Slowly, gradually, he began to feel waves of pain, the pain of the injuries on his body.

Cao Zhen slowly regained consciousness.

He didn't even know how long he had been unconscious, but now that he had come to, he found that the wounds on his body had already formed scars, indicating he had been unconscious for quite some time. Then, he looked up ahead.

In his line of sight, a figure appeared.

His gaze had barely met the other person's face before a feeling arose in his heart, an impulse to kneel in worship to them.

He had seen many countenances of dignity, but no one he had ever seen could compare to the person before him.

Although this person was dressed in what appeared to be exceedingly ordinary white garments, a glance filled his heart with the sensation that he was looking at an emperor, one who ruled countless territories and numerous Immortal Sects!

"Your body is stronger than I anticipated. Moreover, I have never seen anyone of your caliber at the Golden Core Sixth Stage. Not even in my own era have I encountered such,"

The other's voice came slowly, as imposing as his appearance, filled with endless majesty.

"Where am I?" Cao Zhen looked at the person before him, a puzzled look in his eyes, remembering a palace that had emerged and taken him in.

But the question was, who was the person before him?

Was he still inside the palace, or was he outside it?

And if the person spoke of 'his era', then this individual undoubtedly didn't belong to this time period. Surely, such a long-lived being couldn't possibly be at the Golden Core Stage, much less within the Earth Immortal Realm.

Yet such a being should be in a state of unconsciousness now, but here they stood before him.

The other person slowly began to answer, "Naturally, you're within the ruins, and as of now, you're the only one in the entire ruins."

"Ruins? Then... may I ask who you are?" Cao Zhen instinctively wanted to address him as a senior, but remembering his identity as a reincarnated Great Ability, he withheld the words.

"Me? You may call me Emperor Skywind." As Emperor Skywind said this, pride appeared on his face. However, observing that there was no change in Cao Zhen's expression, he realized, and shook his head, saying, "It seems I've forgotten, you are a reincarnated Great Ability. You do not know of the Tianfeng Dynasty, which clearly indicates you are from an era prior to my existence."

As Emperor Skywind spoke, his body turned somewhat translucent, and he looked less substantial.

Although it was a subtle change, Cao Zhen instantly felt something different; previously, he had seen the other as a real living person, but now he felt as if the other was not a person, but rather a lingering image.

Emperor Skywind also sensed the change in himself and said softly, "You see, my body is beginning to transform. The power I had left behind was supposed to last a while longer, but it has been excessively depleted saving you earlier, and I fear I will not last much longer. Now, listen to me."

Cao Zhen, shocked by Emperor Skywind's words, realized that the other was indeed not a person but a lingering power.

Before, he too had entered ruins and had seen the image left by the Heaven Illusion Sword Monarch, which seemed more like a lifeless program, performing the same sword moves for everyone it encountered.

The power before him, however, couldn't just be described as an image; the figure seemed as real as any living person, and this was after countless years of existence.

What heights had this person reached before?

And why did the creator of these ruins, as seen before, not match this person before him, but now, this person seemed more like the true master of the ruins?

Confused, Cao Zhen watched as Emperor Skywind raised his hand and unfurled a white scroll in front of him.

Was this, the five pictures he had seen before?

Now the five pictures had fused into one, but why couldn't he feel any power emanating from the scroll?

Without waiting for Cao Zhen to speak, Emperor Skywind pointed to the scroll and said, "This scroll is known as the Prosperous Age Picture Record! The ruins you saw before were transformed from this scroll, and I am its third owner. You are the fourth!"

Cao Zhen finally understood why the person he had seen was different from Emperor Skywind before him—it turned out Emperor Skywind was a later owner of the scroll, the successor of the ruins.

Emperor Skywind continued, "The first owner of this scroll was the Merciful Immortal Lord. Back when you were a reincarnated Great Ability, you surely knew that all beings, including Cultivators, can be considered children of the Heavenly Dao. Even though the Heavenly Dao poses challenges to Cultivators during breakthroughs, like instigating the Heavenly Tribulation, it's more of a test than anything else.

In fact, the Heavenly Dao still provides protection to Cultivators. However, when Cultivators reach a certain level of Cultivation Base, when they seek to stand as equals with the Heavenly Dao, or even challenge it, they become rebels in the eyes of the Heavenly Dao."

"The Heavenly Dao will not permit such powers to exist, hence it will eliminate the Cultivators. Not just one, but all Cultivators above the Earth Immortal Realm in the entire world—it seeks to extinguish them all!"

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