"City Lord, these are the public documents submitted from below."

A subordinate, holding a stack of documents, placed them on the City Lord’s desk, dividing them into two piles.

The City Lord was a rare female cultivator, with an exceptional appearance, and nobody dared to question her, nor did they dare to comment on her appearance.

Being able to serve as the City Lord in a city populated mostly by male cultivators, one could imagine the means and cultivation level of this City Lord.

"It’s been three days, how come she has not come down yet?"

Luo Hong sat in the great hall of the third-layer City Lord’s mansion, where she assigned herself the identity of City Lord.

After handling the affairs of the city, as per her routine, she looked up at the sky—that was the location of the fourth layer.

Suddenly, a gap appeared in the sky, and three figures emerged from the gap, flashing by and appearing in the great hall of the City Lord’s mansion.

"Senior Luo Hong, we meet again," Lu Yang greeted her with a smile.

Luo Hong: "…"

I remember you went up alone; how come you’ve become three people on the way down?

Moreover, Luo Hong felt that the two people behind Lu Yang were unfathomably profound, with terrifying strength.

As the spiritual entity of the Secret Realm, Luo Hong could wield all the powers of the realm. With many treasures present, no genie from the Demon Race who grew into great power ever attempted to forcefully enter the Secret Realm, which indicated the terror instilled by Luo Hong.

Even so, she still felt that she was no match for the two people behind Lu Yang.

She even developed a sense of awe towards the red-clad female cultivator.

"Luo Hong pays respects to the female master!"

Immediately, Luo Hong knelt to the ground and kowtowed before Jiang Lianyi.

"Wait a minute, who are you?"

Jiang Lianyi stepped to the side, unwilling for people to kneel to her without reason.

"I am the spiritual entity created by the master of this Secret Realm."

"And who is your master?"

"Shi He, my master told me to call him Qilin Immortal."

Shi He was the name of the Qilin Immortal.

"The master created this Secret Realm, saying that if someone answered all the questions correctly on the third layer, they would be allowed into the fourth layer. The fourth layer is home to the female master, and once the female master appears, everything in the Secret Realm, including myself, will belong to her."

An intricate immortal imprint appeared on Luo Hong’s forehead. She held the imprint with reverence and offered it to Jiang Lianyi.

"Indeed, it is the imprint left by my husband."

Jiang Lianyi accepted the imprint; it was the Seal of the Secret Realm, which could govern everything within the realm.

In an instant, Jiang Lianyi sensed the structure of the Secret Realm; with just a thought, she could make Luo Hong do anything, and the treasure trove of the realm could be opened at any time.

With a casual wave of her hand, Jiang Lianyi tore open a spatial rift, revealing a mountainous pile of treasures.

These were treasures that even the mighty geniuses of the Demon Race would envy but seemed like nothing special in Jiang Lianyi’s eyes.

"Do you need anything?"

Jiang Lianyi turned to ask Lu Yang if he wanted, she could give all these treasures to him.

Lu Yang felt a bit conflicted. There was no doubt that the treasures were valuable, but he was not short of money, didn’t need spirit stones, and when it came to magic artifacts, it’s unlikely there were any more valuable than the Green Peak Sword. Moreover, with the Scripture Pavilion and Eldest Senior Sister available, he didn’t need to consult the experiences left by the Demon Race’s mighty ones.

"I heard that there’s an immortal herb here that allows a demon prodigy to leap an entire major cultivation level after consumption, and there are no side effects?"

Jiang Lianyi reached out, spanning the distance through space, and plucked a spirit grass with seven twinkling leaves from the second layer.

"You’re talking about the Seven-star Moon Chasing Grass; its growing conditions are extremely harsh. It indeed can enhance one’s cultivation by a major level, for instance, from the late Golden Core stage to the late Nascent Soul stage, but to call it an Immortal Herb would be to overestimate it. Once consumed, one cannot progress to the Transcendance Tribulation Stage."

"Then never mind," Lu Yang believed that cultivation should take a systematic and gradual approach; there was no need to rush.

Jiang Lianyi replanted the Seven-star Moon Chasing Grass back into the ground.

"Can I pick a few swords to form a sword array?" Lu Yang suddenly asked.

"You can."

Jiang Lianyi beckoned, and seven precious swords of different styles floated out from the pile of treasures, each emanating a chilling gleam.

"These seven swords are all yours now."

All the swords in the Creation Ancient Land were here, and they were all growth-type magic artifacts.

The names of the swords were engraved on the hilts: Tian Shu, Tian Xuan, Tian Ji...

Luo Hong, who was most familiar with these treasures, explained, "These names correspond to the ancient North Star’s seven stars, and this set of swords is called the Seven-star Sword Array."

Above each sword floated the number "two."

"Good stuff."

As a Sword Cultivator, Lu Yang was overjoyed to receive seven different precious swords, so happy that he couldn’t close his mouth.

"How do I claim ownership, through blood recognition?"

Luo Hong solemnly said, "It’s not that simple. These seven swords have spirituality. To subdue these swords, you need to nurture them with your body, heart, and blood. It’s a long process which can take from a short month to a whole year."

The Seven-star Sword Array issued a series of sword cries, confirming Luo Hong’s words.

Sword Cultivators are proud, and their swords have a pride of their own, not to be wielded by just anyone. They set three rules for using them at the time of their birth:

Only peerless Sword Cultivators, only peerless geniuses, and only with a sincere heart can one move them.

Although the Seven-star Swords had not yet developed spiritual wisdom, they had spirituality.

Fairy Eternity stepped forward, and wherever the sword cries were loudest, she struck firmly, and when the Seven-star Sword Array quieted down, she pointed at Lu Yang and said, "From now on, you will follow him, do you hear me?"

The Seven-star Swords issued a series of trembling sword cries.

What seemed to be random strikes were actually attacks that targeted their spirituality; Fairy Eternity could erase their spirituality with just a few knocks if she wished.

Afterward, they floated to Lu Yang’s side, rubbing against him affectionately.

Lu Yang hastily kept his distance. A fluffy little rabbit rubbing against him was one thing, but with you seven swords, are you trying to slice me to death?

Lu Yang ran ahead while the Seven-star Sword Array pursued from behind, resolute and unrelenting. Eventually, Lu Yang used his Identity Jade to gather them inside, which finally calmed things down.

Jiang Lianyi then said to Luo Hong, "Continue to fulfill your previous duties in the Secret Realm as usual. Nothing changes."

"Yes!"

"Also, about my affairs and Immortal Sister’s, don’t speak of them to anyone."

"Understood!"

When they came down from the fourth layer, Fairy Eternity told Jiang Lianyi not to mention her existence outside; it might startle the target unnecessarily.

"Let’s go. It’s a good time to see what the Cultivation World looks like now."

Thirty thousand years have passed. Afraid that old friends are long gone, things aren’t the same anymore.

"Speaking of old friends, there has been one recently," Lu Yang said, stroking his chin. By this time, Fairy Eternity had returned to the Spiritual Space.

"Who?"

"Ancient Di Jiang, he’s been asleep since the ancient times and after waking up, he plans to unify the Demon Territory and establish the Demon Nation. It seems we’ll be just in time for his nation-founding ceremony after we get out."

Jiang Lianyi was stunned for a moment before realizing who Lu Yang was referring to as Ancient Di Jiang. Indeed, times have changed.

"He can establish a Demon Nation? He’s gotten quite capable, hasn’t he?"

𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"There’s another matter I’d like to consult you about," said Lu Yang.

"You are the one who revived Immortal Sister. There’s no need to be so formal with me. Speak your mind."

"Have you heard of the Heavenly Court?"