In the world of immortals, life proceeded as usual.
Most regular immortals, including some crippled origin dao experts, were unaware of what’d just transpired. But some special existences, including all of the celestial emperors, keenly felt something afoot, as if the very air was imbued with a peculiar energy.
……
“Ah, it’s the venerated immortal emperor’s treasure.” Inside a small mountain gorge, a youth stood up and stretched leisurely. “Since the heavens permitted me to survive and be reborn, I shall strive in this life to reforge our glories from a hundred thousand years ago!”
Impressively, this young man was a primordial powerhouse reborn. Blurring into motion, he headed toward Destiny City.
Quite a few others like him could be spotted in various places around the world. The primordial immortals had possessed a keen sense of danger, and many of them had scouted out a hiding place on the eve of the catastrophe. Though they’d died in the end regardless, their souls and true spirits had survived and quietly awaited rebirth.
There were also those who walked out from ancient tombs. Awakened by intrepid tomb explorers of the current age, these ancient powerhouses possessed the bodies of their hapless victims and hid themselves afterward. After the rediscovery of the void realm, they too had re-emerged one by one.
……
Destiny City was exceptionally lively these days.
Apart from the imposing city itself, a profusion of citadels had been erected in its vicinity. Through two Sovereign Rankings, Destiny City had further consolidated its status and was poised to become the number one “sacred city” in the world.
At first, its city lord hadn’t planned on holding more than one Sovereign Ranking, but Qi Hai’s arrival had changed everything. Lu Yun hadn’t participated in the second gathering, but a host of geniuses from all over the world had responded to the call and gathered in Destiny City.
Under Qi Hai’s supervision, this gathering became an occasion to spar and exchange knowledge with each other, so that all the void-realm powerhouses of the world could work together to improve themselves.
It was precisely to this Sovereign Ranking’s credit that the numbers of void-ascended immortals in the world continued to increase.
After Dao City’s rise to prominence, countless void realm methods began circulating, alongside various void-ascending methods, combat arts, mystic arts, and even formations of heaven and earth.
In such an environment, Destiny City grew ever more prosperous. Meanwhile, Qi Hai pulled the strings behind the scenes and continued to incorporate various geniuses of outstanding talent into the faction.
Of course, as a human, his goal was to revitalize mankind. He wanted humanity to once more stand at the top of the world, to control the immortal dao, and to rule over all the other races. Therefore, he naturally wouldn’t rear geniuses for potential enemies and only chose humans that’d been blessed with immense potential.
“Only the perfect timing is left before we can establish the sacred land of human dao and rekindle mankind’s glory.” Hovering above Destiny City, Qi Hai looked up at the sky. He, too, had noticed the immortal emperor’s treasure, but it brought him no joy. The treasure was too powerful, too eye-catching. It wasn’t something that Destiny City in its current state could involve itself with.
He very much coveted the treasure, of course, but he wasn’t blinded by greed. If the treasure were to truly fall into Destiny City’s hands, it might do more harm than good and snuff out the newly-kindled spark of hope.
Compared to the treasure, what he cared most about was humanity’s future.
Many major figures throughout the land had dispatched geniuses under their wings to Destiny City, while others had come in person. The path leading to the central world lay inside the Sovereign Stele. However, it came with a formidable restriction. Namely, dao immortals were barred from setting foot on it; the greatest realm allowed was the peerless immortal realm.
Actual fighting prowess counted for little, as only one’s cultivation realm mattered for the restriction. Void-ascended immortals were still a relatively new phenomenon. Apart from rare cases, like Mo Yi or Lu Feng, the strongest ones were merely empyrean immortals.
Due to Lu Yun’s efforts in spreading formations of heaven and earth far and wide, quite a few old-system peerless immortals were now endowed with one. In battle strength, they could be compared to the primordial immortals. They would be the main protagonists in the fight to come over the treasure.
……
“City Lord, fellow daoists hailing from the world over have gathered in Destiny City. Please open the path.” All of the celestial emperors had come to Destiny City in person. Ancient writings were the only places where one could find mention of the immortal emperor’s treasure, but their heavenly mandates could vividly sense the item’s presence.
The treasure’s power was formidable, surpassing the Immortal Subjugation Seal that represented the world’s legitimacy. It was classified as forbidden by both the world and the immortal dao. For many, even if they couldn’t get their hands on it, they had to at least obtain the “Immortal Subjugation Seal”.
The Enlightened celestial emperor appeared to be a young man. While he’d reached origin dao realm, he hadn’t fully grasped the heart of a true celestial emperor. When he spoke, light could be seen dancing in his eyes.
Nephrite Major’s throne currently sat empty, and the major’s guardians, Art and Zither Saints, cared only about defending it from foreign invasions. Therefore, there was nothing preventing these celestial emperors from arriving in Nephrite Major in person.
“There’s still someone missing… The road will only open when he arrives.” The lord of Destiny City gently shook his head.
“Oh?” Many blinked in surprise.
“Who?” The Enlightened celestial emperor frowned faintly.
“Lu Yun of Dusk Province,” answered Destiny’s city lord.
“Lu Yun? How does this matter relate to him?” The crowd froze for a fraction of a second when they heard the name. Although the young governor wasn’t particularly strong, Dusk Province had grown to such a degree that many now considered it a real threat.
At first, they’d thought that even if it were to become a sacred land of immortal dao, they could simply choose to ignore its existence. But alas, Dusk Province had bared its fangs. In Witherdew Major, the Dusk Phalanx had trampled everything standing in its way and conquered many provinces and assorted territories, all the while inflicting disastrous losses on numerous factions.
Many were those who were afraid that once powerful enough, Dusk Province would set its sights on conquering the world of immortals.
“He is the very reason why the treasure has come into being in the first place,” Qi Hai’s voice sounded from the sky. “The primordial immortal emperor has chosen the boy as his successor.”
Qi Hai was all too happy to make some trouble for the young man.
“What?!” The celestial emperors who’d made the journey sprang to their feet, ominous sentiments flickering rapidly through their faces.
“In this world, there are no immortal emperors, only celestial emperors,” the Enlightened celestial emperor retorted. “The immortal emperor is a thing of the past and can no longer influence this new era.”
“This Qi Hai is really gifted when it comes to making things difficult for me.” Inside Destiny City, a disguised Lu Yun and Qing Yu sat in a teahouse and observed the exchange between these mighty characters from afar. “They’ll probably find another way to open the stone stele even in my absence.”
There was a path inside the Sovereign Stele to begin with. Last time, the will of the immortal dao had taken control of the Sovereign Ranking and brought out Nephrite Major’s key treasure, the Path of Ingress, to establish it as the road leading to the central world.
“According to my calculations, the road can be opened by gathering the heavenly mandates of all nine majors, ten lands, and four immortal seas.” Qing Yu nodded. Sure enough, someone else soon brought up this method: force the stele open with the heavenly mandates of the world!
The world of immortals was a vast realm with abundant riches and countless capable persons. A method that Qing Yu could so easily calculate would naturally occur to others as well.