How can simply creating a sect make you invincible?

"Ancestor, we don't have any clues at the moment, and it's too difficult to find them unless the Empress awakens her Emperor Soul," said Bing Xuanji.

"Princess Xuan! We must find her, no matter how difficult it is. What if the Empress meets with misfortune before she has fully grown up? Wouldn't all our previous efforts have been in vain?" the Great Ancestor replied.

Twenty thousand years ago, the Ice God Palace was a force to be reckoned with throughout the four seas and eight wastelands. Empress Bing Li, with her unparalleled ice-based cultivation techniques, swept away all powerful enemies and propelled the Ice God Palace to the ranks of the continent's top immortal sects.

However, just as the Empress attempted to complete the final, incomplete mental technique of the ninth level of the "Nine Netherworld Frost Technique," a flaw in her foundational Dao prevented her from completing the final piece, no matter how much she exhausted her cultivation. Her cultivation was completely stuck at a bottleneck, with no further progress.

She knew all too well that once she passed away, the Ice God Palace, without the protection of its top-tier warriors, would inevitably be devoured by various covetous forces, and its foundation would be destroyed. In order to seek a glimmer of hope, the Empress made a resolute decision—to dissipate all her cultivation, sever all ties with her past karma, abandon her throne, and enter the cycle of reincarnation to cultivate anew, hoping to rebuild her foundation, complete her cultivation techniques, and return to her peak.

Before her departure, she left her imperial weapon, her ice-path inheritance, and a wisp of her natal soul imprint in the forbidden area of ​​the Ice God Palace, and left a will: "When the soul imprint senses anything, it will be the time for my reincarnated imperial soul to awaken. At that time, you must find me and return to your place to revitalize the Ice God Palace!"

Twenty thousand years have passed quietly. Now, in the forbidden area of ​​the Ice God Palace, the Ice Soul that carries the Empress's natal soul imprint, which has been dormant for ten thousand years, has finally shown a faint response—the Empress has successfully reincarnated.

They all understood that the Empress was the Ice God Palace's only hope. Only by welcoming back the reincarnated Empress, allowing her to rebuild her Daoist arts and complete the "Nine Netherworld Frost Technique," could the Ice God Palace break free from its current predicament, surpass its glory of a thousand years ago, and reach an even greater peak.

The far north ice sheet...

In a small family, Han Bingli was wrapped in a thick cotton coat and sitting by the fire to warm herself.

At seventeen, she was still unable to cultivate. She had been frail and sickly since childhood and was regarded as a born waste by her family, suffering much disdain and insults. Her mother died shortly after giving birth to her, and as she was born out of wedlock, her father rarely cared for her, only sending people to deliver supplies to her courtyard regularly, never inquiring about her life.

But lately, she keeps having the same dream. In the dream, she is wearing an imperial robe, holding an imperial weapon, looking down over a vast icy river, with thousands of disciples kneeling before her.

When she looked in the mirror this morning, she discovered a new birthmark shaped like an ice phoenix between her eyebrows. Lately, more and more strange things have been happening to her, making her feel somewhat frightened.

She recently heard that the Myriad Laws Emperor Sect was going to open its gates and recruit disciples, and wanted to give it a try. But as a mortal, she simply couldn't travel from the Northern Region to the Eastern Region, and her father would never send her there just for a "good-for-nothing".

Within Wanfa Sect...

Lu Chen sat in the rocking chair, watching Xiao Ningyun beside him sweating profusely as she nurtured the divine beast egg.

"Master, I'm so tired! Why hasn't it come out after several days of nurturing?" Xiao Ningyun asked.

"You never practice properly, all you do is play! With your current Purple Mansion Realm strength, it's a long way from you to hatch this egg," Lu Chen said.

"What should I do, Master? Please help me!"

"What else can you do? Go and cultivate properly! When you become stronger, you'll naturally be able to supply more spiritual energy to this egg."

"But cultivation is so boring! Master, please help me!"

"No, you have to do things yourself."

Lu Chen could see that even if Xiao Ningyun didn't nurture the egg, the life inside would hatch soon. This was because the egg was absorbing spiritual energy on its own, and given the abundance of spiritual energy within the Myriad Laws Sect, it wouldn't be long before it hatched.

"Okay!" Xiao Ningyun replied.

[Ding, system task issued: Please go to the Northern Region to recruit apprentices. Reward for completing the task: an apprentice recruitment gift pack...]

"Oh...another apprentice has appeared, not bad. System, please don't deduct my rewards this time I'm taking on a new apprentice."

"Please rest assured, host. As long as you can recruit 10,000 disciples, the reward will be issued on time upon completion of the mission."

"That's good."

"Elder Shen, keep a close eye on Ning Yun. I'm going out to take on a disciple."

"Yes, Sect Master."

"Is the sect leader going out to recruit disciples again? I wonder which prodigy will be so lucky this time," Hua Ruoxi thought to herself.

Lu Chen tore open the space in front of him and stepped inside. When he reappeared, he was already above the Han family's residence.

Lu Chen, suspended in mid-air, turned his gaze to the little girl warming herself by the fire in the courtyard.

"System, open her information."

[Ding, Name: Han Bingli, Age: 17, Cultivation: None, Physique: Primordial Ice Phoenix Physique, Experience: Reincarnation of Empress Bingli. In her previous life, Empress Bingli chose to reincarnate and start over because her cultivation technique was not perfected. In this life, her imperial soul is sealed, suppressing her bloodline and meridians, causing her to be unable to cultivate even at 17 years old. Her family mistakenly believes she has a useless body that cannot cultivate. Recently, her imperial soul is about to awaken, and the seal on her body is loosening.]

"Oh, she was an empress in her past life. That's interesting."

Lu Chen flashed into Han Bingli's room.

"Ah...ah...ah...who...who are you? Why are you in my room?" Han Bingli asked in terror.

"Little girl, don't be afraid. I'm not a bad person. I'm here to take you as my apprentice," Lu Chen said.

"Who are you trying to fool! You actually want to take me, a useless person who can't cultivate, as your disciple? Get out of my room!"

"I am not lying to you, and you are not some kind of useless body. You possess the Primordial Ice Phoenix Body."

"You still say you're not a fraud? If I really had some kind of Phoenix Physique, how come I still can't cultivate? Get out of here!"

Lu Chen smiled and said, "The reason you can't cultivate right now is because of your past life. Your past life was far from simple."

"My past life?"

"That's right, it's because of your past life. As long as I help you break the seal on your body, you can start cultivating immediately."

"Could those strange dreams I've been having lately really be related to my past life?" Han Bingli murmured to herself.

"Then who are you? Why should I believe you?" Han Bingli's tone softened as she said this.

"I am the sect leader of the Myriad Laws Sect. Would you be willing to become my disciple?"

"What? You say you're the sect leader of the Myriad Laws Sect?" Han Bingli was shocked. She had been planning to go to the Myriad Laws Sect to participate in the sect's founding ceremony and the recruitment of disciples, but the sect leader had actually come to personally accept her as a disciple. This was too unbelievable!

"Indeed, it is I. After you become my disciple, I will help you break the seal. Once the seal is broken, you will awaken your memories of your past life," Lu Chen said.

"Senior, after I awaken my past life memories, am I still myself?"

"You are still the same person in this life, only now you have memories of your past life."

"Have you thought it through? Do you want to become my disciple?" Lu Chen asked.

Eager to cultivate, Han Bingli immediately knelt on the ground and said, "I am willing! Master, please accept my three bows!"

"Very good. From now on, you are my fifth disciple. Get up," Lu Chen said.

"Thank you, Master."

[Ding! Congratulations, host, on completing the task. The apprentice-acceptance gift pack has been sent to your system space.]

"Master, I would like to say goodbye to my father before I leave."

"Of course, let's go, lead the way."

Lu Chen followed Han Bingli to the main hall. Han Bingli's father was discussing with two elders the matter of sending family members to participate in the Wanfa Sect's disciple recruitment.

"Bingli greets her father..."

"What do you want? If not, get out. Can't you see I'm discussing something with the two elders?" Han's father said impatiently.

"Father, I've come to say goodbye."

"Farewell? What do you mean?"

"I have taken a master as my teacher and am going back to the sect with him to cultivate."

"Master? With your appearance, who would want to take you as a disciple?"

Upon seeing Lu Chen at the door, Han's father was even more furious: What could such a young man possibly teach? He's obviously a fraud!

Han's father immediately stood up and shouted angrily at Han Bingli, "Get back inside right now! And you, how dare you come to my Han family to swindle people? Get out of the Han family right now!"

Han Bingli mustered her courage and said through gritted teeth, "I'm sorry, Father, I have already become a disciple. I want to return to the sect with my master."

"You unfilial daughter, how dare you disobey me!"

Before he could finish speaking, Han's father raised his hand to slap him, but his hand just wouldn't come down in mid-air.

"What kind of sorcery have you used? Let me go!" Han's father said to Lu Chen in a panic.

"You are unfit to be a father. From now on, Bingli will come back with me to cultivate. As for you as a father, you are truly laughable."

"Bingli, let's go. There's nothing left for you to worry about in this house." With that, Lu Chen casually tore open the space in front of him and stepped inside with Han Bingli.