The Five Poison Elder Immortal (S+ Rank - Nascent Soul) appeared exactly as scheduled, right outside the borders of the territory governed by Ngoc Tuyet Anh. However, he did not come alone. Following behind him were two massive legions:

  

  
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    The Snake Tribe: Led by Nana (S Rank - Nascent Soul)—a five-headed dragon-serpent—and the Divine Physician Druid, Bai Mu (A Rank - Core Formation). Behind them slithered tens of thousands of snakes, ranging from hatchlings to behemoths.
  
    


  
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    The Insect Tribe: Led by the Golden Silkworm Immortal (S Rank - Nascent Soul) and the Ice Silkworm Junior (A Rank - Core Formation). These two were the direct disciples of the Five Poison Elder Immortal. They commanded an innumerable swarm of insects: spiders, frogs, scorpions, and toads, their numbers beyond counting.
  
    


  

  Ngoc Tuyet Anh had only just recovered from her previous encounter. She had lost all her power-boosting formations, and the energy shield protecting her land had been shattered. In a direct confrontation, she knew she stood no chance. Worse still, the Elder’s army of venomous creatures was the natural predator of her Rat Kingdom. Even with her superior numbers, any victory would be a pyrrhic one at best.

  Realizing she was facing three Nascent Soul experts alone, Tuyet Anh stood before her army and called out, "Elder Immortal, you have returned. May I ask what brings you here again?"

  "The same reason that brought you here once," the Five Poison Elder Immortal replied coldly. "I am here to claim this land. You once gave others three days to retreat; I shall grant you the same. You have three days to leave. If you remain stubborn, you die."

  With a flick of his wrist, the Elder manifested three colossal cards that slammed into the earth, marking a new boundary. They blocked three directions, leaving only the path to the South open for the Rat Kingdom. "This is your limit. Anyone from your side who crosses these cards will be executed on the spot. We shall meet again in three days—if you still wish to fight."

  Tuyet Anh understood his ploy. By forcing her South, he was driving her toward a warmer climate suitable for rats, but further away from her ally, the Northern Di Kingdom. It would sever their cooperation, making it impossible to resist the Jewel Kingdom together. But immediate survival outweighed long-term strategy. If she refused now, her entire race would be slaughtered, and she herself would be humiliated.

  Swallowing her pride, she led her people to a new territory. But it wasn't long before the Five Poison Elder Immortal appeared again, forcing them Southwest, and then again toward the Southeast. Finally, they were driven into a lush valley surrounded by mountains. The fruit was abundant, the soil was soft enough for burrowing, and the spiritual energy was rich. It was a perfect home.

  However, the pride and fury that had accumulated over days of being herded like cattle had turned her into a ticking time bomb. Seven Star and the Five Poison Elder Immortal saw that the environment was suitable and began the final phase of their plan:

  

  
1. 
   
     Humble her arrogance and show her there is always a "higher mountain."
   
     


  
2. 
   
     Have Seven Star intervene as a mediator to solidify the boundaries.
   
     


  
3. 
   
     Introduce her to the Nascent Soul Council.
   
     


  
4. 
   
     Convince her that these arrangements were for her benefit—that cultivation requires humility and that the higher one climbs, the more one must respect the laws of Heaven and the Council.
   
     


  

  Following the plan, the Five Poison Elder Immortal launched a total assault from all directions as if to wipe them out. Ngoc Tuyet Anh (S - Nascent Soul), her two disciples (A - Core Formation), three Rat Kings (A - Core Formation), and fifty Rat Generals (B - Foundation Establishment) fought with the desperation of cornered animals.

  Tuyet Anh had chances to flee, but she refused to abandon her people. Mounted atop her Dread Wyvern, she unleashed a barrage of Wind Arrows and Wind Slashes. Soaring high, she struck down with her Heavenly Hammer of Divine Wind, crushing even the insects whose carapaces were as hard as steel.

  "Burn them all!" she screamed. She ordered her Wyvern to breathe fire while she emptied her Jade Oil Jar, releasing a river of kerosene that turned the battlefield into a sea of flames. She then conjured massive gales, merging the oil and fire into towering Blazing Hurricanes. The destruction was absolute. Driven to madness, she laughed hysterically, "Let us all die together! Ha ha!"

  The Five Poison Elder Immortal hadn't expected such insanity. This spell was too powerful to control, killing friend and foe alike. Even a Nascent Soul expert caught in those dragon flames would be burned to the marrow.

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  He immediately activated a Void Step technique, warping the space around him to move at a speed that defied the air itself. Tuyet Anh didn't even sense the shift until he was right beside her. A series of thunderous slaps rained down on her beautiful face, leaving her dazed. Drained of mana and caught off guard, she was sent crashing to the ground. Her Dread Wyvern tried to dive to her rescue but was knocked unconscious by a single strike from the Elder.

  Refusing to surrender, Tuyet Anh hurled her Jade Oil Jar—a heavy treasure capable of holding a literal river. It homed in on the Elder, striking him squarely and raising a massive lump on his head, sending him reeling back a hundred meters. Without pause, she pulled out her Jade Bamboo Flute and played the Soul-Chasing General’s Dirge. Thousands of spectral soldiers rose to attack, the dissonant melody causing the heads of her enemies to throb so violently that some literally exploded.

  The Elder snorted and pulled out his Qiankun Bag, a spatial treasure that began vacuuming up all her magical artifacts. Seeing her treasures stripped away, she attempted to flee on a cloud. But the Elder threw a silver cord—the Qiankun Binding Rope. It moved like a sentient serpent, lashing her face a few times before tightly binding her limbs.

  As the energy source vanished, the Blazing Hurricanes dissipated. Her disciples, the Rat Kings, and the Generals were all hauled before the Elder, bound and defeated.

  Seven Star appeared, sighing. "Old friend, you went a bit overboard. Were you trying to kill her?"

  "She's a lunatic!" the Elder grumbled. "She was ready to take us all down with her. If it wasn't for our deal, I would have strangled her. My disciples almost died!"

  Seven Star chuckled. "Don't be angry. Doesn't she remind you of someone?" The Elder frowned. "Who?"

  "You!" Seven Star laughed. "Have you forgotten why the Council nicknamed you the 'Poison Immortal'? In your youth, you were just like her—ready to drag everyone to the grave over the slightest slight."

  The Elder’s face flushed as he remembered his younger days. "Fine... youth is impulsive. I'll leave the rest to you. I’m the Wine Immortal now; call me by my old name again and see what happens. I’m going for a drink." He sat down right there and began pouring wine.

  Seven Star turned to Tuyet Anh. "Let’s put this behind us and make peace."

  "Kill me!" she spat, her eyes burning with rage. "You humiliate me and then speak of peace? I have no pride left to face my kin. Take my head and be done with it! I would rather die than live in shame!"

  Seven Star pointed at her bound followers. "Look at them. If you die, what becomes of them? You would abandon your family for the sake of a hollow title? Do you think death is an escape? I have a hundred ways to torment a soul. I could extract your Nascent Soul and force your spirit to serve lecherous men for a thousand years. Is that the 'dignity' you want?"

  Tuyet Anh gnashed her teeth. "You... you are a monster! You hide behind a kind face but your words are more venomous than that old Poison wretch!"

  Seven Star remained calm. "I cultivate my heart, not my tongue. Look at your descendants! They are covered in scars, old and new. Look into their eyes—do they truly want this war?"

  Tuyet Anh looked at her disciples and generals. They all averted their eyes.

  "You have been stained by human ambition," Seven Star continued. "Always competing, always evolving. But the nature of a rat is survival, not conquest. Look at the lands you seized—they were far too vast for your tribe. By hoarding it all, you broke the balance of the world."

  His words hit her like a bucket of ice water. She fell silent. Following that day, the Five Poison Elder Immortal released the prisoners and settled them into the prepared valley—a land perfectly suited for the Rat Folk to thrive.

  For a long time, Ngoc Tuyet Anh did not leave her cave. she allowed her people to develop freely, digging burrows and building homes. The ambition was still there, but she began to weigh the true cost of her actions. She didn't regret her past, but she realized there was a higher order—a Council—that governed the world. Her only true lingering regret was the loss of her treasures, artifacts she had spent a lifetime acquiring.

  Years later, the Five Poison Elder Immortal and Seven Star returned. They restored her treasures and invited her to join the Nascent Soul Council. It was a place for experts to advance, resolve conflicts, and trade. While not perfect—there was a clear divide between human/immortal-born Nascent Souls and beast-born ones like her—it provided a path forward.

  She realized then that she owed the two of them a debt. Had any other Nascent Soul experts come to conquer her, she would likely be dead, and her people’s corpses would be fodder for the crows. Both the Elder and Seven Star held immense power; they were both at the Half-Step Deity Transformation stage. If they exerted their full power, they could briefly achieve the Deity stage—a level of power she could not yet hope to match.

  As for the surrounding powers: The nearby marsh became Nana's domain. The Druid Bai Mu settled nearby, planting a white forest and erecting a shrine to the White Snake Forest God, treating Nana as their guardian deity. The Golden and Ice Silkworm Immortals also moved to the area to keep an eye on Tuyet Anh, establishing the Five Poison Sect. This sect served as both a check on the Rat Kingdom and its secret protector. To touch the rats was to provoke the Five Poison Elder Immortal.

  On a nearby peak, a new sect of the Heavenly Master Path emerged. Master Zhang (B Rank - Foundation Establishment) became the Sect Leader. Though it was a new sect, it was backed by Seven Star, the founding patriarch of the path. No one dared interfere; instead, they offered aid to build a grander temple.

  When the young King heard the news, he was overjoyed that the Nascent Soul threat had been neutralized. At Seven Star’s suggestion, the King commissioned the construction of a small city called The City of No Regrets (Bat Hoi Thành)—a place where Immortals and Mortals could coexist. Managed by the Duong Family (Duong Nhat, Duong Nhi, and Duong Tam), the city became a neutral buffer zone between the Rat Kingdom, the Five Poison Sect, and the Heavenly Master Path—a land that was "neither orthodox nor evil, neither immortal nor demon."