The Clans Gather, the Trial Begins
The Northern Region spanned hundreds of quadrillions of kilometers. Rumor had it that even a Saint flying from its eastern edge to its western edge could not cross it in less than seven or eight hundred years. One could imagine just how vast the Northern Region was!
A Saint had a lifespan of only five thousand years, while a Saint King lived for ten thousand, a Great Saint for fifty thousand, a Supreme Saint for a hundred thousand, and a Quasi-Emperor for two hundred thousand. Even those who achieved Alternative Dao Attainment lived for two hundred and fifty thousand years.
A Great Emperor, on the other hand, had a lifespan of a million years. As for Immortals, they had already transcended heaven and earth and possessed endless lifespans. As long as they did not fall, they could live forever.
That was why living beings of all clans defied the heavens to become emperors and Immortals. Those who failed to become Immortals would ultimately be reduced to a pile of yellow earth. Only by climbing higher could they gain a chance at immortality and live forever.
The Sun Imperial Dynasty!
In the dynasty's sacred hall sat a man with a dignified face and a grave expression. He possessed boundless authority, looking down on all under heaven as he gazed at those below.
His entire body radiated the presence of a ruler. He wore imperial robes embroidered with nine Three-Legged Golden Crows dancing through the void, and Nine-Crow Boots on his feet. The enormous form of a Three-Legged Golden Crow flickered in and out of view behind him, emitting scorching golden light, sacred and powerful.
The Sun Imperial Dynasty had first originated from the Three-Legged Golden Crows and risen in the immemorial era, dozens of epochs ago. An epoch was twelve million years, while dozens of epochs made up an era.
The eras were divided into the Heaven-Opening, Mythic, Immortal Ancient, Immemorial, Ancient, Archaic, and present eras. The earlier the era, the more epochs it spanned. Legend had it that the Mythic era had lasted several thousand epochs.
Yet in those dozens of epochs, the Sun Imperial Dynasty had produced only two or three Great Emperors. One could imagine how difficult it was to become one.
Although it had produced only two or three Great Emperors, as an emperor-level immortal force, its foundations were still utterly terrifying.
At this moment, in the dynasty's sacred hall, the Sun Sacred Emperor spoke to a young man below.
"Zhenyang!"
The young man was fifteen or sixteen, handsome, tall and straight, with an imposing bearing. Wearing imperial robes embroidered with six Three-Legged Golden Crows in flight, he bowed slightly and spoke.
"Imperial Father!"
The Sun Sacred Emperor looked at Crown Prince Zhenyang, Jin Zhenyang, before him. A faint smile of satisfaction appeared on his solemn face. Crown Prince Zhenyang had been born with the Great Sun Divine Body, a physique ranked among the top fifty of the three thousand physiques. In the land of inheritance, he had also obtained an ancestor's True Solar Fire and essence blood, and his bloodline had already reverted fifty percent to its ancestral state.
He was already one of the foremost peerless heavenly geniuses in the entire Nine Heavens and Ten Lands.
"This time, the Heaven-Suppressing Ancient Tablet has descended within the Sun Imperial Dynasty's territory. Nearly all the heavenly geniuses of Great Origin Heaven will come, including divine sons and holy sons from ancient clans, immortal lands, imperial clans, and holy lands. There will even be peerless heavenly geniuses and peerless monsters. Are you confident?"
"Rest assured, Imperial Father. I will certainly strive to secure a place in the top three of the Heaven-Suppressing Ancient Tablet's trial rankings. Some time ago, I obtained an ancestor's inheritance in the land of inheritance, and my strength advanced greatly. I heard that everyone in the top hundred of the Heaven-Suppressing Ancient Tablet will receive a reward bestowed by heaven. The higher the rank, the rarer the reward. Moreover, the rewards are all peerless treasures. I certainly won't miss an opportunity like this."
"Good. My son's talent is unmatched beneath the heavens. This time, you will surely reap a great harvest and spread the mighty name of our dynasty."
The Hundred Thousand Great Mountains! The place where the Heaven-Suppressing Ancient Tablet had descended. By now, the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains were packed with people, and forces from all sides had long since arrived.
"Look!" a voice rang out. A massive warship had appeared in the sky, carrying men and women, young and old. An ancient character for "Huang" stood out on the warship.
"This is... the Huang Family, an ancient aristocratic family."
"Look-do you see that twelve- or thirteen-year-old boy standing at the very front? He's the first-ranked holy son among the Huang Family's eight holy sons."
"He's also the youngest son of the Huang Family's patriarch, Huang Shaoyu!"
"I heard he has the Extreme Thunder Physique, ranked among the top hundred of the three thousand physiques."
"His strength is unrivaled as well, and this time he's taking part in the trial on his brother's behalf. Huang Shaoyu's elder brother, Huang Jinghuang, possesses the Innate Sovereign Physique, ranked among the top twenty physiques."
"Rumor has it that those with the Innate Sovereign Body primarily cultivate sovereign path techniques, and once they reach great accomplishment, they become sovereigns and emperors."
"Huang Jinghuang is still in seclusion this time and isn't taking part in the Heaven-Suppressing Ancient Tablet's trial rankings. His younger brother Huang Shaoyu is taking part in his place and testing his own strength along the way."
Boom... On the other side of the sky, a colossal peak appeared. Purple clouds and mist curled around it, and within the peak were woods and pools, buildings and palaces.
"That's... the Jade Pool Holy Land's Jade Lake Peak!" someone said, pointing at the distant mountain. Rumor had it that the Jade Pool Holy Land's divine maiden, Bai Lingxi, possessed beauty that could topple kingdoms and cities, a beauty and fragrance unrivaled in the land. She was known as the number one beauty of Great Origin Heaven.
At the head of the Jade Pool Holy Land's group was a beautiful young married woman. She wore a purple-red qipao that made her curvaceous figure especially conspicuous, setting imaginations running wild. A layer of light white gauze covered it, and a strip of black silk draped over her shoulders, lending her an air of elegance and luxury.
Standing behind her was Bai Lingxi. Tall and graceful, she had an oval face beautiful enough to topple kingdoms and cities, a complexion like jade, and skin fairer than snow. Her long black hair fell over her shoulders, smooth as a black waterfall.
Her bangs fluttered in the wind, partly veiling eyes as clear and bright as autumn waters. A lotus-like purity shimmered in their depths. She seemed like a heavenly fairy from the Nine Heavens, peerless in grace and beauty.
"Clang, clang, clang!" A ringing cry echoed across the sky as a colossal phoenix flew in from the distance. Its powerful presence whipped up gusts of fierce wind, blowing the people present every which way.
"Th-this is... the Phoenix Clan that lives in the Ancient Parasol Tree." The Ancient Parasol Tree was a towering tree that had existed since the Immortal Ancient era, so immense that it formed a world of its own. At the head of those on the giant phoenix stood an old man who appeared to be over sixty.
"Is that...?"
"The Phoenix Clan's tenth elder, a Great Saint. I didn't expect even him to come. The one following him is the Phoenix Clan's phoenix maiden, Feng Yutong."
She had long red hair, an exquisitely beautiful face, and delicate features. A fiery red mark stood out on her forehead. Her red eyes were indifferent, as though everything around her had nothing to do with her, and her cold presence made people afraid to give her a second glance.
"I heard Feng Yutong is a Blood Phoenix with a mutated bloodline. Her talent and natural gifts are already no inferior to those of a Five-Colored Phoenix."
"Ha... that's terrifying. I heard the Phoenix Clan's patriarch seems to be a Four-Colored Phoenix whose cultivation has already reached the peak of the Supreme Saint realm. Doesn't that mean Feng Yutong's talent and natural gifts are comparable to those of a Great Emperor? Wouldn't that put her on par with the top thirty of the three thousand physiques?"
"Caw... caw..." Another hoarse cry rang out, and a massive sphere of light appeared. The figure of a Three-Legged Golden Crow flickered within it, and a group of people stood on the Golden Crow's back.
Someone else said, "Those are people from the Sun Imperial Dynasty." Another person picked up where he left off. "Of course. This is the Sun Imperial Dynasty's territory. Besides, they're an emperor-level force, so they were bound to send someone. Crown Prince Zhenyang is also a peerless monster of unmatched talent. This time, he's one of the strongest candidates for the top three."
The other forces also arrived one after another.
The Archaic Su Clan.
The Heavenly Profound Holy Land.
The Divine Spirit Swamp.
The Eastern Extremity Divine Hall, and so on.
"Roar... roar..." An earthshaking dragon's roar drew everyone's attention back. In the sky, nine enormous flood dragons were pulling a palace.
The enormous flood dragons glowed with azure light, letting out roars that echoed through heaven and earth, as though proclaiming their sovereignty over this place. Their terrifying pressure made even the surrounding space tremble. Those present with weak cultivation and no powerful elders to protect them had already turned pale under the flood dragons' pressure, and some had even lost control of their bladders!!
Yes, that was right—they had wet themselves. Worse still, a stench was already wafting from the place at the base of some people's tails...
"Azure Nether Heaven-Swallowing Flood Dragons? And nine of them, each with the cultivation of a Great Saint." The Azure Nether Heaven-Swallowing Flood Dragon clan was a branch of the True Dragon Clan. Its formidable strength ranked among the foremost of the True Dragon Clan's branches, and it even had a Quasi-Emperor ancestor.
"Who is it? Who's so extravagant that they'd have nine Azure Nether Heaven-Swallowing Flood Dragons pull their carriage? That's inhumanly rich..." a little fatty shouted.
"Th-there... blind man! Over there."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk... where? Up there," another person said.
In the very center of the palace pulled by the nine Azure Nether Heaven-Swallowing Flood Dragons hung a large plaque. A conspicuous character for "Yuan" shone on it with waves of golden light.
"That's... the forbidden Yuan Clan!"
At that moment, the Yuan Clan's supreme clan elder emerged from the palace with Yuan Zhexian.
"That is the Yuan Clan's supreme clan elder, Yuan Jiuzhong," an ancient figure from a holy land said. "I never expected that old fellow to come. Back in his day, he suppressed all the great heavenly geniuses of his generation and was invincible among those at the same level. Now he's a Supreme Saint. Tens of thousands of years have passed, and I thought he'd already passed away. I didn't expect him to still be alive, the old undying thing. That child behind him seems to be the Yuan Clan's qilin child, born five years ago. Look at the profound and mysterious presence around him, and the Great Dao manifesting all around him. The Yuan Clan really has produced another invincible figure. In the previous generation, Yuan Changsheng alone suppressed the heavenly geniuses of his time until they could hardly breathe. If Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi hadn't been so thin back then, making it unsuitable for attaining the Dao, the Yuan Clan would probably have another Great Emperor now. Truly, a tiger father has no dog son. Why do I get the feeling this child is even more formidable than his father? I just don't know what physique he has."