“Really?” The Everlasting Immortal Fairy was so elated that she jumped down from the throne and forcibly dragged Lu Yang to sit upon it with her.

“Rest assured, Xiao Yangzi. As long as you follow this immortal, I shall give you whatever you desire. Little Ling, Little He, and all the rest will obey your commands as well!

“Do you want to ascend the throne now?

“Is the Everlasting Incipient Dao Fruit sufficient? You have an immortal body, but you still don’t have a true form, right? Shall this immortal grant you another?”

Lu Yang hurriedly employed rules to restore his self-respect.

No, no, no. A cultivator must possess an indomitable spirit and unyielding integrity. How can I surrender to material gain? That would damage my Dao heart!

I naturally know that becoming a half-immortal will be effortless as long as I follow the Everlasting Immortal Fairy. In fact, I can even surpass Ao Ling to become the strongest half-immortal.

But my goal is to become an immortal. How could I settle for being merely a half-immortal?

This trick of casting aside self-respect only works on the Immortal Fairy. It’s useless on Big Senior Sister; she will still make me cultivate properly, step by step.

But how could Lu Yang win an argument against the Everlasting Immortal Fairy? Just as he was about to be hauled onto the throne, he hastily clung to her arm and poured out his true feelings.

“Your Exalted Majesty, your subject is overwhelmed with trepidation. I was simply recalling all the grace Your Exalted Majesty has bestowed upon me throughout my cultivation journey. That is why I became so emotional!

“Your subject rose from humble origins. It was Your Exalted Majesty who didn’t look down on my weakness and deigned to reside within my mental space, tempering me with trials and conferring fortuitous opportunities upon me. I already have no way to repay such kindness, yet Your Exalted Majesty now wishes me to inherit the throne? How am I fit to bear such a heavy responsibility?!”

“If Your Exalted Majesty grants your subject even more fortuitous opportunities, how would I ever repay this favor in the future?”

The Everlasting Immortal Fairy understood. Xiao Yangzi’s self-esteem is too low.

“Xiao Yangzi, be more confident! You are the one this immortal has chosen to be a minister between my thighs—”

“Minister serving as the thighs and arms,” Lu Yang said, correcting her softly.

“Oh, right, a trusted minister serving as the thighs and arms. This immortal has conquered this vast nation, and it will be yours sooner or later. Just accept whatever I give you.”

“Absolutely not, Your Exalted Majesty! The three great generals have campaigned in all directions, while the Scribe, Minister of Rites, and the others have rendered meritorious service through tireless work, and they have asked for nothing in return. Your subject has yet to accomplish the slightest meritorious deed. How could I receive further imperial favor?!

“I humbly beseech Your Majesty to grant me time to achieve great accomplishments and make a name for myself. It will not be too late for Your Exalted Majesty to reward me then.”

“Oh, alright then.” The Everlasting Immortal Fairy had thought that she could finally give the Everlasting Incipient Dao Fruit to Lu Yang, yet she was rejected again.

But then again, Xiao Yangzi is already mine. Isn’t giving him the Everlasting Incipient Dao Fruit simply a matter of time?

At that thought, the Everlasting Immortal Fairy broke into a smile once more.

~~~

“First-in-Command, Second-in-Command, look at what I’ve drawn with Senior Caiwei...”

“Shh, the Young Creed Leader is cultivating. Don’t wake him.” Jin Caiwei signaled at Yun Mengmeng to be quiet.

“Ah, oh.” Yun Mengmeng slowed her steps and tiptoed over to Lu Yang.

Lu Yang opened his eyes and looked at the two helplessly. “I woke up a long time ago.”

Or rather, I never fell asleep to begin with. My current cultivation method involves extending my immortal consciousness, not entering seclusion.

“Look, we drew these.”

Yun Mengmeng was holding on to a handful of sugar paintings. The raw material was the syrup used for patching the walls, which she had shaped into the appearances of Ao Ling, Jiang Lianyi, and the others.

“First-in-Command, Second-in-Command, here, these are for you. They just happened to stick together by accident.”

Yun Mengmeng picked out the two sugar paintings of Lu Yang and the Everlasting Immortal Fairy, with the two figures stuck together side by side.

“Thank you for going through all that trouble, Sister Mengmeng.”

Lu Yang took the sugar painting and licked it. The Everlasting Immortal Fairy took over Lu Yang’s body and licked it as well.

“Tastes pretty good.”

“Right? I carefully researched the syrup ratio myself!”

Having obtained the approval of the two spirit chefs, Yun Mengmeng gained the confidence to distribute the remaining sugar painting to the others.

As Lu Yang licked his sugar painting, he pondered what kind of rule he should establish next. With the lesson from earlier still fresh in mind, he couldn’t afford to set rules randomly. One careless slip-up could lead to disastrous consequences.

“I hereby establish Rule: Construct a desert city within a ten-li radius of me!”

As soon as the rule was set, a rumbling thunder echoed outside the temple. Sand and stone trembled and rose from the earth, forming desert walls. Within those walls, houses emerged one after another, all condensed from grains of sand. However, they bore little resemblance to genuine buildings. They were crooked and uneven, leaning at odd angles.

Then, the desert city collapsed with a crash.

“Why did it crumble?”

“Your attention was too scattered; you tried to perfect every single part at once, but since this was your first time building it, you couldn’t cover every aspect, and it ended up like this,” the Everlasting Immortal Fairy replied with a grin. “But your approach is correct. Keep practicing.”

“Alright.”

Lu Yang was no longer greedy this time, proceeding step by step. “I hereby establish Rule: Construct the city walls of a desert city within a ten-li radius of me!”

With only the walls and no houses, the pressure on Lu Yang diminished considerably. Soon, a hundred-meter-high wall materialized, encircling the ancestral temple.

Not far from the wall, a camel caravan caught sight of the sudden appearance of the desert city. Startled, they nearly fell from their camels. Never in their lives had they witnessed such a spectacle.

“Is that a temple belonging to some eminent monk? Or has the World-Honored One manifested?”

But immediately afterward, the city collapsed and reverted to nothingness, leading the camel caravan to believe that they had witnessed an exceedingly rare mirage. Yet deep down, a nagging unease gnawed at them.

“World-Honored One, please forgive us! World-Honored One, please protect us!”

They couldn’t care whether it had been a mirage or something else; the wisest course was to flee right away.

Lu Yang, the successor of the World-Honored One, sat in the center of the ancestral temple. He chuckled and shook his head. Stretching lazily, he muttered, “Since they’ve asked for protection, I should make it effective.”

He extended his index finger and pointed at a spot behind the camel caravan. In an instant, several venomous snakes dropped dead on the spot.

These snakes had been trailing the caravan all along, biding their time for the opportune moment to strike, but Lu Yang had spotted them and poked them to death.

A few days passed. Several more camel caravans noticed the desert city appear and disappear. Soon after, the Golden Core cultivators from a nearby city formed a party and came to investigate, but found nothing at all.

This was Lu Yang’s way of harnessing the power of rules.

“How peculiar. Exactly what exalted being has set this up here?”

Several Golden Core cultivators gathered to discuss the matter, but couldn’t reach a conclusion. This was certainly no mirage; it was the work of a mighty expert. However, this expert’s methods far exceeded their understanding.

“Never mind, forget it. Perhaps this exalted being doesn’t wish to meet with ordinary folks like us.” The more they discussed, the more they felt that the other party’s cultivation was unfathomably profound, maybe even surpassing that of Xitian Temple’s elders. Such a powerhouse had transcended the mundane and could no longer be assessed by worldly logic.

Since even the Golden Core cultivators couldn’t locate the desert city, and no casualties had occurred, the ancestral temple gradually faded into legend among the nearby cities, lending it even more mystique.

~~~

“Young Creed Leader, look. I found something fun while purchasing supplies in a nearby city.” Jin Caiwei held up a recording orb.

Lu Yang was puzzled. “Isn’t this just a recording orb?”

Jin Caiwei spoke with an air of mystery, “It’s said that if you play this recording orb, a female ghost will appear within it. Whoever sees the female ghost will meet with misfortune.”