Zhang Jian quickly received an urgent message co-signed by Zhang Zhao and the Dong Shen Ancestor.
The letter included the numerous privileges the Profound Extreme Sect would enjoy after submission, as well as the obligations they must fulfill.
The terms were so harsh that Zhang Jian felt sorry for the Profound Extreme Sect just reading them!
As the last Immortal Sect Dao Lineage to submit to the Great Xia Dynasty, the Profound Extreme Sect’s treatment was far inferior to the previous Shangqing Sword Sect.
Zhang Jian understood the reason!
As the negotiations dragged on, the Great Xia Dynasty gradually integrated other sect forces from over one hundred and forty continents, gaining control over most of the power in the Southeastern States, increasingly compressing the space for the Profound Extreme Sect.
The bargaining chips in the hands of the Profound Extreme Sect were becoming fewer and fewer.
If not for Zhang Jian’s reluctance to easily start a war, coupled with the Profound Extreme Sect consistently sending people to lobby within the Great Xia Dynasty and express their stance, the Profound Extreme Sect would likely have been exterminated in a short time.
After carefully reviewing the numerous terms and obligations in the letter, a smile finally appeared on Zhang Jian’s face.
He was quite satisfied with the results Zhang Zhao, the Dong Shen Ancestor, and others had achieved.
This time, besides ceding the ruling power over the last fifty continents out of the Southeast Two Hundred Continents, the Profound Extreme Sect also reduced the tax percentage culled from these fifty continents to a very low level each year.
Only twenty percent!
Eighty percent went to the Great Dynasty’s government!
This proportion was not on par with the Shangqing Sword Sect and couldn’t even compare with the Five Elements Immortal Sect.
Additionally, the title of Lord of the Dukes in the Northwest held by the Profound Extreme Sect was more of an empty name.
They only retained a part of the fief and the autonomy of their territories.
The suppression of Profound Extreme Immortal Sect’s authority naturally meant that the Great Xia Dynasty’s control over these regions would be stronger in the future.
In the future, the Northwest would also have one less unshakable Immortal Sect Dao Lineage!
...
Zhang Jian was in a very good mood and promptly announced that a grand Heaven Worship Ceremony would be held in a few days to celebrate the Great Xia Dynasty’s dominance over the land and its territorial expansion.
Rituals such as Fengshan Sacrifices and Heaven Worship typically proclaim the royal family’s legitimacy, or otherwise, showcase the unparalleled achievements of the emperor.
Now that the Great Xia Dynasty unified the Southeast Two Hundred Continents, such accomplishments far exceeded the emperors of previous dynasties in the East Continent, making a grand Heaven Worship Ceremony an expected event.
Zhang Jian calculated that in five days, it would be an auspicious day, and instructed his subjects to set up in advance.
He also announced that during the Heaven Worship Ceremony, some dukes would be re-enfeoffed, and the land of certain Immortal Dao Sects would be determined.
This was undoubtedly a significant event for the newly pledged Immortal Sect Dao Lineages inside and outside the Great Xia Dynasty, but for Zhang Jian, it was just a minor affair.
Throughout the Great Xia Dynasty, officials were instantly busy.
The expansion of the Eastern Continent Emperor by two hundred continents entailed countless benefits, which might seem like mere wealth accumulation for the imperial family, but for any noble family or duke, it was a major matter, perhaps the start of a class leap.
Even powerhouses from various Immortal Sect Dao Lineages and cultivation families were thrilled by this.
As they knew, many Spirit Mountain Blessed Lands were currently unclaimed in the Southeast Two Hundred Continents, having just joined the Great Xia, which was a direct benefit.
...
Five days later, as Zhang Zhao and the Dong Shen Ancestor returned, the Heaven Worship Ceremony was held as scheduled.
This grand Heaven Worship Ceremony was held under the gaze of all, with numerous civil and military officials from the Great Xia Dynasty in attendance, as well as many Immortal Sect Dao Lineages and cultivation families under Great Xia’s rule.
Zhang Jian’s expression remained calm; the list of enfeoffments and the determined scope of fiefs had long been prepared. In fact, the highlight was the confirmation of some territories for the Five Elements Immortal Sect, the Shangqing Sword Sect, and some previously neutral sects and families.
It was destined that some would be happy while others would be sad.
After the Heaven Worship Ceremony concluded, Zhang Jian held another Ancestral Worship Ceremony in the Grand Ancestral Temple.
In the Grand Ancestral Temple
Once many of the Zhang clan members had left, Zhang Jian personally released numerous gold and silver Yuanbao from the Spatial Ring.
Zhang Jian casually set up a space of Emperor’s Qi.
In the Emperor’s Qi Space, heaps of gold and silver Yuanbao were released like little hills.
This time, the quantity of gold and silver Yuanbao prepared by Zhang Jian was no less than the last time he obtained them.
The last time was in the Sea Eye of Qingping Sea, where he slew an Outer World Powerhouse and destroyed the remnant soul of the Desolate God Emperor, preventing the Sea Eye’s destruction and saving countless living beings in Qingping Sea.
Later, he personally killed a fully formed Outer Demon God.
But Zhang Jian believed this time’s sacrifice should not be much smaller than the last.
Because this time, the Great Xia Dynasty expanded its territories, integrating numerous fertile lands from the Southeast Two Hundred Continents at once.
Although most of the Southeast Two Hundred Continents submitted to the Great Xia Dynasty in the form of dukes,
When Zhang Jian believed that this momentum probably far exceeded that of the Great Xia’s founding.
He had great expectations for this.
Before the Grand Ancestral Temple, heaps of gold and silver Yuanbao were thrown into the central cauldron by Zhang Jian, where wisps of blue smoke overflowed, reaching straight for the skies.
Heaps of gold and silver Yuanbao vanished.
Watching more and more gold and silver Yuanbao consumed by fire, the smile on Zhang Jian’s face grew increasingly intense.
This time, it should meet the ’ancestors’ expectations.
However, Zhang Jian noticed that the amount of gold and silver Yuanbao burned this time was still less than last time.
It was slightly short of half a mountain of gold and silver.
But it was not much.
Thinking for a bit, Zhang Jian then sent in a Spirit Treasure he had carefully prepared lastly.