The Imperial Capital.
Although today's court session had adjourned, many immortal officials of the Dynasty lingered within the Heavenly Palace.
In the past, Crown Prince Sheng had executed numerous high-ranking officials, yet now, a multitude of new faces had emerged to fill the void.
These remaining officials made their way in succession toward the Government Affairs Hall, where Crown Prince Fei Heng resided.
Notably, Li Changan was among them.
"It seems Fei Heng did not waste those three hundred years of land reclamation."
Li Changan smiled faintly as he gazed at the throng of cultivators ahead.
Over the years, it was not just the Family that had flourished; upon becoming Crown Prince, Fei Heng had likewise been fortifying his own power—winning over major factions and purging dissidents.
In the past, when the major powers of Azure Cloud Prefecture refused to submit to the Li clan, the Family's strategy was to unite in secret, leveraging the strength of others to strike their enemies, before finally suppressing them with overwhelming force.
Now that Fei Heng rules the court, he employs harsh laws to pacify the interior and secure the borders.
Those who have come today are all Fei Heng's trusted confidants, forming a small clique.
They scour the various prefectures and major powers for evidence of crimes.
If they determine that someone is harming the interests or safety of the Imperial Dynasty, they can report it to the Crown Prince.
Furthermore, they possess the authority to wield the sword of execution on the Crown Prince's behalf—granting them the power to execute first and report later!
Soon, Li Chang'an arrived inside the Crown Prince's Hall.
Fei Heng sat upright in the center of the hall, exuding an ever-increasing air of authority.
The seats on either side were fully occupied.
This small circle was founded upon the "Immortal Suppression Department."
Most of those present were cultivators from within the Department, alongside representatives from various major powers.
The Immortal Suppression Department was the Imperial Family's most loyal cornerstone; from its inception, the Department had pledged loyalty to the Human Sovereign.
In the past, they obeyed only Crown Prince Sheng; now, they heed only Fei Heng's command.
For over a hundred thousand years, it was the Immortal Suppression Department that had subdued demons and purged evil within the Dynasty, hunting down cultivators who wreaked havoc upon the world.
In years past, the members of Skynet were, without exception, captured by this very Department.
The man seated at the very front was middle-aged and so nondescript that he would vanish unnoticed into a crowd, yet there was not a single person here who did not treat him with the utmost respect.
The highest rank within the Immortal Suppression Department was the Chief Commander, served by four Grand Commanders beneath him; this man was Chief Commander Wu Neng.
As far as Li Chang'an knew, this Chief Commander Wu Neng had once saved the Human Sovereign's life.
He was the most loyal of the Human Sovereign's subordinates, known to all as the "Imperial Clan's Hunting Dog."
Every attendee spoke of the evidence they had gathered in recent years against those bringing chaos to the world, and the number of such insurgents they had executed.
Li Chang'an's eyes narrowed as he listened.
In just one short year, up to a hundred factions had been slaughtered.
The lightest punishments involved the extermination of entire clans, and even two hidden factions had been secretly wiped out.
Li Chang'an likewise reported on the affairs of the Forgotten Immortal Lands and Eastern Border City—it was all completely routine!
After the meeting adjourned.
Holding the warrant of the Immortal Suppression Department, Li Chang'an dispatched a message via Dark Crow to the Forgotten Immortal Lands.
As he watched the vast stream of cultivators departing, he was filled with deep emotion.
"The times... have changed."
...
[Your descendant, Li Yaotie, has killed Tang Miao!]
[Loot obtained: One corpse at the early stage of Void Refining.]
[High-Grade Dharma Treasure: Star Cluster Pendant.
This pendant contains twelve stars arranged into a formation. It can summon stars to strike down enemies; the more Spiritual power imbued into the Dharma Treasure, the more stars are summoned. It can utilize stellar power for both defense and offense.]
Tang Miao had played every trump card he had.
Under Li Yaotie's frenzied assault, this was the only Dharma Treasure left intact.
After the kill, Li Yaotie and Zhuo Linlin returned toward Azure Cloud Prefecture.
At this moment.
Li Wei instantly appeared beside Li Yaozu.
He saw Li Yaozu standing at the prow of a Spirit Ark, leading the members of the Hall of Heavenly Principles toward the Forgotten Immortal Lands.
"Wielding the Crown Prince's decree, crossing borders to kill."
Seeing the Family act with such impunity, a smile appeared on Li Wei's face.
Since Fei Heng became Crown Prince, the world seemed to carry on as usual, yet everything had quietly changed.
Fei Heng was not a Self-indulgent Ruler like Crown Prince Sheng; he strove for good governance and employed harsh codes to settle these chaotic times.
Any who attempted to cause trouble during this upheaval were now within the scope of his reckoning.
And the Li Clan stood prominently within the ranks of the Immortal Suppression Department, wielding genuine authority.
Because of the Family's great power, their status was comparable to that of a Grand Commander of the Department!
Half a month later.
Li Yaozu's Spirit Ark arrived in the skies above the Forgotten Immortal Lands.
This so-called Forgotten Immortal Lands was a desert, a vast world of primal ochre.
Yet, this place harbored thousands of factions.
Occupying dozens of Grotto-Heavens and Blessed Lands passed down from ancient times, they hid amidst the desert, thriving and multiplying within those small worlds.
As Li Yaozu's Spirit Ark arrived.
Several Spirit Arks from the Immortal Suppression Department, dispatched from the Imperial Capital, also arrived in succession.
Among them, one could distinctly sense the auras of two Void Refining cultivators.
"Phew."
Li Yaozu exhaled a long breath and sent a voice transmission to the experts aboard those Spirit Arks.
"Regarding the Eastern Border front, Marshal Dongfang Liancheng has obtained evidence of crimes.
Tang Miao of Cloudreach Mountain in the Forgotten Immortal Lands exploited his military office for personal gain, endangering the army.
Many within the Forgotten Immortal Lands are implicated in this affair.
We must search the major factions here for evidence of their guilt to serve as a wake-up call to the local cultivators."
"I now proclaim the Crown Prince's decree: The Cloudreach Mountain lineage is to be exterminated, to serve as a stern warning to others!"