Chapter 506: Three Emperors, Fire Cloud Cave (4K)

"Master, this pool is truly wondrous and extraordinary—I never imagined that, as a mere Great True Person of Fortune, I would have already prematurely transformed into an immortal's body; truly, I am fortunate beyond measure!"

Standing beside the Ancestor of the Dongshen Sect, Jingming Daoist's expression was filled with joy.

To forge an immortal's dharma body ahead of schedule while possessing the body of a Great True Person of Fortune—is that not saving ten thousand years of cultivation?

The Ancestor of the Dongshen Sect glanced at this foolish disciple and secretly shook his head.

The benefits are not limited to Jingming Daoist alone; other Yuanshen cultivators have also seized the opportunity to transform into immortal bodies.

Meanwhile, cultivators below the Yuanshen realm, or ordinary mortals, can only transform into heavenly-human bodies.

Although the heavenly-human body is profound and nearly innate, with a long lifespan and having escaped the cycle of life and death, it is still clearly inferior to the true immortal's body.

Zhang Yifu and his wife, Qi Yuhua, and Zhang Duan successively emerged from the Immortal-Transformation Pool, at this moment sensing the changes in their bodies, yet wearing expressions of novelty.

The heavenly-human body is close to the Great Dao; though it cannot compare to the true immortal's body, compared to the heaviness of the mortal body, it is now vastly superior.

Thereafter, those with the heavenly-human body suffer no illness or disaster, can subsist on qi alone, are unbound by the five grains and miscellaneous grains, and are free from the constraints of all manner of cravings.

Since disease enters through the mouth, with the restraint of cravings lessened, the heavenly-human body naturally enjoys ease and carefree wandering.

Many senior ministers of the Holy Dynasty also felt this change, their expressions delighted.

At this moment, Zhang Jian's gaze fell upon a pair of dragon sons and daughters in the corner, as well as three other youths.

The two dragon sons and daughters are the children of Zhang Yi, each inheriting his dragon bloodline, possessing dragon forms and dragon features; though they have just entered the Yuanshen realm, this time they too have received fortune and forged immortal bodies.

The dragon son is named Zhang Tianrui, and the dragon daughter is named Tianxiang Princess.

The other three youths are the children of Zhang Zhao and Yili'er; among them, two grandsons are merely Yin Shen Zunzhe in realm, while the granddaughter is a fourth-generation cultivator of the Dongzhou Zhang clan, merely at the Golden Core realm.

At this moment, the three stood together, faintly curious.

They all possess innate or acquired Dao bodies, being members of the Zhang clan.

One grandson is named Zhang Qi, the other Zhang Nan, and the granddaughter is named Zhang Yujing.

Zhang Jian silently memorized the names and titles of these five, as well as several other descendants of the Dongzhou Zhang clan.

Zhang Jian intends, after a period of time, to similarly reestablish the Zhang clan in the Three Emperors' Heavenly Realm, or perhaps in the Central State Heavenly Realm.

After summoning the people, Zhang Jian then followed the Five Second-Grade Ancestors, including the Water Official Great Emperor, out of the Jiazi No. 9 Immortal-Transformation Pool.

Zhang Jian took the opportunity to ask Chu Fa Lao Zu about the surrounding territories, as well as the broader situation of part of the Central Heavenly Realm within the Three Emperors' Heavenly Realm, so as to have a clear understanding, and upon entering the Central Heavenly Realm, to prepare countermeasures in advance.

Regarding Zhang Jian's curiosity, Chu Fa Lao Zu merely smiled faintly; he was very patient, first giving Zhang Jian a brief 'popular science' overview of the situation in the Three Emperors' Heavenly Realm.

"The Three Emperors' Heavenly Realm belongs to the neutral force of the Three Emperors and Five Elders Assembly in the myriad heavens' void; my Tongshan Dao lineage is actually also a part of the Three Emperors and Five Elders Assembly—this is, in fact, a loose human alliance!"

"Most of its members are heavenly kings and human emperors from the myriad heavens' void."

"Everyone's core interest is consistent: to safeguard the interests of humanity. When humanity faces no threat, everyone naturally develops independently, and there are even many mutual hostilities; but when facing a great apocalyptic destruction, many members of the Three Emperors and Five Elders Assembly have the duty to protect all human races across the myriad heavens, ensuring humanity can still compete absolutely among the myriad races."

"Ancestor, then should the Three Emperors and Five Elders Assembly not have arbiters to mediate from within? Surely there are no hard requirements in ordinary times?"

"And who are the decision-makers of the Three Emperors and Five Elders Assembly? Is our Ancestor King Yu of Xia one of them?"

Zhang Jian frowned slightly.

Since the Three Emperors and Five Elders Assembly is so vast, and as arbiters they hold such immense power, they should not normally do nothing at all?

Similar to other organizational structures, those in control of such vast energy, even a casual investment, could yield steady profit without loss!

If they hold such vast power, yet normally let them become a scattered sand, hoping they can have cohesion at critical moments to protect humanity—that seems unlikely.

As the Holy King of Great Xia, Zhang Jian is all too aware of the nature of those human powerhouses.

Chu Fa Lao Zu smiled faintly.

"The arbiters of the Three Emperors and Five Elders Assembly are naturally the Three Emperors and Five Elders themselves; the Three Emperors are the Heavenly Emperor, the Agricultural Emperor, and the Human Emperor—respectively the three ancient human sage emperors: Heavenly Emperor Fuxi, Agricultural Emperor Shennong, and Human Emperor Xuanyuan. These three sage emperors once left behind some legends in our Zhou Shan Realm, even their projections served as temporary human sage emperors, unifying the human race of Zhou Shan Realm!"

Zhang Jian's eyes flickered, and he said.

"The Ji clan?"

Chu Fa Lao Zu gave a slight nod.

"The Ji clan are the descendants left behind by the Human Emperor's incarnation; the other two sage emperors respectively left behind the Jiang clan, the Tao clan, and so forth!"

"As for the Five Elders, they are five ancient imperial lords; our Ancestor King Yu of Xia is one of them!"

After a brief pause, Chu Fa Lao Zu looked at Zhang Jian and smiled.

"King Yu of Xia is merely the honorary title of our Ancestor during his tribulation-transmigration in the Zhou Shan Realm; he has undergone tribulation-transmigration in many worlds and left behind many sage emperor legends!"

In the midst of his thought, Chu Fa Lao Zu suddenly said to Zhang Jian.

"By the way, A Yu, do you know which divine land this ground beneath your feet belongs to?"

Zhang Jian's eyes flickered, his heart stirred; combining mythological rumors, he said.

"I recall the Ancestor mentioning earlier that this place is the ancient Qingqiu under the governance of Lady Qingqiu—could this be the territory under the Ancestor's control?"

Chu Fa Lao Zu affected a mysterious air and smiled.

"Though not incorrect, yet not to be desired!"

"You may not know that the leader of the Qingqiu Immortal Land, Lady Qingqiu, is none other than my master—your Ancestor's Dao companion; if you encounter female immortals of the Qingqiu clan, do not mistake them for strangers!"

Zhang Jian made an expression of 'sudden enlightenment,' then immediately said.

"Ancestor Master, when I was in the lower realms, I also heard of the name of Qingqiu; the Zhou Shan Realm also has Qingqiu, but it is mainly the lineage of the Tianhu Palace, a major base of the celestial fox kind!"

Chu Fa Lao Zu stroked his beard slightly, also delighted to show off such 'secret knowledge' before Zhang Jian.

"Your guess is not wrong; Lady Qingqiu herself is indeed the goddess of the ancient celestial fox clan, and they certainly count as her subjects!"

"Ah, now I understand! Fortunately, during my previous entry into the barbaric regions, I did not happen to uproot the Tianhu Palace; otherwise, it would have caused a hilarious mix-up!"

Chu Fa Lao Zu shook his head.

"That is of no consequence; in the myriad heavens' void, there are not few celestial fox lineages named after Qingqiu, but not every one is favored by the Lady!"

"Without the Lady's divine seal, you may act freely—she will not blame you!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jian nodded.

Thereafter, Chu Fa Lao Zu began to speak of the cultivation rules in the Fire Cloud Cave.

"A Yu, according to reason, generally speaking, after an immortal deity bearing the status of the Human Emperor ascends, they will be invited to enter the Fire Cloud Cavern to cultivate in seclusion for three thousand years; this is the care given by the Three Sovereigns and Five Elders to the leaders of the myriad heavens' human race, only the duration of stay is not necessarily exactly three thousand years; if you follow the strategy I gave you, and succeed, you might possibly stay inside for twenty or thirty thousand years or more!"

Speaking to this point, the Exorcism Law Ancestor sighed slightly.

"The depths of that Fire Cloud Cavern are indeed a fine place; cultivating there for one year equals ten years elsewhere, even up to a hundred years; within it, the Dao resonance left by the myriad heavens' Human Emperors, as well as ancient lost teachings, with your accumulation, if you can stay there for twenty or thirty thousand years, you will surely benefit for life!"

Hearing the Exorcism Law Ancestor's tone so solemn, Zhang Jian indeed developed great interest in this rumored Fire Cloud Cavern.

In human legend, the Fire Cloud Cavern is the holy land of the myriad heavens' void human race.

Its interior contains a rich mysterious hue.

It is heard that the human sovereigns of the myriad heavens' void have all stayed there and left behind their own secret teachings, imprinted.

With the Exorcism Law Ancestor lecturing all along the way about various secrets of the Three Sovereigns' Heavenly Realm and the Central Heavenly Realm, Zhang Jian did not find this journey particularly dull; on the contrary, he listened with relish.

Afterwards, the group entered the Qingqiu Immortal Palace to pay respects to the Qingqiu Lady, this elder of the Tongshan Dao Lineage.

However, things did not go smoothly; the Qingqiu Lady had recently been invited by a certain ancient female immortal to visit the Central Heavenly Realm as a guest.

Thus, the group did not linger long in the Qingqiu Palace.

The Qingqiu Immortal Mountain stands beneath a colossal ancient tree that props up heaven and earth.

That peculiar ancient tree is lush and verdant, reaching the blue sky, and beneath it lies another magnificent divine city.

In the divine city, the majority are demon cultivators, among whom the fox clan cultivators are the most numerous.

The group passed through the spatial gate within the divine city, directly crossing the boundless void, yet arrived before a magnificent divine city.

It is a magnificent divine city, appearing as if standing amidst vast expanses of land; it is a city permeated with countless spacetime realms, even extending to countless sacred pure lands.

At every point in spacetime, it flows with vast and mighty divine energy.

Within it, countless wondrous secret realms have been nurtured.

The vastness is even beyond imagination.

It seems that at a glance, inside there are an unknown number of billions of trillions of human beings existing within.

Such a divine city, even if numerous immortals and deities, would feel dizzy and disoriented.

At this moment, around the divine city, there are also many patrols whose bodies flow with intense immortal Dao law light and shadow; those battalions of heavenly soldiers and generals possess formidable cultivation, strict military discipline.

At a glance, their numbers reach tens of thousands; this is merely the outer patrol heavenly soldiers and generals.

Within the countless spacetime realms inside, the number of stationed powerhouses is too great.

"They are actually all true immortals, even heavenly immortals; immortals and deities have proliferated to such an extent?"

At this time, many senior officials of the Xia Dynasty glanced over, only feeling their scalps go numb.

The other five second-generation Ancestors, upon seeing this scene, merely smiled faintly; among them, the red-robed Chi Mei True Person laughed heartily, gazing at Zhang Jian and said.

"A Yu, this place is the central region of the Three Sovereigns' Heavenly Realm, the Three Sovereigns City; we each hold important positions, so we can only send you here; we will next participate in the Three Sovereigns City's Three Sovereigns Auction, heard that this time there are indeed many good things emerging; if you are interested, you can also go take a look!"

Besides, several other Daoists also nodded slightly.

They arrived at the Three Sovereigns' Heavenly Realm, mostly for this purpose; as for receiving Zhang Jian, it was merely incidental.

Of course, they also had some curiosity about Zhang Jian himself.

However, now upon seeing the True Person, after meeting face to face, they were not in a hurry to get close.

Zhang Jian nodded slightly at that moment.

The many cultivators beside him, gazing at this scene, remained greatly shocked.

Such a magnificent divine city, even if some of them have wandered outside the realms, is something they have scarcely seen in their lifetimes.

The group's figures leapt and soared; after a moment, they arrived before the city gate.

Before the city gate, there were additionally over a thousand heavenly soldiers and divine generals guarding here; after the group's figures descended, the Exorcism Law Ancestor casually took out a credential from his sleeve and handed it to Zhang Jian, then immediately led Zhang Jian's party into the lodging place within the Three Sovereigns City.

Zhang Jian will next proceed to the Fire Cloud Cavern, while the other various persons will be settled within the Three Sovereigns City.

Here is the stronghold of the Tongshan Dao Lineage.

After Zhang Jian finishes his cultivation in the Fire Cloud Cavern, he will then lead the group to the Emperor's Mansion in the Central Heavenly Realm.

It is said that Zhang Jian's Lingyuan Emperor's Mansion is currently under construction.

The Tongshan Dao Lineage's stronghold in the Three Sovereigns City is very secluded; it is located deep within the realm of a domain called the Tian Ding State.

That Tian Ding State is currently under the control of a Tian Ding Immortal Monarch under the Tongshan Dao Lineage of the Heavenly Realm.

The Tian Ding Immortal Monarch is a disciple of the Tianhe True Person, the patriarch of the Tongshan Dao Lineage in the Heavenly Realm.

That is a great immortal of the Taiyi realm.

Currently, the Tian Ding State is in its period of prosperity.

The place where the group resides is one of the cave-heaven secret realms within it; inside, the innate spiritual mechanism is extraordinarily abundant.

Moreover, this place seems to be where the dragon qi of the Tian Ding State converges; by this, one can comprehend the heavenly and earthly law divine rhythm flowing within the Three Sovereigns City, which is greatly beneficial for the group's cultivation.

Clearly, such resources must have been arranged by that Tian Ding Immortal Monarch.

Out of worldly etiquette, Zhang Jian immediately also accepted the Tian Ding Immortal Monarch's welcoming banquet for the group.

Only then did Zhang Jian and the Exorcism Law Ancestor set off toward the Fire Cloud Cavern.

On the way, the Exorcism Law Ancestor mentioned the Tian Ding Immortal Monarch and laughed.

"A Yu, the Tian Ding martial nephew is, to some extent, also your martial uncle; he is a human race from other realm-exterior voids, but his attainment of the Dao dates back extremely early; he is quite warm-hearted; rare is his familiarity with matters in the Three Sovereigns City; if we are not around, you can seek him out to discuss!"

Zhang Jian nodded upon hearing this.

His impression of the Tian Ding Immortal Monarch is still not bad.

Although he is smooth in manner, sleeves adept at dancing, he is also a talented genius of his time, possessing his own graceful and unrestrained demeanor.

The Fire Cloud Cavern is the core of the Three Sovereigns City; it is said to have been established during the Five Grand Beginnings, when heaven and earth were not yet formed; this place further has the boundless Imperial Dao great fortune enveloping it.

Not long after, the Exorcism Law Ancestor brought Zhang Jian to before a magnificent palace gate.

"Ancestral God Hall! "

Gazing at this hall before him, Zhang Jian slightly furrowed his brow, but still the Exorcism Law Ancestor walked in.

This is the place for registration and record-keeping.

Whenever an ancient holy king entered the Fire Cloud Grotto-Heaven, they would register here first, and only then would the Three Sovereigns and Five Elders approve the application, thereby opening the location of the Fire Cloud Grotto-Heaven.

Zhang Jian noticed that the Ancestral God Hall enshrined many human sages and worthies, among them the ancient Three Sovereigns: Suiren-shi of the Fire-Maker Sovereign, Youchao-shi of the Nest-Maker Sovereign, and also the Black-Cloth Clan.

Taking advantage of the brief wait, Zhang Jian casually grabbed a few sticks of incense from the side, lit them, and offered them as a sign of respect to all the human ancestral gods.

Zhang Jian only waited a moment in the Ancestral God Hall, and shortly afterward received news that his application had been approved.

Only to see countless divine lights surge forth from within the Ancestral God Hall, as a magnificent purple passage formed in the midst.

The Dharma Elder Ancestor watched this scene and smiled, saying.

"A Yu, this is the entrance to the Fire Cloud Grotto. Once you enter the Fire Cloud Grotto, everything will depend on yourself!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jian gave a slight nod, without hesitation, he strode into the purple light.