Floating Immortal Order

Chapter 36: Emperor of the Grand Chu Dynasty, What Realm?

Xu Disheng put aside his thoughts for the time being. Not to mention the difficulties of sealing a person’s soul into a Soul Vessel, he was currently unable to use the method of making a Soul Vessel by nourishing it with Soul Force. As of right now, he could only understand and appreciate the wonderful uses of the Sealing Soul Mantra from afar. 𝑏𝑒𝘥𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝑙.𝘰𝑟𝑔

According to his estimates, if he wanted to reach the point where he could use Soul Force to nourish a Soul Vessel, he needed at least another 1 or 2 years of absorbing the essence of the sun and moon in order to increase his total amount of Soul Force.

Daoist Lord Qingyu opened his eyes and said, “We’ve already entered the Central Imperial Province. We will fly directly to the Imperial Court of Grand Chu Imperial City to meet with His Imperial Majesty.”

Su said doubtfully, “Master, didn’t you say before that the Shangqing Dao Palaces were the real rulers of the land? Why do we need to go to the Grand Chu Imperial City to see His Imperial Majesty?”

Xu Disheng also lifted his gaze and looked over.

Daoist Lord Shangyuan replied, “This Secret Realm is known as the Chu Territory. That’s because at the beginning when the realm was established, a disciple who was surnamed Chu had brought his clan into the realm. Under orders from the sect, he was in charge of overseeing the Seventh Mortal Secret Realm on their behalf.” He paused and looked at Xu Disheng, who had a look of understanding, while Su still had a somewhat clueless expression. He shook his head and continued, “The Chu Clan controls the Secret Realm on behalf of the sect. While the Sacred Sect uses it to punish and imprison wrongdoers, rake in resources, and find new disciples, the Dao Palaces in each Province are all subject to the Chu Clan’s unified rule. There is no Dao Palace in the Central Imperial Province, only the Chu Clan, which is the imperial family of this place.”

Xu Disheng spoke up. “Martial Uncle Shangyuan, as far as I know, isn’t the Grand Chu imperial family surname Zhang?”

Daoist Lord Shangyuan nodded his head and replied, “That’s right. After the Chu Clan became the unified administration over the Seventh Mortal Secret Realm, practically all of them changed to the Zhang surname. Only those whose aptitudes were on the Spiritual Root Sequence and could cultivate profound laws could change their surname back to their ancestral surname of Chu and return to the sect. Right now, Emperor Chu is a genuine Dao Foundation realm powerhouse.”

Once someone reached the Dao Foundation stage, their lifespan would increase to 800 years. They had to first comprehend their heart of the Dao before they could construct the Dao Foundation. There were countless people who reached this step and wanted to successfully reach the Dao Foundation stage, but it required comprehension, destiny, and arduous cultivation. If a single one of those elements was missing, they wouldn’t succeed.

When the Spirit Cloud entered the Central Imperial Province, it maintained its speed and flew directly towards Grand Chu Imperial City at the very center. The closer they got to the center, the more prosperous the scenery on the ground below became. Even from high up in the air, they could clearly feel the changes. They could already see Grand Chu Imperial City towering majestically in the distance, making for a spectacular sight.

Su sat by the edge of the cloud, gazing humbly at the imposing city in the distance with an expression of excitement on his face.

Although the city walls of Grand Chu Imperial City were over 65 meters in height, the Spirit Cloud flew directly over them, heading straight for the Imperial Palace in the deepest parts of the city.

Above the Imperial Court of the Palace, there was a gigantic platform about 2 li in radius, more than 30 meters up. This platform was used by the Chu Clan to get in contact with the Sacred Sect, offer sacrifices to their ancestors, and welcome the Secret Realm Envoy.

The spacious Spirit Cloud slowly descended upon the platform with Daoist Lord Qingxin and the others on it.

The captain of the guards of the Imperial Court had come forward to welcome them. Unexpectedly, he was a Xiantian realm transcendent. He had long known their purpose for coming. He cupped his hands in greeting, and asked in a neither servile nor overbearing manner, “Daoist Lords, which Dao Palace have you come from?”

Daoist Lord Shangyuan put away the Spirit Cloud and replied, “The Eastern Qin Province and the You Province.”

“Would you like to rest for several days, or do you want to meet with His Imperial Majesty first? The Imperial Court has already arranged palaces for each Province’s Dao Palace members to stay in, so you may check in at any time,” the palace guard captain said.

“We will first go to meet His Imperial Majesty,” Daoist Lord Qingyu answered. Daoist Lords Qingxin and Shangyuan both nodded in agreement.

“His Imperial Majesty spends his days cultivating in the Heavenly Heart Palace, so I will call someone to bring you there,” the palace guard captain responded. Soon after, he ordered two guards to bring them to the Heavenly Heart Palace.

There were countless palace halls in the Imperial Palace, extending continuously as far as the eye could see. Guards stood by in great numbers, and from time to time, influential officials and members of the royal family would walk by. In the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, they had already seen two princes pass by, wearing official robes.

Xu Disheng was amazed by the fact that Xiantian transcendents seemed to be extremely common in the Imperial Palace. Almost every important figure was accompanied by one or two guards who were at the Xiantian realm.

Compared to the show of extravagance by these members of the imperial family, the Heavenly Heart Palace was much simpler. It was just a palace hall that wasn’t especially luxuriously decorated.

But when they arrived at the palace hall, before even entering, Xu Disheng felt that the Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy here was incredibly rich, almost 100 times more than other places.

When he slightly used the Qi Nourishing Technique, he could feel his Shangqing Profound Qi increasing at a visible rate. If he cultivated here, he could quickly reach the Cleansed Meridians stage!

After the guard reported in, Emperor Chu’s tepid voice rang out from within the hall. “Come in, my Martial Nephews.”

Daoist Lord Qingxin and the other Daoist Lords straightened their clothes and walked into the hall. Xu Disheng and Su followed after them.

Emperor Chu was a handsome, youthful-looking man. He was expressionless as he sat upon his dragon platform, wearing a black intricately decorated Daoist robe with embellished gold trimming. The robe was circulating with Shangqing light, and the Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy and Shangqing Profound Qi were constantly congregating into a small vortex that was being absorbed into his body. Clearly, this Daoist robe was an incredibly precious Spirit Tool.

“Respectful greetings to Martial Uncle.”

“Respectful greetings to Your Imperial Majesty.”

The group saluted one after the other. Because Xu Disheng and Su hadn’t been officially recorded into the Directory Hall of Wenyuan Mountain yet, they could only refer to him as ‘Your Imperial Majesty’.

“This time, the disciples that you all brought from your Provinces are only these two little fellows?” the Imperial Emperor casually glanced at Xu Disheng and Su.

Just from this casual glance, Xu Disheng felt the Shangqing Profound Qi in his body become sluggish, making him unable to revolve it smoothly. It was even harder for Su to bear. His small strand of Shangqing Profound Qi was forced to hide in the deepest depths of his meridians, and there was no response even if he tried to urge it forth.

Daoist Lord Qingyu’s age made him the most senior among them, so he stepped forward to speak. “Yes, Martial Uncle.”

“You may withdraw and wait then. In half a year’s time, the Secret Realm Envoy will descend, and at that time, the Secret Realm Envoy, the Chu Clan, and the other 10 Provinces will attend the Sacred Sect Admission. Everything will go according to normal.”

When Emperor Chu finished speaking, he closed his eyes and returned to cultivating, focusing on the vortex of clear qi.

“Understood, Martial Uncle.”

When they left the Heavenly Heart Palace, Daoist Lord Shangyuan said, “Based on the feeling that I get from Martial Uncle this time, it seems he is even more terrifying than a Peak Master from the Mingxin Mountain Range. Senior Martial Brother Qingxin, wouldn’t you say that Martial Uncle has almost reached that realm?”

Daoist Lord Qingxin shook his head and replied, “The primordial energy in the Secret Realm is limited. Even with the Spirit Gathering Formation, he probably still doesn’t have enough to support the amount required by his cultivation realm. But after observing His Imperial Majesty, I surmise that he’s already reached the peak of the Dao Foundation stage. His talent is truly extraordinary. Being able to cultivate to this stage in a little over 300 years time is formidable.”

Daoist Lord Qingyu also nodded his head in agreement.

Su’s forehead was beaded with sweat and his entire body felt weak. Even though Emperor Chu didn’t deliberately release his aura, a Dao Foundation powerhouse was at the very peak level of power in the Secret Realm. Just the amount of aura he gave off inadvertently was enough to make it difficult for Su to bear. After all, he had just begun cultivating not long ago.

The guard beside them who was guiding them said in a courteous tone, “Respected Daoist Lords, please come this way. The Imperial Court has already prepared the palace dwellings for each of your respective Dao Palaces.”

“Alright, show us the way,” Daoist Lord Shangyuan replied.

Daoist Lord Qingxin turned his head to the side and looked at Xu Disheng. “Sheng’er, how is your cultivation of Azure Ocean going?”

“This disciple of yours is too dimwitted. I have only finished cultivating the first scripture, Amassing Water,” Xu Disheng responded.

Daoist Lord Qingxin nodded. “No problem. This cultivation method was passed down to me by a senior of mine back in the day. Continue to cultivate it properly. Only after you’ve entered the Sea of Qi stage will you be able to demonstrate its full potential.”

.

Daoist Lord Qingxin had always avoided speaking of his past like the plague. Hearing him voluntarily bring it up just now, even Daoist Lord Qingyu examined him with surprise.

“Yes, Master.”