Lord of the Earth

"Is this the level of an unparalleled god? Indeed, they are far more powerful than ordinary gods..."

Above the vast and boundless Milky Way, Xia Tian closed his eyes and concentrated, feeling the boundless power surging within his body like the Milky Way, and a clearer understanding of the rules of heaven and earth than ever before, silently reciting in his heart.

The realm of the gods, with "heaven" as its stepping stone, is by no means an exaggeration.

Each time you step into a new world, what you see and feel will be completely different.

Especially now, he is still in a state of "national destiny bestowed upon him," and strictly speaking, half of his body has already stepped into the threshold of "quasi-god."

As a result, his vision transcended ordinary boundaries, allowing him to glimpse many sights that ordinary people could not reach.

In his perception, this ancient human celestial court ruins, apart from the towering palaces and broken pavilions, were...

There is also a boundless, colossal net that runs through layers of "heavens," covering all things from top to bottom and maintaining the operation of this world.

"Is this... the 'Net of Heaven' that forms the foundation of this world?"

Summer brought a growing sense of enlightenment to my heart.

Every world has its own fundamental rules.

In the realm of the true gods, this rule is often given a more profound name—the Tao!

"The Tao that can be spoken of is not the eternal Tao; the name that can be named is not the eternal name. Nameless, it is the origin of heaven and earth; named, it is the mother of all things..."

This passage from the ancient Chinese classic "Tao Te Ching," familiar to everyone, stirred something within him, giving him a completely new understanding.

It elucidates the essence of the "rules" that constitute the underlying logic of the operation of all things in the universe!
Whether called the rules of heaven and earth, the "Tao," or even the scientific laws explored in previous lives, they all point to the same existence—the most fundamental law that sustains the birth and death of the universe and the rise and fall of all things.

The realm of saints allows one to initially borrow the power of laws, but laws are merely one of the concrete manifestations of rules.

Only by ascending to the divine position can one truly mobilize the power of the rules.

To reach a higher level, one needs to weave together the various rules one has come to understand, like warp and weft, to create a unique "Tao" that belongs to oneself!
The closer one gets to the core of this "Net of the Great Dao" that covers heaven and earth, the more primal and powerful the rules it represents become.

In theory, if one could ascend all the way up until mastering the fundamental rules that encompass everything, one could even transcend the "Heavenly Way" of this realm...

Of course, this level of attainment...

For Xia Tian now, it is still an unattainable fantasy; his true cultivation level is only at the peak of "Supreme God".

At this moment, the ability to briefly stand in the fourth realm is entirely due to the blessing of the glorious national fortune.

However, the benefits of successfully killing that "quasi-true god clone" are real, just like how ordinary calamity beings leave behind a "legacy" equivalent to their own cultivation level after they die.

This peerless "Golden Crow Emperor's Son" is no exception.

He has now essentially inherited and taken over part of the other party's understanding and authority over the rules, and is able to freely mobilize the power of many laws of the Third Heaven.

With a slight thought, a blazing, dazzling golden flame leaped into his palm. Around the flame, the void distorted slightly, emanating an aura that could incinerate all things—it was the legendary True Fire of the Sun!
"Without needing to cultivate oneself, one can control the laws of a 'Supreme True God' simply by slaying living beings. Is this the benefit of 'merit-based godhood'?"

The Eternal Land's reward for this battle leans more towards the path of "meritorious deification."

In the eternal land, there is not only one path to becoming a god.

The path of destiny, the path of faith, the path of merit... all lead to the throne of divinity, each with its own profound mysteries.

Generally speaking, "merit-based deification" is based on the fact that the power of deities directly originates from the gifts of heaven and earth. In the early stages, their direct control over the rules may be slightly inferior to that of other deities at the same level. However, they have a solid foundation, are recognized by heaven and earth, and can legally mobilize the power of the relevant rules.

Furthermore, it is not easily affected by external forces or drastic fluctuations in believers' beliefs.

However, strictly speaking, the various paths to godhood are not mutually exclusive; on the contrary, they can complement each other!
Just as one can travel from the edge of the "network of great paths" to its center, there are countless paths with numerous intersections.

A deity can simultaneously be the master of destiny, cultivate faith, and prove the Dao through the ultimate mastery of a certain skill!
For example, Xia Tian himself was promoted to "Supreme God" this time, which was driven by the great merit gained from killing the Golden Crow Prince, and belongs to the category of "merit-based enlightenment".

However, as the "ruler of the first dynasty of human destiny," he had already embarked on the vast "path of destiny."

The reverence and faith that the people of Qianxia held for him formed the cornerstone of their "path of faith." Furthermore, his mastery of hand-to-hand combat, weaponry, and especially swordsmanship had already reached a divine level, even surpassing the pinnacle—a testament to "proving the Way through strength"!

The power that one gains through wisdom and hard work is often the most compatible with oneself and the most precious, and it is difficult to be taken away by external forces.

While things like fortune, faith, and even merit can be achieved quickly, they are also easily subject to external influences. Fortune has its ups and downs, faith has its fluctuations, and merit has its limits. Just as the way of Heaven "takes from the surplus and gives to the deficient," the more convenient the path seems, the greater the risks it often harbors. The path of gathering people—the "path of fortune"—is generally considered to be superior to the "path of faith" in terms of stability and potential.

This is quite similar in concept to the paths described in some Xianxia classics, such as "proving the Dao through force," "becoming a saint through merit," and "severing the three corpses to achieve the Dao."

In theory, every path has the potential to lead to the level of "true god"!

Now, thanks to the immense merit of slaying a quasi-god, Xia Tian has ascended to the peak of "Supreme God".

This means that, at least before he steps into the fourth heaven, the will of heaven and earth in the Eternal Land will not only not restrict him too much, but will also open up the corresponding rule permissions for him to access and comprehend!
He realized more clearly that before the true "gods" could descend on a large scale without any scruples, this special unlocking of heaven and earth actually provided a crucial "buffer period" and "testing ground"!
Those beings who are already at a higher level—the "quasi-true gods" of the fourth heaven, and even the true gods above them—are limited by the current rules of heaven and earth, and their true forms cannot directly descend.

However, like the Golden Crow Prince, they can use various "downgraded" methods such as clones, incarnations, corpses, and projections to send their "divine kingdom fragments" and "power seeds" containing power and inheritance to this place in advance, seize the opportunity, and lay the groundwork for the future.

For beings that have not yet truly set foot in that realm, they are simply unable to perceive the full extent of these existences, just as ants cannot look up at the summit of a mountain.

But now, Xia Tian has temporarily established himself in this situation by taking advantage of the nation's fortune and personally killed a "quasi-god" avatar, thus truly gaining the qualification to "see" and even "touch" these potential threats and opportunities!
As summer's divine sense expanded, it briefly surveyed this ancient celestial realm from the perspective of a "quasi-god."

Although it was blurry, he could vaguely sense that in this vast and mysterious ruin, in those many unexplored areas shrouded in the power of "grayish-white" seals, he was already aware of the surrounding landscape.

The outlines of beings, some bright and some dark, floated and sank, each exuding a chilling aura.

Some appear as a colossal, towering phantom of a god or demon, with a strange halo behind it interwoven with destruction and creation—that is the manifestation of its "Tao"!

Some are like a bottomless, dark vortex, devouring the surrounding light and all perception; others have transformed into ancient palaces as majestic as mountains, exuding an aura of timelessness in their silence... These are all beings that have been temporarily sealed or restricted, belonging to the level of quasi-gods or even true gods, or divine weapons and innate treasures of the same level!
"Is this... what the Earth's will usually refers to as the coexistence of crisis and opportunity?"

In the past, when the gods launched a massive attack, this "First Celestial Court of Humanity" was undoubtedly one of the main battlefields. Judging from what we see now, the more powerful the inheritance and treasures a region contains, the more likely it is to attract or suppress such terrifying beings.

"However, within danger lies an unparalleled opportunity for civilization to leap forward!"

It's not just because defeating them yields rich "spoils," but also because in the clash with these high-level beings, the people of Qianxia will rapidly improve their understanding of rules and the "Dao"!
Summer's gaze became incredibly sharp, like an unsheathed imperial sword, piercing through the fog and seeing straight to the essence.

If Qianxia wants to stand firm in the future era of the descent of true gods and the struggle for supremacy among the heavens, and even compete for the supreme position, he must seize this fleeting "buffer period"!
Defeating and seizing the divine position, divine status, and treasures of any "quasi-true god" would be enough to give Qian Xia a qualitative leap in his foundation and his own strength!

If we can successfully conquer multiple areas...

Therefore, mass-producing powerful beings at the third and fourth levels of the Divine Realm will no longer be an unattainable dream.

Even if a true god were to descend at that time, Qianxia would certainly not be without the power to resist or even retaliate!

Of course, obtaining these things is a difficult challenge, even a life-or-death trial, that Qian Xia must overcome with all his might!
For example, this Golden Crow clan in front of us, if Qianxia's foundation were even slightly weaker...

This entire group of people has definitely been killed here.

And this is only the outer perimeter of these palaces. One can imagine that there may be even more terrifying existences within the "thirty-six palaces and seventy-two halls" of the Heavenly Court!

However, in the end, Qianxia emerged victorious in this contest between the past "Demon Clan Immortal Court" and the newly established "Human Clan Imperial Dynasty".

That "Crow's Nest," now without its owner and dimmed yet still exuding ancient majesty, was Qianxia's first "trophy."

[Golden Crow's Nest (Damaged)]

[Type] Supreme Artifact - Embryo

【characteristic】?,?,?,?,?
[Description] This is the embryo of a "Supreme Artifact" that the Golden Crow Clan attempted to forge with the full power of their clan. It contained the Great Dao of the Sun's origin, but unfortunately, it was severely damaged in the final battle of the Primordial Era and could not be completed. The Golden Crow Clan also declined as a result, unable to repair it. Although it is a damaged artifact, its essence is extremely high, containing supreme Daoist principles.

It should be noted that the Golden Crow clan once harbored great ambitions, intending to use this nest to lay the foundation for their status as a "supreme race." However, they never expected that their ambitions would be thwarted, as the clan would suffer a devastating blow, and even as time passed, they could hardly regain their former glory.

This is not surprising.

Even the human race, which has now ascended to the position of "supreme race", once had to mobilize the entire race and expend unimaginable resources and time to repair the embryo of the "City of Saints".

The Golden Crow clan was once an enemy of the human race and the gods, and suffered a crushing defeat. Naturally, it was difficult for them to gather the vast resources needed to repair such a powerful artifact.

However, for Qian Xia, this was an excellent opportunity.

This dilapidated nest was once the "embryo of a supreme artifact." The supreme Daoist principles and fragments of rules contained within it are excellent supplements and references for the "City of Saints," which is also an embryo and is in a critical period of growth. They can provide valuable assistance for it to truly transform into a "supreme artifact."

"Buzz!"

Of course, since the artifact possessed a spirit, this "Golden Crow's Nest" clearly sensed the crisis.

In fact, ever since the Golden Crow Prince fell, this "Golden Crow Nest" has been trembling violently, its spirituality still intact, attempting to break through the void and escape.

However, the "City of Saints," as a more complete and infinitely potential embryo of the "Supreme Artifact," is clearly superior.

The battle further shattered it.

Although the phantom of the "City of Saints" has dissipated at this moment, the "Nine Cauldrons" in Xia Tian's hand, as a top-level True God artifact, also carries the merits of Yu the Great's flood control and the vast national fortune of Qianxia. The immense power has already firmly locked it in place, so it is only natural to completely suppress the incomplete one!

In addition, Xia Tian also keenly noticed.

The "Sun-Shooting Bow" in his hand, which he obtained from the ruins of the "Moon Palace," was emitting a series of subtle yet exciting fluctuations.

On the bow, the ancient blood-red patterns seemed to glow slightly, especially a tiny crack on the bow arm, which seemed to have faded a little!
"There is probably a very deep causal connection between these two items..."

Summer gazed at the "Sun-Shooting Bow" in her hand.

Without a doubt, this is a top-tier "divine artifact," and a powerful offensive weapon specifically designed for killing!

Even though it is not in perfect condition now, its power is far greater than that of the "Creation Jade Pendant" of the Merfolk clan.

According to the legend.

Hou Yi, a powerful figure of the human race in the past, used this bow to shoot down nine golden crows that were trying to ravage the human land.

However, this also led to an irreconcilable hatred with the Golden Crow clan.

The entangled grudges and conflicts eventually culminated in a full-scale war between the human race and the Golden Crow race, which, with the help of certain "gods," ultimately led to the destruction of the Golden Crow Celestial Court...

"Behind all this, there are probably traces of the intervention of those alien true gods..."

Summer's heart is clear.

For those true gods who sit high above the five heavens and regard all living beings as pawns, stirring up conflicts among all races and reaping the benefits is a common tactic.

"However, now I am qualified to become a chess player!"

The number of official deities that Qianxia now possesses has exceeded one thousand!
He himself, like Wu Song, Bai Qi, Zhuge Liang and other outstanding figures, successfully traversed the third "peerless path" - the path of "divine ruler"!
This means that he has already qualified to challenge the realm of "true god".

"Once I become a true god and establish a celestial court, I may well be qualified to ascend to the highest heavens and play a game of chess with those ancient beings!"

At that time, who will be the chess piece and who will wield the pieces remains to be seen! (End of Chapter)