Meng Buchen’s nine-pronged rake transformed into the Three Realms as he frantically retreated.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Principles exploded in the void, the white mountain finally blocked. Meng Buchen grabbed his rake and plunged into the depths of Tai Ruins Tomb. Fleeing outward would’ve been wiser, but he didn’t dare cross Zhen Changyuan’s path—he wasn’t confident he could.
Tai Chuan exclaimed, “Congrats, Sister Zhen, on proving your path! Your strength’s soared!”
It yearned to prove the Fortune Path too. If Zhen Changyuan was this powerful after proving fate, Tai Chuan would be unstoppable after fortune.
Zhen Changyuan was thrilled. Proving fortune had boosted her strength, though she wasn’t sure how much until this fight showed her she was on a different level. Merging with cosmic fortune, her divine arts aligned better with universal rules.
But that wasn’t the biggest gain. Proving fortune lifted a weight from her—she’d always felt uneasy, as if watched. That was surely Huang Buz scheming. Now, having proved cosmic fortune, she’d broken free of his calculations, shielding her celestial secrets. Even Huang Buz’s vast abilities couldn’t pierce her veil. Only now could she truly call herself a Longevity Saint.
The middle-aged cultivator, Jia Jing, stood stunned. He’d heard of Meng Buchen’s might—slaying multiple Nine Revolution Saints at once. Rumors said he was a Longevity powerhouse. Yet today, he’d lost to this woman, clearly a Longevity expert too.
Snapping back, Jia Jing bowed deeply. “Jia Jing greets Senior. Without your aid, I’d be dead. This man slaughtered countless innocents here for decades.”
Zhen Changyuan, unfamiliar with Jia Jing or the tomb’s events, nodded and asked, “Tai Chuan, where’s Junior Brother Xiaobu?”
Tai Chuan pointed to the tomb. “Big Brother went inside to train something.”
“Oh no, that black-clad man’s a Creation Path powerhouse, and he fled into the tomb…” Zhen Changyuan stopped mid-sentence, realizing her mistake. She didn’t fear Meng Buchen, so why would Lan Xiaobu, who’d driven off Huang Buz? Her concern had clouded her judgment.
Tai Chuan grinned. “No worries. That guy got thrashed by Big Brother last time. If he meets him again, he’s done for.”
Jia Jing’s back chilled, hearing of an even stronger figure in the tomb. Was this really Tai Ruins Tomb—or the Longevity Land? Right or wrong, he couldn’t stay. He bowed again. “Thank you both for saving me. I must go.”
He retreated cautiously, vowing never to return.
—
In the heart of chaos, Lan Xiaobu stood elated. His first visit here nearly saw him annihilated by the chaotic ruleless zone. Now, he stood unaffected, even without his Longevity Space. His principles carried Longevity’s ruleless flow, letting him blend perfectly into chaos, untouched by its assimilation.
With a thought, he vanished, moving through chaos like teleportation.
This evasion stirred no spatial ripples. Pursuers could only track him with divine sense, and if that lost him, they’d never catch up. In this chaotic ruleless zone, how could divine sense follow?
After several tests, he gathered more chaotic qi and left the zone. He’d proved both ruleless and ruled paths.
He could evade without ripples in ruleless zones—why not in ruled spaces? If he could move instantly in ruled spaces, leaving no trace, even Creation Saints might not catch him.
He tried it. His rule-based evasion flickered through Tai Ruins Tomb, but to his dismay, each move left rule or spatial ripples. Even minimizing them, he couldn’t eliminate them.
Any ripple, however faint, was fatal against a Creation Saint, who’d seize even the slightest trace to track him.
Standing on a mound, Lan Xiaobu pondered. What went wrong? Why no ripples in ruleless zones but ripples in ruled ones? Logically, ruled spaces should be easier, more familiar.
As he wrestled with this, a black shadow charged in.
Powerful charm fluctuations told Lan Xiaobu this was a Longevity powerhouse. Moments later, he recognized Meng Buchen—the black dragon.
Last time, Meng Buchen escaped. This time, Lan Xiaobu wouldn’t let him.
He threw out dozens of ruleless array flags, setting a trap-kill array. Before he could add more, Meng Buchen barreled in.
Fleeing Zhen Changyuan’s pursuit, Meng Buchen only sensed trouble after entering the array. Then he saw Lan Xiaobu.
“You?” His heart sank. He didn’t fear Lan Xiaobu, but if Lan Xiaobu delayed him and that woman caught up, he’d be doomed.
“Long time no see,” Lan Xiaobu sneered, his Longevity Halberd unleashing a wave of halberd surges at Meng Buchen. No need for courtesy with this one.
Meng Buchen knew he had no choice. To escape her pursuit, he had to deal with Lan Xiaobu first.
His rake swept up, instantly forming the Three Realms to envelop Lan Xiaobu. Killing him fast was his only way out—otherwise, facing both Lan Xiaobu and that woman, even as a dragon, he’d be trapped.
Lan Xiaobu’s halberd traced Rule-Breaking Wheel Patterns, locking all nearby universal rules, clarifying them instantly. Meng Buchen’s Three Realms divine art rules became equally clear. At that moment, even an ordinary Nine Revolution Saint could spot their weaknesses.
Meng Buchen was horrified—another rule-breaking art. Last time, it tore his domain, though his Three Realms countered it. But now, in so little time, Lan Xiaobu’s art was several times stronger.
It didn’t just tear his domain—it exposed his Three Realms’ flaws in an instant. He’d been rash, shouldn’t have used the Three Realms so soon. Time to flee.
As he thought this, his Three Realms split open. A deadly halberd surge descended, locking his vitality.
Meng Buchen’s soul nearly fled. He’d grown stronger, but compared to Lan Xiaobu’s progress, his was nothing.
No holding back now—his rake’s aura surged, the Three Realms’ killing force doubling. He transformed into a ten-thousand-foot black dragon, its tail lashing, shattering spatial rules. In moments, it grew to a hundred thousand feet, still expanding.
Lan Xiaobu felt crushing pressure. The dragon’s tail swept his ruleless flags away, dissolving the trap-kill array before it could activate.
Terrifying force bore down, shattering his Wheel Patterns into nothing.
Sensing death’s approach, Lan Xiaobu summoned the Samsara Bridge without hesitation.
Its samsara charm enveloped the dragon. The bridge swelled ten thousand times, reaching tens of thousands of feet. Lan Xiaobu stepped to its center, weaving waves of samsara charm.
One breath, one cycle; one halberd, three lives!
Rolling samsara charm surged at the dragon, halting its growth. Each breath of charm shrank it further.
Meng Buchen sensed the danger, struggling wildly to break the bridge’s lock. But no matter how he fought, the bridge held him fast.
Half an incense stick later, the dragon was down to a thousand feet. The bridge’s charm grew fiercer, wrapping the dragon in endless cycles, leaving Meng Buchen to flail helplessly.
“Friend, spare me! I know where the Seven Realms Stone is and will tell you…” Meng Buchen panicked, knowing without mercy, the samsara charm would erase him.
