My little sect, which disappeared a thousand years ago, has become a sacred site!

The old man in the black robe felt a chill run down his spine, as if the other man's gaze could pierce through his very soul.

He dared not hesitate for a moment, immediately bowed, and spoke with even greater respect:

"Absolutely true! We are not lying in the slightest! It's just a routine patrol. If you have anything to attend to here, we will leave immediately and would not dare to disturb you!"

He just wanted to leave this place of trouble as soon as possible. The pressure from the person in front of him was greater than facing the unknown dangers in the deepest part of the outer realm.

A faint, almost mocking smile seemed to appear at the corner of Gu Changyuan's mouth.

"Since you like to 'see how things go' so much, and you're also responsible for maintaining 'order'."

His tone remained calm, yet it instantly made the hearts of the four city lords leap into their throats.

"That's perfect, let's settle another score while we're at it."

He slightly raised his chin, gesturing towards the ruins below and the ten tormented, silently twisted cultivators above them.

"My disciple was almost ambushed and killed in the area under your jurisdiction, facing certain death."

Gu Changyuan's voice turned colder.

"The ambushers seemed to have a good understanding of the environment here, and even some special formations, and were well prepared."

"Shouldn't you four city lords, who are supposed to be 'maintaining order,' also give me an explanation for this?"

As he finished speaking, the nine giant swords that had been hovering in the sky simultaneously emitted a deep hum.

An invisible pressure suddenly descended, enveloping the four city lords.

"Hmm!"

The four of them groaned simultaneously, their bodies suddenly sinking downwards!

Although the pressure this time was not as terrifying as when they suppressed those ten people before, it was still enough to make them feel short of breath and their spiritual energy flow was disrupted instantly.

They desperately circulated their cultivation to barely maintain their balance in mid-air and avoid being crushed to the ground.

They looked down in horror.

The ten cultivators who had been so arrogant and had set up an ambush were now all twisted and ferocious, their eyes bulging and their mouths wide open but unable to utter a decent sound.

Only a hissing sound and an extremely faint, seemingly painful sob emanating from the depths of the soul could be heard from his throat.

Their bodies were contorted at an ergonomically unnatural angle, with black, malevolent energy surging wildly beneath their skin, clearly enduring some indescribable and endless torture!

This hellish scene, coupled with the nine giant swords in the sky that seemed poised to strike at any moment, and the unfathomable gaze of the man before them, calm yet imbued with boundless majesty...

The hearts of the four city lords from the outer city sank to the bottom, and a chill ran from the soles of their feet straight to the top of their heads.

Finished!

The senior's apprentice encountered danger here, and as the nominal managers of this place, they cannot escape responsibility no matter what!

Judging from their attitude, if they don't give a clear explanation or fail to satisfy them, their fate might not be much better than those being tortured below!

The old man in the black robe was deathly pale, his lips trembling, his mind racing as he tried to find the words to explain, beg for mercy, or deflect blame...

But all the words were stuck in his throat, and under the other party's indifferent gaze and terrifying pressure, he couldn't utter a single word.

The other three city lords were also ashen-faced and stiff-bodied.

In their despair, they instinctively turned their gaze to the three women beside Gu Changyuan, trying to find a glimmer of hope or a chance to plead for mercy.

However, when their gazes actually fell on Ye Qingxue, they were all momentarily stunned.

My attention was completely drawn to that unfathomable senior just now, but now, upon closer inspection, I see this woman in white standing beside him, exuding a cool and aloof aura...

Isn't this none other than Ye Qingxue, the First Ancestor, who has risen to prominence and become the most powerful figure in the Nine Heavens Realm in recent years?!

There are many legends about the mysterious founding ancestor of the Celestial Sacred Land, but this first ancestor, Ye Qingxue, is a real figure who travels outside and is renowned in all directions.

With her demigod-like status, she overwhelmed her peers with her sword, took charge of the sacred land, and was recognized as one of the top powerhouses and leaders of the Nine Heavens Realm.

And just now, this senior colleague personally referred to "my apprentice"...

In other words, the man before them was the legendary founding ancestor who had been missing for a thousand years and single-handedly created the miracle of the Celestial Holy Land.

This realization struck the four city lords like a thunderbolt!

No wonder the Celestial Holy Land was able to rise so powerfully in just a thousand years; its foundation is unfathomable.

With such a terrifying Holy Ancestor presiding over it, and a disciple as talented as Ye Qingxue in charge, it would be strange if the Holy Land didn't prosper.

With the methods this Holy Ancestor just demonstrated, creating one holy land wouldn't be a problem, let alone three.

As their thoughts were in turmoil, four powerful auras of half-immortals rushed in from afar; they were the other four city lords of the outer city.

They received news from within the domain, noticed the unusual activity here, and rushed over to investigate.

Before they even got close, Gu Changyuan, too lazy to wait any longer, casually raised his left hand, saving them the time of traveling.

Filled with immense gratitude, the eight half-immortal city lords of the outer city stood before Gu Changyuan, each bowing deeply.

His mind raced, frantically trying to figure out how to give this powerful figure a satisfactory explanation in order to save his own life.

Gu Changyuan was too lazy to watch their feigned humility, and he had no patience to wait for them to dawdle and come up with their reasons:

"From this day forward, the City Beyond the Boundary, along with all its strongholds, passages, and related rights, shall be under the jurisdiction of the Celestial Holy Land."

All future profits of the Outer City will be handed over to the Celestial Holy Land.

As for the specific management affairs, you eight will still be responsible for maintaining the basic operation and order of the outer city.

Hand it all over?! Isn't that taking advantage of someone's misfortune?!

Upon hearing the other party's words, the eight immortals were furious for a moment, but quickly backed down and agreed.

I can't beat them... we're not even in the same league... to resist is to die, and it will be a fate worse than death.

Cultivation is not easy. To reach the level of a half-immortal, who hasn't gone through countless hardships, possessed a long lifespan, and yearned for a higher realm?

To die here like this is such a waste.

Seeing that they knew what was good for them, Gu Changyuan nodded slightly and raised his hand to make eight gestures towards the eight people.

The eight people felt a tingling sensation between their brows as an irresistible force probed into their sea of ​​consciousness, extracting a wisp of their divine consciousness imprint from their innate divine consciousness.

The mark was like a shackle left by Gu Changyuan in their sea of ​​consciousness. If they had any disloyal thoughts, Gu Changyuan could destroy their consciousness and scatter their souls with just a thought.

Gu Changyuan stored the eight strands of divine consciousness imprints into a jade talisman, then waved his right hand again, and eight pure white tokens engraved with the four characters "Elder from Beyond the Earth" appeared out of thin air and landed in front of the eight city lords.

"From now on, you will be the extraterrestrial elders of the Celestial Holy Land in the City Beyond the Boundary. You will not have real power within the Holy Land, but you will have absolute say in the City Beyond the Boundary, second only to the elders."

The system's cultivation level can only be linked to three factions; it is not possible to accumulate cultivation level by plundering other factions.

Furthermore, cultivators who join a faction need time and sufficient loyalty to establish a cultivation connection with it.

The purpose of establishing this position of Elder Beyond the Boundary is to see how long and how these highly skilled cultivators will need to complete this connection.