The Sacred Leaves Family's Wishes for Peace

At Elder Li's residence, aside from the corpses of Elder Li and the Qiuyu Stronghold Chief, another person stood silently—Fang Ting.

His divine sense covered the entire island, vast enough to accommodate a small kingdom, so he saw the battle in the skies with perfect clarity.

"It seems their years of wandering have borne fruit. Their combat experience is extraordinary."

Fang Ting thought that, at the same cultivation level and without using weapons, he might not even be able to beat them.

Not that he minded. He knew his true advantage—he had no cultivation bottlenecks, allowing his power to grow rapidly. He didn't need to compete at equal levels; he'd simply crush others through absolute superiority.

Meanwhile, in the sky, Fang Luo and his two companions were engaged in an all-out battle with the four Great Saint-realm stronghold leaders. The clash shook heaven and earth, the sky darkened, and the sea below surged with one monstrous wave after another, reaching hundreds of feet high.

Tsunamis continuously battered the surrounding coastlines.

Fang Luo had been closely watching the sudden shift in the four leaders' fighting style. As a reincarnator with deep experience, he quickly understood what had happened.

He smiled knowingly.

"Looks like we have Sixth Uncle to thank for this. In that case, we shouldn't waste this excellent opportunity."

Fang Luo formed a series of hand seals. His fingers overlapped, palms pressing forward.

"Whoosh!"

A brilliant five-colored divine beam burst from his palms, its speed so fast that even a Great Saint expert's divine sense struggled to follow.

This was the innate divine ability of the Five Elements Divine Body.

In an instant, the five-colored beam reached the strongest among them—the Great Saint Fifth Heaven chief.

"What?!"

He didn't have time to evade.

"Pfft!!"

The beam pierced straight through his abdomen, shattering his dantian. Even though he wore inner armor comparable to a sacred weapon, it was as fragile as paper before the divine light.

Once Fang Luo's strength reached a certain level, even sacred and emperor-grade weapons could not withstand this divine beam.

Had it merely pierced his dantian, it might not have been a fatal wound for a Great Saint.

But now he had no time to flee or recover—as his vital energy collapsed, Fang Luo followed up with a sword strike, finishing him off.

The strongest among them had fallen.

The remaining three stronghold chiefs instantly knew they could no longer continue the fight.

"Retreat!"

They weren't trying to flee. Their real goal was to rush to Elder Li's dwelling, hoping he would finally take action.

From the beginning, they had believed that once the Saint King intervened, Fang Luo's group would stand no chance. That had always been their plan.

Unfortunately, reality had a different answer.

"Trying to leave now? Too late!"

Fang Luo activated the formation he had prepared. In a flash, it sprang to life and blocked their path.

Taking advantage of their stunned reaction, Fang Qiuefeng also unleashed a five-colored divine beam—instantly killing another one.

Now only two remained.

They were completely terrified.

"Don't kill me! Please—I'll give you all my treasures!"

Faces full of despair, they began sobbing and pleading, desperate to appeal to mercy.

No one would have expected Great Saint experts to grovel like this.

But in truth, the stronger a person, the more they fear death.

Fang Luo and his companions said nothing. Their actions answered everything.

Moments later, all five Great Saint-realm pirate chiefs had fallen.

At the moment of their deaths, beyond their hatred for Fang Luo's group, they also bitterly cursed Elder Li.

"That bastard went back on his word. He took our resources, promised to protect us—then vanished when it mattered most!"

Little did they know—Elder Li died even earlier than they did.

And in his final moments, Elder Li had cursed them as well:

"You idiots provoked someone you shouldn't have—and dragged me down with you. Damn you all!"

With all the Great Saints dead, the rest of the pirates were like headless chickens—helpless lambs awaiting slaughter.

Fang Luo waved his hand, and the bloodthirsty Hidden Dragon Guards charged.

These pirates had lived by raiding and pillaging across the Sea of Stars. The Hidden Dragon Guards showed no mercy.

As before, all pirates from the five strongholds were eliminated, and all their wealth and resources were seized.

Thus, the entire structure of the Sea of Stars—the eighteen strongholds and thirty-six islands—was utterly transformed by Fang Luo's group.

Now, only thirty-five islands remained.

Before long, their departure spread like wildfire throughout the Sea of Stars, triggering a storm of panic.

"They've returned!!"

"What?! Even those five strongholds with Great Saint experts were wiped out?!"

"We knew they'd come back, but this soon?! And they can already kill Great Saint experts?! That's terrifying!"

"Such talent... It's almost inhuman."

"Are they targeting just the Eighteen Strongholds, or all factions in the Sea of Stars?"

"Hiss—!! Best not to take any chances!"

"Right! Let's head to Ascension City!"

Fang Luo and company had become nightmares haunting every power in the Sea of Stars.

Now that the Eighteen Strongholds were gone, the remaining Thirty-Five Islands were in full panic.

No one could be certain whether Fang Luo's targets included them.

As a result, some of the more cowardly islands and cultivators packed up and fled.

Within just a few days, three islands' leadership teams gathered all they could and abandoned the Sea of Stars.

Thirty-five islands instantly became thirty-two.

The sheer intimidating power of Fang Luo's group was on full display.

These three island factions headed straight for Ascension City, without hesitation.

Had they known their nightmare came from the Fang Clan of the Great Qian Royal Family, one could only wonder what their reaction would have been.

They chose Ascension City not for proximity, but because it was universally recognized as the safest place in all of Cangzhou—the imperial capital of the Great Qian Dynasty.

Countless cultivators and factions were flocking there from every corner of Cangzhou, many selling everything they owned to settle there permanently.

As a result, property prices within the city soared.

Those who had bought homes during the city's early construction phase, or signed rental contracts, made a killing.

Back then, housing prices were still reasonable—unlike now, where they were absurdly high.

They could now easily flip or sublet their properties for profit and move elsewhere.

But those with any sense weren't so quick to sell.

After all, money's no good if you're dead—safety is priceless.

And that's why so many had sold everything they owned to come to Ascension City early on.