princess Mi'er and Xin Jia, was leading a demon army of thirty thousand to battle against another force—led by Xin Kuan'er, the only son of Xin Wu!

Over these years, with Gu Xiechen's deliberate indulgence, or perhaps intentional instigation, brothers like Xin Jia had all married human women and fathered children. Even veteran Heavenly Generals like the four brothers of Mo Liqing had married mortals and had children, spurred on intentionally or unintentionally by Gu Xiechen.

There were millions of Heavenly Soldiers and Generals in the Spiral Starfield who had married mortals and sired offspring, and all their children had been collected by Gu Xiechen and brought here for training.

These children were equally loyal and utterly devoted to Gu Xiechen.

The supreme commander of these children of immortals was Xin Long'er, the eldest among them, born ten thousand years ago.

Ten thousand years ago, Xin Long'er was only at the peak of the Void Realm. Ten thousand years later, thanks to Gu Xiechen’s careful nurturing, Xin Long'er had achieved the strength of a Daluo Jinxian.

The two demon armies, each numbering tens of thousands, were arrayed in the forms of the Black Tortoise and the White Tiger—one army defending, the other attacking. Daoist magic of the Earth Element and Metal Element attributes surged forth like tides. The precision and experience in their offense and defense clearly demonstrated the fruit of Gu Xiechen's diligent cultivation over the years.

When Gu Xiechen arrived, Xin Long'er, who had a slight edge in merit, took advantage of a mistake in the White Tiger formation to break through the formation commanded by Xin Kuan'er. The nearly eighty-year-old Xin Kuan'er was extremely aggrieved and weeping. Xin Long'er rushed over to comfort him with many gentle words.

As the two brothers were murmuring to each other, Gu Xiechen descended from the void with a heaven-shaking laugh.

Instantly, the tens of thousands of demon troops knelt in perfect unison, shouting in chorus, "We pay our respects to the Grand Master of the Sect! May the Grand Master of the Sect have eternal life!"

Following the shout of these tens of thousands of demon troops, countless demonic spirits from the nearby mountains, forests, lakes, and seas simultaneously flew up, each kneeling in the void and shouting, "May the Grand Master of the Sect have eternal life!" The resounding wave of cheers traveled far into the distance. After fifteen minutes, all the demonic spirits across the entire planet shouted in unison, filling the air with cheers of "May the Grand Master of the Sect have eternal life!"

The scene of the Ten Thousand Immortals of the Jie Sect arriving for court in the past was heralded as a rare sight among the Three Teachings. But today, the immortals under Gu Xiechen numbered countless billions!

This might, this momentum, faintly hinted at surpassing the dominance of the ancient Jie Sect.

If Gu Xiechen could possess the power of the Heavenly Master Tongtian, the future of the Nine Nether Dao would be...

Gu Xiechen floated silently in the void, slowly extending both hands and gently pressing downwards. Immediately, the cosmos fell silent, and all cheers vanished.

Xin Long'er, wearing helmet and armor and wielding the Red-Gold Square Halberd, rode a cloud of white vapor into the sky. He stood beside Gu Xiechen, his eyes as sharp as blades sweeping the surroundings, and shouted sternly, "Maintain your posts! Disperse!"

Innumerable demonic spirits responded in unison, and the clouds of demons in the sky churned and dissipated. All the demonic spirits returned to their respective caves to continue their cultivation.

Truly, they gathered like thunder and scattered like flowing clouds. If the immortals from the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths witnessed this scene, one could only wonder what they would think.

Xin Long'er, pulling Xin Pa'er along, bowed respectfully to Gu Xiechen and cautiously inquired, "Your Excellency, what brings you here?" Gu Xiechen merely nodded faintly. He bypassed Xin Long'er's question, instead meticulously inquiring about the progress they had made in recent days. He asked about the combat prowess of the demon spirit army under their command.

After hearing Xin Long'er's report, Gu Xiechen expressed his satisfaction with their work over the past few days. Then, with a mere crook of his finger, he smiled towards Xin Long'er and commanded, "Assemble three thousand capable and astute Immortal Demons; you will accompany me to the Frigid Hell."

Gu Xiechen intended to take forces to the Frigid Hell?

Without further questioning, the brothers Xin Long'er and Xin Pa'er selected three thousand elites from the tens of thousands of demon soldiers gathered below. They formed a neat and orderly rank before Gu Xiechen.

Gu Xiechen flicked his hand and produced the Nine Dragons Ascending Ladder. He exhaled a burst of true qi onto it, and immediately, a golden light entwined by nine dragons shot skyward.

Accompanied by a world-shaking dragon's roar, Gu Xiechen stepped into the golden radiance.