Chapter 618: Ancient Dao Attainment (4K)

Now he finally had a solid foundation.

Zhang Jian also knew that in this ancient era, he was finally no longer water without a source or a tree without a root.

Naturally, he could now re-establish his roots and tread the path of the Earth Emperor.

One must know that in these ancient times, the Primordial True Goddess Nüwa was the sovereign of the earth.

The vast divine authority Zhang Jian had felt earlier came precisely from this Primordial True Goddess's monopolistic power.

Anyone who wishes to tread the path of the earth and achieve the form of a Dao Lord must still gain this Primordial True Goddess's approval; otherwise, any effort will be twice the work for half the result.

"Little god thanks the Empress!"

Empress Nüwa gave a slight nod.

At this moment, she glanced at Zhang Jian and suddenly said.

"You have cultivated the method of the River and Mountain State Diagram; I wonder what you deem most important in the River and Mountain State Diagram?"

Zhang Jian pondered slightly.

Since he began cultivation, he has never ceased his efforts to perfect the River and Mountain State Diagram.

For a Holy King, the most important element of his River and Mountain State Diagram is naturally people.

People are what constitute everything in the River and Mountain State Diagram.

But for a Divine Dao Sovereign, the only thing truly important in the River and Mountain State Diagram is the earth.

Treading upon the earth, the Divine Dao Sovereign is then innately established in an invincible position.

But for him, this immortal about to certify as a Dao Lord, the most important aspect of the River and Mountain State Diagram is neither the earth nor people, but principle.

He merely uses this as a ladder to ascend to heaven, continuously gaining more knowledge, thereby climbing the Great Dao.

In other words, no matter what element, it is merely to make the River and Mountain State Diagram more complete, its foundation more solid, and thus to continually transform.

Therefore, Zhang Jian answered without hesitation.

"It is the Dao!"

His Dao refers to reason.

Empress Nüwa glanced at Zhang Jian, her expression unchanged.

At this moment, there was no trace of wavering in Zhang Jian's eyes; only a timeless, unwavering heart seeking the Dao.

Empress Nüwa has seen this seeking-heart in many powerful beings.

This is not anything strange.

She gave a slight nod.

"Your path, this seat has seen; the way of the Earth Emperor is indeed magnificent, but a magnificent path does not mean future achievements will necessarily be great; perhaps it will be arduous!"

Zhang Jian suddenly said at this moment.

"Empress, this humble god has a question, but fear offending the Empress..."

This ancient goddess smiled lightly.

"You wish to ask why, knowing you wish to tread the path of governing the earth and the Nine Abysses, I would still help you?"

Her smile was clear and pleasant to hear.

"You must understand, although it is possible, the gap between possibility and necessity is unimaginably vast!"

After a brief pause, she suddenly laughed.

"Moreover, if one day you truly become a threat to this palace, this palace would instead be even happier!"

Facing Zhang Jian's strange gaze, she merely gave a slight smile and said no more.

Her current realm is beyond what Zhang Jian can presently comprehend; there is no need to discuss it further.

At this moment, her eyes fell upon the Nine Heavens Weak Water falling from the azure sky; her expression was calm, her gaze sweeping over the desolate world, though there was a hint of pity in her eyes.

A faint voice drifted down from the void, landing beside Zhang Jian's ear.

"Go forth, this deity lends you a portion of earthly authority; you must strive to uphold the earth and preserve all living beings!"

Zhang Jian bowed slightly in acceptance; his form transformed into a streak of light, flying and leaping toward the distant Zhou Mountain.

Empress Nüwa, meanwhile, flew toward the horizon; she must find a way to seal the breach in Zhou Mountain's collapse, the hole formed by the shattered azure sky, or else it will be impossible to stem this cataclysmic flood.

……

But after leaving Zhou Mountain, Zhang Jian glanced at the shattered fragments of Zhou Mountain, and his eyes held some ripples.

Zhou Mountain can be called the root of the earth.

If he could obtain some earth fragments and forge them into his natal spirit treasure, the Dragon Yin Sword, he could completely reforge a blade imbued with Zhou Mountain's power—a Earth Emperor's Divine Sword.

However, Zhang Jian also knew these Zhou Mountain fragments are resources only those with great divine abilities can contend for.

If he rashly joins the fray, he would merely be seeking his own death talisman.

Zhou Mountain's collapse, for other gods, is a feast.

But for the ancient demon god clan, it marks the beginning of decline from prosperity.

Having destroyed the earth's foundation, the ancient demon god clan's fortune suffers greatly, and they will also endure the backlash from the gods of the desolate world.

……

At this moment, Zhang Jian circulated the authority of the Earth Soul, yet he swiftly searched for survivors upon the earth.

Having obtained the earth's sovereignty and Empress Nüwa's formal investiture, he regained his sacred earthly identity, powerful innate perception, and even heavenly heart感应 returned entirely, and furthermore gained an additional layer of extraordinarily powerful earthly authority.

The Earth Soul is the meridian of the earth.

At this moment, in Zhang Jian's mind appeared the myriad changes in the meridians of mountains and rivers in the desolate world.

Such meridian changes, even if other attribute immortals or gods had mastered them, would likely feel like a book without words, difficult to master, let alone use.

But falling into Zhang Jian's hands, it is like adding wings to a tiger.

His various great divine abilities and immortal arts now also have a foundation.

After the Mountains and Rivers State Diagram merged with these earthly veins, this immortal art would inevitably see a great increase in power.

Moreover, through the Earthly Veins Diagram, Zhang Jian could see where living beings were, as if he had a living map.

Except Zhang Jian.

Within his body, another artifact that had fused with a portion of the Primordial Wilds' earthly veins authority also began to emanate a vast and majestic divine power.

This was the fifth-rank immortal treasure, the State Altar King Cauldron.

This supreme treasure, which suppressed the Mountains and Rivers State Diagram, after fusing with a portion of the Primordial Wilds' earth deity form, finally broke through its bottleneck and gained the chance to ascend to an eternal immortal treasure.

At this moment, within the Mountains and Rivers State Diagram, the State Altar King Cauldron's artifact spirit, the State Altar Immortal Lord, was so pleased it could not stop grinning.

"Your Majesty, following you is undoubtedly the wisest decision I have ever made in my life!"

"Those old acquaintances of mine probably never imagined that I would truly achieve eternity one day, especially those defeated dogs—they likely cannot even imagine that I could reach such a height!"

Upon hearing the words of the State Altar King Cauldron, Zhang Jian was momentarily speechless.

At this time, he simply relied on the power of the Earth Soul Authority to quickly gather the surviving living beings.

……

However, no matter how fast Zhang Jian gathered, he could not outpace the Nine Heavens Weak Water; what he could truly save were only those living beings who temporarily survived under the protection of immortal divine methods.

And as time passed, the longer the Nine Heavens Weak Water ravaged, the fewer living beings could endure.

Meanwhile, on another front, accompanied by a lament that echoed through the primordial wilderness, the goddess Nüwa was seen flying down from the heavens, holding four bloody, terrifying giant feet, and as she cast her spell, the four terrifying giant feet transformed into four-colored radiance that flew to the four corners of the earth.

Subsequently, she took out countless precious heavenly and earthly divine materials and refined them in a great cauldron for forty-nine days, ultimately producing a cauldron of five-colored divine stones.

Above the heavens, countless powerful immortals and gods had already begun to act—some employed immortal arts to gather the Nine Heavens Weak Water from the earth, while others, similar to Zhang Jian after rescuing living beings, cast spells to block the Nine Heavens Weak Water from further eruding other spiritually beautiful lands.

Furthermore, some immortals and gods attempted to contain part of the surging, mighty Nine Heavens Weak Water, stopping its torrent at the source.

Still others flew into the depths of the abyss, unleashing tremendous divine techniques to freeze the Nine Heavens Weak Water for millions of miles.

Yet they could not eradicate the apocalyptic calamity of the Nine Heavens Weak Water.

That ancient goddess, witnessing this scene, immediately ascended, holding the refined five-colored divine stones, which transformed into clusters of five-colored divine liquid that merged into the great abyss below.

The five-colored divine liquid intertwined, slowly combining with the pure qi of the heavens and began to solidify, simultaneously blocking the deadly toxic corrosion and terrifying erosive force of the Nine Heavens Weak Water, gradually mending heaven and earth.

Zhang Jian stood atop a colossal divine peak, beneath him lay the boundless Weak Water in transit.

Gazing upward at the heavens, where the five-colored rosy light gradually spread, his expression also changed at this moment.

Only when truly facing this scene did he realize what immense merit this was.

This act truly brought boundless merit.

However, after mending the heavens, Zhang Jian saw no trace of any leftover five-colored divine stones.

This inevitably made Zhang Jian secretly regretful.

Previously, he had never obtained the fragments of Zhou Mountain; he had hoped somewhat for those five-colored divine stones capable of mending heaven, but now it seemed there was no hope at all.

……

After the heavens were mended.

Zhang Jian noticed that deep within the heavens, in the unseen depths, there was a dense glow of merit-golden light, and a great portion of it descended upon the back of Goddess Nüwa, while another part fell upon the other great divine beings who participated in mending heaven and earth and suppressing the Nine Heavens Weak Water.

Zhang Jian noticed that no merit-golden light sought him out.

What he had done was actually no less than what those great divine beings had done.

Possessing the Earth Soul Authority, he had saved millions of living beings and even constructed an earthen wall to divert the Nine Heavens Weak Water; although he did not seek these merits, he ought to have also received merit-golden light.

The earlier pursuit and his personal encounter with the true form of Goddess Nüwa made Zhang Jian believe he had truly returned to that ancient era.

Yet this change also stirred many doubts in Zhang Jian's heart.

Had he truly returned to the ancient ages?

Or had he merely entered a fragment of some heaven-earth spacetime?

But if it were merely a fragment, he felt that perishing here would be real demise.

Moreover, the Earth Soul Authority was truly present, not illusory.

That majestic investiture of the Earth Emperor God Lord—this rank of Earth Emperor God Lord was far more majestic and vast than the Earth Emperor rank he himself had condensed, many times greater.

But Zhang Jian quickly dismissed these thoughts.

No matter what, everything experienced here was truly real and could truly reflect upon his Dao fruit; thus, he must treat it as real, immerse himself in it, seek a way to break through the calamity and emerge, and thereby truly attain the Dao.

As he answered Goddess Nüwa's words, he pursued the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth.

The ordeal before him, how could it not be a unique landscape upon the path of seeking the Great Dao?

There was no need to deeply investigate whether it was real or merely a fragment of time.

As long as the knowledge gained and the opportunities obtained were real, what did it matter if other things were true or false?

……

After the mending of heaven concluded, Goddess Nüwa, together with the myriad gods and immortals, cast spells to gather the residual Nine Heavens Weak Water from the earth, then extracted the lingering toxins from the earth, and reactivated the earth's vitality.

Zhang Jian, as the Earth Emperor God Lord ennobled by Goddess Nüwa, the Earth Soul, naturally had to assist Goddess Nüwa in reorganizing the earth eroded by the Nine Heavens Weak Water—this was a long-term 'great project'!

However, in the meantime, Zhang Jian began to free some of the collected mundane living beings and human tribes.

The many human tribes felt deep gratitude toward this.

Thus, the name of Earth Emperor spread across the earth, and even some human tribes took Zhang Jian as their totem.

Zhang Jian did not care for these.

……

After ten thousand years, the residual Nine Heavens Weak Water on earth gradually cleared away, and the myriad gods returned to the heavenly court.

The Lord of the Heavenly Court, the Heavenly Emperor, extended an invitation to Zhang Jian, asking him to serve in heaven as an official, but Zhang Jian temporarily declined.

It was a joke—at this time, he dared not in the slightest have any connection with the current heavenly court.

If he were to become involved with the heavenly court, the forthcoming calamities of misfortune and emptiness would likely be very difficult to overcome.

Thinking of the heart-pounding trials of the two previous calamities, Zhang Jian knew that the coming calamity of corruption and the calamity of emptiness would not be so easy to pass.

Recalling again the records in the heavenly court, after the ancient righteous goddess Nüwa mended the heavens, the ancient demon gods' war followed, causing Zhang Jian's Dao heart to tremble.

This is the boundless calamity that arose at the end of the ancient era.

It is said that the internal strife between the leaders of the water and fire ancient demon god clans was precisely the omen of the boundless calamity.

The ancient demon god clan suffered great losses, and thus the Heavenly Emperor Dijun led the gods in a campaign against the ancient demon god clan, thereby ending the divine enfeoffment and accomplishing the great feat of unifying the vast and barbaric world.

At that time, heaven will surely make one become cannon fodder in the ancient demon gods' war.

The calamity of corruption and the calamity of emptiness will inevitably erupt at that time.

Zhang Jian merely imagined it slightly, and felt his Dao heart alarm bell ringing loudly.

Zhang Jian found a place adjacent to the primitive human tribe, an uninhabited divine mountain, and cultivated within that divine mountain.

After confirming that the path of the Earth Emperor could be reestablished without suffering from the targeting of other great divine beings, Zhang Jian then recondensed the Earth Emperor's rank in the depths of the vast and barbaric world, in the deep sea of chaotic primordial source.

Zhang Jian noticed that the chaotic primordial source sea of the vast and barbaric world was clearly different from that of later generations.

It was not that the qi of chaotic primordial source had dissipated, causing the great Dao laws of the boundless heavens and earth to flow in disorder, but rather that towering divine thrones stood deep in the chaotic primordial source sea, with endless divine light condensing into magnificent wheels of primordial qi, networks of Dao qi, ultimately forming immense vortex-like forms.

They were unrivaled.

Latercomers, any immortal or god who attains the Dao must face their oppression.

They can only rise in a narrow space.

Even if they succeed in rising, under the situation where they monopolize the chaotic primordial source sea, the paths for ascent are basically sealed shut.

Otherwise, they can only follow the rules of these terrifying existences, step by step completing their promotion.

This is a kind of oppressive scene.

Under the radiant protection of the divine throne of the ancient righteous goddess Nüwa, Zhang Jian's Earth Emperor rank gradually took form, and within that divine palace, he gradually came to possess a position belonging to himself.

At the time when Zhang Jian's Earth Emperor rank was taking form, he felt the great Dao laws of the boundless heavens and earth resonating.

Countless earths, the Nine Underworlds, and the divine power of the earth-traveling paths coalesced in the new Earth Emperor Dao Lord rank network.

At the same time, the chaotic primordial source sea also trembled slightly, as if boundless purple qi and auspicious clouds were appearing.

As if celebrating the birth of a Dao Lord.

That is correct.

In this ancient era, his state would be considered that of a Dao Lord.

Everything a Dao Lord should have seemed to have been obtained.

Relying on this condensed Dao Lord rank, he possessed all the abilities a Dao Lord should have.

An illusory Dao Lord Dao fruit also emerged alongside his transformation.