Chen Sheng gently raised his hand, and the somewhat dim Taihao Celestial Mirror broke free from its restraints, slowly flying into his palm as if welcoming its master.

He flicked his fingers lightly, and the mirror’s surface instantly rippled. Countless golden runes surged from the cracks, transforming into a torrent of information that poured into his consciousness.

"Epoch Annihilation... three thousand years remaining..."

"The dynastic tide is elusive, the heart dao leaps..."

"Dynastic Emperor Sutra, Nine Volumes of Illusory Heart..."

Chen Sheng stood in the center of the Taihao Hall, surrounded by flowing golden light, quickly sorting through this information, his expression as calm as an ancient well.

The countdown to the cosmic calamity, the heavenly emperor’s cultivation choices, and the complete picture of two top-tier inheritances were clearly displayed before him.

Moments later, he gathered the golden light around him, lightly lifted his foot, and stepped to the corner of the hall.

The Dao Eye opened, reflecting layers of spatial barriers in his dark eyes, and every wrinkle of space was revealed, yet he remained empty-handed.

"If the heavenly emperor truly transitioned, this realm gate would not vanish into thin air."

"There must be a hidden dao site left, and the realm gate is likely concealed within it."

As this thought flashed through his mind, his gaze quickly returned to the two slowly rotating inheritance light clusters within the mirror.

The Dynastic Emperor Sutra’s light cluster was dark yellow, evolving with the rise and fall of the heavenly court’s dynastic pulse, from the distribution of power to the condensation of fate, from the oversight system to the control of realms.

Every detail exuded the emperor’s dao authority of "words become law," which is the cultivation method of the heavenly emperor and the technique Chen Sheng needed to consolidate this world.

While the Nine Volumes of Illusory Heart’s light cluster was a pale purple, suffused with the mysterious dao rhyme of "the heart as the essence of all things," it was the desired orthodox cultivation inheritance of this realm.

With a thought, Chen Sheng sent a golden decree piercing through the Taihao Hall’s dome, heading straight towards the Jietian Hall.

"Come see me quickly!"

In less than half a stick of incense’s time, orderly footsteps echoed from outside the hall, and Li Xuan and the Eight Immortals led dozens of core disciples inside one after another.

Although everyone was dressed in neat Daoist robes, the fatigue on their brows was evident, and their aura was three points weaker than usual, all suffering from the fate backlash of the dynastic collapse.

"Senior Brother!"

"Master!"

"Ancestral Master!"

Upon seeing Chen Sheng standing in the hall holding the Taihao Celestial Mirror, they hurriedly bowed in respect, their eyes filled with awe.

The immortal king-level clash within the Taihao Hall had spread throughout the heavenly court earlier; although they hadn’t witnessed it firsthand, they could guess how fierce the battle was.

Now seeing their ancestral master unharmed and in command of the heavenly court’s treasure, they felt a vague sense of guesswork and a hint of joy in their eyes.

Chen Sheng briefly outlined the collapse of the dynastic tide, the heavenly emperor’s disappearance, and how he suppressed the great powers vying for the emperor’s mirror.

As soon as he finished speaking, the hall was filled with sounds of sharp inhalations, followed by an outburst of uncontrollable excitement.

Who could have imagined that in the struggle involving immortal kings, immortal lords, and top-tier heavenly immortals, it was their Jiejiao ancestor who had the last laugh!

Li Xuan staggered forward first, kneeling with a strong voice:

"Senior Brother holds the emperor’s mirror, imposing over the celestial realm, it’s time to ascend the heavenly throne and reorganize the heavenly court’s order!"

"Please, Master, ascend the heavenly throne!"

The Eight Immortals followed suit, kneeling uniformly, their voices echoing through the hall, reaching a peak of excitement.

Other disciples quickly imitated them, kneeling as a dark mass filled the hall, with pleas to ascend rising and falling.

Chen Sheng’s expression remained calm, and he did not respond, only flicked his fingers, and nine dazzling golden lights surged from his palm, coalescing into nine immortal swords in mid-air.

The immortal swords were three feet seven inches long, their blades glinting with yin and yang mystical light, and as soon as they were formed, they radiated a force capable of suppressing ordinary heavenly immortals.

"These swords contain three parts of my divine techniques; each of you take one."

The nine immortal swords flew precisely into the hands of Li Xuan and the Eight Immortals, Chen Sheng’s voice carrying unquestionable authority.

"Use these swords to guard the nine heavens and ten lands, eradicate the remnants of the former court, stabilize the realm’s fate, and when I emerge from secluded meditation, we will discuss the next steps." 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

With that, Chen Sheng’s figure quickly vanished.

Li Xuan and the Eight Immortals held the swords in hand, and at the moment of contact, they felt the terrifying power contained within them, and their weakened aura due to backlash instantly stabilized by a few points.

Amid their excitement, a thread of concern also arose among them—the remnants of the former court’s forces were deeply rooted, and those anomalous beings stirred in the lower realm might not easily be subdued.

Especially the latter; even the heavenly emperor had to personally suppress them back in the day. Now leaderless, they may cause trouble again.

Li Xuan tightened his grip on the sword handle, feeling a thread of comforting energy from within, his gaze suddenly firm as he turned to the crowd seriously:

"Senior Brother has plans well underway, we need only act according to orders, and wield these swords to suppress across the lands!"

He knew well that his senior brother never fought without a plan; since he dared to enter secluded meditation, he surely had contingencies in place.

Hidden within the void, Chen Sheng nodded secretly—his junior brother had been refined through many years of experience and was now capable of handling matters independently.

Li Xuan was indeed insightful, for they were just the visible suppressing force; the true control of the situation lay with the numerous avatars dispersed across the nine heavens and ten lands.

...

Secluded Meditation Chamber.

Chen Sheng’s consciousness dove into the mirror inheritance, first encountering the opening runes of the Nine Volumes of Illusory Heart.

"Create the illusory heavens, evolve the heart’s reflection, give birth to living beings through the technique..."

As the runes flowed, Chen Sheng’s eyes grew bright, unable to help but exclaim softly: "Wonderful! Wonderful! It’s indescribably marvelous!"

The wonder of the heart dao lies in using one’s own Dao Heart as a foundation, creating an illusory heart world, evolving the heart’s realm, and the joys, sorrows, births, and deaths of beings within this world can feed back to the Dao Heart.

Even though he hadn’t reached the Integration realm, he already sensed the signs of "creating a world," faintly connecting with the Integration Dharma Master’s path he had learned.

However, as he reached the ninth volume, his brows furrowed slightly.

"From illusion to reality, forming one’s own realm, to Integration transcendence..."

This short line caused a surge of doubt within him. As a disciple of the Integration Dharma Master, Chen Sheng had some understanding of the subsequent cultivation realm.

He knew that to ascend to Integration, one must first comprehend the essence of elevating the Dao Domain to the Dharma Seed, then use one’s own realm as a foundation to create a Small Thousand World to carry the Dharma Seed.

Yet the Nine Volumes of Illusory Heart aimed to directly transform the pure heart’s illusion realm into a real Small Thousand World, a leap so vast it was hardly conceivable!

The crucial point is that there is no mention whatsoever of the Dharma Seed or the Dao Seed.

"This step is too large a leap for the nine volumes alone to achieve."

Chen Sheng’s eyes glinted with insight:

"The heavenly emperor must have hidden something; there are surely dozens of transitional techniques missing in between, left as a deliberate trap!"

Considering the heavenly emperor’s unexplained disappearance and the complete absence of the realm gate’s traces, his previous suspicions solidified further.

The heavenly emperor had not transitioned but seized the opportunity of the dynastic collapse to conceal himself, and even the appearance of these two inheritances might have been part of his deeper scheme.

"It’s merely a few avatars, just take one step at a time!"

Suppressing his thoughts, Chen Sheng turned to comprehend the Dynastic Emperor Sutra, and upon first contact, he couldn’t help but praise:

"Worthy of being the founder of this path!"

The text’s control of fate, application of power, was hundreds of times more refined than any fate techniques he had previously gathered, and the layouts of "using realms as the board, beings as chess pieces" illuminated his understanding.

"This avatar can cultivate and absorb the essence of this technique, quickly enhancing the realm’s grand momentum for battle strength increase."

Once supported by this momentum, Chen Sheng estimated that this avatar’s combat strength would certainly surpass both main bodies, after all, bolstered by the support of a Medium Thousand World.

"Then seek another avatar to specially cultivate the heart dao, test the techniques, gain experience, and the two main bodies shall temporarily hold back from breakthrough until the realities of both inheritances are fully grasped, and then proceed with integration."