In just a few short years, the name of the Star Boundary in the Lingxiao Domain had risen like a comet, spreading throughout the Three Thousand Worlds.
To name an entire Great Domain after a sect within a single Universe World — even setting aside whether anyone would follow suit in the future, it was certainly without precedent.
Every Great Domain took its name from the most powerful force within it. The domain where Void Territory resided was called the Void Domain; the domain where Yin Yang Heaven was situated was called the Yin Yang Domain. There had never been an exception.
Within the Lingxiao Domain, there was no force of particular renown, so it was only natural for Lingxiao Palace to claim the domain's name. This was something everyone accepted without dispute.
Over the span of a few years, one hundred and eight branch halls had been established throughout the Star Boundary, each belonging to one of the one hundred and eight Blessed Cave Heavens, and each presided over by an External Affairs Envoy of at least the Seventh-Order realm.
In other words, more than a hundred Upper-Order Open Heaven cultivators had now gathered in this modest little Star Boundary.
What a terrifying number. Any one of them was roughly on par with that Zuo Quanhui.
The native inhabitants of the Star Boundary, after experiencing the initial bewilderment, anxiety, and excitement, had long since grown used to it all. Thanks to Lingxiao Palace's excellent publicity, practically anyone in the Star Boundary today could rattle off the general political landscape of the Three Thousand Worlds with ease.
There were also many young people who considered themselves extraordinarily talented, eagerly hoping that one day they might be chosen by one of those elusive experts — the kind who showed their heads but never their tails — to be taken on as a formal disciple, brought back for meticulous training, and given the chance to soar into the sky one day.
Ninety-nine percent of them were destined for nothing but wishful thinking, but in the four regions of the Star Boundary, it was true that some seemingly unremarkable children had indeed been selected by Upper-Order Open Heaven cultivators and taken in as disciples.
Every time word of such an event spread, the city or town would erupt in jubilant celebration, which only fueled the expectations of those who fancied themselves special.
The Blessed Cave Heavens' selection of disciples from the Star Boundary was proceeding at a leisurely pace. After all, each was permitted to take five every hundred years, so there was still plenty of time. What they had done immediately, once their branch halls were set up, was send over large numbers of elite disciples for training.
Each Blessed Cave Heaven controlled one or more Great Domains, and the Universe Worlds within those domains were naturally plentiful. Selecting a few outstanding individuals with no cultivation background from among those worlds was no difficult task.
As a result, the disciples they sent over were all low in cultivation — at most they had only just begun to cultivate — but every one of them possessed exceptional talent. Raised and grown within the Star Boundary, subtly influenced by the World Tree, when the time came for them to comprehend their own Great Dao and forge their Dao Seals, the achievements they attained would naturally rise accordingly.
Among these individuals, it was quite possible that many Fifth-Order and Sixth-Order prospects would emerge in the future.
Each branch hall claimed a territory of five hundred thousand li — neither too large nor too small, but more than sufficient to nurture several thousand, even ten thousand people.
With the arrival and settlement of the various Blessed Cave Heavens, the Void Territory's finances had been greatly relieved.
According to the terms Yang Kai had previously negotiated with the others, each Blessed Cave Heaven could accept five disciples from the Star Boundary every hundred years. In return, they were to provide the Star Boundary with five sets of Sixth-Order resources — or equivalent items.
Not a single Blessed Cave Heaven had stinted or delayed on this point. They had all delivered promptly and in good spirits, which was why the Star Boundary had recently received materials worth several hundred sets of Sixth-Order resources.
It wasn't a huge amount, but it was by no means insignificant, and more importantly, it was a long-term source of income.
With the Heavenly Sword Alliance destroyed and Zuo Quanhui dead, the Void Territory's Star Market was back up and running. Mo Mei had brought back a group of Open Heaven cultivators to garrison it. As long as the Heavenly Origin True Seal Pills existed, the Star Market would never have to worry about a lack of foot traffic, and the foundations it had once lost quickly recovered.
The rental fees alone from the shops in the Star Boundary had earned the Void Territory a tidy profit.
When Zuo Quanhui had led the Heavenly Sword Alliance to blockade the Domain Gate, a great number of merchants had seen no future for the Void Territory and had been unwilling to offend the Heavenly Sword Alliance and the Thousand Cranes Blessed Land behind Zuo Quanhui. They had fled the Star Market one after another. Yang Kai had shown them no courtesy either — whoever left had their shop taken back. Now that the Void Territory had turned danger into safety and those merchants wanted to return, fine — but they would have to pay double the rent.
He hadn't asked you to share the Void Territory's hardships, so don't expect to share in its prosperity!
It was the merchants who had stayed regardless of the reason who were celebrating now. The Void Territory turning the tide from danger to safety was exactly what they wanted to see. Having held fast in the Star Market during the Void Territory's darkest days and maintained what little activity remained, the Void Territory would naturally reciprocate — reducing or waiving their rent and opening every possible door for them.
The resources delivered by the various Great Cave Heavens and Blessed Lands, and the revival of the Star Market — these two alone were enough to ease the Void Territory's strained finances.
Not to mention that several hundred Open Heaven Realm cultivators were now setting to work mining the New Great Domain!
After several years, the situation inside the New Great Domain had been largely explored. There were still some obscure corners that hadn't been fully mapped out, but that wasn't something that needed to be rushed — there would be plenty of time to explore them later.
The New Great Domain was brimming with resources. As long as the Void Territory kept its gateway secure, the materials mined from the New Great Domain would be more than sufficient to sustain its needs, with plenty left over.
The only pity was the shortage of manpower. Several hundred Open Heaven Realm cultivators sounded like a lot, but scattered across an entire Great Domain, they were a mere drop in the bucket. As a result, the efficiency wasn't exactly high.
This wasn't something that could be hurried. It could only be done slowly, step by step.
Over these past few years, Yang Kai had been busy without pause, finding few opportunities to cultivate. He had made the trip back and forth between the New Great Domain and the Lingxiao Domain several times.