A hundred years was almost no more than a brief meditation session to the living beings of the Primordial World.
Lu Chen emerged from seclusion.
The system's voice sounded immediately after.
"Congratulations to the host for completing a hundred years of shelter."
"Of the sixty-eight Sea Spirit Clan members, not one has perished."
"Reward: Black Tortoise Sea-Calming Formation."
"The Abyssal Womb Membrane has expanded to a radius of thirty thousand miles."
Lu Chen was in a very good mood.
Taking in a few dozen refugees in exchange for a Black Tortoise Sea-Calming Formation.
He had made a killing.
This formation combined offense and defense, and could also draw upon the power of the Abyss Sea Eye.
So long as it was deployed around the outer layer of his turtle shell, even a Great Luo Golden Immortal would have to put in some effort.
His sense of security had improved considerably.
"A hundred years are up."
"It's time to send them away."
Lu Chen sent his consciousness into the Inner Realm of the Abyss.
The next moment.
He fell silent.
The once-desolate little island had been completely transformed.
Rows of houses had appeared across the island.
Roads crisscrossed it.
Spirit Fields stretched in clusters.
Pools, medicinal gardens, storehouses, training grounds—everything was there.
At the center of the island stood a solemn stone hall.
Four large characters were carved upon the stele before the hall.
Northern Darkness Imperial Palace.
Lu Chen stared at those four words without speaking for a long while.
"Who built this?"
His voice descended from the sky.
The entire island instantly fell silent.
Lan Shuang hurried over with the Sea Spirit Clan members and knelt in orderly rows.
The sixty-eight people from a hundred years ago had now become more than one hundred and thirty.
Many of the younger clansmen had already begun cultivating water-element techniques.
Lan Shuang's cultivation had also broken through from the late Mysterious Immortal stage to the early Golden Immortal stage.
"Reporting to Emperor."
"We feared disturbing your seclusion, so we organized the deserted island ourselves."
"To maintain order, we established the Bureau of Calamity Avoidance."
"To guard the boundaries, we established the Bureau of Realm Patrol."
"To record the cultivation, merits, and origins of our clansmen, we established the Register of Ten Thousand Tribes."
"To offer worship to Emperor, we also built this hall."
Lu Chen's eyelids twitched wildly as he listened.
Bureau of Calamity Avoidance, Bureau of Realm Patrol, Register of Ten Thousand Tribes.
What exactly had these people been doing over the past hundred years?
He had told them to take refuge.
They had directly set up an entire administrative structure?
"Change the name Northern Darkness Imperial Palace."
Lan Shuang immediately lowered her head.
"Emperor dislikes ostentation. This junior understands."
Lu Chen let out a breath of relief.
At last, she had understood something for once.
The next moment, Lan Shuang turned and ordered, "Pass down the word. From today onward, Northern Darkness Imperial Palace shall be renamed Northern Darkness Dao Palace."
Lu Chen fell silent.
Forget it.
At least they had removed the word "Imperial."
He could not be bothered to dwell on the matter any further and said directly, "The hundred-year term has ended. You may leave now."
A deathly silence fell over the island.
Quite a few young Sea Spirit Clan members went pale.
Lan Shuang bowed low and kowtowed.
"I beg Emperor for mercy and permission for the Sea Spirit Clan to remain in Abyss."
"Cold Moon Island has already been occupied by the Dragon Clan."
"All the elders of our clan have perished."
"If we leave this place, the Dragon Clan will soon come to settle accounts with us."
Lu Chen frowned.
There were some benefits to keeping the Sea Spirit Clan.
They could manage the inner realm, grow spirit herbs, and maintain order.
He could enter seclusion without worry.
But the drawbacks were even more obvious.
If one Sea Spirit Clan remained, a second small clan might come seeking refuge.
After the second, there would be a third.
Before long, the Inner Realm of the Abyss would grow increasingly lively and eventually become a massive Northern Sea refuge.
That was far too far from Lu Chen's original intentions.
He only wanted to stay alive.
He had no desire to start a business.
The system's voice sounded again.
"Detected that the Sea Spirit Clan has requested to remain in Abyss long-term. Please choose."
"One: Accept the Sea Spirit Clan's allegiance, publicly reveal the Abyss cultivation ground, and receive one-tenth of Northern Water Fortune and the Supreme-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasure Mysterious Origin Water-Control Banner."
"Two: Lead the Sea Spirit Clan to reclaim Cold Moon Island, formally establish a Northern Sea force, and receive Great Luo Golden Immortal cultivation and three drops of Ancestral Dragon Essence Blood."
"Three: Seal Abyss for ten thousand years, allowing the Sea Spirit Clan to manage the inner realm independently, and receive the first level of the Chaos Shell-Shedding Method."
The moment Lu Chen saw the third reward, his eyes lit up.
Chaos Shell-Shedding Method!
Just from its name, it clearly had something to do with his fatal calamity.
The Northern Sea Black Tortoise's greatest crisis would come when Nuwa Mended Heaven and severed his four legs.
If he could cultivate the shell-shedding method, then perhaps he could shed his shell like a cicada in the future.
His old body could hold up the heavens.
His true body could flee.
Perfect.
"I choose three."
"Congratulations to the host for obtaining the first level of the Chaos Shell-Shedding Method."
The profound technique merged into his Primordial Spirit.
Lu Chen contemplated it for a moment, and his heart finally settled.
This divine ability truly allowed the Black Tortoise to discard his old shell and take on a new body.
Though the first level was still crude and far from enough to escape a Saint's karma, it had already shown him a path to survival.
As long as he kept avoiding calamities and claiming rewards, he would eventually escape the fate of holding up the heavens.
Lu Chen looked down at the crowd below.
"You may remain."
The Sea Spirit Clan instantly erupted in joy.
"Many thanks, Emperor!"
Lu Chen's voice turned stern.
"I will enter seclusion for ten thousand years."
"The Inner Realm of the Abyss will be left for you to manage yourselves."
"But there are three rules."
"You may not expand outward."
"You may not recruit troops."
"You may not call yourselves emperors in my name."
Lan Shuang solemnly kowtowed.
"We shall remember Emperor's teachings!"
Lu Chen always felt there was something off about that statement.
But he was already too lazy to care.
The Abyssal Womb Membrane slowly closed.
Lu Chen sank into the Chaos Shell-Shedding Method and began his ten-thousand-year seclusion.
Before the Northern Darkness Dao Palace.
An elderly Sea Spirit Clan member asked in a low voice, "Patriarch, why did Emperor strictly forbid expansion, recruiting troops, and calling ourselves emperors?"
Lan Shuang raised her head toward the gray heavens, her gaze filled with reverence.
"Emperor is reminding us that Abyss's foundation is still shallow and must not be exposed too early."
"Not expanding means we must first stabilize the inner realm."
"Not recruiting troops means that outside living beings may only come to us voluntarily; we cannot actively win them over."
"Not calling ourselves emperors means that what Emperor has planned far surpasses the empty reputation of the Northern Sea."
The elder suddenly understood.
"Emperor's foresight runs this deep."
Lan Shuang slowly nodded.
"What we can do is guard Abyss well for Emperor."
"Pass down the order."
"Expand the Bureau of Calamity Avoidance."
"Compile a register of the clans around the Northern Sea."
"Select young clansmen and establish the Realm Guard."
The elder hesitated. "Emperor said we may not recruit troops."
Lan Shuang's expression remained calm.
"The Realm Guard is only responsible for maintaining order in the inner realm."
"How can that count as troops?"
The elder immediately lowered his head.
"The patriarch is wise."
Several days later.
A jade slip quietly made its way into the Northern Sea.
There was only one sentence on the jade slip.
Northern Sea Abyss can shelter one from the Great Tribulation.
Eastern Sea Dragon Palace.
Ao Zheng knelt before the Blackwater Dragon King, his broken dragon claw still not healed.
"Father, that being's true body was even larger than the Northern Sea mountain range."
"With a single thought, he sealed all of my power."
"He also told me to pass a message to the Dragon Clan: Abyss will not involve itself in the conflict among the three clans."
After hearing this, the Blackwater Dragon King's expression gradually turned grave.
"He possesses such immense power, yet remains hidden within Abyss."
"He refuses the Dragon Clan and rejects the momentum of the three clans."
"This Northern Sea Black Tortoise likely has grand ambitions."
Ao Zheng cautiously asked, "Father, should we report this to Ancestral Dragon?"
The Blackwater Dragon King pondered for a long time.
"Not for now."
"The war among the Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin clans is imminent. His Majesty Ancestral Dragon has no time to spare."
"Order the Northern Sea Dragon Tribe to keep away from the Abyss Sea Eye for the time being."
"Look into it again. Find out which small clans have recently fled into the Northern Sea."
"Within Abyss, there may be a grand scheme hidden away."
An invisible net began to spread toward the Northern Sea.
Lu Chen knew nothing of this.
He merely lay quietly on the seabed, relieved that he had finally shaken off the trouble.
From that day on,
the Northern Sea gained a title that even he himself refused to acknowledge.
Mysterious Abyss Emperor.