As for the Western Xiliang Spirit Artifact Nation.

Chen Yi needed to consider it.

He didn't know now whether the Earth Spirit, after being messed with by the Ten Thousand Souls Banner like that, would cause any impact on the human world.

Moreover, this group of spirit artifacts rebelling and fleeing actually weakened the combat power of the martial artists from the Five Regions to a certain extent.

Wasn't that equivalent to weakening the combat power of his own connections?

And these spirit artifacts, once separated from martial artists and left to their own devices, were not as strong in combat as they were in the hands of martial artists.

It was like Digimon leaving their chosen children.

Therefore, whether the Spirit Artifact Nation existed or not wasn't that significant.

["What's wrong?"]

[The Female Emperor noticed the change in your gaze and asked with concern.]

[You asked in a low voice.]

["What do you think of my Third Brother-in-law's cultivation aptitude?"]

[The Female Emperor swept a glance.]

["High-Grade Bone Structure, passable. Too old now, lifespan nearly exhausted, won't have any more breakthroughs."]

[The Female Emperor's spiritual sense failed to identify the special physique.]

[This was normal. Unless the Female Emperor had clearly seen a Dual-Soul Sacred Physique before.]

[This was the power of the "Human Body Detector"—more precise than spiritual sense probing!]

[Chen Yun was now the grandmother of a large, sprawling family.]

[She and Shen Qingshan had four children. Each of these children had branched out and multiplied, and now they were five generations living under one roof.]

[Add to that some maternal relatives who had come to rely on them.]

[This welcoming home banquet for Grandfather Shen Qingshan's retirement was extremely lively and grand.]

[For Shen Qingshan.]

[He had also revived what he thought was the past glory of the "Shen Family."]

[The family was prosperous with many descendants, the family property was substantial, he himself had served as a general for the imperial court, and talented individuals emerged one after another within the clan.]

[The younger generation of the clan were still quite awed and respectful when they saw you and the Female Emperor.]

[One was the Southern Borderlands Female Emperor, the other was the great hero Chen Yi whose fame now resounded throughout the Five Regions. To be able to share a family banquet with you was simply the fortune of three lifetimes.]

[Many tables were set for the feast, but only the main table for the family head was placed in the main hall.]

[Elder Brother Chen Jing, Third Sister Chen Yun, Third Brother-in-law Shen Qingshan, plus you and the Female Emperor.]

[And of course, the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.]

[Although this guy really wanted to return to Xiliang to continue being emperor, he couldn't beat you, so he could only hand over the court administration to the Immortal-Binding Rope for now.]

[Regarding this, the Ten Thousand Souls Banner stated.]

["Chen! You're almost ninety! I'll see how long you can live! Once I outlive you, I'll be free!"]

[Regarding this, you stated.]

["Ah, yes, yes, yes..."]

[At the banquet, Chen Yun, her face already full of wrinkles, her eyes barely able to stay open, looked at you and the Female Emperor and said with a smile.]

["Fourth Brother, I see you don't look a bit like someone over eighty. Why not have a baby with the Princess? Look how lively my big family is..."]

[Li Lingyue, the dignified Female Emperor, actually showed a rare look of shyness, picked up her wine cup, and drank by herself.]

[You sat to Third Sister's right, served her some dishes that were easy to chew, and casually changed the subject to avoid awkwardness for everyone.]

["Third Sister, eat more. Big Brother is paying for all this, don't feel bad."]

["Hahaha... right, right! Your big brother is an emperor now, he's rich!"]

[Chen Jing, who was heartily devouring his food, spat out his rice on the spot.]

["Aiya! Third Sister! How many times have I told you, I am the Great Khan in the Northern Frontier, and the Northern Frontier King in the Central Plains. You can call me by either of those titles, but you can't just throw around the word 'emperor'!"]

[The atmosphere at the dinner table was joyful and harmonious.]

[Though there were also some melancholy topics.]

[Chen Yun mentioned Second Sister.]

["It's a pity Second Sister's whereabouts are still unknown. I always feel she is still in this world, and like Big Brother, must have had some extraordinary encounter..."]

[Chen Jing comforted Chen Yun.]

["Third Sister, don't worry. If Second Sister can't be found in the Five Regions, I've already sent people to search the Great Wastes. Our relationship with the Demon Tribe is pretty good now, sending some people to the Great Wastes to search won't be a problem for them."]

[Li Lingyue suddenly turned pale, covering her mouth uncomfortably.]

[Chen Yun saw this, and her old, cloudy eyes instantly widened.]

["Is it morning sickness? Fourth Brother, you really are an old steed in the stable!"]

[You knew it wasn't morning sickness.]

[It was because Li Lingyue had been having some problems lately.]

[She often looked unwell, and when you asked her, she wouldn't answer.]

[After the banquet.]

[On the grassland swept by strong winds, you and Li Lingyue took a walk on a small hill.]

["Lingyue, is something wrong in the Southern Borderlands?"]

[Li Lingyue's expression changed slightly.]

["You know?"]

["I saw the Faith Dao in the Shen Family. Although I can't fully comprehend it, it mentioned that Faith Dao cultivators are strongly linked to their believers. If the believers betray them, the cultivators will suffer a certain degree of backlash."]

[Seeing she couldn't hide it from you, Li Lingyue had no choice but to tell the truth.]

[Now, Li Lingyue's Faith Temples existed not only in the Southern Borderlands but also in other places. However, the most numerous and most important ones were still in the Southern Borderlands.]

[For some unknown reason, starting a year ago.]

[Those believers who went to the Female Emperor's temples to burn incense and pray for blessings didn't receive any fortune. Instead, they became more and more unlucky, with accidents or misfortunes happening to every household, making their already difficult lives even harder.]

[People hoped the Female Emperor would manifest some miracles to help them.]

[But the Female Emperor was in the Northern Frontier, and what she could do using her faith avatars was very limited.]

[Gradually, some people started leading the narrative, saying the Female Emperor was a jinx, that worshipping her was useless and even increased bad luck.]

[Some fanatics began destroying the Female Emperor's temples.]

[Although they were suppressed by the Southern Borderlands army, a large number of believers became disappointed and hurled abuse at the Female Emperor.]

["With the faith unable to be sustained, my cultivation has already suffered backlash, leaving only half."] 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

["That serious?"]

[You were truly somewhat surprised.]

["Then you should hurry back to the Southern Borderlands to handle it. As long as you help them solve some troubles, the believers will trust you again! They just want to cure illness, get rich, get promoted—Big Brother and Li Chengqian can both provide you with resources!"]

[The Female Emperor grabbed your hand.]

["I want to spend more time with you..."]

[You were taken aback for a moment, thinking to yourself, the Female Emperor isn't someone so lovestruck, is she?]

[After a moment's thought, you understood.]

[The Female Emperor was worried your lifespan was nearing its end and wanted to spend as much time with you as possible before you died.]

[She was a Martial Saint, able to live for four hundred years.]

[And you were at the Spirit Condensation realm, the same as mortals, with a theoretical lifespan of one hundred years.]

["Don't worry, I ate the Five Regions Sacred Pill, it added quite a few years to my life."]

["I know, but I always feel that something major is about to happen in the human world.

Before she left, Master once said that within a hundred years, the human world would experience a minor tribulation and a great calamity.

This minor tribulation was likely the war between the Great Wastes Demon Tribe and the Five Regions.

The minor tribulation is over, the great calamity approaches..."]

[At this point, the Female Emperor's face showed worry.]

["Before, I was busy fighting the war with the Demon Tribe, so I never contacted Master.

A few days ago, when I tried to contact Master, I couldn't get a response from her.

In decades, this situation has never occurred.

I feel uneasy."]