Jade Pond Saintess possessed matchless natural talent and triggered a Great Emperor Tribulation, alarming the mortal realm.
Her Innate Dao Embryo was closely aligned with the Dao, allowing her to borrow the power of the myriad Daos of the heavens, far surpassing the realm of a Ninth Heaven Quasi-Emperor.
She hoped to use this to become an emperor, standing shoulder to shoulder with Zhang Huan and creating the magnificent spectacle of two emperors in one era.
Zhang Huan shielded his aura and allowed her to undergo the tribulation without any obstruction.
Before the tribulation had even reached the halfway point, she could no longer hold on. Her sole Dao could not be shaken, and she ultimately failed, returning to step into alternative Dao Attainment.
Soon after, the Divine Child and the Hegemon Body successively stepped into the Ninth Heaven.
In this era, only these few brilliant pearls remained; the rest of the people reached at most the first or second heavens of the Quasi-Emperor realm and could hardly compete with them in brilliance.
Year 5,000 of the Emperor Calendar.
Some time had passed since the tribulation. Zhang Huan arrived at Jade Pond, a mortal wonderland, where the Holy Lord led numerous elders to welcome him outside the gates.
"Could the person the Saintess spoke of truly be you?"
The Western Emperor Pagoda appeared in astonishment and asked; over the years, the Saintess had spoken to it about her origins with Zhang Huan.
During his humble days, Zhang Huan had once held a Heaven Swallowing Demonic Jar to preach in Big Dipper, and had even threatened Jade Pond.
"You share a bond with the Saintess and have known each other since youth. With such affinity, it would be a great pity if it doesn't blossom and bear fruit."
The Western Emperor Pagoda openly and covertly tried to matchmake the two of them.
"You, you, you—our Jade Pond Saintess is someone who cannot marry!"
The Saintess's exquisitely beautiful face flushed with embarrassment, and she accused the imperial weapon of not abiding by the holy land's rules, speaking in a petulant manner.
Zhang Huan chatted with them about daily matters and inquired about the Saintess's injuries.
Seeing that she was unharmed, Zhang Huan left Jade Pond.
The Western Emperor Pagoda transmitted its voice, saying that neither it nor the Saintess had taken to heart the fact that Zhang Huan had given the Saintess demonic arts to practice before she embarked on cultivation.
In the Saintess's heart, the positive aspects regarding Zhang Huan occupied a greater proportion, and she held a feeling of yearning.
As the Dao Embryo, the Saintess was currently hailed as the Most Beautiful Woman in the Starry Sky, a rare sight in one hundred thousand years, and had attained alternative Dao Attainment, making the two of them a perfect match.
If Zhang Huan had intentions, a single word could unlock the Saintess's heart, and a happy union between the two could forge a good story.
Zhang Huan acted as if he hadn't heard and left; in this life, he lived solely for the Dao, until death did him part.
Standing high above the sky and gazing out at the vast Big Dipper land, he saw the Black Wind Stockade of yesteryear, which was his starting place.
"The Ruthless Bloodline has truly infiltrated certain holy lands."
Zhang Huan looked along the clues. No clues could escape his discerning eyes, and he captured all members of the Ruthless Bloodline.
"I shall brand their souls and even their blood, subjecting them to my control for generations to."
Zhang Huan pointed out a world-shaking finger, and the curse power penetrated deep into the bone marrow of every practitioner of the Ruthless Bloodline, making them subject to him for all eternity, kept to serve his true self in the future.
In the 8,000th year of the Emperor Calendar, Zhang Huan stepped into the peak prime of this life, and his blood qi was at its most vigorous.
The Hegemon Body issued a challenge, located in a deadly silent place among the starry sky.
Since ancient times, there had been rumors that a Great Accomplishment Sacred Body could challenge a Great Emperor. As a counterpart constitution, the Hegemon Body was no exception, revered by the world as an uncrowned emperor.
Zhang Huan smiled and accepted this match.
The decisive battle between the two lasted less than an hour before a victor was decided. Knowing that the disparity in strength was vast, the Hegemon Body actively conceded defeat.
He requested Zhang Huan to offer him guidance.
When the Hegemon Body was weak, he had once fallen into a calamity, and an ancestor had sacrificed their life to win a chance of survival for them.
Such a fearless and selfless spirit made him think of the Sacred Body.
There was no emperor in the world as the Nine Sacred Bodies battled the firmament.
The story behind this sentence had always been revered as an epic, unknowingly moving people to hot tears; that spirit made countless people yearn for it.
In contrast, the Hegemon Body was the opposite. The character for hegemony ran through from beginning to end, embodying extreme selfishness, which was why no Great Accomplishment Hegemon Body had ever stood up to protect the world.
The sacrifice made by that ancestor fundamentally contradicted what he had learned within his clan.
He fell into a cycle of self-reflection.
Over the years, although his mentors constantly enlightened him and told him that the Hegemon Body should be fierce and selfish, he still could not convince himself.
As a member of the clan that was the counterpart to the Sacred Body, he unknowingly felt a sense of shame, believing that the Hegemon Body ought not to be like this, and that this world contained not only utilitarianism, but also great love and justice.
Zhang Huan spoke at length with him, and the Hegemon Body expressed deep gratitude.
In the 9,000th year of the Emperor Calendar, the first white hairs appeared on Zhang Huan's head. He thoroughly researched the Bronze Immortal Palace and autonomously began to evolve Immortal Dao symbols.
Rumors circulated that the Divine Child had been injured. One day, the Undead Mysterious Bird of the Underworld sought him out to settle an unresolved battle from the past.
The result of the duel was terrifying; this Undead Mysterious Bird had achieved creation at some unknown point, and its strength was terrifying to the extreme. Even the Divine Child could not match it and fled in injury.
In the exact 10,000th year of the Emperor Calendar, the immortal pool inside Kunlun, which had been infused with massive amounts of immortal materials, stirred. A sword dao embryo was forming, radiating Immortal Dao aura the moment it appeared.
Zhang Huan issued an imperial decree, pasting it right at the main entrance of the Demonic Court to proclaim it to the entire universe.
Anyone capable of offering Great Emperor scriptures and peerless divine materials would receive generous rewards.
He was willing to exchange them for imperial scriptures and Immortal Medicine, and if they were sufficiently rare and precious, he was willing to use an imperial weapon to protect that ethnic group for ten thousand years.
Furthermore, the scriptures would not be passed on to a second person and would only be used for his own reference.
As soon as the news spread, the world was in an uproar, praising Zhang Huan's grand gesture, as he was even willing to part with an imperial weapon.
From then on, many people came to the Demonic Court to offer treasures, but not a single person possessed anything rare enough to trade for an imperial weapon.
The Demonic Court suppressed the current era and remained orderly even after so much time had passed.
More than half of the upper echelons had never even met Zhang Huan, and many people had been replaced.
Zhang Huan did not mind. Regardless of who the person in charge was, as long as they could continue to wholeheartedly collect immortal materials and divine materials from across the universe for him, anyone could serve in the upper echelons of the Demonic Court.
One day, the Divine Child requested an audience, and Zhang Huan granted it.
As soon as they met, he asked a question: the Undead Mysterious Bird had mended its foundations and reversed death to live; after its Nirvana, it was even more terrifying, and its combat power was heaven-defying.
If it were to impact the Great Emperor realm, it might push open the restraint of the ten thousand Daos and attain a new emperor.
When that time came, how should Zhang Huan respond?
Zhang Huan smiled and answered softly, "It doesn't matter how. If it wishes to become an emperor, let it become one."
He was confident in his invincibility. He and his Dao could not possibly be weaker than the thirty emperors and rulers of past and present, let alone a bird raised by the Underworld that wasn't even an emperor.
He then added a sentence, "If it wishes to harm the world, whether it is that bird or the ancient emperors, I will suppress them."
Obscure light flashed in the Divine Child's eyes, admiring the Great Emperor's magnanimity, and he took his leave.
Year 11,000 of the Emperor Calendar.
Wrinkles appeared on Zhang Huan's face. He began to go downhill; although he could use his blood qi to smooth away the traces of time on his face, he did not do so, letting the wrinkles spread.
The Azure Gold Cauldron's deity manifested and accused the Quasi-Emperor Artifact talisman box of luring it into stealing the medicine king in the heavenly palace.
The talisman box wanted to cry but had no tears, proclaiming that it had raised it for nothing and wanting to sever ties with the Azure Gold Cauldron.
Year 13,000 of the Emperor Calendar.
Zhang Huan was no longer in his prime. He guessed that he had another three thousand years to live. Having sat enthroned for too long, he walked out of the Bronze Immortal Palace and traveled the eight directions.
The starry sky remained, bright and boundless. The nebulae he stepped across were breathtakingly beautiful, but he had no leisure to admire the scenery, feeling slightly lonely.
No wonder most of the ancient emperors who entered the forbidden zones were unfeeling and indifferent even toward their own children, living solely for the Dao, with only the Great Dao in their hearts.
At this moment, he also felt some empathy. Having experienced and lost, every single person in the forbidden zones had already seen through this world and severed all attachments.
Every period of seclusion for an emperor was measured in millennia. With time flowing endlessly, being alone in this desolate universe, even with heaven-reaching skills, could one fill the inner void?
Only that eternal and elusive supreme Dao existed forever in this world, present everywhere, right between you and me, making it worthy of them exhausting all their efforts, casting everything aside, and pursuing it endlessly.
The higher the realm, the more one would feel their own insignificance. To understand the Dao and revere the Dao was like moths to a flame, with no end.
Everything else in their eyes was an illusion that would sooner or later return to nothingness, devoid of any meaning.
Zhang Huan looked over the scenery of the foreign land, but not a single ripple stirred in his heart.
All Ancient Emperors Are Lonely; at this moment, he was verifying this statement. Before even taking the Immortal Medicine, he had almost no one left to speak with, standing out of place with the new era.
Shaking his head slightly, Zhang Huan expelled these distractions.
Unlike those emperors who pinned all their hopes on the Path to Immortality, he was at best a passerby.
Treading on the golden light grand dao, a blazing divine bridge traversed the universe, sweeping through the heavens and revered by all races, Zhang Huan headed toward the Immortal Mountain.
Calculating the time, it was close to the period when the enlightenment ancient tea tree bore three thousand Dao leaves once every ten thousand years.
Thousands of mountains were towering and pitch-black. Zhang Huan entered as if traversing an uninhabited realm, sitting directly beside the enlightenment ancient tea tree in the mountain stream.
The old tea tree did not flee; it had experienced similar scenes too many times and had long since lost any intention of struggling.
Its branches and leaves rustled as they shook, showing favor to the new Great Emperor in hopes that he would go easy on it later.
It possessed intelligence and knew that its entire body was a treasure.
Almost every ancient great emperor would come to it to take something, and it had suffered plenty of harm.
The three thousand tea leaves looked lifelike, fluttering on the buds in all sorts of shapes. Every leaf was different, featuring hundred beasts and spiritual plants of various shapes, all emanating Dao rhyme.
Each leaf represented a different Dao, containing the laws of heaven and earth, offering special benefits for enlightenment and providing no small help even to quasi-emperors.
Quietly waiting for the moment the tea leaves matured, exuding a pervasive fragrance and shimmering colors, Zhang Huan gathered all the leaves in one sweep.
"I'll borrow some of your trunk as well."
Zhang Huan looked at the ancient tea tree and said with a smile that was not a smile.
He also demanded a Black Tortoise Immortal Medicine Fruit from the supreme being inside, leaving in contentment.
The Black Tortoise Divine Medicine, also known as the longevity divine medicine, could add ten thousand years of lifespan when consumed, making it the best among immortal medicines for extending life.
The rumors might be somewhat exaggerated, but compared to other immortal medicines, it was definitely the most suitable for extending life.
Zhang Huan did not lack combat power; he had already reached the extreme, and his various methods could cause emperors of the same level to change expression upon seeing them, capable of slaying supreme beings.
He had even greater need of time to comprehend Immortal Dao runes and create the false immortal scripture.
He also needed to nurture an immortal sword, and the consumed immortal medicine had to be a longevity divine medicine.
Along the way, Zhang Huan visited Jade Pond, but the Saintess refused to see him.
He refined several portions of divine source liquid and gave them to Jade Pond, having the Western Emperor Pagoda relay a message: if the Saintess intended to testify to the Dao, she should avoid this era and self-seal until the future to become an emperor.
She had once consumed immortal medicine and was also a Dao embryo, giving her far more lifespan than ordinary alternative cultivators. After breaking the self-seal, she would still have several years to impact the imperial throne.
Taking one last glance at Big Dipper, Zhang Huan returned. The next time he came, it might be when he chose his burial ground.
The Underworld had accumulated its strength for so long yet still hadn't made a move against him; were they waiting for the late second life?
Zhang Huan remained noncommittal, returning to the Demonic Court to continue comprehending the Immortal Dao seals.
In the remaining three thousand years or so, sensing his lifespan approaching its end, Zhang Huan quietly waited, but the Underworld truly did not appear.
He had never attacked the Underworld because he felt they would actively appear. Grudges would not just vanish, and the Underworld would not let the matter rest.
Most importantly, he had a premonition in his heart that a calamity would arrive in the future. The hazy intuition could not be clearly described, but Zhang Huan was certain.
Hunting emperors usually took place in the ten-thousand-year mark of the second life; at this time, imperial power was not as strong as in one's prime, reducing many risks.
The supreme beings' vitality was exhausted, and the cost of their self-severing slashes allowed them to bide their time in immortal origins, waiting for the best opportunity.
The Immortal Medicine appeared in his hand, taking the form of a pocket-sized little turtle, emerald green and flashing with rosy glow.
Zhang Huan swallowed it, and his physical body regained its vitality as his blood qi surged, shooting straight up to the eternal firmament and diffusing to all parts of the universe.
The second life began. The life spring gushed forth with exuberant life force, and the carvings on the life wheel vanished, brand new and magnificent.
In this life, he would live longer than in his first life.
In the 17,000th year of the Emperor Calendar, Zhang Huan swallowed the Immortal Medicine and regained his youth.
He immersed himself in the Immortal Dao, unable to extricate himself, and several thousand years passed in an instant.
In the 22,000th year of the Emperor Calendar.
Someone brought the complete All-Encompassing Secret to the Demonic Court.
In the past, the Demonic Court had also received many imperial scriptures, but they were all incomplete. This was the first time it had received such a precious Dao scripture.
Zhang Huan exchanged the Movement Secret with him.
Kunlun had become a true immortal ascension ground. Immortal Qi drifted and scattered, overflowing so much that it spread to every corner.
The dragon head exhaled immortal radiance, and in the pool at the location of the immortal embryo, containing endless vital essence, a sword embryo had formed, taking initial shape.
In the 30,000th year of the Emperor Calendar, Zhang Huan gained a profound understanding of the Immortal Dao. The pseudo immortal power truly replaced his own energy, and even Zhang Huan's life aura leaped by half a level, causing his strength to soar.
Through various insights and deductions, he created the True Immortal Dao Scripture to remove the false and preserve the true.
It contained his ultimate understanding of the Immortal Dao over the past thirty thousand years, as well as the research results on various secret realms in this life.
This method essentially surpassed all other imperial scriptures, catching a glimpse of the Immortal Dao in a way that cannot be compared.
Although the word "pseudo" was added, it could still touch upon immortal power, and it was in itself one of the greatest creations in the world.
From the start of cultivation, the pseudo immortal power nourished the flesh and soul, elevating the life level by half a section and developing the potential of the mortal body to the extreme.
In the future, it would also evolve infinite wonders, leading straight to a heavenly road.
It provided a possibility: if deduced and researched unremittingly, it would truly evolve into a longevity method.
It was a clearly visible path.
However, the time required would not be short either; after all, in this End of Dharma world, becoming an immortal was extremely difficult.
Having consumed the greater part of the second life, he finally achieved significant results.
In the remaining days, he supplemented the deficiencies in the scriptures, developed the gates of potential still hidden within the mortal body, removed the false and preserved the true based on the immortal scripture, manifested the essence and profound meaning, and sublimated a version 2.0.
He came to the Immortal Mountain once more and harvested the three thousand Dao ancient tea tree leaves that grew once every ten thousand years.
In the 35,000th year of the Emperor Calendar, Zhang Huan stepped into old age.
He had two thousand years of lifespan remaining; this life could last twenty thousand years.
The effect of the Black Tortoise Immortal Medicine was not small. Although it still fell somewhat short of ten thousand years, being able to further extend the emperor's lifespan by several thousand years was already quite considerable.
Sensing that calamity was approaching, Zhang Huan quietly left the Demonic Court, taking the Bronze Immortal Palace and the imperial cauldron with him.
Is one chapter of four thousand a day better, or two chapters of two thousand?
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