Living in the deep palace

The rise of Taiyi Palace was like a brilliant sun, illuminating the entire Tianxu Starfield and giving countless cultivators in the vast star sea a new hope.

Ten thousand immortals came to pay homage, and the sacred land was newly established.

Everything seemed to be developing in an unprecedented and glorious direction.

However, even beneath this light, shadows are still quietly growing.

The ancestral land of the gods.

The Supreme Temple, long since lost its former glory, was shrouded in a gloomy and desolate atmosphere.

The Southern Ming God King sat listlessly on his cracked throne, listening to the various reports from his spies in Baohuangtian about the Taiyi Palace. His already pale face became even more ashen.

"Accept many disciples...Erect a monument to the Way...Build a medicinal garden..."

"Damn it!"

"What's going on with this terrifying immortal? He fought a Golden Immortal of the Third Realm, and he didn't even get hurt? How could he so brazenly establish a sect like this!"

"Furthermore, to create things out of thin air, teeming with life—what level of power is this? Could he have already reached the third realm...?"

With each piece of news he heard, his heart sank a little deeper.

"What a Su Chen... what a terrifying immortal... what ruthless methods!" The Southern Bright God King's voice was hoarse, his eyes filled with endless resentment and a trace of... deep helplessness.

He knew that Su Chen's actions, seemingly a favor, were actually... a drastic measure!
What he wanted was not just to build a power; he wanted to win the hearts and minds of the entire star system! He wanted to seize the... destiny of this era!
If this continues, people in the starry sea will probably only know about the Taiyi Palace, but not about the gods!
When it comes to dominant power, whoever all living beings in the world considers themselves to be the hegemon is who they are.

This is the grand trend of the era!
There is no doubt that the Divine Era has always dominated the Five Realms and Star Seas.

however.

The birth of Taiyi Palace by the terrifying immortal directly caused the divine era to shift towards the immortal era.

In the dark.

All beings above the God-King level had a sense that something was leaving the God Clan headquarters and each of them in this starry world.

This is the grand trend of an era!

Once the era changes, their divine race will rapidly decline, and may even become part of the history of the starry sea!

"hateful!"

"How could this be?"

"The change of eras back then was achieved only by my divine race's Heavenly Emperor leading the three major clans and an endless army, annihilating the eight great families of the Immortal Realm, with the Heavenly Court at the head!"

"But he, the Immortal of Fear, merely established a lineage, yet he managed to shake up everything. How is that possible!"

"We can't wait any longer! We absolutely can't wait any longer!"

The Southern Bright God King suddenly stood up, a mad and fierce glint flashing in his eyes, "If we let him continue like this, my divine race... will never have a chance to rise again!"

He recalled the insane decision the Western God King made before his demise.

"Please, Lord Northern Emperor, make a move..."

"But with only one chance to attack, can we really defeat the Terrifying Immortal!?"

The Southern Ming God King muttered to himself, his eyes flashing with struggle and hesitation.

That was the Protoss's last trump card, and also... their most dangerous taboo! Once used, the consequences would be unimaginable!

The Northern Emperor is the only trump card of the Divine Race headquarters at the third realm!
If the attack is futile, morale will be low, but the most terrifying thing is that the Northern Emperor will no longer be able to stand tall in the Star Sea.

At that time, the Northern Emperor God King will also leave the Star Sea and slumber in the void and chaos to avoid Zuo Qingcang's corrupt power.

But... now that things have come to this, do they have any other choice?
Just as the Southern Ming God King was torn between his inner thoughts and his own conscience.

A cold and hoarse voice suddenly rang out behind him.

"Fellow Daoist Nanming, it seems... you've already made your decision?"

"Who?!"

The Southern Ming God King was startled and turned around abruptly!
Behind him, a figure shrouded in a black cloak had appeared silently without anyone noticing.

The figure exuded an eerie aura, seemingly blending into the surrounding darkness. It was none other than the mysterious Zero who had previously joined forces with the Eastern God King to set up the Star-Devouring Array!
"It's you?!" The Southern Bright God King's pupils contracted sharply, his eyes filled with vigilance. "You're still alive?!"

He had personally witnessed Su Chen's terrifying, world-destroying attack, and he couldn't believe that anyone could survive such an attack!
"Heh... He's not qualified to kill me."

Zero let out a low laugh, his voice tinged with disdain, "How could the power of my Lord be fathomed by the ants of this world?"

"Even if I die, a new Zero will be born, and I will be able to revive!"

He slowly raised his head, revealing a pair of pale green eyes beneath his cloak, eyes devoid of any emotion.

“Fellow Daoist Nanming, I have come here to tell you that your divine race… has its last chance.”

"What do you mean?" Nanming-God King frowned.

“It’s very simple.” Zero’s voice was full of temptation. “My lord is very interested in Su Chen’s ‘Taiyi Dao Body’ and ‘Longevity Dao Tree’.”

"As long as your divine race is willing to break that final taboo, please ask the Northern Emperor to awaken the sleeping 'God-Slaying Puppet'..."

Zero paused, his voice growing increasingly chilling, "My lord will personally send down a wisp of divine thought to attach to the Heavenly Puppet, to help you... completely annihilate Su Chen!"

"What?! Your Lord personally intervened?!" The Southern Bright God King was utterly shocked!
That's a terrifying existence in the world behind the "gate"! Although it's just a wisp of divine thought, its power is absolutely world-destroying!

“Not bad.” Zero nodded. “Su Chen’s growth has exceeded my master’s expectations. This child… must not be allowed to live!”

"Moreover," Zero changed the subject, a hint of amusement flashing in his eerie green eyes, "My lord said that after the deed is done, Su Chen's 'Taiyi Dao Seed' will belong to my lord, and the complete 'Longevity Dao Tree'..."

"It can... be left to your gods."

boom--!
The Southern Ming God King felt a loud bang in his mind, and his breathing instantly became rapid!

A complete Tree of Immortality?!

That's a legendary cosmic treasure that can reverse life and death, rebuild one's foundation, and even... help a Golden Immortal break through to a higher realm!
If they could obtain it, their divine race would not only be able to make up for all their previous losses, but even... be more glorious than ever before!

This...this temptation is just too great!

It was so big that he couldn't refuse!

"it is good!"

At that moment, countless divine thoughts descended instantly, transforming into a divine shadow.

It wasn't anyone else.

Instead, it was the Northern Emperor God-King, who had been locked in seclusion within the bronze gate, the only supreme god of the three realms in the God Clan headquarters.

What appears here is not the real person, but an avatar.

Even so, it still represents his will!

At this moment, with the Northern Emperor's permission, the hesitation and struggle in the eyes of the Southern Bright God King vanished, replaced by endless greed!

He gritted his teeth, a crazed and ferocious smile spreading across his face: "My divine race... agrees!"

"Pass on my order! Open... the Forbidden Land!"

"In the name of Emperor Jiang, I take the blood of three thousand gods, their souls as a sacrifice..."

"Awaken...the ultimate essence of my race—"

"Slay! God! Heaven! Puppet!"

…… ……

Deep within the ancestral land of the gods lies a forbidden zone shrouded in endless thunder and spatial storms.

This place is the ancestral mausoleum of the gods, and also... the place where the ancient war machine "God-Slaying Puppet" is sealed.

The Southern Bright God King, leading the few remaining elders of the divine race, stood solemnly before a huge and ancient blood-red altar.

Around the altar, three thousand divine disciples knelt, their expressions numb and their eyes vacant.

They were the only remaining members of the Di clan, the ones with the purest bloodlines... as sacrificial offerings.

"For the glory of the gods... For the future of my race..."

The Southern Ming God King looked at his blood relatives, a hint of reluctance flashing in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by madness.

He let out a roar and personally initiated the bloody and cruel sacrificial ritual!

"what--!!!"

A piercing scream echoed throughout the forbidden land!
The flesh and soul of the three thousand divine descendants were instantly devoured by the strange blood-red runes on the altar, turning into the purest energy that continuously flowed into the bottomless abyss below the altar!

Boom——!!!!!!

The entire forbidden land was trembling violently!

It's as if some ancient, ferocious beast that has slumbered for billions of years is about to... awaken!
A terrifying pressure, cold, deathly still, and filled with endless destruction and slaughter, slowly rose from the abyss!

The pressure was so strong that even the ancient god-king Nanming felt suffocated!
He knew that the doomsday weapon that could make the entire starry sea tremble was about to be born!

Beside him, Zero's figure quietly appeared. His eerie green eyes pierced through the endless abyss, silently watching the colossal creature about to awaken, a cold and eerie smile curving his lips.

"With this, the terrifying immortal will no longer be a threat!"

"In this vast starry sea, the only variable is not those Golden Immortals, but you, Terrifying Immortal!"

"Blame it on your own, you terrifying immortal, you're just too hateful!"

"The gods would rather betray the Star Sea than let me kill you!"

……

……

When the gods spared no expense, preparing to unleash their ultimate resources for a final gamble.

In the Tianxu Starfield, Taiyi Immortal City was thriving and full of vitality.

The towering "Taiyi Dao Stele," standing a thousand feet tall, is like a pillar stabilizing the sea, standing in the center of the city. Every day, tens of thousands of cultivators sit cross-legged before the stele, some with their eyes closed in deep thought, others gesturing wildly, immersed in the profound and unfathomable enlightenment of the Great Dao.

Every now and then, a cultivator would burst forth with brilliant light, resonating with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

That's... a sign of a breakthrough!

"Hahahaha! I've broken through! The bottleneck that has plagued me for three hundred years has finally been broken! I've stepped from the Ninth Tribulation into the realm of the Profound Immortal!"

"Thank you, Lord Fearful Immortal! Thank you, Taiyi Palace!"

Similar cheers rose and fell across the square.

In the herb garden in the east of the city, which Su Chen had personally cultivated, the air was filled with ethereal mist and the aroma of herbs was irresistible.

Countless rare and exotic herbs, long extinct in the outside world, thrive under the nourishment of the Longevity Tree's boundless vitality, their age and medicinal efficacy far surpassing those of their kind.

The alchemy hall of Taiyi Palace produces a massive amount of high-quality pills every day, which are continuously supplied to the cultivators in the city.

Under Su Chen's management, the entire Taiyi Immortal City has begun to resemble a sacred land.

The cultivators in the city, regardless of their cultivation level or where they came from, all wore smiles of hope and satisfaction.

Here, they saw a fair, upward-looking future full of infinite possibilities.

Their sense of belonging and identification with Su Chen and Taiyi Palace is growing day by day.

……

Inside the secluded meditation chamber on the highest floor of the Taiyi Hall.

Su Chen sat cross-legged, surrounded by a faint nine-colored immortal light. His vast and profound aura was even more condensed than it had been a few months ago.

The gains from refining the Golden Immortal Dao Seed far exceeded his expectations.

He not only gained a profound understanding of the Wood element and the Law of Decay, but more importantly, he glimpsed a trace of the profound mystery belonging to the third ineffable realm from that trace of Golden Immortal origin.

Although it was only a trace, it gave him a clearer understanding of his future path to becoming a "Taiyi Celestial Immortal".

"The Taiyi Xuanxian realm is already stable. The legendary 'Tianji Xian' realm seems... not so far away."

Su Chen slowly opened his eyes, a thoughtful look flashing in them.

"But why is there always a faint unease in my heart?"

He tried to calculate with his fingers, but all he felt was a fog, as if an even more powerful force was interfering with the secrets of heaven.

"Did it come from behind the 'gate'? Or... are there still unknown variables within the sea of ​​stars?"

Su Chen frowned slightly.

He didn't like this feeling of being out of control.

He stood up, walked out of his secluded meditation room, and went to the highest point of the Taiyi Hall.

He looked down at the bustling and vibrant immortal city below, and at the cultivators whose fates had been changed because of him. The unease in his heart was gradually replaced by an emotion called "responsibility".

This is the foundation he built with his own hands.

This place holds the hopes of countless people.

He would not allow anyone to come and ruin all of this.

He thought of Wuxinxian, and the resolute look in his eyes before his demise.

"Wuxin, did you see that?"

"A brand new era is about to begin."

Your sacrifice will not be in vain.

Su Chen muttered to himself, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes.

He was not born a savior; everything he did was initially just for self-preservation and to become stronger.

But as he rose higher and higher and saw more and more, his state of mind was also quietly changing.

He began to understand that power is not just for killing and conquest.

It is also for... protection.

Protect those you care about, protect the order you have established, protect this vast starry sea that gave you birth and nurtured you.

Just as Su Chen felt something and his Dao heart became increasingly clear and lucid.

suddenly!

He suddenly raised his head, his gaze like two bolts of lightning tearing through the sky, instantly looking into the deepest part of the starry sea!
An indescribable, terrifying pressure, filled with coldness, deathly silence, destruction, and endless slaughter, was sweeping towards the Tianxu Starfield at an incredible speed!

The oppressive force was so strong that even the laws of the entire Tianxu Starfield began to groan in despair! (End of Chapter)