The Dragon Clan's Might Shakes the Primordial World; Ao Chen Goes into Seclusion to Comprehend the True Immortal Realm; Dongwang Gong Bides His Time (Continued)

"Rest assured, fellow Daoist. I'll be here at the Dragon Palace, and I'll make sure nothing goes wrong!"

Ao Guang thumped his chest as he promised. Though he still felt uneasy, he was nonetheless honored to be able to take some of Ao Chen's burden off his shoulders.

Ao Chen gave a slight nod and didn't linger. With a flicker, he vanished without a sound, as if melting into the moon's reflection on the water.

Within the Independent Spacetime, the Star River flowed on in utter silence.

Ao Chen sat cross-legged, his mind settling into complete stillness.

He opened his palm. The Ancestral Dragon Pearl, radiating seven-colored light and containing boundless dragon might and an immortal Dao aura, floated quietly above it.

Just by looking at the Dragon Pearl, Ao Chen could sense the immense energy and profound laws it contained—far beyond any Innate Spiritual Treasure he had encountered before!

"Worthy of being the Ancestral Dragon's Legacy..." A trace of admiration flashed in Ao Chen's eyes.

As one of the first Innate Divine beings born after Pangu Creates the World, Ancestral Dragon had once ruled an entire era as an unrivaled overlord. The Dragon Pearl formed from his life's cultivation was beyond measure in value!

It contained not only Ancestral Dragon's insights into power, the laws, and even the ultimate path of transcendence, but also, more importantly, that faint yet unyielding meaning of "immortality"!

This was exactly what he needed most to break through into the Mythical True Immortal Realm!

The core of a Mythical True Immortal lay in "achieving the Dao through oneself, possessing an Immortal Body and an Indestructible Primordial Spirit, and condensing one's Past, Present, and Future Bodies"!

Among these, "immortality and indestructibility" were the key to everything!

Only by truly comprehending the meaning of immortality could one's existence surpass the erosion of time and the limits of space, attaining true eternity!

Though the immortal aura contained in the Ancestral Dragon Pearl was not entirely the same as the concept of immortality in his own Mythical Grand Unity Method, their essence shared common ground. It was an ideal reference for comprehending his own path to immortality!

Ao Chen hesitated no longer. He closed his eyes and submerged his mind completely into the Ancestral Dragon Pearl, while driving his Heaven-Defying Comprehension to its utmost limit!

In an instant, it was as if billions of flashes of insight burst open in his sea of consciousness!

The vast, ocean-like information, laws, Dao auras, and insights within the Ancestral Dragon Pearl flooded into his mind like a breached dam!

From Ancestral Dragon's bewilderment at the moment of his birth to his domineering rule over the Dragon Race...

His relentless pursuit of power and profound understanding of the laws of water and the Force Law...

His unwillingness to accept defeat and his fall during the Dragon-Han Calamity, as well as his boundless yearning for and exploration of that ultimate realm of transcendence...

Countless images, insights, and fragments of laws flashed through Ao Chen's sea of consciousness like scenes in a revolving lantern!

Any other Quasi-Sage Great Power would have likely lost control of their mind when faced with such an immense and chaotic torrent of information. They might even have been assimilated by Ancestral Dragon's lingering will!

But Ao Chen was different. He possessed Heaven-Defying Comprehension! This heaven-defying talent gave him an ability to understand and process information far beyond that of ordinary people!

He was like the most efficient supercomputer, absorbing, analyzing, filtering, and extracting every useful piece of information from the Ancestral Dragon Pearl at an inconceivable speed!

He discarded the dross and kept the essence, drawing connections between seemingly unrelated things!

He didn't simply follow Ancestral Dragon's path. Instead, he compared Ancestral Dragon's insights with his own Mythical Grand Unity Method, taking the essence, discarding the dross, and making it his own!

In particular, he combined the core meaning of "immortality" with the workings of his own Star River Universe, comparing it against the theories in the True Immortal Chapter of the Great Dao Origin Scripture!

Gradually, his understanding of "immortality" deepened!

He understood that immortality was not simply living forever. It was a state of existence that transcended the limits of time and space!

It was a supreme state in which one's "True Self" remained unchanged, no matter how many Kalpa Tribulations one endured or how the world transformed!

An Immortal Body did not mean that the physical body could never be damaged. It meant that the body's essence had transcended the realm of matter, allowing it to gather or disperse at will, or even be reborn from a single drop of blood. With a mere thought, it could be reshaped!

An Indestructible Primordial Spirit did not mean that the primordial spirit could never be destroyed. It meant that the True Spirit was imprinted deep within the source of one's own Dao and existed alongside the universe one had created. As long as the universe endured, the True Spirit would remain. Even if the primordial spirit were shattered a billion times, it could instantly recover!

And condensing one's Past, Present, and Future Bodies was the key means of achieving this immortality and indestructibility!

The Past Body anchored the source of one's existence, ensuring the uniqueness of the "True Self"!

The Present Body carried one's current Dao fruit and power, walking through the present age!

The Future Body explored the limitless possibilities of one's Dao and possessed infinite potential!

Only by uniting the three bodies could one become a true Mythical True Immortal! Only then could one truly withstand all Kalpa Tribulations and be eternally free!

As Ao Chen continued to comprehend the immortal meaning within the Ancestral Dragon Pearl, the Star River Universe within him, which had long since reached the peak of the Heavenly Immortal stage, began to undergo a strange transformation!

The universe's boundaries expanded, the stars' radiance began to evolve, and the laws flowed with greater harmony and self-consistency!

A faint yet incredibly resilient aura of immortality began to spread slowly from deep within his physical body and primordial spirit...

While Ao Chen secluded himself in the depths of the East Sea Dragon Palace to cultivate and break through into the legendary realm of the Mythical True Immortal,

the Primordial World outside was swept by an unprecedented storm in the wake of his astonishing feat at the Immortal Court Grand Ceremony!

The name Ao Chen, once unknown, rose like a comet and spread through every corner of the Primordial World at an incredible speed!

The Dragon Race's Ancestor Ao Chen had gravely wounded the Immortal Court's ruler, the Quasi-Sage Great Power East King Duke, with a single finger; damaged West Queen Mother's Top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure, the Kunlun Mirror, with a flick; and fought the Three Pure Ones' combined force without falling behind!

In the end, he forced the Immortal Court to bow its head, and East King Duke even promised to personally visit the East Sea and apologize within three hundred years!

Every one of these deeds was enough to shake the Primordial World! And they had all been accomplished by the same person, on the very same day!

The entire Primordial World was in an uproar. Countless beings were shocked, stunned, and left discussing the matter endlessly!

The Dragon Race, once weakened by the Dragon-Han Calamity and ultimately bullied at will, seemed to have returned to the center of the Primordial World's stage overnight!

Not with the air of overlords they had once possessed, but in a way that was even more awe-inspiring and mysterious!

In the past, most of the Primordial World's inhabitants spoke of the Dragon Race with regret, sympathy, or even scorn.

But now, whenever they mentioned the Dragon Race, they instinctively did so with a trace of awe and gravity!

There was no helping it. Who knew how many terrifying beings like Ao Chen were hidden within the seemingly fallen Dragon Race?

He was a monster even the Three Pure Ones couldn't deal with. Who would dare provoke the Dragon Race now?

For a time, the forces and rogue cultivators in the Primordial World who had often bullied and hunted low-ranking members of the Dragon Race and seized their resources all began to rein themselves in.

The Dragon Race's days across the Four Seas improved noticeably. They still couldn't regain their former glory, but at least their lot of being bullied at will had greatly improved.

The Primordial World's attitude toward the Dragon Race quietly changed. They no longer regarded them with nothing but contempt and greed; now there was also a trace of respect!

Of course, this respect wasn't due to the Dragon Race itself, but to the fear inspired by Ao Chen's terrifying power!

As for the other center of this storm, the Immortal Court was having a much harder time.

After this battle, the Immortal Court's prestige lay in tatters, and East King Duke had lost all face, becoming a laughingstock throughout the Primordial World. ...

The rogue immortals who had originally been drawn to the title of Head of Male Immortals and joined the Immortal Court were now thoroughly unsettled. Many had begun to consider leaving.

If someone could storm the Immortal Court and force its ruler to apologize, did the Immortal Court have any future?

East King Duke naturally seethed with hatred, but there was nothing he could do.

Ao Chen's strength was simply too terrifying. Even the Three Pure Ones couldn't handle him, so what could East King Duke do?

He had no choice but to swallow his humiliation!

To preserve what little face the Immortal Court had left, and to honor his promise to Ao Chen, East King Duke endured the humiliation and rancor in his heart when the three-hundred-year deadline arrived. Under countless watchful eyes, he personally led a group of senior Immortal Court officials, bearing lavish gifts, to the East Sea Dragon Palace.

On that day, auspicious clouds gathered outside the East Sea Dragon Palace, and immortal light blazed brilliantly.

East King Duke forced a smile as he offered his sincere apologies to Ao Guang, who had come out to greet him. He claimed that everything that had happened before was a misunderstanding, that his subordinates had mishandled matters and offended the Dragon Race, and that as the Immortal Court's ruler, he was responsible for failing to keep them in line.

Then he changed tack, saying that he deeply sympathized with the Dragon Race's plight and greatly admired its foundations. He hoped they could set aside their past grievances, turn hostility into friendship, and even become allies, supporting one another and seeking mutual prosperity in the future!

East King Duke was indeed capable of bending without breaking; he had the makings of a true overlord.

Faced with East King Duke's sudden show of goodwill and proposal for an alliance, Ao Guang was overcome with excitement!

After all, East King Duke was a Quasi-Sage Great Power. Though the Immortal Court's prestige had suffered, it was still an orthodox force enfeoffed by the Dao Ancestor. An alliance with them would be an immense boon to the Dragon Race as it stood!

Yet once his excitement passed, Ao Guang quickly thought of that figure, godlike and demonic, Ao Chen!

He knew very well that the only one who could truly make decisions for the Dragon Race—or, rather, the only one qualified to do so—was Ao Chen!

If he rashly agreed to an alliance with the Immortal Court and displeased Ao Chen, he couldn't begin to imagine the consequences!

Moreover, Candle Dragon and the other elders were still in the depths of the Dragon Abyss. A major decision concerning the Dragon Race's future ought to be made by them as well.

At that thought, the heat in Ao Guang's heart was doused like a flame hit by a bucket of cold water, quickly dying out.

He could only suppress his excitement and regret, then offer the "sincere"-faced East King Duke an apologetic smile.

"Your Majesty, I'm deeply grateful for your favor! But an alliance is a matter of great importance, and it isn't something I can decide on my own. I'll have to consult the ancestors in the depths of the Dragon Abyss before I can give you an answer."

A trace of disappointment flashed in East King Duke's eyes when he heard Ao Guang's reply, but he didn't let it show. Instead, he laughed heartily, appearing magnanimous.

"No matter! No matter! An alliance is something that must be considered carefully. I'm already very pleased that you're open to the idea, fellow Daoist Ao Guang."

He had come today with the attitude that it was worth a shot, whether he got what he wanted or not. It would be best if Ao Guang agreed, but it didn't matter if he didn't.

His real aim was to repair the relationship with the Dragon Race through this humble apology and show of goodwill—even if only on the surface—so he could better infiltrate and control the Four Seas in the future, paving the way for the Immortal Court to expand its sphere of influence.

Moreover, after suffering a crushing defeat at the Immortal Court Grand Ceremony, East King Duke had reflected on the experience and figured out a great many things.

Strength! In the end, strength was what mattered most! Everything else—their reputation, their pride, even the Dao Ancestor's appointment—was meaningless in the face of absolute power!

What did it matter if he had to grovel? What did it matter if he was overbearing and invincible?

As long as he could achieve his ultimate ambition and unify the Primordial World, he could wash away every humiliation and trample every enemy underfoot!

So now, he had completely set aside the so-called dignity of a Quasi-Sage and devoted all his thoughts to improving his strength and expanding his influence.