The arrival of the Star Radiant Gate set off shockwaves through the Rosecloud Domain.
An Immortal sect from a larger world not only brought combat power, but also more experiences and points of view, as well as a deeper understanding of the Immortal path.
If this were before the cultivator war, the Star Radiant Gate definitely wouldn’t have been welcomed. After all, the migration of a large faction would present a shock to the entire structure of the world, including the division of territory and authority. But with a war imminent, this kind of sect became a powerful ally, and when it came to territory yet to be gained, people tended to be more generous.
Thus, the Star Radiant Gate received the most ceremonious welcome, and to start off with a good impression, Yun Tianlan had personally allocated a large area of the Zephyr Mountains to the Star Radiant Gate to serve as their resting place.
At the same time, with Tang Jie bringing back the two major domain formations, the Rosecloud Domain officially began the pre-battle preparations.
One team led by Tang Jie and Hong Shenji set about gathering materials for the two domain formations, while another team began the mobilization process, explaining to cultivators the advantages and rewards to be gained from the cultivator war so as to recruit them for the army.
Whether it was laying down the domain-merging formation or organizing a cultivator army, they all needed time.
The entire Rosecloud Domain set to work, engaging in war preparations like never before.
The Rosecloud Domain in the middle of mobilization had a very heavy air.
The pre-war preparations took three years, during which Yun Tianlan, Tang Jie, and Ling Xiao managed to consolidate the entirety of the Rosecloud Domain.
At the center of everything was the Basking Moon Sect, and around it were Horizon Ocean Pavilion, the Seven Absolutions Sect, the Thousand Passions Sect, the Star Radiant Gate, Godhead Palace, and the Beast Refining Gate, which formed the second echelon. After them were the domain’s seventy-two large sects, forming the third echelon. In truth, given the current circumstances of Godhead Palace and the Beast Refining Gate, they had fallen to the status of ordinary large sects a long time ago and should have been put in the third echelon, but they still had their Earth Immortals. In this world where the higher levels of power reigned supreme, this was the most important factor, so they barely qualified for the second echelon. Lastly was the fourth echelon, which consisted of the medium and small sects, together with various wandering cultivators.
This tiered army which represented the military might of the Rosecloud Domain spent every day drilling and training, even Godhead Palace and the Beast Refining Gate, which loathed the Basking Moon Sect, diligently taking part. They were well aware that they needed to train as hard as they could precisely because the Basking Moon Sect had a hostile attitude to them. This was the only way they could survive in the coming war. In this battle, they were not only fighting for the Basking Moon Sect, but also for their right to survive. If they performed poorly, then they had no reason to keep existing.
Tang Jie would mercilessly wipe them from the map of the Rosecloud Domain.
This was why they trained harder than anyone else.
At the same time, with the entire power of the world behind it, the Dual Domain Formation was rapidly taking shape.
The energy veins of the Thousand Origin Mountains were used as the power source, 49 mountains of the Rosecloud Domain were used as supporting pillars, 108 rivers served as the energy circuits, 365 supporting formations served as junctions, and 129,000 treasures became nodes. Finally, a vast sea of resources served as points in a massive net that covered the entire Rosecloud Domain. It was so huge that even the Eight Gates Banners couldn’t be used.
Once this formation was complete, all of Rosecloud Domain would be under control of the Dual Domain Formation. Domain merging and domain migration were both simply different functions of this single formation. Yun Tianlan hadn’t known this, and Tang Jie had only realized when he got the formation diagram.
With this formation, the Rosecloud Domain had the ability to devour another domain.
One day, when Tang Jie was still working on the formation, Yun Tianlan requested his presence at the Hall of Divine Conference.
Yun Tianlan had moved there from his thatched in the rear mountain.
For Yun Tianlan, going from Earth Immortal to True Immortal was also a process of exiting seclusion. For those who had reached Immortal Platform, seclusion and involvement were both simply means of advancing along the Immortal path. When secular matters grew bothersome, cultivators would choose to avoid them by entering seclusion. When the path forward became difficult and one needed to step back into the affairs of the world, they would do so. This was what Yun Tianlan was doing. Since the structure of the Rosecloud Domain was limiting his development, his only options were to leave the Rosecloud Domain and to expand the Rosecloud Domain, and neither of them called for seclusion.
If Tang Jie hadn’t been around, he might have chosen the former. After all, it was simpler and more convenient. But Tang Jie’s presence had changed Yun Tianlan’s mind. Tang Jie’s success within the Yellow Court World had made Yun Tianlan keenly understand the importance of having one’s own world, and the Wish Granting Spell’s protection gave him a second option. In these circumstances, Yun Tianlan pushed hard for a cultivator war. He no longer had a need to seclude himself in the rear mountain and now appeared in the Hall of Divine Conference to personally manage things.
When Tang Jie arrived, Yun Tianlan was speaking with Ling Xiao and Xiao Biehan.
Unlike in the past, there were ten-some True Lords in attendance, and the Hall of Divine Conference seemed much more packed and lively.
When Tang Jie arrived, he was immediately welcomed in, with the likes of Wei Tianchong all smiling at him.
Yun Tianlan said with a smile, “You came at the perfect time. How is the progress on the Dual Domain Formation?”
Tang Jie went over to Yun Tianlan and sat down. “We’re in the last phase, and if all goes as planned, it should be done in a month.”
“Great.” Yun Tianlan nodded. “Let me ask you: if you stopped working on this, would Hong Shenji be able to finish it without any problems?”
Tang Jie immediately replied, “The main structure is complete, and all that’s left is adding the finishing touches. I personally handled all the important parts, so there should be no problem on that front. In addition, Hong Shenji is very respectful to me, and from what I know of him, there should be no problem with his work. While the Seven Absolutions Sect has ambitions, Ji Qingfeng is a smart man and wouldn’t try any tricks in the current situation. Ancestor, is there something you need from me?”
“That is good,” Yun Tianlan replied in satisfaction. “With regards to the Dual Domain Formation, we originally didn’t know enough about it, and it was only when you brought the formation diagram back from Vast Wilderness that we gradually understood.”
“Is Ancestor referring to the Domain Rending?” Tang Jie asked.
The Domain Rending was an enormous upheaval that would take place at the start of the war, when the domain was forcibly torn open. After all, one world trying to devour another was bound to produce enormous shockwaves. These shockwaves would travel and linger for a long while, months to years. The exact time depended on the size of the opening, with larger openings producing longer-lasting shockwaves but allowing for the transport of more troops and a faster merging speed. In return, this gave the invaded world a warning. So long as it wasn’t some primitive world with no experience, the inhabitants would realize what was happening and start making preparations. Thus, when the invading army arrived, what awaited them wouldn’t be some harvest, but a painful strike from the enemy.
This was the Domain Rending, and it was a problem that anyone who wanted to start a cultivator war had to deal with.
“Correct,” Yun Tianlan replied. “The Domain Rending is a problem that every invading domain must deal with. Not only does it create a disadvantage in the early stages of the war, it also gives the enemy notice of our attack. This old man has already done the calculations, and the linking of domains will require at least three months, and complete linkage will take three years. This means that when the invasion begins, the Blood River Domain will have already been able to prepare for three months, and then for the next three years, we will find it very hard to send in a large army. This will be our weakest moment, and if the Blood River Domain seizes this opportunity to counterattack, we could suffer huge losses. We could lose the war and even be counter-invaded.”
Ling Xiao added, “After some discussion, we’ve decided that before the large-scale invasion, we should first infiltrate the Blood River Domain and sabotage their defenses.”
Tang Jie understood. “You want me to go over using the teleportation formation?”
Everyone nodded.
Tang Jie thought this over. “If we teleport over all of the Rosecloud Domain’s experts of Violet Palace and stronger, could we directly destroy them?”
Xiao Biehan immediately answered, “It’s difficult! You are the person who laid down the Dual Domain Formation, so you should understand its situation the best. Using spirit stones alone to power it is far too expensive. The best method is to have someone control it. The ancestor and the Earth Immortals of the other sects need to remain here to manage the formation, so it will be hard for them to leave. Moreover, the Blood River Domain is not completely defenseless. When you consider the total intelligence, manpower, and terrain advantage of a domain, they could even fight off a True Immortal. Having all of us go over is bound to alarm them, and if we get stuck in a battle, we would be outnumbered and unsupported. Our chances of winning are low, and even if we win, it would be at a high price. In truth, other than sabotaging their defenses, we have another mission for you: to find out what trump cards the Blood River Domain is hiding. If you find any, you must work hard to destroy them, giving no chance for them to be used.”
Tang Jie understood everyone’s plan.
His mission was to infiltrate Blood River and destroy all their defenses so that when the Rosecloud Domain invaded, their losses would be minimized. Tang Jie had the transformation ability granted by Reflections of Floating Life and also had the Flame Celestial Sovereign, who originally belonged to the Blood River Domain and owned the Celestial Flame Pagoda. There was no one better than Tang Jie for this mission.
“I see. I understand my mission. If that’s the case, I’ll get ready to head for the Blood River Domain.”
The teleportation formation in the Martial Lord’s hidden realm had been destroyed long ago, but Tang Jie knew the coordinates and could easily build another.
“There’s no rush. We also need your help with something else,” Yun Tianlan said.
“What’s that?”
Yun Tianlan asked, “Can your Wish Granting Spell help someone become an Earth Immortal?”