Heavenly South, Star-Magnetic Peak.
A full century had passed since Han Li formally returned, reshaped Heavenly South, brought the Chaotic Star Sea beneath his might, united his two domains, and designated Star-Magnetic Peak in Heavenly South as the sole Headquarters Altar.
A century meant several generations of succession in mortal dynasties, seas turning into mulberry fields. But for Han Li, who had entered Deity Transformation and seen his lifespan soar, it was merely a relatively prolonged period of seclusion and planning along his long road of cultivation.
Over that century, Heavenly South and the Chaotic Star Sea had truly been integrated and consolidated beneath the twin pressures of the Star Palace's iron fist and Han Li's formidable reputation as a Deity Transformation cultivator. Heavenly South's resources and population, together with the Chaotic Star Sea's rare treasures and vast quantities of low-grade materials, circulated and complemented one another on an unprecedented scale through the tightly controlled shipping routes and teleportation network established by the Star Palace.
The Heavenly South Star Palace's Headquarters Altar had grown to more than ten times its size a century earlier. Around Star-Magnetic Peak, several subsidiary peaks rich in spiritual energy had been forcibly raised and reshaped with formations, then built up with towering palaces, enormous pill-refining and artifact-forging workshops, and heavily guarded Scripture Pavilions and prisons. Huge, rune-covered "Star Palace Warships" and "floating fortresses" could often be seen slowly patrolling the skies, emanating a heart-chilling spiritual pressure. Han Li had long since strengthened the grand formation guarding the mountain gates himself, incorporating his rudimentary understanding of spatial and primordial magnetic laws. Its power was enough to briefly withstand a fierce assault from a cultivator at the deity transformation middle stage.
The Star Palace's internal structure had also become increasingly streamlined. Under Han Li's direction, a rigorous