Chapter 985: Slave Emperor

The Shadow Demon Daozi continuously transmitted vast amounts of intelligence to the surrounding Daozi, all newly acquired findings.

Shadow Demon Abyss cultivators lurked across the four wilds, spying on the world; new intelligence emerged every moment, and organizing, categorizing, and summarizing it was the very craft of the Shadow Demon Abyss’s inherited disciples and Daozi, for which they had even created numerous spells to assist.

Jiang Ding and the surrounding Daozi read silently, cross-referencing with old intelligence and pondering.

No words were spoken—only spiritual sense scanning intelligence and deep thought, continuing for months, and the ten Daozi were still lost in contemplation.

Nascent Soul cultivators possessed extraordinary patience and were in no hurry at all.

‘In the cultivation world, the highest-tier power is everything—it is the epicenter of all contradictions.’

‘Therefore,’

Jiang Ding analyzed the political landscape of this foreign realm using the moral and ideological education he had received.

‘The highest-tier power in Jiao Ming Domain are the Emperors, and possibly the Jiao Ming Emperor above them—whose existence remains unknown.’

‘They are the primary contradiction.’

‘From the memories of captured Emperor Sons and the intelligence gathered over the years by Shadow Demon Abyss cultivators, Jiao Ming Domain possesses fifty-six Emperors, nine of whom are Ancient Emperors and nine are Slave Emperors.’

‘Hmm, Slave Emperors?’

Jiang Ding fixed his gaze on this piece of intelligence.

These nine Slave Emperors were servants of nine Jiao Demon Ancient Emperors, personally cultivated by them, and publicly claimed to be as close as brothers.

‘To allow Slave cultivators to ascend to Void Refinement… do the Jiao Demon Emperor Clan possess such breadth of vision and confidence?’

Jiang Ding’s wariness surged.

Just as he himself permitted his subordinates to ascend to Soul Transformation—imposing no restrictions—because he feared nothing, had no dread of successors threatening him, and possessed absolute confidence.

He even welcomed the birth of Northern Plain Soul Transformation cultivators, knowing it would dramatically boost the world’s productivity and tax revenue.

Keep in mind that Shenhuan cultivators are not just big spenders—they consume enormous amounts of spirit stones.

If Soul Transformation cultivators were willing to work, channeling their immense magic power and spiritual sense into production, they were far more effective than millions of Qi Refining laborers working in unison.

One Soul Transformation cultivator equaled billions of oxen and horses.

Extending this logic, if the Jiao Demon Emperor Clan possessed such confidence, it was terrifying—they must possess hidden power.

‘Oh, no.’

‘Below is annotation by the Xuanwu Heavenly Palace and Shadow Demon Abyss Great Ones.’

Jiang Ding examined it closely.

Every domain’s intelligence was personally reviewed and annotated by the Void Refinement Great Ones of Jiuling Domain, hands-on—no longer the old days when Great Ones hovered in the clouds, unseen for millennia.

‘These nine Slave Emperors must have been subjected to ironclad prohibitions spanning soul, body, karma, and cosmic laws.’

‘From time to time, Slave races produce prodigies so extraordinary they astonish Void Refinement cultivators; investing a little yields a Void Refinement servant—truly tempting…’

This was the annotation by the Xuanwu Heavenly Palace Great One.

‘Not so.’

The Shadow Demon Abyss Great One’s annotation was even more extreme.

‘In my view, these nine Slave Emperors have surely been forged into something akin to external incarnations—their original souls erased entirely. According to intelligence, the kin, clans, and tribes of many Slave Emperors gained no significant benefits after their ascension to Void Refinement, which defies logic…’

‘Jiao Ming Domain, ruled by the Jiao Demon Emperor Clan who enslave all races, must enforce brutal measures to prevent their dominion from being overthrown; anyone who defies them will be attacked collectively by numerous Emperors.’

‘Even Ancient Emperors are not exempt.’

‘Even if they possess the capability, they will not alienate the many Emperors of their clan over a single servant.’

‘Therefore, they must answer to the Emperors.’

‘In my view, erasing the original self and forging them into external incarnations is more rational from the perspective of clan and personal interest…’

‘…Perhaps this is an opportunity. I wonder if the Jiao Demon Emperor Clan’s technique for erasing Void Refinement souls is strong enough.’

Remember, preserving a Void Refinement cultivator’s full existence while erasing their original self is no simple feat—if their method is crude and leaves remnants, it might be an opportunity for us to exploit…’

Subsequent Great Ones and even the Immortal Sect’s ruling elders discussed this possibility and established a research institution to conduct exhaustive exploration, leaving no possibility unexamined.

‘These Slave Emperors are currently useless.’

‘Contacting Void Refinement cultivators is too dangerous; moreover, they are at minimum bound by severe soul prohibitions, making them a major threat that could attract Ancient Emperor attention.’

Jiang Ding rejected this possibility.

This level was too high—he could not exploit it.

‘This is a cultivation world.’

‘In Jiao Ming Domain, in the absence of large-scale external invasion, the primary contradiction must be internal.’

‘Sentient beings all vie for their own interests; one’s clan’s interest is not necessarily one’s own interest, and one’s own interest is not necessarily the same as that of fellow clansmen… and so on—in the absence of external enemies, internal contradictions must dominate, making slaughter and massacre inevitable.’

In Jiang Ding’s mind, many moral and ideological concepts flowed slowly through.

He focused his attention on the history of internal struggles within the Jiao Demon Emperor Clan.

‘…The Nine Saints War… nine Ancient Emperors have been locked in ceaseless warfare for over ten thousand years, with billions of Slave Strongholds dead and countless Jiao Demon Emperor Clan elites staining the stars with blood.’

Even now, the armies of the nine Ancient Emperors still face each other across the stars…

‘…There is a proverb in this domain: “The Emperor of Jiao Ming Domain shall be the Jiao Ming Emperor.”’

‘The one who unifies the domain will ascend beyond Emperor…’

‘Excellent. The Jiao Demon Emperor Clan’s internal contradictions are not only present—they are acute.’

‘They may be about to go to war.’

Jiang Ding whispered.

He instantly understood the concerns of the Void Refinement Great Ones: ‘Therefore, we must not, at this moment, create for them a foe that is neither weak nor strong…’

Jiang Ding reviewed everything, his final gaze fixed on the intelligence regarding the Cangyan Star Sea—the star region where Cangyan Ancient Emperor resided.

‘In the Cangyan Star Sea, six Jiao Demon Emperors revere Cangyan Ancient Emperor as their sovereign, yet among themselves they engage in constant open and covert rivalry; their demonic armies clash every few centuries in brutal struggles, though no Emperor-level battles have ever been reported.’

In the Cangyan Star Sea, six Demon Lord monarchs, while acknowledging the Cangyan Ancient Emperor as their sovereign, constantly vied against each other in open and covert struggles; every few centuries, their demon armies would slaughter one another in brutal conflicts, though reports of direct wars between the monarchs were exceedingly rare.

‘The Emperor’s son does not inherently possess the Emperor’s crown; other close kin of the clan also hold varying degrees of succession rights.’

The son of a monarch does not necessarily inherit the monarch’s crown by birth; other close kin of the same clan also hold varying degrees of succession rights.

‘What is this? It seems to be a celestial heart imprint, a Daozi seal—something like my Taiqing Flying Sword, which greatly aids ascension to Emperor, yet is formed postnatally, born of “combining clan fortune” and “domain fortune.” Many Emperor Sons have killed each other repeatedly over this object; the death of Emperor Sons is common.’

What is this? It seems to be a Heavenly Heart Mark, a Dao Heir’s seal—something like my Taiqing Flying Sword, which greatly aids ascension to monarch status, though it is formed after birth, born of the fusion of clan fortune and world fortune; many imperial heirs have killed one another repeatedly over such objects, and the death of imperial heirs is commonplace.

‘Sect Daozi need not compete—they merely grow normally and will almost certainly reach Void Refinement and then Emperor.’

After reading all this, Jiang Ding gradually developed a strategy.

Continue refining.

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