Chapter 210

"Xuan……Du……"

Xue Xiaohei……no, he had already renamed himself Xue Xuan, after all the old name was unsuitable for polite society, and 'black' equals 'xuan', and he could also leech off the fame of the ancient emperor Xuan Du, boosting the credibility of his own 'Xuan Du reincarnation'.

Thus it can be seen that Xue Xuan still places considerable importance on his own legitimacy.

So, when this state letter signed 'Xuan Du' was delivered into his hands, he was a bit dazed.

After the daze came shock, followed by suspicion:

He admitted that he had indeed been a little frightened just now, after all he was using the name Xuan Du, and suddenly seeing another Xuan Du, his first reaction was 'Oh no, a fake meeting the real one!'

This is no small matter, as Xuan Du, the last celestial emperor of the mythical era, naturally possesses immense prestige; merely his cultivation as a Great Luo Golden Immortal is enough to easily handle this impostor emperor who deceives and steals fame……

But after the panic, Xue Xuan reconsidered:

"Wrong! If he were truly Xuan Du, how could the Heavenly Court have perished?"

After much thought, Xue Xuan came to a judgment:

"This is definitely not the real Xuan Du; it's almost certainly some cultivator deceiving and stealing fame, using the name Xuan Du to seek profit……"

"As for declaring war……"

Xue Xuan hesitated slightly, because he also dared not guess what cultivation level this other 'Xuan Du' possessed—what if he were stronger than himself?

Thus, out of caution, he summoned the envoy from the opposite side……

【The envoy lacked the cultivation of a true immortal; facing the deliberately displayed aura of a Xuan immortal, he immediately knelt!】

【Before you could even speak, the envoy burst into tears and snot, kowtowing repeatedly: 'We, your subjects, failed to recognize the true Heavenly Emperor in person; we truly deserve death!'】

【You instantly found it funny: you say I am the true Heavenly Emperor, then what is your heavenly emperor?】

【"Naturally a madman who deceives and steals fame!"】

【No one knows what ideological struggle this envoy has gone through, but he simply insists that you are the true Xuan Du, while his is fake…… A drifter of half a life, only regretting not having encountered a wise ruler; if the Emperor does not abandon me, I am willing to bow as your subject……】

【You curiously inquired about various domestic conditions, and the envoy readily sold state secrets without reservation.】

【After a moment, you finally gained a preliminary understanding of that so-called 'Xuan Du Heavenly Court': this 'Xuan Du' has the cultivation of a celestial immortal, having become an immortal over three thousand years ago; after attaining immortality, he proclaimed he had broken the mystery of the womb, claiming to be a reincarnation of Xuan Du!】

【Under his military might, although nobody really believed it, they were still forced to accept it, thereby honoring him as emperor and establishing the Heavenly Court.】

【After he ascended the throne, his true nature was revealed: not only did he impose harsh taxes and extortionate levies, scraping benefits from every blessed grotto, he also sold offices and titles, granting official positions to anyone who provided sufficient cultivation resources.】

【After those who bought offices obtained their positions, they likewise greedily exploited ordinary cultivators, causing the cultivators to suffer greatly……】

【It has always been cultivators who prey on mortals, yet unexpectedly there are true immortals who prey on cultivators!】

【Moreover, the impostor emperor's outrageous actions don't stop there: to maintain his sole supremacy, he even forbids his subjects from attaining immortality, so that cultivators, no matter how hard they strive, can only, after being utterly drained by the emperor's exploitation, die miserably in resentment!】

【Thus, the impostor emperor cultivated from a true immortal to the present celestial immortal, yet his policies remain unchanged—still greedy and tyrannical; under his rule not even cultivators can make a living, let alone mortals……】

【Having heard the envoy's sorrowful lament, you were greatly astonished: it seems this world is not lacking in clever people after all!】

【The illusory, ethereal immortal realm sees only departures, no returns; even though everyone holds beautiful fantasies about it, there will always be someone who feels something amiss and thus chooses not to go to the immortal realm.】

【These true immortals, a portion will, like Jing Xin of years past, choose to seclude themselves in the mortal world, neither going to the immortal realm nor continuing to cultivate by feeding on humans, instead loafing about as salted fish.】

【Meanwhile, another portion will completely break moral boundaries, treading the path of continuing to cultivate by consuming humans, advancing from true immortal to celestial immortal, even to Xuan immortal and Golden Immortal……】

【For example……this……this impostor emperor!】

【You almost immediately made the decision: this celestial impostor emperor must be taken down as soon as possible, otherwise, as he continues to develop, he will inevitably become a major threat!】

【Having made the decision in your heart, your expression remained unchanged; you only smiled and looked at the envoy, who was still pouring out his grievances and professing loyalty: "What do you think of my rule?"】

【The envoy immediately shuddered, then began to boast extravagantly: 'Under Your Majesty's rule, the roads are teeming with people, the cities flourish, and everyone is full of hope for the future……'】

【"Their eyes shine!"】

【Having finished praising mortals, the envoy then lauded the officials: 'Your Majesty selects heavenly officials without bribery or purchase; instead, all are admitted into the Heavenly Court, everyone has a post, and everyone receives a salary—truly a paradise on earth! I fear even the rule of the ancient Golden Heavenly Emperor pales in comparison to yours!'】

【You laughed upon hearing this, then seriously told him: 'You are mistaken.'】

【The envoy was dazed for a moment, his heart skipped, and he cautiously asked: 'Could it be that your domain also sells offices and titles?'】

【You smiled and shook your head; just as he breathed a sigh of relief, you said: 'Here we do not sell offices and titles, but from time to time we carry out great purges, and heavenly officials die quickly!'】

【The envoy broke out in a cold sweat at that moment.】

【"Furthermore, you do not allow cultivators to become immortals, whereas we here do not allow mortals to cultivate immortality—even more extreme than you."】

【The envoy sweat drenched his back……】

【He finally realized you might not be the wise and holy sovereign he imagined, yet still unwilling to give up, he asked: 'After we overthrow the impostor emperor's Heavenly Court, can we cultivators at least become heavenly officials? Our demands are not high; merely attaining immortality would suffice……'】

【You smiled without speaking, and facing the civil and military officials, their expressions turned odd, as if they wanted to laugh but dared not.】

【The envoy finally broke down in despair, presenting his lowest demand: 'If universal immortality is impossible, then at least let our single grotto attain immortality; as for the other unfortunates of the grottoes, let them simply die of old age!'】

【You sat solemnly upon the throne and earnestly told him: 'No, I will only open a slaughter.'】

【Envoy: ……】

【You are too extreme!!!】

【The envoy's emotions ran high, after all his mission was to betray the country; essentially he wanted to represent the domestic cultivator forces to negotiate terms with you, but your remark 'I will only open a slaughter' completely made him lose his composure!】

【You sighed, then summoned the Blood God Son, and forcibly performed a sacred 'purification' on this distant traitor who had offered allegiance……】

【"Loyalty! Sincerity!"】

【"The grace of the Heavenly Emperor is not yet repaid!"】

【"……"】

【Very good.】

【Watching the fervent envoy, who had taught himself and kept shouting slogans nonstop, you smiled with satisfaction……】

【Next, you directly mobilized one hundred thousand true‑immortal‑level heavenly troops, using the defecting envoy as a guide, and marched straight toward the impostor emperor's Heavenly Court!】

【This battle is both a campaign of conquest for you and an active effort to uphold your own legitimacy.】

【In the world, one incarnation of Xuan Du is enough!】

【……】

In the 526th year of the Heavenly Emperor, a false emperor deceived the world and stole a name, even daring to send a challenge letter, which provoked the Profound Heaven Emperor's fury!

To uphold the glory of his first life and live out his second, under the Profound Heaven Emperor's great wrath, he launched a righteous punitive expedition against this god‑feigning "Li Gui"!

The Profound Heaven Emperor, with his Profound Immortal cultivation, personally led the campaign, accompanied by a hundred thousand heavenly soldiers and generals, rushing day and night...

In the 548th year of the Heavenly Emperor, the Profound Heaven Emperor campaigned against the false emperor, defeated him soundly, and in the imperial palace beheaded the audacious Heavenly Immortal false emperor!

After the false emperor's death, the Profound Heaven Emperor angrily slaughtered the officials of the false heavenly court, then purged all the cavern‑heavens and blessed lands that aided the tyrant, slaying countless cultivators below True Immortal!

The false emperor's heavenly court was utterly uprooted!

After annexing the former lands of the false heavenly court, your heavenly court grew stronger again; according to the immortals' astrological calculations, its soil amounts to one‑hundred‑millionth of the Western Wasteland!

In the 1230th year of the Heavenly Emperor, amidst the bizarre speed‑boost buff brought by the heavenly court's frenzied slaughter, you, undergoing your second reincarnation, finally touched the fourth stage of the Immortal Path: Golden Immortal!

The Five Elements Immortal Qi dwells within the chest, endlessly circulating; moreover, the Three Treasures of Essence, Energy, and Spirit each condense and sublime, residing above, as if nurturing something… finally, a speck of imperishable golden nature arises within the primordial spirit…

Golden Immortal, achieved!

You slowly open your eyes; from the perspective of a Golden Immortal, heaven and earth seem to have taken on a different aspect: decayed and ancient, inexplicably evoking a sense of sorrow...

After sighing slightly over this, you cannot help but feel afraid of your own progress!

Although you do not know how long it took the ancients to attain Golden Immortality, it is certainly not just over a thousand years; such rapid progress not only fails to give you a sense of security, but instead makes you increasingly panicked...

Merely killing living beings can accelerate cultivation…… what does this signify?

There must certainly be a human factor here; someone deliberately set up this outrageous buff…… Who is he? What is his purpose?

You feel bewildered, and involuntarily recall the two star‑sky giant shadows you last saw in your previous life; intuition tells you the root of the problem lies with them...

Golden Immortal is an extremely powerful realm; even in the ancient heavenly court's era, a Golden Immortal counted as a mid‑tier figure…… The might of a Golden Immortal mainly shows in mana, divine abilities, and so on, but the most direct manifestation is its movement speed.

Below Golden Immortal, Profound Immortals can only fly‑escape, just as you did in your past life—flying from the Western Wasteland to Central State took several thousand years, enough to make you vomit from flying.

But upon reaching Golden Immortal, you can perform limited‑range spatial translocation, greatly boosting travel efficiency; if you now wish to go to Mount Buzhou's Immortal Realm, ten years will suffice!

But you obviously do not want to go to the 'Immortal Realm' to die again, for you know the Immortal Realm is merely a scam; once inside, it is tantamount to facing the might of a sage, and your measly Golden Immortal would surely be refined in an instant...

Shaking your head, you choose to leave seclusion.

But unexpectedly, shortly after you left seclusion, a minister with a strange countenance again delivered a new letter—this time not an official document, but a private letter.

The signature reads: Jin Bing!

You: ……

(End of Chapter)