Immortal Flame

Zhang Huan kept a few seeds with good enough character traits.

Cultivation was secondary; moral conduct had to be guaranteed, and the number could not be too large.

Choosing some people to stay and guard here could prove useful in the event of future changes, without risking waking the Hegemon Body.

The Demonic Court headquarters held countless natural treasures, and future powerhouses would inevitably covet them, with supreme Dao forces being no exception.

Driven by their law-of-the-jungle nature, they would do anything, often racking their brains to obtain the treasures of the Demonic Court.

Zhang Huan passed down the inheritance of Spirit Treasure Heavenly Venerate, warning those left behind to examine themselves three times a day, carefully cultivate the Dao to nurture the mind, and avoid falling into karmic obstacles.

Future generations must also do the same, cultivating character, and comprehending the essence, Qi, and Spirit within the Daoist Dharma of Spirit Treasure Heavenly Venerate.

Practicing in such a holy land of cultivation, they and their descendants need not worry about their future achievements; what must be guarded against is the changing of human hearts.

He specially selected the Daoist Dharma of Spirit Treasure Heavenly Venerate for these people to cultivate, as this renowned pioneer of Taoism was best suited for enlightening wisdom and clarifying reason.

He established rules that could not be changed, where the leader of each generation was not determined by cultivation level, but judged by moral righteousness.

He did not take away the Ginseng Fruit Tree, leaving it here, and only plucked some fruits and branches.

Together with the divine materials and rare treasures last collected by the Demonic Court, they were placed in the depths of the heavenly palace to await his return and retrieval in future generations.

The rarest ones had already been taken by him, and the remainder were at most materials for Sage weapons; if they intended to establish a sect in the future, these divine hoards could come in useful.

With the Hegemon Body here, the Immortal Medicine and other items could be kept safe.

Zhang Huan flew into the void, recasting the cauldron with Emperor Power. Nine-Colored Immortal Gold flew out from his sleeves, melted, and was refined into the cauldron, radiating colorful light and soaring phenomena.

This azure gold cauldron had not been refined since he first became a Great Emperor, and it had never evolved, no longer matching his strength.

Now that he was leaving it to guard the Demonic Court and work together with the Great Accomplishment Hegemon Body to stop the turmoil, Zhang Huan naturally wanted to refine it as strong as possible.

Having obtained quite a bit of immortal gold from the Bronze Immortal Palace, Zhang Huan took out most of it, activating the profound meaning of the immortal gold with his own Dao under the blessing of the Heaven's Heart.

The Great Dao Heavenly Sound rang like bells, the Supreme Dao Law was as vast as an abyss, shaking the entire Nine Heavens and Ten Lands. The quenching sound was like the collapse of the Great Universe, deep and dull, with a series of clanging echoes shrouding the mortal world.

Zhang Huan infused the original intent of a lifetime of Heaven-Severing Dao. The Nine-Colored Emperor Cauldron took shape, flowing with ultimate Dao rhyme. Several immortal gold profound meanings had been activated, glowing brilliantly and emitting mysterious Dao patterns.

The remaining immortal gold also exuded tiny traces of divine brilliance, with its profound meanings emerging. Perhaps in ten thousand years, or even longer, after long years, the profound meanings within the immortal gold would eventually be fully activated.

It is not bad either, after all, it is borrowing the mandate of heaven to forcibly intensify the profound meanings within the immortal gold.

Zhang Huan chanted softly, looking at the light of the Great Dao within the immortal gold, observing the origin symbols.

He came to a borderland, controlled the Emperor cauldron to slaughter, and shattered patches of dead stars and black holes.

After a brief test, the power of the Emperor cauldron was much enhanced compared to the past. Not only its hardness, but its domination in the governance of the Dao was even more tyrannical and formidable.

Although it was not an immortal artifact, it was stronger than most Supreme Dao Weapons, and resisting several pieces should not be a problem.

Allowing the nine-colored immortal gold to evolve with time like this, the Emperor cauldron would grow alongside it, and in the future, if they merged into one, the possibility of ascending to an immortal artifact was not entirely out of the question.

In later generations, it would certainly become a great killing weapon, capable of fighting to the death with at least one supreme being alongside the Hegemon Body.

Zhang Huan gave the deity some instructions, such as specifically watching the supreme beings' lifespans dwindle, not waking the Hegemon Body unless forced by intruders, and purifying anyone left in the Demonic Court who harbored malicious intent.

The nine-colored immortal cauldron responded with a sound, indicating it had taken the words to heart, and instantly turned into a stream of light, proactively guarding the main hall above the heavenly palace.

An Emperor Weapon is the continuation of a Great Emperor's life; this saying is not without reason. Basically, whatever Zhang Huan could do in his first life, it could do too.

Nodding, Zhang Huan used Source Art to set up several layers of defense, disrupting the heavenly secrets, and making this star vanish in the starry sky.

He stepped onto the Golden Light Grand Dao for the final time, rows of Order Divine Chains unfolding beneath his feet, stretching into the boundless sea of stars.

All living beings revered him together, looking up at the Great Emperor's departure. There was slightly less awe in their eyes than before; birth, aging, sickness, and death were unavoidable even for a Great Emperor who suppressed the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands.

Everyone knew about the abolition of the Demonic Court over the past century; this was clearly a precursor, signaling that this Great Emperor was about to reach his end.

He is perhaps choosing a place of peace and long sleep for himself.

A sage guessed, sighing heavily.

Time is a blade, shaving away even ancient Great Emperors' brilliance and leaving them past their prime, forced to seek dragon veins and find burial tombs, which moved people to sighs.

Look quickly, is he heading toward Emperor Burial Star?

The voice sounded like a stone stirring up a thousand ripples, purely because the reputation of Big Dipper was too great, known to all.

It was very special, rumored to be the lurking ground of various forbidden lands, and successive ancient Great Emperors had all chosen this place to establish their Dao traditions, even being buried here after death.

Someone's heart beat violently, hoping the worst of guesses would not come true.

It is the Primordial Ancient Mine! He has gone in! Oh my god, will this era stage a catastrophe of the dragon-slayer ultimately becoming the dragon?

A Great Sage cried out in sorrow, fleeing in terror from the Big Dipper Star Domain immediately, fearing the turmoil would descend upon his own head, hiding in the void to retain a glimmer of life.

The twilight years of supreme beings amounted to nothing more than two choices: passing away or self-cutting. By self-cutting, falling from the Emperor Realm, they could seal themselves in immortal origin and live for a very long time.

If they self-cut, to compensate for that damaged part of their vital energy, the Great Emperor might start turmoil on the spot.

The minds of such existences were as unfathomable as heavenly might, capable of anything on a whim. Even having personally quelled turmoil, under the temptation of longevity, turning back into evil dragons was not entirely impossible.

During the time he was speculating, Zhang Huan had already requested two pieces of Primordial Life Stone at the Primordial Ancient Mine.

Under his strong threat, the supreme being had to compromise, not daring to truly fight him to the death.

Why be so scared? I have not even self-cut yet.

Zhang Huan looked afar and saw a crowd of dark figures fleeing in the void, shaking his head as he spoke.

His voice spread across the entire star domain, instantly making the sages who single-mindedly wanted to hide feel utterly ashamed, as they understood the meaning behind Zhang Huan's words.

Next was the Immortal Mountain; Zhang Huan walked into the Divine Ruins one by one, extorting quite a few immortal treasures.

The forbidden lands really are good places, bursting out with plenty of coins without even fighting.

Zhang Huan said with a self-deprecating smile, regretting that he did not own a forbidden land to continuously self-produce coins.

It would be great if he could conquer one.

Hearing this, the supreme being snorted coldly, felt angered for a moment, but pretended not to hear. Seeing Zhang Huan's frail and aged appearance, he wouldn't live long anyway, so he chose not to bicker with him.

Zhang Huan strode along and stopped in a certain star domain. This place possessed a dragon vein, capable of nurturing a tomb, and he instantly dissipated the golden light, disappearing right there.

Another century passed. The Heaven's Heart imprint grew unstable, no longer harmonizing with the universe. Zhang Huan's Dao gradually dissipated, and the Great Universe's suppression descended.

Heaven and earth sensed the change, giving birth to anomalies. The era of one Dao suppressing ten thousand Daos ended, and everyone knew that the Great Emperor had passed away.

Some rejoiced while others grieved. The forbidden land supreme beings sensed this aura and woke up one by one, all letting out a long breath.

This Ruthless Emperor has finally died! More than thirty thousand years, she came to my place and demanded quite a few things, and even fleeced me right at the end.

A supreme being said fiercely, holding back a breath in his heart.

For how many years had no one ever threatened him like that, only for Zhang Huan to visit time and again to extort him.

Giving was out of the question, and so was not giving. Awed by the fact that Zhang Huan could easily beat a supreme imperial being to death, he had no choice but to swallow his pride every time, and had long had enough of it all these years.

The aura does not feel quite right. Why is the heavenly suppression after his passing so weak?

Indeed, Daoist suppression lasting over ten thousand years is the norm. Looking at the current situation, it cannot even sustain five thousand years.

He probably used some method to weaken the suppression. However, the traces of the Heaven's Heart dissipating are not fake; he has definitely passed away without a doubt.

Humph, even in death he has to play tricks on us. Damn Demonic Emperor.

The presence or absence of an Emperor in the world mattered greatly to them, concerning the safety of the forbidden lands and the arrangement of whether turmoil could be launched.

Some supreme beings had waited to die in the forbidden lands simply because an Emperor existed in the outside world, preventing them from launching turmoil.

I can no longer wait. The means to longevity have been ruined by the Demonic Emperor. If we do not emerge and devour the essence of life now, we will not survive the next Emperor.

A divine sense in the Divine Ruins said with overflowing vicissitudes; his lifespan was already scarce, and he had to seize this gap to replenish his vital energy.

He could not wait; five thousand years was too short for them. Should another Human Race Great Emperor appear, they would have to wait another twenty thousand years.

Had the Demonic Emperor not lingered on without dying, he would have long since launched turmoil.

He had originally intended to cultivate his son to alternative Dao attainment, transforming him into his own secondary body through demonic arts.

Who would have anticipated that the Demonic Emperor would arrive in person, coming specifically for this matter. He could only execute this disobedient creature to replenish a sliver of vital energy, and now he had no other recourse.

Although he was quite apprehensive of this Demonic Emperor, the man was dead after all, and he could no longer manage so much.

The supreme being was about to emerge when a divine sense arrived, advising him to give up and weigh the pros and cons.

Emerging at this moment would most likely lead to being beaten to death!

He analyzed with reason and evidence that a person like the Demonic Emperor must have calculated the situation and left behind backup plans.

Just the ones they knew of included a Great Accomplishment Hegemon Body, coupled with other means left by the Demonic Emperor, a single supreme being alone probably wouldn't reap any benefits and would instead be beaten beyond endurance, perishing on the spot.

So what? My divine soul is on the verge of decay, even if I do not emerge, I will still die!

He had no other choice. Knowing full well that the Demonic Emperor had backup plans guarding against supreme beings, he still had to go out and fight for it, otherwise he could only wait for death.

Fellow Daoist, hold on. Waiting a little longer for that Demonic Emperor is not too late. Three thousand years from now, we shall emerge together.

With two rising in turmoil, the Demonic Emperor will accomplish nothing even if he left behind backup plans.

We shall drink the Hegemon Body's primordial blood, locate the Demonic Emperor's old lair, and utterly destroy his corpse and smash his bones.

The owner of the divine sense also hailed from the Divine Ruins, craftily plotting to seize an immortal artifact during this opportunity while launching the dark turmoil.

To prevent the Demonic Emperor from feigning death like Void, he proposed waiting another three thousand years, and when the time arrived, the two supreme beings would emerge together.

Joining forces lowered the risk and allowed them to share the blood of a Great Accomplishment Hegemon Body. The other supreme being was immediately tempted and agreed to the proposal.

Other supreme beings were tempted too, but after hesitating, they did not join in. They could endure; there was no need to take this risk.

The divine senses in the forbidden lands gradually diminished, finally falling into silence.

On the other side of the universe, Zhang Huan gazed into the distance toward Big Dipper, and after a long while, no supreme being had emerged, causing him to shrug with some regret.

The fish did not take the bait.

It did not matter, however; in the remaining time he could slowly wait.

He had proactively discarded the Heaven's Heart, fully retracting his own Dao, and feigned death in order to draw out the supreme beings who wanted to launch turmoil.

According to what he learned from the Underworld, the Divine Ruins supreme being who once wanted to besiege and kill him was reaching the end of his lifespan, and estimated he could not hold out much longer.

At least one would emerge during this gap.

Let's see who can outlast whom. If you have the guts, never come out and just wait to die in the forbidden land.

Zhang Huan's eyes were as tranquil as an ancient well, lifting his brows as he swallowed all the pure immortal Qi within his bitter sea, letting his withered vital energy gradually return.

This immortal Qi was obtained in the Bronze Immortal Palace, and ordinary people taking it could prolong their lives by ten thousand years.

Zhang Huan calculated that, coupled with his own two thousand years of lifespan and aided by life-prolonging secret techniques, he should be able to live for another five thousand years.

Five thousand years was roughly the duration of the Daoist suppression, enough to sustain him until the era of the next Great Emperor.

Setting out once more, this time he did not alert anyone. Transforming the heavens and earth, he disguised himself as a middle-aged cultivator.

Still at Big Dipper, he first arrived at the Fire Domain.

There existed an Immortal Flame here, burning fiercely and never once extinguishing since it fell here.

It was very mysterious, praised as one of the few rare wonders related to immortals, with a massive reputation that many ancient Great Emperors and sovereigns had studied in the past.

Yet no one had ever figured anything out.

The nine-colored fire was illusory, surging with misty threads, sacred and inviolable.

Zhang Huan stepped into the ninth layer of the Fire Domain, observing the Immortal Flame at close range.

The so-called Fire Domain was merely formed by the symbols emanating from its origin transforming into terrifying colorful flames.

Zhang Huan transformed an energy palm and touched toward the Immortal Flame, only to be burned to ashes by the Immortal Flame in just a few breaths.

That palm was reinforced by Imperial Dao Law, yet it was burned away just like that. This fire could even injure emperors.

Was it a true immortal-grade flame origin, or...

Zhang Huan deduced that it probably was; it emitted energy at all moments, and only immortal power could achieve such endless circulation.

If it were a fire of the Human Dao Domain, even if transformed from a sovereign, it could not burn for such long-drawn years.

Zhang Huan comprehended the Immortal Flame here, attempting to understand its secrets. Yet unlike immortal artifacts which left traces to follow, truly researching it was grueling, and he could not peek into the genuinely valuable Immortal Dao Symbols within.

Zhang Huan sat quietly for three hundred years, gaining very little. Much like the Great Emperors of the past who wanted to peer into the mysteries of the Immortal Flame, he fell into a certain quagmire, making it difficult to research anything out.

He had studied the Bronze Immortal Palace for the better part of his life, and had also obtained the Underworld Treasure and the Immortal Sword, making him confident that he had attained some research results regarding the Immortal Dao within the runes of the three immortal artifacts.

Yet now, just like other ancient sovereigns, he could not see through the foundation of this Immortal Flame, only managing to study some superficial fur.

Could it be that one must emulate Gai Jiuyou of later generations, taking the risk of merging with it, to glimpse a few fractions of its wonder from the origin?

Zhang Huan thought softly. There were great secrets within this Immortal Flame; perhaps his realm was insufficient, or perhaps the timing was not right, preventing him from getting his wish and temporarily unable to unravel the secrets within the origin.

He did not take the risk, feeling it was not worth doing so, and stopped researching the Immortal Flame, withdrawing from the Fire Domain.

Anyway, it was right here, eternal through the ages. With strength in future generations he would continue researching, and one day in the future its secrets would be solved by him.

Let's go stroll around elsewhere; the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Land is not bad after all.