Yefutidaolu

Chapter 426 The Power of the Divine Dynasty

Deep within the imperial palace of the Divine Dynasty, the splendor was not merely ordinary gold and jade, but a magnificence that transcended human imagination and resembled a natural scene.

It is said that no matter how magnificent a building is, it is hard to compare with the grandeur of nature, but the palace proves that... with enough human power, it is possible to achieve such magnificence.

The towering pillars, made of neither gold nor jade, have a warm, watery sheen on their surface. Upon closer inspection, one can see tiny stardust particles appearing and disappearing within that sheen, as if a piece of the starry sky has been refined into the building.

The ground was as smooth as a mirror, reflecting the simulated celestial movement of the stars on the dome. Walking on it felt like strolling through the Milky Way. The air was incredibly fresh, containing an intense, pervasive spiritual energy of heaven and earth; every breath was comparable to meditating and cultivating in the outside world.

There is no alternation of day and night here; the eternal light comes from the architecture itself and the radiance of the simulated stars. Silence is the main theme, with only the occasional, celestial chime of chimes coming from the far distance, further highlighting the solemnity and seclusion of the deep palace.

Here, space is stretched to an awe-inspiring scale.

In the heart of this mythical realm, within the most magnificent yet most tranquil palace, the supreme ruler of the divine dynasty, who had not publicly appeared to attend court for decades, casually sat on a wide chair carved from a single piece of "tranquil glass."

His Majesty the Emperor looked extremely young, appearing to be no more than twenty years old, with calm, unwavering eyes.

But everyone who knows the inside story knows that this emperor has been on the throne for over eight hundred years.

At this moment, his slender fingers were pinching the tattered hem of clothing that had come from the rift in hell and was completely out of place with its surroundings.

On the hem of his robe, the two characters “Hello” were written in mud and water. The strokes were rough and even a little crooked, but in the emperor’s eyes, they seemed to contain a kind of indescribable charm.

"The Imperial Observatory," the Emperor began, his voice calm yet carrying an undeniable authority that echoed clearly in the empty hall, "can you find this person?"

An elderly man in a deep purple official robe adorned with star patterns, exuding a profound aura, immediately bowed and stepped forward. He was one of the chief officials of the Celestial Surveillance Bureau. The old man cautiously replied, "Your Majesty, anything that traverses such stellar rifts will have its ordinary causal threads disrupted and erased, making it difficult to locate directly using ordinary methods of tracing causes and effects. However, even if the causal connections of all things in the world are temporarily obscured, the 'traces' of their existence will not simply disappear into thin air..."

He seemed to want to explain more about the limitations and characteristics of causal magic, but the emperor merely raised his eyes slightly and gave him a calm look.

That one glance was enough to choke the chief official of the Observatory, leaving all his remaining words stuck in his throat. An invisible pressure instantly sent chills down his spine. He immediately fell silent, lowered his head even further, and said decisively, "Yes!"

"Then go find it." The emperor's tone remained calm, as if he were merely instructing someone on a trivial matter.

"Your subject obeys the decree!" The chief official of the Astronomical Bureau dared not be negligent in the slightest, and after bowing respectfully, quickly withdrew from the main hall.

As he said, the method of tracing cause and effect is essentially a kind of technique, like a special kind of "vision" that allows people to see invisible connections between things. This "vision" can be interfered with, blocked, or even faked, just like navigation on the ground can malfunction.

But this does not mean that the real, objective causal relationship between things will be confused or disappear.

For example, a child is born of parents; this is an undeniable fact, a cause and effect rooted in existence itself. Even if a powerful being were to use magic to disrupt all detectable "causal threads," preventing people from seeing the connection between the child and parents through magic, the fact that "a child is born of parents" itself would not change.

To truly "change cause and effect," one would have to reverse time and prevent the event of "birth" from ever happening, which is obviously impossible.

Therefore, even if the causal lines attached to the hem of the garment, which are directly related to the sender, are smoothed out by the power of the rift in the starry sky, the Astronomical Bureau still has ways to investigate.

Their method is simple and relies on the most basic and reliable physical evidence analysis and human investigation.

The Observatory was extremely efficient.

Upon returning to the government office, the piece of clothing was immediately placed within a complex array and analyzed by top experts.

Ink stains are a mixture of mud and water. By analyzing the composition of the mud, we can infer the possible geographical origin and quickly discover that it comes from hell. Thus, the writer's habits may reflect their origin in the mortal world. The strength and direction of the handwriting, even in just two simple words, can reveal some of the writer's personality traits and habits.

The fabric itself was also examined, and the fibers at the corners were magnified for inspection. It was determined that it was made of a mixture of a common type of "hemp" and low-grade silk in the mortal world. This type of fabric was widely available, but the process had its own characteristics. The warp and weft density and dyeing method were precisely recorded.

The weaving technique can be inferred from the way the fibers are twisted and the way the fabric is selvage is treated, indicating that it is a variation or popular version of the folk Qin mulberry coarse spinning technique.

Even the tiny specks of dust clinging to the corners of clothing were collected and analyzed to determine their composition and regional characteristics, including dust from Cangzhou.

All this information was quickly compiled and filed. Soon, the target was identified: a fabric called "Qingyun Satin" produced and sold in multiple prefectures and counties within the Divine Dynasty. In reality, it was not genuine satin, but rather a mid-to-low-grade fabric with a name. Its main customers were commoners with a little surplus, low-ranking martial artists, and some government officials.

Next comes the moment when the sheer power of the Divine Dynasty's vast state apparatus will truly be revealed—a large-scale census.

An encrypted imperial decree was issued from the Imperial Observatory and, through the communication arrays and postal systems that covered the entire country, was rapidly transmitted to all prefectures, counties, and even the local village heads and security officers.

The order requires a thorough investigation of the list of all individuals who have purchased "Qingyun Satin" garments or fabrics within the past year.

As for why it's one year, it's an estimate based on the time frame and the condition of the fabric.

This is undoubtedly like finding a needle in a haystack. The Divine Dynasty has a vast territory and an innumerable population; the sales volume of "Qingyun Satin" must be well over ten million.
However, once the emperor utters a word, it embodies the supreme will.

As a result, the entire bureaucratic system of the Divine Dynasty began to operate efficiently.

The ledgers of fabric shops and clothing stores were searched and copied overnight.

Tax officials and yamen runners in various places were mobilized to follow the map and go door-to-door to verify the information.

The powerful computing instruments hummed at the headquarters of the Celestial Surveillance Bureau, processing the flood of data.

They even used some divination techniques to help select the most likely target areas and target groups.

Countless people toil under this invisible net, trying to find that one vague figure connected to this tattered piece of clothing from the vast sea of ​​people.

Without a doubt, this is like finding a needle in a haystack.

However, since the emperor has already spoken, countless people will go to retrieve the needle.

Driven by the will of the emperor, the entire "sea" churned. Finding it was only a matter of time. This was the power of imperial authority.

The Divine Dynasty's territory stretched endlessly, encompassing mountains, rivers, and countless lives. The Emperor, the undisputed supreme ruler of this vast empire, sat atop the Purple Palace, overlooking this boundless land.
Even if one is a powerful immortal with a long lifespan, upon entering this divine capital and meeting the holy countenance, one must bow and kneel to show reverence for the supreme authority in the mortal realm.

This world is vast and boundless, full of endless opportunities and miracles.

Almost every moment, in some corner of the Divine Dynasty, someone would have an enviable adventure by chance: perhaps a powerful magic weapon left behind by an ancient master, perhaps a supreme cultivation technique that points directly to the Great Dao, perhaps the awakening of a powerful ancient bloodline, or perhaps a unique destiny that can turn the tide of the world... These lucky people are like stars that suddenly light up in the night sky, shining brightly.

They rose rapidly through extraordinary encounters, overcame numerous hardships, defeated powerful enemies, were blessed with good fortune, and shone brightly.

Every so often, one or more such "children of extraordinary encounters" or "children of destiny" will emerge out of nowhere. They sweep across the land with their invincible prowess, their fame shaking the heavens, as if destined to lead the way and create an era of their own.

Their story is legendary and inspiring, drawing countless people to admire it.

However, whenever such an existence reaches its peak, intending to challenge the existing order, or when its influence expands to the point of attracting the attention of the Purple Palace, its seemingly unparalleled personal power and magnificent fortune often seem... insufficient when facing the deeply rooted and unfathomably profound divine dynasty machinery.

They may be able to conquer cities and seize strongholds, and they may be able to change the landscape—but they will all submit.

Thus, the legendary stories of those seemingly invincible prodigies of an era became a new chapter in the glorious epic of the Divine Dynasty; they themselves, and the forces they represented, were incorporated into the vast system of the Divine Dynasty, becoming another branch under its jurisdiction, an affiliated sect or family, contributing to the great cause of the empire.

Talented people emerge in every generation, but the country will always belong to the emperor.

In this way, the world seems to be forever in turmoil among the lower classes and the emergence of geniuses, full of variables, but at the top of the pyramid, the supreme authority remains as stable as the Purple Palace, unchanging through the ages.

Those in power are supreme and noble, commanding all things with their unparalleled authority, gathering the world's heroes and resources to serve them, invincible, and forging an eternal and unchanging great empire.

This is the source of the confidence that allowed the emperors of the Divine Dynasty to go decades without attending court, while the empire continued to function normally.

Takashi's "hello" from hell touched the very nerve endings of such a colossal being.

The investigation by the Observatory was merely a routine operation of this massive machine.

--------------

However, at this point in time, Gao Jian had already left hell.

The way he left was actually quite simple and direct. He didn't try to cross the rift, that would be suicide; he simply went to the underworld and faced the "life-or-death ordeal" again.

Consciousness was once again thrown into that void, where the final wails, the unwilling roars, and the chilling silence of countless worlds in the instant of birth and death pierced the soul like billions of ice needles. That terror of facing ultimate nothingness was enough to drive any being with a weak mind to utter madness.

But this is the second time, according to Gao Jian.

One is born, the second is cooked.

Touching high-voltage power lines, you'll get used to it.

The day and night wandering god observed the entire process without interfering, and even secretly mobilized the power of the rules of hell around Iron City at certain key moments, providing him with some insignificant but crucial "adaptation".

For them, as long as Gao Jian showed even the slightest possibility of helping them escape the fear brought about by the "break in the rules," which was enough to cause the Ghost King's Dao Heart to collapse, they were willing to pay the price, cooperate with any being, and betray anything.

Gao Jian knew this, but remained noncommittal.

He himself wouldn't do that, anyway.

In short, with the power of the rusty knife and the "experience" of the second time travel, Gao Jian successfully broke free from the shackles of the near-hell. He reappeared on that familiar ancient battlefield, filled with a desolate and deathly atmosphere—the Yellow Springs rift that connects Yin and Yang.

The murky waters of the Yellow Springs rippled slightly, and Gao Jian's figure slowly emerged from them, stepping onto the solid ground of the mortal world.

He was still surrounded by a faint aura of hell and a sense of emptiness after surviving a life-or-death ordeal, but when he took a deep breath of the air of the mortal world, which was filled with the smell of gunpowder and decay, his eyes had regained their usual coldness.

The journey to hell has come to a temporary end, but the conflicts in the mortal world have clearly only just begun.

He walked on, his figure appearing and disappearing amidst the faint deathly aura and desolate rubble of the ancient battlefield.

To his slight surprise, there were still Demon Suppression Division troops stationed at the edge of the area where the Yellow Springs Rift was originally located. Counting the time, he had been in Hell for nearly two months and thought this place had long been abandoned, but he didn't expect to still see people there.

There, the Demon Suppression Division had set up a temporary garrison, with simple walls and watchtowers constructed from large logs and rammed earth. It was not large in scale, and could house a team of about a hundred men.

It was mealtime, and wisps of smoke rose from the campsite, adding a touch of unexpected life to this otherwise desolate place.

A few sounds of soldiers joking and chatting drifted by from the wind. Although they were some distance away, Gao Jian's exceptionally keen senses allowed him to clearly hear the conversations, which were nothing more than casual chatter about food, training, or their hometowns.

With a quick assessment, he got a general idea of ​​the strength within the camp.

One soldier was at the third level, three were at the second level, and the rest were at the first level.

Gao Jian made no attempt to hide; with a swift movement, he drifted down silently towards the main gate of the garrison, like a falling leaf.

Without missing a beat, he landed not far from the gate of the garrison. There, a young soldier wearing the standard leather armor of the Demon Suppression Division, whose cultivation level was roughly at the first realm, was carrying a wooden basin filled with washed wild vegetables, preparing to walk back.

The soldier looked up and suddenly saw a figure appear before him.

"what!!!!!!"

(End of this chapter)