Chapter 2416

In the passing of time, two million years flowed by.

With the departure of the Emperor and Empress, the last trace of humanity in the Ancient Emperor seemed to vanish as well, like a divine totem; beings of the mortal realm could scarcely behold him, and he existed eternally like the sun, moon, and stars, observing all things in the mortal realm without change, neither elated by external things nor grieved for himself.

Heaven and Earth are not benevolent; they treat all things as straw dogs.

And the Ancient Emperor is not benevolent; he pays no heed to any living being in the Immortal Dynasty, any moving tale of heroism, any rise and fall of heavenly pride in the boundless starry void, any open or hidden strife among Immortal Dynasty cultivators, nor anything in the mortal realm.

Since ancient times, early emperors diligently governed, administration was clear and order prevailed, but in later periods chaos often arose, corrupt officials ran rampant, deceiving superiors and hiding things from inferiors, in every world common folk suffered slaughter, uprisings broke out everywhere—this is the reason.

The Emperor's life is too long; many things he simply does not care about.

In the mortal realm, there is nothing for him to cherish or care about.

Fortunately, the Tai Shang Da Ri Gu Huang differs from these past emperors in that order and law are of utmost importance in his path; thus, even though he cares nothing for any being in the mortal realm, he cares whether his laws run smoothly, and so the boundless starry void remains orderly.

The Ancient Emperor needs only a society that operates according to law; everything else he does not care about.

This day, once again, was a spring of two million years; flowers bloomed in every world, the air was damp, bird songs, insect chirps, and wind sounds echoed through the worlds, life was so vibrant and beautiful, never losing even a trace of its color due to the Ancient Emperor's indifference.

This day, once again, was a trial of the Immortal Dynasty's Nine-Character Immortal Scripture.

Individual experimental instruments and experimental formations spread throughout the boundless starry void, formation nodes fell in each world, the experimental formations were strict and orderly, far more complex than seven million years ago.

Under the gaze of the Emperor, everything proceeded in orderly fashion.

"Sword Master,"

"The inspection and recheck of the Nine-Character Immortal Scripture formation test are complete; we may now begin the experiment."

A cultivator of the Emperor Realm spoke respectfully.

He seemed to be the Immortal Sect Chancellor; since ancient times, the Immortal Sect Chancellor has traditionally held important leadership positions in the Immortal Dynasty, and even more so after the departure of the Emperor and Empress.

As for his name, Jiang Ding no longer remembered it.

Or rather, it was not that he forgot, but that he did not wish to remember; he never asked, for it held no value, no meaning.

"You have worked hard."

Jiang Ding sat upon the crystal divine throne, slightly bowed his body in return salute.

This Immortal Sect Chancellor was somewhat overwhelmed by favor, hastily bowed even lower, even though he knew the Ancient Emperor's salute was directed at the position of Immortal Sect Chancellor, not himself, his heart still held much trepidation and excitement.

Before this ancient immortal being who had lived thirty million years, everyone felt immense pressure.

"Begin."

"Third trial of the Nine-Character Immortal Scripture, fellow Daoists."

Jiang Ding spoke calmly.

Om!

Om————

The boundless starry void began to tremble slowly, three thousand heavenly ways appeared in succession, countless broken visions arose without cease.

Then, the radiance of the Great Dao of Annihilation shone forth in myriad zhang!

A dim, hazy universe of dusk was born from the Great Dao of Annihilation, like a fist-sized seed, and then occurred an explosion akin to Pangu cleaving heaven and earth, instantly spreading through the boundless cosmic starry void, enveloping the cosmic limit observed by the Ancient Emperor, embracing the world, heaven and earth, starry void, sun, moon, and stars.

Immediately, the Dharma-Ending Age began to appear in reverse cycle in the universe, the sun, moon, and stars fell, the five declines of heaven and man occurred, spiritual energy was severed, and terrible disasters such as the Dharma-Ending Great Rain began to emerge.

This is the third trial; everything is completely under control, almost without mishap.

Immortal Dynasty cultivators had prepared hundreds of thousands of repair contingencies, hundreds of thousands of methods to deal with unexpected situations, and for this they had trained cultivator teams for hundreds of thousands of years, but today it was of no use, everything proceeded in orderly fashion, even giving one a feeling of going through the motions, drowsy and half-asleep.

"First test of the Nine-Character Immortal Scripture experimental model, second test, nine hundredth test————"

"Exploration of the Eight-Character Immortal Scripture————·connect————"

"The Spirit Rice Breeding Project proceeds normally————The Tai Shang Da Ri Immortal Spirit Gold Project proceeds normally————Ancient Emperor-level warship test proceeds normally, test data is being analyzed————"

One report after another flowed into Jiang Ding's divine soul awareness sea, where he absorbed, processed, and analyzed them.

This Nine-Character Immortal Scripture trial was extraordinarily long.

When the predetermined experimental time of sixteen milliseconds arrived, all experiments succeeded, without a ripple, without the slightest mishap.

This means the Tai Shang Da Ri Gu Huang's exploration of the Nine-Character Immortal Scripture has reached a level that shakes ancient and modern times.

It can be said that, were it not for considerations of subsequent principles, reflection, and thought, he could achieve the status of Forbidden Zone Ancient Emperor in a single thought, without any doubt.

Thus, from beginning to end, even at his weakest moment, no foreign enemy has ever invaded.

This is indeed regrettable.

In the boundless starry void, the myriad dusk visions vanished; the Dharma-Ending Age was ultimately merely a fleeting blossom in the reverse cosmic cycle, disappearing in an instant, carrying with it the slight regret of this generation's Great Dao of Annihilation Ancient Emperor.

"Sword Master!"

"Experiment successful!"

The Immortal Sect Chancellor and nine Emperor Realm cultivators of the Immortal Dynasty spoke with excited expressions.

For the Ancient Emperor, this Immortal Scripture trial was merely a repetition of many previous trials, tedious and even somewhat dull, but for them it was one of the most pride-worthy things in their lives, having participated in a major Immortal Dao scientific research that influences the cosmos.

The Immortal Dynasty now has ten Emperor Realm cultivators.

Compared to past numbers, which have halved or even more, this is strangely odd, given that from the perspective of cultivation environment superiority, the present Tai Shang Da Ri Immortal Dynasty far surpasses the past.

This has always been the case in past Immortal Dynasties.

Often, among the first batch of heaven's pride born from hardship and adversity at the founding of a dynasty, the greatest number of Emperor Realm cultivators appear; later times, even if the Ancient Emperor lives, will never again see such a concentration of heavenly pride emerge; many attribute this to cosmic fortune theory, that the boundless starry void has exceptional talent in certain periods, accompanying the birth of the Emperor, just as a batch of stars comes with the fortune.

In subsequent Immortal Dynasty times, however, such fortune does not accompany.

The only consolation is that this Nine-Character Immortal Scripture trial should give rise to several Emperor Realm cultivators.

This is the deep foundation of the Tai Shang Da Ri Immortal Dynasty.

A terrifyingly extreme education system, open inheritance, abundant resources, an enlightened Immortal Dao research environment, and occasional Immortal Dao super-engineering projects—these are the rich soil in which each Emperor Realm cultivator is born.

These special conditions, even other Forbidden Zone Ancient Emperors may not all possess.

The talent born of the Tai Shang Da Ri Immortal Dynasty, in quantity and quality, stands alone in the history of Forbidden Zone Immortal Dynasties; this is one of the important distinguishing features of the Tai Shang Da Ri Immortal Dynasty from other Forbidden Zone Immortal Dynasties.

"The experiment was successful."

"Fellow Daoists, your hard work is noted; rewards will be distributed shortly."

Jiang Ding gave a faint smile, slowly rising from the crystal divine throne and walking toward the depths of Wu Jin Kong Kong.

Wu Jin Kong Kong began to manifest a dim, yellowish vision of the Dharma-ending age; the Great Dao of Dharma-extinction coalesced from the heavenly Dao and descended behind the blue-clad youth, the starry heavens taut as they sensed something approaching.

The ancient emperor of the present age is undergoing ascension into the Forbidden Zone Ancient Emperor!

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