"Tsk tsk, worthy of an immortal dynasty that has existed for hundreds of millions of years. Following the terrain, it occupies the foremost dragon脉 of the core of the Purple Continent!"
"Twelve Zhou Tian Chaos Gives Birth to Heaven and Earth, Art Moves Immortals, Power is Unbeatable, Azure Dragon Suppresses the Earth, Mountain Tiger Crouches Behind the City, Vermillion Bird Above, Black Tortoise in Front, Devouring the World to Nourish Itself."
Looking at the magnificent Chang'an City, a thought suddenly surfaced in Wu Tao's mind.
In Wu Tao's eyes, casting aside the illusory and real buildings and layouts, the foundation of the Twelve Heavenly Gangs Suppressing Immortals Array, the city's protective formation, was the Ancestral Dragon Vein beneath the Tianqi Mountain Range!
What arrangements were made elsewhere in Chang'an City, what restrictions were present within the city, were all minor matters.
The Liu clan, the imperial family of the Great Jin Immortal Dynasty, concealed many things, but they could not conceal the true foundation of the formation. As long as the foundation remained unchanged, top-tier cultivators who reached a certain level of attainment would naturally be able to comprehend its changes by following the array's form.
From a macroscopic perspective, these things could not be hidden. Of course, being able to see them was one thing, but attempting to break this grand formation was utterly absurd.
First, let's talk about the Tianqi Mountain Range. It stretched from the farthest Zheyu in the east of the Purple Continent to the westernmost Xixi Domain, spanning hundreds of millions of miles and crossing dozens of major domains.
Furthermore, the Tianqi Mountain Range was the largest mountain range on the Purple Continent, and beneath it lay the most crucial Ancestral Dragon Vein of the Purple Continent.
The Ancestral Dragon Vein was the foremost of all dragon veins, equivalent to the dragon's head of all mountains and rivers on the Purple Continent, and the place with the densest feng shui energy.
The twelve city gates of Chang'an City were wide open, like the gaping mouths of primordial beasts roaring towards the heavens.
Since the founding of Chang'an City, the twelve city gates had never been closed for a single day, remaining open day and night.
All the spirit veins of the Purple Continent extended outwards from the Ancestral Dragon Vein beneath the Tianqi Mountain Range as their center.
The Liu clan, as the imperial family, used a heaven-defying formation, like a great whale drawing water, to absorb a portion of the spiritual energy from all the spirit veins into Chang'an City.
Every brick, every tree, every tall pagoda, and every building in Chang'an City was secretly imbued with profound mysteries, arranged and aligned in specific arcane directions, allowing the heaven-defying spirit-gathering formation to operate normally.
From the perspective of the entire Great Jin Immortal Dynasty's territory, the Central Domain, ruled by the Liu imperial family, occupied a strategically important position on the Purple Continent, enjoying geographical advantages, vast in area, and holding the title of the foremost among all domains.
It was precisely because of its strategic location, its command of the Ancestral Dragon Vein, and its absolute power that the Liu imperial family could consistently hold the throne of the Great Jin Immortal Dynasty and remain prosperous for hundreds of millions of years.
The spiritual energy within a radius of hundreds of millions of miles was intercepted, absorbed, and gathered by the heaven-defying spirit-gathering formation near Chang'an City.
After the spiritual energy was drawn into Chang'an City, it was gathered and refined...
Then, this vast amount of spiritual energy was divided and transported to different parts of Chang'an City.
Among these, the densest stream of spiritual energy, vast and majestic, pure and abundant, flowed like a surging torrent. Under the effect of the grand formation, it converged towards a great hall located in the very center of the imperial palace.
The hall, built with white-veined immortal jade rock as its foundation and thousand-year-old nanmu wood as its structure, was constructed in the shape of the twelve stars, forming an entire formation itself.
The hall's internal width and length were a full hundred zhang. It was empty, with no objects within, and the ground was covered with a thick layer of top-grade spirit stones.
An endless stream of spiritual energy converged from all directions, and due to the formation inscriptions on the walls, there was no leakage whatsoever.
Liquefied spiritual energy filled and swirled within the hall.
The excessive abundance of spiritual light even caused some physical changes in places within the hall.
Taking a breath made one's senses sharp and clear, refreshing the mind and greatly benefiting spiritual energy. It was truly an excellent place for cultivation, a place of profound refinement, that all cultivators dreamed of and would go mad for.
And within this empty hall sat a middle-aged man dressed in a dragon robe and wearing a crown.
This middle-aged man was the current Immortal Emperor of the Great Jin Immortal Dynasty, Liu Xie.
Liu Xie appeared like a sovereign from an ancient era, with dragon energy coiling around him. His determined face exuded boundless majesty.
With every inhale and exhale of Liu Xie, the protective spiritual light around him rhythmically expanded and contracted.
The dense spiritual energy, clearly visible to the naked eye within the hall, was continuously absorbed into him, transforming into pure spiritual power.
This current Immortal Emperor of the Great Jin Immortal Dynasty, who had lived for thousands of years, had already reached the third level of the Purple Mansion realm, mastering nine out of the hundred thousand laws.
Within the secret chambers of the imperial palace, streams of law power constantly surged.
The Law of Destiny was one of the ten most powerful great laws among the three thousand great laws.
As the current Immortal Emperor of the Great Jin Immortal Dynasty, Liu Xie also mastered nine laws related to it, out of the hundred thousand laws.
The River of Destiny floated above Liu Xie's head, displaying fragments of possible future events.
Suddenly, seeing or discovering something, Liu Xie's brow furrowed, and he opened his eyes.
"The originally destined heavenly secrets are actually changing now?"
This most noble man in the world murmured to himself with a hint of confusion.
"Heaven, earth, and human hearts have all changed over the long expanse of time..."
"My Liu clan has held the position of the imperial family of the Great Jin Immortal Dynasty for too long, and there are hidden currents surging beneath all the domains."
"The time has come when change is necessary. Although my reign is not the optimal time to eliminate the great aristocratic families, if we wait for a few more generations, we might not even have such an opportunity!"
Liu Xie's mind raced as he thought to himself.
The Liu imperial family's control over the various domains of the Great Jin Immortal Dynasty had weakened with the passage of time.
Having been the Immortal Emperor of the Great Jin Dynasty for thousands of years, he understood that if they waited for millions more years, everything would already be set in stone.
The power of the Liu imperial family would decline to its lowest point, and they would no longer be able to control the great aristocratic families, led by the royal families.
Then, the day of the Liu imperial family's demise would not be far off.
The day the ranking convention was held in Chang'an City was also the day the first Immortal Emperor of the Great Jin Immortal Dynasty, Liu Haotian, ascended the throne and enfeoffed the aristocratic families.
This day was celebrated nationwide, known as the Ten Thousand Years Festival.
Within the imperial palace of the Liu clan, on the gate tower of the main imperial gate, hung a Lingbao-grade Guangfu Bell.
Whenever this Guangfu Bell struck ninety-nine times, it signified the beginning of the ranking convention.
One by one, the bell tolls vibrated in people's hearts. Following the bell's chime, guards ascended the tower and beat the drums, their sounds booming. The drum towers in the twelve rings and thirty-eight thousand nine hundred and fifty streets responded in succession.
The sound of bells and drums, from the inside out, spread in waves, giving the aristocratic families who had arrived in Chang'an City a very precise message.
After the sound of bells and drums, the restrictions of the twelve rings of Chang'an City changed.
With a command, a small world within Chang'an City, specifically designated as the combat arena for the ranking convention, slowly opened.
Wu Tao, representing the Wu family in the ranking convention, gazed at the entrance to the small world, covered with various runes and immortal charms, emitting a powerful spiritual light. Many powerful cultivators stood guard, ensuring no one dared to cause trouble.
As the foremost major city in the Purple Continent's cultivation world, or even the foremost city in the world, Chang'an City naturally had its extraordinary aspects.
What was most terrifying was the legend that seven small worlds were hidden beneath Chang'an City, each with its own purpose.
The small world specifically used for the ranking convention had other uses as well, but few people knew about them.
Although Chang'an City was inhabited by billions of people, it had a strict hierarchy, clear status, just laws, and excellent order.
The aristocratic family ranking convention, held once every ten years, still proceeded as usual within the small world.
...
Regardless of whether it was good or bad, whether it was denied or affirmed, in the Purple Continent's cultivation world, the aristocratic families were undoubtedly the foremost in terms of scale, number of cultivators, and cultivation realms.
One by one, tall disciples of aristocratic families, with impeccably styled hair, wearing wide Star Master robes or brocade robes in various colors such as orange, red, blue, green, cyan, indigo, violet, and white, gathered at the small world.
Any one of them possessed cultivation at or above the Foundation Establishment stage. Even more terrifying was that there were over a million such cultivators within the small world.
One could imagine the power of the aristocratic families in the Purple Continent's cultivation world.
On their faces, held high with defiance, were the family heads who would not yield to each other. The clothes they wore were embroidered with their family crests, symbolizing their family's glory and heritage.
All of this left the impostor Wu Tao gaping in astonishment.
...
Before arriving, Wu Tao had thoroughly understood the procedures of the aristocratic family ranking convention.
First, there was a spiritual power test at the reception area. Upon passing the test, one would qualify for ranking and enter the "Competition City." Then, opponents would be drawn by lot, and finally, official rank upgrades would be recognized.
The reception area was set up on a vast square within a hundred-mile radius outside the Competition City gate. At this moment, the square was already filled with family heads from all over the Great Jin Immortal Dynasty.
Groups of magnificently dressed family heads, whether young, middle-aged, or elderly, lined up under the guidance of guards, awaiting their cultivation tests.
At the entrance to the Competition City, many tables carved from jade-stream rhinoceros horns were placed.
Behind these tables sat many senior cultivators of varying heights, wearing the Liu clan's yellow robes, responsible for testing the cultivation of the family heads and ancestors participating in the ranking convention.
This point alone was not particularly noteworthy, but what greatly surprised Wu Tao was that all these cultivators were at or above the Nascent Soul stage.
Considering that there were at least dozens, if not nearly a hundred, such tables, it meant that the Liu imperial family had mobilized nearly a hundred Nascent Soul cultivators for this ranking convention.
Such a grand undertaking was something that even Wu Tao, who had traveled through three cultivation worlds and lived for nearly two hundred years, had never witnessed before.
To the right of each table was placed a three-meter-long, warm and pure white immortal crystal, specifically used for testing spiritual power.
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