Imperial Dynasty

Lotus Hibiscus Terrace.

Henghua said quietly, "You must understand: once an Imperial Dynasty is established, a calamity of slaughter will immediately arise. When that time comes, Donglai's entire landscape will change. How many fellow cultivators from every path will die?"

"That is why there is the 'Void Realm,' an underworld under our control. When fellow cultivators die, they can be reborn from the netherworld. Those who cannot be revived may be enshrined as gods and establish their Dao, or reincarnate and cultivate anew."

Dongfang Yunqi had planned this long ago.

"Since you dragged me into governing the world and intend to bring two saints into the mortal realm, then you should listen, at least somewhat, to my stance and my views."

The current circumstances of mortals were, broadly speaking, no different from what Fu Henghua had described.

Every water region had its own way of life. The mortal kingdoms around the Phoenix Parasol Mountain Range were particularly free, the best among all regions. Since the Devil Palace had returned to righteousness, the lives of mortals in the Yuanming Waters had also improved greatly. Although the Merchant Alliance's oversight was lax and trafficking in mortals still occurred from time to time, it was far less common than three hundred years ago.

But that was only the broad picture.

Cultivators, wary of the great figures' ability to calculate and foresee, would not openly slaughter mortals.

Yet in secret, evil still occurred—mortals persecuted mortals even more viciously than cultivators did!

Dongfang Yunqi lightly waved her hand, and mirror after mirror appeared before Henghua.

In the first, an island held an altar to an evil god. A group of mortals used demonic arts obtained from the altar to rule the islanders with an iron hand, conducting several blood sacrifices each year.

In the second,