“Not bad, you still recognise me,” Lan Xiaobu chuckled, his tone laced with mockery.
Qin Qingtian’s body surged with frenzied principles, but Lan Xiaobu remained still, saying calmly, “Qin Qingtian, letting you escape the first time was my failure. If you slip away again, do you think I, Lan Xiaobu, could have made it this far?”
Though Qin Qingtian knew Lan Xiaobu spoke the truth, his figure began to fade. Yet Lan Xiaobu didn’t move. In an instant, Qin Qingtian’s dimming form seemed to collide with something, solidifying once more.
Qin Qingtian realised escape was impossible. This was his Chaos Path, yet it couldn’t be used against Lan Xiaobu. He took a deep breath, “Brother Lan, I’m willing to surrender the Chaos Path. There’s no deep hatred between us. If you spare me this time, I’m prepared to swear a Great Oath…”
Though he said this, Qin Qingtian’s heart burned with frustration. He, Qin Qingtian, was the most outstanding in the vast cosmos, destined to rule it and become the first to transcend this expanse. So why? Why was his body repeatedly shattered? And why had he crossed paths with Lan Xiaobu, his nemesis?
Lan Xiaobu stepped forward, kicking Qin Qingtian aside from his prominent position, then sat in his place, sneering, “Qin Qingtian, do you think I’d let you go? My only regret is not killing you sooner.”
“Hahaha…” A wild laugh echoed. It came from a man with a full beard and dishevelled hair, his laughter tinged with sorrow and rage.
Lan Xiaobu’s gaze fell on the man, who seemed vaguely familiar.
“Qin Qingtian, you have your day too, hahaha…” The man laughed maniacally again, then lunged at Qin Qingtian, sinking his teeth into his neck.
Qin Qingtian raised his hand to strike, but as he did, he realised the surrounding spatial rules no longer obeyed him. His Great Path was sealed.
Fear surged within him as the bearded man tore into his neck, blood spraying. Qin Qingtian could only watch helplessly.
Lan Xiaobu said nothing, silently observing as the bearded man bit into Qin Qingtian.
Perhaps having vented enough, the man tossed the now deathly pale Qin Qingtian aside and bowed to Lan Xiaobu, saying, “Thank you, Lord Lan, for saving me.”
“You know me?” Lan Xiaobu asked.
The man replied promptly, “Yes, I am Chen Manxing of Li Zhou Palace. I once had the honour of meeting you, Senior.”
At the mention of Li Zhou Palace, Lan Xiaobu recalled immediately. He looked at Chen Manxing in surprise, “How did you end up like this?”
When he had visited Li Zhou Palace, Chen Manxing was its top genius, handsome and charismatic, the dream of every female cultivator. Now, though his cultivation had advanced, he looked utterly dishevelled. Before Lan Xiaobu’s arrival, Chen Manxing had been kneeling before Qin Qingtian.
Chen Manxing sighed, his entire being radiating anger and resentment, as if unsure where to begin, his thoughts in disarray.
Lan Xiaobu asked again, “How is Zhi Yi doing?”
Zhi Yi was kind and honest. It was through meeting Zhi Yi at the Tai Xu Grave Plaza that Lan Xiaobu left the plane of the Great Desolate Universe for Li Zhou Star. There, he obtained the Time Tree, which clarified his Longevity Time Principles. Later, he left that universe with Li Zhou Palace’s leader, Shan Bu’ang, and others for the Land of Eternal Life, never returning.
Chen Manxing finally calmed down, saying sorrowfully, “They’re gone. Li Zhou Star is gone, and so is Li Zhou Palace.”
“Why?” Lan Xiaobu’s heart sank. He knew the Mortal Universe was in the same domain as Li Zhou Star.
Logically, since he had taken the Great Universe Technique and killed most of its practitioners except Huan, no one should be cultivating it, and thus, planets and domains shouldn’t be dissolving. So how had Li Zhou Star vanished?
Chen Manxing’s eyes reddened as he said, “Not just Li Zhou Star, but Tian Mo Star, Ji Sheng Star, Qing Mu Star, Huang Quan Star… all these planets are gone.”
“What happened?” Lan Xiaobu stood up. He was familiar with these planets and had fought their powerhouses when he first arrived in this plane.
If these planets were gone, the Mortal Universe was likely in peril. Lan Xiaobu also worried about the Great Desolate Universe. Though it wasn’t in the same plane as these planets, could it, too, be at risk in this vast cosmos?
He hadn’t returned to the Great Desolate Universe since leaving, unaware of any events in his absence.
Chen Manxing, now calmer, took a breath and said, “It’s a cosmic calamity. A vast cosmic calamity caused the rules of these planets to collapse, cultivators’ Great Paths to wane, countless cultivators to perish, and countless planets to crumble…”
Lan Xiaobu’s gaze fell on Qin Qingtian. “Qin Qingtian, it seems I killed you too late. Was this your doing?”
In Lan Xiaobu’s mind, only Qin Qingtian could trigger such a cosmic calamity.
Bloodied and mangled, Qin Qingtian hurriedly explained, “Lord Lan, this truly has nothing to do with me. I don’t cultivate the Great Universe Technique, nor would I stoop to such acts.”
“You despicable wretch, utterly shameless,” Chen Manxing spat, his voice thick with killing intent and grief. “Planets collapsed, countless fled for their lives, yet you took advantage, hunting down innocent cultivators like us with nowhere to go. Qin Qingtian, how many have you killed? How many souls have you harmed? Elder Zhi Li of Li Zhou Palace was slain by you. You didn’t just drain blood, you extracted souls for refinement, you monster. Look at the people here, which one hasn’t lost their planet and been captured by you? You’re just relying on your stronger path traces, you executioner.”
Lan Xiaobu chuckled, staring at Qin Qingtian. “Qin Qingtian, I wondered how you recovered your body so quickly after I shattered it. So, you’ve been playing vampire.”
Lan Xiaobu knew Qin Qingtian hadn’t intended to become a vampire. In the high-level universe, Qin Qingtian was too cautious to venture there, unable to find top-tier treasures to restore his body. So, he resorted to using cultivators’ blood and souls, a method that was fast but carried severe consequences and risks to his Great Path. Qin Qingtian likely chose it to regain strength quickly.
Knowing escape was impossible, Qin Qingtian fell silent.
Lan Xiaobu said coolly, “Speak honestly, and I won’t search your soul, giving you a quick end. Otherwise, I’ll search it. You might not care, but I have ways to uncover your reincarnation methods, ensuring you never reincarnate.”
Truthfully, Lan Xiaobu couldn’t uncover Qin Qingtian’s reincarnation methods. But he was certain Qin Qingtian had them, as such a cautious person wouldn’t leave his fate to chance.
Yet Lan Xiaobu was confident Qin Qingtian’s plans would fail this time. He had his own methods. Even if Qin Qingtian reincarnated, he wouldn’t regain his memories. Lan Xiaobu had already chosen his fate: to become a mere soul principle under his Six Paths Bridge forever.
A reincarnation without memories could hardly be called Qin Qingtian.
“It was the Great Universe Ancestor…” Qin Qingtian began, but Lan Xiaobu cut him off.
“Heh, if you dare lie, don’t bother speaking.”
Lan Xiaobu was certain it wasn’t the Great Universe Ancestor. Huan, the Great Universe Ancestor, was in the Great Universe, too occupied with cultivation or other matters to dissolve low-level universe planets here.
Qin Qingtian steadied himself, clasped his fists, and said, “Lord Lan, this does involve Huan. I don’t know if you’ve seen the Universe Wall. Each time it appears, a calamity follows. The Universe Wall varies in grade. When it appears in low-level planes, the calamity affects low-level universes’ domains and planets. If it appears in high-level planes, it impacts high-level universes or everything from low to high.”
Lan Xiaobu said coldly, “Do you think I don’t know about calamities? I’ve killed countless scum cultivating the Great Universe Technique, and even taught Huan a lesson.”
Others might not know Huan, but Qin Qingtian did. Hearing that Lan Xiaobu had confronted Huan, he shuddered and quickly said, “Calamities are indeed caused by those cultivating the Great Universe Technique. They know precisely when to cultivate aggressively to advance their realm. When the Universe Wall appears, they sense it and frantically push for higher levels, inevitably causing countless planes, domains, and planets to collapse. This level of collapse isn’t something ordinary Great Universe Technique practitioners can achieve. If I’m not mistaken, it’s likely Huan attempting the ninth step of the Great Path, and he’s succeeded.”
