At the same time, Ding Yun, who was at the center of the barren land, fully activating the power of the Sun Pearl, let out a scoff as she watched their miserable retreat, then withdrew her divine sense.
She continued to focus on absorbing the Sun Fire power.
Although the guess of the Great Qian royal ancestor was not entirely correct, it did hit a part of the truth: Ding Yun had indeed discovered them long ago and had deliberately leaked a trace of her Tribulation Crossing realm aura and power.
This was precisely to avoid directly confronting them.
Her intention was to scare them away first.
It wasn't that she couldn't defeat them, or that she was too busy at the moment, but rather that killing them would be meaningless.
They were like ants that could be crushed at any time.
What was the point of killing them?
Moreover, she had neither established a kingdom nor had sufficient manpower to manage more people and land. In fact, managing the current land and population was already a significant strain, so there was no need for any major actions.
Even if she killed these Nascent Soul Venerables, she wouldn't be able to immediately attack the Great Qian Dynasty or those sects and aristocratic families. At most, it would make the royal family and sects tremble with fear, leading them to exploit the populace even more unscrupulously, offering treasures as compensation and begging for forgiveness.
Wouldn't that make the common people's lives even more difficult?
Rather than that, it would be better to use the aura of the Tribulation Crossing realm to scare them away, allowing for a period of peaceful coexistence until she had cultivated enough subordinates, and then it wouldn't be too late to act.
It was precisely with this thought in mind.
That Ding Yun let them go.
With the four Nascent Soul Venerables scared away, Ding Yun's actions became increasingly swift. In less than half an hour, she had absorbed all the flames in the barren land.
Next, of course, was to put away the Sun Pearl.
Then, she channeled her entire body's mana, using the Water Condensing Art in conjunction with the Spring Breeze and Rain Art. First, she cast a chilling rain containing a trace of creation power to completely dispel the scorching heat from the barren land below. Then, she summoned a spiritual rain imbued with abundant vitality of plants and trees to nourish and restore the land.
"Ah, I forgot about this piece of glazed land in the middle.
It seems this land can't be restored. I'll use the Mountain Moving and Sea Overturning Art to clear away all this glazed land and replace it with ordinary soil from elsewhere."
After the two rains, all other areas had been restored to life, with even plants beginning to sprout. Only the land in the very center, which had turned into glaze, remained as it was.
The long-term scorching of the ten-thousand-degree high-temperature sea of fire had long rendered that piece of land incapable of nurturing life. In other words, its fundamental nature had changed.
It was no longer soil.
No amount of rain would help.
So Ding Yun stopped raining and directly began digging. She excavated all the vitrified land in the central area and brought fertile soil from other higher elevations to fill the pits.
After several such trips.
And creating a few lakes at high altitudes, the barren land was finally restored to a rough state. The reason for saying "roughly restored" was mainly because the barren land was only superficially restored. Deeper down, the damaged water veins and earth veins beneath the land had not yet recovered.
If she didn't transplant water and earth veins from elsewhere, it would require Ding Yun to use her creation-infused mana to nourish it long-term for the water and earth veins beneath this land to gradually recover.
This would take time.
Transplanting water and earth veins from elsewhere was essentially robbing Peter to pay Paul, and it carried a vast karma.
Ding Yun naturally wouldn't do that.
Therefore, she undoubtedly chose to rely on her own strength to slowly restore the land's water and earth veins.
However, this matter couldn't be rushed.
Spending some time each night would be enough.
Ding Yun's main focus was on rectifying the Liu family's atmosphere, establishing rules and regulations, stabilizing order, and building the Liu Family Martial Arts Academy and Cultivation Academy to train talent.
In the previous years, Ding Yun had been busy dealing with the barren land issue, paying little attention to the Liu family. Apart from providing cultivation techniques and resources, she rarely focused on other aspects. Coupled with a lack of personnel, basically anyone who was a member of the Liu family was entrusted with responsibilities.
It was inevitable that there would be a mix of good and bad.
The first few years were still okay, as she was genuinely overwhelmed with work then and had no time for any ill intentions. It was only in the last two years, when the situation stabilized and became relatively peaceful, that the true colors of some individuals began to show.
And Ding Yun had now basically resolved the barren land issue.
Naturally, she had the time to carry out a thorough cleansing.
To avoid overlooking any bad apples or misjudging good people, Ding Yun even spent hundreds of years of her lifespan to meticulously cultivate a Clairvoyance Art. This art could not only discern a person's fortune and destiny but also the amount of merit and karma they possessed, and whether they harbored resentment.
Then, she separated the absolute good people from the absolute bad people, and then meticulously investigated those with not much karma and no resentment, but who had definitely made mistakes.
The absolutely good people, those with merit and essentially no karma, were mainly praised and given small rewards, with hopes that they would remain true to their nature and continue to do so in the future.
The absolutely bad people, those with no merit, overwhelming karma, and burdened by resentment, were clearly those who had committed many evils and deserved to die.
Therefore, after soul searching and announcing their crimes.
They were directly executed.
The remaining individuals, who might have committed evil or perhaps only killed many wild beasts, had to be individually reviewed and investigated. Those whose transgressions were minor or merely moral issues were educated and released. Those who had committed offenses but not to the point of death were punished according to the latest laws.
Since Ding Yun first only screened the Liu family, the process was quite fast, ending within half a month.
Afterward, the screening of all cultivators within her territory was also not slow, as most of the cultivators there were trained by the Liu family, and the time was relatively short.
There really weren't many.
Once the cultivators were all checked, the remaining mortals were not as strictly scrutinized. Ding Yun simply scanned the entire territory with her Clairvoyance Art, identifying mortals whose karma was so deep that they had taken at least one life.
These individuals were then handed over to the newly established judicial department for detailed investigation.
Judgments were passed based on categories such as accidental killing, unavoidable circumstances, self-defense, and extreme wickedness.
As for the rest, who had committed minor wrongdoings and were too numerous to screen individually, they could only be let off the hook for past offenses. Once the responsible management personnel were fully arranged, this would no longer be necessary.
Each region could then manage itself.
In short, after this major purge by Ding Yun, her sphere of influence became much more serene and peaceful. The various rules and regulations that had been promulgated were thoroughly implemented from top to bottom for the first time.
The previous state of "ordered chaos" was replaced by a complete correction of past mistakes and the establishment of order.
Local administrative personnel were also gradually put in place under Ding Yun's command. A force, distinct from but similar to a nation, was formally established more than a year after the barren land was completely restored.
On the surface, Ding Yun did not claim the title of emperor, but in reality, everyone understood that her territory was no different from an independent kingdom, even more independent than other kingdoms. While other kingdoms were nominally under the imperial court, they were actually unable to command or govern sects and aristocratic families.
When their interests aligned, they could cooperate.
When their interests conflicted, they could fight.
Some sects had powers far exceeding that of the royal family, such as the former Rising Sun Sect, whose ancestors were like grand emperors, able to directly command the royal family to do their bidding.
If not for the fall of the Rising Sun Sect's Soul Transformation ancestor.
How could the Great Qian royal family have enjoyed so much freedom!
In Ding Yun's territory, there was only the Liu family, a super-blue power. There were no sects or aristocratic families. Even if there were a few emerging families, they were all taught and nurtured by the Liu family. At least for now, they could not be considered aristocratic families and were powerless to resist.
Therefore, in the eyes of the surrounding royal courts and dynasties.
The Liu family's current situation was what a court and a nation should look like, which was envied by many.
At this time, Ding Yun felt that the cultivation speed of her subordinates was too slow and worried that her ambitions might be noticed by certain individuals. Therefore, she spent time traveling far and wide to collect materials, and even ventured into space to gather a few stars. Only then did she barely manage to assemble the raw materials to refine a low-tier Zhou Tian Star Dou Formation flag.
Then, she set up the Zhou Tian Star Dou Formation within her territory and began a period of isolation.
The Zhou Tian Star Dou Formation prevented most people from entering or leaving, only allowing a few individuals to enter and exit for procurement.
And using the formation, she absorbed the power of the stars, converting it into spiritual energy. This not only increased the spiritual energy concentration within the formation but also further promoted the growth of the spirit grains and spirit rice without Ding Yun's direct intervention.
This was to increase the cultivation speed of her subordinates.
And with this operation, Ding Yun was able to implement more radical changes. Her isolation was not due to arrogance but was to buy herself time to accumulate strength. Only after many years, when she had cultivated enough subordinates, could she dismantle this formation.
And then formally establish a kingdom and expand outwards.
In this regard, outsiders were actually unaware of her intentions. Those few who still doubted Ding Yun's strength were even more convinced of her power by the terror emanating from the Zhou Tian Star Dou Formation she set up.
Facing a Tribulation Crossing expert.
No matter what they did, they dared not question it.
Some sects and aristocratic families, having perceived that Ding Yun's formation was meant to avoid disturbance and contact with outsiders, even issued strict orders prohibiting their disciples from venturing into that area, directly designating it as a forbidden zone. Many dynasties did the same.
Not only did they prevent people from going there, but they also designated the area as a forbidden zone and ordered those living near it to relocate further away, creating a buffer zone of thirty miles.
Since the Heavenly Venerable at the Tribulation Crossing realm did not wish to be disturbed.
They naturally dared not provoke her.
It was better to avoid her.
Ding Yun's plan proceeded smoothly, with the surrounding dynasties and sects cooperating beyond her expectations.