CHAPTER 448: CHAPTER 390: 12 YUAN CHEN, KARMA EFFECTCOMPLETION

West Queen Mother Mountain.

At the base of the mountain, Song Lin commanded the engraving of a stone tablet to commemorate this journey.

As he gazed at the towering peak, it seemed as though a gaze from the unknown was falling upon him.

Song Lin felt somewhat reluctant to face it; he really didn’t want to disappoint this relatively innocent woman, yet he had no choice but to return.

He couldn’t waste time here idly. He needed to go back to the real world, where there were many matters yet unfinished.

But offending the Queen Mother of the West could lead to the failure of the western expedition, so he had no choice but to take this approach.

"One day, if I see you again, I will surely assist you without hesitation!"

Song Lin thought to himself.

Soon he mounted the Sun Jade Carriage and departed without looking back.

Three days later, the Western God Rushou came to visit.

Rushou stood three zhang tall, his face covered with white fur, possessing claws like a tiger, ears with snakes coiled around them, and feet stepping upon twin dragons.

Song Lin noticed something peculiar—these immortals always seemed to favor stepping on Divine Dragons beneath their feet, as if this was the ultimate display of their grandeur.

Rushou’s body glimmered with an exceedingly dazzling brilliance. Gazing at him from afar felt like a sharp pain between the brows, and mortals dared not look directly at his radiance, fearing harm.

"Indeed worthy of being called the Golden God."

Song Lin praised him.

Afterward, Song Lin conferred titles upon the vassals at the Western Mountain.

He titled Rushou as the Golden Emperor, and designated kingdoms of merit, including Qin Country, Liang Country, Shu Country, Ba Country, Yong Country, Bao Country, and Cheng Country.

Thus, the Nine States achieved unification.

The eighth layer of the Qiankun Treasure—Golden Wind Jade Dew—and the ninth layer—Yin Yang Qiankun—were both activated in full.

Song Lin returned to Haojing, contemplating his next steps.

Previously, he merged the Five Mountains True Form Map into one entity, leaving four empty positions. He had already refined the Wood Dao, Fire Dao, and Wind Dao into the Twelve Cloud Seal System, leaving just one vacant slot before completing the Twelve Cloud Seal System.

Song Lin’s first choice, naturally, was Rushou Golden Emperor Technique.

The ninth layer inherently possessed the fixed energy of Qiankun Yin Yang.

He planned to utilize this layer’s energy to elevate the Twelve Cloud Seal System to the Great Success Realm.

In doing so, as soon as he returned to the real world, he would be able to activate the second stage: Twenty-Four Cloud Seals.

Once achieving the Twenty-Four Cloud Seals, Song Lin intended to cross the Fire Tribulation.

"Using the Taoist Realm of the Twelve Cloud Seals to cross the Fire Tribulation is still too precarious; it could leave behind latent defects. A steadier approach would be waiting until the completion of the Twenty-Four Cloud Seals before attempting the tribulation crossing."

Song Lin pondered.

Tribulation crossing was far more complicated than imagined. Last time, his excessive recklessness led to lingering ailments.

The story world offered chances to try again, but in the real world, there would be no second chances; hence caution was paramount.

With this realization, Song Lin sat in meditation to adjust his breathing and began focusing on Gold Star Taibai, as outlined by Rushou’s method, absorbing the ancient and immutable Star Power of the stars.

Simultaneously, he drew upon the energy of the Nine Tripods, reinforcing his mastery of gold attribute power.

Time gradually flowed onward, and as the battles calmed, prosperity began to spread across the lands.

The Nine States unified, and the Four Seas willingly submitted.

Song Lin defeated the Four Barbarians and expanded Great Zhou’s territory to an inconceivable extent.

The Four Gods paid homage to the royal court, and eight hundred vassals guarded the borders.

He became the most formidable emperor in martial strength since Great Zhou’s founding.

The Zhuxia territory was formally determined.

The civilization took a distinctly unique path, embracing cultural unification while preserving the distinct characteristics of Zhuxia.

In the south were the gods, in the east the Immortal Island, in the north the Ghost Land, and in the west the Heavenly Human.

Because the royal family presided over the dynasty, they only needed to govern their designated domain and adhere to the Zhou Rites across nations, while leaving the rest to the vassals’ own administration.

The land was vast; take Haojing for example—it was twenty thousand li to the eastern frontier and eighteen thousand li to the western border, and similar distances north to south.

After all, the local customs varied greatly across regions.

If adopting Qin Zheng’s method, one would have to exhaust themselves figuring out how to oppress the common people, suppress innovation, and enforce a singular policy to achieve concentrated power.

The Zhuxia approach envisioned by Song Lin, however, proved significantly successful in this realm.

Even if he departed, the protection of the Four Gods would ensure peace, and future generations could rest easy.

Song Lin had mostly decided upon the heir to ascend the throne—the son of King Mu of Zhou seemed to be suitable.

Since ascending the throne, Song Lin had not neglected the cultivation of this heir by his original body. He had also provided him with the Qiankun Treasure for training, and the boy’s aptitude was impressive, now having reached the Core Formation Stage in cultivation.

Several years passed.

Song Lin successfully mastered Rushou Golden Emperor Technique, achieving perfection in the Twelve Cloud Seals, and planned to elevate it using the ninth layer’s Yin Yang Qi to reach the Great Success Realm.

With that accomplished, he would be ready to begin practicing the Twenty-Four Cloud Seal System as soon as returning to the real world.

The effect of Karma was just shy of completion.

Song Lin realized it was likely a matter of summoning eight hundred vassals to jointly offer sacrifices to the Nine Tripods in a ceremonial rite.

This timing, however, suited him well—at least he could wait until completing his cultivation before proceeding.

The twelfth year of Yuan Shi arrived.

King Mu’s son Ji Yihu acted as regent, maintaining peace within the realm. Song Lin successfully utilized the power of the Nine Tripods to refine the Twelve Cloud Seal System to perfection.

At this moment, Song Lin felt an inexplicable celestial opportunity.

"The tenth layer?"

Song Lin’s mind sparked—could this be the legendary tenth layer?

Throughout history, only King Wu and Zhou Gong had achieved the accomplishments of the tenth layer.

But this celestial energy was faint and elusive, nearly intangible.

Song Lin calmed himself into seclusion.

Meanwhile, he instructed Ji Yihu to summon the eight hundred vassals to prepare for an alliance of dominance.

Perhaps at such a moment of Heavenly Human Connection, he could truly comprehend the tenth layer.

The time was set for next year’s spring opening.

As the command issued, many distant vassals began their journeys.

Beacon fires stretched endlessly, signaling across the land.

Vassals arrived nonstop at the Heroic City.

Seeing this city’s thirty-zhang-high walls, every vassal’s first reaction was awe.

Too magnificent!

No army under heaven could break through this city!

Some vassals, unaccustomed to such grandeur, even knelt down, kissed the earth, and cried out praises to the Emperor.

As the alliance assembly neared, various peculiar vassals gathered.

Feathered People, One-eyed People, Ghost People, Shoulder-to-shoulder People, Three-headed People, Fire-men...

Song Lin instructed the Crown Prince to establish rules: any disobedience would result in death; any lateness would also result in death.

After a few executions, Haojing finally settled into order.

Meanwhile, a towering Heavenly Altar was raised on the western outskirts of the city.

On this day, the skies were high and clear, with a gentle spring breeze.

Suddenly, a second sun appeared in the sky, its dazzling golden light rendering everyone unable to keep their eyes open.

After gradually adapting, they realized that the sun was actually the Emperor driving his chariot.

The instant they saw Song Lin, the vassals knelt in reverence, some shedding tears of joy upon finally seeing their radiant ruler once more.

His radiance was both merciful and fervent, his renown spreading across countless generations, blessing future offspring.

"By the mandate of heaven, oh glorious and enduring! Oh how splendid and unceasing, the purity of King Wen’s virtue! Grant it unto me, so I may receive it. May King Wen bless me, and may his descendants uphold it."

"Heaven creates great mountains; the king brings them into order. They are shaped by his deeds; King Wen brings them to prosperity. They traverse their path, and the mighty have a well-marked way, securing protection for their descendants."

Grand Minister Jun Ya sang ancestral hymns in reverence.

Song Lin closed his eyes, sensing the heavenly mechanisms, as the golden mark between his brows radiated magnificently.

The tenth layer of the Qiankun Treasure—King Wu’s power manifested as Heavenly Destiny Vault of Heaven, while Zhou Gong’s power formed the Great Wilderness Universe.

Both were unparalleled supernatural powers.

Song Lin seemed to have transformed into the Heavenly Dao, sensing the heavens above and the earthly altars below.

At the conclusion of the assembly, a golden beam descended from above.

The Nine States’ fortunes converged upon Song Lin.

At this instance, a sudden flash of clarity emerged in his mind—Song Lin finally grasped the celestial energy.

Boom!

Twelve stars emerged from above.

In that instant, it seemed as though the entire universe was reduced to those twelve stars.

The tenth layer of the Qiankun Treasure—Twelve Yuan Chen!

At the same time, Karma was completed, and Song Lin vanished into thin air.

Kunlun Mountain, the Queen Mother of the West gazed into the void, lost in thought.

The three-year vow ultimately became but an empty promise. The Queen Mother had waited for decades, yet the Emperor had never returned.

"One day in heaven counts as one year on earth. Although I don’t know where you came from, I’ll wait for you another thousand years."

The Queen Mother comforted herself.

With Song Lin’s ascension, King Gong of Zhou assumed the throne, and the courtiers bestowed upon Song Lin the posthumous title of "High"—thus he was known as Emperor Zhou Gao!

High as the heavens, a virtue that crowns all beings—the title embodied the unparalleled achievements of Song Lin, completing endeavors unmatched throughout history.