Just as the old patriarch forced me to my death, I achieved the unity of Dao and fruition.

"Could this... be the Imperial Ruins?"

Gu Changjin stood on the barren land, his eyes slightly narrowed.

The next moment, the divine sense belonging to the ninth level of Quasi-Emperor suddenly spread out!

Between heaven and earth, every inch of mountains and rivers quickly entered his mind.

Across ten thousand miles of mountains and rivers, a million miles of mountains and rivers, wherever the divine thought passed, all was utter desolation.

There were no ferocious beasts, no human towns, no cultivator sects, and not even a single ordinary insect or ant could be found.

The mountains are still mountains, the rivers are still rivers, but everything seems to have been dead for countless millennia.

Even more strangely, Gu Changjin could clearly feel that his lifespan was slowly draining away.

But it is indeed flowing, and its source cannot be found at all.

"Jedi?"

Gu Changjin seemed to be deep in thought.

The "Burial of Heaven and Devouring of the Dao Scripture" then began to operate.

A deep darkness silently spread outwards from beneath his feet.

Wherever it passed, the essence of heaven and earth vanished, and the remaining spiritual matter underground was directly decomposed and transformed into the purest energy, merging into Gu Changjin's body.

Unfortunately, without life, there is naturally not much life essence to devour.

The place was almost too clean.

Until Gu Changjin's divine sense reached even further.

Finally, I found the only difference.

A bronze ancient temple stands deep in the endless wilderness. It doesn't look very big from a distance, but it gives people an extremely heavy feeling.

The surrounding space seemed to be slightly distorted by its presence.

Even more strangely, no matter how much Gu Changjin extended his divine sense, he could not truly see the interior of the ancient hall.

"There really is something there."

Gu Changjin had a sudden thought. Instead of sitting here guessing, he might as well go and take a look. His figure flashed.

The next moment, the person appeared outside the ancient bronze palace.

Up close, this ancient temple appears even older than it does from a distance.

The entire building is made without a single brick or stone. From the gate to the pillars and the eaves at the top, it is all cast from a dark blue metal, and its surface is covered with mottled marks left by the erosion of time.

Upon closer inspection, however, beneath those so-called rust marks, there are faintly visible ancient imperial patterns.

"Imperial crest?"

Gu Changjin's eyes lit up.

Great place!

He raised his hand and casually pointed out.

A beam of quasi-emperor divine light pierced through the sky and disappeared.

boom!

The divine light struck the outer perimeter of the ancient bronze temple.

The previously ordinary air suddenly began to ripple with concentric circles of blue light.

Countless imperial runes lit up simultaneously, and the attack that had just been enough to easily kill a Saint King was completely worn away after only a few breaths.

"interesting."

Gu Changjin stroked his chin.

If it were someone else, they would probably have to honestly find the entrance, the trials of inheritance, and then try to break through step by step.

Unfortunately, I don't have that patience.

He is now at the ninth level of Quasi-Emperor, and one more step forward will be the Great Emperor position that countless people have fought for all their lives.

Thinking of this, Gu Changjin recalled Yun Zhenyue's previous matter-of-fact attitude.

What do you mean by "old age"? What do you mean by "the path to the throne belongs to young prodigies"?

What kind of old guy is he, thousands of years old? Reaching the ninth level of Quasi-Emperor is already his limit.

On what grounds?

"So what if I'm 3,500 years old?"

"Who says one cannot attain enlightenment at the age of 3,500?"

Gu Changjin felt increasingly resentful the more he thought about it.

Those ancient geniuses sealed within the divine source, if you really count them, were born tens of thousands of years earlier than me.

It's just that age isn't considered in their middle years.

On what grounds?

"Just you wait, I'll show you."

"Even an elderly genius who is three thousand five hundred years old can prove himself to be an emperor."

The words fell.

The darkness behind him suddenly surged!

The power of the Quasi-Emperor Ninth Heaven was fully unleashed.

At this moment, the great principles of heaven and earth resonated softly.

A giant hand formed from endless darkness slowly emerged from behind Gu Changjin.

It has no fixed shape, and its edges are even constantly swallowing the surrounding light.

The giant hand clenched its five fingers and pressed down hard on the outer barrier of the ancient bronze palace!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The entire wasteland shook violently.

The imperial emblems lit up one by one, and the azure divine light soared into the sky.

However, under the devouring power of the "Burial of Heaven and Devouring Dao Scripture", the power on those imperial runes was also being stripped away continuously.

Gu Changjin's eyes brightened slightly.

It can devour? That makes things easier.

boom!

The second strike!

The third strike!

Finally, a crack appeared in the barrier surrounding the ancient bronze palace, a barrier that had existed for countless millennia.

As Gu Changjin stepped inside, the imperial markings behind him began to repair themselves frantically.

But he had already gone inside.

From now on, it's basically the same routine.

There's a formation; break it!

It has imperial markings; it absorbs a portion of them, then breaks through.

There are also some ancient restrictions used to test the intruder's state of mind, physical body, and soul.

Gu Changjin didn't even bother to look at it anymore.

With his cultivation at the ninth level of Quasi-Emperor, he swept past them with ease.

"test?"

"I dislike exams the most."

We continued deeper into the area.

I don't know how many layers of restrictions were broken.

Gu Changjin finally arrived at the deepest part of the ancient bronze palace.

There is no treasure trove here, no mountain of divine resources, not even a single rare herb.

In the center of the vast bronze hall, there was only one lamp, a small, palm-sized ancient bronze lamp.

The lamp body was mottled, and only a very weak cluster of blue flames burned on the wick.

Gu Changjin's pupils contracted slightly after just one glance.

Extremely dangerous!!!

That cluster of fire looked like it could go out at any moment.

It was so powerful that even he, now at the ninth level of Quasi-Emperor, felt a clear sense of danger.

Around the ancient lamp, there is a layer of imperial patterns that are even more complex than those on the outside, which firmly envelop it.

Gu Changjin didn't rush to move, but turned his gaze to the surrounding walls.

It is covered with ancient murals that have become blurred.

The first scene depicts the rise of all races, with powerful alien emperors dominating the human realm, leaving mountains of corpses on the land of humans.

In the second image, a figure whose face is obscured suddenly appears.

No one knows where he came from, nor does anyone know what race he truly is.

However, ever since he appeared, he has always stood on the side of the human race.

Holding an ancient bronze lamp, I wander through the starry sky.

Wherever the lights burned, powerful alien warriors turned to ashes.

Even their weapons, flesh and blood, and the very essence of the Great Dao were refined into the purest power by the azure flames.

Finally, that person attained enlightenment.

Title: Bronze Ancient Emperor

"The Bronze Ancient Emperor..."

Gu Changjin muttered to himself.

The mural continues.

The Great Emperor reigned supreme for a time, with all races bowing before him. Yet, even the mighty Great Emperor could not escape the passage of time.

As the millennia drew to a close, the Bronze Emperor suddenly vanished from the universe, and no one knew where he had died.

In the last mural, a blurry figure arrives alone in a desolate place.

The ancient bronze hall remains, and so does that lamp.

After Gu Changjin finished reading, his eyes lit up completely, and he stared intently at the ancient bronze lamp within the barrier.

"An imperial weapon?"

This thing... could it be the imperial weapon of the Bronze Emperor?

An imperial weapon capable of burning everything and refining flesh, weapons, and even the Great Dao into pure power.

Isn't this tailor-made for the "Burial of Heaven and Devouring of the Dao Scripture"?

Gu Changjin's heart skipped a beat.

He had just been tricked by the old man from the Yun family with an imperial weapon.

He picked up one right after that?

As expected! Heaven has not forsaken my old age prodigy!

But just as he was preparing to investigate further.

The flame on the bronze lamp flickered suddenly.

Immediately afterwards, a blurry figure slowly materialized from under the lamplight. Its face was indistinguishable, and it was impossible to tell whether it was male, female, young, or old. However, its eyes, as if separated by endless years, were truly fixed on Gu Changjin for the first time.

After a long while, an aged voice slowly echoed within the ancient bronze hall.

"Those who come after! If you wish to inherit my teachings..."

"You must first grant me one request."