Ten thousand years have passed, and Mu Changqing opens his eyes once more.
His cultivation now is peculiar, present yet absent, like that of a mortal, yet like an Immortal Emperor.
This dark starry sky has long been enveloped by purple patterns, with the Laws of Burial of the Heavens permeating the void.
On this day, Mu Changqing lets out a low roar, his eyes blazing with immeasurable imperial radiance, shaking heaven, earth, and time.
Even the Primal Realm, countless light-years away, is stirred.
Innumerable beings simultaneously lift their heads, gazing at the firmament with terror in their eyes, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.
*Swish!*
Chains of divine order, forged from unknown eons, pierce through space-time, shackling Mu Changqing's body.
Each chain is as thick as a star, immense and colossal.
The clanking of their movement echoes through the ages.
Concurrently, within the Primal Realm, Mu Changqing's myriad avatars feel the shift and open their eyes, a flash of purple flame passing through each.
Some are experiencing endless cycles of reincarnation, living their lives as mortals, generation after generation.
Some are weaklings, toiling in cultivation with no success.
Some are peerless prodigies, their fame spreading throughout the Primal Realm.
Some are lords of sects, their cultivation already reaching the Immortal King realm.
Some are ancient ancestors, their power awe-inspiring.
...
For these ten thousand years, they have held diverse identities, yet they share a common one.
At this moment, they all know: their main body is about to break through, and return to the imperial path.
Simultaneously, the three thousand Immortal Emperors scattered across the vast Primal Realm open their eyes, imperial radiance erupting around them, influencing time and space.
Their auras permeate the land, causing countless beings to tremble in fear.
Beneath the converging imperial radiance of the three thousand Immortal Emperors, the entire Primal Realm transforms into an imperial domain, filled with immeasurable, resplendent immortal light that illuminates all stars.
They are searching, seeking to discover who is breaking through, who dares to shatter the balance of the three thousand Immortal Emperors, and emerge as a sole variable.
"Who is it, about to break through and ascend to the Immortal Emperor realm?"
"With the Heavenly Dao's constraints, it is impossible for another Immortal Emperor to emerge in this era. He is a variable, an anomaly, and must be eliminated."
"Could it be him? Disappeared for over a hundred thousand years, and now about to break through and return?"
"This is the only explanation. He... is about to return."
"The Emperor War is imminent, the great worlds are withering. This era may be heading towards its end."
"We cannot be careless. Variables should never be underestimated. Be prepared."
The divine senses of the three thousand Immortal Emperors intermingle, and they fall silent once more.
Though they are wary, they feel no dread or fear.
Let alone the fact that the three thousand Immortal Emperors suppress this era, their legends echoing through eternity.
With the Heavenly Dao itself as their backing, what do they fear from a mere variable?
...
At this moment, Mu Changqing is bound by the divine chains of heaven and earth, sealed upon a withered great star.
These are chains of order, materialized from rules, terrifying and exuding an aura that could crush any living being.
This realm does not permit variables, nor the emergence of Immortal Emperors beyond the fixed three thousand, those beyond their control.
Billions of chains of order radiate brilliant divine light, illuminating heaven and earth, triggering the alternation of ages and the turbulence of space-time.
Mu Changqing sits cross-legged within the field of confinement formed by these chains of order, his expression serene, as calm as a deity, showing no trace of fear.
Above his head, the Burial of the Heavens Bead ceaselessly emanates the laws and rhymes of a new era.
At this very moment, Mu Changqing's eyes snap open. The Burial of the Heavens Bead vanishes instantly, its myriad Burial Emperor Emblems merging into his body.
In that instant, purple imperial radiance fills his eyes, as noble as a god from the ninth heaven, not to be blasphemed.
His aura has completely entered the Immortal Emperor realm, his pressure immeasurable, vast, and boundless.
His body, with a casual movement, can trigger myriad anomalies, causing time to tremble and space to freeze.
An imperial voice from the most ancient era rings through heaven and earth, like a vast ocean, surging upwards.
It seems to be praying, cheering, flattering...!
Mu Changqing slowly rises, his form appearing as small as a mortal, yet also as immense as billions of feet, unimaginably vast.
The clanging of iron chains continues to echo through heaven and earth. Infinite rules of order bind Mu Changqing's aura, preventing him from fully taking that final step.
"I have already stepped onto that path. Why do you continue to make futile efforts?"
Mu Changqing whispers, a hint of disdain in his voice.
His body radiates immeasurable divine light, manifesting myriad phenomena, as brilliant as billions of blazing suns, illuminating heaven and earth.
This imperial radiance pierces through the endless void, shining into the Primal Realm.
The countless beings of the entire Primal Realm simultaneously gaze upwards at the firmament, fear and bewilderment filling their hearts.
Mu Changqing's thick hair flies, strands of purple patterns flowing upon it, brilliant like billions of stars, suspended within his hair.
With a casual shake, stars are born and extinguished.
He takes a step, and chains of order restrict his movement, attempting to halt him.
"Scram!"
Mu Changqing's icy voice echoes through the cold, dark starry sky, reverberating through endless eons.
The beings of all worlds tremble, their fear intensifying.
They may have speculated that a supreme Immortal Emperor was about to be born, but that power is too terrifying.
It is utterly incomparable to the three thousand Immortal Emperors of the Primal Realm.
He seems to have forged an entirely different path to becoming an Immortal Emperor, invincible within the same realm.
Accompanied by a sharp cracking sound.
A rumble erupts once more.
The heavens and all ages, the river of time, all tremble violently.
The chains of order shatter, and under the burning of the purple flames of the Burial of the Heavens, they melt, turning into nothingness, falling into the ages, and returning to eternal silence.
An aura of an Immortal Emperor, like a vast ocean, surges forth, majestic, boundless, unfathomable, immeasurable.
Imperial radiance intertwines, illuminating the dark stars. Countless withered stars, unable to withstand this aura, explode one after another like fireworks.
This fervent imperial aura, imbued with supreme might, flows through all worlds, washing over heaven, earth, and time, traversing space-time.
Mu Changqing's eyes are filled with imperial patterns, and his body is enveloped by rules and order, manifesting countless great worlds.
Indeed, with a single thought, he can cause billions of stars to be destroyed and reborn.
Mu Changqing's Immortal Emperor realm has already glimpsed the power of creation.
He is too terrifying; even when facing beings beyond the Immortal Emperor realm, he is in no way inferior.
A path to the heavens emerges, accompanied by the birth of billions of stars, radiating infinite, sacred, and transcendent brilliance, extending towards the distant lands.
Mu Changqing raises his gaze, the purple imperial flames burning to their utmost intensity, erupting from his eyes.
With every breath, he influences the flow of time and illuminates the past, present, and future.
With a slight movement of his body, Mu Changqing instantly traverses countless light-years, descending above the firmament of the Primal Realm, looking down upon the immeasurably vast Primal Realm.
That fervent imperial radiance illuminates everything within the Primal Realm, as far as the eye can see.
Innumerable beings look up, all able to see that majestic figure striding through time.
"A new Emperor descends. Bow to the new Emperor."
All beings tremble, their bodies uncontrollably kneeling.
To encounter an Emperor and not bow is to disrespect, and one shall be punished.
The three thousand Immortal Emperors sense this, and manifest their imperial bodies, colossal as billions of stars, emerging from all directions of the Primal Realm, like supreme gods enshrouded in three thousand beams of immortal light, standing tall in heaven and earth.
"My name is Emperor Burial. Where I am, all beings shall submit. You three thousand Emperors, seeing me, why do you not bow."
An immense imperial might surges forth. Mu Changqing speaks dominantly, his voice cold and indifferent.