Master of Strange Dao

Chapter 1709 - 460: The Best Gift, Lasting Impact (5k)

In the Sorrow Cave Heaven, Heavenly Monarch Luoge, who was sound asleep, turned over and continued to maintain that almost-awakened state.Those human figures formed from Death Qi continued to circle around Heavenly Monarch Luoge, playing their music and dancing on.

The figure closest to Heavenly Monarch Luoge withdrew its gaze from the distant void, looked down at Heavenly Monarch Luoge, and murmured softly.

"Heavenly Monarch, the era has changed. Another unfathomably outrageous fellow has emerged from Emperor Dui's line..."

The figure revealed a faint smile and quietly let out a breath of relief.

"May the Heavenly Monarch rest in peace and never have to toil again. May the Heavenly Monarch's wishes be fulfilled..."

The figure continued to chant the ancient movement under its breath. Endless Death Qi bore up Heavenly Monarch Luoge's corpse, continuing to wander through the Sorrow Cave Heaven, just as always.

...

On the New Continent, Emperor Zhen, Emperor Li, and You Zhen were the first three to leave; the Mountain Lord stayed.

The Mountain Lord stomped his foot and looked down at the New Continent beneath him, which had already stabilized.

"A dead world has fallen into the present one, and upon a decayed shell, a new land has grown.

There is still no vitality here, but with a Tenth Tier Body Cultivator personally channeling the earth's qi, the foundations are already laid.

Are you interested in extending your borders out here?

If we don't come to occupy it, the enemy will."

Yu Ziqing sized up the Mountain Lord, his gaze roaming up and down.

"Big Brother, if I remember correctly, Dagen doesn't actually have any territory of its own, does it?"

"I don't need it. In fact, it's best that I don't have any territory."

Yu Ziqing mulled this over. Indeed, given the Mountain Lord's nature, having no Divine Dynasty, no territory, was actually better; those things were a burden to him.

Where he stood was his Divine Dynasty—that was actually best.

However, letting Dadui's borders stretch out here, from Dadui's standpoint, was unnecessary; an exclave wasn't always a good thing.

From Yu Ziqing's standpoint, he naturally wanted a piece of Dadui territory here.

It was simply for his own convenience; he could use the Bridge of Fairyland to directly reach Dadui land.

But having Dadui formally seize the New Continent—better not. Where would they find the manpower and troops to guard this place?

All around the New Continent is the deep sea.

Aside from top-tier powerhouses, who can guarantee they can cross the deep sea and reach the New Continent with ease?

If not for the Ancient Gods going to watch the spectacle this time, and the masses of Strange beings in the deep sea all shrinking back, how could the deep sea possibly have been this calm?

It's only because the Old Emperor Qian had gone completely mad—so mad that even the Cliff Divine King and the Ancient Sea God were desperate to kill him.

Otherwise, how could the Ancient Gods and All Gods not intervene in something like this, not trip anyone up?

Now that the Old Emperor Qian is dead, everything will revert to the original track, and making a move immediately to throw obstacles in the way would be the standard operation.

Someone like the Mountain Lord, who once worked the front lines chopping meat, understood this better than anyone.

So the moment the Old Emperor Qian died, he silently locked down the information. Other than Yu Ziqing, everyone—including himself—had all memories related to the ship's anchor forcibly stripped away.

The Mountain Lord didn't even trust himself; what could anyone else possibly say?

Right now, he was already quietly planning out what came next.

Yu Ziqing looked down at the New Continent beneath his feet, and in the end decided to mark out a small patch at the center—enough to serve as a foothold.

This sort of proper, undisputed no-man's land was actually the easiest to handle.

The Mountain Lord was right: if you don't seize it, those Strange things in the deep sea might very well come and take it.

Those Strange beings have stayed in the deep sea all this time and haven't gone elsewhere—do you really think it's because they don't like other places?

In the past, the deep sea was severely cut off from other regions, but now things are different.

With a seabed emerging, it has already linked up with the seabed of the East Sea. Even the earth's qi has begun to circulate; the connection is already there.

Those Strange beings now have, eighty percent likely, a chance to leave the deep sea. They may not dare to come to the side of the Four Divine Dynasties, but once everyone leaves the New Continent, they will definitely dare to set foot on it.

"You go back first. I'll guard this place for now."

"Then I'll trouble you with it, Big Brother."

Yu Ziqing nodded, then waved his hand and released a three-courtyard compound, letting it fall onto the ground.

Then he raised a hand to his own head and lightly clawed; a wisp of raging fire flew out, drifted above the compound, and floated there quietly.

Since the Mountain Lord was willing to personally serve as guardian here for the time being, Yu Ziqing saw no need to stand on ceremony.

He stepped into the compound, pointed at the ground, and barked in a deep voice.

"From this moment, this is Dadui's new exclave."

The power of the Divine Dynasty on his body flowed out on its own, shrouding the area where the compound stood and effortlessly completing the occupation.

With this patch of exclave, it would be much more convenient for him to come here in the future, at least for now.

There was no choice; this was the only way.

Otherwise, Yu Ziqing truly wouldn't have wanted to seize a piece of land. The issue of Divine Dynasty territory was directly tied to national fortune.

Opening up new lands could indeed directly increase national fortune, that was true—but how much it increased didn't just depend on size.

Resources, population, influence, and other factors tied to national fortune all had to be taken into account.

Moreover, once new territory appears, the hardest part is guarding it afterward.

If you can't hold it and the territory is taken, the loss is even greater.

For somewhere like this—with no foundations, no long-term resident population, no traces of life, no imprint—if it gets taken, you don't even have the leverage to tug back.

The other Three Divine Dynasties definitely wouldn't look twice at a place like this; it's not worth the trouble.

They'd much rather have the kind seized through war, whose value is far higher.