Monster Chronicles: My Daoist Skill Comes from Mythology-Chapter 722 - 622: Ancient Emperor Court, River Map and Luo Shu

"Father's union with the Great Dao brought forth the Innate Yang Qi Dao within the Great Thousand World, enabling all to cultivate it."

This was why Xii Jing considered Song Lin's cultivation of the Yang Qi Dao as something familial.

To reach such a level, if it were in the ancient era of Emperor Jun, one would at least be akin to the rank of Emperor Jun's disciple.

In the ancient times, before chaos was divided, the embodiment of Innate Yang Qi was Emperor Jun.

Emperor Jun was synonymous with the Great Dao; anyone seeking to cultivate the Innate Yang Qi Dao had to worship Emperor Jun and gain approval to proceed.

Thus, in ancient times, Emperor Jun Heavenly Court held great prominence, reigning as the hegemon of the Great Thousand World for a period.

"What happened later?"

"Later, naturally, it was the struggle between the newer Heavenly Court and the elder courts, as well as the enduring Demon Tribulations."

Emperor Jun only comprehended a single law, and due to being born earlier than other divinities, he held an advantage.

As more divinities were born and matured, competition became inevitable.

Emperor Jun also recruited numerous divinities, united with the Taiyin God Changxi, and subdued various demon clans.

Emperor Jun Heavenly Court ushered in another golden era, dominating an age.

Eventually, divinities unwilling to submit to the Heavenly Court formed a new one.

This Heavenly Court was primarily composed of Abnormal Soldiers, with its divinities governing various Daos, including Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, space, time, nature, and more, as Innate Divine Beings of their respective domains.

The two courts battled for hundreds of thousands of years.

Ultimately, Emperor Jun Heavenly Court achieved a pyrrhic victory, leaving the court gravely weakened, Emperor Jun with irreparable injuries, and Changxi turning to ash and uniting with the Dao.

Following the division of the Heavenly Court, various clans rose to power, ushering in an even more tumultuous era.

Emperor Jun Heavenly Court retreated into the Three Realms, and many eons later, Emperor Jun united with the Dao, his form transforming into ten golden crows.

Later, the Golden Crow Heavenly Court secluded itself from the outside world, refraining from interactions with other Heavenly Courts, while still witnessing several great battles.

Ancient Heavenly Courts such as Taiyi Heavenly Court, Shan Hai, Pangu, Fu Xi, Three Emperors and Five Sovereigns, West Queen Mother Heavenly Court, and Penglai Divine System intersected in history, with most submerged in the river of history and their whereabouts unknown. Some might have hidden away like the Golden Crow Heavenly Court—this remains uncertain.

Then came the era of the Yinn Shang dynasty, the Five Emperors, Heavenly Emperor, Eight Masters, and other mid-to-late divine systems.

From the Middle Ages to the recent era, the Three Pure Ones emerged, Taoism ascended, Buddhism flourished, and ultimately both integrated into the Three Pure Ones Jade Emperor Divine System.

"What happened after that? Was there a time when the Jade Emperor and Buddha secluded themselves, leaving Heavenly Court and the Pure Land in the hands of other Heavenly Gods?"

Song Lin hurriedly inquired.

"Indeed, that did happen. The Jade Emperor and Buddha endured tribulations for one hundred thousand years, and upon their return, the Three Pure Ones emerged from seclusion. Subsequently, the Heavenly Court and Buddhist Sect merged, beginning their rule over the Great Thousand World."

"The Jade Emperor Heavenly Court was the greatest Heavenly Court throughout the ages of the Three Realms. What set it apart from other Heavenly Courts was its immense inclusivity. Perhaps the Ancient Great Powers, weary of wars, joined under aliases and avatars..."

"The Jade Emperor Heavenly Court..." Song Lin contemplated deeply.

Back when Song Lin was part of the Jade Emperor Heavenly Court, it was still in its early stages; the Four Spirits, Four Saints, and All Heavens Star Lords had just assumed their positions, and neither the Jade Emperor nor Buddha had achieved the rank of Golden Immortal, nor were the Five Directions Heavenly Emperors traceable.

Little did Song Lin expect the Three Pure Ones would reappear after his departure.

"The Three Pure Ones often secluded themselves, and after their final seclusion, they disappeared completely, leading to the fragmentation of the Jade Emperor Heavenly Court. Nowadays, traces of the former Jade Emperor Heavenly Court remain in many Heavenly Courts across the Great Thousand World."

Faced with Song Lin's numerous questions, Xii Jing finally pieced together a general timeline from ancient times to the present."

"Indeed."

Song Lin nodded in agreement.

Whether it was Sanmao Heavenly Court, the seven Taoist Alliances that once revered the Primordial Emperor Dao Monarch Heavenly Court, Witch God Heavenly Court, or Netherworld—they all bore traces of the Jade Emperor Heavenly Court.

Most of these Heavenly Courts had vanished, leaving only their Taoist legacies.

"By the way, I have a map here."

Xii Jing retrieved a dark box from beneath the Big Golden Crow Throne, opened it, and unfolded a scroll made of sheepskin.

It was a map featuring four-dimensional coordinates.

Ordinary maps are two-dimensional at best, capable only of expressing directions. The third dimension adds height, whereas the fourth includes time.

In different regions of the Great Thousand World, the flow of time varies. Certain places only appear if the timing aligns accordingly.

The map resembled the meridian diagram of the human body.

Mud Pill Palace was marked as the ruins of a Heavenly Court.

Yongquan Palace was labeled as the Netherworld.

Both locations were distinctly marked as forbidden zones.

"Were these marked by your team?" Song Lin inquired.

"Yes, we sent teams to investigate, and found these two locations engulfed in storms, completely inaccessible. Even if one could enter, there was no way out."

No matter what methods were attempted, entry was unattainable, hence the warning signs.

Song Lin briefly scanned the map.

It was merely a map, devoid of markings for any factions, likely because they hadn't identified any.

Song Lin glanced at the Shaoyang region and realized his previous entry method might have been incorrect. Using a different approach could yield new discoveries.

"Take a good rest. If there's anything pressing, you can come to the Palace of the Polestar."

Saying this, he handed Xii Jing a jade talisman, granting her unrestricted access to the Palace of the Polestar.

Song Lin returned to the palace, where agents dispatched by Heavenly Mechanism came to report.

"The Eight Great Demon Kings and Four Kings have been fully subdued without casualties. Following Kunpeng's demise, they surrendered rather decisively."

"Do not let them off easily."

Song Lin produced the God-beating Whip and instructed the agent to deliver it to Heavenly Mechanism.

Each demon must undergo complete reformation before they are allowed to join the Heavenly Court.

The fate of the ancient Emperor Jun Heavenly Court left Song Lin deeply introspective. Such an immense force ultimately fell apart in its final days, with many demon clans splintering into new Heavenly Courts.

"Don't underestimate Kunpeng, a rebellious minister and traitor, who remained loyal for many years before finally committing treason. He could still count as a faithful subject."

"Heavenly Human Five Declines..." Song Lin muttered the term softly.

This seemed to be the root cause of the Heavenly Court's decline.

Ancient Great Powers either perished or were forced to reincarnate and retrain, leading to generational gaps.

Some were even infiltrated by demons taking advantage of vulnerabilities, with the Heavenly Court unknowingly harboring traitors until the final moments, causing irreparable losses.

Perhaps even Donghua Heavenly Court had members coerced by demons—it wasn't out of the realm of possibility.

Song Lin pondered solutions, deciding the continued promotion of the Taiyi Jinhua Scripture might help. Its cultivation of character could fend off Heart Demon invasions, reducing the likelihood of Qi deviations.

Nevertheless, this would only address symptoms rather than the root of the problem.

The key problem remained resolving the occurrence of the Heavenly Human Five Declines.

Reflecting on this, Song Lin summoned immortals at the level of Heavenly Immortal or above.

Xiezhi, Moyu Qilin, Zhonghuang Zi, Yuanbo, King Wen, Zhengxin, and others gathered.

Song Lin explained the matter of the Heavenly Human Five Declines, leaving the group initially shocked but ultimately quite calm.

Questioning the reason for their composure, Song Lin learned the truth.

"We cannot solve this problem now. Perhaps there will be opportunities in the future. Time is on our side; we can explore it gradually."

Indeed, Donghua Heavenly Court was a new establishment, with most individuals having achieved breakthroughs for less than a millennium. Their lifespans were still long.

According to Xii Jing's insights, Heavenly Immortals could live over a hundred thousand years, with the probability of the Five Declines sharply increasing every twenty-thousand-year interval.

True Immortals faced such threats typically only after a million years, or at worst seven to eight hundred thousand years for the unlucky.

The majority of Donghua Heavenly Court's Heavenly Immortal experts were only a few thousand years old.

The exceptions were Ji Chang, Ji Fa, Ji Dan, and Ji Kao—father and sons aged over ten thousand.

"What is your impression?" Song Lin asked King Wen.

"I perceive no malady. Most of us transition through extended stasis, so the likelihood of the Heavenly Human Five Declines should be minimized." King Wen divined, receiving an auspicious result. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Long periods of stasis or reduced activity should extend longevity."

King Wen summarized before abruptly changing his tone, "However, I suspect an entirely different possibility."

"What sort of possibility?"

"Could the problem lie within this world itself?"

Heavenly Immortals and True Immortals die through returning to nature or uniting with the Dao—might this be the inherent rule of the Great Thousand World?

Could it be that everyone within this world is akin to sheep raised in a pen, fattened up only to be slaughtered at their peak?

As this concept was broached, an icy chill ran through the group.

The theory was so hopelessly chilling and bizarre that their hair stood on end.

"That's too outrageous; baseless conjecture." Chiyou retorted irritably.

He would sooner believe their own faults were to blame, for the alternative was too despair-inducing, casting the future into obscurity and threatening one's sanity.

"True, I was merely speculating."

Song Lin assigned tasks for Chiyou and King Wen to lead teams to the Shaoyang region, then dismissed the gathering.

Though King Wen's remarks were overly far-fetched, they weren't entirely implausible either.

The group could readily identify several contributing factors behind the Heavenly Human Five Declines. Isn't it likely that the talented ancients could too? Why, then, after so many eons, had the issue remained unresolved? Even those as formidable as Emperor Jun succumbed—it defied belief.

"Wait, Emperor Jun!"

Song Lin suddenly saw a glimmer of insight.

Emperor Jun perished, his body transforming into ten golden crows, while the remainder fused into this realm, leaving behind three divine artifacts.

Though united with the world, perhaps some trace might remain.

Given Song Lin cultivated the same Dao as Emperor Jun, why not attempt a search?

Holding onto this thought, he departed the Palace of the Polestar and journeyed to Emperor Jun's World.

In this domain, there were no Small Thousand Worlds, only an immensely vast Middle Thousand Earth.

Above, ten suns revolved around the great earth, adhering to a fixed temporal rhythm.

Song Lin sat cross-legged in the void, radiating faint light, gradually fading into transparency as he melded with the void, establishing connection with the realm.

His Divine Thought swept across all directions.

By reaching the pinnacle of the Innate Yang Qi Dao, any location containing Yang Qi could be easily sensed and accessed.

His Divine Thought extended like tendrils, gradually penetrating and enveloping the entire Middle Thousand Earth.

From the Nine Heavens above to the Netherworld below.

No corner was left unchecked.

Despite his thorough efforts, no clues emerged.

Several times, Song Lin considered abandoning his search, but the sheer difficulty reinforced his resolve—had it been easy, the Heavenly Court likely would've secured them long ago over its tens of thousands of years.

Finally, exhausted of leads, Song Lin summoned the Heavenly Burial Coffin, extracting a bird-beaked human-headed skull—the head of Kunpeng.

As he removed it, its eyes still stared back at him.

"I have one question for you, regarding Emperor Jun."

"Heh, I'll never tell. What, didn't that little girl say anything?"

Kunpeng scoffed and shut his eyes, feigning ignorance.

"You're suspicious. The golden crows took thousands of years to fully form after Emperor Jun's death. Xii Jing lacks insight into her father's secrets. It's clear you're hiding something. Moreover, you aren't simply driven by greed for power. If you truly desired to be the Heavenly Emperor, there were plenty of opportunities prior to the golden crows' emergence. You must be concealing some critical information."

Song Lin scrutinized Kunpeng's demeanor, observing every subtle expression and movement. A fleeting change crossed Kunpeng's face before he resumed his indifference—a telling indication of hidden knowledge.

"This is your last chance! Will you speak or stay silent?" Song Lin issued the ultimatum.

"Heh… What can you do?"

Kunpeng sneered derisively.

"Another one who doesn't value the easy way..."

What followed made Kunpeng intimately acquainted with suffering—true, unrelenting pain.

The combined power of Taoist, Buddhist, and Demon Sect spells bombarded him.

Punishments from Demon Sect, mental techniques from Buddhist Sect, and secret incantations from Taoist Sect were unleashed in turn, and when once wasn't enough, they repeated multiple times.

Finally, after a thousand cycles, Kunpeng capitulated.

"I'll talk! Emperor Jun possessed the River Map and Luo Shu!"

Tomorrow's account will explore everyone's reactions to the Heavenly Human Five Declines.

Including Emperor Jun's demise, further details about the map, and the theory about True Immortals unable to evolve worlds.