Transmigrating over ten thousand years late, I was forced to become a mighty presence

As soon as these words were said, the various forces that had been fearful because of the True Monarch's death instantly became restless.

If it were only the territories lacking resources at the early stage of the Spirit Energy Tidal Surge that Shen Yuan was reclaiming, giving them up as a courtesy to Shen Yuan might not be impossible.

But now, as heaven and earth gradually revived step by step, the territories of Great Xia had expanded several times over, and the resources contained within the revived lands were the true foundation of a vast world.

With each coming of the Spirit Energy Tidal Surge, the entire Primal Chaos Realm would struggle fiercely for these resources, with entire sect lineages vanishing in the struggle.

Only the victors could occupy the accumulated resources of the grotto heavens sacred ground for hundreds of years over several Spirit Energy Tidal Surges, taking all resources into the grotto heavens blessed land and moving on to the next node of revival of the Spirit Energy Tidal Surge before the coming of the Spirit Energy depletion.

It can be said that the territories and resources of each state are the tickets to the next Age of Spirit Energy Tide.

Over the past few thousand years, there have even been powerful emerging forces that dominated the late period of the Spirit Energy Tide, but ultimately, due to their failure to gather enough resources, their own grotto heavens sacred ground collapsed during the Spirit Energy Tidal Surge.

This one point alone is enough to show the preciousness of these resources; without enough of them, even the most powerful will have difficulty surviving the Spirit Energy Exhaustion era.

The True Monarchs present have spent several years scheming with the trend of the world's revival, successfully dividing and seizing the resources and incense fire of the fifteen states of Great Xia.

Now, with just one sentence, Shen Yuan wants these True Monarchs to willingly give up their control, and even if they agreed, the forces behind them would not be content.

"The words of the Supreme Taoist are perhaps a bit too much."

One of the True Monarchs glanced at the remnants of the spatial storm, suppressed the fear in his heart, and spoke solemnly:

"The loss of control over the fifteen states was due to Great Xia's insufficient control over its territories.

After the revival of heaven and earth, the monster tribes rose up and invaded the states of Great Xia extensively; Great Xia was incapable of protecting the citizens of its states, relying entirely on our grotto heavens blessed lands to eradicate the demons and secure peace.

Moreover, the citizens of the states yearned for the grotto heavens blessed land and voluntarily withdrew from the control of the Great Xia Dynasty."

No sooner had this True Monarch finished speaking than the expression on the face of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau's Superintendent darkened, and he rebuked sternly:

"Utterly preposterous! When heaven and earth had just begun their revival, it's true that the railways and highways were severely damaged, which indeed affected Great Xia's control over the states.

But that was just the normal level of transportation disruption; the fate of humanity under Great Xia protected towns and other population centers by driving away a great number of evil beings, relying on the Netherworld and the Incense Fire God Realm to station themselves in major cities to prevent demon invasions.

During the early stages of the world's revival, the Great Xia Dynasty was still protecting its citizens."

"Then why has Great Xia now lost control of the fifteen states?"

"How the control was lost, do you truly not know?"

The Superintendent of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau surveyed the True Monarchs present with a piercing gaze and pointed a finger toward one in the crowd.

"The Dongling True Sky cultivators secretly destroyed the City God Temples of Chaofeng County City, leading to the invasion of the monster tribe. I wonder what explanation True Monarch Zhu Heng has to give?"

The complexion of True Monarch Zhu Heng, who was singled out by the Imperial Astronomical Bureau's Superintendent, changed abruptly, and he then said fiercely, "This is a groundless accusation!"

The Imperial Astronomical Bureau's Superintendent let out a cold laugh and then cast a glance toward another True Monarch.

"Chaozhen Great Void Heavens cultivators secretly spread rumors, claiming that Great Xia was going to abandon the Crane State, causing the fate of humanity in Crane State's government to be turbulent and attracting hordes of demons to launch a massive attack and breach the government's military camp. True Monarch Jiyue should be aware of this, shouldn't he?"

True Monarch Jiyue's expression also stiffened, his face becoming extremely unsightly.

"Not just the two of you, but also Two Boundary Gate, Taixuan Method Carefree Sect, Great Mystery Division True Sky... you True Monarchs should be very clear about just how the territories of states and counties fell into your hands.

Although the Imperial Astronomical Bureau is weak, we are not blind."

The several powerful forces named glared at the Imperial Astronomical Bureau's Superintendent with anger, but with Shen Yuan present, they dared not take any action other than glaring.

Seeing the situation, True Monarch Ziyang, who was leading the various forces, couldn't help but take a deep breath to suppress the palpitations in his heart.

Compared to the other True Monarchs who only saw the head of Demon Saint Cang Wu, True Monarch Ziyang knew more and was naturally clearer about just how terrifying this Supreme Taoist before them was.

"Things today might not end without consequences."

Steeling his heart, True Monarch Ziyang gritted his teeth and said:

"What the Supreme Taoist is asking for — to hand over complete control of the territories of the states and counties — is not realistic. We may set an agreement with the Taoist to continue recognizing the legitimate status of the Great Xia Dynasty over the fifteen states.

In addition to that, we are willing to allocate 30% of the acquired resources to the state treasury. May I ask if the Supreme Taoist would be satisfied with this?"
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"Thirty percent!"

Someone among the True Monarchs exclaimed.

Although it might not seem like much, one must realize that this 30% of the harvest doesn't require the stationing of troops in towns or the risk of venturing into the wilderness to collect resources; it's profit that one can get without any investment.

Even when Great Xia had full control over eighteen states, the amount that could be remitted to the state treasury after multiple levels of exploitation might not even reach 30%. It was indeed a significant concession.

Such a large offer of profit immediately made a Void Refining True Monarch want to speak out in rebuttal, but he was met by the cold gaze of True Monarch Ziyang, causing him to swallow his words back down his throat.

Whispers of Divine Sense communication spread among the many Void Refining True Monarchs.

"This is a 30% profit, Little Clarity Void Grotto Heavens with territories spanning two states can easily disregard this, but my sect only has control over a single county; giving up 30% would likely make it difficult to meet the needs of the sect."