I am a living immortal.

Cart after cart of corpses were burned. When most of the dead had died, the plague was under control. It was frustrating, yet also realistic—very few people infected with the plague could survive, primarily due to a lack of medicine. Even if Yun Yue and Lin Yuan had elixirs, it would be a drop in the bucket.

What's more, they would not take it out openly, but dilute it in water and distribute it to as many people as possible.

All this changed after the war in Northern Wasteland ended and the new emperor of Daxi took office. Shiploads of medicinal herbs were transported to Northern Wasteland via treasure ships, along with immortal cultivators skilled in medicine.

At this time, the role of immortal cultivators was magnified. In a normal dynasty, simply gathering food, herbs, and medicinal materials would take a while, and transporting them would take even longer. By the time the medicine reached the patient, weeds would have already begun to grow on his grave.

However, with the cooperation of the treasure ship and the immortal cultivators' sects, within a week, the herbs appeared in the hands of the patients. The plague was thus brought to an abrupt end. While ordinary people shuddered at the mere mention of the plague, the immortal cultivators saw it as nothing.

Only then did Lin Yuan and Yun Yue suddenly realize: the identity of a cultivator was so useful in this world. Unlike the outside world, the common people in this world obeyed cultivators from the bottom of their hearts, almost as if it had become a conditioned reflex.

The originally chaotic and noisy crowd became quiet and obedient the moment the cultivator arrived. There were all kinds of emotions among them: fear, admiration, respect, and so on. Regardless of the emotion, in the end, it all manifested as obedience.

This saved a lot of effort. Because they knew that the Immortal Master didn't care about your patience—if you didn't obey or cooperate, you'd die. Execute immediately, and your death would be in vain. This kind of rough treatment was surprisingly effective in reality.

As expected, everything has two sides. This gave Lin Yuan and Yun Yue a huge shock: the world is different, and the way of doing things also needs to change.

Yun Yue and Lin Yuan then followed the refugees back to the heart of Northern Wasteland State. Where was the city? Only a scorched earth remained, nothing left. They had no choice but to rebuild. They also found Su Mu and the others.

During this trip to the cave, they traveled around the mountains and rivers in the first half, encountered many interesting people and things, saw the different scenery and systems of this cave world and the outside world, and also learned a lot of things that they had never studied in depth before, such as formations, the art of Qihuang and demonic energy.

While the latter half was depressing, it also allowed them to witness the smaller details hidden beneath the larger picture. These events might be more significant than imagined, unseen yet truly happening, and they benefited greatly from this experience. Overall, this trip to the cave not only broadened their horizons but was also well worth the journey.

Seeing their weathered faces and bright eyes, Shen Qiu nodded with satisfaction. "Only after witnessing the suffering of the world can one understand the profound depths of responsibility." This left a deep impression on both of them: the multifaceted nature of things and the consequences of decisions will quietly germinate in places you can't see.

"But don't be too hesitant. Some things require decisiveness." Shen Qiu couldn't help but mention it. He was afraid that after seeing this scene, these two people would act more cautiously but also lose their decisiveness, which would be like throwing away the watermelon to pick up sesame seeds.

They both nodded after hearing this. They both understood this point. One stood behind Shen Qiu, the other behind Su Mu.

"Everyone is here, it's time for us to get ready to leave." Mirage Dragon said slowly.

"Where are those masters?" Su Mu remembered that Shenlong had promised those masters to take them out together, and now he didn't know what he was thinking.

"They need to stay for a while. This cave world still needs their help, at least ten years. After ten years, the initial transformation will probably be almost completed, and then they will be able to leave and pursue the path they believe in." Mirage Dragon explained.

He had already spoken with the sect leaders. Ten years was but a fleeting moment for these old monsters who had lived for hundreds or thousands of years. They didn't need that little time. Mirage Dragon had proven his strength; being able to lead them out was enough.

As for credibility? They really couldn't ask for anything, and they had no way to deal with the Mirage Dragon. But even if they didn't leave, would they have a solution? Still nothing. It was better to trust the other party, so there was no rush.

Mirage Dragon also told them that if they wanted to leave, they had to cultivate someone capable of supporting their sect, otherwise chaos would reign. While he wanted to transform the world, that didn't mean abandoning the existing system. The immortal path would still be the mainstream of this cave world, but its status would shift slightly—from the open to the hidden, just like the outside world.

Mirage Dragon also didn't want to be a bunch of cannon fodder. He planned to take the elite route, cultivate his own team, and tilt resources towards them. When the immortal cultivators moved from the open to the hidden, the people who managed the cave heavens in public would be handed over to the Daxi Dynasty, while the gods would be in the dark.

While the mainstream of the Dongtian world remains the immortal path, the divine path is also indispensable. Previously, because the faith of all beings had been taken away by Emperor Jun, no gods could be born. Now things are different—the Mirage Dragon has a nonchalant attitude towards faith, so he plans to return faith to all beings, using their faith as a foundation to create gods that they believe in. These gods will then rule over all beings, a two-way process.

The Great Xi Dynasty reigned in the light, while the gods and the immortals remained in the shadows. He also needed to build a platform for reincarnation—the Three Lives Platform—and to collect negative emotions. These negative emotions would be dumped into a new place. He also needed an institution to reward good and punish evil. Su Mu had suggested a good name: Yama Palace.

Of course, these are just preparatory plans; they haven't actually been built yet. And achieving the desired level isn't easy; it can only be improved bit by bit. Su Mu and the others might not be able to see it for a while, but if they have the chance later, they can take a look.

Shen Qiu sighed, "This is a real world." Compared to this, his half-finished cave world still had a long way to go to reach this level. The more he understood, the greater the gap became. But he didn't underestimate himself—it was inevitable. After all, his world had a shallow foundation, and it took a chance to develop to this point.

Unlike this cave heaven, which had the Golden Crow transforming into a cave heaven before it, and thousands of years of sedimentation after it, it only reached such a scale. He created it from scratch, while the Mirage Dragon stood on the shoulders of its predecessors to transform it. The difference between them is not a little bit.