Half a month had passed since the Immortal War of the Ancient Immortal Domain began.
War raged across the land.
Amidst the bloodshed, the Dao Lineages of the Ancient Immortal Domain proved as fragile as paper. Under the pressure of the combined armies of the Heavens, they were almost completely annihilated into dust with hardly any decent resistance.
Only a few scattered Cultivators, fleeing for their lives, barely clung to existence.
The Various Great Dao Lineages of the Heavens also took up residence in the Ancient Immortal Domain, seizing territory and resources, carving up the land without restraint.
For a time, the people of the Ancient Immortal Domain suffered immensely, and cries of sorrow filled the land.
In the Ancient Immortal Domain, only the Fan Family of the Eastern Barrens remained, protected by the deterrence of the Longevity Jiang Clan; no one dared to touch them.
Many other ancient Dao Lineages no longer existed; they had either turned to ashes in the war or bowed down to powerful forces, becoming their subordinates and lackeys.
The cultivation System of the Ancient Immortal Domain was considered insignificant in the eyes of the Various Great Dao Lineages of the Heavens.
Most of the subjugated Cultivators were used as mining slaves, toiling day and night to extract resources for powerful foreign experts.
If there was any resistance, they were immediately killed, their Divine Souls not even finding peace.
As for those young children with decent Aptitude, they were secretly imprisoned.
After being branded with slave marks, they were used for cultivation, becoming 'Dao Companions' or 'slave disciples' for certain Prodigies.
They would never be able to rise again.
Such a scene was a vivid depiction of Hell.
The only anomaly was the Longevity Jiang Clan.
As the instigators of the Immortal War, they occupied the central area of the Ancient Immortal Court but had almost no involvement in the surrounding territories.
They showed no intention of expanding aggressively.
This behavior seemed quite strange to the Heavens... Jinglong City.
This great city had always been a crucial location for suppressing Dragon Vein nodes.
Spiritual Qi surged within the city, and the Great Dao resonated. Even every brick and tile was imbued with ancient Dao patterns.
Prodigies emerged, and powerful individuals gathered.
Within Jinglong City, Cultivators of all races, foreign experts, descendants of reclusive Dao Lineages, and direct disciples of Sects appeared one after another.
For a time, people thronged, treasures radiated light into the sky, ancient Laws and divine patterns intertwined in the Void Realm, and spirit boats and warships came and went like weaving shuttles. The entire city was plunged into unprecedented excitement and clamor.
Amidst this surging crowd, a young man in green robes slowly stepped through the city gates.
His appearance was not striking, even ordinary, yet his temperament seemed to transcend the Mortal World, clear and light, like a breeze caressing one's face.
His eyes were clear, like a spring reflecting the moon, without a trace of impurity. His entire being was like a mountain breeze or moonlight by a stream, making people feel an inexplicable sense of closeness and respect upon seeing him.
Ever since Ye Qingyun attained enlightenment in the desolate village and refined his state of mind, his temperament had undergone a qualitative change.
He no longer displayed his sharp edge, nor did he possess any arrogance of a powerful individual.
Instead, he was like a hidden sage walking in the mundane world, with a natural Dao bone and an indescribable affinity.
Although his cultivation was not deliberately revealed, an unfathomable Aura naturally lingered around him, making people subconsciously not dare to underestimate him.
“Jinglong City...”
Ye Qingyun stood high up, gazing at the great city that lay across the sky like a colossal Dragon supporting the heavens, and sighed softly, “As expected of the place where the Dragon Vein of the Ancient Immortal Domain resides. The city is like a backbone, as if a true Dragon lies dormant within.”
These words were not false.
The entire Jinglong City was situated at the convergence of a natural Dragon Vein, with its terrain resembling a Dragon's head raised to the sky.
The city walls were like scales, the towers like horns. Intersecting, they formed a natural Dragon-shaped charm, subtly imbued with the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, as if it were a living entity.
At this moment, someone suddenly walked up quickly.
He cupped his fists and bowed, saying, “I am Xiao Fan, a Loose Cultivator from the Southern Barrens. Today, I meet Fellow Daoist for the first time. Your extraordinary temperament truly inspires respect, so I have come to befriend you.”
The man's face was simple, with a humble expression between his brows.
His Aura was restrained, and his bow showed a hint of sincerity, not appearing to be feigned.
Ye Qingyun glanced at him, nodded slightly, and returned the bow, “Ye Qingyun, I have met Fellow Daoist Xiao.”
“So it's Brother Ye!” Xiao Fan cupped his hands and smiled, his expression becoming even more cordial.
His voice was neither high nor low, yet it could bring a sense of calm to people.
Many Cultivators around turned their heads upon hearing his words, all attracted by Ye Qingyun's faintly perceptible Aura.
Many people came forward to greet him and exchange pleasantries, making the scene lively and bustling.
Ye Qingyun spoke with a gentle smile and carried himself with an unrestrained demeanor... On the other side, at the old site of the Ancient Immortal Court.
Before dusk, the ancient and solemn bronze main hall stood silently between heaven and earth, seemingly existing and Shen for eternity.
A beam of moonlight slanted down from the hall's roof. In the center of the main hall, a black-clothed youth, seated beside an ancient cauldron, slowly opened his eyes.
The moment Jiang Ye opened his eyes, they were like stars spread across the sky, reflecting endless Profound Truths.
His expression was calm, yet there was a sharp Aura between his brows, an overbearingness tempered with steadiness.
His Aura was vastly different from half a month ago.
His God-King Realm second-tier cultivation was quietly stable, like a giant whale floating in the deep sea, profound and heavy, difficult to fathom.
“God-King Realm second-tier... Is there no more Azure Radiance Divine Liquid?”
Jiang Ye slowly exhaled a breath of turbid Qi, his voice like a gentle breeze, stirring a subtle Dao sound.
During these days, he had not only refined the Azure Radiance Divine Liquid with the help of the System.
He had also, at Su Hongye's command, “Enter the Dragon Vein Secret Realm, and remember to bring this old lady more prestige.”
Thus, he could only cultivate and comprehend in this ancient bronze hall, absorbing the various Great Dao imprints left by the Legacy.
This hall was the most mysterious divine treasure of the Ancient Immortal Court in the past, the “Heavenly Treasure Ancient Hall.”
It is said that this hall stood in the heart of the Central Province of the Ancient Immortal Domain since ancient times, specifically for preserving the insights of the sages of various Dao Lineages.
Innumerable Dao trajectories, enlightened by Cultivators in their lifetime, were inscribed within. Every inch of stone wall, bronze pillar, and tile flowed with fragments of Law and the Dao charm of divine chains.
Although the Dao Lineages of the Ancient Immortal Domain were backward, such creations of Heaven and Earth were different.
Jiang Ye possessed the Eternal Immortal Body, a rare Heaven-Defying Physique in the world.
Upon contact with the Origin of the Great Dao, he absorbed and integrated it as if famished. His Comprehension Ability was simply astonishing.
Even those famous Prodigies renowned for their Comprehension Ability in the Heavens, facing the ocean-like Law Profound Truths in the Heavenly Treasure Ancient Hall, could only cultivate diligently for a hundred years, verifying them one by one, to grasp a mere one or two.
Yet, Jiang Ye, in just half a month, had already comprehended the profound mysteries of many ancient Laws and divine techniques.
Even some of the deepest supreme Dao traces had been touched.
“These Great Dao Laws are ancient and magnificent, like mountains, possessing a natural power of returning to simplicity...”
Jiang Ye closed his eyes in contemplation, his Divine Sense lightly touching the light traces within the Heavenly Treasures. Ancient runes, like stars, streaked across his Sea of Consciousness, rising and falling, outlining infinite profound meanings.
He could feel that those Laws seemed originally independent, yet in this ancient hall, they gradually revealed a wondrous resonance, as if countless Great Dao sources would ultimately converge into a single Sea of Origin.
“It's time to deal with Ye Qingyun...”
“This ancient hall is indeed mysterious, a divine creation of Heaven and Earth. It's a waste of heavenly resources for those Ancient Immortal Court people to occupy it, yet be unable to deeply comprehend it due to their Immortal Vein blood.”
“Unfortunately, my cultivation is not enough; deeper comprehension will likely take a very long time...”
Jiang Ye shook his head and sighed softly, but a clear, sharp light shone in his eyes.
Even with his Comprehension Ability, such a creation of Heaven and Earth could not be fully absorbed and comprehended in just half a month.
Moreover, on the path of the Great Dao, he could not entirely rely on the System.
Jiang Ye knew that the further one progressed in comprehending the Great Dao to Perfection, the more outrageous the required villain points would be.
Even a hundred Ye Qingyuns would not be enough to make up for the required resources.
Within his body, myriad Laws surged.
Every Great Dao was filled with a vast and incomplete Qi mechanism.
It required time, Opportunity, and even more, true comprehension and experience.
“In the end... I still have to rely on myself.”
Jiang Ye looked up at the hall's roof, where a beam of moonlight fell upon him, bathing him in a faint silver glow.