Summoning the Gods: Start by creating the Eternal Night.

Eternal Night Space, inside the Monarch's Palace.

At this moment, almost all of Eternal Night Heaven's core combat forces who were not in seclusion had gathered in the hall.

A Qing, Donghuang Taiyi, Dugu Qiubai, Yuan Tiangang... everyone stood solemnly on both sides.

All eyes turned to Ye Junlin on the Jade Throne.

Ye Junlin sat upright in the main seat, his gaze sweeping over the crowd below, and said in a deep voice:

"With Tianzhou established, it will henceforth be the face of my Eternal Night Heaven."

"Furthermore, issue a notice that no force is to be used within Tianzhou territory."

Changing the subject, Ye Junlin's eyes narrowed:

"Anyone from other forces who dares to violate the rules of my Eternal Night Heaven within the territory of Tianzhou..."

"No need to ask for permission! Kill without mercy!"

"We! Obey the Lord's command!"

The crowd responded in unison, their voices echoing throughout the hall.

Ye Junlin nodded slightly, then closed his eyes, and his spiritual energy surged wildly around him.

They attempted to move the Eternal Night Space towards the direction of Tianzhou.

The space trembled slightly, and the entire Eternal Night Space slowly moved closer to the dimension where Tianzhou was located.

A moment later, it landed steadily in the dimensional space above Tianzhou.

However, the moment space stabilizes...

Ye Junlin's face turned pale. His spiritual energy was completely depleted, and a wave of dizziness washed over him.

He was secretly shocked: "This consumption is terrifying..."

He immediately asked the system:

"System, I am now at the mid-stage of a terrestrial immortal."

How come my spiritual energy was completely depleted after just a short distance in the Eternal Night Space?

[Ding! The Eternal Night Space has already undergone an upgrade, significantly increasing its size and stability, which naturally increases the difficulty of operation.]

Given the host's current "weak" cultivation level, it's perfectly normal for spiritual energy to be completely depleted.

Upon hearing this, Ye Junlin cursed inwardly:

"Damn it, system, I've noticed that ever since you upgraded, you feel restless if you don't give me a good beating every day, right?"

"Enough with the nonsense, activate the 'Heavenly Realm Spirit Locking Array' right now!"

[Received. The Celestial Spirit Locking Array has been activated and now covers the entire Tianzhou.]

Seeing Ye Junlin's pale face, everyone in the hall asked with concern:

"Your Majesty, what's wrong?"

"It's alright, it's just that my spiritual energy was greatly depleted."

Ye Junlin waved his hand.

"I have moved the Eternal Night Space to the dimensional space of Tianzhou, making it more convenient to travel to and from Tianzhou in the future."

"Furthermore, I have already deployed the 'Heavenly Domain Spirit Locking Array' throughout Tianzhou."

Any cultivator whose cultivation level is below that of a terrestrial immortal but above that of the Void Realm who enters Tianzhou...

Their cultivation levels will be forcibly suppressed to the Void Transformation Realm!

Upon hearing this, everyone's faces showed shock.

This kind of formation is simply a defensive weapon tailor-made for Tianzhou!

This formation, once deployed, is equivalent to adding an invisible protective shield to Tianzhou.

This greatly reduces the threat from powerful outsiders, significantly increasing its deterrent effect!

"Our monarch's methods are extraordinary; we admire them!"

The crowd bowed again, their eyes filled with awe.

"Alright, you may all return to your posts."

Ye Junlin waved his hand.

"Yes, sir!"

Everyone responded and withdrew, and the hall returned to silence.

……

Three days later

Qianzhou, the main hall of the Shangguan family.

The head of the Shangguan family, Shangguan Hongduan, sat in the main seat.

With a solemn gaze fixed on the two rows of family elders below, he spoke in a deep voice:

"Gentlemen, the imperial court is now serious, as you've probably noticed."

"Recently, there have been many unfamiliar faces around our family. They're planning to attack us!"

An elderly man with white hair stood up, looking worried, and said:

"Master, what should we do now that things have come to this?"

Shangguan Hong took a deep breath:

"There's only one solution right now—the entire clan must relocate from Qianzhou!"

The former head of the family's old servant, Old Wang, also stepped forward with a frown:

"Master, we are now under close surveillance by the imperial court. How can we leave quietly?"

"And where should we go after we leave?"

"Yes! What should we do!"

The elders nodded in agreement, their faces full of worry.

Shangguan Hong frowned; Old Wang's question had hit the nail on the head.

He pondered for a moment, then suddenly an idea struck him, and a glint of light flashed in his eyes.

"You all go and prepare, I'll figure something out!"

"yes!"

Although the elders were uneasy, they could only obey and leave.

After everyone left, Shangguan Hong took out a communication jade slip and infused it with spiritual power.

A cold voice quickly came from the jade slip:

"Whom do you want to kill? Their name? Their cultivation level!"

"I am Shangguan Hong. I do not intend to kill anyone, but I would like to ask the lord of Xiyu Tower to protect my entire clan."

After a moment of silence on the other end of the jade slip, the voice sounded again:

"My organization, Fine Rain Pavilion, is an assassin organization. We only take on killing jobs; we don't protect people."

"I'm willing to give up six-tenths of the Shangguan family's resources!"

Shangguan Hong hurriedly said,

"We hope that you, sir, can inform the higher-ups at Xiyu Tower and make an exception this time!"

There was a long pause on the other end of the jade slip before a response came:

"Okay, I will report your request. Whether it succeeds or not, we'll wait for news."

"Yes, thank you, sir!"

Shangguan Hong quickly thanked him, and after hanging up the message, he let out a long sigh of relief.

"Phew~ I hope it works... otherwise, my Shangguan family is in grave danger!"

He still felt uneasy, and his eyes sharpened.

"No, we need to make another preparation."

"Let's try to win over the other three and see if we can form an alliance!"

Immediately, Shangguan Hong changed into a black outfit and quietly left through the family's secret passage, heading straight for the Nangong family.

A moment later, at the Nangong family head's villa.

The moment Shangguan Hong appeared in the courtyard, another figure suddenly materialized, shouting sharply:

"Who is it?"

Shangguan Hong removed the cloak from his head and said in a deep voice:

"Uncle Nangong, it's me, Shangguan Hong."

Nangong Lin, the head of the Nangong family, looked at Shangguan Hong, who was dressed in black, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes:

"Nephew Shangguan? What's going on here...?"

"Uncle Nangong, I have no other choice but to do this."

Shangguan Hong gave a bitter smile.

"Now that the family is under close surveillance by the imperial court, coming openly might attract attention."

This is the only way; I hope you will understand, Uncle.

Nangong Lin waved his hand: "It's alright, let's go inside and talk."

The two entered the hall, and Nangong Lin went straight to the point:

"You've come so late at night; surely you haven't come just to see me? Speak your mind!"

"Uncle Nangong, you must have noticed that the imperial court is preparing to take action against our four great families."

Shangguan Hong stood up, cupped his hands in greeting,

"I have come here to join forces with the Nangong family to overcome this difficult time."

Upon hearing this, Nangong Lin nodded:

"There have indeed been quite a few unfamiliar faces outside the mansion recently, and I had some guesses about it, but I didn't expect them to arrive so quickly."

"With the five regions about to be merged, the imperial court will surely want to take this opportunity to eliminate families like ours, which are considered 'parasites'."

"Only by completely controlling the dynasty can we confidently deal with future changes," Shangguan Hong analyzed.

Nangong Lin pondered for a moment and then asked, "So what are your plans?"

"My idea is for the entire clan to migrate out of the dynasty!"

Shangguan Hong said decisively.

"Only by leaving Qianzhou will we have a glimmer of hope!"

Nangong Lin frowned: "Didn't you ever consider completely submitting to the imperial court? Maybe that would have ensured the survival of your family."

"Uncle Nangong is joking."

Shangguan Hong shook his head.

"Our four great families have been engaged in open and covert struggles with the imperial court for many years."

Having done many outrageous things, how could the imperial court let them off so easily?

Even if they submit temporarily, they will not escape future reckoning.

Nangong Lin remained silent for a moment, then slowly nodded:

You have a point.

"In that case, I will first convene the core members of the family to discuss this, and then I will give you an answer."

"Alright, then I won't bother you any longer."

Shangguan Hong rose to take his leave, and his figure disappeared into the night once again.

……

At the same time, the Qianzhou Xiyu Tower was split into several buildings.

Previously, the person who communicated with Shangguan Hong was none other than the assassin Di Qi from the Xiyulou.

At this moment, he was bowing and reporting to the two figures above him, who were Hei Bai Xuan Jian and Jing Ni.

"I hereby inform you, my lords, that the head of the Shangguan family, Shangguan Hong, is willing to offer six-tenths of the family's resources in exchange for the protection of his entire clan by Xiyu Tower."

Jingni scoffed upon hearing this:

"Pfft! They want our assassin organization to be their bodyguards? They've got the wrong company!"

Black and white Xuanjian echoed:

"I've heard that Shangguan Hong has collaborated with our building before. Let's report this and let the building owners decide."

"OK."

Jingni nodded and took out a token exclusive to the Xiyu Tower.

He then infused his spiritual power, recorded Shangguan Hong's request, and sent it out.

.......

Qingzhou City

The headquarters of Xiyulou, the rain-viewing platform.

Zhao Gao received the message and couldn't help but burst into laughter after reading its contents:

"Haha, that's interesting!"

Wei Zhuang glanced at him: "What is it?"

Zhao Gao raised his hand and channeled his spiritual power, and the message from the token appeared in front of the three of them.

"Shangguan Hong is willing to give us six-tenths of the resources in exchange for our protection of the Shangguan family."

Su Muyu, who had been resting with her eyes closed, opened them and looked at the message:

"It seems the Great Qian Dynasty is about to take action against the four great families; otherwise, it wouldn't be in such a hurry!"

Wei Zhuang frowned and sneered, "Hmph! We're assassins, not bodyguards. He's probably got the wrong person!"

"I think this business is worth doing."

A calculating glint flashed in Zhao Gao's eyes.

"This might be a way to increase revenue, what do you think?"

Su Muyu thought for a moment:

"It's definitely worth a try!"

"If this can be achieved, then my Fine Rain Pavilion can introduce the 'Life and Death Decree'."

"—The life command is for protection, the death command is for killing, and the scope of business can be broadened."

Seeing that the two of them agreed, Wei Zhuang nodded slightly as well:

"In that case, let's start with Shangguan Hong's case."

Zhao Gao stood up from his seat;

"Alright, then I'll go to Qianzhou and meet this Shangguan family head."

Su Muyu looked at Zhao Gao and gave him a word of advice:

"Be careful and send a message immediately if anything changes."

"rest assured."

Zhao Gao vanished from the rain-viewing platform in a flash.