When Lan Xiaobu’s divine sense probed the treasure, he immediately identified it as an array disc, at least of heaven-opening grade. He suspected it surpassed that, possibly a true post-chaos supreme treasure.
Moreover, he noticed attack marks on the disc’s perimeter and several people setting up an offensive array against it. The treasure’s high grade, combined with someone reinforcing it from within, made breaching its defences nearly impossible.
Several figures rushed over, and as Lan Xiaobu had judged, the leader was a tall man in a fiery red robe, his cultivation nearing the sixth step of the Great Path. Beside him were seven or eight cultivators, the strongest at the fourth step, with most at the Creation or Derivation Realms. “What’s your intent?” the man demanded, staring at Lan Xiaobu. “Human cultivators already struggle to survive in this universe, and you, relying on your strength, attack our Human Yellow City’s enforcer?”
Lan Xiaobu knew why the man hadn’t acted—he couldn’t gauge Lan Xiaobu’s strength. If he could, he’d have attacked already.
“Huh, Miji?” Lan Xiaobu, who’d planned to slap the man away, spotted a familiar face. Miji, with modest cultivation, was hurrying over, seemingly to report something to the tall city lord.
The weakest around the lord were Derivation Realm cultivators, yet Miji, with such low strength, could speak directly to him. Impressive.
“Oh, Friend Lan…” Miji recognised Lan Xiaobu, still finding him enigmatic, as he had been back in Tian Street.
“Friend Miji, you crossed the divine gate but didn’t gain a divine position, only to end up trapped in this godforsaken place,” Lan Xiaobu said with a chuckle. Miji just smiled, neither overly warm nor pretending not to know him. He knew this wasn’t Tian Street. “Friend Miji, you haven’t progressed much. Back then, a second-turn saint, now just a sixth-turn, not even reaching eternal life. Tsk, you’re like Wang Xiao’er at New Year, worse off each year,” Lan Xiaobu teased, not mocking but lamenting.
Miji, stuck in Tian Street, had barely advanced, and crossing the divine gate hadn’t helped much either.
Hearing Lan Xiaobu say Miji hadn’t achieved eternal life, the tall man concluded Lan Xiaobu’s cultivation couldn’t be high—likely Derivation or Creation Realm at best, with a top-tier concealment technique. Eternal life after nine-turn sainthood? Only the ignorant would say that. Such words suggested Lan Xiaobu’s strength was limited.
Though convinced Lan Xiaobu was below the fourth step, the man’s inability to see through his concealment made him cautious. He turned to Miji, “You know this man?”
Miji bowed, “Lord, I met him in Tian Street. His name is Lan Xiaobu. He reached Divine Lord there, and gave me a five-colour immortal mushroom…”
The lord understood. That mushroom wasn’t old, and Lan Xiaobu, a Divine Lord back then, couldn’t be too strong. His guess was correct.
He smirked at Lan Xiaobu, “You’re Lan Xiaobu? That five-colour mushroom was nice. How many more do you have?”
Lan Xiaobu coldly glanced at him, waved his hand, and a row of five-colour immortal mushrooms appeared in the void. With another wave, a pile of cosmic dao fruits, including a ten-striped one, followed, along with five-element dao fruits and various top-tier sacred fruits.
“Five-colour mushrooms? That’s the least of what I can offer. Look at my collection—which is inferior?” Lan Xiaobu said calmly.
“Good, good, good…” The lord’s eyes gleamed. This universe’s strong rules made rare treasures scarce, often snatched by bizarre species. Unable to leave Human Yellow City freely, he struggled to acquire such items. These treasures could propel him to the sixth or even seventh step of the Great Path. He sensed a vast dao aura from them, enough to transform his path.
Suppressing his urge to act, the lord said, “Follow me, and I’ll grant you a vice-lord position.” Though excited, he refrained from force. Unsure of Lan Xiaobu’s strength, and with him already in the city, where could he escape?
Miji’s heart tightened. He knew Lan Xiaobu far better than the lord. Back when Lan Xiaobu was a mere Heavenly God, he thrived in Tian Street, where saints abounded. Who could outwit him? With his knack for turning the tables, showing off such treasures wasn’t for bragging—unless Miji had misjudged him all these years. The only explanation was that Lan Xiaobu feared no one, not even the lord. Though improbable, Miji trusted his instinct: Lan Xiaobu’s strength was beyond the lord’s perception. Back then, hadn’t he rivalled the eight great saints in no time?
Many crossed the divine gate, but how many survived? Miji lived because of his keen judgement. His misstep with the divine gate wasn’t his fault; the gap between his path and its owner’s was too vast.
Lan Xiaobu swept the treasures away and asked coolly, “Who are you?”
“I’m Peng Guan. We human cultivators must unite. I hope Friend Lan will join me at the lord’s mansion to discuss important matters,” Peng Guan said, clasping his fist, barely containing his excitement. Lan Xiaobu’s treasures promised the sixth or seventh step. If he were at the seventh step, would he be trapped here?
“Friend Lan, beware of Peng Guan. He’s not inviting you out of kindness. He wants to kill you and take your treasures, just like he’s after that array disc. He’s not for the human cultivators, only himself…” Miji suddenly shouted.
His words stunned not just Peng Guan and the city’s people but Lan Xiaobu too. Was Miji this loyal to risk death warning him?
Miji knew he was betting everything. If his judgement was right, aligning with Lan Xiaobu was his only path.
He could’ve used a transmission, but Peng Guan might detect it. Shouting openly showed his willingness to die for Lan Xiaobu, earning his favour. Lan Xiaobu instantly understood Miji’s intent. This old fox was sharp, betting on his strength.
Though aware of Miji’s motives, Lan Xiaobu admired his cunning. Then it hit him—the array disc. Hadn’t the survivors from the Great Desolate Divine Realm, led by the Fate Saint, used an array disc to escape? Could it be the one his divine sense detected? Excitement surged.
If the disc was here, the Fate Saint was likely safe. If she was safe, Luo Caishi, Su Cen, and the others who followed her were probably unharmed, protected by the disc.
“Ant, seeking death!” Before Peng Guan could speak, a Creation Realm cultivator beside him slapped at Miji.
The aura of death crushed down. Miji, a mere sixth-turn saint, had no chance against a Creation Realm powerhouse. Seeing Lan Xiaobu distracted, as if unconcerned with his fate, despair flickered in Miji’s eyes.
Dai Nanjian, seeing the attack while Lan Xiaobu seemed lost in thought, stepped forward and threw a punch. Miji knew Lan Xiaobu, and he’d just warned him. Though only at the Derivation Realm, her sea of consciousness was tempered, her primordial spirit nearly tangible, and her combat experience vast. How could an ordinary Creation Realm cultivator compare? Her punch locked the opponent’s momentum, blasting him back, blood mist spraying as his body collapsed in the void.
