Only upon hearing Lie Que’s words did Zong Shou realize that such a treasure was among his captives.

The Cold Crystal Shadow Blade Frigate, he paid it little mind; among the Earth-tier warships, it was far from top-tier.

Furthermore, it required five or more Nine Capitals Absolute Blade Immortals, unique to the Nine Capitals Immortal Dynasty, to be stationed onboard to attain combat power capable of contending with the Divine Realm.

This was vastly inferior to the Grand Unity Divine Thunder Vessel, which could be commanded by any peak Immortal-tier cultivator at will.

Moreover, with Da Qian just establishing itself, taking in too many surrendered rebels carried the risk of becoming unwieldy.

Yet, those artifact masters, Zong Shou regarded them with great importance.

After all, they had experience refining Earth-tier void ships; refining other types of vessels would surely see them grasp the process quickly.

However, Yi Lingsu was not as tactful as Lie Que.

Zong Shou employed both hard and soft tactics—just as Lie Que had described, using various methods, coercion through status, and appeals to emotion. He only stopped short of threatening their families before the man finally agreed.

He himself did not pledge allegiance as a subject of the Da Qian Immortal Dynasty; he merely consented to assist Zong Shou in persuading others to surrender and be recruited, moving his entire clan, along with the original artifact masters of the Nine Capitals Immortal Court, to the Primordial Lotus World.

He would also try his best to persuade more Cold Crystal Shadow Blade Frigates to defect.

In Zong Shou’s view, the reason this man agreed to these terms was likely not sincere persuasion, but rather the impending great chaos within the Nine Capitals Immortal Court. Fearing his clansmen would be swept up in disaster, he was merely securing a haven for his family first.

Zong Shou didn't mind; in fact, he was pleasantly surprised.

Experienced artifact masters were hard to find, and while the Cold Crystal Shadow Blade Frigate itself wasn't impressive, the personnel required to man the warship—the elite crew—were equally difficult to cultivate.

When all matters were settled, ten days had already passed.

By this time, the Primordial Lotus Realm was generally stabilized; the royal families of the southeast had changed hands, redistributed and parceled out according to their merits.

Various military commanders were integrated, elites selected, loaded onto void ships, and sent to the outer void under the protection of Shi Ruolan’s shipmasters to conquer surrounding worlds.

In truth, describing it as ‘conquest’ was less accurate than ‘stationing.’

At this moment, the surrounding worlds, which were minor thousand worlds formerly belonging to the Nine Capitals Immortal Court, had largely fled.

Some bolder ones were directly seeking allegiance.

The Profound Spirit Cult and the Absolute Destruction Immortal Court had already withdrawn their people with great discretion, even sending envoys with heavy apologies to signal their desire to mend past grievances.

On one hand, they sought to cede territory and admit their faults; on the other, they gathered envoys from major powers to jointly urge and persuade him, the ruler of Da Qian, to abide by the mutual agreements of this domain.

This so-called ‘mutual agreement’ stipulated that practitioners above the Immortal Realm should not easily engage in territorial disputes.

Zong Shou scoffed at this; by now, he had seen through the true nature of this ‘mutual agreement.’

If you lack strength, others simply treat it as non-existent, paying it no heed.

Only when one’s power is immense do these people bring up the mutual agreements and speak of rules with you.

Outwardly, however, he still agreed. After all, Da Qian currently lacked the capability to redraw the rules.

The vicinity of the Primordial Lotus Realm caused little worry; however, seizing the territories of the Nine Capitals Immortal Court required some thought.

Zong Shou deliberated for a long time before resolving to appoint Kui Xuan as the commander.

This man’s generalship was exceedingly cautious; his only foray into recklessness resulted in a crushing defeat by Zhuang Yu, which he would surely remember vividly and never forget.

Appointing him as commander was, firstly, a display of trust in him, and secondly, he genuinely lacked other capable generals.

Although the area near the Primordial Lotus Realm was subdued, the situation remained unstable, harboring variables.

Without Zhuang Yu holding the center, Zong Shou could not feel at ease. As for Lie Que, he had another crucial role; that particular location required an unparalleled general.

As for the campaign against the Nine Capitals, signs of collapse were already appearing, suggesting there would be no major battle.

With the guidance and care of the dozens of Divine Realm experts who had surrendered to Zong Shou leading the way, there shouldn’t be any significant blunders.

And guarding the Primordial Lotus Realm, besides Zhuang Yu, was Lu Wubing.

During these past days, had it not been for Lu Wubing’s assistance in managing many administrative affairs for him, Zong Shou truly did not know how he would have managed the workload. Now that he had to leave,

Lu Wubing’s presence was even more essential to organize the governance of the Primordial Lotus Realm and refine the methods of ruling.

Even at this point, things were not entirely concluded; there was just a brief respite, unlike the previous ten days where he had to be busy from dawn till dusk, even using the acceleration function of the Cosmic Scroll to handle official duties.

It would still take some time before everything was decisively settled.

Zong Shou could finally snatch moments of leisure, stepping out of the warm pavilion to take time for relaxation.

It was still early morning, yet Yuan Jing Palace was already clamorous.

People came and went, countless figures flowing in and out of the palace gates.

The moment Zong Shou breathed the fresh air, his tranquility was disturbed, and he shook his head inwardly.

"It seems Yuan Jing Palace is ultimately too small."

It sufficed as the center for the Primordial Lotus Realm, but the current Da Qian Immortal Dynasty was about to govern over sixty minor and moderate thousand worlds, and hundreds of nations.

Even if the majority of administrative matters were handled by the mortal monarchies and courts, the officials within the Immortal Dynasty still swelled in number, reaching an astonishing figure of twenty thousand.

Within a few years, he would need to consider expanding Yuan Jing Palace, or perhaps rebuilding the Immortal Capital altogether.

Thinking of governance, Zong Shou frowned even deeper.

"Nearly all my time is consumed by these trivialities daily. How long until I can reach the pinnacle of the Way of the Sword?"

This was a contradiction. In truth, the time Zong Shou spent on state affairs was minimal compared to the emperors and leaders of other powers. It was only this recent massive expansion of Da Qian’s territory that made him seem so busy.

Yet, even so, Zong Shou found it intolerable.

To become the sovereign of a myriad of worlds, he must diligently govern the lands under his command.

And to be invincible across the cosmos, he must spend more time delving into the Martial Dao, perfecting the sword.

It seemed imperative to establish a complete 'Grand Secretariat' within the Immortal Court to handle administrative duties on his behalf.

Zhang Huai could be transferred from the Cloud Realm; this man’s talent actually surpassed Lu Wubing’s somewhat.

Using only the Cloud Realm as a stage was simply too restrictive.

With the two working together, this ‘Grand Secretariat’ was already taking initial shape.

However, beyond them, several talented administrators were needed, ideally with one who possessed mature governing experience to assist.

The most suitable was Ren Bo—

Thinking of the old man, Zong Shou felt a sharp pain in his heart.

He still hadn't found a method for life extension.

With a sigh, Zong Shou flipped his right hand and held a blood-red crystal.

His spiritual sense probed inside, continuously searching. Faintly, he could hear waves of wailing emanating from within.

This was the primordial soul of Xiao Xiangzi; Zong Shou had ended this man’s life without hesitation after that battle.

Since he had torn faces with the Dao Gate once more, there was no need to maintain courtesy.

And the subsequent soul-searching had finally confirmed that the Azure Life Dome Realm was indeed facing a precarious situation.

Unfortunately, Xiao Xiangzi’s position was too low for him to know the precise details.

But from the scant clues, it was clear that the Dao Gate was indeed preparing to strike against the Azure Life Sect.

And at that time, the Dao Gate would not be the only force making a move.

Ten days ago, Zong Shou had been desperately eager to return but could only restrain himself temporarily to arrange all matters here properly.

"The Dao Gate? Only three months left—"

According to Xiao Xiangzi’s memories, Wei Xu’s Tribulation of Crossing the Boundary should occur within these three months.

Based on his memories, four months prior, the Azure Life Sect had already sensed the unfavorable turn of events.

But by then, it was too late to turn back; Wei Xu’s cultivation had reached its limit long ago. If he chose to break through at that time, the resonance between heaven and man would fix the tribulation period, allowing only for an early breakthrough, not a postponement.

Presumably, the day he crosses his tribulation would be the day the Dao Gate makes its move.

Searching the remnant soul yielded nothing more; all the Dao Gate’s arrangements and schemes remained unknown.

Zong Shou held the blood-red crystal, feeling a sense of bewilderment.

He wondered what he could even do if he returned.

Commanding the army here and returning to the Cloud Realm? Impossible, and of no benefit.

He also knew that once the Pure Profound Dao Lord made his move, it would be with overwhelming, thunderous force.

Long Ying Ao Kun owed Wei Xu a favor; upon learning of the situation, he would not stand idly by.

But once drawn into that vortex, even they themselves might face mortal peril.

He had reviewed the confidential histories of the Azure Life Sect; when the Dao Gate besieged and killed the Xi Child back then, the documented cultivators at the Ultimate Realm numbered seven, in addition to the Three Pure Venerable Gods of the Dao Gate, the avatars of the Four Venerable Sages of the Confucian Gate, and seven Divine Treasures.

The number of Sacred and Divine Realm experts who sealed their cultivation and descended to the Cloud Realm reached over a hundred.

The Immortal Realm, Spirit Realm, and Ninth-Rank cultivators were countless in total.

That battle was truly a sea of corpses and blood, unimaginably brutal.

Both the Dao and Confucian Gates suffered heavy losses; at least two-thirds of the Sacred Realm cultivators perished.

However, the greatest damage was sustained by the forces from the outer domains.

Xiu Guan was not the Xi Child—he was half a step into the True Realm, yet still at the peak of the Ultimate Realm.

Only by relying on his individual power did the Azure Life Sect manage to remain standing among the Five Great Sects.

Yet the Dao Gate was so confident of annihilating the Azure Life Sect in one war.

One could imagine the sheer force that would be mobilized this time.

Zong Shou, although barely considered a figure of consequence now, already looked down on one region.

But to intervene in this battle, he was truly as insignificant as an ant.

At this moment, the only forces that could aid the Azure Life Sect were the Fen Kong Lu Family and the Buddhist Sect—

"Must I really go beg for help?"

The thought brought a bitter smile to Zong Shou’s face.

He was certain that neither the Fen Kong Lu Family nor the Buddhist Sect would refuse.

But they would certainly demand a price!

Either joining Buddhism to certify the Boundless Beginning and End Buddha.

Or changing his surname to join the Lu clan and inherit the Fen Kong Holy Land.

Otherwise, if he offered nothing in return, why would anyone help him gratuitously?

In the end, it was Zong Shou’s pride that was harming him; until it was absolutely necessary, he was unwilling to seek aid from these two factions.

Was he being too selfish?

Recalling how countless disciples of the Azure Life Sect would perish in this battle after it began, Zong Shou paused, recognizing that many of them were his former classmates from a period of his life.

He stood still, lost in thought, until a subtle feeling alerted him, bringing him back to awareness.

Looking up, he saw Feng Taiji, Ci Fang, and Zhao Yanran walking side-by-side towards him.

Zong Shou immediately cleared his mind; these three arriving must be concerning sectarian matters.

He had been waiting for the decisions of these three factions for a long time.