Immortality: Starting with a grave, I'm invincible when burying corpses.

The year 240 of the Gregorian calendar, the Nine Regions.

Having ruled the Great Spirit Empire for hundreds of years, Mu Yong's cultivation had finally reached its current limit.

As his cultivation level increased day by day, Mu Yong gradually realized that the power he gained by relying on the empire's fortune was ultimately like a rootless duckweed.

If he wants to go further on the path of cultivation, rather than simply possessing power, he cannot rely on these external things.

He becomes intoxicated by power that doesn't belong to him, forgetting that he himself is the true essence.

The imperial fortune that once propelled Mu Yong to the realm of terrestrial immortals has now become a burden, preventing him from advancing any further.

Success or failure can both be due to luck.

Having reached this point, Mu Yong's status as an emperor has become his biggest obstacle.

In order to explore further possibilities, Mu Yong finally made up his mind.

He relinquished the throne, devoted himself to cultivation, and from then on, he no longer concerned himself with worldly affairs.

In the year 240 of the Gregorian calendar, Emperor Mu Yong of the Great Ling Empire, the creator of a glorious era, announced his abdication.

Before abdicating, Mu Yong selected the most talented among his grandchildren and designated his grandson, Mu Zhaoyang, to succeed him as emperor of the Great Ling Empire.

The old emperor retired, and the new emperor ascended the throne.

A massive power reshuffle, affecting the entire court, has begun.

Every day, old officials leave the center of power, while newcomers take the stage and burst onto the grand stage of the Great Ling Empire's court.

……

During Mu Yong's centuries-long rule, the Great Ling Empire developed rapidly, but this development also brought a series of hidden dangers that could not be ignored.

The Age of Exploration and the Age of Outward Development were wild and unrestrained times, times of disorderly development.

During this period, everything gave way to expansion.

The imperial court has opened up many avenues; as long as you have the ability and the opportunity, you can make a name for yourself.

In the process of developing the Yin-Yang Domain and the Meteor Domain, in order to cope with various unknown situations, local forces and private armies have been continuously strengthened, gradually becoming a problem that cannot be ignored.

Now, the combined military power of these forces even surpasses that of the Great Ling Empire's court.

Islands after islands, hilltops after hills...

During the expansion, Mu Yong appointed hundreds of thousands of island lords and mountain lords.

In the Great Ling Empire today, private armies under the command of powerful clans are everywhere.

In name, these island lords and mountain lords are all subjects of the Great Spirit Empire, but in reality, the soldiers under their command only obey the orders of their respective masters.

In the old days, these island lords and mountain lords who pioneered the times were like minor feudal lords who held military power.

The vast territory further increases the difficulty of verification and control.

Even today, no official in charge of personnel in the Great Ling Empire knows exactly how many private armed forces exist within its vast territory.

The Great Spirit Empire is so vast that the population living on this land is far too sparse compared to the land itself.

If these minor lords had simply stayed obediently in their own territories, tending their small plots of land and farming, it wouldn't have been such a big problem.

However, as families and forces expanded, alliances became inevitable.

More and more smaller factions have united, becoming a force that even the Great Spirit Empire's court cannot ignore.

During Mu Yong's reign, he could still suppress everything with his absolute prestige and power.

However, after the new emperor Mu Zhaoyang ascended the throne, various problems emerged.

For the new emperor, who lacks both prestige and power, these local forces have become the greatest hidden danger to the Great Spirit Empire.

……

In the 250th year of the Gregorian calendar, the new emperor, Mu Zhaoyang, adjusted his governing strategy.

We must curb local power, narrow the channels for advancement, and recentralize power in the central government.

The Great Spirit Empire's overall policy no longer favored protecting the common people, but instead leaned towards high-ranking officials and the royal family.

The treatment of the army directly under the imperial court was further improved, while the armies scattered in various localities were suppressed openly and covertly, and the money and food they were given were decreasing.

While cutting local spending, Mu Zhaoyang also reinstated the imperial clan system and promoted members of the Mu family who were part of the royal family.

In just ten years, the new emperor conferred titles upon ninety-two princes and dukes, sending them to various parts of the Great Ling Empire in order to limit local power.

During the battle between the two sides, tens of thousands of small-scale bloodshed incidents broke out within the Great Spirit Empire.

The mountain bandits and river pirates, who had almost disappeared, have reappeared on the land of the Great Spirit Empire.

Against the backdrop of a massive wave of mergers and acquisitions, the living space of ordinary people has been further squeezed.

Court officials from the Datong faction repeatedly submitted memorials, stating that this move would inevitably cause great chaos and earnestly requesting the new emperor to rescind his decree, but to no avail.

……

255 in the Gregorian calendar.

A piece of news has caused a stir.

The Taoist ancestral temple, Mount Sixiang, proclaimed to the world the ten major crimes of the Xuantian Pavilion, classifying it as the largest demonic cult organization in the world.

Mount Sixiang issued a decree to exterminate demons, calling on the martial arts world to join forces in punishing the evil forces.

In the Demon Extermination Order, Mount Sixiang revealed all the matters that Xuantian Pavilion had been secretly promoting for nearly a thousand years.

It is pointed out that Xuantian Pavilion colluded with the demonic path and provided decisive support for the demon lords who appeared in the past.

This includes the tragedy of Qingzhou during the Great Qi Dynasty, the demonic calamity in Qi'an City, and a series of horrific events that occurred in the Yin Yin Domain.

Three days after the news broke, the rising star of the Taoist sect, Xuantian Temple, openly supported Xuantian Pavilion, accusing Sixiang Mountain of spreading rumors and fabricating evidence.

While supporting Xuantian Pavilion, Xuantian Temple also presented a series of evidence, which detailed a series of sordid deeds committed by the Four Symbols Mountain over the past thousands of years.

Suddenly, things became complicated and confusing. Those forces that had just been preparing to respond to the call of Mount Sixiang retreated and began to observe how the situation would develop.

The old foxes understood perfectly well that if it meant eradicating the demonic path and gaining fame and merit, they would be the first to step in.

But the current situation is clearly not right. Both sides are from the Taoist sect, and both are leading forces. It looks like an internal strife.

At this time, you can't be foolish enough to rush in and become cannon fodder!

The Great Spirit Empire, the Great Time Empire, the Holy Land of Literature and Taoism...

None of the major human powers commented on this, instead letting the two sides fight it out on their own.

The two factions within the Daoist sects accused each other and engaged in a war of words in the major newspapers of the Nine Regions, giving the onlookers a thrilling experience and making them cheer with excitement.

Suddenly, the entire martial arts world became unpredictable and mysterious.

……

260th year of the Gregorian calendar.

The turmoil in the martial arts world intensified, with Sixiang Mountain and Xuantian Temple engaging in numerous public battles that resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of people.

Those martial arts forces that depended on them were also forced to take sides and participate in the struggle between the two sides.

A bloody storm is quietly brewing in the martial arts world, centered around the two major forces of Taoism.

……

The bloodshed that swept through the martial world did not affect the decisions of the Great Ling Empire's court.

With over a dozen terrestrial immortals at his disposal and the backing of the great Five Elements True Lord, Mu Zhaoyang believed that no matter how much trouble these martial arts forces caused, they could not shake the foundation of the Great Spirit Empire.

Only the warlords, who were widely distributed throughout the empire, were the real threat.