He abruptly opened his eyes—or rather, he observed his surroundings through an entirely new mode of perception.
What entered his “sight” were incomparably thick branches burning with golden Dao fire, and enormous leaves that seemed condensed from the essence of the sun, blotting out the heavens and covering the earth.
He was perched atop an unimaginably colossal divine tree. This tree… was the ancient Fusang tree!
Yet compared to the one he had seen in later generations, it was even more majestic, even more filled with primal and formidable vitality!
He lowered his head to look at himself.
What he saw was not the familiar human-shaped Dao body, but a pair of still-tender… wings, covered in fine golden down!
And a round, fluffy body!
Looking inward with his divine sense, he found that though the power flowing within him was pure and scorching, containing the origin of the sun, its level… was only equivalent to the Venerable realm!
He, Donghuang Lu Xuan, a supreme giant who had swept across the Realm Sea and created the method of severing the Three Corpses.
At this moment, he had actually become… a young Golden Crow of the Emperor’s Fall era, with only Venerable-level cultivation?!
Even with Lu Xuan’s state of mind, tempered through countless calamities, he could not help falling into a moment of stupor and absurd disbelief.
Was it the divine power of that mural that had not only brought him back to the Emperor’s Fall era, but had also made him merge into this age in such a manner?
Had he replaced—or rather, become—some young Golden Crow that had originally existed in this era?
He tried to mobilize his divine sense and activate his magic power, only to discover that the vast strength belonging to an Immortal King giant had vanished without a trace. All that remained was the faint Venerable-level solar divine power within this young Golden Crow body.
Even his connection to the Chaos Bell had become extremely weak, as though separated by ten thousand layers of time and space.
He had truly become a weak young Golden Crow who needed protection!
“Lu Xuan! What are you spacing out for? Today is the great day when Emperor Xi patrols the heavens and all races pay homage. If we don’t go to Sacred Sun Plaza now, we’ll miss the opportunity!”
A slightly immature yet anxious voice rang out beside him.
Lu Xuan turned his head and saw another Golden Crow, slightly larger than him and with fuller wings, flapping hurriedly as it urged him on.
From the fragments of instinctive memory remaining in this body, he learned that the one urging him was considered his friend, and the “Emperor Xi” they spoke of was the supreme emperor of the Golden Crow race in this age, a true Immortal King-level existence, and one of the rulers of this vast divine kingdom.
Emperor Xi patrolling the heavens, all races paying homage… This seemed to be the norm during some glorious period of the Emperor’s Fall era.
Lu Xuan suppressed the turbulent waves in his heart and forced himself to accept the current situation.
He followed that little Golden Crow, flying down from the ancient Fusang tree and toward the “Sacred Sun Plaza” in his memories.
Along the way, he beheld a scene of unimaginable splendor.
Above the firmament, true dragons coiled, divine phoenixes spread their wings, qilin trod upon clouds, and countless powerful divine birds and exotic beasts shuttled through the air. Even the weakest among them possessed Supreme-level auras, and there were no few True Immortals as well.
Upon the earth, palaces stretched endlessly, divine mountains towered, spirit springs gushed forth, and Great Dao runes flowed through the air as though tangible. The spiritual essence of heaven and earth was dense to the extreme, and the laws were far more complete than those of later generations; merely breathing made one feel as if one’s cultivation were slowly increasing.
This was a truly glorious golden age!
Far more prosperous and powerful than the Immortal Domain of later generations!
Yet beneath this ultimate prosperity and peace, Lu Xuan, relying on the essential spiritual perception of an Immortal King, keenly caught a trace of repression and unease hidden deep within the laws of heaven and earth.
It was as if an invisible haze shrouded the summit of this flourishing age, though the vast majority of living beings had yet to perceive it.
He followed that Golden Crow to the boundless Sacred Sun Plaza.
At the center of the plaza stood a towering Sun God Altar.
Just then, vast and auspicious immortal music suddenly resounded between heaven and earth. Nine dazzling divine suns, condensed from pure solar laws, rose from the horizon, escorting a golden war chariot drawn by nine sacred Golden Crows and burning with eternal Dao fire as it slowly approached!
Upon the war chariot stood a vague yet majestic figure, his entire body enveloped in endless solar radiance. His true appearance could not be seen, but the pressure he emitted made the laws of the entire world resonate and pay homage!
It was none other than the emperor of the Golden Crow race—Emperor Xi!
An ancient Immortal King whose aura was even more unfathomable than those giants of later generations such as Kundi and Wushang!
All spirits knelt in prostration, bowing in worship and chanting the emperor’s name. The scene was grand and solemn.
Lu Xuan lowered his head along with his clansmen, yet there was not the slightest reverence in his heart, only endless contemplation.
Emperor Xi… In the records of later generations, he seemed to be that Golden Crow Heavenly Emperor.
His gaze involuntarily turned toward the edge of the plaza, in the direction connected to the endless void and the Realm Sea.
The scene from the mural surfaced in his mind—that quasi-Immortal Emperor had set out from this very Realm Sea to face the source of darkness.
And that man whose appearance resembled his own, whose aura shared the same origin as his… where was he?
Just as Lu Xuan’s mind surged and he tried to search among the countless worshippers for any clues, a gentle yet supremely majestic gaze seemed to sweep casually over the area where the Golden Crow race gathered, and upon him… paused ever so slightly for an instant.
It was Emperor Xi on the war chariot!
Every plume on Lu Xuan’s body nearly stood on end!
That gaze from atop the golden war chariot, belonging to Emperor Xi, had only lingered briefly, yet it made Lu Xuan feel as though he had fallen into an ice cavern, as if all the secrets in his body had been seen through completely. It was not merely the pressure of an Immortal King; it also carried a trace of emperor light that stood above ordinary Immortal Kings, as if it had touched some supreme barrier!
“The founder of the Immortal Domain of later generations… an Emperor-light giant…”
Lu Xuan’s heart turned cold with awe.
No wonder his aura was so unfathomable, far surpassing the likes of Kundi and Wushang. So this Emperor Xi was actually one of the founders who laid the foundation for the structure of the Immortal Domain in later generations!
In this era, he had already reached the utmost limit of the Immortal King realm and touched the edge of the Emperor realm!
The heavenly patrol ceremony ended amid the worship of all spirits. The nine suns escorted the golden war chariot, accompanied by grand immortal music, as it slowly returned to the divine palace deep in the firmament. That invisible pressure dispersed as well.
Lu Xuan let out a breath, but the sense of urgency in his heart only grew stronger.
He had to adapt to this identity as quickly as possible, find that man who resembled him, and uncover the root of everything.
In the days that followed, Lu Xuan lived cautiously in the Golden Crow clan grounds of the Emperor’s Fall era under the identity of this young Golden Crow.
Relying on his Immortal King-level experience and comprehension, although his cultivation was suppressed at the Supreme realm, his understanding and application of the solar origin far surpassed his peers. Even the “talent” he occasionally revealed drew surprise and attention from some of the clan elders.
While working hard to improve the strength of this body, he discreetly gathered information.
From the casual conversations of older Golden Crows, the inscriptions on ancient stone tablets, and the occasional anecdote that circulated, he gradually pieced together more information about this era.
This era was called the “Dawnlight Epoch,” named after Emperor Xi’s honorific title. It was the final glorious afterglow at the end of the Emperor’s Fall era, before the great dark upheaval erupted completely.