Chapter 615 – The Primordial Emperor - Part 3

Eventually, Yun Ranzi was the first to waver.

“Let’s head back for now,” he said quietly. “If even a portion of those 6,000 gods have returned, the game has already changed. We simply don’t have enough information about the Western Extremes.”

The others nodded. After a few more polite exchanges, they began to withdraw.

Sheng'er watched Meng Xingxian with new eyes for the first time, feeling like maybe this wicked woman really

was

capable. With just a few well-placed lies, she’d scared off three of the Eastern Sea’s top cultivators.

But just as the trio retreated into the distance, the golden figure seated atop the black lotus suddenly opened its eyes.

Before Li Yuan could say a word, the three figures vanished like startled rabbits, bolting away in three flashes of lightning. Their speed was staggering, on par with Lu Xuanxian’s legendary instant-shift skill. It was hard not to gape in astonishment.

Li Yuan watched them go, eyes calm and calculating.

There was no question. He couldn’t catch them.

Even if they couldn’t beat him in a direct fight, if they chose to flee, there was nothing he could do. And once inside the ancient halls, when it came to stealth or deception, he’d be at a disadvantage too.

Bai Xinxuan had warned him of all this.

At the third rank level, every dean and hall master had cultivated some kind of escape skill. Once activated, they could vanish from sight in the blink of an eye, something Li Yuan simply couldn't compete with.

If he had stormed in recklessly instead of taking his time, things might have spiraled out of control.

A lion hunting a rabbit, fine. But if that rabbit suddenly sprouted wings? Then the lion would just look like a clown.

Li Yuan let out a thoughtful hum, then turned to Meng Xingxian, gave her a small nod and smile before suddenly raising his voice toward the distance.

“Stay.”

Just one word. But it thundered through the heavens like a peal of divine lightning.

A booming shockwave rolled through the air.

Far away, the trio paused. Then a voice echoed back, “What does the Primordial Emperor wish of us?”

It was Pang Si.

Li Yuan made no effort to clarify or deny the

Primordial Emperor

title. On the contrary, he leaned into it.

“I’ve heard there’s a beauty in the Immortal Domain by the name of Bai Xinxuan... I intend to favor her. When you return, tell her to prepare a place for me.” He paused, then added, “And gather your people. When the time comes, you’ll join me in exploring the ancient halls. We’ll seek the will of the heavens together.”

A moment of silence followed.

Li Yuan’s voice turned cold. “Are you refusing?”

“We understand, Senior. It shall be arranged.” Pang Si’s voice came back at once. Then, more hesitantly, he asked, “But...weren’t you heading to the Arcane Supreme Sect?”

Li Yuan replied smoothly, “I’ve decided to change course for a beauty.”

There was a pause on the other end. Then Pang Si responded slowly, “...As you wish.”

And with that, the three shot off again, disappearing entirely from sight.

Back at the ruined carriage, Ping'an, Sheng'er, and Meng Xingxian all turned to stare at Li Yuan in utter disbelief, especially Ping'an.

Third, Fourth, Sixth, and Seventh Mom plus Auntie Yao are still around...and you suddenly want the Dean of the Faculty of Seduction to prepare her bed for you?

Li Yuan glanced at the wrecked carriage, then clapped his stunned son on the shoulder. “Ping’an. Head back to your abode. See if you can bring your Sixth and Seventh Mothers over to stay with you for a while. I’m going ahead to visit Bai Xinxuan.”

Ping’an stammered, “But... Father, I mean... sure, Dean Xinxuan

is

beautiful, but this...this just doesn’t make any sense...”

Despite all he’d experienced, even he couldn’t wrap his head around this kind of madness.

Li Yuan didn’t blink. “Xingxian, Han Feng, Sheng'er, you three go with Ping’an. Take the secret art steles with you. If all goes well, we’ll meet again, maybe in a few months, maybe a year.”

Ping'an stood there, stunned.

But before he could say anything, Li Yuan had already risen into the sky, hands behind his back, and flown off into the distance.

Until now, he’d been weighing his options. But after seeing the three deans of the Five Spirits Institute arrive to probe him, only to flee in terror, his resolve had solidified.

These mole-like schemers were too slippery. If he didn’t come up with a way to handle them, they’d be a nightmare to deal with.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

Several days later.

“What did you just say? You want me to

submit

to him?” Bai Xinxuan’s peach-blossom cheeks flushed with fury, her apricot eyes glinting with outrage. She appeared as though she could hardly believe what she was hearing.

Across from her sat the remaining four deans of the Five Spirits Institute.

“Why would he even know who I am?” Bai Xinxuan demanded.

But no one answered her.

Pang Si kept his thoughts to himself,

If you weren’t so damn strong, I’d be the first to force you into bed.

But he didn’t say that aloud. He simply let the beautiful and deadly dean scowl at them in silence.

Yun Ranzi tried to soften the blow. “Dean Xinxuan, this Li Yuan claims to be the Primordial Emperor of ancient times. If you were to pair with him, that wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing... The path of Yin-Yang dual cultivation is mutually beneficial. Who knows? You and the Emperor might be a match made by the heavens.”

Bai Xinxuan’s voice was ice. “Yun Ranzi, are you really that blind? Li Yuan is

clearly

using me to test all of you. He’s throwing his weight around to pressure you into submission. Don’t think I don’t see what you’re doing. You want to shove me out there to seduce him, use me as bait.

Then, when the time is right, you’ll play the martyr, stage your ambush, and try to stab him in the back. And when things go wrong, which they

will

, where does that leave me? I’ll be the first one he kills!”

Yun Ranzi only laughed, not even trying to deny it. His look said,

Well, you’ve got us figured out.

Pang Si stepped in with diplomacy. “We’re five branches of one institute. Don’t overthink it. If this works, you’ll have played a key role. You’ll be honored.”

But Bai Xinxuan wouldn’t budge.

They coaxed, they pleaded, they tried everything, but she still refused.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

A few days later.

Three more hall masters from the Arcane Supreme Sect arrived in secret.

These were the Fire, Earth, and Water Hall Masters.

They had once explored the ancient halls together and shared some open camaraderie. But now, faced with the terrifying arrival of Li Yuan, they too had begun quietly discussing how to eliminate this growing threat.

At the same time, orders swept through the highest levels of authority.

All flying ships heading west were immediately grounded. Trusted subordinates were tasked with locking down access to the islands. No one was to be allowed in. Every spirit town was put under strict surveillance to weed out any suspicious outsiders.

Across the land, a massive wave of inspections began.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

Half a month later.

At a roadside stall, a burly man was quietly packing up his goods, rolling up the tarp as he prepared to head home.

By the riverside behind his house, a female cultivator was washing out a chamber pot. She spotted him and called out, “Han Tian! Closing up so early today?”

The man named Han Tian gave a casual smile. “It’s getting messier out there.”

His name wasn’t really Han Tian, nor was he some common cultivator scraping by in the city markets. Long ago, he was known as the Celestial Sovereign, one of the mighty figures of the Great Xia Dynasty.

After arriving in the Immortal Domain aboard a flying ship, he had gone completely underground, keeping his presence hidden.

Once he settled down near a spirit town, he began quietly siphoning spiritual energy from the surroundings, slowly nursing his strength back.

After all these years, he had finally clawed his way back to the fifth stage of the third rank, still a bit away from his former peak, but no longer weak.

One day, a flirty female cultivator teased him, “Hey, Han Tian...want to shack up with me? You look like you’re on your own.”

Han Tian was about to decline when she added, “They’ve been cracking down hard lately. You being single, me being single, definitely going to raise suspicion. So, how about it? Want to try being

together

?”

Then, the other women nearby burst into giggles.

Han Tian paused, thinking fast. “You don’t have a partner?”

The pretty cultivator batted her lashes. “Been waiting for you.”

Han Tian said nothing.

The two locked eyes, and the laughter around them only grew louder.

A few days later, the former Celestial Sovereign found himself lying in bed with the woman.

After their passionate entanglement, the conversation drifted to the current state of the world.

“Things are getting chaotic out there,” she murmured, curled against him. “I heard there’s some big figure called the Primordial Emperor who just showed up.”

“The Primordial Emperor?” Han Tian frowned, caught off guard. He’d been laying low for so long that news often took its sweet time reaching him.

She snuggled closer. “Yeah. Apparently he’s some horned-up freak, came straight from the Central Plains, didn’t even settle in properly before charging into the Faculty of Seduction and forcing the dean into dual cultivation with him.”

“A dean of the Five Spirits Institute,” she said with emphasis. “Someone that high up, who would’ve thought she’d ever see the day? I can’t even imagine what kind of man this Primordial Emperor must be...”

At the Faculty of Seduction itself, any female cultivator within earshot only had to tilt her head slightly to hear it, the strange, confusing sounds drifting from behind closed doors.

A mix of laughter and weeping, pleasure and pain.

The voice clearly belonged to Bai Xinxuan, and she did not sound happy.

Everyone blamed the same person.

The Primordial Emperor.

There wasn’t a soul who doubted that Bai Xinxuan hated him. After all, the way he called her name sometimes...it wasn’t flirtation. It was humiliation.

She, the proud and lofty dean of the Faculty of Seduction, known for her unapproachable standards, was now being toyed with like a plaything.

That day...soft sobbing echoed from the main hall.

The women of the faculty fell silent, not daring to make a sound.

But behind the tightly sealed doors, the icy goddess, the peerless beauty of the Eastern Sea, was nestled against the man in her arms, eyes brimming with emotion as she poured her heart into the role of a lifetime.