Capital.
It was high noon.
The cultivators in the city suddenly sensed something and looked into the distance, where five-colored auspicious clouds stretched across the heavens.
They hurriedly cast spirit-eye spells and gazed afar, only then seeing a Taoist riding an ox toward them.
The ox looked like an ordinary yellow cow from a farming household, yet it covered a hundred li in a single step. In the blink of an eye, it arrived outside the capital, circled twice, then descended into a cave estate in the eastern part of the city.
"His aura rivals that of a Spirit Transformation Heavenly Monarch. Why was he putting on such a show?"
Ordinary cultivators secretly scorned him, yet none dared speak aloud. Heavenly Monarchs had sharp ears and keen eyes; if they encountered someone petty-minded, they might directly bestow a bolt of heavenly lightning upon them.
Some highly cultivated figures saw the Ox-Riding Taoist's appearance and hastily sent messages to their sects and fellow Daoists.
Court officials who had long been waiting confirmed the Taoist's identity, then rode Escape Light into the imperial palace.
Hall of Diligent Governance.
An Escape Light descended and transformed into an elderly man in purple official robes, who bowed deeply to Emperor Yuanding seated above.
"Greetings, Your Majesty!"
Word had already spread throughout the Eastern Divine Continent that Emperor Yuanding would be the Celestial Court's first imperial sovereign, and he should rightly have been addressed as the Heavenly Emperor. Yet at a time like this, one had to tread as cautiously as if walking on thin ice, lest the many Human Immortal patriarchs take offense.
"Grand Tutor, there is no need for such formality."
Emperor Yuanding wore a gentle expression. With a slight wave of his hand, he used a spell to raise the old man and