"I'm not going to the Demon Sealing Secret Realm, I want to lie flat."
The moment this thought arose, Yang Hong felt his heart palpitations intensify, so much so that he felt like he would suffocate and die.
It seemed he had no choice but to go. There was no escaping it!
"I'll enter the Demon Sealing Secret Realm for a quick look and then come back."
With this thought, the palpitations weakened considerably. However, Yang Hong had a faint premonition that once he entered, he would be beyond his own control.
"After entering the Demon Sealing Secret Realm, I'll find the passage back to the Taiyuan Continent and leave immediately."
As this thought surfaced, the palpitations strengthened. It was as if Yang Hong would be in danger if he didn't spend enough time in the Demon Sealing Secret Realm.
"In the Demon Sealing Secret Realm, I will actively eliminate demons and seal True Demons."
This was good.
With this thought, Yang Hong felt a sense of clarity throughout his body. Not only did his mood improve significantly, but his physical condition also felt much refreshed.
"Well, it seems I am indeed being coerced by the merits of this Taiyuan Continent."
Yang Hong chuckled wryly.
The Heavenly Dao of this world was active. Yang Hong had no doubt that it was the Heavenly Dao that had discovered issues in the Demon Sealing Secret Realm and thus found him, the "laborer."
Otherwise, why would She Maohai have shown up now and not earlier?
It was already March, and there were only a little over five months until the fifteenth of August.
This amount of time was just enough for Yang Hong, who could travel 500,000 li per day after a breakthrough in cultivation, to rush to Luoxing Island.
And don't tell me there are many of those key-like small iron shields?
She Maohai had said there were only 18 in the entire Ten Thousand Monster Archipelago.
How many would be consumed during its opening over these ten thousand years?
Also, Yang Hong actually still had one in his possession.
It was the rank three magic artifact small shield from the tiger demon that had tried to eat him when he first appeared in the Ten Thousand Monster Archipelago.
Thinking back now to the location of Luoxing Island that She Maohai mentioned, it was near the Yuliu Island sea area.
Then, was Lei Peng Wang's appearance near Yuliu Island for that small shield, and also to await the opening of the Demon Sealing Secret Realm?
Perhaps, Lei Peng Wang was the original intended opener of this Demon Sealing Secret Realm.
The possibility of Heavenly Dao interference when he appeared at Yuliu Island was there from the start.
Otherwise, how could he have appeared at Yuliu Island so coincidentally and obtained that small shield?
The more Yang Hong thought about it, the more a chill ran down his spine.
"This Heavenly Dao... is a bit too terrifying?"
According to Yang Hong's normal course of action, he would then focus on continuously empowering the little tree demon and nurturing humans. Once his subordinates reached a certain level of strength, he would subdue the Hydra clan as his enforcers.
Then, he would enter an overwhelming mode, incorporating the surrounding sea areas under human jurisdiction.
He would then steadily push outwards, first taking control of the outer seas for humanity.
Afterward, he would gradually carve out the Ten Thousand Monster Archipelago while simultaneously opening up the passage to the Taiyuan Continent.
This was what a cautious Yang Hong should have been doing.
However, in the midst of his busy combat operations, She Maohai unexpectedly obtained the small shield and then suddenly realized his subordinate races were not strong enough. Naturally, he thought of Huamu City.
And Yang Hong, being extremely greedy, came to Huamu City, which he hadn't visited in years.
Then, everything fell into place.
"Alas... facing the Heavenly Dao, I am still too insignificant?
Before, in the Great Sui Dynasty, those cultivators constantly used 'Heaven's Will' to pressure me. At the time, I thought it was just an excuse for cultivators to oppress ordinary people."
"I didn't expect there truly to be a Heaven's Will."
"Heaven's Will... Heaven's Will, the will of the Heavenly Dao!"
Standing in the main hall of the Lord's Mansion in Huamu City, looking at the azure sky, Yang Hong pondered many issues.
Some things were simply too coincidental, so coincidental they seemed deliberately arranged.
"I still need to improve my cultivation as quickly as possible."
"Fortunately, I have the system, the cheat. Otherwise, I'm afraid I would have been toyed to death by the Heavenly Dao like the original owner."
Yang Hong suddenly smiled again, looking at the character attributes of his system, "灌顶返还修为系统" (Enlightenment Returns Cultivation System).
[Yang Hong: Sixth Prince of the Great Sui Dynasty.
Daily Enlightenment Quota: 0/12
Lifespan: 52/2000
Cultivation: Hundred Thousand Years of Magical Power (Nascent Soul Stage): Strength 39.99 million jin, Divine Sense 4568 li.
Cultivation Technique: Top-tier Breathing Technique Level 364, Super-tier Body Forging Technique Level 172.
Martial Skills: Earnest Punch, Casual Saber, Earnest Sword.
Spells: Rain Blessing (Mastered), Salvation Mantra (Proficient)...
Intent: Fist Intent: Fearless, Guardian.
Sword Intent: Gentle Breeze.
Special Abilities: Eidetic Memory, Farming Mastery.]
Two years had passed, and Yang Hong's cultivation had once again reached a bottleneck.
This time, it only reached the limit at a hundred thousand years.
He guessed it was because his True Essence in the Golden Core stage was not refined to the highest degree, and after entering the Nascent Soul stage, he hadn't yet tempered and refined his magical power.
He had a feeling that his cultivation could still advance, but it was stuck due to certain special conditions.
Therefore, he was focusing all his efforts on planting and evolving the little demons, intending to use their form-transformation heavenly tribulation to refine his magical power.
However, his magical power, due to the rapid increase in cultivation, had not been refined and had even weakened slightly.
On the other hand, his physical body had been strengthening very quickly, reaching another bottleneck.
"Perhaps, entering the Demon Sealing Secret Realm this time is an opportunity."
Yang Hong no longer felt so resistant to entering the Demon Sealing Secret Realm.
"Yu Kewei, Hua Xinlei, gather the little demons. We'll go to First City. I have something to tell you."
With that, Yang Hong burrowed into the ground again, and then informed Lan Fangxuan and the others of his imminent departure from Rendao Island for an extended period.
Yu Kewei heard this and was not surprised, but Lan Fangxuan was so shocked that he knelt down.
"Senior, Senior! You can't leave, if you leave, what will we do?"
Tears welled up in Lan Fangxuan's eyes. Lu Baoshan and Lian Mingyuan also knelt down, followed by all the other humans.
All the humans knew that although Yang Hong had always kept a low profile, he was the sole spiritual pillar of Rendao Island.
Once Yang Hong left, Rendao Island would crumble and collapse.
"Get up. I must leave, and begging won't help.
However, rest assured, I will leave you with sufficient means of defense.
And you must also strive to become stronger as soon as possible."
Yang Hong waved his hand, and the hundred-plus humans were forcibly lifted by his magical power.
"Also, Yu Kewei will help you."
"Senior Yang, but we..."
Lan Fangxuan's tears continued to flow, his face ashen.
He was worried that if Yang Hong left, the demons like Yu Kewei would eat them.
Yang Hong had noticed this, but he deliberately didn't point it out.
This psychological hurdle was something they, as humans, had to overcome themselves.
Besides, he wasn't just abandoning them.
He readjusted the formation on Rendao Island. With the three layers of formations fully activated, even an eighth-tier Demon Lord could not easily break through.
There should be no danger in this sea area for now.
At the same time, he added 30 more cultivation techniques for the humans, leaving the Earth-grade technique "Five Elements Integrated Circle Art" as the highest-level one.
With these techniques, as long as the humans cultivated diligently, their rise was practically guaranteed.
And outside of humanity, there were Yu Kewei and the flower and tree demons, who absolutely obeyed Yang Hong's commands. Even if they were attacked by an eighth-tier Demon Lord, they could hold out for a while.
As long as no eighth-tier demon attacked in the short term, and the Hydra clan developed, Rendao Island could truly be considered foolproof.
If...
If anything unexpected happened and all the people and demons in the Ten Thousand Monster Archipelago were wiped out, Yang Hong wouldn't feel too heartbroken.
After all, as long as he had the system, he could continue to cultivate powerful little demons.
With the contingency in mind, before leaving, Yang Hong collected some of the spiritual plants he favored and then transmitted the "Rain Blessing" and "Dew Drop Art" to all the little demons,
instructing them to continuously plant and nurture the remaining spiritual plants.