The Human Dao Torrent that swept through the seventy-two provinces lasted for three days, leaving no place in peace.
The cries and roars of billions of the Human Clan could not be ignored by anyone.
Yet, even torrents have their ending day, and as it neared its limit, it appeared to end with the phrase "Master Tao Oil Extinguished, Lamp Burned Out."
Suddenly, a Heavenly Phoenix carrying a book arrived from the Outer Realm.
The book contained the imperial edicts of the Ancient Three Saint Emperors, suggesting that Master Tao was the Heir of Heavenly Destiny.
Such treatment!
No one in this world had ever received such.
Even Yu Yanshi, backed by the support of the Primordial Sect, could not temporarily summon the backing of the Three Saint Emperors.
At that moment, those treasures of the Ancestor God scattered across the seventy-two provinces suddenly stirred, seemingly ready to respond to Tao Qian and the billions of people's call, to re-form the Ancestor God Forbidden Technique Longevity Barrier that once enveloped the nation.
The twelve emperors, who were initially enjoying the spectacle and expecting to see that petty thief of the Spirit Treasure Sect exhausted to death, were suddenly anxious.
It so happened that, at this time, a generous gift from the lineage of Heaven Venerable arrived.
Eating Book Elder, accompanied by Chaozi, was the first to breach the Void.
Behind him, the entire sky seemed to transform into water ripples, propelling a divine mechanical behemoth into this realm.
This monstrous contraption was even larger than the previous Mechanical Demon Buddha.
After Nirvana Demon Buddha lost to Heaven Venerable, he took away all the Buddhist Law within the divine machine, leaving only a pile of "rubbish."
However, the divine mechanical creature appearing at this time seemed to have undergone countless transformations, turning into an immense humanoid fortress, a mighty divine machine.
It emitted a faint blue glow, and behind its head was a massive creation wheel.
And its face looked exactly like Tao Qian's.
Even Tao Qian himself, upon seeing it, couldn't help but be momentarily bewildered.
But quickly, he realized he had developed a profoundly mysterious connection with this "Governance Divine Machine."
In his mind, a series of detailed records spontaneously formed.
[Record Type: Governance Divine Machine.]
[Record Type: Mechanical Creation.]
[Record: This is a divine mechanical creation forged by the lineage of Outer Realm Heaven Venerable. Its design nearly exhausts sophistication, transformable into various weapons, from one to billions, capable of daunting a land and ruling over provinces. Its energy is boundlessly majestic, engraved with countless secret techniques and divine talismans from this realm and the Outer Realm, capable of handling karma-debt and everything under heaven, hence named 'Governance,' a supreme divine mechanism.]
[Note one: This object possesses combat power above the Daoist Transformation Realm, and due to special reasons, it can ignore various restrictions and move within this realm.]
[Note two: This object possesses potential for growth, capable of ingesting various treasures and spiritual materials to strengthen itself, or imbue various secret techniques to transform its own Intelligence.]
[Note three: Using this object can make one an almost perfect 'ruler,' but over time, emotions will gradually fade. The cultivation path will lean towards the mechanical, the heart will become indifferent and devoid of compassion, absolutely rational, and in the end, choose to merge with the divine machine, achieving a form of immortality, also signifying the loss of the original self.]
[Note four: This object has acknowledged its master… all costs are waived!]
…
Upon seeing the initial records, Tao Qian was somewhat nervous.
But as that familiar last note surfaced, his spirit relaxed and joy emerged.
"In some way, is this an emotionless, accidentally undisturbed version of me, possessing infinite wisdom and mechanical might?"
"A mechanical divine machine version of Master Tao, stripped of temperament, trivial matters, karma, and enhanced with plenty of capabilities?"
Tao Qian made his judgment, just about to ponder further.
Suddenly, another major gift accompanied by Chaozi was delivered, and the sky split again.
In a surge of divine light, the scene of what seemed to be another world was projected.
The territory was clearly a vast underground mausoleum. The tomb was filled with palaces, streets, and many ancient buildings, also populated with hundreds of thousands of terracotta warriors, bronze God Generals, and white bone colossal beasts... This spectacle also needed no reminder, as everyone knew to whom this tomb belonged.
Accompanying Chaozi stated: The Ancestor Dragon established numerous tombs, scattering the once dominant army across the world for burial.
It seemed this was one of them.
And at this moment, the "Mechanical Divine Army" that had been buried and sealed off for over two thousand years woke up at the call of a majestic and wondrous Bronze God General in the forefront.
The tomb stirred, the army revived.
With numerous portals of the Void being opened, this Mechanical Divine Army from the "Ancestor Dragon Tomb" boldly entered Qiantang Province's territory.
Instantly, this province, like fireworks of prosperity, had its aura reversed.
A seemingly unstoppable and unmatched iron-blooded momentum swept nearly every corner of the province.
Watching the scene, people from the remaining seventy-one provinces, regardless of north or south, momentarily forgot to breathe.
In a trance, they seemed to traverse over two thousand years of history, witnessing the establishment process of the Longevity Heavenly Dynasty.
Seeing this scene, Tao Qian, who seemed to have exhausted his oil and lamp, had an unprecedented captivating divine light in his eyes.
Without a hint of hesitation, Master Tao made a decision that shocked the entire world the next moment.
He lifted his head, looking straight towards Qiantang's neighboring province: East E Province.
Then, under everyone's gaze.
He directly issued an imperial decree towards the "Governance Divine Machine" and "Lian Jing'er."
"Take down this province!"
When this command echoed,
even Yu Yanshi, who regarded himself as highly knowledgeable about Master Tao, fell into doubt.
The same was true for other talents of the time and other warlords.
The reason?
Many people had the same doubts as reflected in numerous Spirit Mirror Crystal Balls.
"War? Master Tao, is he actually initiating a war?"
"Is this still Master Tao? Although he drove significant events like the Demon City Incident, the Yang Sui Uprising, the New Moon Rebellion, etc., he was more of a unique participant guiding the course of affairs. Post-event records all prove that Master Tao only wanted to protect the civilians of the Human Clan from slaughter. He never seemed to harbor any intention of ruling a place, let alone waging war."
"A war of conquest to seize territories is indeed not Master Tao's style."
"Could it be that Master Tao has now truly harbored the intent to compete for the throne of the Human Emperor?"
"It must be so. The Imperial Edict of the Ancient Three Saint Emperors is clear evidence... Master Tao must have had that thought for the Three Saint Emperors to have the Heavenly Phoenix bring the Imperial Edict."
With the discussion among the people of the world,
there seemed to gradually emerge an accepted logical conclusion.
At this moment, Yu Yanshi, who had previously feigned support, thinking that Tao Qian posed no threat, along with Zhang Jinluan, Si Xixin, and other contemporary talents, all grew solemn in their expression.
They were confident they could defeat other competitors,
but it was a different matter if it was Master Tao coming.
Not to mention Tao Qian's terrifying talents and methods, just his influential backing alone was enough to cause shivers.
Consequently, the rankings of the Talent Hidden Dragon would directly change; the first position would no longer be Si Xixin but inevitably Tao Qian.
Even though, as of now, he controls only about four provinces.
The most panicked, naturally, were the twelve old monsters of the Alchemist Circle.
They too initially thought Tao Qian was just bluffing to swindle them into opening their Treasure Vault, and thus sternly refused to be deceived.
But now, it was completely different.
If Tao Qian truly made that decision to conquer the throne of the Human Emperor, with his methods, wisdom, and the backing of billions of recognized civilians, along with terrifying supporters, who could still contest him?
"Don't panic, look at this man's past actions. Although very bizarre by nature, he is ultimately a person who yearns for Longevity and freedom. He definitely won't compete..."
Inside an Outer Realm Secret Realm, the roar of an Emperor of Alchemists hadn't yet ended.
Suddenly, the war that erupted abruptly within the realm also concluded very swiftly and unexpectedly, shocking everyone with its speed and outcome.
In just 15 minutes,
the war was over.
Using those numerous Spirit Mirrors, a brief yet astonishing report of the battle instantly spread to every province and city.
"Dong'e Province, the ruler of this province was the warlord 'Poisonous Insect Demon Pang Xun,' who possessed part of the Ancient Gu Scripture and specialized in various Gu Poisoning Demon Techniques. He ruthlessly created a Poisonous Insect Army and sadistically spread various Gu Worms, transforming at least several million people into Gu Slaves to torment and enslave them."
"Just 15 minutes ago, Tao Qian, Master Tao, commanded his Mechanical Divine Army and the Governance Divine Machine to enter this province."
"Pang Xun ordered the Poisonous Insect Army to meet them in battle. The gu techniques, which had previously troubled even the Devil God Army, were totally ineffective against the Mechanical Divine Army and were quickly annihilated."
"Realizing the inevitable defeat, Pang Xun initially wanted to drag the tens of millions of people in the province down with him as his funeral. However, he was struck by a Karma Divine Light from the Governance Divine Machine from thousands of miles away."
"Despite Pang Xun's Cultivation reaching the Cavernous Mystery Profound and having the support of over a dozen Heterodox and Devil Major Sects, he was compelled in that instant to pay all his Karmic debts, dying instantly."
"Dong'e Province, fell into the hands of Master Tao."
"Even though the Forbidden Law Barrier controlled by Master Tao has not yet expanded to include this province, the Governance Divine Machine suddenly divided into millions of Divine Mechanism Avatars. In a short period, these filled the province and began to eradicate all the Evil Cultivators, God and Demons, and Alien Species…Though this effect is not exactly like the Barrier, it is almost similar."
"As of now, Master Tao controls five provinces and each one is free from any rampaging Evil Cultivators and is incredibly Peaceful."
...
These shockwaves of battle reports,
while dropping the jaws of everyone,
also immediately brought about a drastic change that the twelve Emperors of Alchemists could hardly bear anymore.
The already furious Human Dao Torrent surged once again, this time much more violently than before.
Master Tao's prestige reached an unimaginable zenith.
Billions of people, including those in Yu Yanshi's territories in the South, all the civilians of the Human Clan were shouting Master Tao's name.
They all longed for the day when Master Tao's army would also arrive in their provinces soon.
How could such a reputation not be beneficial?
It must be, and unimaginably so.
While others might not see it clearly, from their position in the Outer Realm, they saw everything crystal clear.
The enormous Human Dao destiny, virtues, and blessings were secondary; what was truly unbearable for the twelve was that all the Ancestor God Treasures scattered across the provinces started to stir.
They all burst forth Divine Radiance, ready to move.
It seemed that at the command of Master Tao, these treasures would all fly towards him and, under his decree, reconfigure into a new Longevity Barrier.
This scene, indeed, became the last straw that broke the camels' back for those mutant Emperors.
ps: There's more.