Chapter 2078: Looking Back at the Path Traveled

Had it been three or four years earlier, even if He Lingchuan had obtained this great treasure, he would not dare to use it.

The Crimson Azure Golden Palace only consumes a large amount of mystic crystals during the process of materializing and landing; once its scale is fixed, it is no different from an ordinary building, and it can absorb ambient spiritual energy from the air to sustain itself, making it both stable and energy-efficient.

The Illusion Sect used this artifact in the Inverted Sea without needing to exert much effort.

This differs from the floating islands and teleportation arrays of Lingxu City, which are bottomless pits of money.

However, the spiritual energy in the mortal realm is far too thin to sustain it, so the Illusion Sect originally did not place such treasures in the world; fortunately, over the past year, the frequent eruptions of Emperor's Flow Essence have caused the spiritual energy density in the mortal realm to increase exponentially, barely enough to support its operation. He Lingchuan only needs to pay the mystic crystals required for the materialization and landing of the Crimson Azure Golden Palace, after which it will absorb spiritual energy on its own to maintain stability.

Although this is also a tremendous expense, he has calculated the accounts, and it is worthwhile.

Moreover, the Crimson Azure Golden Palace has an advantage that mortal palaces cannot match:

Before materialization, the architectural style, layout, size, and arrangement can be freely customized by the owner.

He Lingchuan's team spent a full six months just crafting the model—no, creating the model diagrams—and repeatedly adjusted and debugged it using a sand table before achieving today's result: a unique effect that blends the Immortal Palace Jade Terrace with imperial grandeur.

After materialization, the architectural layout, exterior appearance, and interior decoration of the Crimson Azure Golden Palace can also be adjusted at any time, as long as He Lingchuan pays sufficient mystic crystals.

Therefore, if in the future one sees a thirty-zhang-high building rise from flat ground in the palace city, there is nothing surprising about it.

Furthermore, since it is an immortal artifact, it naturally possesses defensive capabilities. Its palace walls and gates are far sturdier than mortal constructions—

Of course, to operate it at full power, one still needs to fill it with mystic crystals.

He Lingchuan judges that this function will not be needed in the short term. Combined with these advantages and the showy effect displayed before tens of thousands of subjects today, the cost-performance ratio of the Crimson Azure Golden Palace has been maximized.

Now, the palace city of the Nine Abysses Great Emperor lies to the east of Jucheng, with its main body on flat ground, yet it also incorporates the scenery of mountain streams and waterfalls to the rear. Liu Qingdao and many cultivators have suggested locating the palace city on a mountain, high and lofty, overlooking the mortal realm, to better display the majesty of the emperor/dragon god.

Beijia did exactly that, even placing their palace city in the heavens, with excellent results.

He Lingchuan was tempted by this idea, but then rejected it. In the future, ordinary officials would have to climb a mountain before attending court—who would willingly endure such a hardship?

Therefore, only the gardens behind the palace city are located on the mountain.

At present, he stands outside the vermilion palace gate, looking down upon the roaring cheers of the people before him.

He Lingchuan turned his head and glanced back, then took a deep breath.

He had won.

In the Flash Gold War, he had won.

The fragrance of success always intoxicates, yet it is wrapped in a strong stench of blood.

The scene before him is one of flowers and applause, universal celebration; looking back at the path he came, however, it is a ghostly domain, bones scattered everywhere.

His ascension to the Nine-Five position today—how much painstaking effort, how much day-and-night toil?

How many opponents has he crushed, how many extraordinarily talented individuals has he slain?

And how many warriors who followed the Nine Abysses Great Emperor and followed their ideals have sacrificed fearlessly, now eternally buried beneath the Flash Gold earth?

The weight of this victory cannot be measured.

What it has brought is the dawn of peace and tranquility on the Flash Gold Plains, and also the cornerstone for the Nine Abysses Great Emperor to firmly advance toward his next goal.

The next morning, the early autumn sun shone for the first time upon the palace city of Cangyan State.

Passersby, and those who had lingered from the previous night unwilling to leave, all instinctively exclaimed "Wow!"

Sunlight struck the vermilion eaves and red tiles of the palace city, bursting into a shower of golden jade fragments!

That light was dazzling and domineering, combining splendor and majesty in one; any verbal description would seem inadequate and pale.

This is the origin of the name "Crimson Azure Golden Palace"—these magnificent tiles are "Fire Phoenix Tiles," each resembling a feather of the fire phoenix.

While Chucheng slowly expanded outward, preparing to envelop the palace city, He Lingchuan also freed his hands to command several armies to encircle the remaining Flash Gold tyrants on the Flash Gold Plains.

Even the strongest forces of Yaoguo and Bai Tan were defeated; these tyrants, in both spirit and strength, are no longer rivals of the Dragon God.

Moreover, the Dragon God ascended to heaven in the capital of Cangyan State, and the new palace of Cangyan State rose overnight—these two divine miracles have already spread throughout Flash Gold, becoming almost mythical. Hearing this, the armies of the local tyrants have even weaker will to resist.

Given the prevailing trend, who would still dare to oppose with a mantis's arms?

In less than half a year, the Dragon God Army swept away these small opponents one by one, truly divine in speed, and most of the time was spent marching, after all, the Flash Gold Plains are vast.

Next spring, grass grew and orioles flew, and the Dragon God Army destroyed the "Sea of Grass King" at the southernmost end of the Flash Gold Plains—the last stubborn force of tyrants resisting in a corner.

After a thousand years of separation, the Flash Gold Plains have once again been unified into a single entity!

The founding of Cangyan State announces that the chaos of Flash Gold is now a thing of the past, and a new history is about to be written.

And accompanied by this thunderclap echoing across the Flash Gold Plains, He Lingchuan and his realm finally step onto a new stage, entering the game between great powers.

No one expected that the first war after the founding of Cangyan State would come so quickly, breaking out immediately after.

￥￥￥￥￥

And on the tenth day after the news of "Dragon God's Founding of a State" reached Lingxu City, Qingguo State Priest Nie Xiaolou hurriedly entered the Chonghua Hall.

The Demon Emperor has recently been cultivating here.

Before dawn, the Chonghua Hall was filled with swirling mist and clouds, resembling an immortal palace.

Nie Xiaolou knew that the Emperor was practicing breath cultivation.

This place is already on a floating island; when the Emperor uses his divine powers, the temperature in Chonghua Hall drops to at least minus ten degrees Celsius, and the white jade pillars and rails are covered with frost flowers.

Ordinary people would shiver upon standing here, but Nie Xiaolou waited silently for over a moment until sunrise.

At the instant the morning sun shone into Chonghua Hall, the rolling clouds and mist were gilded with crimson-gold rosy light, indescribably magnificent and splendid.

But the clouds and mist dissipated quickly—just a few moments later, the original pavilions, terraces, towers, and halls of Chonghua Hall were revealed, along with the Demon Emperor's figure coiled around the giant pillar.

The Demon Emperor was inhaling deeply toward the direction of the sunrise, drawing in the last trace of mist tinged with crimson-gold, and only then did he complete his practice.

"Emperor!" Nie Xiaolou bowed toward it.

"What is it?" The Demon Emperor closed his eyes, coiled on the pillar, indistinguishable from a sculpture.

Nie Xiaolou took out a lotus flower from his sleeve, holding it with both hands: "This is the red lotus sent by someone on behalf of the former State Priest of Qingyang, accompanied by a message, to be offered to the Emperor when it blooms. It bloomed at midnight last night."

Is this a relic entrusted by Qingyang? The Demon Emperor only then opened his eyes, glanced at the red lotus in his palm.

I do not know how long ago it was picked, but it still looks fresh and dewy, with even a drop of dew on the lotus petals. The petals unfold layer by layer, revealing the pale yellow lotus base at the center.