The most common and widely accepted practice, of course, was to align oneself with a particular feudal state. One could even say it was for the greater good of the human race. It was because all nine states were situated at the borders, and repelling the foreign races and protecting the Son of Heaven were their original Mandate of Heaven.

At the moment, the situation across all nine states varied. Though the lives of the mortal humans were becoming increasingly difficult, they had not yet faced a natural disaster that swept across the entire realm, nor was life so difficult that it was absolutely impossible to survive. There were occasional isolated incidents of peasant uprisings here and there, but they had not yet led to the collapse of a dynasty either. In the past, when dynasties such as the Great Li changed hands, it was only after terrifying natural disasters had ravaged the entire human realm and left behind innumerable corpses in their wake that the people had risen up in rebellion.

Furthermore, the ferocious strength of the foreign races and the immense pressure of repelling the invaders ensured that the Emperor of Tang remained revered as the overlord, and the human race united.

The path of transforming Qingming into a mountain gate of the Palace of Absolute Beginning was also fraught with difficulties. For example, persuading the neighboring states—Jin, Zhao, and Ji—alone would be a major challenge. Moreover, the Palace of Absolute Beginning was currently focused on expanding its northern mountain gate, aiming to fully manifest the treasured lands...