"Qing Shi died in vain," Cang Lian remarked with a small sigh from inside the courtyard.
She and the Qing Shi Dao Lord could be considered acquaintances, but she never imagined that he would be killed over just one sentence.
Gu Nan had already left. They, the Dao Lords, also gradually dispersed, but many of them still gathered together to discuss the situation regarding the "post-Luo siblings era."
Or rather, Heaven and Earth Star was truly about to become a world ruled by Gu Nan—that one's background was naturally known to all, including his real name.
"Qing Shi's temper has always been like this." Another Dao Lord also sighed. "He's always been an advocate of 'seeking peace through struggle[1],' but nobody expected for him to meet someone he can't fight against this time."
The Cang Lian Dao Lord nodded slightly. Seeking peace through struggle—everyone knew this logic, but in many cases, logic wasn't useful.
'It's just like how everyone was saying "our centuries-old organizations can't be casually moved" before that one descended, but Qing Shi was the only one who spoke up in the end. Not even Elder Pan objected…'
She couldn't help glancing at Elder Pan. This Mystical Heaven Dao Lord was laughing and conversing with several people. He didn't look like a friend had just died at all.
'The position of liaison between us and that one naturally can't fall into Red Tail's hands, so who should that position be given to?'
'The venerable and prestigious Elder Pan?' A light smile hung on the corners of Cang Lian's lips as she looked down at her charming and feminine body.
Out of all the suitable candidates, she was the only woman.
...
Red Tail felt her whole consciousness blurring, all the way until that woman left. Such a state was extremely unusual at her cultivation level.
She walked out of the door again. The cold moonlight hit her face, finally clearing her mind a little.
'Is it an ability that affects the mind? I can't even remember what she asked…'
A bitter smile appeared on Red Tail's face. 'Looks like I've attracted another powerful figure's attention.'
'What's her name again? Xue Yàn? Xue Yān?' Red Tail found herself unable to remember the mysterious woman's name, and even the woman's appearance was quickly blurring.
She tried to write down some useful information in advance but discovered that her memories started dissipating even faster.
When the tip of the pen landed on the paper, her mind had gone blank.
The only thing she could remember was the sight that gave her chills—that woman had no shadow.
...
Three days later, the Dao Lords relocated all their Dao Halls to the continent in accordance with Gu Nan's order.
As for the rest of the Dao Halls on the planetary ring that either didn't receive the order or didn't have Dao Lords present, Gu Nan also kept his word and wiped them all out without fail.
Right now, only White Mist remained on the planetary ring, and the size of its territory had also shrunk.
Gu Nan took great pains to hide White Mist. Be it on the mainland or the planetary ring, enemies would inevitably search every inch of territory if they wanted to find White Mist.
But if the planetary ring looked desolate and empty, nobody would think to search there. This was a psychological blind spot.
When the generation who knows about Dao Halls on the planetary ring dies out, this secret can then be kept for a long time.
Lan Si also happened to come out of secluded cultivation on the same day, but this was just a coincidence. Not even Gu Nan anticipated that.
"So, you need me to take over an organization again?" She asked Gu Nan in a strange tone, but her expression was indeed much calmer than before.
She seemed to have matured greatly after suffering heavy injuries from a scheme and after working on her own.
Humans always needed to grow up slowly—with the exception of people like Gu Nan.
"Yup, this time it's an organization that will control the whole continent," Gu Nan answered with a smile.
Lan Si pursed her lips, anxious about whether she could succeed. "Why don't you help me name it? The last name can't be used anymore."
Lan Si had previously established a small organization on the mainland called Blue Lake. Of course, this organization was dissolved as soon as she entered secluded cultivation.
Gu Nan had never been talented at naming things, so he casually said, "Heaven and Earth Star Standing Committee, or Heaven and Earth Committee for short."
"Then what's my position?" Lan Si asked with wide eyes.
"Chairman."
...
Everything was progressing methodically without any chaos—after all, with Gu Nan's absolute strength as backing, whoever caused chaos was killed.
Per Gu Nan's bad taste, "Heaven and Earth Committee" was formally established and began to take over the administration and management of the entire Heaven and Earth Star. Lan Si became the chairman, while Red Tail was one of three vice chairmen.
As for the interstellar federation, it basically existed in name only, and even its officials had to accept orders from the Committee.
Of course, the fact that the federation's forces were powerless here actually had little to do with Gu Nan. As early as the "Luo siblings era," because of that pair's exclusionary policies, it was already difficult for the federation to intervene in Heaven and Earth Star's affairs.
Speaking of the Luo siblings, this gave Gu Nan some headache.
As time went by, the two seemed to have vanished from the face of the planet, never appearing again.
However, Gu Nan had already arranged shadow clones to watch over places they might visit or people they might care about. He would know immediately if they made any moves.
"Let's not consider too much for the time being. There's nothing I can do if these two are determined to hide. Leveling up is the most important thing."
With Lan Si's continuous cultivation, Gu Nan's Evil Value had already reached 530. In contrast, he only had 300 points, which was only 200 points more than before.
Personal dungeons' subsequent clear rewards would be greatly reduced after the first clear. Gu Nan had long known this fact.
However, to his surprise, after they cleared the Splendid World dungeon, opening it again didn't take him to the Myriad Heavens Starry Road anymore, but to a separate small dimension.
Even Zuo Zuo and the other two had disappeared, and it became a solo dungeon, although the difficulty was still the same as before.
"Is it because the world's origin has already been consumed, so Splendid World can't enter the Myriad Heavens Starry Road again?" Gu Nan couldn't help recalling Zi Yi and Qiu Wenran's explanation.
The Star Rulers' explanation may not be correct, but their observation of the phenomenon wouldn't be wrong—after all, the latter was the conclusion from many tests.
However, Gu Nan didn't mind clearing it solo. Although the reward was pitiful, it was nevertheless a fixed income source. In addition, he also had people in White Mist complete more world missions as soon as possible.
He'll have more test subjects when the next personal dungeon appears.
On the other hand, he never stopped exploring the laws of Immortal Demon World, but there still wasn't much progress. This was a long-term project.
To facilitate his experiments, Gu Nan also arranged for some White Mist members to travel to Immortal Demon World to inquire about the local situation.
If necessary, Gu Nan didn't mind returning to Ruby Fish Star to take control of the Gu family.
On this day, somewhere on the mainland of Heaven and Earth Star, Gu Nan was lying on the beach basking in the sun and waiting for his subordinates' reports with boredom when Red Tail suddenly appeared behind him.
"My Lord, the envoys from Starry Ocean Pavilion are here," the first thing she said was enough to shock many people.
But Gu Nan just opened his eyes slightly and wondered, "What did they come here for?"
Red Tail's smile suddenly felt a little strained. "Of course it's to… present you with a seal."