My strength increases by one percent every day; I can destroy stars with my bare hands.

"Lord Li, the Giant Whale Gang may make a comeback at any time, so please stay a little longer."

"Lord Li, the Giant Whale Gang has suffered heavy losses and will not let this go. You must not leave!"

"Lord Li, Yangzhou cannot do without you!"

"..."

When Li Xuancang was about to lead his army back to Ganquan County, the Yangzhou forces panicked and hurriedly tried to dissuade him.

The Giant Whale Gang's tens of thousands of elite disciples were wiped out, and they will never give up.

Once the Giant Whale Gang arrives with a burning desire for revenge, without Li Xuancang's resistance, the entire Yangzhou will face annihilation.

All factions knew that the safety of Yangzhou rested entirely on Li Xuancang's shoulders; if he left, they would be powerless to resist the Giant Whale Gang.

"My lords, the steppe people are eyeing Liangzhou covetously, and I must return as soon as possible."

Li Xuancang, fearing an invasion by the grassland people, has made up his mind to leave.

Upon hearing this, everyone looked anxious and was about to speak up to persuade them.

"The Giant Whale Gang has suffered heavy losses in this battle. Even if they want to retaliate, it will take time. You can strengthen the surveillance of the Canglan River. If the Giant Whale Gang attacks, we will come again."

The Giant Whale Gang was able to succeed so easily entirely because the imperial court had lowered its guard.

As long as they keep a close watch on every move on the Canglan River, it will be difficult to hide the actions of the Giant Whale Gang from them.

They can prepare in advance, and Li Xuancang will have time to arrive.

Seeing that Li Xuancang was determined, the others could do nothing about it.

Moreover, Li Xuancang's words were not without reason. As long as they sent a large number of people to patrol the river, they could know the movements of the Giant Whale Gang in advance.

"Lord Li has traveled thousands of miles and rushed through the night to come to our rescue. We are deeply grateful. This small gift is nothing but a token of our appreciation. We hope Lord Li will not find it offensive."

As soon as Shangguan Ding finished speaking, a team of over a hundred people came carrying boxes, which were things they had prepared in advance.

Li Xuancang relieved the crisis in Yangzhou and displayed tremendous fighting power, so everyone used the excuse of gratitude to curry favor with him.

Led by Shangguan Ding and the Yang family, a large amount of resources were prepared as a token of gratitude for Li Xuancang.

Li Xuancang smiled slightly and did not refuse.

"Gentlemen, it would be impolite of me to refuse your kind invitation."

Li Xuancang gave a signal, and Nangong Zhan immediately led his men to take over the resources.

If Li Xuancang were to refuse outright, he would offend many people, which would be a loss for him.

Seeing that Li Xuancang accepted the resources, everyone smiled, and the relationship between the two sides became more harmonious.

"Take care, esteemed sirs. Farewell."

Li Xuancang clasped his hands in greeting to the crowd.

"Take care, Lord Li."

"Have a safe journey, Lord Li."

"May Lord Li enjoy great military success and achieve great deeds."

"..."

Everyone bid farewell to Li Xuancang.

The army quickly departed, marching at full speed.

This swift and decisive support mission, though exhausting, yielded fruitful results.

Killing tens of thousands of members of the Giant Whale Gang and quelling the unrest in Yangzhou is a great achievement, and the imperial court will surely reward them handsomely.

They seized the resources plundered by the Giant Whale Gang, and the Yangzhou forces also contributed a considerable amount of resources. Furthermore, they killed a powerful demon at the Tongxuan Realm and returned home laden with spoils.

"Xuan Cang, let's part ways here!"

After leaving Qinghe County, Du Tianhao will part ways with Li Xuancang here.

I thought that I could lend Li Xuancang a hand by coming here.

Unexpectedly, Li Xuancang didn't need any help at all and quickly quelled the rebellion.

"Take care, my lord."

Li Xuancang bowed to Du Tianhao, and the two parted ways.

Fearing that the nomads might take advantage of the situation, Li Xuancang returned to Liangzhou as quickly as possible.

When he returned to Liangzhou, the fearful people of Liangzhou were overjoyed and cheered.

"He's back, Lord Li is back."

"Thank goodness, Lord Li has returned, and we no longer have to live in fear."

"Great! We no longer have to fear the grassland people attacking us."

"..."

With Li Xuancang's return, the panicked Liangzhou was immediately stabilized.

As long as Li Xuancang was there, they could feel at ease.

"Strange, why didn't the steppe people take this opportunity to invade? Is marriage alliance really effective?"

Li Xuancang was quite surprised that the grassland people did not take advantage of the situation to invade.

He never believed that peace could be achieved through a princess's marriage; there must be something he didn't know.

Li Xuancang was unaware that the grassland people did not lack the desire to invade, but rather the time to do so.

The grassland forces near Ganquan County were severely damaged by Li Xuancang and dared not enter Liangzhou to plunder, so they set their sights on the Dali Dynasty.

At this time, their iron cavalry was rampaging through the Dali Dynasty and had no time to send troops to Liangzhou.

News travels slowly, and the large tribes deep in the grasslands are probably still unaware of the changes in the Great Yan Dynasty and have not yet had time to invade.

In any case, the fact that Liangzhou was not invaded was a good thing for Li Xuancang.

When the army returned to Ganquan County, Li Xuancang immediately distributed most of the resources he had seized from the Giant Whale Gang as rewards to the troops.

Li Xuancang was generous with his resources, and the soldiers were overjoyed and deeply grateful to him.

Immediately afterwards, Li Xuancang contacted the Xuan Niao Chamber of Commerce and summoned Dong Linghui.

"Greetings, Your Excellency."

Upon seeing Li Xuancang again, Dong Linghui became even more respectful.

He had a gut feeling that Li Xuancang was much stronger than when they last met, and not just by a little bit.

"Please sit down!"

Li Xuancang waved his hand gently.

"Thank you, sir."

After Dong Linghui sat down, Li Xuancang explained the purpose of inviting him.

"Fellow Daoist Dong, the Xuan Niao Merchant Guild travels far and wide; do you know any weapon refiners?"

Although Dong Linghui did not know why Li Xuancang asked this question, she still answered truthfully.

"My lord, the merchant guild knows some weapon refiners. What are your orders?"

Refiners are highly regarded, especially those who can forge high-level divine weapons. Even some cultivators would seek their help.

Refiners need a lot of materials to refine weapons, so they naturally have to deal with merchants.

"Are there any Earth-level weapon refiners?"

Upon hearing Li Xuancang's words, Dong Linghui's body trembled.

Weapon refiners are also divided into four levels: Unranked, Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow. Each level is further divided into upper, middle, and lower grades, just like alchemists.

Earth-level weapon refiners can already forge Earth-level divine weapons, and most Transcendent Realm experts would find it difficult to possess even one Earth-level divine weapon.

It is conceivable how rare and precious Earth-level weapon refiners are; there are no more than ten in the entire Great Yan Dynasty.

"Reporting to Your Excellency, the Xuan Niao Merchant Guild knows Ouyang Xuanlian, a mid-grade Earth-level weapon-refining master."

Li Xuancang's eyes lit up. He just wanted to give it a try, but he didn't expect that the Xuan Niao Chamber of Commerce would actually know a level-one weapon refiner.

"Fellow Daoist Dong, I would like Master Ou Ye to help me forge a Grade Earth-level treasure armor. What conditions are required for me to ask him to do so?"

Li Xuancang's words were astonishing, causing Dong Linghui's expression to change and his mind to be shaken.

Li Xuancang actually wants to forge a Grade Earth-level treasure armor; this is no small matter.

Dong Linghui calmed himself down and said, "Lord Li, weapon refiners generally won't refuse if they have materials that can be used to forge divine weapons."

To improve their weapon-refining skills, a weapon refiner needs to consume a large amount of materials.

These materials are extremely valuable, especially the materials used in high-level divine weapons, which are extremely rare.

If they knew that Li Xuancang had materials capable of forging Earth-grade armor, those Earth-grade weapon refiners wouldn't refuse.