It was never the Human Emperor's artifact of Dao Attainment. It had merely been a battle banner that accompanied the former "Human King" against the Primordial Race, fighting campaigns north and south, and was sometimes used as the core of a great array.
Later, after the Human Emperor fell, a fragment of his true soul was drawn into it, giving rise to a divine spirit and thus unimaginable mystical properties. It could gather the heroic spirits of those slain in battle and was held by successive masters of Human Emperor Hall, serving as a symbol of the hall master's identity.
Rumble...
Late autumn, Southern Region of Eastern Wasteland.
Under pressure from all sides, Human Emperor Hall finally "compromised" and revealed the location of that old site to the cultivators.
"Fortune! A tremendous stroke of fortune! The Human Emperor's Legacy—obtain it, and one may glimpse the Emperor's Road!"
"The restrictions here are far too powerful! We need to join forces to blast them open!"
"Join hands! Break the restrictions first, then fight for it according to our own abilities!"
Amid the clamor, the cultivators, whose patience had long been worn away by time, all made their moves.
For a time, the divine radiance of all kinds of magic treasures, secret arts, and divine abilities illuminated the night sky.
Rumble rumble...
Terrifying fluctuations of Dao laws struck the restrictions and swept in every direction.
The surrounding mountains shattered, and rivers were severed.
The restrictions here had remained since the Primordial Era and had long since weakened. Yet even so, the cultivators had joined forces and bombarded them for seven days and nights.
Such a result was undoubtedly shocking.
One had to know that this was still the middle to late Ancient Era. The laws of heaven and earth in Big Dipper had not yet undergone their complete upheaval. This was far from the Post-Ancient Era, when a mere Immortal Second Realm cultivator could become the supreme figure of a sect and be called a Holy Lord.
Though it could not compare to the Big Dipper of the Archaic Era, where Saints were everywhere and Great Saints roamed the land, the number of Saints and stronger combatants active in the world was still considerable.
Yet so many of them had still required such a long time. This raised everyone's reverence for that Human Emperor by another level.
Even though that being had not merged with the Heavenly Heart, had not completed the Ultimate Leap, and had never truly ruled the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands...
Whoosh!
On the day the restrictions broke.
Above the Vast Mountain Range, countless war chariots and warships rumbled through the skies.
Numerous great powers from the northern, central, and southern regions of Eastern Wasteland, as well as the Central Plains, Northern Plains, Southern Ridge, and Western Desert, had completely gathered here.
Within the Core Region, Heavenly Martial Holy Land's Heaven-Escaping Shuttle overflowed with killing intent. Western Desert arhats and vajras pressed their palms together and murmured "compassion." Taixuan Sect's immortal crane chariots glowed with clear radiance. Fairies from Spring Autumn Pavilion scattered a rain of flowers across the sky. Southern Ridge's Demon Emperor Hall, the Feathered Immortal Dynasty, Human Emperor Hall...
Beyond them, descendants of many ancient aristocratic families and powerful independent cultivators lurked in the void, sealing this entire region so tightly that not even water could pass through.
At this moment, everyone's eyes were focused on the mountain range at the very center.
There, a massive fissure had suddenly split open after the restrictions were broken.
From the depths of the fissure, ten thousand rays of rosy light and countless streams of auspicious energy erupted outward.
Yet compared to the extraordinarily bustling depths of the mountain range, in a corner thousands of miles away, a girl with pigtails sat cross-legged beneath an ancient tree, consolidating her recently attained Life Spring cultivation.
Within the ring, Tan Lin's remnant soul slowly opened his eyes, and a glint flashed through them before vanishing.
Thanks to the many heroes who had gathered here in recent days, quite a few fragments of true souls had been swept along with them and fused into objects.
Using the All-Causes Soul Pearl, he gathered some useless soul fragments, saving himself from having to roam all over Big Dipper later. His remnant soul had now recovered somewhat, and the faint glimmer of primordial spirit he once possessed had unknowingly become much stronger.
By a conservative estimate, it had recovered to the strength of an Immortal Third Realm cultivator's primordial spirit.
"I was already dissolved into weaponry. Now, even if I reassemble my primordial spirit from my previous life, it can only exist by being entrusted within the Soul Pearl Barrier. Once the passage of time exceeds my previous lifespan limit, I will still fade away on my own..."
Over the past few months, while studying the altered Soul Pearl, Tan Lin had gradually come to an understanding.
This remnant soul of his was not eternal either. Unless his level rose, even with the Soul Pearl, if he did not reincarnate, then once his lifespan limit arrived, only annihilation awaited him.
He guessed that his long slumber over the ages, cut off from the outside world, had likely been similar to a cultivator sealing himself away. That was how he had endured until today.
Such a state was by no means a long-term solution. Even if his lifespan limit was still far away, he needed to prepare for the future.
"The second Deep Crimson Light Point is already one-tenth full. At this pace, it will take at most another five or six years to light the second Soul Pearl mark. I wonder whether that will bring some new change..."
Tan Lin pondered quietly.
Naturally, this progress was thanks to the Causal Line connected to his young disciple. Otherwise, who knew how long it would have taken to gather even one-tenth of the Deep Crimson Light Point's causality.
As his thoughts turned, his gaze passed through to the outside world, calmly observing the turbulent scene deep within the mountain range.
He himself was the original owner who had left behind this so-called "legacy." How could he not know what this place had once been and what exactly it contained?
When he had fallen in the Primordial Era, he had still been in his prime, at the height of his ambition. Why would he have left behind any treasures for future generations?
If not for the fact that it happened to contain a fragment of his remnant soul and a portion of his memories, he would not even have spared it a glance now.
Rumble rumble...
Amid movements like an earth dragon turning over, the fissure grew wider and wider. At last, the phantom of an ancient Immortal Palace rose into the air, borne aloft by endless rosy light and auspicious energy.
At this moment, everyone stirred with anticipation.
Even some reckless Sea of Reincarnation and Dao Palace cultivators who had rushed here upon hearing the news emerged from the outskirts of the mountain range, their faces filled with eagerness.
As time passed, the "Immortal Palace" floating in midair grew increasingly solid and began to emit a heart-palpitating pressure of Imperial Dao!
"It truly is the Human Emperor's Legacy! This Imperial Dao aura cannot be false!"
A Saint from a great Central Plains sect trembled with excitement, his beard shaking.
When the Immortal Palace became completely solid, as if frozen in the sky and no longer drifting, threads of ancient, weathered aura rushed toward the crowd.
But before everyone could swarm forward.
Boom!!!
The Immortal Palace crashed to the ground, connecting with the earth veins and rooting itself within them.
Boom...
In an instant, the pressure of that Imperial Dao aura erupted completely!
Thud!
Thud...
At this moment, apart from a very few individuals, countless people turned into kowtowing insects. Their bodies and faces were pressed tightly to the ground, and they could not rise at all.
"What?! This is..."
"There is a Quasi-Emperor Array Diagram here. It may be incomplete, but it is still terrifying enough..."
Someone struggled to speak while holding up a sect-protecting heavy artifact.
"What are we supposed to do? We can barely move our bodies, so how can we enter and obtain Fortune?"
"Damn it! The divine spirit within our sect's inherited Saint weapon inexplicably dissipated some time ago. The Saint weapon was damaged and can no longer be used!!"
The Human Emperor's Legacy was right before their eyes, yet they could not enter. Countless people were driven mad.
This was especially true for certain foreign races who had come from the Outer Domain to fight for Fortune. Kneeling before the Immortal Palace, they naturally felt stifled and miserable.
"Amitabha Buddha... Do not worry, benefactors. This should merely be a strand of aura leaking out from the revived array diagram. Before long, the outside world will return to normal."
A golden-bodied arhat from the Western Desert pressed his palms together and spoke slowly.
And sure enough, around the time it took for an incense stick to burn, the kowtowing insects were able to rise one by one and began gathering toward the Immortal Palace.
"That palace is less like a hall and more like a tower. I fear it may be easy to enter but difficult to leave..."
Not far away, Goddess Gu of Spring Autumn Pavilion, her graceful immortal body seated sideways atop a Cloud Leopard's back, spoke unhurriedly.
Unlike everyone else's urgency, she did not immediately approach.
Human Emperor's Drill Ground
"Caution is good, Fairy, but if it causes you to miss the Human Emperor's Legacy, I fear you will regret it too late!"
The current sect leader of Southern Ridge's Daoxuan Sect smiled. After leaving those words behind, he led his group directly past the cultivators of Spring Autumn Pavilion.
"Indeed. The restrictions here have already been broken, and even the aura of the Quasi-Emperor Array Diagram has withdrawn. If we do not investigate now, when will we?"
A powerful independent cultivator shook his head.
In his view, this Goddess Gu was simply being overly cautious. Had she not seen that some cultivators from Human Emperor Hall had already gone inside?
Upon hearing this, Gu Qingying's soft, lustrous lips curved beneath her gauze veil, and she smiled faintly.
"Then Qingying shall wait outside for everyone's good news."
"If the Fairy wishes to wait, then wait! We're leaving!"
"Go..."
The cultivators called to friends and companions, transforming into streaks of light.
Yet during this time, quite a few minor incidents occurred.
After consolidating his state, a certain remnant soul once again used the Soul Pearl's power to strip away and draw in some nearby fragments of true souls, using them for further recovery.
Crack...
"Damn it! Why has the divine spirit in my Dao Artifact inexplicably dissipated?!"
"Mine dissipated too..."
"Hiss... This is not an isolated case? What exactly is going on in these Weapon-Refining Grounds? This is truly bizarre!"
Some cultivators sucked in cold breaths.
"What does that count for? Our sect's heavy sect-protecting artifact was destroyed half a month ago!"
"..."
High in the sky, scattered words broke apart in the autumn wind.
Whoosh...
Suddenly.
Among the Heavenly Martial Holy Land cultivators preparing to enter the palace, their chief elder—whose holy might surged around him and whose bearing was extraordinary—suddenly left the group.
Without warning, he flew toward Spring Autumn Pavilion!
The man appeared youthful. Clearly, the time he had spent entering the Immortal Platform and even becoming a Saint had been very short. His features were exceptionally handsome, and it was obvious that in his younger cultivation days, he had been a favored prodigy admired by many senior and junior sisters of his lineage.
"Senior Sister, leave Spring Autumn Pavilion and come back. The holy land is different from what it used to be..."
The young man looked at his former senior sister, who had seemed to become ever more breathtakingly beautiful over the years, and spoke in a low voice.
Gu Qingying's delicate brows furrowed slightly, but she said nothing.
Her beautiful eyes looked straight through the young man as though he were nothing but air, and she could not be bothered to acknowledge him.
"Senior Sister, you..."
"Fellow Daoist, please show some respect."
Before the young man could finish, two white-robed fairies with Saint-level cultivation stepped forth from Gu Qingying's sides and dismissed him on behalf of their goddess.
"Junior Brother, why humiliate yourself? Come back at once!"
From afar came the authoritative voice of the Heavenly Martial Holy Land's Holy Lord.
Left with no choice, the young man could only withdraw. Yet before departing, he looked deeply at Big Dipper's foremost beauty and said gently,
"Senior Sister, no matter what, many people in the holy land are still waiting for you to return..."
Rustle... rustle...
Not long after the young man left, several people from Tyrant Blood Ancestral Star crawled out one after another from several human-shaped pits.
The pressure from the Quasi-Emperor Array Diagram had been too strong, and they had been too close. They had been crushed directly into the ground and nearly died.
"Coming to this Big Dipper has truly been nothing but bad luck..."
Divine light flashed across Cang Yuhang's body, and a surge of Tyrant Blood aura shook the mud and dust from him.
His mood was exceedingly grim. Even Xin'er, his Dao companion, did not dare speak to him lightly when she saw his expression.
Before you continue