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

As the founding emperor of the Great Ling Empire, Mu Yong had always had reservations about these matters.

However, he couldn't find a legitimate reason to intervene in this matter.

The Nine Realms are not his personal domain; each realm is overseen by powerful terrestrial deities.

Although the Great Spirit Empire is powerful, it is not so arrogant as to challenge the whole world.

Until about ten years ago, a dramatic change occurred in Chengtian Domain, and the Reincarnation Pavilion suddenly appeared, providing the Great Spirit Empire with the best excuse.

……

As soon as the upheaval in Chengtian Domain occurred, Mu Yong had already shifted all his attention to this matter.

Mu Yong had always walked the path of an emperor.

Under heaven, all land belongs to the king; on the shores of the earth, all people are subjects of the king.

The stronger the Great Spirit Empire, the stronger the power that Mu Yong can control.

Even after he stepped down to the second line and became the emperor emeritus of the empire, no longer directly in charge of the empire, Mu Yong's path was still deeply influenced by the empire.

Mu Yong had thought about this for over a hundred years.

Completely break free from the influence of the Great Spirit Empire and give the Qiming Sword to either Mu Zhaoyang or Mu Yuncheng.

but……

After struggling for a while, Mu Yong discovered...

The influence of the empire's fortune on him has penetrated into every aspect of his life. If he were to give up now, it would be tantamount to destroying his own path.

He had no other choice but to walk down this path to his death.

It is precisely for this reason that, even after going into seclusion, Mu Yong never completely abandoned his concern for the empire.

On the contrary, he interfered with Mu Zhaoyang's decisions on several occasions when Mu Zhaoyang went astray, thus resolving many potential problems for the empire.

Over the years, while pondering his future path, Mu Yong has also developed new ambitions.

Let the empire's five-colored dragon flag fly throughout the nine regions, assimilate all civilizations in the nine regions, and bring all races of heaven and earth into the framework of the empire.

The Great Spirit Empire reveres the five colors, and all spirits in the Nine Realms should also revere the five colors.

Only the great sun, representing the five elements, can illuminate heaven and earth!

In Mu Yong's view, only the five-colored imperial robe could represent the emperor and the highest power in the Nine Domains.

All rulers of the nine regions should wear five-colored robes as a symbol of their status.

Among all the emperors and monarchs, only the emperor of their Great Spirit Empire was qualified to wear the most noble five-colored imperial robe.

The five colors symbolize the five elements of heaven and earth, and also symbolize the protection of the great true ruler.

The dragon at the back of the imperial robe does not refer to the dragon clan of the Nine Realms as in the traditional dragon robes of the Nine Realms, but specifically refers to Ao Yun.

As the mount of the Great True Lord, Ao Yun holds multiple positions and has various identities.

Such as the Sea God of the East Sea, the River God of Linjiang, the Lord of All Waters...

The most important and well-known of them is the empire's guardian beast.

Although Mu Yong had some reservations about Ao Yun's various flaws as a member of the dragon race, he was aware of them.

At a time when Mu An rarely looks down upon the mortal world, Ao Yun holds extraordinary significance for the Great Ling Empire.

This lecherous dragon, though obsessed with sleeping and creating dragons all day, almost never does anything productive, only knows how to cause trouble. He's either sleeping or on his way to fight every day...

But if we put aside all these shortcomings, Ao Yun is still somewhat useful.

Moreover, the decision to include Ao Yun as part of the empire's symbol was made when he was still weak.

The Great Spirit Empire at that time was far less powerful than it is today; there were hardly any terrestrial deities to be found in the entire empire.

In the early years, Ao Yun made considerable contributions to the empire.

Although Mu Yong always felt that printing Ao Yun's "wicked character" on the imperial robe was somewhat of a disgrace to imperial power.

But hundreds of years have passed, so there's no need to dwell on these "minor issues."

……

At this moment, Mu Yong stood with his hands behind his back, wearing a somewhat "disgusting" five-colored imperial robe.

There are no high mountains in the core area of ​​Qing'an Prefecture, but because Mu Yong lived in seclusion here, a thousand-foot-high peak appeared deep in the palace.

Strange pines and rocks, rolling sea of ​​clouds, and ethereal atmosphere.

On the mountain are magnificent palaces, below the mountain is the bustling world.

Standing atop the peak, the entire Qing'an Prefecture is laid out before you, and everything is under your control.

Unlike the three who were far away in Chengtian Domain, Mu Yong considered things more comprehensively.

At this moment, Crown Prince Mu Yuncheng had taken over the defensive formation of Qing'an Prefecture, and three royal retainers of the terrestrial immortal level were by his side, ready to provide support at any time.

The Five Elements Sect is also ready, and the two terrestrial immortals inside are ready to join the battle at any time.

Qingxi, who had been living in seclusion on Spirit Beast Mountain, was also invited out by Mu Yong to monitor the changes in Qing'an Prefecture around the clock.

Zhuge Xiang of the Wuxiang Academy is stationed deep in Qishan, where a super formation covering the entire Qishan mountain range is ready.

Above Qing'an Prefecture and the Qishan Mountains, there is an even more exquisite and magnificent array used to shield the senses of the members of the Reincarnation Pavilion.

The grand formation was personally set up by Zhang Ming'an, the contemporary Celestial Master of the Four Symbols Mountain. Unless a Golden Immortal-level expert personally intervenes, it is impossible to see through the illusion formation here.

Once the three "Chenglong" class express ships carrying the royal family and nobles of Ying Kingdom enter the vicinity of Qishan, the two formations can be activated immediately.

They pulled everyone on the warship into a carefully prepared illusion, using the illusion array to probe the true intentions of the Samsara Pavilion.

……

Yes, Mu Yong had no intention of letting the people controlled by the Reincarnation Pavilion enter Qing'an Prefecture. Instead, he planned to resolve the issue in the sparsely populated Qishan Mountains.

Considering the lack of high-end combat power on his side and the possibility of some unpredictable situations, Mu Yong turned his attention directly to the Four Symbols Mountain and to the agent of the Heavenly Dao—Celestial Master Zhang Ming'an.

The strongest being among all native beings in the Nine Realms today, a powerhouse almost indistinguishable from a Golden Immortal.

After overcoming all the impossibilities, Mu Yong and Zhang Ming'an reached an agreement, and the Great Spirit Empire and the Four Symbols Mountain temporarily formed an alliance.

As an agent of the Heavenly Dao, Zhang Ming'an naturally favors the native creatures of the Nine Realms and rejects all outsiders.

His enemy was the old Celestial Master who wanted to replace the Heavenly Dao, not Mu Yong who established the Great Spirit Empire.

As for Mu An behind the Great Spirit Empire, neither the Heavenly Dao of the Nine Domains nor Zhang Ming'an actually had any particular thoughts about it.

The gap is too big; there's no need to overthink it.

Between the Reincarnation Palace, which had forcefully entered the Nine Realms, and the Great Spirit Empire, which was native to the Nine Realms, Heavenly Dao and Zhang Ming'an chose the latter without hesitation.

We can't let outsiders bully our own people!

Although the Nine Realms are easy targets, they still have their tempers!