"Thank you, my husband."
When Cai Yan saw that all the women had donned their rings, a smile appeared on her face. A subtle warmth now passed between them—a special effect of the rings that allowed each wearer to perceive the emotions of the others. It fostered closeness, bolstered cohesion, and strengthened their sense of unity as a family.
It also gave rise to a profound sense of belonging.
"These rings link us together. The Stellar Rings draw upon stellar energy, and when paired with one's fate, they enhance cultivation speed. With these rings, your cultivation will progress faster," Yi Tianxing said with a smile.
In the Eternal World, cultivation was the foundation of everything. Strength was the only true source of confidence, something that one could rely on for life. Although these women had entered the Imperial Palace, he had never intended to restrict them to palace life. Instead, he wanted to strengthen their individual power, as they, too, represented the deep heritage of the Da Yi Imperial Clan.
One day, they might deliver a devastating surprise to Da Yi's enemies.
That was the true heritage of the imperial bloodline.
Yi Tianxing then explained more about the Stellar Rings.
"There are actually 365 of them, and once they're all gathered, they can form a Zhou Tian Stellar Barrier, a formation so strong that even great powers cannot break through it. Right now, we've only handed out a dozen or so—far from the full set."
Hearing this, Cai Yan's eyes flashed with a peculiar gleam. If this Stellar Barrier truly reached the Zhou Tian level, it would become one of the most formidable trump cards of the Da Yi Imperial Clan—immensely significant.
"Sister Wan'er, you should consider having a few more children. Our Imperial bloodline is still too thin," Cai Yan said.
Hearing this, Gongsun Wan'er blushed. She hadn't planned on conceiving before—not that she couldn't, but she'd wanted to further her cultivation. As a sword cultivator, pregnancy made her wary of the circulating sword qi in her body harming the fetus, so she had delayed. Cai Yan's words were clearly a gentle push.
The other women exchanged playful glances, their eyes full of teasing.
"Understood, Sister," Gongsun Wan'er replied with a smile. She wasn't the bashful type.
"Husband, Mu Guiying, Tong Emperor, and Hua Mulan are among the top prodigies in Da Yi—unmatched beauty and peerless talent. They all admire you. Why not give them a Stellar Ring too?"
Cai Yan suddenly proposed.
"Nonsense. Two of them are legion commanders, and the other is a hall master—key pillars of Da Yi. How could I do that?" Yi Tianxing shook his head.
Although Da Yi had no strict rule against harem members holding political or military roles, it was an unspoken principle in the palace. Taking them in would be akin to removing three of Da Yi's most capable figures from duty.
"You could at least give them the rings for now. The rest can be discussed later," Cai Yan said with a sly smile, clearly not giving up.
"I'll think about it," Yi Tianxing said with a shake of his head.
That night, in the Emperor's Heart Palace, all the women were summoned. A battle broke out—so fierce it was almost tragic. Cries rang out, desperate struggles played out again and again. The springtime scenery of the Imperial Garden could no longer be hidden.
Beyond the borders of the Da Yi Imperial Dynasty, the Iron-Blood Great Wall had sealed the entire frontier. Though Da Yi had entered a closed-border state, the surrounding foreign races—Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin—had never let down their guard. Instead, they increased their surveillance.
After all, with Eternal Night Demons appearing within Da Yi, it was like a ticking time bomb—any instability could affect the entire Hanhai Region.
They monitored the Great Wall day and night.
Although the Iron-Blood Great Wall itself was not visible, strange turbulent flows flickered across it—changing constantly, even birds found it impossible to pass through. It had become a true forbidden zone—anyone who approached died, some even torn into spatial rifts.
Over the past few months, spies noticed something strange.
"The sealed boundary created by the Iron-Blood Great Wall seems to be expanding. I think it's already grown by a hundred meters."
"If the sealed boundary is expanding, doesn't that mean Da Yi's territory is growing too? And strangely, this expansion doesn't seem to hurt the creatures being enveloped—it just quietly includes them."
"This is very wrong. If Da Yi expands like this month after month, in a few years or decades, their territory could increase exponentially."
Spies gasped in shock. If true, this wasn't just a lockdown—it was strategic silent expansion.
"This isn't isolation—it's invasion in disguise. They're quietly taking more land and sea."
Word spread rapidly.
One by one, powerful foreign beings arrived to observe, eyes flashing as they stared at the ever-expanding seal.
"That Yi Emperor really thought of everything—even during lockdown, he found a way to grow Da Yi's territory. What a brilliant move."
"This is territorial erosion in motion. The sealed boundary is the Iron-Blood Great Wall."
These foreign elites were stunned. They hadn't thought closure could mean expansion. But no one could do anything about it. The only way to stop it would be to break the seal, which would take a colossal effort—and risk unleashing Eternal Night Demons and going to war with Da Yi.
And no one was ready for that.
After watching in silence for a long while, the foreign spies vanished into the shadows.
Hanhai Dragon Palace
Fresh intelligence lay before the Hanhai Dragon King.
Reading it, he looked deeply toward Da Yi's location and murmured:
"What a terrifying Da Yi Dynasty. I thought they had cut themselves off—turns out they're silently devouring the world. If this continues, will this still be my Hanhai Region?"
"But expansion isn't so easy. The Iron-Blood Great Wall expands by consuming flesh and blood—whether from humans, beasts, or monsters. Without a blood sacrifice, it can't grow. This hundred-meter expansion likely came from the carnage caused by Yi Emperor fighting the Night Demons."
This bloody foundation of the Great Wall was no secret to many foreign powers. They had just never had a reason to interfere—until now.
"Send word. No sea beasts are to come within a thousand meters of Da Yi's sealed boundary. The zone is now a forbidden perimeter."
He ordered a total withdrawal of sea beasts to deny Da Yi the "blood offerings" needed for rapid expansion. Without those, the Iron-Blood Great Wall's growth would slow dramatically.
"Let's see how much you can expand with only your internal beasts."
At the same time, Kirin Palace.
The Kirin King's face showed intrigue.
"Interesting. But I trust that old fish will come up with a plan. My son-in-law really isn't ordinary. To have created the first Fortune Dynasty… that wasn't luck. Let's see how far you can go."
As the Dragon King's order took effect, sea beasts began retreating from the border. The thousand-meter perimeter around the seal became lifeless and dead—an eerie zone of silence.
As expected, the expansion speed of the Iron-Blood Great Wall slowed drastically, becoming barely perceptible.
Still, Da Yi's expansion continued, now advancing by about ten meters per month.
Meanwhile, Da Yi entered a full state of rest and recovery.
Three Years Passed Silently
In those three years, the aura of calamity thickened across the Eternal World. Bloodshed became constant, the atmosphere between the three great races grew more and more tense. War seemed inevitable—only needing a spark to ignite it.
And during that time, no one could have imagined just how much Da Yi had changed.
Its territory had quietly expanded, even enveloping a sea island, which had been relatively close to begin with. Over the course of three years, Da Yi had slowly devoured it, inch by inch.