The entire void platform fell silent instantly. Some cultivators had been here for hundreds of thousands of years, but this was the first time they’d seen someone kill a Chaos River enforcer. Though not unprecedented, the last such incident was a distant legend.
Thunder Sage glanced silently at Lan Xiaobu and Mo Wuji, sighing inwardly. He could imagine the immense power behind the Chaos River’s managers. The seven Creation Sages of the Land of Eternity were likely child’s play to them, yet these two fiends, Mo and Lan, killed without hesitation. Fortunately, he’d aligned with them early. Otherwise, Thunder Sage might be on the path to reincarnation—if he even got that chance.
Lan Xiaobu’s gaze settled on a cultivator in the crowd, a man with a heroic appearance but an underlying sycophantic air. This was the one who’d reported to the enforcer that they’d killed Yi Tingdao.
Catching Lan Xiaobu’s stare, the man instinctively lowered his head.
“Step forward,” Lan Xiaobu said, fixing his eyes on him.
Knowing he couldn’t escape, the man stepped out, clasped his fists, and said, “Gu Yuzeng greets you, daoist. May I know your instructions?”
Lan Xiaobu chuckled, “Were you the one who said we killed Yi Tingdao?”
Gu Yuzeng already regretted his loose tongue. Why meddle in others’ affairs? Now he’d brought trouble upon himself.
“Yes, I spoke out of turn. Please forgive me, daoist,” Gu Yuzeng said, knowing he had to submit. The enforcer, a Creation Sage, had been easily slain. His own cultivation was likely less than an ant in their eyes. Regardless of their eventual fate, one wrong word now, and his end was certain.
“Whether I forgive you depends on your answers. First, who was Yi Tingdao?” Lan Xiaobu asked.
Before Gu Yuzeng could respond, he added, “You should know I can easily verify the truth. If even half a word is false, don’t blame me for being unkind.”
“Yes, Yi Tingdao was from the Qin family. His father is Qin Zhenwang, his mother Yi Yuan. But it’s said that when Yi Tingdao was born, Qin Zhenwang was cultivating a divine technique that made it impossible to sire children. So, Yi Tingdao wasn’t accepted by the Qin family and took his mother’s surname. Still, as someone from the Qin family, most give him some face…”
Gu Yuzeng started cautiously but soon spoke freely. It was all or nothing—speaking out might earn him the Qin family’s wrath later, but silence meant death now.
Lan Xiaobu looked at Gu Yuzeng in surprise. “Are you mocking my ignorance? The Qin family must be a clan with top-tier powerhouses. Could they not tell Yi Tingdao wasn’t their blood?”
Gu Yuzeng gave a bitter smile. “Yi Tingdao is indeed strange. He has traces of Qin family blood, yet his bloodline isn’t fully theirs.”
Mo Wuji chuckled, “Sounds like Yi Tingdao’s mother was quite… open.”
Lan Xiaobu and Thunder Sage instantly understood. Only if Yi Tingdao’s mother had been with two men in quick succession could this happen.
Clearly, the Qin family knew but kept it quiet to avoid scandal. Yet such gossip couldn’t be contained—cultivators and mortals alike loved it. Even Gu Yuzeng knew.
Judging by the expressionless faces on the platform, he wasn’t the only one.
“How powerful is the Qin family?” Lan Xiaobu asked again.
Gu Yuzeng replied, “In the Haoyuan Universe, the Qin family is a Dao Saint clan, with powerhouses closest to the fourth step of the dao.”
“So impressive, yet no fourth-step dao?” Lan Xiaobu said, disbelief tinged with surprise. He’d heard of the Haoyuan Universe, a mid-tier universe. A major clan there should have fourth-step cultivators.
Gu Yuzeng was momentarily stunned, inwardly exasperated. No fourth step? This guy acted like the fourth step was easy. Look at yourself—just a Creation Dao realm cultivator.
Mo Wuji suddenly asked, “Who controls the Chaos River? Do they have fourth-step dao powerhouses?”
Gu Yuzeng quickly said, “The Chaos River is controlled by Mengmu Dayan, the strongest dao court in the Haoyuan Universe. They manage the river and collect Chaos Stones.”
The white-haired man, silent until now, transmitted to Lan Xiaobu, “Daoist, if we don’t leave soon, once Mengmu Dayan’s true powerhouses arrive, we’re done for. They definitely have fourth-step dao existences.”
Lan Xiaobu didn’t press further, saying to Mo Wuji, “Wuji, let’s get out of here. This place isn’t good.”
“Agreed,” Mo Wuji nodded. Killing the enforcer meant the real powerhouses of the Chaos River’s controlling force would come soon, making escape difficult.
They’d easily killed a Creation Sage enforcer, but that was a surprise attack when he underestimated them. A prepared foe would be tougher.
“Let’s go,” Lan Xiaobu summoned a spaceship.
Mo Wuji and the others boarded, and the white-haired man stepped forward, saying, “I’ve nowhere to go. Staying here is death. Can I join you?”
“Come aboard, our ship has plenty of space,” Lan Xiaobu said without hesitation.
“Zuo Heng thanks you all,” the white-haired man said joyfully, giving his name and boarding.
As Lan Xiaobu’s ship plunged into the river’s waves, Zuo Heng exhaled, “Ordinary ships can’t linger long in the Chaos River, but we absolutely can’t stay on that platform. After killing the yellow-robed enforcer, green-robed enforcers will come soon. We should move along the river’s edge, ideally leaving this void and the Haoyuan Universe…”
“Are green-robed enforcers fourth-step?” Lan Xiaobu asked, puzzled.
The yellow-robed enforcer was already Creation Sage. Stronger than that—wouldn’t it be fourth-step?
Zuo Heng shook his head, “Fourth-step is no easy feat. Even in Mengmu Dayan, there are likely no more than five, mostly within their core. Creation Sages vary in strength.”
Mo Wuji frowned, “If the Qin family has no fourth-step, and Mengmu Dayan has several, why was the yellow-robed enforcer so wary of the Qin family?”
Zuo Heng sighed, “The Qin family currently lacks a fourth-step, but it’s said their ancestor surpassed it and is now seeking the fifth step. So, not just Mengmu Dayan, anyone in the Haoyuan Universe gives the Qin family face. Also, we can’t keep using the ship, huh…”
Zuo Heng stopped mid-sentence, gasping. He’d meant to say ordinary ships couldn’t fly over the Chaos River without being swept away. But scanning with his divine sense, he found the ship gone—replaced by a massive stone traversing the river’s waves, unshaken by the relentless surges.
The Seven Realms Stone? Zuo Heng sucked in a breath. He’d never ridden it but knew its fame as a universe-opening treasure. To see and stand on it was beyond belief.
“Xiaobu, speed up, they’re catching up. We’re no match on the Chaos River,” Mo Wuji said suddenly.
Lan Xiaobu felt a faint危機, and the Seven Realms Stone tore through the river’s waves, diving into its depths.
Two green-robed men halted above the Chaos River, frowning at the direction the stone vanished.
After a long pause, one said, “What happened? Swept away by the river?”
“It doesn’t seem like it. More like they deliberately plunged into the river’s depths,” the other replied, eyes flickering with unknown thoughts.
