Sweeping across the heavens, starting with the first emperor of the ancient times.

Chapter 251 Divine Embryo Transforms into Spirit

Jiang Hao looked at Yuan Dao:

"Although your imperial weapon can last forever, it is ultimately just an object, not a living being. Your primordial spirit, once integrated into it, will eventually be assimilated by the weapon's inherent nature."

"Like a drop of ink falling into the ocean, in the end, does the ink stain the ocean, or does the seawater dilute the ink?"

"In the end, you may no longer be yourself, but just an imperial weapon that has developed a vague consciousness. Your memories, emotions, and self-awareness will be erased over the long years, leaving only the weapon's instincts."

This is the biggest drawback of this method of achieving immortality: human nature is hard to overcome physical nature, even for powerful emperors.

It might work in the short term, but it will be difficult in the long run.

Yuan Dao's expression turned serious, clearly indicating that he had considered this issue.

"I've also considered this issue," he said firmly.

"But I believe in my own Dao heart. As long as my will is firm enough, I can maintain my true self. Moreover, my imperial weapon is a gourd made from the elixir of immortality. It is full of vitality and should be able to slow down the assimilation."

Jiang Hao wasn't surprised to see the unique confidence of a newly enlightened being in Yuan Dao's eyes; the Heavenly Horse Saint Emperor was the same.

Newly enlightened people are like this, thinking that they are the only ones who matter in heaven and earth, and that they can overcome any difficulty by willpower.

The Heavenly Horse Saint Emperor was just as confident back then.

"You chose this path yourself." Jiang Hao didn't try to persuade him any further, but simply said calmly, "Since you've made up your mind, then give it a try."

Emperor Yuan could tell that Jiang Hao didn't think much of this path, but he wasn't discouraged.

Unique paths are often not recognized by the masses. Yuan Dao stood up and bowed respectfully: "Thank you for your guidance, Heavenly Emperor. This junior will take his leave."

……

After Emperor Yuan left the Heavenly Court, he lived a secluded life and rarely traveled among the heavens.

All living beings are accustomed to this, and the previous emperors all did the same after they attained enlightenment.

It's not unusual for someone to either go into seclusion to study the secrets of immortality or seek advice from the Heavenly Emperor.

In the blink of an eye, five thousand years have passed.

On this day, a clear mournful cry suddenly came from the depths of the universe.

All things trembled, and the Heavenly Heart Mark manifested spontaneously, radiating sorrow.

All living beings in the myriad realms felt this and looked up at the sky.

"Is this... a sign of the emperor's demise?"

"Has a great emperor passed away?"

"But this Emperor Yuan has only been enlightened for less than ten thousand years. He should be at his peak, so how could this be..."

All living beings were stunned.

Emperors typically live for over ten thousand years. If they take the elixir of immortality and live a second life, they can live for at least thirty thousand years in total.

Emperor Yuan was only in the middle of his first life, at the peak of his imperial life, so how could he suddenly perish?

I didn't see Emperor Yuan go to the ascension passage. If the ascension passage were opened, the Heavenly Emperor wouldn't hide it; everyone could see it.

Could it be that there's something wrong with my cultivation?

But I've never heard of a Great Emperor-level expert having such a big problem during normal cultivation!

There's no way they should have perished!

Just as everyone was speculating, a peculiar figure appeared outside the South Gate of Heaven.

It was a blurry humanoid figure of light and shadow, which could be barely discerned as the appearance of Emperor Yuan.

However, his body was a translucent turquoise green, and he seemed to be made of light, making him somewhat unstable.

It would occasionally flicker, revealing the faint outline of a gourd inside.

Upon seeing this, the heavenly general guarding the South Heavenly Gate was first taken aback, then greatly alarmed: "Emperor Yuan? What are you doing...?"

The Yuan Emperor's voice, emanating from the form of light and shadow, was somewhat ethereal and tinged with bitterness: "I wish to see the Heavenly Emperor. Please inform him."

The heavenly general dared not delay and immediately reported it.

Soon, Emperor Yuan was brought before Jiang Hao.

Jiang Hao looked at his neither-human-nor-art appearance and raised an eyebrow: "Is this the path to immortality you want to take?"

Amidst the light and shadow, Yuan Dao gave a bitter smile: "I'm sorry to have embarrassed you, Heavenly Emperor. This junior has failed..."

He paused, his voice still tinged with lingering fear:

"I underestimated the power of assimilation. At first, it was fine. My primordial spirit merged smoothly with the gourd, and I even felt that my lifespan problem was solved. But the further it went, the stronger the gourd's inherent properties became, and it began to erode my consciousness."

"In recent years, I sometimes forget who I am. Sometimes when I wake up from a period of seclusion, it takes me a while to remember who I am and not a gourd."

Yuan Dao trembled slightly. "If this continues, in a few thousand years at most, I will completely become a magical artifact with a spirit, forgetting all my past."

After listening, Jiang Hao had only one thought in his mind: this Yuan Emperor was indeed the phoenix chick of the Origin Realm, on par with the Heavenly Horse Saint Emperor, a veritable combination of the sleeping dragon and phoenix chick of the Origin Realm.

These two, one wanting to transform the secret realm into an immortal domain, and the other wanting to combine their primordial spirit with a weapon, are both geniuses who are capable of destroying themselves.

Only a genius could do something like this!

Yuan Dao was able to conceive of the idea that flesh and blood are weak and that machines can ascend, and he even put it into action. What a genius!

"What do you want now?" Jiang Hao asked.

"I beg the Heavenly Emperor to save me!" Yuan Dao pleaded earnestly.

"This junior knows his mistake. He shouldn't have been so arrogant. Now that his primordial spirit is deeply bound to the gourd, forcibly separating it will only result in his soul being scattered. I beg the Heavenly Emperor to guide him on a path to survival!"

Jiang Hao looked at him and thought for a while.

"I can save you," Jiang Hao said.

"Your condition makes you an excellent subject for research. Throughout history, there have probably been very few Daoists who have actively refined themselves into artifact spirits like you."

Jiang Hao was quite surprised; this kind of research material was extremely rare and precious.

After all, throughout the ages, there has never been a case of a Daoist merging their primordial spirit with their own weapon.

This is absolutely ingenious.

Emperor Yuan was taken aback, then realized that the Heavenly Emperor intended to use him as experimental material.

But he showed no dissatisfaction; instead, he said gratefully, "As long as the Heavenly Emperor can conduct his research, and I can survive and retain my consciousness, I am willing to cooperate!"

Who would want to die if they could live? Especially not to become a spirit without a self.

Jiang Hao nodded, walked up to him, and reached out to press his hand lightly on the light and shadow.

He used his divine sense to carefully examine Emperor Yuan's current condition.

The primordial spirit is indeed deeply entangled with the gourd's physical body, each containing the other.

Forcibly separating them is like trying to separate water and ink that have already mixed together—it's very difficult.

"Your situation..." Jiang Hao pondered, "reminds me of a possibility."

Emperor Yuan hurriedly asked, "Your Majesty, please speak!"

Jiang Hao slowly said, "Immortal artifacts possess spirits. If the opportunity is sufficient, the spirit of an immortal artifact can detach from its body, transform into a divine embryo, and become an independent being."

The Emperor Yuan's image suddenly brightened: "What the Heavenly Emperor means is..."

"Your current state is equivalent to a strange being that is half imperial weapon and half living being," Jiang Hao said.

"If we can upgrade you, the Immortal-Slaying Gourd, into a true immortal artifact, then as its spirit, you might be able to break free and transform into a true divine life form through the transformation of the immortal artifact."

Emperor Yuan was deeply moved, but then a question came to his mind:

"But Heavenly Emperor, how easy is it to upgrade an Imperial Weapon to a Celestial Artifact? Besides, I can't maintain this state for long..."

Jiang Hao smiled and said, "It's not easy, but it's not too difficult either. You've come at just the right time."

Jiang Hao looked at Yuan Dao and said, "I happen to be researching something that might be helpful to you, but there could be some risks involved. Are you willing to give it a try?"

Emperor Yuan replied without hesitation, "Yes, I am willing. Rather than slowly becoming a mindless artifact spirit, I'd rather take a chance!"