Cloud Wasteland Dynasty, Twilight Cloud City

Right at this moment, a little head poked out from his left side with a sweet smile on her face. The moonlight cascaded over the top of her head and her shoulders.

Bai Ling'er had her hands clasped behind her back.

"What is Master thinking about?"

Gu Changyuan clenched his right hand, and the cube intertwined with emerald green and purple-gold vanished.

He raised his left hand and gave her forehead a light flick. The force was neither too heavy nor too light, just enough to make her feel a slight sting.

"Little girl, did you need me for something?"

Bai Ling'er covered the spot where she was flicked, pouting her lips slightly. Her bright eyes looked exceptionally vivid under the moonlight.

"Can't I look for Master even if nothing is the matter?"

Gu Changyuan reached out and gently rubbed the top of her head, his movements tender.

He felt somewhat helpless under the gaze of those eyes.

"I never said you couldn't."

Only then did Bai Ling'er curve her lips into a satisfied smile. Her gaze bypassed Gu Changyuan and landed on the brightly lit Tianren City in the distance. It was unknown what she was thinking about.

Gu Changyuan withdrew his hand, his gaze returning to the mountain peaks shrouded in the night.

Forget it.

The distant mountain breeze blew past the peak, carrying a hint of coolness into the summer night.

These matters were too complicated—so complex that with his current cultivation base, his current power, and his current amount of information, he simply could not find the answers.

He had not even ascended to the Immortal Realm yet, nor had he figured out the true background of the Imperial Court.

Those matters concerning his past life, the grand schemes, and the senior mentioned by Immortal Emperor Cangwu—he would at least have to wait until he reached the Immortal Realm and came into contact with the core levels of power before he could possibly find any clues.

It was still too early for that.

Besides, if all of this was truly a layout planned by his own past self, then given his personality, he had definitely factored in his desire to slack off and lie flat.

Since everything was already anticipated, what was there to fret over?

He would just continue to lie flat.

......

Fifty years later.

Yunhuang Dynasty, Muyun City.

As the capital of the Yunhuang Dynasty, Muyun City at night was ablaze with lights and bustling with voices.

The shops on both sides of the street were lined up closely together, hanging various radiant and colorful cloud lanterns.

Gu Changyuan walked along this long street at a leisurely pace, looking like an ordinary cultivator accompanying his family for a stroll through the night market.

On his left, Bai Ling'er hugged his arm with both hands, practically hanging her entire body onto him. Her head turned left and right from time to time, her gaze firmly attracted by the surrounding liveliness.

On his right, Gu Xing'er did not hug her master's arm like her senior sister. Her hands hung naturally by her sides as she looked around.

Behind him, Ye Qingxue and Yue Lingxi followed closely. Both had gentle expressions, their eyes frequently landing on Gu Changyuan's back.

Although they both harbored an unspeakable desire to romance their master in their hearts, they ultimately could not be as unreserved as Bai Ling'er, intimately holding their master's arm in broad daylight.

The most important matter for Gu Changyuan's trip to the Yunhuang Dynasty was to have the entire Yunhuang royal family join his Holy Land.

Now that the matter had been negotiated and settled, he took advantage of the night to bring his disciples out for a walk and relax.

As early as twenty years ago, Gu Changyuan had already made the royal family of the Zichen Imperial Dynasty join the Holy Land. After all, the Zichen Imperial Dynasty had a vast territory and numerous cultivators.

Gu Changyuan could not possibly accept everyone in the entire dynasty into the Holy Land, so he set his sights on the royal family.

Being able to rule a dynasty, the strength of the cultivators within the royal family was certainly not simple, and there was no shortage of those with outstanding talent.

Incorporating the royal family would not only expand the Holy Land's power but also allow him to use the royal family's influence to select highly talented disciples throughout the dynasty.

Moreover, the Zichen Imperial Dynasty also had a higher authority backing them—the Zichen Immortal Dynasty. They naturally knew about the Imperial Court and were well aware of the Imperial Court's current arrogance in the Wanluo Immortal Realm.

They knew that attaching themselves to the Tianren Holy Land was their best way out.

Therefore, Gu Changyuan had brought the patriarchs of the five great families of the Central Continent to visit the Zichen Imperial Dynasty for negotiations.

The five families of the Central Continent had all chosen to join the Holy Land. With the endorsement of these five patriarchs, they successfully persuaded the Zichen royal family to submit and come under the Holy Land's banner.

Once he had a grip on the entire Zichen royal family, it became much more convenient to recruit highly talented disciples from across the dynasty into the Holy Land.

With the royal family taking the lead, cultivators from all over responded enthusiastically, providing many good seedlings for the Holy Land.

The situation of the Yunhuang Dynasty was similar to that of the Zichen Imperial Dynasty. However, the situation of the Yunhuang Immortal Dynasty was even worse than that of the Zichen Immortal Dynasty, as it had already suffered a blow from two Immortal Emperors of the Imperial Court.

The Yunhuang Immortal Dynasty had four Immortal Emperors holding down the fort, so their foundation could not be said to be shallow. Yet, facing the two Immortal Emperors of the Imperial Court, they were absolutely no match.

Afterward, they were forced into negotiations, paying a heavy price in rare resources and territory just to barely preserve the foundation of the Yunhuang Immortal Dynasty and gain a moment of respite.

The Imperial Court's arrogant behavior in the Wanluo Immortal Realm naturally aroused the dissatisfaction of many factions.

Some factions unwilling to be oppressed by the Imperial Court even banded together directly to establish the Immortal Alliance, wanting to join forces to resist the Imperial Court and take back their rightful interests.

As a result, not long after the Immortal Alliance was established, the Imperial Court sent an Immortal Emperor to descend. Striking with the force of a thunderbolt, they completely eradicated the leading factions of the Immortal Alliance and bathed the entire alliance in blood. Their ruthless methods shocked everyone in all directions.

They were originally just a gathering of factions fighting their own battles with divided loyalties, completely failing to form any true cohesive strength.

Faced with the oppressive might of the Imperial Court's Immortal Emperor, the remaining factions were so terrified that they fled and scattered. It was nothing but a futile resistance that ultimately failed to stir up even the slightest ripple.

"Master, look!"

Bai Ling'er's eyes suddenly lit up. She let go of Gu Changyuan's arm and pointed her right hand at a small stall by the roadside.

"They are selling glazed cloud lanterns over there! So pretty!"

Gu Changyuan and the other disciples followed her gaze.

The stall was not large, but it was filled with a dazzling array of various glazed cloud lanterns hanging all over.

Bai Ling'er had already jogged over. She squatted in front of the stall, holding up a lotus lantern and examining it from all angles.

After exchanging a few words with the boss, she took out a few spirit stones from her sleeve and paid for it.

Bai Ling'er jogged back and handed a cloud lantern to Gu Xing'er.

Gu Xing'er took the lantern, softly said, "Thank you, Senior Sister," and held the lantern in her hand, a glimmer of light shining in her eyes as well.

They strolled along the street for a while, bought a few small trinkets, and tasted a few snacks. Just as they were about to turn into another alley to see what else was fun,

"Out of the way! Get out of the way!"

A rude shout came from ahead on the street, accompanied by the heavy footsteps of a spirit beast and the crashing sounds of roadside stalls being knocked over.

Gu Changyuan looked up ahead and saw a young cultivator riding a spirit beast, running rampant and crashing through the street.

The young cultivator riding on top was dressed in brocade robes with several jade pendants hanging from his waist. His features could be considered handsome, but his facial expression was written all over with arrogance and domineering pride.

He completely ignored the reactions of the people around him, waving his whip to drive away the pedestrians blocking his path and knocking over quite a few stalls.

The stall owners whose stalls were knocked over dared to be angry but did not dare to speak up. They could only accept their bad luck and hurriedly gather their scattered goods from the ground.