Mieshi Linghuo saw the runes appearing on Ye Ling's palm and couldn't help but retort, "Didn't you say you were going to let that girl go? Why did you still leave a mark on her? Aren't you a scumbag?"
Ye Ling smiled and said, "I said I would let her go, but I didn't say I wouldn't leave a mark on her. That girl is the key person to bring us back to the East Xuan Continent. How could I truly let her go unchecked?"
After confirming the girl's location, Ye Ling didn't rush to teleport there. Instead, he removed the barrier outside the Lingxiao Palace and said to the assembled immortals, "Thank you all for your hard work this time. You may all leave now. However, I do not wish for any of what happened in the Lingxiao Palace today to be discussed elsewhere in the Three Realms."
Seeing that Ye Ling was finally willing to let them go, the immortals' tensed muscles relaxed, and they cupped their hands in salute, saying, "We will surely keep silent!"
With that, the immortals dared not linger in the Lingxiao Palace and quickly departed.
After the immortals left, Ye Ling looked at the Black and White Impermanence, whose eyes were shining, and smiled, "Are you two waiting to receive your reward?"
The Black and White Impermanence rubbed their hands and smiled, "It is our honor to serve Your Majesty. We dare not ask for further rewards, but if Your Majesty insists, we would be immensely grateful!"
Hearing their words, Ye Ling shook his head and chuckled, "Very well. You two have made a small contribution this time, and it is worthy of reward."
As he spoke, two orbs of light appeared in Ye Ling's palm and entered the bodies of the Black and White Impermanence.
"Within these are my insights into the new cultivation system, which should be enough to significantly advance your realms. As for how far you can go in the future, that will depend on your own fortune."
Upon receiving Ye Ling's insights, the Black and White Impermanence quickly scanned them and instantly understood their immense value. They both excitedly expressed their gratitude to Ye Ling, saying, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your bestowal! We will cherish it dearly!"
Ye Ling waved his hand, "Alright, I have important matters to attend to. You two may leave now. The Three Realms are in chaos, and the Immortal and Underworld realms still need people like you to maintain stability."
"Yes."
The Black and White Impermanence bowed respectfully to Ye Ling and then both departed.
In the Lingxiao Palace, only Ye Ling, along with the Heavenly Dao of Earth and other civilizations, remained.
Seeing that Ye Ling had finished his tasks, the Heavenly Dao of Earth immediately came forward and said, "Ye Ling, why don't you give me some power too?"
Ye Ling looked at the Heavenly Dao of Earth with surprise, "What do you need power for?"
The Heavenly Dao of Earth said somewhat sheepishly, "To be honest, my original strength was slightly above that of a Saint. In the past, my strength was enough to manage the Earth's Three Realms. But as you know, Earth has been through so much, and now Saints are everywhere, including those in the Emperor realm and even higher… My current strength is probably no longer sufficient to manage the Earth's Three Realms."
"Now that I have reclaimed the Heavenly Dao authority, it's likely that ambitious individuals will try to seize it before long. That would be a big problem for Earth…"
In fact, the Heavenly Dao of Earth never expected that in less than a year since being captured by Huang, the entire Earth would undergo such a drastic change, so much so that the Heavenly Dao of Earth's consciousness could barely recognize itself as the Heavenly Dao of Earth!
Hearing the Heavenly Dao of Earth's words, Ye Ling finally understood its concerns. He shook his head and smiled, "I understand now. You want to get the Heavenly Dao authority back from me, don't you? Don't worry, I'm not interested in your position. Just continue to be the manager of Earth."
The Heavenly Dao of Earth quickly defended itself, "Ye Ling, please don't misunderstand me, I just…"
"Here."
Without waiting for the Heavenly Dao of Earth to explain, Ye Ling immediately gave a portion of his power to the Heavenly Dao of Earth and the Heavenly Daos of other civilizations, and simultaneously returned his own Heavenly Dao authority.
For a world, the stronger the Heavenly Dao, the stronger the average level of the entire world's civilization. Giving power to the Heavenly Dao of Earth was also beneficial to the entire Earth.
What Ye Ling wanted now was not just to become stronger himself, but also for the entire universe within his domain to become stronger.
This way, after the universe's barriers shattered, the beings within his domain would have a place to stand in the outer universe.
Moreover, the Heavenly Dao authority was a burden to Ye Ling. He didn't have much desire for power, and he had a lot of troublesome matters to deal with. He also had to maintain Earth's stability in his free time, which was already quite exhausting for him.
Now that the Heavenly Dao of Earth had returned to take on the heavy responsibility, Ye Ling was naturally very pleased.
The moment it received Ye Ling's power, the Heavenly Dao of Earth, which had intended to exchange pleasantries, suddenly realized how precious the power Ye Ling had given it was. Its expression instantly changed, and it quickly covered the power Ye Ling had given it, changing its tune to say, "Thank you, Ancestor Ye, for the bestowed power! From now on, I will manage Earth diligently and ensure Earth enters a path of positive development!"
The other Heavenly Daos also tasted the power of Ye Ling and, in a similar fashion, followed the Heavenly Dao of Earth's example, expressing their gratitude to Ye Ling, saying, "Thank you, Ancestor Ye, for your bestowal!"
Ye Ling waved his hand, "No need for thanks. I happen to have something to ask you."
The Heavenly Dao of Earth's attitude had changed, and it immediately said, "Whatever questions Ancestor Ye has, we will answer them without reservation!"
Ye Ling asked, "Do you know the current situation of the East Xuan Heavenly Dao?"
"East Xuan Heavenly Dao?"
Upon hearing Ye Ling's question, the Heavenly Dao of Earth's tone instantly changed, as if it truly knew something.
Ye Ling detected the change in the Heavenly Dao of Earth's tone and frowned, asking, "Did something happen to the East Xuan Heavenly Dao?"
The Heavenly Dao of Earth opened its mouth, and then said, "To be honest, Ancestor Ye… Shortly after I was captured by Huang, the East Xuan Heavenly Dao had its power drained by the Void Organization… It died long ago."
"You say the East Xuan Heavenly Dao died long ago?" Ye Ling's expression changed drastically, "Is that true?"
The assembled Heavenly Daos were all frightened by Ye Ling's outburst of power and trembled, replying in a shaky voice, "Y-yes, it is absolutely true. The Heavenly Daos of the major civilizations in the inner universe are all connected. If any Heavenly Dao perishes, the others will sense it. The East Xuan Heavenly Dao died, and all of us Heavenly Daos have already sensed it."
"Damn it! How could this be!" Ye Ling clenched his fists tightly, never expecting that the East Xuan Heavenly Dao had already perished!
Mieshi Linghuo also said at this moment, "Kid, things are probably more serious than you think. If the East Xuan Heavenly Dao is dead, according to the time flow ratio between Earth and the East Xuan Continent, the East Xuan Continent should have turned into a dead star long ago. Then the problem is not just the degeneration of the East Xuan Demonic Palace… the East Xuan Continent should have perished long ago!"
"But didn't that girl say the Demonic Palace was rampant in the thirteen states of East Xuan?" Ye Ling still found it difficult to accept this fact, clinging to a sliver of hope.
After all, compared to the short time he spent on Earth, he had genuinely lived for sixty thousand years on the East Xuan Continent!
The East Xuan Continent had long been his second home!
Now, hearing the news that the East Xuan Continent might have been destroyed, even Ye Ling could not easily accept it.
Mieshi Linghuo sighed slightly and said, "Perhaps the East Xuan Demonic Palace is doing those things to seek a way to revive the continent. However, with the Heavenly Dao dead, unless a powerhouse no weaker than you was born on the East Xuan Continent during your absence, the East Xuan Continent is bound to be destroyed. No matter what the East Xuan Demonic Palace does, it will be futile."
"That girl was sealed by a black hole before, and we don't know the time ratio between the black hole and the East Xuan Continent. Perhaps that girl also doesn't know about the destruction of the East Xuan Continent…"
"Damn it!"
Hearing Mieshi Linghuo's words, Ye Ling clenched his fists tightly, his bones creaking, "Why couldn't I sense the danger of the East Xuan Continent?"
If he could have sensed the danger of the East Xuan Continent in advance, he could have become the acting Heavenly Dao of the East Xuan Continent, just like on Earth, to maintain its basic operations.
But now that the East Xuan Continent was destroyed… it was too late for everything!
Heavenly Daos were different from ordinary beings; they could not be revived through the Great Dao of Reincarnation. Once a Heavenly Dao perished, its world would completely disappear. Even if Ye Ling reshaped the Heavenly Dao with great divine ability, the restored East Xuan Continent would be a completely new East Xuan Continent, with no connection to the previous world.
The beings of the East Xuan Heavenly Dao had long since completely perished due to the fall of the Heavenly Dao and could no longer be resurrected!
Perhaps a powerhouse of the Creation God level could ignore these things and revive the East Xuan Continent, but Ye Ling, as he was now, had no way to revive the East Xuan Continent!
Mieshi Linghuo sensed that Ye Ling's emotions were not quite right and quickly said, "Kid, don't jump to conclusions yet. There's a lot of fog. After the Heavenly Dao was sealed, their connections might have weakened. The East Xuan Heavenly Dao might not be dead. We'll have to go back and see to know for sure!"
"I understand…"
Ye Ling took a deep breath and calmed down, "No matter what, let's go back and take a look!"