Chapter 245: with translation of chapter title

The atmosphere inside the great hall was pressed down to the freezing point.

"How many days?"

Gu Xuan Ce's throat was a little hoarse,

"Young Master, although the Great Array's framework is seventy percent complete, we still need to pour the Immortal King's essence into the core, calibrate the resonance frequencies of the twenty‑eight Sub‑array Eyes, and then drive the entire formation to complete the cross‑realm separation… even at best it will take five days."

"Three days."

Gu Yuan raised three fingers.

"Three days is impossible!"

Gu Xuan Ce grew urgent,

"Calibrating the frequencies alone takes two days; the twenty‑eight Sub‑array Eyes are spread across twenty‑eight great states, each state's ley‑line direction and Law density differ, and a hair's breadth of error will cause the entire formation to collapse during the relocation…"

"That's why I said three days," Gu Yuan interrupted, "I'm not asking you to make it perfect, just usable."

"What if the formation collapses during the move?"

"If it collapses, we patch it," Gu Yuan said, his tone overly calm. "Twenty‑eight states; losing three or five during relocation is acceptable, in my opinion."

Gu Xuan Ce opened his mouth, then closed it again.

He looked into Gu Yuan's eyes and read a message from them… the Young Master was not joking.

"... I'll do my best."

Gu Xuan Ce gritted his teeth, turned to walk out, took two steps, then turned back,

"When can the Immortal King's essence be poured into the core?"

"Now," Gu Yuan said, looking at the deep‑blue light cocoon. "Father, you come."

Gu Lin Tian understood, and his three Dao bodies activated simultaneously.

The past, present, and future bodies—three ethereal shadows—separated from his body and enveloped the light cocoon from three directions.

True Immortal power poured into the cocoon, beginning to strip the essence from Zhenyuan Immortal King's remains.

This is a delicate task.

The Immortal King's essence cannot be extracted violently, otherwise a Law backlash will occur, blowing the essence into a cloud of waste gas.

It must be drawn thread by thread, like pulling silk from a silkworm cocoon.

Gu Lin Tian's three bodies each performed their duties.

The past body was responsible for stabilizing the Law Wave inside the cocoon, the present body for extracting the essence, and the future body for channeling the extracted essence into the resonance passage of the Bound‑Realm Immortal Pillar.

The three shadows coordinated flawlessly; deep‑blue essence threads were drawn from the cocoon strand by strand, flowing along the array patterns on the altar into the earth's depths.

Gu Yuan was not idle.

He took out the Tongxin Immortal Talisman and transmitted several messages in succession.

The first went to Gu Zhan: "Uncle Zhan, Lingzhou, Yuzhou, Fengzhou, Xingzhou—no need to collect money; tell them directly that within three days they must send the ley‑line maps to Zhongzhou. Those who deliver will be rewarded; those who cannot… when the relocation occurs, they will not be taken along."

The second went to Gu Xue Dao: "Third Uncle, put the Tianzhou matter on hold, and send people to the border of Jianzhou to set up a warning line. No need to enter Jianzhou; just stand on the border. If Li Hentian makes any move, transmit immediately."

The third went to Gu Lin Jiang: "Uncle Lin Jiang, release all the scouts we captured earlier."

Gu Lin Jiang was stunned for a moment: "Release them?"

"Release them. Let them return and inform their masters that the Gu Family will leave Sanqian Zhou in three days. When we depart, we will take the twenty‑eight great states; the rest are to be left behind. Those who wish to come along must gather in Zhongzhou within three days. Those who do not wish to go may do as they please."

Gu Lin Jiang tasted the meaning of the words, nodded, and accepted the order.

This is not releasing people; it is releasing information.

Leaving in three days… once this time point spreads, the remaining factions in Sanqian Zhou that are still watching will either rush to board or forever stay behind.

And for Li Hentian, this news means… he only has a three‑day window.

Within three days, either act, or watch helplessly as the twenty‑eight great states disappear before his eyes.

Gu Yuan is betting on whether Li Hentian will act within three days.

Mainly it's Li Hentian's current behavior… which feels very strange to him.

Surprisingly, he's not targeting him, but slaying Zhenyuan Immortal King!

It's as if… he is hiding something!

This is a high‑stakes gamble!

If he wins… he will take over more than twenty states, along with other states' major sects, resources, and populace, and make a run.

If he loses…

Then he can only rely on the system's teleportation gate to escape!

He knows his grandfather is the Jue Dian Immortal King, a half‑step titan.

But Gu Yuan knows even better…

The Sanqian Zhou Immortal Realm… must contain a presence that surpasses even the titan Immortal Kings!

…

"Grandfather," he said to the Immortal Talisman.

"Here."

"Return. The outer Boundary Wall need not be guarded; Zhenyuan is already dead, and no second Immortal King will creep in from outside in the short term. Return to Zhongzhou; after three days activate the Great Array. I need you to sit in the core."

The Immortal Talisman was silent for two breaths.

"Alright."

No extra words.

Gu Cangsheng never wastes words at critical moments.

Gu Yuan cut off the communication, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes.

The World Tree's roots extend deep into the earth, and the Law pulses of the twenty‑eight great states are all within perception.

The Sub-array Eye of Yunzhou has been fully calibrated; the progress of Bingzhou and Yaozhou is the fastest, with Hanzhou and Longzhou closely following.

Of the remaining fifteen prefectures, some haven't even sent the ley line maps.

Three days.

He drew a death line for himself.

……

The news spread faster than Gu Yuan had anticipated.

The scouts sent back ran faster than rabbits.

Haibo Ke was the first to return to Bibo Pavilion; he scrambled into Hai Wuya's study, repeating the Gu Family's words verbatim.

Hai Wuya listened, fell silent for three breaths, then made a decision that left all the elders stunned.

"Order all disciples of Bibo Pavilion to set out immediately for Zhongzhou."

"Sect Master! Everyone? What about the foundation of Bibo Pavilion—"

"Foundation?" Hai Wuya stood up, shoved the three-million-year cultivation notes on the table into his storage ring, "Whether this seabed will still exist in three days is up for debate, and you're talking to me about foundations?"

The Old Dragon Lord's reaction was even more direct.

When he received the news, he was clearing a path for the Gu Family's array masters deep in Longzhou's ley lines; after hearing it, his massive dragon body burst up from the ground, shaking half of Longzhou.

"Three days?!" the Old Dragon Lord's dragon whiskers exploded, "I still haven't marked six law nodes!"

He turned and roared at the dragon sons and grandsons behind him: "Get up and work for me! No eating, no drinking, no sleeping! If you don't finish marking within three days, I'll stew you all!"

Han Yuan Old Ancestor was even more extravagant. Upon hearing the news, without a word, he dug up the foundations of Bingzhou's imperial palace—under the palace lay a ten-thousand-year ice vein, a core component of Bingzhou's law nodes.

"Anyway, we're moving; what's the point of keeping the palace?" Han Yuan Old Ancestor muttered while digging, "I'll build a bigger one in the Taigu Immortal Realm!"

The Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox's approach was the smartest. She didn't brute-force it; instead, she manifested nine fox tails, each holding a communication flag, simultaneously contacting the sect leaders of the six small prefectures surrounding Yaozhou.

"Sisters, the Gu Family leaves in three days; whether you come is up to you. I'll deliver the ley line maps to Yaozhou within an hour and forward them to you. No waiting past the deadline."

The sect leaders of the six small prefectures all arrived within half an hour.

The pattern of Sanqian Zhou underwent an earth-shaking change in these three days.

Forces that had been merely watching went mad upon hearing the five words "leaving in three days."

Not out of fear.

But out of greed.

The Gu Family will take twenty-eight great prefectures…… meaning everything on those twenty-eight prefectures—ley lines, spirit apertures, immortal substances, law nodes—will all be moved.

Just like the previous Lei and Huo prefectures!

The prefectures left behind will lose their law connection to those twenty-eight, the ambient spirit qi will drop by at least thirty percent, ley lines may rupture, and heavenly dao law may fall into disorder.

In other words, those who stay will see their lives worsen day by day.

Those who follow will not only keep their own territories, but also enter the higher realm of the Taigu Immortal Realm.

Even a fool can calculate this account.

Within two days, another eleven great prefecture sect leaders came of their own accord, kneeling outside Zhongzhou Altar in line to be received.

Gu Yuan did not see them.

He sent Qingluan out with a message: "Leave the ley line maps, return and wait. Three days later the Great Array will activate; prefectures within its coverage will go together, those outside will not be waited for."

The eleven sect leaders laid down the ley line maps together with their hidden treasures, then ran off without looking back.

They hurried back to pack up their belongings.

But Gu Yuan knew…… these prefectures, without having planted immortal stakes, have almost no chance of being taken.

All we can hope is that the surplus power from moving the twenty-eight prefectures can be used to look after them……

If not, it can also serve as energy for those twenty-eight prefectures.