This pronouncement sent tremors through the heavens.
The arrogant declaration left the three thousand Immortal Emperors with grim faces, their imperial might trampled under Mu Changqing's feet.
"Heavens, is this Mu Changqing insane? Even if he achieves the Dao fruit of an Immortal Emperor, what of it? Facing three thousand Immortal Emperors, he is doomed."
"This fellow is a madman, an ultimate madman. He disobeys the heavens and earth, fears no being."
"Heh, the show has begun."
"Watching a show? An Immortal Emperor's battle could affect the entire Primal Realm. If you don't fear death, then prepare to watch."
...
Mu Changqing paid them no mind. He traversed the Primal Realm alone, ascending to the starry sky, seeking ancient stars, comprehending innate Dao diagrams, inscribing the truest principles of heaven and earth, and forging a rule order exclusively for the Burial Dao.
Descending below the earth, he sought the eternity of reincarnation, explored the truth of chaos, and pursued immortality and indestructibility.
He embodied Dao, integrating the supreme ancestral patterns within the Burial Heaven Pearl into himself, transforming into the Burial Heaven Pearl, aiming for complete fusion.
Ten thousand years later, Mu Changqing's comprehension of Dao reached its zenith, capable of dissecting Dao into myriad forms and then unifying them into one.
His cultivation naturally ascended to the level of a Grand Immortal King.
On this day, he stood alone in the depths of the starry sky, upon a barren, withered star. His gaze pierced the darkness, his body enveloped by purple flames that danced and cheered as if imbued with life.
The vast purple patterns, containing the ultimate truth of Dao, faintly gave birth to rule and order.
The moment he stepped into that realm, he would comprehend rules, control order, and achieve the supreme Immortal Emperor status.
But he knew this was not enough, far from it.
The three thousand Immortal Emperors were merely pawns in the cosmic game between the Heavenly Dao and primordial beings.
He needed an opportunity, one that would allow the complete fusion of the Burial Heaven Pearl with himself, to transcend realms and reach a state where he would fear neither primordial beings nor the Heavenly Dao.
Mu Changqing stood there for a long time, like an eternal, unfading sculpture.
Behind him, a torrent of purple flames surged ceaselessly, the purple patterns transforming into heaven and earth, relentlessly burning the dark starry sky.
His dense black hair whipped against the cosmos, emitting thunderous roars, utterly terrifying.
His black robe fluttered, appearing exceptionally ethereal under the illumination of the purple flames.
Mu Changqing meditated for a hundred years, his cultivation silently and rapidly increasing.
On this day, Mu Changqing suddenly opened his profound eyes. His face showed fatigue, but his gaze held an unprecedented resolve.
"To place oneself in death and live, if one has not died, how can one speak of immortality and indestructibility?"
As he spoke, Mu Changqing integrated heaven and earth into a single entity. Countless Burial Dao laws became brilliant warp and weft, embedded in the void.
Thus, in the boundless starry sky, the Primal Realm, and all spaces, purple warp and weft silently spread.
He forged his own system, evolved it within the Burial Dao, and pursued immortality and indestructibility.
Mu Changqing's gaze shifted, his intent stirred, and he summoned the Burial Heaven Pearl.
Gazing at the Burial Heaven Pearl, slowly rotating in his hand, radiating ancestral charm, Mu Changqing spoke.
"Do you possess self-awareness?"
The Burial Heaven Pearl pulsed with purple light, like ripples, vibrating the void, emitting a response.
Mu Changqing's eyes narrowed. He had initially assumed the Burial Heaven Pearl might have some pre-set programming.
"How strong are you?"
Mu Changqing asked a childish question.
The Burial Heaven Pearl remained silent for a moment, then an aura of absolute dominion, of being the sole ruler, permeated heaven, earth, time, and space.
That power directly severed causality, influenced time and space, and reflected scenes from the past, present, and future.
"Unafraid of the power of karma and fate!"
Mu Changqing muttered to himself. This power was too terrifying.
Moments later, within the scenes reflected by the Burial Heaven Pearl, a forbidden world faintly descended from the future, indistinct and invisible.
It vanished again in a mere instant.
And in the past, there also existed a forbidden world, as if it were the source of all worlds, the origin of all things, supreme and absolute.
There, a figure even more terrifying and dreadful resided.
Master of time, treading eternity, creating worlds and beings with a mere thought.
Cold sweat trickled down Mu Changqing's forehead. His body, uncontrollably, staggered back several steps, gasping for air.
"What is that thing? Why is it so terrifying!"
After a long while, Mu Changqing calmed his emotions. He now understood what it meant to have a long and arduous journey ahead.
"Primordial beings, the Heavenly Dao, karma, and fate, perhaps they are not the end!"
At this moment, Mu Changqing was not disheartened.
Instead, his eyes blazed with divine light, erupting with boundless purple light that pierced the dark void.
Countless withered stars trembled precariously.
He possessed an invincible heart, an unyielding ambition; why should he fear future enemies?
Mu Changqing gently stroked the Burial Heaven Pearl, a plan forming in his mind.
"The grand show will eventually begin. The players, thinking they are high above, controlling all beings, are unaware that they too are merely participants in the game."
"And I, Mu Changqing, will one day tread upon the corpses of the players and play against the heavens."
Mu Changqing understood that no matter how high one's talent, how unparalleled one's innate gifts.
If one cannot forge their own path, they are merely following others' footsteps, seeing what others have seen.
Those who learn from me will live; those who imitate me will die.
Only by forging a new Dao, establishing one's own system, and daring to defy the rules can one break them and achieve new life.
What is suitable for oneself is the supreme Dao.
Otherwise, it is merely a clumsy imitation, leading to either a failure or death like the imitator.
"I possess my own Dao, my own comprehension. Why should I fear mere products of the Heavenly Dao, supreme Immortal Emperors? They are nothing more!"
Mu Changqing's valor surged. He sat cross-legged, continuously evolving himself, his consciousness sensing all the heavens.
The Burial Heaven Pearl responded, hovering above Mu Changqing's head, continuously reflecting brilliant purple light, like a countless cascade of purple rivers from the nine heavens, pouring down countless rays of purple brilliance.
This transformed into a continuous stream of comprehension and power, aiding his rapid ascent towards the pinnacle.
Twenty thousand years later, Mu Changqing once again opened his profound eyes.
The Dao surrounding him had long since broken through the extreme peak.
Rules and order had long since been comprehended.
He possessed his own heaven and earth, his own temporal space.
Now, where he stood was the new world.
"Still not enough."
Mu Changqing did not become arrogant due to this small progress.
His arrogance and madness were all built upon his own strength, his own invincible confidence.
With a slight shift of his intent, countless figures identical to Mu Changqing appeared, floating above the dark starry sky.
"Go forth, plant my Dao fruit, establish my world, spread my rule and order, my Dao and law."
Instantly, billions of purple bodies dissolved into nothingness, merging into the starry sky, falling into the great world.
Subsequently, Mu Changqing closed his eyes again, sensing heaven and earth, sensing the most fundamental Dao and law.
With the help of the Burial Heaven Pearl, he transformed it into his own, forging his Imperial Path.
And his countless avatars also entered the world, spreading Mu Changqing's Dao and law, laying down endless contingencies.
In the solitary years, Mu Changqing continuously reflected and evolved himself.
At this point, his cultivation had long since reached the absolute peak of Immortal King. He was only one step away from shattering the Immortal Emperor barrier and achieving the supreme Immortal Emperor status.
This step, for him, was not important.
As he was now, he could already counter-attack Immortal Emperors.
But his opponents were not beings comparable to Immortal Emperors.
He intended to fight the Heavenly Dao that loomed above.