The Withered Chaos Region posed little threat to Lan Xiaobu. In less than a day, Lan Xiaobu stood outside the Withered Chaos Region.
“Are you Lan Xiaobu?” As soon as Lan Xiaobu emerged from the Withered Chaos Region, a cold voice sounded in his ear.
Standing before him was a short, frail man with skin as fair as a woman’s. A few sparse strands of hair clung to his scalp, and a ripple-like vortex on his forehead caused dizziness whether viewed with the naked eye or divine sense.
The man’s formidable aura reminded Lan Xiaobu of someone, Hui Zhi. But Lan Xiaobu knew Hui Zhi, and this man was clearly not him.
“Are you Huan?” Lan Xiaobu immediately became wary. Huan’s strength was no less than Hui Zhi’s. Lan Xiaobu had managed to injure Hui Zhi through careful planning, but this was different.
Huan was blocking his path, and it was obvious Lan Xiaobu had no chance to set up traps or killing formations.
“Indeed, I am Huan. Let me tell you something: I’m not Hui Zhi. You may have outsmarted Hui Zhi, but you can’t outsmart me. I can spare your life, but you must hand over one thing,” Huan said calmly.
Lan Xiaobu didn’t ask what Huan wanted, because no matter what it was, he wouldn’t give it up, not even a single spirit stone.
Seeing Lan Xiaobu neither speak nor flee, Huan said, “Hand over the Cosmic Mill, and you may leave. Of course, the Cosmic Mill must contain the Great Cosmic Technique.”
“How did you know I was here?” Lan Xiaobu asked calmly.
The first person he thought of was the Fourth Dao Sovereign. Only one person knew he was coming here: the Fourth Dao Sovereign. Now Huan was clearly waiting for him outside the Withered Chaos Region. If it wasn’t the Fourth Dao Sovereign’s betrayal, who else could it be?
A hint of mockery curled Huan’s lips. “Your disguise may be good, but it can’t fool me. From the moment you entered Anluo Heavenly City to the moment you left, you were under my watch.”
Lan Xiaobu’s heart jolted. He had been certain his disguise was undetectable, even to a Ninth-Step Great Dao expert. How had Huan seen through it?
As a trace of wariness toward Huan grew in Lan Xiaobu’s mind, Huan spoke again. “As long as you’re in the Great Cosmos, you can’t escape my pursuit. Believe it or not?”
Hearing this, Lan Xiaobu’s earlier apprehension vanished. He was certain Huan hadn’t seen through his disguise. If Huan had, he wouldn’t have waited until now; he would have acted long ago.
Perhaps Huan had set up a monitoring array along the path from Anluo Heavenly City to the Great Cosmic Valley, happened to notice Lan Xiaobu taking the second mine, and traced him to the Withered Chaos Region through spatial backtracking.
As for Huan’s claim that Lan Xiaobu couldn’t escape in the Great Cosmos, it was mere bluster. Huan was likely worried that if Lan Xiaobu fled, he wouldn’t be able to catch up, so he spoke to shake Lan Xiaobu’s confidence.
However, Lan Xiaobu quickly dismissed this thought, recalling Hui Zhi’s defeat at his hands.
With this in mind, Lan Xiaobu said, “Huan, if I’m not mistaken, Tu Liao has also come to Anluo Heavenly City, hasn’t he?”
Hui Zhi would never tell Huan about his defeat, fearing Huan might kill Lan Xiaobu and take everything he had.
Tu Liao’s presence in Anluo Heavenly City was surely to see the outcome. Lan Xiaobu had taken the Heavenly Dao Incense, and in Tu Liao’s view, Lan Xiaobu should have become a follower of the Cosmic Tree Spirit. Perhaps Tu Liao even wanted the Cosmic Tree Spirit to hand Lan Xiaobu over to him.
But Lan Xiaobu was certain that even Tu Liao wouldn’t tell Huan he had come to subdue the Cosmic Tree Spirit. At most, Tu Liao might have mentioned that Hui Zhi had suffered losses at the hands of Lan Xiaobu and Mo Wuji.
Seeing Lan Xiaobu’s calm demeanour, Huan knew he wouldn’t easily hand over the Cosmic Mill or the Great Cosmic Technique. He chuckled, and his Great Cosmic Law Domain surged forth, overwhelming the surroundings.
Once Huan had his sights set on someone, a mere Lan Xiaobu couldn’t escape his grasp.
Lan Xiaobu was about to ask Huan about the Great Cosmic Technique when he suddenly felt his Longevity Domain fall into a vortex, half of it devoured in moments. Lan Xiaobu frantically channelled his Great Dao laws, strengthening his Longevity Domain.
Huan, too, was surprised. Under the devouring power of his Great Cosmic Domain, Lan Xiaobu could still hold on for a while, which shocked him.
In truth, let alone Lan Xiaobu, even a Dao Ancestor standing before him would see their spatial domain vanish instantly, swallowed by his Great Cosmic Domain. That’s why, even when the Tianmeng Clan hadn’t made a move, Huan never considered the Ten Realms of the Great Cosmos a threat.
The Great Cosmic Technique he cultivated could not only annihilate cosmic stars but also devour all laws. A cultivator’s domain, built on spatial laws, was naturally something to be consumed in Huan’s eyes. Normally, when his Great Cosmic Domain swept out, the opponent’s domain would vanish instantly, leaving them bound and controlled by his domain.
Yet this infallible domain-devouring tactic failed against Lan Xiaobu. His domain didn’t immediately consume Lan Xiaobu’s Great Dao domain, and Lan Xiaobu was even reinforcing his domain to resist.
Huan’s Great Cosmic Domain subtly locked the space around Lan Xiaobu.
He knew this was the extent of his ability. To fully lock down Lan Xiaobu or completely destroy his domain, Huan’s strength fell short. Perhaps only when he reached the Ninth Step of the Great Dao could he achieve that. No wonder Hui Zhi was injured under the combined assault of Lan Xiaobu and Mo Wuji.
Since he couldn’t immediately devour Lan Xiaobu’s domain or lock him down, Huan stopped wasting effort and said slowly, “Hand over the Great Cosmic Technique and the Cosmic Mill, and I guarantee you’ll step into the Eighth Step of the Great Dao. If I’m not mistaken, you’re not yet at the Eighth Step. With your talent and Great Dao, once you reach the Eighth Step, I believe even I might not be your match.”
Lan Xiaobu chuckled. Huan was strong, and he likely wasn’t Huan’s match yet. But in this place, Huan wasn’t qualified to threaten him.
He had already used the Cosmic Dimensional Model to construct the spatial dimensional structure around him. There were no trapping formations or restrictions here, so he had no worries. Given Huan’s cunning, the fact that he hadn’t set up any formations here meant he had only recently arrived.
“Where did you learn the Great Cosmic Technique?” Lan Xiaobu asked.
The Great Cosmic Technique was with him, so he was curious how Huan had cultivated it.
Huan snorted. “How I cultivated the Great Cosmic Technique is my business. You might escape from me, but I can tell you with certainty: once the Tianmeng Clan dominates the Great Cosmos, you’ll have no chance of reaching the Eighth Step of the Great Dao.”
“Since you won’t answer, your Grandpa Bu won’t stick around.” With that, Lan Xiaobu’s figure flashed, turning into a streak of light about to vanish.
Suddenly, the ripple vortex on Huan’s forehead unleashed billions of spatial law ripples. Lan Xiaobu felt as if he were trapped in a maze of spatial dislocations and vortices. Endless annihilating laws surged from these dislocations and vortices, and Lan Xiaobu’s figure tumbled through the void, seemingly on the verge of being swallowed and reduced to nothingness by this terrifying ripple space.
So strong! Lan Xiaobu frantically activated his Longevity Laws and threw a punch. Great Dao Divine Ability: Rift Wheel Pattern.
His punch unleashed waves of Great Dao wheel patterns, making the billions of spatial vortex laws and annihilating laws conjured by Huan’s forehead vortex clear and distinct.
As these vortex and annihilating laws became visible, Lan Xiaobu didn’t continue attacking. Instead, he flashed away, slipping through the complex, overlapping laws with ease and disappearing without a trace.
The moment Lan Xiaobu vanished, the endless Great Dao wheel patterns instantly retracted into Huan’s forehead, vanishing completely.
Huan stood in the distance, staring in the direction Lan Xiaobu had gone, a chill rising in his heart.
It was clear that he alone couldn’t take down Lan Xiaobu. He would need to team up with Hui Zhi, and only with Hui Zhi’s Voidless Arrow could they possibly succeed.
Moreover, besides the Voidless Arrow, he’d need to bring his own Great Dao treasure, the Heavenly Annihilation Vortex. Someone like Lan Xiaobu could escape as long as there was the slightest chance.
Huan didn’t pursue Lan Xiaobu, knowing he couldn’t catch him. He turned to a patch of void and said calmly, “Since you’re here, show yourself. You’re also looking for Lan Xiaobu, aren’t you?”
As Huan’s words fell, Tu Liao’s tall figure appeared before him. “Tu Liao greets the Great Cosmic Dao Ancestor. Did the Dao Ancestor find Lan Xiaobu?”
Though he knew Lan Xiaobu wouldn’t appear now, Tu Liao still asked politely. He was frustrated; he hadn’t told Huan that Lan Xiaobu was in the Withered Chaos Region, so how did Huan know?
Huan sighed. “I found him, but he was too cunning and slipped away.”
“What?” Hearing that Lan Xiaobu had escaped, Tu Liao was stunned, as if struck by lightning.
Lan Xiaobu escaped? What did that mean? Could it be that the Cosmic Tree Spirit hadn’t made Lan Xiaobu a follower and instead Lan Xiaobu had taken the Cosmic Tree Spirit?
At this thought, a cold sweat broke out on Huan’s back.
Even if Lan Xiaobu had defeated the Cosmic Tree Spirit, Huan wouldn’t care; it might even help him claim the Tianmeng Ancestor’s position. But the chance of Lan Xiaobu defeating the Cosmic Tree Spirit was one in ten thousand, an almost impossible feat.
