"It seems the top priority right now is to instigate the plan immediately, without any delays. Only by being thoroughly prepared can we stand firm in the upcoming storm," concluded Pei Xuanjing.
Unless Pei Xuanjing was willing to retreat after those people returned, after all, with his current strength, even in the prosperous era of the Tang Dynasty thousands of years ago, he would be considered a great cultivator and could dominate a faction. If he was willing to step back and protect himself, there wouldn't be any major issues.
However, this would mean giving up his layout and the advantageous situation he had painstakingly established. This was something Pei Xuanjing couldn't accept or tolerate.
Therefore, conflict was inevitable. Only by truly contending could he establish his authority and demonstrate his strength to secure his own position.
Now, those people were in the shadows, while Pei Xuanjing and his allies were in the open.
What Pei Xuanjing could do was to seize the current time, enhancing his strength as quickly as he could, and strengthening his own faction's strength so that they could really stand invincible.
Once decided, Pei Xuanjing was not going to continue his seclusion. He needed to advance things now, expedite his plans, and prepare for potential issues in the future.
"I'm not sure how long this simulation took." Pei Xuanjing looked at the thick dust in his secret chamber, his brows slightly furrowed.
"Master, you've emerged from seclusion!" Pang Hong looked at Pei Xuanjing with surprise and delight.
Looking at his master who was just sitting there, despite not displaying any intimidating demeanor, Pang Hong was sure his master's strength had definitely improved.
"Yes." Pei Xuanjing nodded, suddenly frowned and asked, "You've breakthrough to the Second-Class Realm?"
"Master has a discerning eye, this disciple has managed to breakthrough just recently," Pang Hong answered reverently.
Pei Xuanjing asked, "Do you know how long I've been in seclusion this time?"
He remembered that when he started his seclusion, Pang Hong had not even broken through the Third-grade Realm. According to his own calculations, even if things went smoothly, it would take Pang Hong five or six years to break through the Third-grade Realm.
But now, Pang Hong had already broken through to the Second-Class Realm, which was somewhat surprising to Pei Xuanjing. Had he been in seclusion for decades?
Pang Hong was stunned. Upon hearing his master's question, although perplexed, he answered honestly, "Master, your seclusion should have lasted for five years."
"Five years!"
Pei Xuanjing was secretly shocked, he didn't realize that this simulation of life would have taken so long.
Considering that he had spent nearly thirty years in the life simulation, it meant that for every six years passed in the life simulation, one year had passed in the Daming world.
At this moment, he could finally confirm one thing, that is, the World of Myriad Manifestations did truly exist, it was certainly not just a simple projected world.
Pei Xuanjing put this thought aside for a while, turned to Pang Hong and asked, "You managed to break through to the Second-Class Realm in just five years, did you encounter any extraordinary opportunities?"
At the moment, he could clearly sense the Heaven and Earth Essence Qi circulating between heaven and earth, which was much denser than before he started the life simulation, but it was still much less than in the World of Myriad Manifestations where he had projected his consciousness.
According to his estimation, even if he took action now, he could only exert the power of Spirit Realm Onefold, or at most, Spirit Realm Second Layer, he absolutely couldn't exert all the strength of the Fourth Level of the Spiritual Realm.
It could be said that although Pei Xuanjing's strength had greatly improved, he couldn't exert too much strength because the speed of Heaven and Earth's recovery was too slow, and he was vaguely restricted.
However, for Pei Xuanjing, it didn't matter at all because even under such a restraint, with his own strength, he should be invincible in this world, with no one being able to compete with him.
He asked Pang Hong because such a considerable increase in Heaven and Earth Essence Qi, although it had alleviated many restrictions for Mortal Realm martial artists to cultivate and sped up their cultivation, it was definitely not as fast as Pang Hong's.
Upon hearing master's words, a smile appeared on Pang Hong's face, "Master is wise, it was indeed because I entered a Forbidden Place of Blessed Land not long ago and luckily got an opportunity that has allowed me to achieve today's realm."
Due to the revival of Heaven and Earth, the world underwent enormous changes. The Cave Heavens and Blessed Lands that had originally been hidden everywhere began to appear in the world, allowing countless martial artists to enter and inherit the wisdom of their predecessors, which facilitated rapid progress in their cultivation realms.
After Pei Xuanjing began his seclusion, Pang Hong was initially prepared to stand guard, but he was stopped by Yu Zhenzi. Yu Zhenzi volunteered to guard Pei Xuanjing during his seclusion.
In Yu Zhenzi's opinion, at Pang Hong's age, he needed more experience in the world and there was no need for him to stay in one place. Now that various Cave Heavens and Blessed Lands were appearing, it was a good opportunity for him to find his luck.
Of course, one of the reasons Yu Zhenzi allowed Pang Hong to wander around was that most of the top martial artists in the world were in seclusion and not showing up, while many young and energetic martial artists were making their name in the world. Pang Hong fighting against these individuals could also enhance the reputation of the Shenxiao Sect.
In Yu Zhenzi's view, the Shenxiao Sect had fallen into decline for too long. Even though they had a strong figure like Pei Xuanjing to clamp down on others and they themselves were holding the fort, Pei Xuanjing was also aiming to have talented youths from the younger generation like Pang Hong wandering around the world to show the sect's might.
It was due to his maneuver that Pang Hong managed to enter one of the Forbidden Places of Blessed Land that emerged recently. He defeated numerous rivals to obtain the inheritance from the Forbidden Place of Blessed Land, used it to step into the Third-grade Realm, and after two years of consolidation, he just recently broke through to the Second-Class Realm.
"It seems my conjecture was not wrong!" Pei Xuanjing came to a sudden realization.
He had long known that besides some Cave Heavens that naturally existed in these Forbidden Lands, almost all other Forbidden Lands of Blessed Land were left behind by former powerful practitioners.
Now that Heaven and Earth have revived, the Forbidden Lands of Blessed Land are appearing one after another like bamboo shoots after the rain. This is definitely not a coincidence.
Perhaps some of the owners of these Forbidden Lands of Blessed Land had fallen, which is why they left their inheritances, but all of their fall would certainly not have happened, and if they appeared so coincidentally, they must have been left as a backup.
"Master, is there a problem with these inheritances?" Pang Hong saw that Pei Xuanjing was deep in thought and couldn't help but ask out of confusion.
In fact, concerning so many Forbidden Places of Blessed Land continuously emerging, many smart people had seen that this was not a coincidence. However, when faced with opportunities to enhance their abilities, nobody was willing to give up.
After all, with Heaven and Earth's revival, everyone was aware that the situation was about to change tremendously. To ensure they had a place in the upcoming Great World, even if there were problems, they couldn't care less about them now.
Seeing his master like this now, Pang Hong naturally thought of those rumors and asked the question.
Pei Xuanjing shook his head and said, "That's alright. If you don't mind, later let me take a look at the skill. If there are no issues with it, you can continue your cultivation."
Regarding the current situation, this was an open scheme. After all, if he prevented it, it would be the same as stopping someone's path, which is a matter of life and death.
So even if Pei Xuanjing was aware of the calculation, he could not stop it.
However, Pei Xuanjing was a little uneasy about the inheritance that his disciple had received. He wanted to investigate it to make sure that it wouldn't harm him in the end, or benefit others.
With the simulator at hand, if there was a problem with the skill, it would definitely be checked out.
"Alright!" exclaimed Pang Hong, nodding his head.
Hearing that Pei Xuanjing wanted to review the skill, Pang Hong had no hesitation.
Based on his understanding of Pei Xuanjing, he did not believe that his master wanted to covet his skill. He knew that his master had delved into various martial arts skills in the world and understood countless things, so there was no need to covet this one.
Moreover, without the assistance of his master in the past, there would be no Pang Hong today. It wouldn't matter if it was just a skill or even his life, he would not hesitate to give it to his master if he wanted it.
A smile appeared on Pei Xuanjing's face as he nodded satisfactorily.
Although he would receive Taoyun value when looking at the skills, he was also eliminating danger for the other party. This was a win-win situation.
Of course, if Pang Hong did not want to, Pei Xuanjing would not insist.
"Over these five years, have there been any major events?" Pei Xuanjing asked.
Five years was neither short nor long.
But for the Daming World, which had just begun to rejuvenate, a lot of things could have happened in five years.
Upon hearing his master's inquiry, Pang Hong began to carefully detail the events that had occurred over the last five years.
Ever since the first year when the Heaven and Earth began to rejuvenate, all the superior martial artists went into retreat. With many of the top martial artists temporarily ceasing their activities, a brief period of peace began to surface in the martial world.
However, just after Pei Xuanjing entered retreat, the once quiet martial world began to surge with activity again. Many individuals took advantage of the rejuvenation of Heaven and Earth to breakthrough realms.
Perhaps it is true that there is both gain and loss. Those with high martial realms received many insights from the rejuvenation of Heaven and Earth, but their retreat time was comparatively longer. However, for those weaker individuals, after one breakthrough in retreat, they found that diligent cultivation was not enough to continue their progress. Consequently, many individuals emerged from their seclusion.
It can be said, that solely due to the opportunity afforded by the rejuvenation of Heaven and Earth, the majority of third-grade martial artists were able to enhance their realm. Even those who did not breakthrough managed to solidify their foundations, enhancing their potential.
After these individuals emerged from retreat, the overall strength of the martial artists can be said to have elevated.
With the continuous emergence of forbidden blessed lands, even fools could feel something unusual about it.
But when the news spread about a martial artists who fortuitously obtained a huge increase in power from inheritance within the blessed lands, everyone swarmed to these locations, striving to obtain fortune from the given opportunities.
Instantly, the martial world became a frenzy with martial artists obtaining fortunes daily that completely changed their lives, rising to prominence. However, there were also many who fell because of this, subsequently losing their lives.
Major factions were able to remain stable, but the smaller factions started to kill each other for the treasures and inherited skills that were discovered from these forbidden blessed lands. Countless factions were destroyed, while others rose to prominence.
While there were conflicts in the martial world, the court was also not stable.
After the emperor ascended to the throne, with his intelligence and the support of the Prince of Xiang, coupled with the endorsement of Pei Xuanjing, who is currently considered the world's top individual, he completely seized control of the court. Even when he was in the palace, the affairs of the court could not escape his control.
With the support of the emperor, the Minister of the Ministry of War; Wang Qiong, began to significantly reorganize soldiers in various garrisons, removing those who were idle and promoting those who were competent.
In just five short years, with the strong support of the imperial court, along with the increased ease of cultivation after the rejuvenation of Heaven and Earth, the martial classics were thoroughly spread in the military. The overall strength of Daming's soldiers has significantly increased, culminating in a million elite soldiers, ready to expedition beyond the borders.
Of course, Heaven and Earth are fair and do not show favoritism to one side. After the rejuvenation of Heaven and Earth, while Daming's strength has greatly increased, the Tartar tribes beyond the borders also benefited a lot.
After the rejuvenation of Heaven and Earth, the first change was the increase in the number and power of the tribal warriors. Due to the favorable weather and fertile vegetation in recent years, the population of their tribes also increased significantly.
However, these were all basic situations, and Pei Xuanjing only listened to them in broad strokes. He was most concerned about several other matters.
Due to the threat posed by Pei Xuanjing, who is currently the world's top individual, coupled with the alliance of the Taoist School, there would undoubtedly be major chaos arising in the upcoming Great World. Therefore, the historically fragmented Demonic Cult, once again unified under the leader of the Sky Demon Sect, Xue Wuheng as the new leader of the Demonic Cult.
Although everyone knew that the several branches of the Demonic Cult, having been separated for hundreds of years, could not possibly integrate seamlessly as one family in such a short period of time. However, this was the notorious Demonic Cult, and when they emerged once again, it shocked countless factions.
What shocked people the most, was the resoluteness and ruthlessness of Xue Wuheng, who had just ascended to the position of the leader of the Demonic Cult.
He actually executed a high-ranking elder of the Blood Demon Sect who had intended to take revenge on Pei Xuanjing. The head of the elder was then sent to Tiandu as an apology to Pei Xuanjing. He hoped that this would resolve his and the Blood Demon Sect's grudge, and the two sides would have no further disputes.
This indicated the importance of strength. Even though it was Pei Xuanjing who actively disrupted the plans of the Blood Demon, the Demonic Cult, out of fear of his reputation, dared not retaliate. Instead, they sought to soothe Pei Xuanjing's dissatisfaction.
"Xue Wuheng, he really is a formidable figure!" A hint of a smile appeared on Pei Xuanjing's mouth.
Perhaps the man killed by Xue Wuheng was the senior elder of the Blood Demon Sect who had failed to breakthrough the Spirit Realm in Pei Xuanjing's life simulations. This did save Pei Xuanjing from some trouble.
However, Pei Xuanjing wasn't amazed by Xue Wuheng's methods. The person that Xue Wuheng killed from the Blood Demon Sect and the head that was sent to Pei Xuanjing may have seemed like an act of goodwill towards Pei Xuanjing. In reality, it was a way for them to shift the Blood Demon Sect's hatred towards Pei Xuanjing.
"Master, should we agree to this?" inquired Pang Hong.
Pei Xuanjing laughed, "Agree, why wouldn't we? Tell the messenger, have Xue Wuheng send along some martial arts skills from the Demonic Cult, and I'll let the matter rest!"
To be honest, Pei Xuanjing initially didn't care about the affairs of the Blood Demon Cult, he had put them out of his mind and wasn't concerned at all.
However, now that Xue Wuheng wanted to dispel them, Pei Xuanjing still didn't mind. But if he took the blame for him, the slight compensation given by the other party was far from sufficient.
Having seen quite a few skills, Pei Xuanjing did not have much knowledge about the skills of the Brahman Gate and the Demonic Cult. This time he planned to demand some of the demonic skills to enhance his Taoyun proficiency.
After his life simulation was completed this time, Pei Xuanjing's strength had risen to the Fourth Level of the Spiritual Realm, so the amount of Taoyun value he needed for a life simulation had greatly increased.
The required amount of Taoyun value for a simulation increased sharply from the original two hundred thousand to two million.
Two million Taoyun points for a simulation, such a massive amount almost gave Pei Xuanjing a headache. He was fretting over how to get the Taoyun value when Xue Wuheng voluntarily delivered it to his door. It would be a pity not to profit from this opportunity.
"Yes, I will take note of it!" Pang Hong nodded.
Pei Xuanjing continued to ask, "Are there any other matters? After all, the Demonic Cult has once again merged. The emergence of such a behemoth can't possibly go unnoticed by the other major forces."
"Master is wise." Pang Hong laughed.
Pei Xuanjing wasn't concerned with Pang Hong's flattery, he simply smiled and listened to his explanation.
Since the Demonic Cult had already been re-established, its resurgence indeed led to a series of reactions, even without any action yet.
If it had been in the past, the merger might have been overlooked. But now, the united forces of the Demonic Cult were far from being the first to unite. The actual united forces were those led by Pei Xuanjing, which included the Shenxiao Sect, True Martial Sect, Dragon Tiger Mountain, Chunyang Sect, Baiyun Temple, and Bai Xiaosheng, among others.
During Pei Xuanjing's retreat, some Taoist forces gradually approached them with the intention to join the alliance, especially forces like the Four Symbols Sword Sect, which had a deep relationship with the True Martial Sect.
In just a few years, their alliance's influence rapidly grew to almost include all the Taoist forces, becoming a true behemoth.
If their union could previously only compete with the imperial court of Great Ming, their current strength was not inferior to the power controlled by the imperial court, and even seemed to have the upper hand.
With such a behemoth in the foreground, and the newly reunited Demonic Cult in the background, the other major forces could no longer remain idle.
After all, if they continued this way, these large forces that had once spanned provinces and paths would've been demoted from top-tier forces to second-rate forces, something they couldn't accept.
The first to respond were the noble families. They had the keenest sense of these matters. After their secret discussions, they announced the establishment of the Family Alliance, becoming the third united major force in the world.
The noble families, the Five Surnames and Seven Sects, were already top-tier forces. Coupled with some other forces not weaker than them, their union left all parties astounded.
"After the noble families announced their union, the Buddhism School started making moves." Pang Hong said softly.
Pei Xuanjing raised an eyebrow with a hint of interest, "Oh?"
In Pei Xuanjing's memory, his encounters with the unusually low-profile Buddhism School of the Daming World were almost non-existent, except during the Netherworld Book projection dream he had six hundred years ago on Taihe Mountain.
It must be noted that in this era, although the Diamond Gate of Northwest Dao had some ties to the Buddhism School, there was deep-seated enmity between them and couldn't be counted as part of the Buddhism School.
During the coronation of the new emperor, even though they were invited, they didn't respond at all. It was surprising to see that they could no longer remain idle.
According to Pang Hong, when the Demonic Cult re-emerged, the two major factions of Buddhism, the North Zen Sect, and the South Zen Sect, had shown some minor reactions. Since primarily the Taoist School had split the Demonic Cult at that time, they didn't harbor significant grudges against the Demonic Cult. Instead, under similar oppression by the Taoist School, they seemed somewhat sympathetic.
However, when the Taoist School, Demonic Cult, and noble families consecutively formed alliances, the always calm Buddhism School finally couldn't sit still. Master from various Buddhist temples gathered at the North Zen Sect and discussed for a long time before dispersing. From this, everybody understood their intentions.
In addition, some other forces were also merging, but none of them were on par with the four major alliances and were hence insignificant.
Pang Hong said, "The current situation is such: apart from the Great Ming imperial court, there are our Taoist School, the Demonic Cult, the Family Alliance and the Buddhism School-led alliance. The rest are not worth mentioning."
Over the years, under Pei Xuanjing's guidance, Pang Hong had also grown a lot, having his own insights into the situation of world affairs.
"Mm, not bad!" Pei Xuanjing first uttered a word of praise, but then shook his head and added, "However, you've overlooked one group, and their power should not be underestimated."
"One overlooked group?" Pang Hong was puzzled.
The information he had gathered was analyzed from the news provided by Bai Xiaosheng. He believed he had covered all the world forces and couldn't have missed any.
Could there be any hidden forces?
And since his master had secluded himself for five years, taking no interest in worldly affairs, how would he know of any hidden forces?
Pei Xuanjing laughed, "Do you still remember the Mire Sect?"
"Ah!" Pang Hong was stunned, he incredulously said, "Master, do you think it's the Mire Sect? But there hasn't been any news about the Mire Sect for many years."
"Indeed!" Pei Xuanjing nodded. "Zhao Baiyang shouldn't be underestimated. Precisely because there hasn't been any news about the Mire Sect for so many years is why it's necessary to take note. A strong individual who dares to unite with others and assassinate the emperor in Tiandu is certainly worth attention."
Among the people Pei Xuanjing had contacted, although Zhao Baiyang's perception and viewpoint contradicted Pei Xuanjing's, he never looked down on the other party.
The White Lotus Sect had been divided for many years, but Zhao Baiyang had always wanted to merge the branches of the White Lotus Sect again. Considering the impressive heritage of the Mire Sect, if they were to unite with other branches once again, they would rise with the tide, achieving a new level of power.
Furthermore, after Pei Xuanjing slayed the Ghost Emperor of Fengdu, Zhao Baiyang took over Fengdu's influence and gathered the remaining Diamond Gate's top warriors under his command.
All these powers, seemingly insignificant when scattered, would be an unstoppable behemoth when united.