Aspiring to the Immortal Path

Everything went as Tang Jie expected.

The Flame Yang rebels didn’t accept the Rosecloud Domain’s kindness.

They couldn’t accept the 10% interest rate, as that immense debt would crush the Flame Yang Domain. Even so, they also deeply desired governing authority over the Flame Yang Domain—they wanted the authority without any of the responsibilities.

In their words, the debt was owed by Yuan Tianzhong and the four major sects and had nothing to do with them.

To this argument, Tang Jie delivered a thunderous blow—the Rosecloud Domain truly had no desire to be stuck in a long-term war, but this didn’t mean that the current Flame Yang Domain was capable of standing against Rosecloud.

Numerous cultivators were dispatched to search for and strike at the resisting cultivators.

The greatest advantage of the rebel cultivators was that they were hidden in the shadows, so the tactic they normally relied on was assassination. They weakened the control of Rosecloud by constantly assassinating its cultivators while at the same time trying to recruit more Flame Yang cultivators to their cause.

But this was utterly ineffective against Tang Jie.

…Because Tang Jie didn’t fear assassination.

There were two kinds of assassination: attacking an unprepared target, or concentrating one’s forces to overwhelm a target.

But neither of these meant anything to Tang Jie. Attacking an unprepared target and concentrating strength against a single target both required a certain level of strength to accomplish. And the Flame Yang rebels’ biggest problem was that they lacked the strength to threaten Tang Jie.

Tang Jie feared no one below Immortal Platform and was even at the level where he could ignore numbers. He had already killed twenty-some Violet Palace True Lords in one go, so what could the Flame Yang rebels possibly bring to bear against him?

All ambushes, sneak attacks, and assassinations were nothing more than a joke to Tang Jie.

A joke that came with free prizes!

This was soon proved in practice.

Two months after the war declaration, Tang Jie disguised himself and joined a cultivator group which was ambushed by the Flame Yang rebels. Tang Jie immediately struck back, killing three Flame Yang True Lords. Not long afterward, Xi Canhen also took action, ambushing and slaying another.

The seeds of rebellions were dealt a crushing blow before they could even bud, and the rebel factions were awash with sorrow.

It was at this time that Tang Jie once more proposed peace talks.

This time, they understood that they had to acknowledge Rosecloud’s opinion.

They finally realized that they didn’t have the ability to resist!

Things became much easier once they learned to accept reality. The negotiations went smoothly, and as Tang Jie wanted, the Rosecloud Domain relinquished most of the political authority, seeking only economic benefit.

This endless desire for resources would ultimately become an immense internal pressure that the people of Flame Yang alone had to bear. If the Rosecloud Domain had attempted this exploitation while in power, the people of Flame Yang would make Rosecloud the target of their hatred. But now that the people of Flame Yang had political power, they had to take the blame for everything.

They understood, but they didn’t have the right to choose.

In the face of a greater power, enduring the humiliation was the only choice to survive.

The difference was that some people could mature while enduring the burden, while some people would never be able to.

Tang Jie didn’t know if the Flame Yang Domain might eventually endure this enormous debt and once more walk on the path to freedom and glory, nor did he care.

He only wanted resources, tons of resources, both to make himself stronger and to make Rosecloud stronger.

In the future, he needed to develop, as did the Rosecloud Domain. The Blood River Domain was only the beginning, and more cultivator wars would follow—with the star atlas, the Rosecloud Domain would never lack for invasion targets.

Once the foundations of the talks were set, Tang Jie ceased paying attention to them and returned to Rosecloud.

————————————

Thousand Shark Island.

This was an island where Spine Sharks gathered. Every year, tens of thousands of them would converge on the island to breed. They had no need to fear any danger here, for their king dwelled on this island.

This was a Spine Shark that had cultivated into a fiend and served as their guardian god. For this reason, passing ships would always be very careful around this island for fear of disturbing the sharks. They would even throw down vast quantities of food in search of a way through.

But this guardian shark god was currently nervously standing in front of a small pavilion.

This pavilion rested on the ocean as if it had grown out of its waters, swaying to and fro in the wind.

The sharks played around the pavilion while the Spine Shark King stood on the water in the form of an old man, only occasionally glancing at the pavilion.

Xu Miaoran sat in the pavilion, her hand propping up her chin as she blankly stared into the distance.

Her belly bulged and occasionally rose and fell. The rate of rising and falling was so great that ordinary mortals would find it unreasonable.

Bang!

A small hand print appeared on Xu Miaoran’s belly, shaking the air and firing off a shockwave of energy that knocked over a jade cup on the table.

The liquid in the cup spilled over the table.

Xu Miaoran slightly frowned as Xian Tao walked over and helped her up. “Those kids must be fighting again.”

“They’re just anxious to come out,” Xu Miaoran lazily said.

They had been in there for three years already and were probably itching to leave.

Xian Tao stroked Xu Miaoran’s belly. “No rush, no rush. Just another few days and you can come out.”

She poured another cup of jade liquid and brought it to Xu Miaoran’s mouth.

Xu Miaoran drank down the entire cup, absorbing the essence within the liquid and circulating it through her body, sending it into the babies in her belly to nourish them. Perhaps because of the medicine, her belly became even more lively, little fists and feet appearing on it.

One strike was particularly powerful, leaving the confines of the pavilion and striking a Spine Shark. The mating Spine Shark hissed in anger and moved to attack the people in the pavilion. But before it could do anything, the Spine Shark King immobilized it with its formidable will, causing that Spine Shark to dive into the water in fear.

Xu Miaoran seemed ignorant to all this, frowning as she lightly patted her belly. “These two fellows are already so energetic. I have to wonder what things will be like once they get out.”

“They’ll probably flip the entire world upside-down,” Hong Yuan giggled. “The father is a Demon King while the mother is a witch, so how could the children be easy to deal with?”

Xian Tao glared. “Watch your words! ‘Demon King’? ‘Witch’? Just what are you saying?”

Hong Yuan argued back, “We people of Horizon Ocean are often called fiend women, so what’s so bad about being called a witch? As for Tang Jie, are you saying he’s not a Demon King? Blood drenches the earth wherever he goes. I’ve heard he ran off to the Flame Yang Domain and is coming back with tons of loot.”

“The Celestial Sovereign is just working for the future of my Rosecloud Domain. It’s not your place to question him,” Xian Tao said, prodding Hong Yuan on the forehead.

“Only caring about the development of Rosecloud and not about the development of the young lady’s belly,” Hong Yuan grumbled. “Immortals easily forget the passage of time. Will these children only see their father once they’re adults?”

There was some resentment toward Tang Jie in her tone.

Xian Tao wanted to scold her, but in the end, she fell silent. She herself had complaints about Tang Jie, but her personality meant that she kept them to herself.

On the other hand, Xu Miaoran chuckled. “He has his own way of doing things, but I trust that no matter where he is, he has never forgotten me. If he doesn’t come back, he naturally has his reasons and troubles. If circumstances permit, he will definitely return to accompany me.”

“Young Lady, you trust him quite a lot,” Hong Yuan groused, her tone dripping with disdain.

A voice rang out: “If she didn’t trust me, I wouldn’t have chosen her as my wife.”

All three of them trembled at this voice.

They turned and saw Tang Jie standing atop the waves.

His blue robes floating about him, he warmly gazed at Xu Miaoran.

Xu Miaoran shivered.

Although she had said countless times that Tang Jie would never disappoint her, when she was alone in bed, she would sometimes wonder why Tang Jie hadn’t come back to see her.

When the avatar was present, he had often kept her company. After the Immortal Emperor’s revival, Yu Cheng took away Tang Jie’s avatar, and Xu Miaoran had been far too concerned about Tang Jie to worry about anything else.

Once she learned that Tang Jie’s original body was in the Flame Yang Domain, she looked forward to the day Tang Jie would return.

But day after day went by, and other than the call for reinforcements and news of the war, there was no further message from that side. She spent many nights sleepless with worry, even sometimes crying in bed.

However, she had always been a tough woman who exuded strength to others, and she would never outwardly express any dissatisfaction or distrust for Tang Jie.

Only she knew just how many times she had been gripped by fear, how many times she had hoped only to be disappointed.

Now that Tang Jie had finally appeared, she could no longer control her excitement.

Staring hard at Tang Jie, she softly called out, “Tang Jie!”

This soft call was the trigger that caused all her emotions to erupt.

She immediately flew toward Tang Jie.

But she had clearly forgotten about her two naughty passengers. At this moment, two sets of hands and feet attacked, and Xu Miaoran’s energy was thrown into disarray, causing her to fall from the sky.

Nobody had expected this development, and Xu Miaoran seemed about to fall into the water.

At this moment, Tang Jie appeared below Xu Miaoran, lightly reaching out and embracing her.

“Careful with the babies,” he gently said.

Xu Miaoran blankly stared at him, and then she hugged him around the neck and gave him a passionate kiss.

It was a kiss so long that it seemed like she intended to hold it until the world ended.

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