The Imperial Palace was a destiny-level magic treasure that was forged by Emperor Tai after the end of the Primordial Age as the world ushered in the Antiquity Age.
The Imperial Palace worked hand in hand with the Supreme Heavenly Mirror and rained hell upon Xuan Shang, one of the ancient demonic emperors of old. It also had a part to play in the defeat of a great many powerful dragons, and single-handedly ended the supreme rule of the Immemorial Celestial Dragons over the Grand Celestial World a long time ago.
Unfortunately, Emperor Tai lost his life in this endeavor and the Imperial Palace was also heavily damaged and vanished without a trace for millennia.
It was eventually discovered and excavated by the Great Zhou Empire. The Great Zhou Empire integrated countless magic items and treasures within to repair it and set the Imperial Palace firmly on the path of recovery. The Imperial Palace was the backbone of the rise in power of the Great Zhou Empire as well.
During the War of Buddha Annihilation, Liang Pan used this very item to defeat and kill the last Abbot of the Great Thunderclap Temple and solidified the influence and power of the Great Zhou Empire.
However, the Great Thunderclap Temple retaliated ferociously like a wounded animal that was backed into a corner, even though Mount Meru had already been laid to ruin. The Imperial Palace was not yet completely repaired, and was once again suffered severe injuries at the hands of the monks of the Great Thunderclap Temple.
Lin Feng had a close encounter with the Imperial Palace once before back on the Cloud Forest World. During that battle, he used Mount Yujing to clash forcefully with the Imperial Palace.
The Imperial Palace during that time was not nearly as powerful as it was during the War of Buddha Annihilation. It was far from the destiny-level magic item that reigned supreme over the Grand Celestial World all those years ago.
Lin Feng knew with a single sweep of his consciousness that the Imperial Palace before him today was nothing like his last encounter with it. Even though it was not yet in its peak condition, it was only a hair's breadth away; it was at a level that rivaled the power of the Immortal Dragon City and the Great Void Holy Pavilion, which were all destiny-level magic treasures.
The power of the Imperial Palace back in the Cloud Forest World was already quite incredible. The willpowers of thousands and thousands of subordinate and obedient citizens that wanted to serve the throne were channeled as raw power.
Great individuals of old were in service of the throne as well. They materialized as universal truths and unassailable natural law as their willpowers were channeled by the Imperial Palace as raw power.
Illusory fairies and servants roamed the halls and between the pavilions; they held divine nectar in their hands as if they were welcoming the start of a new and better world.
Uncountable numbers of saints and celestial beings hovered intimidatingly above the Imperial Palace.
During Lin Feng's last encounter, everything was just light shadows and illusions that existed inside the purple-golden radiance that came from within.
Now, whether it was the subservient citizens or the fairies and even the saints and celestial beings were nearly tangible. It was almost like a real Nine Heavens Divine Palace and commanded so much reverence and respect that people could not help but kneel before it.
Lin Feng, in the body of the Steel Tree Avatar, felt his soul tremble a little as he faced this frightening magic treasure before him; he felt as if there was an entire world of fate and destiny weighing down on his head like an anchor.
This pressure was even more intense than what he felt previously with the Fangzhang Celestial Mountain.
The appearance of the Imperial Palace swept away the white clouds and mist around the Yingzhou Celestial Mountain as the waters in the Ying Sea below raged and curdled as if it was boiling. The illusions of the Ying Sea in the immediate vicinity started to crackle and flicker before every single one burst apart like air bubbles.
Even though most of the spatial illusions were of the weaker types and there was nothing of the most powerful sort, there were some that were strong enough to trap even unwitting immortal soul stage cultivators. Faced with the pressure of the Imperial Palace, even these powerful illusions crumbled and fell apart like porcelain vases and disappeared into nothingness.
The Imperial Palace was not even targeting these illusions deliberately. The illusions imploded and broke apart from just the aftershocks and ripple effects of the Imperial Palace's descent into the area.
There was no need to avoid the illusions and no need to overcome the illusions from within - all it did was crush the illusions forcefully from the outside and all the mystical energies and laws that formed these magical illusions along with it. It was simply pulverizing everything with raw power and force.
Lin Feng laughed as he witnessed the sight. "Not only have they remade the Imperial Palace, they have also taken after the overbearing methods of Emperor Tai of old."
The Imperial Palace completely disregarded Lin Feng and the others as if they were not even there ever since it shimmered into existence - it plummeted downwards and lunged straight for the Yingzhou Celestial Mountain.
Liang Pan, the emperor of the Great Zhou Empire, had always known the right time to do things.
Under the influence of the radiant purple-golden light that burned like supernovas, the ancient magic formation of the Yingzhou Celestial Mountain started to shake violently.
Liang Pan had no patience nor the interest to wait for the changes of the magic formation to play out - he wanted to crush the magic formation with the brute force of his destiny-level magic treasure.
However, just as he was closing in on the mountain, an immense and immeasurably long streak of light surged across the void like a dragon soaring into the skies. Its length was truly limitless as it stretched across the heavens without visible end.
An unshakeable and unmovable aura came from this vast streak of light. It gave a feeling that it could protect everything in this world, as if all the destinies under the heavens was safeguarded and sheltered from all danger. In an instant, the formidable brute force of the Imperial Palace was repelled and forced backwards.
It was a piece of city wall that radiated with light for eternity; it was undying, and was the defender of all living souls for all time. It had a glorious and majestic aura that rivaled that of the Imperial Palace. It was forged by the very first emperor of the humans in the Primordial Age, Emperor Shi, and was ultimately completed by the Great Qin Empire into a destiny-level magic treasure - the Immortal Dragon City!
The clash of two destiny-level magic treasures!
The purple-golden light above the Imperial Palace flashed once and transformed into a green Chaos Hole and a sphere of green energy exploded from within.
Thunderous crackles could be heard from this ball of green energy - it was the Chaos Cave Saint-Slaying Thunderbolt!
All people who defied the throne were vanquished by green lightning!
Lin Feng's eyes closed into slits. The Chaos Cave Saint-Slaying Thunderbolt released by the Imperial Palace was a lot stronger than it was back on the Cloud Forest World.
That single sphere of green energy truly resembled a divine lightning strike that could break open the great Chaos when the world exploded into existence.
The Red Dragon King slinked away into a corner. His own Eight Barrens Divine Lightning was nothing compared to the power of the Chaos Cave Saint-Slaying Thunderbolt in front of him - even the power of the third-level Undying Demonic Soul stage Thunder Dragon King was possibly inferior. Furthermore, the Imperial Palace released multiple lightning strikes at the same time.
A figure suddenly burst into sight on top of the Immortal Dragon City. He was wearing the royal crown and wore a flowing dragon-patterned robe with an air of majestic splendor - it was the emperor of the Great Qin Empire, Shi Yu.
He glanced at the Chaos Cave Saint-Slaying Thunderbolt surging towards him and said calmly, "Liang Pan, you are finally in the stage of the Way of the Virtual Entity - the third level of the immortal soul stage."
The Immortal Dragon City shimmered with golden light as he spoke. It seemed all too normal, but the sphere of green lightning exploded against the wall of golden light without even causing a single ripple or dent. The ball of lightning crackled once and crumbled apart as it dissipated into green-colored mist.
The Immortal Dragon City was like a barrier to another world. Across the city wall was a chaotic mess of broken patches of void and lightning strikes while it was peaceful and tranquil on the other side with nothing happening at all.
This insidious outcome placed the power of the Immortal Dragon City on full display.
Liang Pan watched on calmly from inside the Imperial Palace. He was wearing a dragon-patterned robe as well, and was charged with the same majestic aura that only an emperor would possess. He was a lot more intimidating than before, and this came not just from the power of the Imperial Palace beneath him but also from his own strength.
The commanders of the two most powerful royal empires in the Divine Lands were just watching each other in silence after the violent clash of their destiny-level magic treasures.
"I have attained the Way of the Virtual Entity not too long before the reappearance of the Three Mountains of the Ying Sea, during the Spiritual Conference of Kunlun Mountains hosted by the Celestial Sect of Wonders." Liang Pan was sitting atop a dragon throne inside the Imperial Palace.
Shi Yu nodded his head in approval. "Congratulations. You are the first royal to reach the Way of the Virtual Entity stage since the inauguration of the Great Zhou Empire."
Liang Pan smiled faintly and replied, "This is just the beginning."
He glanced at the unmovable Immortal Dragon City before him that was completely undamaged by the Chaos Cave Saint-Slaying Lightning as he spoke slowly, "Not bad. The Great Qin Empire has finally completed this priceless destiny-level treasure passed down by Emperor Shi."
"Still, it's a pity. The concept of power used by Emperor Shi in the construction of this magic treasure meant that it's bound to be a defensive item with relatively weaker offensive capabilities for purposes of protection. Even the Imperial Palace at its peak condition is probably inferior - but defenders are always behind on initiative."
"It's not easy for the Imperial Palace to break the Immortal Dragon City, but the Immortal Dragon City can't do anything at all to the Imperial Palace. I cannot possibly lose in this battle between us and you can only sit there and take the beatings. I am still ultimately in control of the fight for the Yingzhou Celestial Mountain."
Before his voice dropped, another flash of purple-golden light flickered beside the Imperial Palace as another gigantic chaos hole appeared above the Imperial Palace. Purple-golden light started to condense inside and a black ray of light followed by another white ray of light surged out from within in the next moment.
The two rays of light intertwined and rotated around each other like a spinning top and roared towards the Immortal Dragon City.
The Dual Polarity Chaos Cave Divine Light!
Everything that the spiraling rays of light came into contact with immediately crumbled into nothingness. The explosive and destructive magnetism permeated the void all around, and even places a thousand miles away were affected by the magnetic ripples. Lightning sparks shimmered and crackled in the void, metal objects started to twist and their shapes started to change as the ocean water beneath boiled violently and evaporated into steam.
Even third-level immortal soul stage individuals would not dare to face this ray of divine light head-on.
This was the destructive power of the Dual Polarity Circle channeled to its highest possible level.
Shi Yu was still as calm as ever. "You don't know what you're talking about. I am the one that can't possibly lose this battle. It doesn't matter what kind of abhijna or spell that the Imperial Palace can throw at the Immortal Dragon City - there is nothing you can do to break through."
Colorful lights erupted again above the long city wall - out of nowhere, uncountable shadows appeared on top of the city wall. These illusions were standing shoulder-to-shoulder at the edge and the sum of their willpowers came together to support the Immortal Dragon City as they cried out in unison.
This war-cry caused the space all around to twist out of proportion and even immortal soul stage cultivators like the Tidal Sword Elder could feel their souls shaking to the core. There was a feeling of an ancient alliance of humans from the Primordial Age who came together to repel the uprising of the demons as they engaged in a blood-curdling war.
One for all and all for one - fearlessness and resilience in protecting each other.
This was the concept of power passed down over millennia. Everybody was shaken by the phenomenon and most even felt compelled to share a bit of their own power in support of the Immortal Dragon City to defeat its enemies.
The willpower of all humans in the Divine Lands seemed to surge through the void and into the Immortal Dragon City.
This great willpower was the true representation of eternity and a fire that would burn for all time.
Even the intense destructive power of the Dual Polarity Chaos Cave Divine Light could not pierce this eternal wall of light!
The explosive magnetic fields dissipated one after another as space-time became even more twisted and out of proportion. The clash between the two destiny-level magic treasures destroyed every inch of land in the immediate vicinity, and even immortal soul stage cultivators would evaporate into hot air if they came near.
"The battle of two destiny-level magic treasures is indeed spectacular," Lin Feng watched on deliciously as if he was watching a drama. It was the first time that he had witnessed the clash between two destiny-level magic treasures.
When he was faced with the Great Void Holy Pavilion and the Saintly Celestial Sword during the battle of Xiling City, he used his vast repertoire of techniques and tactical plays to fight against those destiny-level magic treasures. However, Lin Feng himself had never possessed a true destiny-level magic treasure.
"As I expected, their announcement that they were going after the Penglai Celestial Mountain was a misdirection after all. It seems like everyone is here for the Yingzhou Celestial Mountain."
"That includes me as well."
As the Imperial Palace and the Immortal Dragon City stood off against each other, the void started to rumble once again as another intense aura surged across the sky and flickered into existence above the Yingzhou Celestial Mountain.
It was a white jade mountain - a lot smaller in size than the Yingzhou Celestial Mountain, but with superior strength and power!