After speaking, he turned to Bei Ji and Sage Qian Qi and said, “Wait here for me. I have a few important questions to discuss with Fellow Daoist Tu Wang.”
Zhao Gongming would definitely be fine here. He must have already left Tianjie, so Lan Xiaobu wasn’t worried about him. What concerned him were Tianjie and the Divine Gate—this place was far too mysterious.
At this point, even Sage He Ku wouldn’t stop Lan Xiaobu. Everyone was thinking about how to join the Great Wilderness Dao Court in a way that would leave a deep impression on Dao Lord Lan Xiaobu.
If the Great Wilderness Divine Realm and the Eternal Realm were to merge in the future, and Dao Lord Lan Xiaobu solidified his position as the Dao Lord, then one’s status in the Great Wilderness Dao Court would determine their future divine status. Therefore, leaving a good impression on the Dao Lord now was more important than anything else.
In a shabby inn within a small, rundown market of Tianjie, the most luxurious room had been taken over by Lan Xiaobu and Tu Wang. The innkeeper, eager to leave a good impression on Lan Xiaobu, had even barred anyone else from entering the inn during this time.
“Tu Wang pays his respects to Dao Lord Lan,” Tu Wang said, performing a respectful salute before answering Lan Xiaobu’s questions.
If one could rise, one must also know how to lower themselves. Since Lan Xiaobu was now the Dao Lord, Tu Wang needed to adjust his mindset and strive to secure a favorable position.
Lan Xiaobu waved his hand, signaling Tu Wang to sit, and then said, “Fellow Daoist Tu, tell me how you left Tianjie without crossing the Divine Gate.”
Tu Wang sighed and said, “Dao Lord, you haven’t been in Tianjie for long, so you might not have a deep understanding of it. Some people have noticed that the rules of Tianjie are somewhat strange, even artificial. By the way, Dao Lord, you seemed to have undergone your tribulation and advanced to the God Monarch Realm in Tianjie Square…”
At this point, Tu Wang’s expression changed. He realized he had been too careless. Lan Xiaobu undergoing his tribulation in Tianjie Square to become a God Monarch was clearly problematic. This Dao Lord’s position seemed unstable. Pledging allegiance to Lan Xiaobu now might not be the right choice.
Lan Xiaobu immediately noticed Tu Wang’s change in expression and chuckled, “Fellow Daoist Tu, don’t worry. After undergoing my tribulation and becoming a God Monarch, I immediately sensed something was wrong, so I severed my connection to that path.”
Hearing that Lan Xiaobu had severed his path, Tu Wang breathed a sigh of relief and said with admiration, “Dao Lord’s insight is truly beyond our reach. Both Tianjie and Tianjie Square, even the Divine Gate, have artificial Dao principles embedded within them. Staying in Tianjie for too long would lead to being influenced by these Dao principles. We’re relatively lucky because cultivation is restricted in Tianjie, so although we’ve been tainted by these Dao principles, it’s not a dead end. But those who have crossed the Divine Gate might have completely become puppets under someone else’s control…”
Tu Wang genuinely admired Lan Xiaobu. How long had Lan Xiaobu been in Tianjie? Yet he had already seen through the issues with the spatial rules of Tianjie. Meanwhile, they had been in Tianjie for years without noticing anything. The key was that when Lan Xiaobu first arrived in Tianjie, he was only at the Heavenly God Realm. No wonder Lan Xiaobu was the Dao Lord, while they were mere pawns.
Lan Xiaobu felt a chill inwardly. Fortunately, he had met Guan Huan, and Guan Huan was exceptionally powerful. It was Guan Huan who had told him that the heavenly rules of Tianjie were problematic, which led him to decide to sever his path.
Wait, Guan Huan must have sensed the issues with Tianjie and the Divine Gate early on because he had created his own Mortal Dao. That’s why Guan Huan had never approached Tianjie or considered crossing the Divine Gate.
If Lan Xiaobu hadn’t met Guan Huan, he might not have been able to sever his path by now. The fact that he could sever his path was not only due to meeting Guan Huan but also because he cultivated his own self-created Eternal Dao. The reason he hadn’t sensed the issues as quickly as Guan Huan was simply because his cultivation level was too low.
“At first, many people only felt that something was off. It wasn’t until Emperor Houhen touched that strange heavenly rule in Tianjie that everyone was jolted awake…”
“Emperor Houhen?” Lan Xiaobu asked. Someone who could sense the anomalies in Tianjie’s rules must be a formidable figure.
Tu Wang quickly explained, “Yes, Emperor Houhen. He possesses a divine status, but his sagehood existed before the Cataclysmic Tribulation. After the Cataclysmic Tribulation, the heavenly rules were reestablished, and even our divine realm was re-fused. Although his divine status still brings him benefits, it now has limitations.”
“What kind of divine status?” Lan Xiaobu wasn’t very familiar with divine or sage statuses, so he asked casually.
Tu Wang said, “He was one of the twelve Divine Emperors, a figure of extraordinary status and strength.”
Lan Xiaobu nodded, “Continue.”
“After discovering the issues with Tianjie and the Divine Gate, all the powerful figures in Tianjie were unwilling to stay any longer. Previously, they had stayed because of the allure of the Divine Gate, but now the Divine Gate was like poison to them. Except for those who had already crossed the Divine Gate, all the remaining powerful figures gathered together to discuss and eventually came up with a brute-force solution…”
Hearing this, Lan Xiaobu guessed that it must be similar to the method Guan Huan used—tearing through the void together.
But aside from him, no one else here possessed the destructive Dao aura from the Cataclysmic Tribulation.
Tu Wang said, “Even with everyone working together, there was only one chance to tear through the void.”
Lan Xiaobu understood this, even if others didn’t. In Tianjie, once divine energy was consumed, it couldn’t be replenished.
“Everyone was worried that someone might hold back. If anyone held back, those who expended their divine energy would be doomed. So, after choosing the location, everyone swore a solemn oath not to hold back.”
Hearing this, Lan Xiaobu began to believe it. The people left in Tianjie were already weak. If anyone held back in such a situation, there would be no way to tear through the void.
“There were 607 people left in Tianjie. After swearing the oath, everyone burned their essence blood and acted together. Among them, Sage Wang Lun of Destruction contributed the most. He had comprehended a trace of the destructive Dao aura, and it was this trace that tore a slit in the void. It was also because of this slit that everyone poured their full strength into it, finally tearing open the void of Tianjie. Once the void was torn open, everyone scattered. I rushed out from there and accidentally got caught in a void array gate, which brought me here.”
Tu Wang finished in one breath, recalling the scene with lingering fear.
Lan Xiaobu also understood. The powerful figures from Tianjie had gone their separate ways, and Tu Wang had no idea where they ended up. In other words, Tu Wang’s arrival here was a stroke of luck among luck.
Seeing Lan Xiaobu silent, Tu Wang continued, “Dao Lord, if you ever meet Wang Lun in the future, you must be careful. This man is ruthless and cruel. Not only is he incredibly powerful, but he also annihilates entire realms without hesitation.”
To Tu Wang, whether Wang Lun annihilated entire realms or not was of no concern. However, being cunning, he knew that Lan Xiaobu disliked such ruthless individuals, so he mentioned it to create a sense of camaraderie with Lan Xiaobu. After all, such words cost him nothing.
“Fellow Daoist Tu, I entered Tianjie with Wang Lun, and I’ve seen his strength before. This Sage of Destruction seems rather ordinary. Not just him, even that Sage of Curses, Ming Changxiao, seems mediocre to me,” Lan Xiaobu said, unable to help himself when Tu Wang warned him about Wang Lun.
Tu Wang chuckled, “Wang Lun, ordinary? You probably haven’t seen him at his most ferocious. In Tianjie, he might seem ordinary, but if he fully recovers his strength in the Great Wilderness Divine Realm, even dozens of Sage He Ku wouldn’t be enough to kill him. As for that Sage of Curses, Ming Changxiao, he truly is mediocre.”
“What about the Sage of Death? And since you’re not the Sage of Death, how did you obtain the Minor Death Technique?” Lan Xiaobu remembered the Minor Death Technique he had obtained from Tu Wang.
Lan Xiaobu agreed with Tu Wang’s explanation. When he had met Wang Lun, the latter had been severely injured or had his strength suppressed to almost nothing. Even in Tianjie, Wang Lun couldn’t fully exert his strength. If Wang Lun were to recover his full strength, he would likely be as formidable as Tu Wang described.
Tu Wang explained, “My Minor Death Technique was indeed obtained from the Sage of Death. I traded some top-tier treasures for it. Unfortunately, I couldn’t cultivate the Minor Death Technique. As for the one I sold to you, I used some divine abilities to make it disappear after a few days, and it would return to me. What I didn’t expect was that after selling it to you, my own technique also disappeared. I didn’t dare ask if you had tampered with it.”
Lan Xiaobu finally understood. Tu Wang didn’t possess the Major Death Technique but had used a divine ability to obtain it. As for Tu Wang’s Minor Death Technique disappearing, that was normal because Lan Xiaobu had reconstructed the Major Death Technique. Not only Tu Wang’s, but even the true Sage of Death’s Major Death Technique would have disappeared by now.
“Fellow Daoist Tu, since so many powerful figures in Tianjie chose to leave the place they once longed for, is Tianjie man-made? Was it created to trap people?” Lan Xiaobu continued to ask.
Tu Wang shook his head, “No, Tianjie has always existed, and the Divine Gate has always existed. Crossing the Divine Gate to obtain a divine status isn’t a lie or a fabrication—it’s real. It’s just that a peerless powerhouse later tampered with it. This powerhouse must have had grand ambitions, otherwise, they wouldn’t have left their Dao principles in Tianjie and the Divine Gate.”
“Do the people in Tianjie know who tampered with it?” Lan Xiaobu quickly asked.
Tu Wang said, “No one is certain, but according to Emperor Houhen’s speculation, it’s likely the work of the Sage of Curses.”
“The Sage of Curses? Ming Changxiao? He’s capable of that?” Lan Xiaobu looked at Tu Wang in confusion. He was certain that in Tianjie, there were at least a hundred people who could easily kill Ming Changxiao.
Tu Wang sneered, “Ming Changxiao is nothing. He doesn’t deserve to be called the Sage of Curses. He merely obtained the Major Curse Technique from the true Sage of Curses. The real Sage of Curses is Fang Zhifan. Fang Zhifan definitely isn’t dead. When he returns, Ming Changxiao will be waiting to have his soul extracted and refined.”
