In the midst of cultivation, Lan Xiaobu barely felt the passage of time. After adding a Chaos Divine Spirit Vein, his absorption speed surged, and in the blink of an eye, a hundred years passed.
A century later, nearly half of the Divine Essence Pills Lan Xiaobu had brought out were consumed, and his cultivation had reached the peak of the third Quasi-Saint layer, just one step shy of breaking into the fourth layer.
Just as Lan Xiaobu was frantically drawing in the energy of the Divine Essence Pills to charge toward the fourth Quasi-Saint layer, two figures arrived outside the cave where he was in seclusion.
One was a man wearing a tall crown, his body exuding a heavy charm of the Dao. Standing still, he seemed to create a separate world within the surrounding space.
This crowned man gazed at the two distant mountain peaks without speaking, already sensing the fluctuations of spatial laws.
Beside him stood a Harmony God Realm cultivator. Had Lan Xiaobu been present, he would have recognized this man as the same Harmony God Realm cultivator who had observed him a hundred years ago when he broke through to Quasi-Saint.
“Senior, that powerful figure crossed his tribulation right here. We saw with our own eyes how he killed Senior Jin Fu. I heard it was a Quasi-Saint Thunder Tribulation,” the Harmony God cultivator said with utmost humility.
“Very well, you can leave in peace now,” the crowned man replied. With those words, he raised his hand and struck out with a palm.
By the time the Harmony God cultivator sensed danger, he couldn’t even react. Under that single palm, he was reduced to a puddle of blood.
The crowned man didn’t spare a glance at the slain Harmony God cultivator. With one step, he landed outside Lan Xiaobu’s secluded cave.
Lan Xiaobu and Bei Suting were in seclusion here. Others might not notice, but he could. Though Lan Xiaobu’s cave was concealed by a protective array, the intense fluctuations of laws couldn’t escape his perception. As for the spatial ripples outside Bei Suting’s cave, he dismissed them outright. With fluctuations like hers, she couldn’t possibly be a formidable expert.
The crowned man threw a straightforward punch. A sharp crack echoed through the void, followed by the rumbling collapse of the mountain peak.
Under that punch, the outer protective array Lan Xiaobu had set up shattered completely, and the entire mountain split in two.
Lan Xiaobu, mid-charge toward the fourth Quasi-Saint layer, was jolted awake, fury rising in his chest. Back when he crossed his tribulation, someone had destroyed his divine array, and now, during seclusion, someone was at it again.
Still, he didn’t emerge. Give him just a dozen more breaths, and he could break into the fourth Quasi-Saint layer, the mid-tier Quasi-Saint realm. That would mark a massive leap in strength.
Boom! Another punch slammed into Lan Xiaobu’s array, this time the innermost layer, an eighth-grade divine array. With just one strike, it shattered completely.
“Who are you?” a furious voice rang out as Bei Suting opened her array. She had just stepped into the fifth layer of the Harmony God Realm when she heard the assault outside.
“Fellow Daoist Suting, congratulations on reaching the fifth Harmony God layer,” Lan Xiaobu’s gentle voice came through.
Bei Suting landed beside Lan Xiaobu in delight, then warily eyed the crowned man, asking, “Big Brother Lan, what does this guy want? We’re just cultivating here, not bothering him. Why’s he attacking our cave?”
“Probably after the Divine Essence Pills I have. Too bad a mere pseudo-saint like him isn’t worth my time. I’ll deal with him, then we’ll talk,” Lan Xiaobu said, stepping forward to face the crowned man.
“Pseudo-saint, heh, you’re probably tens of thousands of miles away from even that,” the crowned man said, staring at Lan Xiaobu with an icy tone. His domain began to expand outward, his Great Dao laws slowly binding the surrounding space, as if claiming it for himself.
Lan Xiaobu acted as if he hadn’t heard or sensed the man’s movements, simply saying to Bei Suting, “Fellow Daoist Suting, step back a bit. I’ll kill this self-righteous pseudo-saint first, then we’ll chat.”
The crowned man paused at Lan Xiaobu’s words, then burst into laughter. “Has it been too long since I last showed myself, Pu He? Now any nobody thinks they can kill me?”
Back when the title of the Twelve Divine Emperors rang out, every cultivator would stop and stand in reverence. Yet today, someone dared claim they’d kill him, one of the Twelve.
Lan Xiaobu looked at the crowned man in surprise. “You’re Pu He? The one that guy I killed mentioned, part of some Twelve Divine Emperors?”
It had been ages since anyone brought up the Twelve Divine Emperors, and Pu He seemed lost in nostalgia for a moment before snapping back to glare at Lan Xiaobu. “It’s been years since a junior dared speak to me like this. Today, I’ll show you what a Divine Emperor is. Even if my Emperor’s status is as weak as it can get, it’s not something a runt like you can challenge.”
With that, Pu He waved his hand, unleashing a golden beam of light. His treasure was a golden whip.
As the whip’s golden light lashed out, an aura of slaughter merged with his domain. In an instant, a space-rending killing intent enveloped the area. Even Bei Suting, retreating far back, felt her heart pound in terror, instinctively stepping back further. She stared at the battlefield in shock. This kind of fearsome killing momentum, if aimed at her, wouldn’t even require a move, the pressure alone would leave her defenseless.
Lan Xiaobu deliberately held back. He knew that facing a saint, even a pseudo-saint, every moment he delayed put him at a greater disadvantage.
But if he couldn’t handle even a pseudo-saint, he’d need to keep cultivating in seclusion. Returning to the Eternal Life Realm otherwise would just mean humiliation.
Seeing Lan Xiaobu hold still, Pu He was momentarily stunned. He didn’t think Lan Xiaobu lacked the chance to fight back, after all, he’d killed his subordinate Jin Fu, so he had some capability.
Soon, he grasped Lan Xiaobu’s intent, this kid wanted to test how much weight a Divine Emperor carried.
Pu He laughed in anger, the killing momentum of his golden whip surging more than double.
Lan Xiaobu opened his eyes, rolled his hand, and the Eternal Life Halberd appeared. With a swing, he struck.
The space, previously compressed to its limit by Pu He’s domain, suddenly felt unbound as the halberd came out, everything opening up.
Even Lan Xiaobu was thrilled by his own progress. This strike carried no brewing of laws, yet the killing principles poured out instantly, as effortless as an artist splashing ink.
Chaotic, fragmented law shards took shape in a flash, forming an intangible, substanceless killing domain. You could sense it, but not touch it.
Layer upon layer, the killing domain stacked endlessly, no longer limited to the previous seven layers of seven realms, it seemed boundless.
Boom! The law-forged killing domain of the Eternal Life Halberd clashed with Pu He’s God-Slaying Whip’s slaughtering laws. Space trembled, the charm of the Dao shattered, and faint cracks appeared in the fabric of space.
Watching from afar, Bei Suting’s heart raced. What kind of strength could crack space and tear apart laws? Had Big Brother Lan quietly stepped into the legendary Saint Realm?
Crack! Even Bei Suting heard the sound of a domain ripping apart, but it wasn’t Lan Xiaobu’s, it was Pu He’s.
Pu He’s face paled. He’d never encountered such a terrifying Quasi-Saint. This wasn’t a Quasi-Saint, it might as well be a full Saint, and not a pseudo one, maybe even a First-Turn Saint.
As one of the Twelve Divine Emperors, Pu He knew his own strength well. Even a First-Turn Saint shouldn’t scare him. His ancient Dao, if proven to the First Turn, would far outstrip ordinary saints.
Yet a single halberd strike from this Quasi-Saint had torn his Dao domain and injured him. He was almost certain Lan Xiaobu hadn’t even used full force, waiting for him to build momentum before countering. In other words, if Lan Xiaobu had seized the initiative instead, Pu He wouldn’t just be heavily wounded right now.
Time to go, staying here was suicide. Pu He’s heart chilled, not just because he couldn’t match Lan Xiaobu, but from self-pity. He’d hidden for so long to reclaim what was his, yet he couldn’t even beat a Quasi-Saint. How could he, Pu He, take back what belonged to him?
In that moment, Pu He’s confidence began to crumble, his earlier swagger gone. For a saint, even a pseudo-saint, losing faith in one’s Dao was fatal, it meant the path forward was all but lost.
A more terrifying killing momentum swept in, and Pu He knew he couldn’t afford to dwell. Without hesitation, he turned to flee. Staying meant certain death. This Quasi-Saint was the strongest he’d ever seen, bar none.
Then Lan Xiaobu’s calm voice reached his ears, “Trying to leave? Too bad, since you’re here, don’t expect to go. How about this punch?”
Boom! A punch roared out, autumn sadness rising, and Pu He’s world turned bleak.
With the punch came an autumn breeze, and by the time autumn faded, life waned, grass and trees turning to frost!
Lan Xiaobu’s Feather Sound Kill from the Seven Sound Kills, a fist-turned-autumn, an autumn to slay a saint!
Under that punch, not just the season, but the entire spatial world grew bleak and desolate.
