Hearing Jiang Yan's words, Furina's heart sank, tinged with melancholy.
In truth, she had already guessed this much before coming here.
There was no such thing as perfection in this world. In the cultivation world, there was no such thing as a technique that was both unimaginably powerful and ridiculously easy to train.
Take Jiang Yan's Divine Thunder Sword Art for example—it was immensely powerful. But even its simplified version… Lumine had been practicing it for so long, and she still hadn't made much progress.
At best, she could just attach a trace of momentum to her sword.
And this was Lumine—someone with the Glazed Sword Heart Divine Physique and the peerless talent of one who had passed the Heart-Testing Array.
The Heavenly Mandate Sealing Technique already sounded outrageous just from its description. To become truly powerful with it, wouldn't it be even more difficult?
Yet just as this thought formed, Furina steadied herself.
Since she had already chosen the Heavenly Mandate Sealing Technique—
—or rather, since the Heavenly Mandate Sealing Technique had chosen her, ruthlessly rejecting any other possibility…
Then she had no retreat. A king never has a retreat.
No matter how hard the road ahead, she would walk it. She believed she could.
Jiang Yan caught the shift in her gaze and smiled with satisfaction.
Softly, he began:
"Before you learn how the Heavenly Mandate Sealing Technique is cultivated, you must first understand its origin.
"In the distant past, countless kalpas ago—even before the Shang dynasty was established—there were countless dynasties standing tall in the Upper Realm."
He raised a finger and tapped gently.
At once, the air before them shimmered, revealing a magnificent vision: divine dragons soaring, phoenixes crying, and countless mighty figures striding across the land.
It was the first time anyone present had glimpsed a scene of the Immortal Realm—
—and it far exceeded their imagination.
"Among those countless dynasties, one was called the Great Flame."
"The sovereign of Great Flame was a prodigy. Born at the Nascent Divinity Returning to the Void realm, within a mere million years he had achieved Heavenly Immortal."
"Later, he inherited the throne and ruled over countless subjects and myriad worlds beneath the Great Flame banner."
The group was left puzzled. Ningguang raised her hand and asked:
"Master, isn't the Immortal Realm supposed to be full of immortals? Why was the Great Flame Sovereign born merely at Returning to the Void?"
Jiang Yan chuckled and shook his head.
"Not so. Immortals also have descendants. But unlike mortals, for an immortal to bear children might take tens of thousands of years."
"The Immortal Realm is not filled entirely with immortals. But everyone born there is, by nature, a cultivator."
"True immortals aren't scarce, but they're not overflowing either. Immortality is the pinnacle of all realms—how could it be so easily achieved?"
Ningguang nodded, enlightened.
So, most of the Immortal Realm's inhabitants were simply cultivators. To become an immortal, one ascended. But the Immortal Realm itself was merely the supreme world capable of bearing countless immortals.
Many lingering doubts they'd had now made sense.
Jiang Yan continued:
"The Great Flame Sovereign was ambitious—though if you wish to put it kindly, you could say he had grand aspirations.
"At that time, the Immortal Realm housed endless dynasties, among which three were the most powerful. Great Flame was one of them.
"The Great Flame Sovereign sought to unify the Immortal Realm and become its sole master.
"But to the truly powerful immortals, these dynasties meant nothing. Dynasties might be strong, but for beings who placed all power in themselves, they were shackles.
"A Golden Immortal, a Taiyi—such beings could, in an instant, sweep away boundless worlds and annihilate dynasties that had endured for uncountable kalpas.
"Even dynasties had to bow their heads before such immortals.
"The Great Flame Sovereign sought to change this—to make even immortals bow.
"And so, the Heavenly Mandate Sealing Technique was born."
"At first, this unimpressive technique attracted no attention. But then…"
The vision changed.
A king appeared, his face obscured, but his presence overwhelming.
He wore a golden dragon crown, bore a bronze longsword at his waist, and stood upon a magnificent royal chariot—drawn by nine Heavenly Immortal-level divine dragons.
The king drew his sword to the heavens and spoke with calm majesty:
"Let Heaven and Earth follow my will, let the Great Dao yield to my heart!"
"Under Heaven, all is king's land! At the edge of the seas, all are king's subjects!"
"I swear—Great Flame shall be eternal and undying! Gods, Buddhas, ghosts, and immortals alike shall heed my king's command!"
As his words echoed, heaven and earth shook. Countless mighty beings in the Ninth Heaven opened their eyes, gazes falling upon the Great Flame Sovereign.
Even as illusions shaped by Jiang Yan, those gazes made everyone present shudder, forcing them to bow their heads.
As though with just one look, all they held dear could be reduced to dust.
"The Great Flame Sovereign declared war upon all dynasties of the Immortal Realm.
"With the Heavenly Mandate Sealing Technique, he conferred titles upon heavens, lands, mountains, rivers, and even the very Dao.
"At its peak, he even enfeoffed the four cardinal domains to Golden Immortals—four great gods.
"His court held three thousand ministers, every one of them a Heavenly Immortal, and commanded a hundred thousand Earth Immortal soldiers.
"Through conquest and the accumulation of his nation's destiny, the Great Flame Sovereign reached half a step into the Taiyi realm."
"A peerless sovereign—the Flame King."
"By then, the Immortal Realm's mighty ones understood. The Heavenly Mandate Sealing Technique was the embodiment of Wangdao—the King's Dao."
"If Great Flame unified the Immortal Realm, he would transcend into Taiyi in one stride. Though not reaching Da Luo, he would surpass ordinary Taiyi."
"But the Immortal Realm's territory is unimaginably vast. Many Heavenly Immortals, even in their entire lifespans, could not explore half of it before their inner heart tribulation arrived.
"No one believed the Great Flame Sovereign could truly achieve it—
—until he began enfeoffing the land itself."
"He did not need to set foot upon every land. By annexing the dynasties, with Great Flame's destiny soaring to the heavens, within his capital the Sovereign held rites.
"All mountains and seas he knew of—he enfeoffed them, granting his ministers authority as gods of those places."
"Now the mighty ones panicked. But with the King's Dao fully realized, even Taiyi experts could not resist against the might of Great Flame's destiny."
"At this rate, the Great Flame Sovereign might truly become master of the Immortal Realm."
The vision stirred the disciples' blood. They could almost see a vast dynasty sealing heaven and earth, conferring titles across creation.
It was a sight that set their hearts ablaze—especially Furina's.
The thought that she too might walk such a path made her almost tremble with excitement.
But Jiang Yan's next words were like a bucket of cold water:
"I have said before: in the end, the Immortal Realm reveres strength above all. Though the King's Dao is powerful…"
"How could the representative of kingship defy the ruler of the Dao itself?"
"The Great Flame Sovereign had touched upon the brow of certain existences."
Before Jiang Yan could finish, Zhongli's deep voice cut in:
"Da Luo…"
Jiang Yan nodded. Everyone's hearts clenched in terror.
They had been caught up in the splendor of Wangdao, forgetting that in all the myriad worlds, only one group held true authority—
—the Da Luo.
"The Great Flame Sovereign's vision was magnificent. To rule the supreme world of the Immortal Realm, to step into Taiyi with a single stride.
"Truthfully, the Da Luo had no interest in who ruled the Immortal Realm. To them, even a unified Immortal Realm was but an anthill.
"The Dao of Da Luo surpasses all worlds, unconstrained by the Immortal Realm.
"But the Great Flame Sovereign's mistake was ruling the Immortal Realm through the King's Dao—ruling infinite worlds.
"His Dao directly opposed that of a certain being."
Ningguang's eyes lit up.
"Could it be… the Supreme Heavenly Emperor, Haotian?"
Jiang Yan inclined his head.
"Among countless Da Luo, above endless Dao, Haotian is the embodiment of the supreme Heaven.
"He represents the highest imperial authority.
"He has no interest in ruling the myriad realms. Yet all realms must be under his sovereignty.
"It is a law he himself may not care about, but one all others must obey.
"The Great Flame Sovereign, enfeoffing the Immortal Realm and myriad worlds through Wangdao…
"In Haotian's Dao, it was equivalent to rebellion against imperial rule.
"And so Haotian appeared—or rather, his Dao naturally manifested."
The vision ended there. Jiang Yan would not dare show more. Matters touching upon Da Luo were not for just anyone to witness.
"No one knows what happened exactly.
"But it is known that the dynasty which crushed countless others, which even Taiyi could not oppose, which ruled over half the Immortal Realm and myriad worlds—
"The glorious and eternal Great Flame dynasty—
"In the space of a single breath, from top to bottom, turned to ash."
"Everything the Great Flame had built vanished. All its citizens were erased from the root of the Dao itself.
"The myriad worlds under its command collapsed and reformed, with not a trace of Great Flame left within them.
"Some even speculate that in that instant, Haotian destroyed all the worlds and reforged them anew—
—with the sole erasure being the Great Flame."
"The only remnant it left behind was the Heavenly Mandate Sealing Technique.
"And that memory has been preserved by countless mighty ones. Perhaps this too was Haotian's warning.
"He may not care for rulership, but—
—the myriad worlds must understand restraint. Must know what can and cannot be done."
"It is said that after that, the Dao of Kingship itself was severed by Haotian. None could ever walk it further again."
"So…"
Jiang Yan looked at the still-shaken Furina and said gently:
"The Heavenly Mandate Sealing Technique is indeed a powerful art. But walking this path means you cannot reach the ultimate summit of all worlds.
"Still, the ambition of the Great Flame Sovereign is not something ordinary cultivators possess. So, in truth, it doesn't matter too much."
He shook his head and continued:
"As for cultivating the Heavenly Mandate Sealing Technique, you've probably realized already.
"You grow stronger by ruling a nation, increasing its destiny, and enfeoffing lands and spirits.
"In return, the destiny feeds back to you, granting you endless divine arts.
"It is a very powerful technique. Only… its cultivation method is unusual and exceedingly difficult."
At this, Furina fell silent.
The others looked at her with complicated gazes.
They had thought she had found a supreme art that reached directly to the heavens.
Who would have thought…
…that it was entangled with Da Luo?
Who would dare to cultivate such a thing?
What if midway, Haotian grew displeased, and with a single glance erased her?
After a long pause, Furina hesitated and asked softly:
"Master… if I cultivate the Heavenly Mandate Sealing Technique, will I… will I…"
Jiang Yan blinked, then chuckled, shaking his head.
"Don't worry. What you fear—
—is needless."
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