The Sea-Covering Dragon Emperor had once told you that the three lower realms of an Immortal Emperor were the Heaven, Earth, and Human Flowers. If one wished to open the second flower after becoming an emperor, one had to fuse the power of the Dao Fruit into the Imperial Spirit, allowing the host to completely control the Dao Fruit's power and bring that Dao close to its ultimate limits.
Opening the Earth Flower within the Imperial Spirit was not as difficult as fusing the Power of Dao, comprehended to its utmost limit, into the Imperial Spirit and completely mastering the power of authority. Even so, it was unquestionably a formidable hurdle.
Even Immortal Emperors blessed with long Lifespans and peerless talent would not dare claim with confidence that they could cross it. Judging from the records of the imperial-realm beings you had encountered in books, more than eighty percent of them had failed to reach this step before dying in some unforeseen mishap, stopping at only the most basic "Awakened Imperial Realm" — the Human Flower.
There had never been any record of someone beginning to touch upon this step before becoming an emperor. Thus, when you noticed this, even you could not suppress your astonishment. Of course, it was not impossible that someone had achieved it before, only to hide it as deeply as you had, with no one learning the secret until their death. Still, this left you brimming with accomplishment, as well as a sense of security amid the current chaos.
In the 18,873,957th year, just as you were rejoicing over your increased strength and the improved effects of the Retrograde Dao Fruit, you received a plea for aid from Daojun Wuhui...
The main reason for the plea was that two hegemonic forces with imperial-realm experts in