177: Wanshi Palace, the first ancestor of Emperor Xia

The two men, holding the True God tablet, walked up to Qin Jiang, and another person emerged from behind, carrying a wooden tray with a brush and a dish of vermilion pigment.

"King Qin, please," Ye Yuanling said, standing up and cupping his hands.

Qin Jiang rose, picked up the brush from the tray, dipped it in the vermilion pigment, and wrote his name on the True God tablet.

Setting down the brush, the two men holding the True God tablet walked to the Xia Emperor.

The Xia Emperor took out a large seal from his懷 and pressed it in the air; a golden seal was then stamped onto the True God tablet.

Almost at the moment the seal was applied, an invisible spatial fluctuation emanated, and the True God tablet rose on its own.

A spatial rift appeared, but what it revealed was not black, but a dazzling, brilliant gold.

Behind the rift was not the Void Realm, but a pavilion, with the words "True God Pavilion" written on its plaque, strong and vigorous, carrying an aura of dominance over the world.

The True God tablet transformed into a streak of light and flew into the rift; the True God Pavilion's main door opened, and the True God tablet flew directly inside.

The spatial rift slowly disappeared, and the brilliant golden light gradually dimmed, restoring normalcy within the Hall of Heavenly Succession.

"Haha! A joyous day! Let the banquet begin!" The Xia Emperor laughed, waving his hand, and the court music began to play.

As evening approached, in the central core area of the imperial palace, two figures walked through a small alley.

"King Qin, the Immortal Ancestor is in the small courtyard ahead."

The Xia Emperor spoke, raising a hand to point forward to a dilapidated courtyard.

Qin Jiang was somewhat surprised, not expecting such a run-down place within the imperial palace, but he didn't ask further.

Entering the courtyard, a white-haired old man sat under a bare black sapling, brewing tea.

What caught Qin Jiang's eye, however, was a giant black cauldron situated in the courtyard; in terms of sheer size, it was even larger than the Vast Sea Dark Cauldron, yet it possessed no aura of power whatsoever.

However, anything placed here would certainly not be an ordinary giant cauldron; it should be some kind of special commemorative item.

Behind him, the Xia Emperor's pupils contracted sharply the moment he saw the black giant cauldron.

The overlord cauldron!

Why did the Immortal Ancestor bring this out?

Ever since the First Ancestor of the Xia Emperor ascended after his transformation, this overlord cauldron had been put away by the Immortal Ancestor; even he hadn't seen this black cauldron for several hundred years.

"King Qin, I've long heard of you, please sit," the old man invited Qin Jiang to sit.

After Qin Jiang sat down, the Xia Emperor bowed slightly and then left directly, leaving only Qin Jiang and the old man in the courtyard.

Qin Jiang looked at the white-haired old man before him, feeling an indescribable strangeness, as if instinctively sensing that this old man possessed extraordinary strength, enough to threaten his own life.

But in reality, he couldn't detect anything at all, only perceiving him as an ordinary old man.

"Senior, I have come for the Immortal Dao," he said, without any pretense.

The Immortal Ancestor nodded, pouring tea, "Naturally. But before that, I want to ask you, what is an Immortal?"

Qin Jiang was stunned, then pondered; at his current Realm, he could already be considered to have surpassed the scope of a True God, and he had his own insights into the Immortal Dao.

"Above the mortal, that is Immortal," he said.

The Immortal Ancestor's eyebrows slightly raised, seemingly not expecting Qin Jiang's answer to be so simple.

Sipping his tea, he spoke, "That's right, one who stands above all living beings is an Immortal, for an Immortal is far from the mortal dust.

Are you truly prepared to step onto the Immortal Dao? Like me, when I first achieved the Immortal Dao, I felt the heavens and earth were minuscule, and all living beings were like ants.

Later, I increasingly felt that the Immortal Dao was ethereal; what I had comprehended was merely a corner of it. Before the vast Immortal Dao, what difference was there between me and mortals? We are all just ants."

"Senior's meaning is?" Qin Jiang asked.

The Immortal Ancestor gently shook his head, "There is no particular meaning; it's just that your talent is too much of a Prodigy, something I have never heard of.

To reach the Peak of True God at such a young age, and even to be on the verge of stepping onto the Immortal Dao, is simply too fast."

"Senior is worried about my state of mind being unstable?" Qin Jiang said.

"That's one thing; the second is that the Immortal Dao is truly difficult to cultivate. I fear you won't be able to endure the loneliness of decades, or even a hundred years, without making any progress," the Immortal Ancestor said.

What he didn't say was his concern that one day, when all his old acquaintances had passed away, leaving him alone, that kind of solitude could torment a person to the point of wishing for death.

Currently, almost all True Immortals in the various Divine Martial nations are over five thousand years old.

Rather than saying he was protecting the nations he founded, it would be more accurate to say he was searching for a rational anchor for himself.

Qin Jiang couldn't help but laugh upon hearing this, "Immortal Ancestor's worries are a bit too early. True Immortal is difficult to cultivate, but I can dominate the seventeen Divine Martial nations within ten years. Before that, there's no need to worry about this.

As for afterward, we'll talk about it then!"

There was no need to worry about things hundreds or thousands of years in the future now.

Moreover, why would it take so long? At most, within a hundred years, he would be able to Breakthrough the True Immortal Realm and see the higher scenery.

The Immortal Ancestor's hand, holding the teacup, was suspended in mid-air; after a moment, he finally laughed, "You are so much like him."

He gently sipped his tea, his eyes filled with reminiscence.

"Him? The First Ancestor of the Xia Emperor?" Qin Jiang asked.

The Immortal Ancestor nodded gently, "Yes, but back then, he was still the Overlord. After becoming the Xia Emperor, he was completely different from when he was conquering the Divine Martial nations. Perhaps, that is responsibility."

He sighed with some emotion. The Overlord of yesteryear conquered the world without a single defeat, seizing the best territory in the Divine Martial Land.

At that time, the Overlord was an invincible God of War; whatever he did was thunderous, and he always proved to be right in the end.

But later, after establishing the Nine Provinces and becoming the Xia Emperor, although he remained wise and Divine Martial, he lost that hint of domineering aura.

"Haha, alright, let's not talk about these things anymore; they are all distant matters."

Saying this, he stood up, "Follow me; his Immortal Dao is inside."

Qin Jiang's eyes lit up slightly, and he stood up to follow.

Arriving at the front of the only small house, the Immortal Ancestor gently pushed open the door, "Go, what you seek is inside. As for what you can gain, that's up to you."

Qin Jiang nodded slightly, stepping into the room. The dim room suddenly brightened, and the surroundings shifted; he had actually arrived on the ridge of a grand hall.

'Is this the Ten Thousand Generations Hall?'

The Ten Thousand Generations Hall was recorded as the tallest building in the imperial capital. Legend has it that the First Ancestor of the Xia Emperor often came here, but later, with his ascension, this palace also collapsed with a roar.

"Hey! Don't stand up there, come down!" A young voice came from under the eaves of the grand hall.

Qin Jiang leaped down, landing within the railings outside the Ten Thousand Generations Hall. A young man dressed in a nine-Dragon yellow robe looked at him with a smile.

"You've arrived," the young man smiled.

"You are?" Qin Jiang asked.

"Xia Yu," the young man said.

Qin Jiang's expression changed slightly upon hearing this. Xia Yu, the First Ancestor of the Xia Emperor!

"Are you a phantom, or a lingering obsession?" Qin Jiang asked.

Xia Yu smiled upon hearing this, "Neither. I attempted to comprehend the True Immortal Realm and ultimately failed to ascend, but before my ascension, I comprehended a trace of the Profound Truth of time.

Right now, I am standing within history, conversing with you."

Qin Jiang's pupils contracted slightly. The power of time? The First Ancestor of the Xia Emperor back then was actually this powerful?

Perhaps, if it weren't for his attempt to Breakthrough to a higher Realm, there would be no so-called seventeen Divine Martial nations today.

"Why have you come to see me?" he asked.

"Nothing much, just to see you. Everything about you is shrouded in mist, even I cannot see through it, so I wanted to take a look."

As he spoke, the Ten Thousand Generations Hall ignited with a layer of pure white flames. The flame light possessed a power to purify everything, and the scattered embers were not formless, but appeared as transparent, feather-like shapes.

"Tsk." Xia Yu shook his head with some regret, "I ultimately failed to comprehend the True Immortal Realm; time is running out.

My Myriad World Peace Record might be powerful, but it may not be suitable for you. Furthermore, if you harbor the ambition to Breakthrough beyond True Immortal, then you can only draw inspiration from my Myriad World Peace Record.

Otherwise, throughout your entire life, you will find it difficult to escape my Dao."

With that, he raised his hand and gently tapped, and a streak of light instantly merged into Qin Jiang's glabella.