"Come inside, Yue" Pef urged his wife with a smile.

Drawing Yue into his inner world, he began preparing his utensils, to brew a batch of Tier 7 Godwine. Possibly the first time in the multiverse anyone has ever done so.

"Pour a litter of blood here." he demanded in a concentration haze.

Yue did so, and simply watched her husband work his magic. After a few minutes, she got bored and went to sightsee Pef's inner world, and soon discovered the strange multi-colored bamboo tree growing on the beach.

"Hello, I'm Yue. Pef's wife." she introduced herself politely.

The tree waved at her with her leaves, as if responding.

Unlike Pef, however, Yue wasn't a moron. She immediately scanned the tree to observe it was actually stronger than her, and even Pef.

"Are you the one who protected Pef during the tribulation?" Yue asked gently.

The leaves fluttered again. 'Take me to the General' they seemed to signal, although without words only feelings.

"We are going there soon. Pef is gathering the Legion to breach the Gap." Yue explained while nodding. Now she understood why Pef asked for her help. This tree needed to go there. It was probably important too.

'Trap. No Legion, just messenger.' the tree spoke into her soul.

"Pef! The tree..." Yue yelled at the news.

An Avatar flashed into existence near her. "Yes? The tree?" Pef asked.

"There is a trap. Only a messenger should go, not the whole Legion." Yue blurted with a panicked voice.

Pef's Avatar blinked as is confused, then scratched his cheek. "Hmmm. Curious." he replied cryptically then dissolved into thin air.

Yue ran back into the brewing hut, where the first Pef was still mixing the Godwine in concentration.

"You heard me, right? Someone wants to attack the Legion. We have to tell someone!" Yue exclaimed still in a scare.

"You just did. I am the commander of the Legion right now. Well done Soldier." Pef muttered in a dispassionate voice.

Yue stood still for a moment, before sitting down to wait for the wine. It wasn't like she could do something else.

"Are you not worried? Who is strong enough to ambush the Legion, and not fear reprisals?" Yue wondered as Pef continued his work.

"The Devils and the Dragons are that strong. But probably only the Dragons would dare. Their Dragon Emperor is at Tier 9 now." Pef answered in a careless voice, while decanting a bottle of Godwine with careful gestures.

"What? But...how is that possible?" Yue muttered in a daze.

"How? We know it is possible, because there are a few others like that, including your badger teacher, the Silent Monk, the Divine Cauldron and the Mirror of Samsara. Isn't it so, Gena Feng?" Pef spoke in a strange voice, as if testing if someone was listening.

The mirror on the wall rippled, and a woman dressed in armor passed through. "How did you know?" Gena asked with a frown, as she sat down beside Yue.

"I didn't. I laid a trap, and you just fell for it." Pef answered with a genial smile, and took out a few glasses to pour the new Godwine.

"A Dian pill like you gave Captain Lia won't help me. I haven't Ascended to Dian Realm before, so I can't remember my old life. The Mirror just warned me." Gena muttered as she took a small sip from the Godwine.

"It's fine. I do have a three-line pill as well." Pef answered calmly as he sat down to sip his new wine, and relish the new insights. It did felt wonderful to be in control.

"Yes. But you're not going to give it to me." Gena said in a sad voice.

Pef scratched his cheek as he measured the woman in front of him. "The Mirror wants to go home as well. As do the Cauldron and the Taotie. But they need to be carried. They need a Tier 9 carrier to cross them over into the Higher Heavens."

Gena stared at Pef with large eyes, as she digested the news. "And, what do you want in exchange?" she asked after a minute.

"I want those kept prisoners in the Mirror Realm. My other Legion, my children and my ants. I want the real world of Lacrima here, in my inner world. I want Arden and Gaia, and their kids too. I want my wives that died to be reborn. I even kept an entire universe empty, just in case." Pef demanded in a stern voice.

"They are not mine to give...I can only ask." Gena Feng whispered as she closed her eyes.

"Good. Ask and you shall receive." Pef said in a level voice as he placed a three-lined pill on the table.

After another long minute, Gena opened her eyes and calmly took the pill. "It will be just your birth universe. The experiments in the other mirrors have to continue, as agreed in the Mirror Compact, signed by your General as well."

Pef nodded slowly, feeling he had missed something important. He would have given her the pill anyway, just to repay the precious Heart Dividing Ruler...but why not ask for more?

As Gena Feng ingested the Ascension Pill, Pef's inner world began to wobble and vibrate, as a new universe was being replaced.

Pef immediately sent a couple of Avatars to inspect the inner universe, finding it roughly the same as he left, barring a million extra ant planets, all filled with trillions of low level Warriors. He smiled as he landed beside Shiara, the Ant Queen.

"How have you been, Lady Shiara?" he asked kindly.

"Lord Pef! ...How strong are you? Tier 6 already?" the ant asked with a surprised voice.

"Tier 7. And you're not a prisoner anymore. I took the entire universe in my inner world." Pef answered with a faint smile.

"... Oh. We're out! Yes!" the Ant Queen shouted in joy.

"Well...it's a dangerous place outside. But, I have found a nice place to level up our troops, a kind of multi-tiered pagoda filled with all sorts of beasts, even Godbeasts." Pef added as he handed over a bottle of new Godwine.

Shiara took a small sip and began steaming from the extra energy. "Good stuff. Probably not something I can kill yet." she admitted in a more reasoned voice.

"Not yet. Anyway, send the required orders for your absence. We're going to meet the General soon." Pef spoke in a more official voice.

"Yes, sir. The Ant Regiments will prepare for debarkation when you do order." Shiara answered and saluted with her fist, while sending qi transmissions to her daughters.

Pef counted the newly spawned ant queens, already numbering over a thousand. But a thousand queens could each spawn a thousand more, and soon he will have numberless ants to drown the goliths with. That was the meaning of the word Legion, and soon the Great Realm will come to know it as well.

He just needed to level up the existing ant queens first, so they could egg higher level soldiers for him.

He might need to drain the Desolate Beast a few times, but he was sure the beast will not mind.