Imperial Court

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Imperial Court
Original	朝廷
Type	Central Grotto-Heaven and imperial territory
Affiliation	Seventh Immortal Realm; ruled from the Imperial Capital
Occupation/Role	Former residence of the Heavenly Emperor; later the seat of Su Yun's court and a major defensive stronghold
Ruler	Cloud Heavenly Emperor Su Yun 838
Status	Active, but increasingly isolated as surrounding worlds fall to Calamity Ash 955

History

Former-dynasty legacy

The Imperial Court was the Heavenly Emperor's residence, though it was believed to have been completely destroyed and devoid of any surviving legacy. Its ruins nevertheless remained coveted by outside powers, particularly the Emperor Seat Grotto-Heaven, because of their immense strategic and historical value 399 416.

It contains dangerous seals, forbidden zones, Spirit Worlds, and remnants of the former dynasty. The Martial Immortal's breaking of the Old Divine King's seal exposed a vast forbidden area and triggered further expansion of the territory 431 433.

During the Sixth Immortal Realm, Di Jue ordered craftsmen to construct a new Immortal Court within the Imperial Court and made it his residence after its completion 742.

Su Yun's rule

Su Yun became the Imperial Court's nominal master after uncovering and surviving many of its secrets 595. He later established an administration based on Yuanshuo's system, governing humans, gods, demons, and demonic beings together 748.

By the time of the war against the Immortal Court, Su Yun had formally ascended the throne and adopted the title of Cloud Heavenly Emperor 838.

Territory and resources

• The Imperial Court floats above the Zhongshan Nebula, held within the mouth of the Candle Dragon 617.
• It encompasses dozens of Grotto-Heavens, thousands of attached planets and worlds, and hundreds of millions of inhabitants 677.
• Its Blessed Lands are renowned for exceptional quality, high density, mineral wealth, and rare resources; these riches make it a coveted target for the Immortal Realm 748.
• The First Blessed Land was held by the former dynasty's Immortal Emperor and was believed to have protected the Imperial Heart from Calamity Ash transformation 547.
• The Innate Divine Well within the First Blessed Land produces Innate Primordial Qi, though its output becomes insufficient as the Calamity Ash crisis worsens 955.

Government and society

Su Yun's court incorporates officials and experts from multiple races rather than reserving authority for humans. During the defense against the Immortal Court, Bai Ze commanded the divine races, Pang Hao led the demonic races, and Qiu Shuijing led the human Immortals 748.

The Imperial Court also accepts prominent defectors and refugees from earlier Immortal Realms, including the Jade Crown Prince, Sang Tianjun, Yue Zhaoquan, and Li Shangxue. Its equal treatment of divine, demonic, and human races becomes one of its defining political features 794.

Infrastructure and defenses

Immortal Cities

The Imperial Capital and its satellite Immortal Cities are modular city-sized artifacts controlled by Dust Curtain Sky systems. Spirit Scholars within each Dust Curtain Sky direct traffic, buildings, waterways, and urban transformations, while an Immortal supplies immortal qi from the Blessed Land beneath the city 794.

• Civilian-form cities support ordinary life through elevated bridges, shifting corridors, floating buildings, and automated waste refinement 794.
• Combat-form cities transform their streets, bridges, buildings, and rivers into Immortal Path Spirit Weapons 794.
• The cities were developed from Lou Ban's architectural-artifact principles, using modular construction so that an entire city can alter its form under Spirit Scholar control 805.
• Constructed with materials intended for Immortal Weapons, Immortal Cities can combine into forms comparable to powerful weapons; six such cities have operated as heavy artifacts in war 804 805.

First Sword Array

The First Sword Array serves as the Imperial Court's foremost deterrent. Su Yun can summon Immortal Sword wielders and activate the array when the territory is threatened 748.

When Immortal Court forces descended through Immortal Paths, forty-nine sword imprints destroyed the talisman formations, killed thousands of invading Immortals, and sent sword light back toward the Sixth Immortal Realm 748.

Other defenses

• Twelve Holy Kings and Old Gods — Defend the mountains and palaces with their true forms and magical treasures 748.
• Nether Capital Saint Kings — Guard the Imperial Court through the void with tens of thousands of Nether Capital demon gods 845.
• Five Purple Mansions — Can rise from within the Imperial Court to support the Candle Dragon's Purple Mansions in battles involving supreme treasures 922.
• Great Walls — Successive defensive lines used against Calamity Ash Immortal invasions 941.

Thunder Pool

A Thunder Pool was secretly forged beneath the Golden Palace Hall, in an underground city built specifically for its smelting and casting 824.

Chai Chuxi could activate it to sense the fortunes of nearly every Immortal and mortal in the Seventh Immortal Realm. Its lightning severed Immortals' Dao flowers and reduced them to Heavenly Phenomenon Realm Spirit Scholars, erasing the Immortal Court's numerical advantage 849.

After Calamity Ash Immortals emerged from Liyang Mansion inside the Thunder Pool, Su Yun ordered the Thunder Pool abolished and relocated the populace to Tianfu Grotto-Heaven 936.

Major events

• Opening of the forbidden areas — The Martial Immortal breaks the Old Divine King's seal, exposing the Imperial Court's sealed interior and expanding its territory 431 433.
• Grotto-Heaven mergers — Tianzhu, Dali, Gouchen, and Wenchang merge into the Imperial Court, increasing its Heaven and Earth Origin Energy 596.
• Repelling the Immortal Court's descent — Su Yun uses the First Sword Array to massacre the first wave of Immortal Court invaders and destroy their Immortal Paths 748.
• Construction of the western defenses — Yuanshuo Spirit Scholars open western transport channels and establish Immortal Cities along the frontier 768.
• Battle of the Thunder Pool — The Imperial Court uses its Thunder Pool against Di Feng's army, reducing opposing Immortals to Spirit Scholars 849.
• Black stone pillar calamity — Black pillars drain the Imperial Capital and nearby Blessed Lands into Calamity Ash before releasing the stolen energy and restoring the dead, cities, and terrain 857.
• Liyang Mansion breach — Calamity Ash Immortals attack through a portal connected to the Fifth Immortal Realm; Su Yun's Mysterious Iron Bell destroys Liyang Mansion and severs the portal 936.
• Isolation amid the Calamity Ash crisis — As other Grotto-Heavens and worlds migrate or decay, the Imperial Court becomes an isolated refuge with dwindling sources of safe Immortal Qi 955.