The rampaging demonic disaster that had been raging wildly seemed, at this very moment, to be forcibly suppressed. As the Immortal Cities descended, this land was already becoming part of Great Yi's territory. The Jiangshan Sheji Map Feng Shui Formation naturally spread over, covering the area where the Immortal Cities landed, enveloping the entire Moon-Worship Realm. With the mandate of Great Yi's national fortune, bolstered by the destiny of the Immortal Court and the Daoist fortune of the imperial dynasty, the once rampant demonic disaster suffered a head-on blow. The previously arrogant and violent demonic energy was thus suppressed and weakened.
As each Immortal City descended and completed its initial transformation, the city lords immediately soared into the sky, standing proudly upon the city walls, holding their City Lord Seals high. Their voices resounded outward in solemn proclamations:
"By decree of His Majesty the Immortal Emperor, the Moon-Worship Realm is hereby incorporated into my Great Yi Immortal Court, becoming territory of Great Yi. From this moment forth, this realm shall be treated equally with all other realms. Now that the Iron-Blooded Great Wall covers it and the Immortal Cities have descended, we hereby announce to all human beings within the surrounding lands—"
"All humans may come to the Immortal Cities. Officials of the Heavenly Registry Hall will record your household registration and issue Heavenly Registry Cards. From then on, you shall become citizens of Great Yi, enjoying the foundational welfare granted to all Great Yi subjects. You may obtain your own home, be guaranteed ample food, enter the projection branches of the Scripture Pavilion to select cultivation methods, formally step onto the path of cultivation, and receive a Starwatch Wristband, granting you access rights to the Star Network's internal web."
One by one, the city lords proclaimed the announcements.
Preparations began immediately to absorb the people from surrounding villages and towns. The original cities were abandoned—after all, they were nothing special and could not be compared with Great Yi's Immortal Cities. Naturally, they were discarded, though resources from them would later be collected to enrich the Immortal Cities. Yet in truth, very few things would truly catch Great Yi's eye.
These declarations echoed across all Immortal Cities, reverberating throughout the Moon-Worship Realm.
One could see the expressions of countless villagers and city folk change. Their eyes, once dull and lost, now lit up with unimaginable brightness. Cheers and cries erupted everywhere.
"Wonderful! To the Immortal City! Quickly, gather our things and head to the nearest Great Yi Immortal City! Did you hear? As long as we join Great Yi, we'll be registered, become citizens, and enjoy all the benefits of Great Yi's people!"
"Our suffering has finally ended—this is the end of our misery! Hurry, pack up! I want to be the first to enter a Great Yi Immortal City. I've long heard how prosperous they are, like true immortal paradises. From today onward, we too shall be Immortal citizens!"
Hearing this, countless people didn't hesitate for even a breath. They immediately decided to abandon their current homes and head to the Immortal Cities. To stay was only to wait for death—worse still, a slow death by starvation. None wished to experience hunger again.
The pain of such torment was too great, unbearable to the point that no one wished to go through it a second time.
As for their villages, they had nothing left worth holding onto.
In the Immortal City lay life; outside remained only death. Faced with such a choice, even a fool knew what to do.
Soon, at the gates of the Immortal Cities, great lines formed. Ragged and emaciated people queued up. At the gates, officials from the Heavenly Registry Hall registered their names, kinship ties, and ages, then issued them Heavenly Registry Cards, Starwatch Wristbands, and other standard provisions.
The grain was real and tangible, directly stored within the Registry Cards. Once bound, one could see it immediately.
No words could describe the feelings of those who had endured endless hunger, when before their eyes lay enough food to last an entire year—food they could eat freely.
It was overwhelming happiness.
No lofty words or ideals compared to the reality of food in one's hands.
Do not look down upon them—if you starved for three years, you would feel the same, or even more extreme.
Not only that—porridge kitchens were already set up within the Immortal Cities. Anyone entering immediately received warm porridge. For bodies long tortured by hunger, heavy meat was harmful; porridge was the best food to nurse them back to health.
Drinking hot water, eating hot porridge, then being guided by city officials to their newly assigned homes—their hearts were filled with indescribable emotion. Even though these residences were rentals—the ownership still belonging to the Immortal Court—within the allotted term, they could live there freely. Furthermore, if they had the money, they could outright purchase them, passing them down as family estates for generations.
Within the city, shops were already established—restaurants, inns, taverns, tea houses, dessert shops, noodle houses, and countless others, dazzling in variety and complete with every facility one could imagine. These were founded by original Great Yi citizens, who had moved in when the new cities were established, eager to stake their claim.
Their experience and backgrounds gave them unparalleled advantages in the new cities.
They became the foundation of the cities' vitality. With them present, development of the new Immortal Cities would proceed far faster than under ordinary circumstances. Naturally, Great Yi welcomed this wholeheartedly.
The absorption of the realm's people proceeded at astonishing speed.
In truth, most of the population had already starved to death during the disaster. Even gathering them into the Immortal Cities, the numbers were still far below what the cities could contain. Once the locals were registered, countless new citizens were transported in from Great Yi proper—masses of people born within the Hongmeng Heavenly Emperor Pagoda. They filled each realm to its designated quota of fifteen trillion.
And all of this took place within a single day and night.
By the time the next dawn rose—
The Moon-Worship Realm, once full of wails and misery, its land desolate and tragic, had utterly transformed.
That very night, amidst thunder and lightning, vast numbers of dragons descended into the realm. They traversed the skies, bringing clouds and rain. Torrential downpours washed away the despair that tainted the land. Along with the rain, countless seeds were scattered.
These seeds were developed by Great Yi's agricultural clans, capable of thriving even amidst demonic disasters. The most common among them was a type of semi-spiritual grass called Jadegrass. The seeds contained a trace of spiritual energy, making them highly nutritious for herbivores, a perfect fodder. Most importantly, their ability to propagate was astounding. Once rooted with sufficient nutrients, they would spread rapidly, maturing within just a week.
What's more, the grass bore small fruits called Jadeberries—pearl-sized, edible, and sweet.
There was a limit, however. Each seed could only reproduce once—splitting into one hundred new stalks. The offspring could not replicate further, and after splitting, the original lost its ability as well. This restriction was deliberately designed—developed with the Ice Crystal Clan's abilities—to prevent uncontrolled overgrowth.
Even so, as the seeds took root under the nourishing rains, the once barren land, stripped by the demonic calamity, visibly flourished with life again.
Strong vitality coursed through the realm.
Lush greenery returned before the people's eyes.
"It's different… completely different… So this is the strength of the Great Yi Immortal Court? It's unbelievable…"
The sight of the land's transformation shook countless people to their core.
It was nothing less than hell turning into an immortal paradise.
Had they not experienced it themselves, they would have thought it nothing but a dream.
From once struggling merely to survive, they had now become Immortal citizens, envied by countless others. The contrast was overwhelming, filling countless hearts with unending gratitude toward Great Yi.
"If this is a dream, I'd rather die within it than ever wake."
So many people whispered such thoughts in secret.
With the Moon-Worship Realm fully integrated into Great Yi, news spread instantly to neighboring realms. Many of these reports were deliberately released by Great Yi itself. Moreover, the transformation of the realm was directly published on the Star Network, hung for all to see and download. Both the internal and external webs displayed the change clearly.
The imagery was overwhelmingly striking.
In a single night, purgatory had transformed into paradise.
Countless cultivators, upon witnessing it firsthand, were shaken speechless.
Meanwhile, in the Biqiu Realm—
The Biqiu Nation stood supreme, itself a dynastic fortune court of Buddhism, an extension of Buddhist power. Having already ascended to the rank of Emperor dynasty, it venerated Buddhism above all. Its foremost law dictated that every citizen must worship the great Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of Buddhism morning and evening. Failure to do so brought punishment—banishment at best, imprisonment at worst.
At its peak, the daily chanting of scriptures resounded across the void, sacred and awe-inspiring, filling countless beings with reverence. It was considered a pure Buddhist holy land, where the words of Buddhism held absolute authority. Temples were innumerable, and Buddhist cultivators vast in number.
Yet now, after decades of demonic disaster, even the Biqiu Nation had begun to change.
Morning prayers still echoed, but the voices carried helplessness and despair. For hunger could not be sated by faith. Hunger was instinct—it could not be suppressed.
Once, under Buddhism's shelter, Biqiu had flourished in abundance.
(End of Chapter)