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

The Great Yin Dynasty lasted for over 18,000 years before Emperor Yin passed away.

The imperial court's explanation was quite simple.

Emperor Yin toiled day and night to repair the cracks in the heavens, but eventually exhausted his life force and passed away in the Nine Heavens Palace.

Crown Prince Yin Chengye was devastated and wept bitterly while holding the coffin. He then ascended the throne in accordance with the imperial edict.

As for the bloodstains in the Nine Heavens Palace, the countless sword wounds on Emperor Yin's body, and the Heaven-Slaying Sword that severed the emperor's pact with the heavens, naturally no one mentioned them.

The historians couldn't write it down, and the court officials dared not ask.

Under the supervision of the Imperial Advisor Sikong Xuan, Yin Chengye completed his coronation ceremony at the Cangtian Hall.

The Imperial Seal ascended into the sky, and the Heavenly Sword suppressed the capital.

The old heavens, which had lost their anchor in the human realm and were collapsing rapidly, have finally found a new fulcrum.

Although it was riddled with cracks, it managed to stabilize.

On the first day after the new emperor ascended the throne, he issued twelve edicts in succession.

The first measure was to halt the construction of the Nine Heavens Palace, release the million laborers conscripted from various states, and stop levying additional taxes on the heavens.

The second measure was to recall the veteran officials and generals who had been dismissed and sidelined by Emperor Yin, and bring them back to court to serve.

The third step was to open the imperial armory and the Tianjing treasury, and take out the weapons, armor, elixirs, and spirit stones that had been stored for many years, to quell the rebellions of Qing and Huang.

The fourth measure was to reappoint Prince Jingwu, Yin Daoheng, as the Grand Commander of Pingqing, in charge of the troops of the three northern prefectures and to control the two imperial guards to suppress Gu Changjin!

Although Hexi was lost, Prince Jingwu still held the three northern prefectures.

As long as the imperial court truly invests resources regardless of cost, it still has the strength to fight.

The same is true in the south.

The new emperor appointed General Pei Xuance, the General Who Pacifies the South, as the Grand Commander of the Pacification of Huang, mobilizing grain and troops from the seven central prefectures. He also ordered the counties near Huang to fortify their defenses and scorch the fields to encircle and suppress Lu Cheng'an.

At the same time, the Taicang Immortal Sect and other large and small immortal sects that were affiliated with the imperial court also received the imperial edict.

Each faction must send its strongest warriors to participate in the battle!

Imperial edicts flew from Tianjing to various prefectures.

Each imperial edict bears the imprint of the new emperor's renewed control over the heavens.

Wherever the imperial edict passed, the old heavens pressed down, weakening the fortunes and military strength of the local rebel armies.

The long-silent Great Yin Dynasty was like a huge, ferocious beast that had finally awakened from its slumber, and for the first time truly began to mobilize the power it had accumulated over thousands of years.

Veteran generals donned their armor once more, and senior officials of the court rushed to the capital overnight.

Armor depots in all states were opened wide, and interstate relocation operations continued day and night.

The court machinery, which had come to a standstill due to Emperor Yin's obsession with prolonging his life, started running again in just a few days.

But what truly shook the world was the ninth edict issued by the new emperor.

Order to Resist the Emperor!

Within the seven central states, all prominent families, local powerful clans, and clans affiliated with immortal sects can independently recruit their own private soldiers and armies.

As long as one registers in the military and sends a specified number of troops to the Qinghuang front, the imperial court will recognize their right to command troops and grant them provisions, armor, and corresponding military rank.

If you can quell local rebellions, you can exchange your heads and military achievements for land, official positions, and cultivation resources!

The imperial edict caused an uproar among the powerful families of the land.

In the past, the imperial court was most wary of local powerful clans expanding their armies on their own.

But now, the once clandestine private soldiers have been transformed into a loyal army recognized by the imperial court.

Not only could they openly recruit soldiers, but they could also receive weapons and provisions from the state government.

Those aristocratic families who were originally observing the situation submitted memorials to praise the new emperor's wisdom.

One by one, family patriarchs who had been in seclusion for many years emerged from their ancestral homeland.

Armies bearing different surnames and banners began to appear rapidly in the seven central states.

The effect was indeed immediate.

The righteous armies, bandits, and peasant uprisings that had been roaming freely in the seven central prefectures were successively besieged and suppressed by local powerful families.

The rebels who were attacking the county town yesterday were beheaded by a certain family patriarch today.

The rebel army that had just raised its flag the day before hadn't even gone a hundred miles before its achievements were divided up by several allied forces.

One piece of good news after another reached Tianjing.

In the imperial court, the officials were invigorated.

Officials from all over the country rushed to submit memorials praising the new emperor for turning the tide and showing signs of reviving the dynasty.

It was as if the Blue Sky and the Yellow Sky were just two slightly larger rebellions.

It seemed that as long as the imperial court continued its efforts, peace would be restored to the world within a few months.

But nobody wanted to think about the other thing.

Once this door that allows powerful families to legally expand their armies is opened, can it be closed again?

Or, to put it another way, were those aristocratic families who already possessed armies, territories, and official positions actually suppressing the rebellion for the Great Yin Dynasty, or were they using the Great Yin Dynasty's provisions to accumulate their first fortune in the chaotic world?

At least at this moment, Yin Chengye wasn't thinking about these things.

He sat on the throne he had longed for for over three hundred years, looking at the piles of victory reports on his desk, and felt that he had finally proven one thing.

He is better than his father!

……

at the same time.

Outside the Taicang Cave Heaven, two figures stepped through the slowly closing void portal and truly entered the Thirteen Provinces of the World.

A man dressed in a gray robe was named Wenren Du.

The other person, whose body was surrounded by crimson lightning, was named Wenren Lie.

Both of them were powerful figures personally dispatched by Ancestor Wenren, and both had already crossed the limit of being terrestrial immortals.

If classified according to the immortal realms that Gu Changjin was familiar with, they were all Xuanxian!

When they first left the ancestral home of the Wenren clan, the two had only one mission.

Take Gu Changjin back.

If you refuse, you can bring back the body.

But once they actually left the Taicang Cave Heaven and received news from the outside world along the way, the mission was no longer so simple.

Gu Changjin killed Bai Li, a terrestrial immortal, with a single sword strike.

In the battle of Hexi, he killed Yunxiu Zhenren and Qin Muye, breaking the limits of terrestrial immortals and causing the blue sky to cover three states.

Under his command are five terrestrial immortals with independent intelligence and the Great Dao, as well as several grass and wood armies capable of condensing military spirits.

"It seems that the information Gu Cangyue sent is outdated."

Wenren Lie crushed the jade slip in his hand, his expression not pleasant.

"This child is definitely not as simple as just having awakened a few traces of the Wenren bloodline."

Wenren Du did not answer, but simply looked towards the azure sky to the north.

What they truly feared was not just Gu Changjin's cultivation level.

It was the sky.

The Tai Cang Immortal Sect and the Dayin Sect jointly forged the Azure Heaven, and the names of the sect's powerful figures have long been inscribed deep within the Azure Heaven.

Under normal circumstances, when they act under the heavens, they can avoid the vast majority of rejections from the heavens and earth.

This is one of the privileges that allows the immortal sect to continue for ten thousand years.

Whether the authorities will acknowledge this privilege is anyone's guess.

If they force their way into the Three Continents of Azure Heaven and kill the Lord of Azure Heaven, it would be tantamount to an external Dao directly colliding with a region of the heavens.

Even if they could kill Gu Changjin, they might suffer a backlash from the heavens afterward, their luck would be diminished, their path would be damaged, and they might even be rejected by the three states and their lands.

More importantly, Gu Changjin is not really an outsider.

He is the son of Wenren Zhaoxue, and he also has the blood of the Wenren family flowing in his veins.

"Our ancestor asked us to bring him back for the sake of that lineage," Wenren Lie said coldly. "The more trouble he causes, the less he can be left outside."

"That was before."

Wenren Du finally spoke.

He looked up at the broken sky in the center, then at the ever-growing blue sky in the north.

In the past, the Taicang Immortal Sect supported the founding of the Great Yin Dynasty and jointly forged the heavens, from which they received a vast share of the creation destiny.

It was precisely because of that destiny that the Taicang Immortal Sect was able to produce several Earth Immortals in succession, becoming the leading immortal sect in the world.

Good fortune and misfortune can be intertwined.

From that day on, the fate of the Taicang Immortal Sect became inextricably linked with that of the Great Yin Dynasty.

Now that the Great Yin Dynasty is teetering on the brink of collapse, the Taicang Immortal Sect also needs to find a way out for itself.

A clear sky might not be an undesirable alternative.

Moreover, the Lord of the Azure Sky is a descendant of the Wenren clan who was separated from his family.

"Let's talk first."

Wenrendu stepped into the border of Hexi Prefecture.

"If he is willing to acknowledge his ancestors and accept Wenren's conditions, this clear sky can become the new foundation of our clan."

Wenren Lie frowned.

"What if he doesn't want to?"

"Then let's..."

Wenren Du had not finished speaking.

The wild grass that had been swaying in the wind beneath their feet suddenly stopped moving.

The next moment, all the vegetation within a hundred miles turned towards the two of them.

The countless branches and leaves rubbed against each other, eventually converging into a sound that was neither a laugh nor a smile.

"Gentlemen, discussing my life and death on my own territory—isn't that a gross underestimation of my authority?"