He was in seclusion, his primordial spirit observing all things in heaven and earth, entering a profound state of oneness with the universe and merging with the Dao. But suddenly, the world itself malfunctioned. Consequently, this old man in seclusion was also severely injured. It was truly a tragedy.
At this moment, there are countless people who have had similar experiences to him!
As for Lin Yang, he immediately informed Cai Yong and Wang Yue the moment he discovered the news. How the two of them handled it was beyond Lin Yang's concern.
After all, a world-class calamity is not something Lin Yang's small frame can withstand. If they really encounter some powerful extraterrestrial demon, or even an entire world attacking, Jiangdong, in its current state, really can't withstand it on its own. No, it should be said that it probably can't withstand it.
Therefore, it was good to inform Cai Yong in advance so that the court could prepare. It was also good to inform Wang Yue in advance so that so many heads of powerful families would owe him favors.
Upon hearing the news from Lin Yang, some of the remaining family heads believed it, while others were less convinced but still made preparations. Those who made absolutely no preparations were very few.
Many experts and heads of powerful families, although they had a bad feeling, still couldn't help but frown after receiving news about Lin Yang.
"Hmm, the world itself automatically issued a warning when the extraterrestrial demons invaded. No wonder the clan elders were injured instantly while they were in seclusion."
"Come on, gather the family's private soldiers, put on their armor, conscript all the family's retainers, open the secret chamber, and take out sets of prepared talismans and magical artifacts to distribute."
At the same time, the hidden treasures within these blessed lands are prepared to be unleashed at any time. This is precisely what is meant by "being prepared for any eventuality."
While the high-ranking officials within the Han Dynasty were actively making preparations, earth-shattering changes were taking place in the outside world.
In the sea of stars, here lies a chaotic ocean. As far as the eye can see, there is only endless darkness, stretching as far as the eye can see.
Within this darkness, the most abundant element is chaotic energy. This chaotic energy is of very high grade; a body-refining expert needs at least a sixth-tier cultivation level to directly traverse this chaotic ocean with their physical body. As for immortal cultivators, they would need at least a mid-grade fifth-tier defensive spiritual treasure to do so!
Meanwhile, outside the Three Kingdoms world, stood two people.
The two men stood at a distance, gazing at each other. One of them wore a ceremonial robe adorned with gold ornaments, adorned with twelve white pearl tassels, and tassels made of silk, the color of which matched his sash. He wore cotton earrings and a jade hairpin.
The garment is black with a crimson skirt. It has twelve embroidered symbols: eight on the robe (sun, moon, stars, dragon, mountain, pheasant, fire, and ancestral vessels) and four on the skirt (waterweed, rice grains, axe, and axe-shaped pattern). The lining and collar are decorated with ascending dragons, which are woven into the garment.
Needless to say, this guy must be an emperor, or rather, he used to be an emperor. At a glance, you'll find that although he stands there quietly, it's as if a divine dragon appears above him, roaring from time to time.
The other person, dressed in a Taoist robe, radiated a faint light. Countless chaotic energies were transformed into pure black and white yin and yang energies before they even got close, and then disappeared, which was quite a sight.
From afar, this person exuded boundless Daoist charm. If a cultivator practicing the Yin-Yang path were here, they would surely make great progress.
Suddenly, the Taoist priest moved. He formed hand seals, and streams of chaotic energy instantly transformed into primordial Yin and Yang energies.
Ordinary Yin and Yang energies, even when purified to the extreme, are at most only at the sixth rank, inferior to Chaos Qi. But what the Taoist possesses is innate Yin and Yang energies. In any world, anything imbued with the word "innate" is always more valuable, and this is no exception.
"The Way of Yin and Yang? Do you think I'm afraid of you?"
As he spoke, his dragon aura surged and materialized. One after another, divine dragons, formed from the aura of true dragons, appeared and attacked the Taoist priest opposite him!
With a deafening boom, boundless energy erupted instantly. Visible ripples spread outwards from the point of impact.
The once calm and turbulent ocean suddenly seemed to come alive, constantly boiling and churning.
Unfortunately, no matter how violently the chaotic energy exploded, it had no effect on the two of them at this moment. Not even their sleeves could be affected.
"Not bad, you're quite good, young man. Your strength is excellent, and your true dragon aura is quite potent. Why not surrender? My Immortal Qin is all-encompassing and boundless. Even a true dragon emperor like you can be tolerated. Don't worry, there won't be a good end for you after surrendering."
"Duke Mu and Duke Xiao were both emperors at the Taiyi Daojun (seventh rank) level. Now they each govern a region, establish their own fiefdoms, how wonderful is that?"
"Furthermore, as you have seen, the Han Dynasty has already reached the peak of the Earth level. The next step would be the Heaven level world, which is intolerable! The entire human race, all the emperors, can only have one Heaven level world. This is the bottom line of the Immortal Qin. Why should we disagree?"
"By the way, I heard your name is Liu Bang, and you call yourself the son of the Red Emperor. However, even if you really are the son of the Red Emperor, it doesn't matter. In front of my Immortal Qin, let alone you, even the Red Emperor himself would be helpless in this situation," the Taoist said slowly.
This emperor was Liu Bang, the legendary son of the Red Emperor, and the founding emperor of the Han Dynasty. The sword at his waist was, of course, the famous Chixiao Sword.
Hearing the Taoist's words, Liu Bang was naturally furious. At the same time, his right hand couldn't help but rest on the Crimson Sky Sword.
Back in the day, when his father, the Crimson Emperor, was alive, naturally no one would have dared to say such a thing. The problem is, the Five Emperors, at the Great Luo level (eighth rank), disappeared countless years ago with the fall of the Heavenly Court. In other words, the Han Dynasty's greatest backer is gone.
"Xu Fu, who doesn't know the ambitions of your Immortal Qin? To unify all the worlds, absorb the fortune of all the heavens and myriad realms to support the world where Immortal Qin resides, and vainly attempt to establish a Heavenly Court and become the Heavenly Emperor—you are truly audacious!" Liu Bang said with murderous intent.
If Liu Bang had truly surrendered to the Qin dynasty, his future would have been fraught with difficulty. Besides, who would willingly surrender to a powerful state for no reason?
If we just wait a little longer, the Han Dynasty will upgrade to a Heavenly-level world. At that time, even if we can't win in a direct confrontation, we can always escape or defend.
As for this Taoist priest, he was Xu Fu. In different worlds, there are many different legends about Xu Fu.
In some worlds, he is a Taoist priest, indifferent to fame and fortune, and possessing profound knowledge. In other worlds, he is an ambitious and detestable sorcerer. In still other worlds, he is a divine emperor, seeking elixirs and medicines, and venturing across oceans.
In reality, he was Xu Fu, the Yin-Yang Dao Lord, a powerful Daoist master of the Taiyi level, the head of the Imperial Observatory of the Immortal Qin, and a close confidant of the First Emperor. He was one of the few marquises in the Immortal Qin, possessing several earth-level worlds as his fiefdom.
"That's not ambition. Ambition comes from insufficient strength, while revenge comes from sufficient strength! My Emperor Qin Zulong is wise and mighty, and has long since entered the Great Luo Realm. In terms of strength, he is invincible under heaven," Xu Fu corrected.
"Hmph! Is the Great Luo Realm really that strong? Stronger than the Dao Ancestor? Stronger than the Buddha? The last guy who tried to establish a Heavenly Court was King Wu of Zhou, Ji Fa, but what happened? He had just joined forces with the immortals to kill King Zhou of Shang, only to be betrayed by them and beaten to death!"
"As a super expert who was about to enter the Great Luo Realm, to die so soon after the founding of the kingdom is truly unprecedented. Even now, he is still firmly suppressed in the Ruins of Return, and will not be able to transcend until the immeasurable calamity!"
"The one before us who had this idea was King Zhou of Shang. Back then, King Zhou of Shang was incredibly talented and ambitious. At the time of his birth, the sun and stars appeared in broad daylight, and his bloodline was at its most primitive. Even Tang of Shang could not compare to him."
"Later, he broke through one after another, and when he established the Heavenly Court, in terms of strength alone, he was already a Great Luo Emperor. But what was the result? Despite the opposition of all the immortals and gods in the world, he was still sealed on the Deer Terrace, never to be freed."
"And then there was the Shang Dynasty, how powerful it was! The Heavenly Mandate of the Black Bird descended to give birth to the Shang. Every ruler of the Shang Dynasty even proclaimed himself the reincarnation of the Heavenly Emperor, ruling over both immortals and mortals under heaven. But in the end, didn't it still perish directly!"
"And what about Xia Jie? Didn't he also try to establish a heavenly court? But how much better was his outcome than that of Shang Zhou? You know, back then, Yu the Great was still alive. Yet, he could only watch helplessly as Xia Jie was directly sealed away," Liu Bang said somewhat provocatively.
In a way, this was a result of the overwhelming power of the Heavenly Emperor Taiyi back then. When Taiyi was the Heavenly Emperor, all things in heaven and earth were under his jurisdiction. Even immortals, even the Dao Ancestor and Buddha, could only obey the Heavenly Emperor's orders and dared not disobey.
In that era, the Taoist patriarch founded Jade Capital Mountain, gathered immortals from all over the world, and lived in seclusion, utterly devoid of any voice. The Buddha, after being beaten into incapacitated, obediently sealed himself away. It is said that this is why later Buddhas had heads full of bumps.
In that era, the Heavenly Court had more than a dozen experts at the Great Luo level alone. There were the Three Sovereigns, the Five Emperors, the Azure Dragon, the Ancestral Qilin, the Ancestral Phoenix... In addition, there were the Taiyin Emperor, the Ziwei Emperor, and the Zhou Tian Star Gods who joined the Heavenly Court.
It could be said that that era was the era of the Heavenly Court. Anyone who dared to defy it would die! No one dared disobey its orders.