ATG 9

The large red eyes of the Golden Crow hovered in mid air the next morning, looking down imperiously at Carl and Caiyi, awaiting their decision in regards to her proposal.

XX

The previous evening, once the Golden Crow had finished cataloguing Carl's various mistakes, as she saw them, she had told him a little bit of the history of the world / dimension he was in.

He learned that the Golden Crow in front of him, the being that had enough strength to snuff him out with barely any effort, was only a remnant spirit of the original Golden Crow. Even at a fraction of her original self's strength, she could still destroy him.

Sometime in the distant past, someone had become the master of the Heavenly Profound Treasure, the Evil Infant's Wheel of Myriad Tribulations. They had done something and released the treasure's poison, which spread across the entire galaxy. The poison was so virulent, it could kill even Gods. Every God, Demon, and Devil that lived at that point, was poisoned to death. When they died, they left the galaxy empty of life for a time.

Certain Gods, like the Golden Crow, the Dragon God, the Phoenix, and others saw their end coming. They placed certain legacies behind, along with a certain amount of their blood essence, and left it guarded by a remnant spirit. When life once more flourished, and cultivators came to their proving grounds, the spirit would determine who was worthy and pass their legacy down to them.

The Golden Crow then went on to explain that her Yang heavy bloodline was most difficult for mortal women to endure, which is why Caiyi had been suffering from being burned by the flames inside her. Until Carl provided the Flame Freezing potions, she had to dip herself in large lakes of water to release the heat and prevent herself from taking harm from her own body's flames.

The Golden Crow explained that even with the lessons in the Golden Crow's Record of the Burning World that taught her how to control her fire, Caiyi couldn't expect to avoid the flames forever. But that there was a way to help her.

Due to Carl having the Dragon God's Blood and the Dragon Seed that would heal whoever received it, the Great Way of the Buddha's regeneration and nature energy, as well as the Phoenix Blood's regeneration and life properties, there was a way to increase Caiyi's bloodline and rid her of the weakness of succumbing to her internal fires.

The first step to accomplish the task of healing and helping Caiyi was that first the Golden Crow would infuse 6 more drops of Golden Crow blood into Carl, bringing his bloodline purity up to 12 drops.

The Golden Crow would then infuse several more drops of Golden Crow blood into Caiyi, also bringing her blood purity to 12 drops. Normally, the addition of more drops of Golden Crow blood would burn Caiyi up, but with the Dragon Seed passed through sex immediately healing her, and Carl's various bloodlines and regeneration abilities, it would keep her alive and help her body adjust to it. Caiyi would gain a stronger bloodline, and become completely adjusted to it, no longer burned by her own bloodline.

Then the Golden Crow really dropped the bombshell on them. The adjustment period couldn't be done in one go. They would have to perform the deed several times a day for two months in order to accomplish what they sought to do in adjusting Caiyi to her bloodline. The constant influx of regeneration would be necessary to keep her alive until she was fully adjusted to the burning fires of the Golden Crow bloodline.

Caiyi's deep blush at hearing the proposal showed how embarrassed she was. She was still a virgin after more than 140 years of life, so the frank talk about sex was a bit embarrassing for her to adjust to.

After explaining the plan to Carl and Caiyi, the Golden Crow had dismissed them for the evening to think on it and make their decision in the morning. Caiyi didn't seem to want to talk about it, so Carl turned to his own meditations and thoughts.

At first Carl pondered about how strange his life had become. Ever since he embarked on this Jump Chain, he found himself in situations and doing things he never would have before.

Even just being in a life threatening situation and making the conscious choice to end a threat to his life or those he cared for wasn't something normal civilians back home had to seriously worry about.

Making those kinds of hard decisions had changed Carl. And the longer he spent on the jump chain, the more strange circumstances he was likely to encounter. But one thing Carl was beginning to realize was that while much of him had changed, the core of his being hadn't.

Even after so many years he was still the same being at heart. He still enjoyed making new friends and lovers. He still loved getting the upper hand over what he saw as evil and winning. He still loved learning new things and exploring new worlds.

And that brought Carl to think about the Golden Crow spirit's evaluation and advice about his Jump Chain life, and what he should have done in different situations. He had spent the rest of the evening thinking about his past and the advice he received from the Golden Crow. The advice that she gave him was basically how a prideful member of the Golden Crow bloodline should act. How a powerful cultivator would act in those situations.

But that advice was coming from a powerful entity that had memories of living for many, many millennia after having a very different upbringing than Carl. An entity that had lived in a cultivation society full of murder hobos. He wasn't sure just how much of her advice he should take to heart. And would taking any of her advice change who he was at the core? Would he fundamentally change who he was?

He knew he wasn't perfect, and some of his decisions were made impulsively. From the point of view of a prideful entity of great strength, he could see where she got her ideas for how his conduct should be, and that he hadn't measured up.

But he was still hesitant to consider acting like she wanted. It felt like he was being told to give up a key part of his self. He enjoyed his learning and practicing. He enjoyed interacting with the people in the worlds he found himself in. He enjoyed making friends and being concerned with the things that were happening in their worlds. He enjoyed being just one of the guys among whichever group of friends he made, even if he did have to fix some problems that crop up.

He didn't quite consider it role playing, because he was always being himself. But it was true that he often immersed himself into the worlds and concerns of the worlds he was in instead of holding himself aloof and "superior".

Carl didn't think he would have fit in with his friends and loved ones in the BtVS world, for example, if he had acted like a cultivator does. He didn't really like the idea of using his Pokemon as a conquering army, instead of an organization of friends.

He didn't completely want to act like the dominating cultivator that the Golden Crow Spirit suggested. Aloof. Prideful. Demanding. The Ruler of everything he surveyed.

But at the same time, he could see how he might need to change in the future in certain circumstances. He could also see how he was always holding himself back to fit in with the world's story, and how he hadn't really cut loose much. With his abilities it would be a simple matter in so many worlds to simply force things to be what he wanted.

After analyzing his character, he could see how the abrupt way he was thrown into the deep end in a world of Vampires and Demons had shaped his behavior. He was more circumspect than his abilities required him to be. He hid behind the veil of normality and only acted in dire moments, instead of making grand changes.

Should he take her advice? At least a little bit? Not to the point of acting arrogant. But should he stop worrying about hiding his abilities and playing the blend in game? Should he start carving out little empires in each jump world?

Even after a night of meditation on the topic, Carl wasn't sure what his answer was, except that he would think on it more in the future.

XX

But for the time being Carl dragged his attention back to the present. What was Caiyi's decision about gaining more drops of the Golden Crow's bloodline? About healing through sex with him?

Caiyi was looking down, thinking deeply. She raised her head and looked Carl in the eyes. Seeing the support that Carl offered, whatever her decision, she nodded decisively.

"Yes, I agree to the plan. You will do this for me, Carl, yes?"

Carl nodded soberly while gazing back into her eyes. "Yes, I will join you in this Caiyi."

"Good girl. That's the ambition and determination you will need to survive this. For it will hurt." The Golden Crow Spirit advised.

Caiyi nodded somberly. "I am ready."

"Good." In front of the Golden Crow Spirit's eyes, several drops of blood appeared. "We'll start with you, little jumper. Ready yourself."

A moment later, the blood entered Carl's body. Carl felt the drops of blood moving through his blood vessels. They felt lively and warm. He imagined that if he didn't have the Evil God Fire Seed that gave him immunity to fire, then he would have felt quite a bit of burning.

There was also a lot of energy that was filling his body. He started using his cultivation technique, using the energy to bolster his cultivation. The profound energy started gathering, and Carl could feel the speed at which his profound level was rising. He reached and immediately broke through to Tyrant 2, but the energy didn't stop there. Shortly thereafter, he reached the boundary once more, and broke through to Tyrant 3.

Carl briefly wondered why the Phoenix blood he received from Rover didn't have the same effect. But then he realized that while Rover had all the properties of the Phoenix bloodline, he was the same cultivation level as Carl, while on the other hand, the blood he received from the Golden Crow was from a literal God of the ATG world. It was similar to the Evil God Seeds he had bought and eaten earlier. They were packed so full of energy that aside from the chunk of energy that he used for cultivation, there was so much that he couldn't utilize all of it.

The energy he didn't use was diverted to his inner world, joining his fire elemental energy there. His profound level finally stopped at Tyrant 8. Carl could tell that each of the Evil God Seeds had more energy than the six drops of Golden Crow blood he had received, but the Golden Crow blood was still from a god level creature, so it still had plenty of energy. And the fact that he hadn't been able to process all the energy in the drops of blood showed that he was still far from the top.

Once Carl was finished accepting and adapting to the blood, he opened his eyes. Caiyi and the Golden Crow Spirit were staring at him. He nodded at them.

"Decent." The Golden Crow faintly praised Carl's efforts to use the energy in the blood. "Prepare yourself, little girl."

"I'm ready, Ancestor." Caiyi vowed.

Several drops of blood appeared and merged with Caiyi. She gritted her teeth, struggling to resist the pain. Opening her eyes, she stared at Carl almost hungrily.

Carl knew what his job was, and that it would help heal Caiyi, so he moved forward, and began with a kiss. It might not be the best and most romantic first time for a 140 year virgin, but it was somehow appropriate in the world setting to have sex for power and healing.

Carl's modus operandi of going with the flow apparently also worked in a cultivation world when he was faced with the unusual. Nose to the "grindstone" and do some sexual healing. Thank goodness he got that Parseltongue perk, it made his job much easier. He did his best to make sure his friend, no lover, Caiyi enjoyed her first time.

XX

…and Carl made sure that Caiyi enjoyed her 323rd time. He was a hard worker like that.

Over the past two months Carl and Caiyi had done little but train and make sure she was healed up enough to withstand her new bloodline. After the first "healing session", Carl had unlocked all of Caiyi's Profound Entrances. He had already been planning on doing that for her in the near future. But since she already knew all his secrets, there was no reason to hold back anymore.

Caiyi had started working on the third stage of the Golden Crow's Record of the Burning World. Her cultivation level had risen from Sovereign 6 to Half Step Divine Origin Realm over the two months. The complete infusing of her bloodline was much slower than Carl's had been, to allow her to adjust. But it also meant she could use all the energy available to enhance her cultivation.

Over the two months, Carl had risen another level, to Tyrant 9. Beyond that, he had mastered the sixth stage of the Golden Crow's Record of the Burning World: Red Purgatory Lotus. He was now working on the seventh stage: Yellow Springs Ashes.

He had also managed to breakthrough to the fifth stage of the Great Way of the Buddha. When he broke through, the golden pagoda that seemed to be the power manifestation of the technique had turned an even deeper golden color and grown larger. His physique had been upgraded another level. Carl had to spend a few days just getting completely used to his new strength.

Occasionally Carl would find that Caiyi was in a worried mood. She had confessed to him that she had hoped by coming to the central area of the proving ground that she, along with Carl, could have begged the help of the Golden Crow Spirit, even without the Demon Emperor's Seal. It was the only reason that she had forgone supervising the capture of the traitors. That, and all the devices that Carl had built to help her troops gave her some confidence that the operation would go well. Without the aid that Carl provide she would have had to stay and supervise, no matter that the long term hope for her Empire's prosperity was predicated on getting the assistance of the Golden Crow in stabilizing her bloodline and teaching her the cultivation techniques.

Carl knew she was worried about the results of the operation, having been stuck there for two months. Their communication mirrors hadn't been working, so they didn't know how the operations had gone. Carl suspected that it was either something to do with the pocket dimension they were in, or the Golden Crow was blocking communications somehow to force them to focus completely on their immediate goal, since there was nothing they could do about what was going on outside.

But the opportunity given her by the Golden Crow Spirit was too good to pass up, so even if they knew things had gone bad, they would have stayed and cleaned up the mess once they exited. The enriching of the Golden Crow bloodline would ensure the continuation of the Illusory Demon Royal Family, even more than cleaning up the traitors immediately.

Carl had hastened to assure Caiyi that he was with her, and would continue to support her. The Empire would survive and thrive, even in the unlikely case that the traitors had been running rampant. Once they exited at the end of the two months, they would take command and resolve everything.

"Little jumper, come here." The Golden Crow Spirit called out to him the evening before he and Caiyi were set to depart. Once Carl presented himself, with Caiyi alongside him, the Golden Crow Spirit nodded approvingly. "You two have made decent progress. When you first entered here, I scanned your body. I already knew what bloodlines you had. Normally I would have reacted quite strongly against anyone with that pathetic Phoenix's blood, especially if they also had my bloodline. I would normally have erased the Phoenix blood in you, but in this case it was a good thing you had it, for it strengthened my own descendent."

Carl shivered. Apparently she even had the power to burn a bloodline out of him? Terrifying. He definitely wasn't going to be getting cocky anytime soon. He wasn't strong enough to be arrogant around here.

"Now, I called you here to give you some aid. You have the Evil God's Profound Veins, and the Fire and Water Evil God Seeds, which make you practically immune to Fire and Water. I happen to have in my possession the Evil God Lighting Seed. I will gift it to you to help you get stronger. You will survive and thrive, until you are strong enough to return and repay me that favor."

Carl saluted the Golden Crow Spirit and thanked her as he accepted the purple-white marble sized bead that was floated to him.

"Now, before you consume that seed. You also told me that you have an ark that has no power." A green crystal the size of Carl's head appeared floating in front of him. "That is a Jade of the Nine Suns. It stores incredible amounts of power, and is rare even in the Realm of the Gods. You can use that to power your Ark, to give you another survival method."

Carl gave another salute in thanks and received the large Jade crystal. He put it away in his spatial ring for the moment.

"Now, consume the Evil God Seed. Once you've assimilated it, it will be time for you to return to the outside world. Little girl, take good care of your Empire, for I will not make another exception. If you or your descendents don't have the Demon Emperor's Seal in the future, no one may enter this place to petition me." The Golden Crow Spirit sternly ordered.

"I understand, Ancestor." Caiyi said with a little bow.

The eyes of the Spirit of the Golden Crow gave the impression of nodding before they disappeared.

Carl and Caiyi looked at each other for a moment.

"Go on then, Carl. When you're finished let us go and take control of our Empire." She gave him a sweet smile that was at odds with the aloof demeanor she had when they first met.

"Sounds like a plan." Carl smiled back at her. He then sat down and threw the Lightning Seed into his mouth, swallowing it down.

Just like the previous two seeds, this one released massive amounts of profound energy into his profound veins as the electrical nature of the seed seeped into every bit of him. He felt a squawk of surprise over the bond he had with Rover, and the impression that Rover too was undergoing the same change.

His profound level began rising. A short time later he was at the Tyrant 10 level. Thanks to his perks, he had no problems overcoming the bottleneck, and smoothly entered the Sovereign Profound Level. The moment he broke through, he felt two things happen at once. He received another drop of Phoenix blood from Rover, and the nature of their bond changed. It was no longer a familiar bond, it was more like a familial bond. His sense of rover faded to a much more distant sense.

He vaguely sensed over the lessened bond that Rover was changing. He had finally attained his human form. The two of them were no longer so closely bound that they would share profound cultivation levels or physical changes like what happened each time Carl ate an Evil God Seed.

Carl felt his cultivation rising again. It didn't stop until he reached Sovereign 4, the rest of the energy having been siphoned off into his inner world. Carl worked on feeling the differences the Sovereign Profound level wrought in him. His lifespan had grown. A Sovereign Profound Realm cultivator had a lifespan of 1,000-2,000 years. The ability that Sovereign Realm cultivators gained was control of a pocket dimension. Carl basically had his own Inventory or Hammer Space now. When Carl examined his Profound Energy, he was amazed at the density and amount of profound energy that he now had running through his veins. It felt exhilarating.

When Carl finally felt like he had control over his energies, and that he wouldn't accidentally destroy things, he opened his eyes. Caiyi was sitting across from Carl, looking at him in concern.

"I'm good for now. Anxious to get going?" Carl smiled reassurance at Caiyi as he asked her.

"Yes. I'm eager to make sure our Empire is stable."

Carl had just stood up when he and Caiyi were picked up by an invisible force and floated out of the cavern. They were then teleported to the outside of the trial grounds, where two months previously all the different families and palaces had camped.

Carl looked around at the empty grounds. Obviously something was happening if there wasn't even guards here waiting for them.

Caiyi looked worried for what was happening. She looked at Carl, and he nodded back at her. "Follow me to the Palace. That is probably the best place to find out what is happening."

Carl followed behind Caiyi as they flew through the air. He was thankful for his profound energy boosts that let him keep up with her as she flew at an incredible pace. Half step Divine Origin was no joke.

Outside the palace gates they saw guards wearing the colors of Duke Huai guarding the gates. Carl didn't waste any time talking; he sent multiple fireballs their way. They had no chance to avoid the fire, and were burnt to ashes. Meanwhile Caiyi hadn't paused at all, she continued at a fast pace, and slammed open the gates to the palace.

As they passed through the halls to the main audience room where the Emperors held court, Carl continued to burn to death any guards that were wearing traitor colors. Something had obviously gone wrong while they were in the Golden Crow's cavern.

As they approached the outside of the throne room, Carl heard yelling and fighting going on inside. They slammed open the massive 20 foot tall doors.

Stepping inside, Carl saw who he assumed was Duke Ming, Duke Huai's father, sitting on the Demon Emperor's throne. Duke Huai stood next to him. Carl sent out his profound senses and learned that Duke Ming was Sovereign 10, so that explained how he was eventually able to fight his way out of the entrapment, and apparently set up a resistance.

Arrayed around the room were the fighting factions. On one side was the forces loyal to Caiyi of the 12 Guardian Families, the Yun, Mu, Su, Yan, and Under Heaven Families, as well as the loyal Duke Palaces. Duke Xu, Duke Xi, Duke Gu, Duke Yu, and Duke Baoqing and their forces.

On the opposite side were the Helian, Xiao, Jiufang, Lin, Nangong, Chiyang, and Bai families, along with the forces of Duke Zhong, Duke Xiang, Duke chu, and Duke Zhao.

At a motion from Caiyi, Carl sent out his fire domain and the Red Purgatory Lotus flames that he mastered to force the traitor forces back from the loyalists. The loyalists looked like they had been through the ringer.

Carl's strong Yang Flames from the Golden Crow legacy and the aura that Caiyi was putting off were strong enough to cause the traitor forces to be cautious, so they backed off as they eyed the newcomers. Some of the traitor forces flinched when they saw Caiyi's murderous expression.

"I'm away for only a short time. And I left orders to detain Duke Ming, Duke Huai, and any other forces that were disloyal. Why is it that when I return, I find traitors to the Empire still loose. And what's more, I find the traitors being helped by over half of the 12 Guardian families, and several of my Duke Palaces?"

Caiyi glared at Duke Ming. If what they suspected was true, he was the cause of her father and brother's deaths.

"Now, now, Little Demon Empress. I think it's past time for your family to give up your rule. It has been on the downfall for a number of years." Duke Ming smoothly stated as he stood from the throne. "I was just making sure that the Empire was stable in your absence. But it was proof that a stronger hand needed to be holding the reigns."

Caiyi stared at the man for a moment, before she moved. Before anyone in the hall could blink, she had taken off the right arm of Duke Ming with her flames, and had him, bound, on the ground. It really was amazing what the difference between Sovereign 10 and Half Step Divine Origin was.

Carl stepped up his flames surrounding the traitors. When they felt just how hot his flames were, and realized he could easily burn them to death, most of the traitors resigned themselves to having been caught. Their leader was on the ground, crippled. The coup was over. They lost.

One of the young men, though, thought he could make a break through the flames. A moment later when he was nothing but ashes, though, proved him wrong. It didn't help that he was only at the Tyrant 7 level. He really overestimated himself.

"Now, secure the traitors." Caiyi ordered her loyalists forces while ensuring that Duke Ming went nowhere.

Carl eased back on his flames as the loyalist forces approached the traitors. They disarmed and bound the traitors. Carl was watching very closely, making sure that none of the traitors made an escape.

The profound energy restraints that he had made previously were pulled out by the loyalist forces and placed on all the traitors. Carl made sure that Duke Ming wouldn't bleed out before he answered some questions.

"Yun Qinghong, report. What happened the past two months I was gone?" Caiyi ordered. Carl moved over near her throne, lending his support to her and keeping an eye on the proceedings.

Yun Qinghong moved forward and bowed. "At first, the operation went well. We captured the majority of the traitors. But unknown at the time to us, Duke Ming was at the tenth level of Sovereign Profound Realm. He was able to escape, and took to randomly attacking and freeing his forces. We couldn't pin him down, or stop him. And if we attacked, he was swift to counterattack us while we were vulnerable. So we took a defensive stance, and held on as long as we could. Today was the day that he finally broke into the palace and we were moments away from defeat when you arrived, Little Demon Empress."

She nodded seriously. "Very well. Thank you for the summary, Patriarch Yun. Each family patriarch or Duke Palace will submit a full and detailed report. We need to know just how much damage was done to my Empire in my absence."

"Forgive my impertinence, Little Demon Empress, but where have you been?" One of the loyalist Duke Palaces, Duke Baoqing, asked. He was the only Duke that could refine the Overlord Pills that allowed the youth of the Duke Palaces and Guardian Families to easily surpass the bottle neck and enter the Tyrant Profound Realm.

"Along with my consort Carl, we entered the central grounds in the Golden Crow Lightning Flame Valley. We received the blessing and training of the Golden Crow. I am now fully qualified to assume the title Demon Empress." Caiyi announced, and flared the aura her Golden Crow bloodline gave her.

Many among the traitors moaned piteously at the proof that they had chosen…poorly. The only reason they had even listened to Duke Huai and joined him and Duke Ming in rebelling was that they thought that the Royal Family would end, since both the previous Demon Emperor and the Little Demon Emperor had died without passing on the Demon Emperor's Seal that would let the Demon Empress receive the inheritance. They gambled on the wrong horse.

"Patriarch Yun. I command you to use you Profound Handle and find answers. What did Duke Ming do to the previous Demon Emperor and the Little Demon Emperor. What happened to my father and brother?" The Demon Empress commanded.

The Profound Handle was a special ability that the males of the Yun Family had. It was a special manifestation of their profound energy and could be used in a number of ways. It was useful in combat, but more importantly, it could be used to put a person under into a hypnotic state where they would answer any question put to them without having their mind being torn apart that usually happened with the normal mind scanning techniques employed by Cultivators.

The Yun Family's ability to act as veritaserum was one of the reasons they had such a prominent place in the empire. Their loyalty to the Royal Family was the other reason.

Yun Xiao's inability to awaken his profound handle is another reason that he had been treated so poorly by his family while his parents had been crippled. The Yun Family laws stated that only a male Yun Family member that had a profound handle of a certain grade could become the patriarch.

So the Yun Family had believed him to be useless, or not an actual blood member of the Yun Family. Carl knew from his medical scans that he wasn't actually blood related, but he hadn't questioned Yun Qinghong or Mu Yurou about it at the time. There were more important things to do than stick his nose into family business.

Yun Qinghong moved forward and utilized his Profound Handle on Duke Ming. Duke Ming told a tale of spending years, even centuries, plotting the downfall of the Illusory Demon Royal Family. He was the one who instigated the Four Sacred Grounds into attacking the Illusory Demon Royal Family. He was the one to lure the previous Demon Emperor into a deadly trap set by the Four Sacred Grounds from the Profound Sky Continent. He used the mind scanning technique to rip apart the Little Demon Emperor's mind on his wedding night before killing him and sending his body on to the Four Sacred Grounds.

Duke Ming's tale of betrayal after betrayal made the traitor Guardian Families and Duke Palaces moan again in agony as they realized they had willingly followed a traitor. They had been blinded and persuaded by Duke Huai that the only way the Empire could remain strong was if a strong leader like Duke Ming were their Emperor. But the only reason they were even in the situation where the Royal Family was weak was because of the traitor Duke Ming's actions. And now they and their families may be killed because of their stupidity in following a traitor.

It was obvious that everyone there was completely shocked by how much damage one traitorous Duke had done to their Empire. Even the Families and Duke Palaces that had fought on his side were drowning him in hate and spit. They didn't consider themselves traitors, they had been duped into thinking they had been doing what was best for the Empire.

Caiyi spent some time in thought about what to do with the traitors before making a pronouncement on their fates.

"Lock these up for later judgment." Caiyi indicated all the dupes of Duke Ming. "All of Duke Ming and Duke Huai's family are to be executed immediately. I will start with Duke Ming." Caiyi announced.

She then burned Duke Ming and Duke Huai to ashes with no mercy. He was the scum that killed her family and tried to kill her. He almost succeeded in destroying their over 10,000 year heritage for his greed.

"Now, imprison these fools. And bring order back to my Empire." Caiyi ordered. The Guardian Families and Duke Palaces that remained loyal hastily jumped to, and began carrying out her orders.

Once the Hall was empty, Caiyi fell into the hug Carl offered. It was a trying day, and it was only half over. But Caiyi needed time to process everything they learned. It was one thing to only suspect the extent of the traitor's actions, but to hear the details of how her family died was distressing.

With Caiyi's direction, Carl soon found her quarters and spent the rest of the day simply taking care of her. Being there for her and comforting her while they talked out what was to be done.

The two cultivators may have not needed sleep, but felt that a night of sleep would do good to reset their emotions and prepare them for the work they would have to do to get the Empire running properly again. Caiyi especially would need to find her center and be balanced the next day when she would pronounce judgment on all the prisoners.

XX

The next day was a somber affair. The prisoners were brought up, a family at a time. Their crimes were read out, and Caiyi pronounced judgment.

The difficult part was that half of the most prominent families of the Empire were implicated. If she simply executed the families, it would cause more problems than she wanted. Losing so much of her government would weaken the empire greatly and cause chaos. They still had strong enemies out there in the Profound Sky Continent, and the last thing Caiyi wanted was civil unrest.

It would also paint her as a bloodthirsty and unforgiving Empress. The caution and wariness of the remaining families would be detrimental to her rule.

But she couldn't just let the families go with a slap on the wrist. The civil war had almost torn up and destroyed the Empire.

She pronounced that the leaders of the Families and Duke Palaces that rebelled would be executed.

The remaining members of the rebelling Guardian Families and Duke Palaces would be placed under a slave seal. They would be closely monitored and would have the chance to work off their debt. If they followed the rules and taught their next generation properly, then within one generation they could get rid of the slave seals and retake their places in the Empire.

If they continued to make the same mistakes, the next generation would be placed under a slave seal as well. And if that happened, then Caiyi would make a judgment as to whether the family or palace should continue or be abolished and replaced.

Abolishing any of the 12 Guardian Families that had been doing their duty for the past 10,000 years would be a poor repayment unless they couldn't be reformed. It was a huge consideration for why she was giving them the chance to redeem themselves, and not just washing her hands of them after they were enslaved.

Once the judgments were passed and carried out, Caiyi and Carl started working to restore order and build the strength of the Empire.

Carl decided he finally figured out why the Jump chain had let him choose the Four Sacred Grounds as his enemies even though he wasn't on the same continent. It was because he had chosen to receive the bloodline of the Illusory Demon Royal Family. If he ever ran into any member of the Four Sacred Grounds, they would want to kill him for no other reason than he might be a member of the Royal Family. And now that he was the consort of the Empress, well, that just made him that much more of a target.

He would have to be very cautious in the future to be wary of assassins. If he ever found a reason to go to the Profound Sky Continent, he would definitely be even more on guard.

But now that he was a member of the Royal Family, Carl could requisition all the rare herbs, crystals, ores, and beasts so he could start growing them on his Farms. It would help him and also help Caiyi rebuild her Empire when he could start providing all kinds of high end cultivation pills to increase the numbers and powers of their forces.

That way if the Sacred Grounds came calling, they would be ready to kick their asses.