Yan Province, Gu Village, at the entrance stood a peculiar giant tree, its canopy shading half the village. Wooden houses dotted its branches, from which children’s joyful laughter often echoed as they played.
Half a year had passed since the great battle of Yan Province. On that day, Li Xiaotian had single-handedly slain eighty percent of the overlords in Yan Province, thus completely unifying it for Great Qin.
Sects like the Desolate Hall, Divine Sect, and Divine Fire Sect had all sealed their mountain gates and gone into seclusion. The entire Yan Province entered a long-awaited period of peace.
Currently, Yan Province could be considered the safest of the Nine Provinces in the realm. Any force that arrived had to abide by Great Qin’s regulations.
Entry into cities required registration of information, flying within cities was prohibited, martial artists were forbidden from fighting within city limits, and everyone was treated equally.
In a short time, Yan Province became incredibly prosperous. Despite suffering heavy losses from numerous battles, the principle of equality established by Great Qin attracted people from other provinces to visit and tour.
Moreover, Great Qin had recently dispatched envoys to various provinces to welcome back Qin citizens who had been stranded in those provinces due to the celestial anomalies.
This action filled the commoners in other provinces with envy.
Paradise was in Yan Province, while outside of Yan Province was hell.
Indeed, in the other provinces, the law of the jungle still prevailed—the strong preyed on the weak, and the lives of commoners were as cheap as ants.
Therefore, commoners outside Yan Province could only harbor envy and longing.
On the branches of the ancient village’s entrance tree, Li Xiaotian and Ye Qingmei sat together, watching the sunset with affection.
After the Yan Province war concluded, Li Xiaotian had returned to Gu Village with his wife and daughter. For the past six months, he had been accompanying them, making up for the time he had missed as a husband and father.
“Dad, what are you and Mom doing here? I’ve been looking for you for ages,” a voice called out from a distance.
Tiantian flew over, following a thick branch, and plunged into Li Xiaotian and Ye Qingmei’s embrace.
“Alas! You found us again. Your mother and I were hiding from you, so we came here,” Li Xiaotian said dejectedly, though his eyes were filled with a smile.
“Hmph! Dad, you’re the worst! I know you two find me annoying! I’m not playing with you anymore, I’m going to find Xiangxiang,” Tiantian said with a huff, flying away again.
In the distance, a little girl, upon seeing Tiantian approach, cried out and quickly concealed herself among the trees.
If one looked closely, her form would appear ethereal.
“Does Xiangxiang still have a chance?” Ye Qingmei asked with a hint of sadness as she watched Xiangxiang playing hide-and-seek with Tiantian.
A complex emotion flashed through Li Xiaotian’s eyes, and he sighed inwardly.
“Don’t worry, I’ll help her if there’s any opportunity,” Li Xiaotian said, feeling a pang of dejection and guilt.
Even the Demon Lord couldn't resolve Xiangxiang’s condition.
After all, when she was integrated into the Witch Spirit sapling, Xiangxiang’s strength was too weak, and her soul was incredibly frail.
At that time, Li Xiaotian had fed the Ancient God’s blood to the Witch Spirit sapling to preserve Xiangxiang’s soul. While this saved her spirit, it also caused her to merge completely with the Witch Spirit sapling.
In essence, Xiangxiang had become the tree spirit of the Witch Spirit sapling.
“This child is too pitiful. Tiantian is still young and can play with her now, but when Tiantian grows up, who will keep her company?” Ye Qingmei said with concern.
Xiangxiang’s soul had merged with the Witch Spirit sapling, which also caused her growth rate to be akin to that of a tree.
Humans changed year by year, but the Witch Spirit sapling grew several times faster than humans.
It was possible that by the time Tiantian blossomed into a beautiful young woman, Xiangxiang would still be a child.
“There will be a way. There are more people in the village now, and more children will be born each year. Xiangxiang won’t be alone,” Li Xiaotian reassured her, gently embracing Ye Qingmei. They leaned against each other.
The sun set, and the sky darkened.
Late at night, Li Xiaotian stood on the treetop of the Witch Spirit sapling, gazing at the sky with a serious expression.
Suddenly, two figures appeared beside him: the ancient ancestor of the Gu family, Gu Wentian, and Yue E.
“Time is drawing near,” Gu Wentian said, a trace of worry in his voice.
“What’s there to fear? We’ll just have Xiaotian stay in the village. Who dares to come? We’ll kill anyone who does!” Yue E snorted, casting a displeased glance at Gu Wentian.
“Look at you, I just made a casual remark. What am I afraid of?” Gu Wentian explained, feeling somewhat exasperated. The women of the Yue family seemed to take offense at everyone.
“Hmph! I think you are afraid. The longer you live, the more cowardly you become!”
“What do you mean by ‘the longer I live, the more cowardly I become’? Fairy Yue, that’s not quite right. We’re not that far apart in age!”
“Senior, Grandma, you don’t need to worry about me. I’ll face my own troubles. I’ll entrust Qingmei and Tiantian to you then.”
Seeing that the two were about to argue, Li Xiaotian quickly intervened, a wry smile on his face. They were going to great lengths to comfort him.
“Heh heh, Xiaotian, are you really going to leave? Your Grandma Yue is right. If you stay in the village, no one can touch you.” Gu Wentian asked with a smile, his eyes complex.
“Xiaotian, listen to Grandma. Don’t leave. Just stay in the village. Our village isn’t afraid of them,” Yue E also advised.
Li Xiaotian shook his head slightly, remaining silent.
Heaven and Earth were about to be perfected. The current Heaven and Earth were becoming more stable day by day. Previously, Li Xiaotian could shatter space with a mere thought, but now he couldn't.
Heaven-level experts could also awaken and return at any moment, be it tonight or tomorrow.
He couldn’t stay in Gu Village any longer.
Although Gu Village possessed profound heritage, with six Heaven-level experts in slumber, he had provoked too many enemies.
Ancestor Wuyun, Desolate Hall, Divine Sect, Fire God Sect, Ancient God Tribe, and other such forces had Heavenly-level experts numbering far more than ten.
If he remained in Gu Village, he would only bring disaster upon it.
Furthermore, staying in the village was akin to evading. Evading would never solve problems.
Only by venturing out, fighting, growing, and killing all enemies could the problem be truly resolved.
“Alas, go then. Don’t worry about Qingmei and the child. With me here, and my aunt also about to awaken, there is no one in this world who would dare to disrespect them,” Yue E sighed, knowing she couldn’t dissuade Li Xiaotian.
“Thank you for your trouble, Grandma,” Li Xiaotian said gratefully, then his gaze fell upon a wooden house within the tree, his eyes filled with tenderness.
“This junior departs.”
Li Xiaotian bowed his fists to the two elders and then transformed into a streak of light, vanishing into the night sky.
Inside the wooden house, Ye Qingmei held the sleeping Tiantian, tears in her eyes, and whispered softly.
“I’ll wait for you to return.”
On the branches of the Witch Spirit sapling, Xiangxiang’s ethereal form appeared, waving towards the direction Li Xiaotian had departed.
In the night sky, a dragon’s roar echoed. The Dragon Horse caught up to Li Xiaotian, carrying him away rapidly.
As dawn approached, with the first rays of light breaking through the darkness, a majestic fluctuation swept across the entire land.
Heaven and Earth were now perfected.