Chapter 2078: Returning the Way Back

Three or four years ago, He Lingchuan wouldn't have dared to use this great treasure, even if he had possessed it.

The Scarlet Heavens Golden Palace consumes the most profound crystals only when it materializes and settles into place. Once its form is fixed, it becomes like any ordinary structure, capable of absorbing ambient spiritual energy from the air to maintain its stability. This makes it both stable and energy-efficient.

When the Illusion Sect used this artifact in the Upside-Down Sea, they had no cause for concern.

This contrasts with Spirit Void City's floating island and teleportation arrays, which are bottomless pits of expenditure.

However, spiritual energy in the human realm is far scarcer and could not sustain its immense needs, which is why the Illusion Sect typically did not keep such treasures in the mortal world. Fortunately, the frequent outbreaks of Imperial Nectar over the past year have caused the spiritual energy concentration in the human realm to increase exponentially, barely enough to support its function. He Lingchuan only needed to pay for the profound crystals required for the Scarlet Heavens Golden Palace's initial materialization and settling; afterward, it would absorb spiritual energy on its own to maintain stability.

While that was still an enormous expenditure, his calculations showed it was a worthwhile investment.

Moreover, the Scarlet Heavens Golden Palace possesses an advantage unmatched by any mortal palace:

Before materialization, its architectural style, layout, size, and arrangement could all be customized by its owner.

He Lingchuan's team spent a full six months just on designing the model patterns, not merely sketching them. They repeatedly refined and debugged these designs using sand models, ultimately achieving the unique effect seen today, which blends the elegance of a celestial palace with the grandeur of an imperial presence.

Even after materialization, the Scarlet Heavens Golden Palace's architectural layout, exterior, and interior could be adjusted at any time, provided He Lingchuan paid the required profound crystals.

Thus, in the future, if a thirty-zhang-tall building is seen miraculously rising from the ground within the palace city, it will be no cause for surprise.

Furthermore, as an immortal artifact, it naturally possessed defensive capabilities. Its palace walls and city gates were far sturdier than any mortal construction—

Of course, operating it at full capacity still required a constant supply of profound crystals.

He Lingchuan judged that this particular function wouldn't be needed in the short term. Considering all its advantages, coupled with its impressive display before tens of thousands of citizens today, the Scarlet Heavens Golden Palace's cost-effectiveness was undeniable.

Currently, the Great Emperor of Nine Hells’ palace city is situated east of Ju City, with its main structures on flat ground, but also incorporating the scenic beauty of mountains, streams, rivers, and waterfalls at its rear. Liu Qingdao and many cultivators had proposed locating the palace city atop a mountain, asserting that its commanding presence would better reflect the emperor's or Dragon God's majesty.

The Beijia had done precisely that, even elevating their palace city into the sky with incredibly impressive results.

He Lingchuan found the suggestion tempting, but ultimately rejected it. In the future, ordinary officials would have to ascend a mountain just to attend court; who would willingly endure such an ordeal?

Consequently, only the gardens at the rear of the palace city were situated on the mountain.

Now, he stood outside the vermilion palace gates, gazing down at the thunderous acclamation of his people.

He Lingchuan glanced back, then took a deep breath.

He had won.

The Battle of Shining Gold was his victory.

The aroma of success is always intoxicating, yet it always carries the pungent scent of bloodshed.

The magnificent scene before him was one of flowers, applause, and universal celebration, but the path that led here was a grim, ghostly wasteland, strewn with corpses.

How much painstaking effort, how many days and nights of relentless toil, had it taken for him to ascend to such a pinnacle today?

How many rivals had he brought down, how many remarkably talented individuals had he eliminated?

And how many warriors, devoted to the Great Emperor of Nine Hells and their ideals, had sacrificed themselves fearlessly, now forever resting beneath Shining Gold?

The weight of this victory was immeasurable.

It heralded the dawn of peace and tranquility for the Shining Gold Plain, serving as the very cornerstone upon which the Great Emperor of Nine Hells would firmly advance towards his next objectives.

The following morning, the early autumn sun cast its first light upon the palace city of Cangyan State.

Passersby and those who had lingered since the previous night instinctively gasped in awe.

Sunlight struck the palace city's vermilion eaves and crimson tiles, erupting into a dazzling spectacle of shimmering gold and fractured jade!

The radiance was both dazzling and commanding, embodying both splendor and majesty so completely that any verbal description would fall short.

This was the origin of the name "Scarlet Heavens Golden Palace"; its magnificent roof tiles, known as "Fire Phoenix Tiles," each resembled a feather from a fire phoenix.

As Ju City slowly expanded outwards, preparing to encompass the newly built palace, He Lingchuan also freed his hands to command several armies to encircle and subdue the remaining powerful clans across the Shining Gold Plain.

With even the strongest states, Yao and Baitan, defeated, these powerful clans, both in spirit and strength, were no longer a match for the Dragon God.

Furthermore, the Dragon God's ascension in Cangyan State's capital and the new Cangyan royal palace's overnight materialization had become legendary divine miracles across Shining Gold. Upon hearing these tales, the local warlords' armies found their will to resist even further diminished.

With the tide turning so decisively, who would dare to stand in its way?

In less than half a year, the Dragon God Army swiftly quelled these smaller adversaries, an astonishing speed given that most of the time was spent simply traveling across the vast Shining Gold Plain.

The following spring, as grass grew lush and orioles sang, the Dragon God Army eliminated the "Grass Sea King" in the southernmost reaches of Shining Gold, marking the defeat of the last holdout among the powerful clans in the Shining Gold Plain.

After a millennium, the Shining Gold Plain was once again unified into a single entity!

The establishment of Cangyan State proclaimed that the era of chaos in Shining Gold was over, and a new chapter in history was about to be written.

With this thunderous declaration echoing across the Shining Gold Plain, He Lingchuan and his newly formed state were finally stepping onto a new stage, entering the intricate power struggles among great nations.

No one had anticipated that Cangyan's first war after its founding would erupt so swiftly, immediately following its establishment.

Ten days after the momentous news of the "Dragon God Founding the State" reached Spirit Void City, State Preceptor Nie Xiaolou of the Azure Palace hurriedly entered Chonghua Hall.

The Demon Emperor had been cultivating there recently.

Before dawn, Chonghua Hall was wreathed in mist, resembling a celestial palace.

Nie Xiaolou knew the Emperor was practicing his breathing exercises.

Situated on a floating island, Chonghua Hall would see its temperature plummet to at least minus ten degrees Celsius whenever the Emperor exerted his divine power, causing frost to bloom on the white jade pillars.

A mere mortal would shiver standing here, yet Nie Xiaolou waited patiently for over a quarter of an hour, until sunrise.

The instant the morning light pierced Chonghua Hall, the rolling mists were bathed in a scarlet-gold radiance, creating an indescribably majestic and magnificent sight.

Yet the mists dissipated rapidly, quickly revealing Chonghua Hall's original pavilions and towers, along with the figure of the Demon Emperor coiled around a colossal pillar.

The Demon Emperor drew a deep breath towards the rising sun, inhaling the last wisp of mist, tinged with scarlet gold, into his body before concluding his practice.

"Your Majesty!" Nie Xiaolou bowed before him.

"What is it?" The Demon Emperor, eyes closed, coiled on the pillar, appeared no different from a sculpture.

Nie Xiaolou drew a lotus flower from his sleeve and presented it with both hands. "This red lotus was sent by the former State Preceptor Qingyang," he explained, "along with a message that it should be presented to Your Majesty when it bloomed. It opened tonight at midnight."

"A memento sent by Qingyang?" Only then did the Demon Emperor open his eyes, casting a glance at the red lotus in Nie Xiaolou's palm.

It was unclear how long it had been picked, yet it still appeared remarkably fresh, with even a few dewdrops clinging to its petals. The petals unfurled in layers, revealing a pale yellow lotus receptacle at its heart.