After Qi Yu gave the order, the entire Three Realms were in turmoil that night.
The divine officials of the Nine Heavens, and even the deputy leaders of certain clans, were almost all arrested.
"I expected the former Heavenly Dao to have many followers, but I never imagined there would be this many," Qi Yu stood at the forefront of the Thirteenth Heaven, looking at the dense crowd before her, and couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.
Eliminating everyone was easy, but filling these positions would be difficult.
To properly assign such a large group of people to their posts would require at least 300 cultivators to ascend.
Qi Yu massaged her temples.
Si Qing had only considered that there might be quite a few people, but never expected so many, so he also stood by, lost in thought.
Yan Hua glanced at the crowd below and turned to suggest to Qi Yu, "Why not deal with half of them, and keep the other half to observe their performance? After all, some people, though followers of the former Heavenly Dao, might not have truly worshipped him, but were merely forced to."
"Indeed, I was forced," a certain High God, kneeling at the very front, heard Yan Hua's words and hurriedly shuffled forward a few steps, raising his head to say, "When the former Heavenly Dao was in power, he forced each of us to contribute faith power to him. We had companions who refused to yield, but they were all annihilated by the former Heavenly Dao."
As this High God spoke, he trembled incessantly, clearly recalling something particularly terrifying.
Qi Yu fell silent for a moment, unsure of what to say.
Having companions she had interacted with face annihilation before her eyes, leaving not even a trace of ash, was indeed enough to frighten these divine immortals of the Nine Heavens.
After all, annihilation was different from turning to dust.
Turning to dust happened in an instant, with the soul scattered.
Annihilation, however, was a gradual process, watching one fade away.
Only the Heavenly Dao could achieve this.
Si Qing looked at the trembling High God, frowned, and continued to question, "So, the fault does not lie with you, but entirely with the former Heavenly Dao. He forced you to worship him, is that right? If so, the former Heavenly Dao has been gone for a long time, why do you still trust him? How do you explain that?"
Clearly, the High God had not considered this when he lied, so upon hearing the law's counter-question, he was at a loss for words.
"Therefore, those who should be dealt with must be dealt with, and no one should be spared," Qi Yu made a firm decision. "Everyone present, I am not unreasonable. But after the former Heavenly Dao disappeared, so much time has passed, and you still have not fully placed your faith in me. Instead, you have continued to worship the former Heavenly Dao. Although he cannot return, your actions are a provocation to me."
"You can choose not to worship me, but you cannot worship him. The peace of this world was brought about by me. Especially you divine immortals of the Nine Heavens, each of you is very important, yet you led the way in such behavior. Worshiping the former Heavenly Dao is unforgivable, but I do not wish to cause bloodshed. Every single one of you will be sent down to reincarnate, and you shall never become an immortal again."
Qi Yu's words sounded light and breezy, causing no bloodshed, but to the divine immortals who originally resided in the Nine Heavens, they struck like thunder, stirring up waves.
To be punished with reincarnation and never be able to become an immortal again meant they would henceforth only be ordinary mortals.
For them, this was a devastating blow.
To fall from such a height to the very bottom.
At once, the scene erupted in wails. There were pleas for mercy, hurried attempts to distance themselves from the former Heavenly Dao with explanations, and also complete silence.
Qi Yu maintained a cold expression throughout, ordering them to handle everyone strictly and to be directly dragged to the Reincarnation Platform.
For a moment, the Thirteenth Heaven echoed with various ghostly cries and startled exclamations.
Chen Xi by the side frowned, finding it grating, but remained silent.
Only after everyone was dragged away did Si Qing ask Qi Yu, "Sister, you've dealt with so many people at once, and now we're short-handed again. What do you plan to do?"
Qi Yu remained silent, also troubled by this matter. Although she had resolved it decisively just now, she truly hadn't thought about how to replenish the personnel.
"Fine, I'll look for candidates from each clan and from the rooms. I'll also check with the Chang Qing Sect. If anyone has reached the right conditions, send down a few heavenly lightning bolts to pull them up. Of course, they must have good potential, and at the very least, their character shouldn't be poor." Qi Yu then felt she was being a bit reckless; many divine immortals probably hadn't enjoyed the privilege of early ascension, but she was setting a precedent.
"I understand. I've taken a rough look. Around 200 people are expected to ascend this year. The remaining 100 are mainly lacking in cultivation. Excluding those with flawed minds, for those who are simply lacking in cultivation, I will grant them more opportunities, and they will be able to fill the gaps quickly." Si Qing was like the secretary to a modern CEO, who, after the CEO made a decision, would be responsible for finding ways to compensate.
Hearing Si Qing say this, Qi Yu knew he already had a plan in mind, so she nodded and no longer dwelled on the matter.
Chen Xi, resting his chin on his hands and squatting on the ground, stood up since the matter was mostly resolved. "With such a sudden large-scale action, there will inevitably be people down below spreading rumors. Hmm, I've thought about it carefully. Since there's nothing much going on at the Chang Qing Sect, why don't I take the responsibility of visiting each clan? If I hear any rumors, I'll nip them in the bud at their source."
Chen Xi made a pinching gesture.
Hearing him say this, Qi Yu couldn't help but smile and finally nodded. "Alright, I'll trouble you then. If anyone else can help, please do so. I don't have any other matters to attend to. The Divine Realm might be short-handed, please bear with it for now. I will also create clones to assist in the Nine Heavens and the Thirteenth Heaven. Let's all work together to overcome these few days."
For the Divine Realm, it was only a matter of a few days, but for the mortal world, these few days were enough for cultivators to accumulate strength and undergo tribulations to ascend.
Everyone responded with a "good."
Qi Yu and Si Qing created clones based on the manpower shortages in each area, giving these clones different appearances, and sent them down to help.
For a time, the heavens and the mortal world were bustling with activity.
Qi Yu and Si Qing were extremely busy.
An Nuo and Shao Feng were also not idle.
Ming Lou watched everyone busily working and couldn't help but squat on the ground and yawn.
In the Three Realms, he seemed to be the most leisurely so far.