"Wuwang Palace Lord has entered closed-door training again? With the great war at hand... he truly is diligent."

"Hasn't Wuwang Palace Lord said before that he's pondering how to deal with the Head Manager's Lifespan Dao, on the verge of a breakthrough, only to be interrupted by those few people sent by Vice Pavilion Master Wang?"

"Hiss—If this breakthrough were to fail, that really would be a great loss for our Human Domain!"

"It's more than that; it would be a significant loss for all living beings between Heaven and Earth."

In that valley were the closed-door training grounds of Wu Wang and Ling Xiaolan.

The sphere, formed by the surrounding Yin Yang Qi, shone with a faint light. One could vaguely see two figures sitting cross-legged inside. More than a dozen masters still protected them from the surroundings, and Master Liu had already ordered everyone not to disturb them.

After Lin Nuhao made his appearance, there was no further development.

The strong gods returned to the Heaven Palace beyond the long wall, while the experts of the Human Domain continued to lie low on the great earth.

The Human Domain and Heaven Palace were still amassing their elites. Neither side currently had the confidence to start a war with an advantageous position, so they fell back into a stalemate.

Many masters returned to this valley to rest, and the topics of their whispered conversations naturally revolved around Wu Wang's Flame Emperor's Command.

Lin Suqing was also surrounded by a few more female cultivators, all from different powers, exchanging pleasantries with her and strengthening their connections.

Lin Suqing's responses were not bad either, her attitude neither servile nor overbearing, positioning herself neither too high nor too low.

Just a little maidservant by the Young Master's side.

The Blue Bird and Immortal Mu watched the scene in silence, both shaking their heads and sighing.

The world of adults is truly complicated.

About a thousand miles away from this place, where the elite Immortal Soldiers of the Human Domain were stockpiled, the camp stretched over a thousand miles, with dozens of mountains moved here to form a strong defensive line.

If the frontline were to falter, this would become the primary barrier to halt the southward march of the Hundred Races' great army.

In a corner of a mountain, hundreds of Immortal Soldiers surrounded a wooden fence.

There were no prohibitions on the wooden fence, nor was there any Formation, and there were no barriers attached around it—it was just a simple cage made from a dozen or so sticks inserted here.

A Transcendent Realm Sword Cultivator in a green robe sat cross-legged here, with a water sack and Spirit Fruits in front of him. The surrounding Immortal Soldiers mostly showed expressions of respect when they looked at him.

Two streaks of Liu Guang crossed the sky and transformed into a male and a female cultivator with middle-aged appearances. They descended in front of Xiao Jian Daoist, bowing in greeting.

Xiao Jian Daoist opened his eyes, rose from within the cage to return the greeting, and immediately asked, "Has Wuwang Palace Lord arrived here yet?"

"Wuwang Palace Lord has indeed arrived."

The newcomers exchanged a look, a barely concealable smile on their faces.

The woman said with a chuckle, "It's not only that Wuwang Palace Lord has arrived, but he also ridiculed Vice Pavilion Master Wang, even taking out a treasure that we hadn't thought of before."

"A treasure?" Xiao Jian Daoist showed confusion. "What kind of treasure?"

The other replied, "The Flame Emperor's Command."

Xiao Jian Daoist's eyes lit up as he asked in shock, "Truly?"

The female cultivator questioned back, "How could this be falsified?"

The male cultivator said, "Boss, you just need to sweep out with your Immortal Consciousness to know."

Xiao Jian Daoist waved a hand, smiling. "If one is imprisoned, then one should look the part. It wouldn't be proper to use Immortal Consciousness."

With that, he paced around the cage for a while before looking up and saying,

"In other words, could it be that Wuwang Palace Lord is possibly the successor that the emperor had chosen long ago?"

"Indeed."

"You should be at ease now, Boss. From now on, we will most likely be following Wuwang Palace Lord closely."

"I am indeed relieved," Xiao Jian Daoist said with a smile and a sigh, his eyes filled with emotion. "It was not in vain that I provoked this incident... Lin Nuhao's rebellion, in the end, wasn't entirely a bad thing. At least it made Wuwang step forward. Good, indeed very good, HAHAHA! HAHAHA!"

The female cultivator whispered, "Boss, what shall we do next?"

"There's no need to do much. Everyone should be at ease by now. We just need to wait quietly; there will be plenty of time to flex our muscles in the future."

Xiao Jian Daoist slowly exhaled. The corners of his mouth revealed a faint smile. A momentary outburst of sharp sword intent emerged, but he quickly concealed it again.

The male cultivator also remarked via voice transmission with emotion,

"The emperor's choice is indeed wise. We were worried for nothing before, thinking that the position of Human Emperor would go to someone chosen by the major powers, not a true talent capable of shouldering this role.

This time with Lin Nuhao's rebellion, perhaps he had already known about this."

"Indeed," Xiao Jian Daoist conveyed telepathically, "Now, there's nothing to be done. Just let everyone fully support Wuwang Palace Lord."

The two immediately responded,

"Naturally, we are all convinced by Wuwang Palace Lord."

"In terms of achievements, strategies, and even qualifications, Wuwang Palace Lord is worthy of our following, especially since he has gained the upper hand against the Head Manager several times."

"Suddenly, it feels like we have a direction to strive for."

"Okay, go now," Xiao Jian Daoist waved his hand. "My master told me to reflect on my mistakes here. If you stay around too long, it might lead to idle talk."

The pair of cultivators immediately bowed and left, transforming into two streaks of Liu Guang heading northward.

Their cultivation levels were not low. The male cultivator had barely entered the Transcendent Realm, likely having forced his progress to cross this threshold in recent years when the might of Heavenly Punishment had significantly weakened.

The female cultivator also had a late-stage Heavenly Immortal Realm cultivation level and was not far from reaching the Transcendent Realm.

Xiao Jian Daoist chuckled, sat cross-legged, and casually stuffed a Spirit Fruit into his mouth, a faint smile lingering on his lips.

He suddenly realized.

In that case, wasn't it superfluous for me to confront those stubborn old men in front of everyone at the Benevolent Emperor Pavilion? I'm doomed. I'll probably be scolded by Master again and leave an impression of lacking sophistication on the great figures of the Human Domain.

But none of this matters now.

My, Wuwang Palace Lord really kept it quite hidden.

Xiao Jian Daoist shook his head in amazement, picked up the water sack, uncorked it, declared, "Good wine!" and took a long drink.

What he didn't notice was that a nearby Immortal Soldier had written something on a Jade Talisman in his hand.

A moment later, the Jade Talisman transformed into a butterfly and flew into the adjacent flowerbed.

Flitting gracefully, the butterfly journeyed on, not knowing how long it had flown or how far it had gone, until a slender, jade-like hand reached out from behind a Great Tree and caught it.

Her slender hand moved deftly, as if weaving mist and clouds, and the Jade Talisman turned into a stream of Liu Guang, flying toward the northeast...

Afterward, the Jade Talisman went through many hands before finally landing in the grasp of an old man exuding an air of immortal spirit.

It was none other than the Pavilion Master of the Four Seas Pavilion, Feng Zhizi.

Feng Zhizi held the Jade Talisman, scrutinizing it carefully for a while. He thought for a bit, then soon chuckled, shaking his head.

These young ones should rest easy now.

Next to him, an old woman holding several Jade Talismans said with a smile,

"Pavilion Master, the reactions from all sides have been collated. Most have accepted the news calmly. The fact that Wuwang Palace Lord holds the Flame Emperor's Command seems to have been within their expectations. However, they didn't expect Wuwang Palace Lord himself to reveal it.

Among them, the Ji Family and Xuan Nu Sect had the most intense reactions. The Ji Family has already commanded people to prepare gifts to present to Wuwang Palace Lord after the battle."

"Ji Mo's luck is truly good."

Feng Zhizi nodded with a smile and then spoke seriously,

"When it comes to far-sightedness and astuteness in judging people, it is still our emperor who excels. Those who complained or were unsatisfied at heart should be closely monitored. Lin Nuhao's sudden rebellion without any prior signs has already reflected negligence on our part. Now, with the matter of the Lin Family, there is inevitably some unrest in the Human Domain. If there are any signs, we must report them immediately."

"Rest assured, Pavilion Master, we've already increased our manpower by sixty percent."

Feng Zhizi took the Jade Talismans from her, pondered a moment, and then put them into his sleeve.

This matter would eventually need to be reported to the emperor.

However, there was too little information collected at the moment, and not much of it was valuable, so it was better to wait a while longer.

...

Feng Chun;

Lifespan;

Living beings wither and die, a cycle repeating;

Reincarnation, life and death.

In the valley, where the Yin and Yang Qi enveloped, the cultivators Wu Wang and Ling Xiaolan had a faint awareness of the situation in the outside world.

Neither side initiated a fight, which let both of them breathe a sigh of relief as they each slid into a state of Enlightenment.

Ling Xiaolan soon felt quite astonished, finding Wu Wang's condition today to be quite abnormal.

When they cultivated together, it wasn't merely sitting side by side; what connected their cultivation was not breath—naturally, it wasn't the physical body or spiritual thoughts either.

During their cultivation, they relied on the mutual stimulation between their Great Daos.

In the past, Ling Xiaolan could feel in Wu Wang's Great Dao the vast expanse of the starry sky and the boundless Star Sea.

But today, Ling Xiaolan discovered that Wu Wang's Great Dao, in addition to the starry sky, had many more complex, obscure, and incomprehensible Dao rhythms.

Was he really pondering on how to break the Lifespan Dao?

Were Brother Wuwang's previous words not simply to frame that Vice Pavilion Master?

Ling Xiaolan's resolve wavered slightly, only to realize that she was almost unable to keep up with the changes in Wu Wang's Great Dao and was pushed out of the joint cultivation state.

If she couldn't hold on, Wu Wang would surely be dragged down.

At that moment, Ling Xiaolan calmed her heart and spirit. She stealthily opened her eyes to take a glance at Wu Wang's face, freeing her resolve from any stray thoughts.

A wisp of Immortal Light emanated from around Ling Xiaolan, slowly enveloping Wu Wang's form.

The softness of water, the subtlety of wind, the warmth of fire, and the rhythm of earth.

Ling Xiaolan's Great Dao was not actually associated with the water element. Her Great Dao had, unbeknownst to her, begun to interpret what softness and tenderness meant.

Wu Wang, who was in the midst of Enlightenment, only felt comfort throughout his body and a spirited zest.

All the Cultivation puzzles that he couldn't figure out before suddenly became clear.

Using the Star God's Great Dao, he sensed the recent changes in the Divine Court of the Heaven Palace.

There originally wasn't a god position for the God of Spring in the Heaven Palace.

With just an edict from the Heavenly Emperor, the Divine Court birthed this god position, ranking very low, even less than the weakest Main God.

In other words, the Heavenly Emperor had suddenly created such a god position, taking advantage of the Young Master going to petition, and smoothly placed it on the head of the Little Golden Dragon from the Human Domain.

Wu Wang couldn't help but ponder further.

The Heavenly Emperor, Emperor Shun, emerged during the Second Divine Era. He rose from the Eastern Wilderness before the ancient god wars and had already experienced a vast expanse of time even before becoming the Heavenly Emperor.

In other words, if one were discussing the most learned divine spirit between Heaven and Earth, Emperor Shun should be on the list.

The impact of the God of Spring's god position on the Lifespan Dao was definitely a deliberate move by Emperor Shun.

He might have become a knife in Emperor Shun's hand—a knife aimed at the Head Manager.

Why would Emperor Shun do this?

If Emperor Shun was overly wary of the Head Manager, he could have simply taken his power directly. The Head Manager had countless flaws and vulnerabilities that Emperor Shun could have exploited.

More importantly, the Head Manager did not have many supporters in the Heaven Palace.

The vast majority of Innate Gods were asleep, and the awakened Innate Gods didn't feel much allegiance to the Head Manager.

When things are out of the ordinary, there must be hidden schemes.

Wu Wang allowed himself to remain in the state of Enlightenment, his Spiritual Mind fully extended, continuously considering every possible scenario that might arise.

In fact, he wasn't particularly skilled at doing this.

He preferred to comprehend the Great Dao, relying on the Great Dao to gallop and soar between Heaven and Earth, feeling his own insignificance and the vastness of the cosmos, then finding refuge within it to experience a moment of transcendence.

The pleasure of Enlightenment often lay in this.

But in the current situation, he had no choice but to use the state of Enlightenment to ponder these issues unrelated to Cultivation.

After an unknown amount of time, a streak of Spirit Light crossed Wu Wang's heart, and he suddenly thought of a treasure.

The Gate of Netherworld.

In the past, Senior Shen Nong had taken Jingwei to search for the Gate of Netherworld. It was located in an ancient battlefield, its entrance only appearing where the sun sets.

Later, Senior Shen Nong transformed Little Jingwei's remnant soul into a Spirit Incubator, sent it to be nurtured in the Human Domain, and gave Wu Wang a fragment of the Gate of Netherworld.

Wu Wang had always carried this fragment with him, previously using the remnant Great Dao on it for disguise.

Now, Wu Wang had extended a wisp of Immortal Consciousness to wrap around it.

This Dao rhythm...

Wu Wang's Spiritual Mind immersed itself, beginning to experience it carefully, to feel it meticulously.

After an unknown amount of time, the Great Dao in the entire world began to tremble, and Wu Wang also heard chaotic and distant voices coming from outside his body.

"The Heaven Palace is attacking! Face them head-on!"

"Quick, relocate this Heaven and Earth, and let Wuwang Palace Lord go to the rear!"

"My fellow Daoists, today I shall battle to the death with the Divine Spirits of the Heaven Palace!"

"Enough, enough, enough! This body was meant to be mere kindling, why sigh over fame and gain."

The tremors of the Great Dao were unceasing, and Wu Wang faintly felt countless figures rushing towards the north from within Heaven and Earth.

The Head Manager's Great Dao surfaced once again, closer to this place, with a stronger oppressive force.

The Great Daos of the Human Domain's experts rose up. There were also the Great Daos of Transcendent beings from the Human Domain, on the verge of self-collapse, that were ignited by the Dao of Fire.

A great battle had commenced while Wu Wang pondered these issues.

But soon, his surroundings seemed coated with a layer, and slight fluctuations appeared in Heaven and Earth.

It was Ming Snake who made a move, directly relocating this place, the clamorous sounds now farther away from him.

At this moment, Wu Wang wanted to open his eyes.

But suddenly, a whisper arose from nowhere, entered his ears, and swiftly brought peace to Wu Wang's Dao-heart.

"Continue comprehending your Great Dao; this is more important than anything else."

The senior had arrived.

Wu Wang's lips curled into a slight smile as his Spiritual Mind returned to his body, to the Great Dao, to nature. He then spread the Spirit Light he had retained before his eyes, pondering it carefully.

The Great Dao roared. Heaven and Earth collapsed.

Divine Spirits with supreme Divine Light condensed the essence of Heaven and Earth, suppressing many powerful beings.

Some beings held mountains between their ribs and grasped rivers in their hands, confronting the gods with boundless heroism.

The armies of the Hundred Races burst forth with fierce battle cries, while the Immortal Soldiers of the Human Domain had already activated their standard-issue Magic treasures, unleashing Liu Guang that filled the sky.

How is Lin Qi now…

Wu Wang suppressed such distracting thoughts in his heart and continued to ponder, ceaselessly searching.

A new phrase slowly emerged.

Dao of Life, Dao of Death, the order of Heaven and Earth, the mysteries of reincarnation.

Suddenly, Wu Wang seemed to hear thundering drums, feeling the turmoil of Heaven and Earth.

This was completely different from the tumult caused by the battle, like he had pushed open a door and glimpsed a silent Heaven and Earth within the Star Sea.

In that silent world, a faint light twinkled. Wu Wang 'saw' something.

It was a square table with a wooden board placed on top, and behind it sat a young Daoist with a smile at the corner of his mouth.

Heavenly Emperor, Emperor Shun.

Was this a hallucination of his or a projection created by the turbulence of the Great Dao?

Fellow Daoist, would you like to play chess?

The young Daoist looked forward as if speaking to someone. Although he seemed to look at Wu Wang, Wu Wang felt that he was not only looking at him.

Wu Wang frowned slightly, looking at the blank chessboard, and after a while, he had an insight.

The rules of the chess game were set by Emperor Shun. The winner of the chess game was judged by Emperor Shun. If he were to join the game, he would need to not only play against Emperor Shun but also master the rules within a limited number of trial-and-error steps.

How could anyone win this game?

Could he calculate three thousand moves in a single step?

Wu Wang shook his head, stepped back half a step, and turned to leave the place.

However, inexplicably, Wu Wang's steps hesitated.

Fellow Daoist?

Fellow Daoist?!

Wu Wang turned his head and glared at Emperor Shun, feeling a chill running up from the soles of his feet, his gaze sharp enough to draw blood from Emperor Shun.

Why would Emperor Shun leave such a mark in the Great Dao?

Fellow Daoist? Isn't that a term used by cultivators of the Human Domain...?

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