Traveling across the globe for the first time

Zhang Haoran didn't stand on ceremony and collected all the energy fruits with a wave of his hand. These energy fruits would greatly help in forging the jade bones.

The life force it contains is even purer than the Life Jade Liquid, and it has an added degree of activity, making it easier to absorb.

He felt it was a waste to just eat it directly like that. He should ask the Myriad Realms Tower to help upgrade it to the sixth rank, and then consume it when the jade bone is forged to 95%, so that it can directly pass through the tempering period and reach the great perfection of the jade bone. This would save a lot of time.

We are now very close to the seed projection. Every extra minute of delay could lead to an accident, so we must forge the jade bone as soon as possible.

Just then, Dao Shu took out a large ball of life essence and respectfully said, "This is the life essence that this little demon has stored up. Please accept it, Master."

In fact, the life essence reserves in his body had long reached their limit, and he originally planned to create a life lake like Tianyu.

Later, in order to condense the energy fruit, he put this matter aside.

However, the quantity of these life essences is not small, amounting to tens of thousands of kilograms.

This is the life essence produced by a peak-level demonic plant that has broken through to the ninth level. The vitality within it is so concentrated that it is almost crystallizing.

"Good good!"

Upon seeing these life essences, Zhang Haoran was overjoyed. This must be the most top-tier life essence in the Three Realms. Although it couldn't compare to the Jade Liquid of Life, it wasn't much worse than the Fish of Life, and it could be used to forge jade bones.

The key is having enough quantity!
It's enough to forge it four or five times, let alone three times.

This time, he didn't take all the life essence; he only took half.

He knew that for the demonic plant, the essence of life was its lifeblood, and the Dao Tree would only give it all away if it truly submitted.

He said happily, "I'll take half, and you can keep the rest!"
You won't need to fight anymore; I will provide you with enough energy and all the resources for cultivation.

"This will help you become an emperor as soon as possible. From then on, your only task will be to produce life essence; you don't need to worry about anything else."

Daoshu immediately bowed deeply in gratitude.

This made Zhang Haoran feel a little embarrassed. The contract of the Myriad Realms Tower was too strong. He had only taken a little less, yet the other party was so grateful. This made him feel that he was very evil.

Besides, I've only just taken in a subordinate; I can't just take advantage of him without giving anything in return.

So he waved his hand, and several jade bottles flew toward the Dao Tree. He said calmly, "These are Yuan Qi Pills. The energy contained in each one is equivalent to that of a beginner martial artist at the peak of the eighth level."

Just one item is enough to help you cross the precipice and reach the true gate; the rest are your rewards.

From now on, you won't need to absorb energy from the outside world; you can refine these Vitality Pills and transform them into life essence.

To save face in front of his underlings, he directly exchanged for a sixth-tier Yuan Qi Pill this time.

Upon hearing that the Yuanqi Pill could help him attain enlightenment, Daoshu was overjoyed and thought to himself, "This time I've chosen the right master."

He had followed the God Emperor for so many years but hadn't gained any benefits. He was even restricted from leaving the boundary. Even though he had reached the peak of the ninth level of the Dao for many years, the God Emperor never thought of helping him prove his Dao. They were both masters, but the difference was too great.

Dao Shu's attitude became even more respectful. He did not open the porcelain bottle immediately, but bowed deeply and said, "Thank you for your generous gift, Master. I will definitely work hard to cultivate in the future and transform royal-level life essence for you."

Zhang Haoran smiled and nodded, saying, "From now on, we're all on the same side. Just tell me if you need anything."

Furthermore, you are not yet qualified to attain enlightenment!
I've discovered something very strange about this place. Both the seed and the Eastern Emperor's projection have significant problems. Attempting to attain enlightenment here might lead to unforeseen consequences. I'd better wait until I leave this small world!

After thinking for a moment, he threw out a few more divine talismans and said calmly, "These are imperial divine talismans, which can block a full-force attack from an emperor. Take them to protect yourself."

Remember, if you encounter an enemy at the Emperor level, don't think about fighting to the death, run! Staying alive is more important than anything else.

This is my permission, and also my order!

He was genuinely afraid that Dao Shu was too loyal and would recklessly charge into battle when faced with a powerful enemy.

"Battles at the Emperor level are not something you can participate in. Once I start fighting the enemy, you should stay far away. If you really can't avoid it, use these divine talismans to save your life."

Those few Imperial Divine Talismans were all found in the Human Emperor's storage equipment. Originally, they were all intended to be given to Fang Ping and Zhang Tao, but a few were kept to study and see if they could be replicated.

Now it's been handed over to Daoshu, since this thing is of no use to him anyway.

He could withstand any attack that the divine talisman could block with his golden body. If even he couldn't withstand the attack, then the divine talisman was useless.

Of course, he didn't give it all to Dao Tree; he kept one and spent a lot of value points to upgrade it to the seventh rank.

He felt that the situation within the boundary was becoming increasingly strange, so he decided to keep an extra trump card in case of emergency.

Dao Shu excitedly accepted the divine talisman, almost moved to tears.

Zhang Haoran waved his hand and said, "Lead the way, I want to see the legendary Heavenly Emperor Palace."

What he really wanted to see was the Heavenly Gate and the Law Passage.

It is said that the Law Passage is filled with Great Dao lightning and various attacks, which even Dao Trees at the peak of the ninth level cannot pass through. It is a very suitable place to forge jade bones, and as the gateway to the Heavenly Palace and the last barrier, it should not disappear.

"promise!"

Dao Shu responded and flew ahead to lead the way. Zhang Haoran looked and saw that it was indeed the direction the other party had come from.

He immediately asked, "How far is it from here to the Heavenly Emperor's Palace?"

"It's about 100,000 miles away. The place where the master teleported here is a bit remote."

"Never mind then, you fly too slowly, I'll take you there instead."

With a wave of his hand, he grabbed the Dao Tree and took a step, arriving tens of thousands of miles away. After a few breaths, he walked out of this desolate land and stood before a very large palace. The palace was extremely simple in appearance and had no luxurious decorations. A plaque hung on the gate with the three large characters "Heavenly Emperor Palace" written on it.

Daoshu respectfully said, "I have lived here for 100,000 years and know this place very well. Master, you can ask me anything you want to know."

A special energy fluctuation appeared on the Dao Tree, and with a rumble, the tall door slowly opened.

Zhang Haoran looked over with some surprise. The aura was somewhat familiar, similar to the Great Dao Thunder, but not exactly the same. It was not aggressive and was much weaker.

It must be the power of the rules of this world; this is the reward for passing all thirteen levels.

In other words, only those who pass the thirteen trials are qualified to enter the Heavenly Emperor's Palace. If one reaches the final trial by cheating, they will not even be able to enter the gate.

He wondered to himself, "Could this be Donghuang's plan? If the Dao Tree hadn't opened the door, I would have been trapped here to die."

"That's not necessarily true!"

Zhang Haoran did not jump to conclusions. He felt that Donghuang's state was somewhat strange. It might not necessarily be that he wanted to harm him, but rather that he was trying to sabotage the seed's plan. Was it really a good thing to pass all thirteen levels?
He had sensed the aura emanating from the Dao Tree earlier, but he could only borrow it, not control it. It couldn't be used to enhance cultivation, let alone strengthen attacks; it could only be used to defend against the lightning of the Great Dao. The seed was the Heavenly Dao of this small world, and no one could surpass it in terms of authority.

If these rules of power enter the body, it's not a good thing; it might be a time bomb.

The Eastern Emperor sent him here perhaps hoping that he and the seed would fight to the death, so he could reap the benefits.

Besides, the Heavenly Emperor isn't a good person either. We'll find out the Eastern Emperor's stance by checking if there are any traps inside the palace.

Dao Shu was unaware of all the thoughts he had been having in that instant. He stepped into the main hall first, and as he entered, his figure became somewhat blurry, as if he had gone to another dimension.

Zhang Haoran knew there were no traps at this gate, and he trusted the Dao Tree, so he immediately followed.

As he stepped through the gate, he felt something strange, unlike the feeling inside the spatial passage. This place did indeed utilize spatial laws, but it wasn't teleportation; it was more like the palace's interior and exterior were separated into two worlds.

This should form an independent space.

Looking around, the palace is several times larger than it appears from the outside, and the surrounding walls are covered with murals.

Dao Shu immediately began to explain, "Master, these murals are the history of the Three Realms recorded by the Heavenly Emperor using special methods."

Each mural here represents a fragment of time and space, containing many unknown secrets, including the reasons for the great war in the celestial realm, the various schemes behind it, and the process of creating the Immortal Source.

I have studied these murals many times, and there shouldn't be any traps in them.

Dao Shu sighed and said with emotion, "Alas! Although the Heavenly Emperor bears a great responsibility for the loopholes that appeared in the Origin Universe, he has already tried his best to make up for them. The Immortal Origin Project was initiated by him."

Once the Immortal Source has fully matured and filled the largest hole in the original location, all emperors will be freed.

However, some emperors were not satisfied with merely breaking free from their constraints; they wanted more. Each had their own schemes and began to secretly sabotage the Immortal Source, turning what was originally a perfectly good source into a mess, which led to the current situation.

Some emperors even secretly created four seeds, imitating the Immortal Source. If they could work together to assist the Heavenly Emperor, the current problem would have been solved long ago.

After hearing these words, Zhang Haoran's expression was a bit strange. If the Heavenly Emperor hadn't shattered the original star, how could such a big hole have appeared in the source land?

Although the emperors weren't exactly benevolent, their only goal was to escape their predicament.

How come things are all reversed now? The Heavenly Emperor has become the savior, while the emperor who was tricked by him has become a despicable villain. Who is responsible for all of this?
Zhang Haoran sneered and said, "Heh, the Immortal Source is ripe? You've got a long time to wait!"

Seeing Dao Shu's surprised expression, he said smugly, "We had a great battle with the emperors in the outside world before. To be precise, only one emperor descended to the mortal realm in his true form, while the other emperors only fought each other from a distance."

But in the end, we won! The Great Dao of all the strongmen was stripped from the Immortal Source, and only those Heavenly Kings who did not participate in the battle were still bound, and there were not many of them.

Therefore, for the conditions for immortality to ripen, those emperors need to provide energy. Do you think they would be willing to sacrifice their own strength for this?

Dao Shu immediately shook his head and said, "The emperors each have their own schemes and have never been of one mind!"

If they can unite as one and pool the power of the three realms, why worry about not being able to plug a hole?

Zhang Haoran shook his head, feeling that Dao Shu had oversimplified the problem. If the power of all the strong beings in the Three Realms could be gathered to plug that hole, none of this trouble would have happened long ago.

When the Nine Emperors and Four Sovereigns established the Heavenly Court, all powerful beings had to obey their orders. If there was truly a chance to plug that hole, why didn't the emperors do it? Why did they have to suppress the original crack themselves? Did they find it enjoyable to be impacted by negative energy?

He felt that the loophole in the original location was definitely not that simple. It was precisely because the combined efforts of everyone could not plug it that the emperor did not want more people to know.

Zhang Haoran was very curious about what the other party had seen that made them keep speaking up for the Heavenly Emperor, so he probed the nearest mural with his spiritual power.

The scenery changed; it was now atop a cliff, where a small table stood and someone was drinking tea.
Two people were sitting beside the table. Upon closer inspection, one of them was Donghuang, and the other's face was blurred, making it impossible to discern his features. Only his snow-white hair revealed him to be an old man.

The old man put down his teacup and asked softly, "Has the Immortal Source been successfully created?"

"It's a success!"

Donghuang respectfully said, "Zao truly deserves to be called the number one weapon forger in the Three Realms. With his help, the Immortal Source has been completed."

The old man nodded without speaking, his eyes filled with gloom.

After a moment of silence, Donghuang asked again, "Teacher, is it really necessary to do this?"

"We have no choice but to do it!"

"teacher……"

The old man gently raised his hand and sighed, "In the past, when I opened up the origin, I ultimately wanted to transcend the origin. In the end, I still left behind a great hidden danger. If the hidden danger is not eliminated, the Three Realms will not be at peace."

"But……"

Donghuang said somewhat dejectedly, "But if the teacher does this, they might not agree."

"I know!"

The old man said calmly, "This matter has to be done. I know that the day the Immortal Source is forged will be the day our master-disciple relationship ends."

"teacher……"

Donghuang's voice was deep: "There is another way! We don't necessarily have to take this path."

"There is nowhere left to go!"

The old man said regretfully, "I didn't think so much back then, but in the end... I brought harm to the Three Realms..."

Donghuang's voice trembled slightly: "Is the gap in place truly impossible to mend?"

"It can't be fixed!"

Upon seeing this, Zhang Haoran realized that the old man was the Heavenly Emperor!
Did mosaics really exist tens of thousands of years ago? It's not like you're ashamed to be seen, so why would you blur your face?

He and Fang Ping saw the same scene: the Heavenly Emperor wanted to create the Immortal Source to completely solve the problem of the garden, and was even willing to sacrifice himself. Meanwhile, the emperors had their own ulterior motives and wanted to gain more benefits, but were unwilling to pay the price. The Eastern Emperor even proposed to kill all the emperors to fill the pit.

But the Heavenly Emperor disagreed, believing it was his fault and that he should bear the responsibility.

Zhang Haoran had been wanting to see what other tricks the Heavenly Emperor could come up with, but suddenly he sensed a strange crisis, as if something was invading his sea of ​​consciousness, making him believe everything he was seeing.

This is somewhat similar to willpower intrusion; both involve using special methods to alter someone's perception, only the energy used differs.
He used his will to change the enemy's mind, while this illusion used mental power.

This spiritual force was extremely strong and very well concealed; if Zhang Haoran's spiritual force hadn't undergone a qualitative change, he truly wouldn't have been able to detect it. (End of Chapter)