549: The Great Dao has three thousand paths, and the world has been elevated.

Xu Qing continued to maintain minimal intervention to prevent civilization from collapsing and to ensure that no single path was completely cut off, which would hinder the evolution of the world.

He was like a meticulous gardener, pruning away the diseased branches and rotten leaves that could lead to the destruction of the entire garden, yet allowing the flowers to compete and grow amidst the wind and rain.

As the Ancestral Dragon, the Phoenix Ancestor, and the Qilin Progenitor successively attained the Dao, the True Self Realm seemed to be injected with a shot of adrenaline.

The enthusiasm of the myriad races to explore the Great Dao reached unprecedented heights; attaining the Emperor Realm was no longer an unreachable legend, but a milestone pursued by countless prodigies throughout their lives.

Time flew by, and a hundred thousand years passed amidst the turbulent winds and clouds of the True Self Realm.

This long period witnessed the collision and Fusion of various civilizations, the rise and fall of countless heroes, and, more importantly, the glorious fruits of Dao exploration.

One brilliant being after another forged ahead on their respective paths, eventually successfully imprinting their own 'Dao' upon the world.

The Ancestor of Sword Dao attained the Dao at Sword Mountain, comprehending the Great Dao of the Sword; the Array Ancestor exhausted the laws of the universe, finally achieving the Emperor Realm through the Dao of the Starry Array of the Heavens; the Pill Ancestor harmonized the spiritual essence of all things, achieving the Primordial Pill Dao.

The Ghost Ancestor meditated on the mysteries of Life and death, opening the Path of the Nine Serene Yellow Springs; the Body Ancestor tempered his Physical Body to its ultimate limit, demonstrating the Dao of the Indestructible War Body... There was the Dao of Nature in the forests, and the Dao of Space within the Void Realm.

Myriad races, myriad laws, in a thousand different forms.

The Human Race's Imperial Dao gathered Luck, the wild and overbearing Daos of the Yao Race resonated together, and the Elemental Dao of the Spirit Race was pure and harmonious... Every proven path was like a new pillar, supporting the increasingly grand and complex worldly rules of the True Self Realm.

One day, a hundred thousand years later, when a lightning giant who had tempered himself in the endless sea of thunder finally comprehended the Nine Heavens Thunder Punishment Dao and etched his lightning imprint upon the firmament, the entire True Self Realm resonated like never before.

Buzz!

A low and magnificent Dao sound echoed between heaven and earth, as if the world itself had let out a sound of satisfaction.

The Three Thousand Daos were now complete!

This was not a simple accumulation of numbers, but a qualitative leap.

The Three Thousand Daos represented that the underlying rules of the True Self Realm had been fully constructed, forming a grand System that was complete and capable of self-circulation and evolution.

The moment the three-thousandth Dao was completed, the True Self Realm underwent its most violent ascension since the creation of heaven and earth!

Rumble!

A silent expansion occurred in every corner of the world.

First was the expansion of space; the boundaries of the world began to rapidly extend toward the surrounding Chaos. The volume of the entire True Self Realm expanded more than a hundredfold in a short period!

Deserts and distant seas that were once considered peripheral borders now became new heartlands.

The original mountains, rivers, lakes, and forests also scaled up proportionally with the expansion of the world.

The majestic Ancestor Mountain became even more imposing, as if it had truly become the backbone supporting the new world; the volume of the four Ancestral Rivers surging through the land increased drastically, their channels widening like seas, and their tributaries becoming incredibly numerous, nourishing a vast land a hundred times larger than before.

Next, the Primordial Qi permeating the world saw its concentration skyrocket, turning into spiritual rain that fell upon the land.

Blessed lands and paradises that once had to be fought over were now everywhere.

Higher-level energy also appeared, named Primordial Origin Qi, paving a broader path for the cultivation of all living beings and giving rise to even more miraculous spiritual treasures of heaven and earth.

The strength of the world underwent a world-shaking change.

Before this, when Emperor Realm experts fought with their full strength, the aftershocks were enough to tear apart mountains and rivers and collapse large areas of space, even requiring Xu Qing to secretly stabilize it with the will of the heavenly dao to prevent irreversible damage to the world's Foundation.

But now, with the Three Thousand Daos completed and the world rules densely interwoven, space became incredibly stable.

Now, even if dozens of Emperor Realm beings fought at the same time, it would be difficult to easily destroy space, as their destructive power was limited to a controllable range.

The world's carrying capacity reached a brand new height, enough to accommodate the fierce clashes of Dao Severing Realm beings without damaging the core.

For the three thousand Emperors who already stood at the pinnacle of the True Self Realm, the change was even more direct.

The moment the world ascension was completed, the minds of all Emperor Realm experts were jolted.

They clearly felt that the invisible barrier that had confined them for so long—as if they had already touched the ceiling—had actually loosened!

A path that was even more vast, trembling yet incredibly desirable, vaguely appeared before their perception.

It was a brand new Domain that surpassed the Emperor Realm!

"The road ahead... has appeared!"

"Above the Great Emperor, there is another Realm!"

"My Dao is not alone; the heavenly path has not ended!"

Countless thoughts full of excitement, shock, and wild joy rose into the sky from every corner of the True Self Realm.

Ancient Emperors in seclusion were awakened one after another, overlords dominating their regions looked up at the sky, and even the Three Saints of Creation—the Ancestral Dragon, the Phoenix Ancestor, and the Qilin Progenitor—had an unprecedentedly fiery light burst from their eternally majestic eyes.

They had been trapped at the Peak of the Emperor Realm for far too long; their accumulation of power had long reached the limit of their current Realm, but they suffered from the path ahead being cut off, unable to take a step further.

Now, the ascension of the world seemed to have pushed open a new door for them.

The loosening of the Bottleneck meant they could explore the Great Dao more deeply through higher-level cultivation, thereby breaking through their existing Life level and power limits to ascend to an unprecedented new Domain.

The Peak existences of the entire True Self Realm were in an uproar!

In the past, the Great Emperor was the end, a symbol of status, and the ultimate power.

Now, the end had become a midpoint, signifying that there were even more powerful Realms above the Great Emperor. This completely changed the mindset and goals of the top experts.

Competition jumped instantly from fighting for existing resources and control over the right to speak on the Dao to the exploration and pursuit of that unknown Realm.

Whoever could take that step first would occupy an absolute advantage in the new era and might even define the rules of the next age.

After a hundred thousand years of accumulation through Dao competition, the True Self Realm was officially pushed into a brand new, even more magnificent era by the world ascension triggered by the completion of the Three Thousand Daos.

Sitting atop Ancestor Mountain, unified with the world's Origin, Xu Qing took all of this in.

He could feel that after this ascension, the volume, energy, and rules of the True Self Realm had undergone a qualitative change.

Reflected in himself, his cultivation in the True Self Realm became unprecedentedly profound, and the world power he could mobilize reached a new height.

"The Three Thousand Daos are established, and the Foundation of the world is solid," Xu Qing realized in his heart. "Next, from these three thousand cornerstones, infinite changes will be derived until the unique Dao Fruit belonging to this world is nurtured."

He calmly watched the myriad race Emperors boiling with excitement because the road ahead had appeared, knowing that an even more intense and brilliant chapter was about to unfold grandly in this world of his.

The growth of this world was far from reaching its limit.