"This is the royal sacred ground. Rumor has it that those who can't become the Jin Emperor or Divine Monarch can no longer interfere with the court's affairs. Most of them will be sent here to develop the sacred ground!"
The Seventh Prince was the oldest, but he had never been to the Imperial Sacred Ground. He had only vaguely heard about it.
Four huge white eagles flew over. Each eagle had a wingspan of more than ten meters. They each carried four people and flew towards the closest continent in the sacred land of the imperial family.
"Boom!"
The eagles flew above this continent and passed through an invisible wall.
The originally empty world suddenly became lively.
This continent was surrounded by perilous mountains and a sea of clouds. Between the strange peaks and deep valleys, there were also long bells ringing as if there were immortal spirits hidden within.
Floating in the clouds was a mountain that was thousands of zhang tall, and on top of it was a palace with gilded red walls. There was an ancient heavenly chariot flying across the sky, and there was a beautiful woman dressed in immortal clothes stepping on a flying sword as she soared into the sky, seemingly disappearing into the universe.
This was the style of an immortal spirit. The three princes who entered the sacred ground for the first time were all very excited.
This was only one of the continents developed by the royal clan. It was called the "Dragon King's Third Continent".
This was the third continent developed by the royal clan for more than two thousand years. The entire continent was surrounded by a Heavenly Cycle Grand Formation. It had its own independent oceans and lakes, as well as lush vegetation and wild beasts. There was also a spirit vein beneath the continent that provided a denser amount of spirit energy than the real world.
An old man wearing a golden robe and a pair of cloud-flowing golden boots stood at the top of the highest mountain. He looked at the four eagles and waved his sleeve. A golden wave swept over. The three princes and Feng Feiyun immediately disappeared from the eagles and appeared before the old man.
"This is the sacred land of the royal clan, the third continent of the Dragon Monarch. It is the place where the ancestors of the royal clan researched their ultimate arts, such as the Dragon Monarch's Saber Art, the Extreme Heavenly Speed, the Nine Revolutions Life-Death Destruction, and so on. Most of the royal clan's supreme ancient books and secrets were researched on this continent, and after countless people's experiments, they were confirmed to be successful. Only then would they be recorded into books and passed down to future generations to cultivate."
The old man in a golden robe brought Feng Feiyun's group down from the mountain. On an ancient staircase, they saw densely packed stone carvings with all kinds of mysterious merit laws. Not only were there the secrets of the royal clan, but there were also the merit laws and supreme arts of other immortal sects.
Feng Feiyun saw the initial cultivation method for the first three strikes of the Dragon King's Saber Art. Later on, he saw the research process for the fourth and fifth strike. However, it was different from the Dragon King's Saber Art that he cultivated.
The Dragon King's Saber Art that Feng Feiyun cultivated had already been improved to the limit. There were no flaws at all, but the Dragon King's Saber Art on this ancient staircase had many flaws. Once it was cultivated, it would be extremely harmful to the body.
"If you want to become a God King, you need to have comprehension abilities that surpass ordinary people, as well as extraordinary intelligence."
The golden-robed old man stopped in his tracks and said, "The first test for you is a test of your comprehension and wisdom.
There are several hundred thousand cultivation methods carved on this ancient staircase that is one hundred and fifty kilometers long. However, all of these cultivation methods are incomplete and have great flaws. Some can cause people to suffer from cultivation deviation, some can reduce their lifespan, and some can even shatter their dantian … "
"What you need to do is to choose one of these cultivation methods. Within three days, find out the shortcomings of the cultivation method, and then perfect it so that it becomes a correct cultivation method.
The faster you complete it, the more powerful the cultivation method you modify will be, and the more points you will obtain in the first test.
I will directly insert the detailed rules into your minds. "
The old man flicked out four golden beams of light, which flew into the foreheads of the four people. A set of rules appeared in their minds.
The first test was a test of comprehension and wisdom. There was a total of ten points.
There were a total of three steps.
The first step was to choose a cultivation method that had never been cultivated before on the Ancient Path. Then, in the shortest time possible, modify the cultivation method, and submit the modified cultivation method to the Patriarch. After passing the test, the second step could begin.
The second step was to leave the mountain and find a youth who had never cultivated before on the continent. He could not be older than ten years old. Then, they would impart the cultivation method to him.
This step didn't just test one's wisdom, it also tested one's eyesight. The stronger one's eyesight, the more talented the disciple would be and the faster their cultivation would be.
The third step was to bring this youth back to the mountain within three days. Then, they would have a competition. Whoever taught the strongest disciple would be the final winner.
This was a comprehensive test. It didn't just test comprehension and wisdom. All of the steps had to be completed within three days. It also tested one's mentality.
"We're starting now, hurry up."
The old man stared at the four youths. Even though they were the most outstanding prodigies of the younger generation, he didn't think that anyone could perfect a merit law in three days.
In the history of the Jin Dynasty, there would be an examination every few hundred years to select the next Divine King. However, most of the time, these prodigies could only complete the first step within three days. They didn't have time to complete the second or third step. Thus, the first step was the deciding factor.
This was also the reason why it was called "comprehension" and "wisdom".
Feng Feiyun didn't waste any time and quickly skimmed along the ancient path.
"I have cultivated the Dragon King's Saber Art before. This fact must have been verified before the test, so I can't choose the Dragon King's Saber Art again."
"If I want my disciple to have a powerful cultivation, then the cultivation method I choose must be powerful. I must choose the most powerful cultivation method. With my ability to comprehend the Heavenly Dao, it will only take me half a day at most to make up for the flaws and loopholes of the supreme cultivation method."
This was what Feng Feiyun thought. He was very confident in this aspect. He believed that he definitely had a greater advantage than the three princes, so he was not in a hurry to pick a merit law. Instead, he was looking for the strongest one.
After two hours, Feng Feiyun found a merit law that surpassed the Dragon King's Saber Art.
This merit law was created by more than ten ancestors of the royal family after several hundred years of painstaking research. However, in the end, it was only an idea and a simple framework.
In order to successfully research this merit law, hundreds of thousands of experimenters died to it. Among them, there was no lack of one in ten thousand geniuses. All of them exploded. After several hundred years of hard work, they still couldn't fix the flaws of this merit law. In the end, they could only give up.
This was the Devil Scripture of Death.
Evil arts had been extinct in the Jin Dynasty for a long time, but the royal family still preserved three remnant scrolls. The Devil Scripture of Death was derived from these three scrolls.
The royal ancestors firmly believed that the ultimate power of the human body came from death. The extreme of death could produce an extraordinary power.
In other words, "Extreme death brings life, extreme misfortune brings bliss."
This was the principle of the Devil Scripture of Death. Once a cultivator died, the power they obtained would be countless times stronger. After dying a second time, the power would be even more terrifying.
Whoever mastered the power of death would be able to control the greatest power in this world.
However, the Demonic Art of Death created by the Imperial Clan had a huge drawback. Cultivators could indeed die in the midst of cultivation. Some of them could awaken from their deaths and obtain extraordinary power. However, when they fought against others, the death energy would stir. Before they could even attack, their bodies would explode and they would die.
It was precisely because the Demonic Art of Death was unable to be successfully researched that the ancestors of the royal family took a step back and researched the Nine Transformations of Life, Death, and Destruction. This technique was comparable to the Dragon King's Saber Art, but its power was worlds apart compared to the Demonic Art of Death.
Feng Feiyun was also interested in the Devil Scripture of Death. He felt that it was very fresh because it was similar to a phoenix's nirvana rebirth. However, it was different in a different way. Perhaps he could find a breakthrough from the phoenix's nirvana.
"I have finished modifying the Three Mysterious Bone Transmuting Power. It has been perfected to the extreme. Ancestor, please have a look."
However, when Feng Feiyun had just chosen his merit law, the seventy-second prince had not only chosen his merit law, but he had also comprehended it and perfected it.
Only two hours had passed.
Even if Feng Feiyun's comprehension of the heavenly law was ten thousand times stronger than theirs, he still couldn't guarantee that he could perfect an exquisite merit law within two hours. Unless Feng Feiyun had the cultivation of the Phoenix Clan Leader, he wouldn't be able to completely understand the principles of a merit law in the blink of an eye.
Although the Three Mysterious Bone Transmuting Power was slightly inferior to the Dragon King's Saber Art, it was still a supreme merit law. Even with Feng Feiyun's current cultivation, he couldn't perfect it within two hours. He would need to analyze and practice it over a hundred thousand times before he could find a flaw and fix it.
Could the seventy-second prince's comprehension of the heavenly law be stronger than Feng Feiyun's?
This was absolutely impossible!
There was only one explanation. He already knew the contents of the first test and someone had already perfected this merit law for him. All he needed to do was to memorize it.
"Amazing, amazing. The seventy-second prince is indeed the Drogan amongst men. The imperial family will prosper, the imperial family will prosper. It only took him two hours to modify the Three Mysterious Bone Transmuting Power to near perfection. There are only three small flaws, but they won't affect his cultivation anymore." The golden-robed elder was extremely excited.
The seventy-second prince looked flattered as he respectfully bowed and said: "Tianhan's aptitude is poor. It's all thanks to the guidance of the ancestors."
The seventy-second prince laughed in his heart. He had the Grand Chancellor behind him. A month ago, the Grand Chancellor had already given him the Three Mysterious Bone Transmuting Power. It was more than enough to deal with the Divine King's successor test.
"I have finished modifying the Grand Universe Palm. It has been perfected to the extreme. Please examine it, ancestor." The seventh prince did not want to be outdone and quickly presented it.
"I have finished modifying the Thunderbolt Art. Please instruct me, ancestor." The eighteenth prince presented a newly written merit law.
The golden-robed elder was so excited that he couldn't control himself. The comprehension ability of this batch of Godking candidates was truly terrifying. In just two hours, three of them had already completed the first step of the test. They had modified their cultivation techniques and could now leave the mountain to find disciples.
On the other hand, the number one genius of the Jin Dynasty, Feng Feiyun, had only found a merit law recently. The gap between him and the three princes was too great.