Upon hearing Lord Saint Yang immediately order a complete lockdown of Lingluo Heavenly Domain and command the various Immortal Dynasties to search for You Di's whereabouts, the previously anxious leaders of the major Immortal Realm families finally felt at ease.
They all knew that within the Immortal Court Residence of Lingluo Heavenly Domain, although that incompetent and corrupt Sha Xiang was the Domain Lord, the one who truly held the reins was Lord Saint Yang.
This wasn't merely because Lord Saint Yang was a highly respected senior.
It was because Lord Saint Yang's status, aside from being the Grand Elder of the Immortal Court Residence, was also hailed as the pillar upholding Lingluo Heavenly Domain, a towering mountain guarding the domain. It could even be said that whether in terms of rallying power or influence, throughout all of Lingluo Heavenly Domain, Lord Saint Yang was undoubtedly the foremost figure. No one could surpass him. If Lord Saint Yang so much as stamped his foot, the three thousand worlds of Lingluo Heavenly Domain would tremble.
Was that an exaggeration?
No!
Not in the slightest.
First.
Lord Saint Yang was a famous Immortal Master of the Ancient Era.
Immortal Master, as the name implies, means a teacher of Immortals.
In the Present Era, Immortals were a dime a dozen; everyone was an Immortal, so the so-called 'Immortal Master' title was nothing special.
But in the Ancient Era, 'Immortal Master' was an absolute honorific.
Because achieving Immortality in the Ancient Era was no easy feat; it could be said to be one in ten thousand. After achieving Immortality oneself, if one's disciples also cultivated to become Immortals, one could bear the title of Immortal Master.
There might be many Immortal Masters across the myriad heavens and worlds, but there weren't many seniors who could be hailed as a famous Immortal Master of their generation.
And Lord Saint Yang was one of them.
He had many disciples. Exactly how many, no one knew for sure. Among them were his personal disciples, but even more were disciples who came to him already possessing skills.
Each of these disciples was exceptionally capable. They were either Immortal Officials of the Ancient Era or Great Immortals of the Present Era, all possessing a certain level of prestige in the Great Desolation. One of them even held a seat on the Immortal Dao Throne. In other words, Lord Saint Yang was also a teacher of an Immortal King.
Even more terrifying was that under Lord Saint Yang's patronage, all these disciples had established families and careers within Lingluo Heavenly Domain. Some were sect masters, some were lords of Immortal Realms, and some were family patriarchs.
Now, Lord Saint Yang's disciples and grand-disciples were so numerous they were uncountable. Among his grand-disciples, there was even one who became an Immortal Dao Star Lord.
If Lord Saint Yang raised his arm in a call to action, his disciples and grand-disciples alone would constitute a force no less than that of any major Immortal Realm.
If that were all, Lord Saint Yang still wouldn't deserve the grand title of 'Pillar of Lingluo Heavenly Domain'.
The reality was, not only were Lord Saint Yang's disciples and grand-disciples spread throughout Lingluo Heavenly Domain, but his students and former subordinates were also ubiquitous.
One must know that Lord Saint Yang was a senior from the Primordial Era, and throughout the Ancient Era, he had consistently served as an Elder of the Immortal Court Residence, spanning hundreds of thousands of years.
Over such a long period, Lord Saint Yang had not only nurtured many outstanding disciples but also fostered numerous students.
It was no exaggeration to say that among the Elders of the Immortal Dynasties across the various worlds of Lingluo Heavenly Domain, half were Lord Saint Yang's students or former subordinates.
One could imagine how terrifying Lord Saint Yang's influence truly was.
It was precisely because they understood Lord Saint Yang's influence that when he said he would take charge of this matter, the various Immortal Realm lords present felt reassured.
Not long after.
The various Immortal Dynasty lords who had been in the grand hall earlier came out one after another to respectfully welcome Lord Saint Yang.
Among these Immortal Dynasty lords, some were Lord Saint Yang's students or former subordinates, some followed his lead unquestioningly—all were part of Lord Saint Yang's faction.
Even those Immortal Dynasty lords who weren't part of Lord Saint Yang's faction, fearing his pervasive influence throughout the court and the realm, dared not offend him lightly and hurried out to pay their respects.
The moment these Immortal Dynasty lords saw Lord Saint Yang, they immediately began to angrily denounce the incompetence of Domain Lord Sha Xiang.
They spoke of how Domain Lord Sha Xiang was cowardly and selfish, how he was usually immersed in wine and women, and that was bad enough. But now, with Lingluo Heavenly Domain facing a crisis, he remained utterly indifferent. He even said things like 'You Di is too terrifying, everyone should hide as far away as possible,' and 'Even if the Nine Heavens issues a decree, we shouldn't provoke You Di,' and so on.
The various Immortal Dynasty lords, one after another, angrily denounced Domain Lord Sha Xiang for his great impiety. As a Domain Lord appointed by the Nine Heavens, he did not revere the majesty of the Immortal Dao. Instead, he openly claimed that the reason the Nine Heavens hadn't issued a decree was because they feared You Di.
Outside, those Immortal Realm lords who heard these words from the Immortal Dynasty lords were also furious, muttering low curses that Sha Xiang was utterly unworthy of being the Domain Lord of Lingluo Heavenly Domain.
They had long heard rumors about Domain Lord Sha Xiang's incompetence. Almost everyone in Lingluo Heavenly Domain knew that Domain Lord Sha Xiang spent his days indulging in wine and women.
In truth.
For a long time, everyone had been puzzled.
They couldn't understand why the Nine Heavens would appoint such an incompetent and corrupt person to be the Domain Lord of Lingluo Heavenly Domain!
The previous Domain Lord of Lingluo Heavenly Domain had died during the Ancient Era—and was killed by You Di, no less. Everyone had thought that in the Present Era, the Nine Heavens would appoint Lord Saint Yang as the Domain Lord of Lingluo Heavenly Domain. No one had expected them to parachute in a Domain Lord who only knew how to indulge in wine and women all day.
Regarding this.
Many people couldn't comprehend it, but there was nothing to be done.
Puzzled or not, unable to understand or not, he was still the one officially appointed and enfeoffed by the Nine Heavens.
Inside the hall.
Lord Saint Yang listened with an expressionless face, his countenance showing no change from beginning to end. He merely nodded and asked one question: "Where is he now?"
"Reporting to Lord Saint Yang, the Domain Lord is in the grand hall."
"All of you, follow this old man into the hall!"
With that.
Lord Saint Yang, his face full of stern dignity, strode with great strides into the grand hall. The various Immortal Dynasty lords dared not delay and followed closely behind, including many Immortal Realm lords who also entered.
In the grand hall, the corpulent Domain Lord Sha Xiang still sat upon his throne, gnawing on delicacies, sipping fine wine, shaking his head and humming a tune, a huge hand idly toying with two skulls.
Seeing this scene, those Immortal Realm lords felt their anger surge. In their hearts, they cursed this Domain Lord for being utterly worthless. The entire Lingluo Heavenly Domain was in chaos, they themselves were filled with fear and anxiety, yet this bastard actually had the nerve to enjoy himself eating and drinking here! How utterly incompetent!
Of course.
No matter how angry they were, they could only curse in their hearts. They absolutely dared not curse aloud in front of Domain Lord Sha Xiang.
Although they couldn't understand why the Nine Heavens had appointed Sha Xiang as Domain Lord, there was one thing they were clear about: this Sha Xiang was definitely not as simple as he appeared on the surface. Setting aside whether the rumors about Sha Xiang were true, even if Sha Xiang had no real ability, his background and status were absolutely not simple. Otherwise, the Nine Heavens wouldn't have appointed him as the Domain Lord of Lingluo Heavenly Domain for no reason. There must be some hidden secret, it was just that no one knew what it was.
Most importantly, Sha Xiang was now the Domain Lord of Lingluo Heavenly Domain. He dominated the domain's origin, controlled its laws, managed its order—which was equivalent to holding the power of life and death over all living beings within the Heavenly Domain. With a single thought, he could erase you if he wished.
Therefore.
Whether they were the various Immortal Realm lords or the various Immortal Dynasty lords, after entering the grand hall, they all obediently chose silence.
And Lord Saint Yang also said nothing. He merely stood in the grand hall, a pair of sinister eyes fixed intently on Domain Lord Sha Xiang.
Likewise.
Sitting on his throne, Domain Lord Sha Xiang acted as if he were unaware of Lord Saint Yang's arrival, still humming his little tune.