"Um."
Han Xuanji nodded, feeling that it was about time; he was getting tired of hearing so much flattery.
His gaze shifted to his disciples, who were eagerly waiting, and to the ancient beasts huddled in the corners, trying to make themselves as inconspicuous as possible.
"Let's go, back to the Dao Palace."
As soon as Han Xuanji finished speaking, he casually rolled up his sleeves.
Suddenly, a gentle yet irresistible force enveloped everyone, including the Evil Qilin and other ancient beings.
The next moment, their figures, along with Han Xuanji, vanished silently from the spot, leaving no spatial ripples or Law Power fluctuations.
It was as if they never belonged here, but had only temporarily arrived, and now that the matter was over, they had returned to their higher realm.
Beyond the Thirty-Three Layers of Heaven lies the Mystic Heaven Dao Palace.
Upon returning to the Dao Palace, the disciples who had not witnessed Han Xuanji's actions surrounded the disciples who had gone to the Nether Sea, chattering incessantly with questions.
Li Taiqing briefly described the scene of the battle, which stirred the blood of the disciples with slightly lower cultivation levels.
"Grandmaster is amazing!"
"If only I could be even one-tenth... no, one-hundredth stronger than my master in the future."
"Haha, I think you'd be able to walk around with an a fraction of your grandmaster's talent."
"That's true."
The disciple who spoke earlier touched his head and felt no difference.
On the other side, Han Xuanji led a group of powerful ancient beings to the depths of the Mystic Heaven Dao Palace.
Having come from the Reincarnation Purgatory, suddenly arriving at this sacred place filled with celestial energy, imbued with the essence of Tao, where every blade of grass and every tree seemed to contain supreme truth, even the Evil Qilin felt a sense of disorientation and unease, and even more so, a sense of awe stemming from its innate life force.
They could sense that every inch of this world was deeply imprinted with the supreme will of the figure ahead; this was his domain.
Han Xuanji stopped and calmly glanced at the docile, shrunken ancient creatures behind him.
"Now that you have entered my Dao Palace, you must abide by my rules."
His voice wasn't loud, yet it resonated clearly within the souls of all the ancient beings, carrying an undeniable tone.
"The Dao Palace covers a vast area. Apart from the core forbidden area and the disciples' cave abode, you may find suitable places to live on your own. You may cultivate the earth's veins, absorb Spiritual Qi, or assist in managing some peripheral affairs."
Han Xuanji paused, his tone slightly cold:
"Remember, all living beings within the Dao Palace, regardless of their cultivation level or origin, are either my disciples or dependents."
Fighting is forbidden without cause, and harming any living beings in the Dao Domain is strictly prohibited.
If you disobey, the Lord of Myriad Voids will serve as a warning to you.
These ancient beings were highly skilled and had already sworn oaths. Since they were right under his nose, he wasn't afraid of them causing trouble.
If they dare to cause trouble, consider it an extra meal tonight.
"I will humbly obey the Dao Venerable's decree! I would never dare to disobey!"
The ancient beings quickly lowered their heads even further and responded in unison, their voices filled with cautious respect.
Are you kidding me? Causing trouble on Han Xuanji's turf?
They had clearly witnessed the fate of the Lord of Myriad Voids; he would likely never recover in a million years, and they didn't know how long he would be imprisoned. They wouldn't dare to do it even if they had ten times the courage.
"Um."
Han Xuanji nodded slightly, as if he had thought of something, and added a sentence.
"There are other living beings within the Dao Palace as well. You are new here, so if there is anything you do not understand..."
His gaze seemed to drift unintentionally in a certain direction.
Just then, a white light shot out from the side with a "whoosh" and landed steadily in front of Han Xuanji, its head held high and chest puffed out, and it even shook its smooth, satin-like fur.
It's Little White!
Its size remained that of an ordinary tiger. Although its cultivation was clearly far inferior to those ancient ferocious beasts, its posture was perfectly controlled.
With his chin slightly raised and his eyes looking down, he strolled leisurely before the ancient beings, as if inspecting his new subordinates.
"Master, you're back!"
Little White first affectionately rubbed its big head against Han Xuanji's clothes, a gesture that made the ancient beings' eyelids twitch.
"You can ask it..."
Han Xuanji felt inexplicably embarrassed by Little White's behavior, but he didn't say anything and turned to go directly to his palace.
The Reincarnation Purgatory had benefited him greatly; he would focus on cultivation first.
Although he has no rivals in the Immortal Realm, he still needs to remain cautious in the vast Chaos, where countless powerful beings exist.
If he could completely refine the essence of the Lord of Myriad Voids, it should allow him to make a huge breakthrough and reach the Late-Stage Hunyuan Wuji Daluo Golden Immortal.
Seeing Han Xuanji leave, Little White lost his previous adorable and innocent demeanor. Facing the group of "newcomers," he cleared his throat and said in a somewhat pretentious tone:
"Hey, you guys are the newcomers?"
The Evil Qilin and the others exchanged bewildered glances. They could sense that this white tiger possessed extraordinary bloodline, but its strength... was merely at the level of Daluo Golden Immortal?
They're not even in the same league.
But look at its attitude, and its intimate and natural interaction with Han Xuanji...
Before they could think it through, Little White had already begun its lecture:
"The rules of the Dao Palace have already been explained by the master, so I won't repeat them."
However, there are some 'customs' and 'precautions' that the owners didn't mention in detail, which I need to tell you about.
It raised one of its front paws and slowly licked it, its eyes glancing sideways at the other.
"First of all, within the Dao Palace, seniority is the rule, and one must arrive first. I, Little White, have been following my master for longer than you can imagine."
It deliberately emphasized the word "long," then strolled up to the Evil Qilin. Although it had to look up at the other, its aura was completely condescending.
"You look like you're quite capable. If you follow me, I guarantee you'll Wuliang."
The Evil Qilin's lips twitched, but seeing Little White's matter-of-fact expression and considering its relationship with Han Xuanji, it could only swallow its dissatisfaction and mumbled in response:
"Yes... Master Bai... Master White's guidance is correct, I've remembered it."
It even subconsciously used honorifics.
Little White nodded in satisfaction, then strolled over to the Nine-Headed Xuanming Serpent, looked at its nine ferocious heads, and curled his lip:
"Nine heads, it looks noisy."
There's a place called the ' Xuanming Cold Abyss ' to the north of the Dao Palace; it's extremely cold. It's perfect for you to stay there. Remember, don't make the Cold Abyss poisonous, or you'll be punished if any disciple gets hurt."
The nine heads of the Nine-Headed Xuanming Serpent shrank back simultaneously and hurriedly said:
"No, no, I'll be careful. Thank you for the arrangements, Master White."
Next, the Chaos Demon Ape was assigned to do odd jobs on the Holy Mountain, the Heaven-Bearing Turtle was instructed to carry the Spirit Vein on the back mountain, and the Nine-Headed Dragon was assigned to stay in a remote forest, where it would also help decompose some alchemy waste...
With a series of expert instructions, Little White arranged for the once-powerful beasts to perform menial tasks such as "guarding the gate," "refining," "carrying mountains," and "decomposing garbage."
The ancient beings felt incredibly aggrieved, but none of them dared to utter a sound.
Judging from its familiarity with the place, its imperious manner, and its casual intimacy with Han Xuanji... it's clearly a core close advisor who is extremely favored, senior, and has a very strong network of connections by the Dao Venerable's side!
So what if you're a little weaker?
They're competing on seniority and connections!