The words spoken by the hulking young man resonated like heavenly thunder, shaking everyone to the core. At the same time, he descended from above in front of Yue Dong and Lan Yao and strode toward Xu Qing and Erniu. He walked decisively and with power, with every step seemingly weighing down on the hearts of those around him.

As he walked, nine major worlds hovered in positions at his shoulders, chest, abdomen, legs, and head, and they glowed with intense light and strong life force. The might of nine worlds caused strange colors to flash in the sky. Terrifying pressure caused the ground to shake. Within that immense force and horrifying tempest, this person created an indelible image within the eyes of Xu Qing and Erniu.

He was well over two meters tall and extremely muscular, like a rugged mountain that the wind could never sway. His skin was deeply swarthy, as if it had been tempered by both wind and sun for years on end, and honed into a gleaming onyx boulder. He had angular facial features, with strong eyebrows and eyes that glittered like piercing heavenly bodies. His gaze was sharp and penetrating, like thousands of galloping steeds or fires that could reach the highest heights.

Most dazzling of all was his armor, which was of the most exquisite craftsmanship. Every inch of it glittered with extremely cold light. The armor was inset with a host of jewels that shone blindingly in the sunlight, and made him truly seem like a star in the sky.

Xu Qing looked at this newcomer without the slightest expression on his face. After all, he had fully immersed himself in godliness at this point.

As for Erniu, he tartly sized up the suit of armor, then gave a cold snort. “You sure can strut around acting like you’re invincible. But you look more like an earthworm with a shell who thinks he’s a turtle! Tell us, who are you? Lord Ox doesn’t kill nameless nobodies!”

The burly man looked at them with icy cold eyes. Surging with energy, he continued walking toward them and coolly said, “I’m Lu Lingzi, tenth apprentice of Grand Emperor Netherflame from the Devilbird holy land.”

By the time he finished speaking, he was right in front of Xu Qing and Erniu, toward whom he thrust his meaty hand, in a move that seemed capable of grasping the entire world.

All of the godsource in Xu Qing erupted, and his godly authority covered him. Erniu glittered with blue light as an icy sealing swept out.

As they fought back, Xu Qing shivered from head to toe. Even relying only on fleshly body defenses, he wasn’t seriously hurt. But he was shoved backward. Yet only moments later, he was moving forward again. The authority of erasure surged around him, joined by the authorities of misfortune and the violet moon, which he used to probe his enemies, looking for gaps to attack with taboo poison.

Erniu’s defenses weren’t on the same level as Xu Qing’s. A palm strike from a nine-world Smoldering God caused him to explode into a mist of blood that tumbled backward. Some distance away, he formed anew.

“You’re pretty strong! But what did you mean just now when you said nearest

and

dearest? Don’t tell me

both

of those shrews are your daoist partners? Or is one of them a daoist partner and the other is a mistress?”[1]

Erniu lunged forward again, transforming into a host of blue worms, all of which opened their mouths to exhale frigid energy. He was working perfectly with Xu Qing. One used an icy sealing, the other used a powerful attack. Unfortunately nine-world power surpassed any of the godly entities Xu Qing had faced before. In fact, this person was just a step away from being an Imperial Sovereign. Xu Qing was extraordinary, and Erniu was very gruish. But there was a big discrepancy in strength here, and thus, no matter what tactics they resorted to, they failed.

Lu Lingzi hadn’t even used any divine ability, just the raw power of nine major worlds gathered into a palm.

Everything shook as Xu Qing fell back again, and Erniu exploded. Despite that, Erniu just kept talking.

𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

“No, that can’t be. How could your lover turn your daoist partner into a puppet? Hold on just second. Little Ah Qing, I think I’ve uncovered an itty, bitty secret! I think these three really know how to have fun. I’m talking very

fun

fun!”

Erniu suddenly shoved his hand into his own chest, pulled out his own heart, and crushed it. His heart exploded.

Strangely, Lu Lingzi stopped in place, and a rumbling sound echoed out from his chest. It was as if Erniu’s act of destroying his own heart was affecting Lu Lingzi.

“Uh, hey,” Erniu went on, “any chance the three of you are looking for somebody new to join you? I’m interested! And look, my heart is pretty amazing, wouldn’t you say?” ȑἈ𐌽𝐎฿ΕŞ

Erniu licked his lips enthusiastically. There was no doubt about it. Erniu was really an expert at shattering the atmosphere during any given situation.... Lu Lingzi had really made an impressive entrance. But Erniu’s words just now brought something different into the mix, and caused a scowl to appear on Yue Dong’s face.

Meanwhile, the coldness in Lu Lingzi’s eyes grew more intense, and he reached up with his left hand to touch his forehead. As he did, his forehead split open to reveal a blood-red eye! The moment the eye appeared, a sensation of authority swept out. Astonishingly, there were dao lineaments within the eye.

There were others besides Xu Qing and the Moonrite Region’s Heir Apparent and his siblings who could have authority before becoming Imperial Sovereigns. This tenth apprentice of Grand Emperor Netherflame was someone who had authority while still in the Smoldering God level.

The eye glittered with blood-colored light, causing a wild tempest to fill the field of battle. As it did, the entire world turned as dark as evening. The wind became everything. This was the authority of wind!

Where it went, the air shattered. Cracks appeared in the sky, all while glaciers rippled on the ground. Xu Qing and Erniu were sent tumbling backward like kites with their strings cut.

Erniu exploded over and over again. When he finally formed anew, he shouted, “Time to use a flashy move, little Ah Qing!”

A strange light flickered within Xu Qing’s calm eyes. Backing up, he looked meaningfully at Lu Lingzi, then pointed up into the sky. Colors flashed and flowed as the Sageheaven Pagoda dropped down through the stormwinds to hover above them. Without any hesitation, Xu Qing entered the pagoda. Erniu initially looked surprised, but quickly recovered and flew in after him. In the blink of an eye, the pagoda became as stable and unmoving as a boulder within the intense winds.

Upon seeing this, Lu Lingzi frowned slightly.

Inside the pagoda, Erniu stood next to Xu Qing and couldn’t hold back from saying, “Little Ah Qing, when I mentioned a flashy move, I wasn’t talking about this. I was talking about that jade slip the empress gave you.”

Xu Qing didn’t react to Erniu, and instead looked thoughtfully down at Lu Lingzi. In his brief clash with this apprentice of a Grand Emperor, he had sensed faint fluctuations of godfire. The fluctuations were so deeply hidden that, under normal circumstances, they wouldn’t be possible to detect. What was more, Xu Qing hadn’t sensed the fluctuations in his heart or mind. Rather, his fleshly body had detected them by pure instinct. Considering godliness ruled him now, his fleshly body was in a unique state. Without such special circumstances, he would never have detected those fluctuations.

As Xu Qing just stood there lost in thought, Erniu realized he wasn’t getting an answer, and it caused him to mutter apprehensively to himself.

I hate it when little Ah Qing is like this! When his godliness is dominant, he doesn’t have any respect for his elders! That said, why is he staring at Lu Lingzi? Could it be that he figured out some of this fellow’s secrets?

Erniu’s eyes narrowed as he looked in the same direction and tried to pick up on some of the clues.

On the other side of the defensive bubble, Lu Lingzi attempted to use the power of his authority to reach the pagoda. The stormwinds screamed, and yet they didn’t affect the floating pagoda in the least bit.

Upon noticing that, the Grand Emperor’s apprentice abandoned such efforts. Looking at Xu Qing through the bubble, he waved his hand. Instantly, a sea of fire raged out, augmented by the wind, which swept over the pagoda as if to assimilate it.

Having accomplished that, Lu Lingzi looked away from the pagoda, turned, and walked over to Yue Dong.

Compared to the hulking Lu Lingzi, Yue Dong looked small and weak. And yet, before Lu Lingzi could say a word, Yue Dong snapped, “Hurry up and take care of those two!”

Lu Lingzi’s expression remained neutral as he shook his head. “There isn’t enough time.”

His gaze shifted to the unconscious Lan Yao off to the side.

Speaking in a tone of complete dominance he said, “First, let’s resolve our situation. Although those two humans can evade my authority using that treasure, the reality is that they’re trapped. For the time being, we can ignore them. They won’t be able to get away before we handle our matter. Now, remove that emotion magic from Lan Yao!”

Yue Dong clearly didn’t want to comply. But she could sense how determined Lu Lingzi was, so after a few breaths of time passed, she reluctantly agreed. Reaching over, she touched Lan Yao.

The fate threads on Lan Yao that formed Yue Dong’s face suddenly dimmed. A moment later, they disappeared, and Lan Yao’s emotions returned to normal. A tremor ran through her, and she slowly opened her phoenix-like eyes. She seemed confused at first, but quickly regained clarity. Then she noticed Yue Dong and Lu Lingzi, and her face paled. All of a sudden, she remembered everything that had played out since she came to Revered Ancient. She remembered the experience of having her emotions manipulated. She glared venomously at Yue Dong.

“I was kind to you from the moment we met, Yue Dong! You were my best friend! Yet you dared to use a ruthless forbidden magic on me?”

Eyes flashing coldly, Yue Dong said, “We

were

best friends. If you want something to blame, blame the fact that you were born in the clan of a Grand Emperor. And you have very pure blood. As for me... I’m a nobody who didn’t have anyone to rely on but myself. This is a world in which the weak are the prey of the strong. And I have ambitions!”

Struggling to control her breathing, Lan Yao looked at her daoist partner Lu Lingzi.

Lu Lingzi looked back at her tenderly. “Calm down. We’re daoist partners, so I can explain everything. Although, given how intelligent you are, you’ve probably already guessed the details.

“Lan Yao, as the apprentice of a Grand Emperor, I have qualifications that surpass most other people by a longshot. But with my bloodline, I have no way to gain enlightenment of the heart of the legacy. Reaching Imperial Sovereign in that way will take far too long. My hope is that you can help me. With your bloodline absorbed into my body, I can become a representative of your clan. And then I can gain full enlightenment of the Grand Emperor’s legacy.

“Given my Master’s current state, I’m sure even he would give his permission for this to happen. Unfortunately, your clan is too influential. Therefore... I had Yue Dong get close to you and ultimately convince you to leave the holy land. That way, she could take control of your emotions. Then, when the time was right, I could absorb you. That’s the long and short of it.”

Lu Lingzi’s explanation caused the venom in Lan Yao’s eyes to intensify. Then she opened her mouth to speak. However, before she could do so, Erniu, who was watching the whole scene play out from inside the pagoda, slapped his thigh.

“Holy crap!” he exclaimed. “These holy lands people really know how to have fun!” His eyes glittered as if he had gained new understanding about how the world worked. “Except, why do I get the feeling there’s another plot twist coming?”

When his words reached the ears of Yue Dong, Lan Yao, and Lu Lingzi, their expressions all flickered.

1. As I mentioned in the last chapter, it’s not totally clear who Lu Lingzi was referring to when he showed up, so this is a very valid question, although also slightly insulting for obvious reasons. ☜