While Pu He Divine Emperor healed on the deck of the Reincarnation Pot, Lan Xiaobu didn’t offer him any Dao fruits or primordial life essence. This guy was an ancient powerhouse after all, surely he had better stuff than Lan Xiaobu. Besides, he’d been injured attacking Lan Xiaobu’s cave, so a bit more suffering was only fair.
Lan Xiaobu’s guess was spot on. Not only did Pu He have Dao fruits, they were top-grade healing ones. In less than a day, his injuries were nearly fully recovered. Lan Xiaobu suspected that even if he blasted Pu He’s body to bits, the guy could restore himself in no time.
The Reincarnation Pot moved swiftly. Two days later, as it sped through the void, it suddenly halted, then veered in a new direction.
“Uh, Dao Lord, Nirvana Divine City isn’t this way. Are we off course?” Pu He Divine Emperor, now fully healed and scanning their surroundings, couldn’t help but speak up.
Lan Xiaobu replied calmly, “I know. I just sensed something’s happened at an old friend’s place, so we’re making a detour to check it out.”
Something happened? Pu He extended his divine sense, finding nothing nearby. But in just a dozen breaths, a scene of broken walls and ruins entered his range.
Pu He sighed inwardly. Forget strength, even his divine sense paled compared to Lan Xiaobu’s. In those few breaths, how far had the Reincarnation Pot traveled? Yet his sense lagged so far behind. Comparing oneself to others was a losing game, he’d thought himself unmatched in the Rootless Divine Realm, untouchable by most. Now, he wondered if he was just mediocre.
The Reincarnation Pot stopped, and two fractured jade characters lay at Lan Xiaobu’s feet.
“Thunder Sword?” Pu He asked, puzzled. The characters were indeed “Thunder” and “Sword.”
Lan Xiaobu took a few steps, uncovering two more broken jade pieces: “Manor.”
“This is Thunder Sword Manor, a friend’s home. From the looks of it, it was destroyed not long ago,” Lan Xiaobu said, his tone tinged with worry.
Thunder Sword Manor belonged to Xi Nianmo, who’d told Lan Xiaobu she’d rebuild it. How long had it been? A rebuilt manor, razed again.
Xi Nianmo, who’d founded it, was a Quasi-Saint. With cosmic rules refining, even if she didn’t advance, her strength should’ve grown. Even if it hadn’t, who in the Rootless Divine Realm could challenge a Quasi-Saint? And why would anyone provoke one without cause?
This wasn’t the Eternal Life Realm, where Quasi-Saints were dime a dozen.
Lan Xiaobu pulled out a communication bead and sent Xi Nianmo a message. No response came, heightening his concern.
Pu He sensed Lan Xiaobu’s unease and stepped back slightly. Though an ancient Divine Emperor, he rarely paid attention to external affairs, so he knew nothing of Thunder Sword Manor or Xi Nianmo, a Quasi-Saint.
Lan Xiaobu waved his hands, casting a series of gestures. Space began to warp and ripple. After an incense stick’s time, two shadowy figures appeared in the void. Though their forms were indistinct, Lan Xiaobu recognized one as Xi Nianmo. The other, stronger than her, had gravely injured her before she fled.
Pu He watched the spatial shift, dumbfounded. This technique…
Forget him, could even the saints he’d known back then pull this off?
This was top-tier spacetime retracing. Judging by the ruins, Thunder Sword Manor had been wrecked months ago. To rewind spatial images so clearly after that long, what kind of Dao did Lan Xiaobu cultivate? What method was this?
While Pu He marveled, Lan Xiaobu returned to the Reincarnation Pot. “Pu He, get up here. We’re going to help.”
As Pu He stepped aboard, the pot vanished from its spot in an instant.
Feeling its rapid flight, Pu He wanted to ask how Lan Xiaobu knew Xi Nianmo’s escape route. But seeing Lan Xiaobu’s intense focus, likely tracking some subtle rule fluctuation, he swallowed his question.
A day later, as Lan Xiaobu steered the pot at breakneck speed, a terrifying spatial force suddenly struck.
Lan Xiaobu had been navigating by instinct and faint spatial rule shifts to track Xi Nianmo’s path. The abrupt attack caught him off guard, leaving no time to react.
In all his years riding the Reincarnation Pot, he’d never faced this. Its speed was usually too fast for ambushes, you’d have to catch it first.
This time, his focus was on that elusive tracking, and he hadn’t pushed the pot to full speed, only about a tenth. Even that was swift, so whoever struck it at this pace was no weakling.
The pot tumbled a hundred miles through the void before Lan Xiaobu stabilized it. The mystical sense he’d been following vanished, and fury boiled in his chest.
Before he could act, two men blocked his path, one in front, one behind.
Knowing he’d lost Xi Nianmo’s trail, Lan Xiaobu stowed the pot, grabbed the Eternal Life Halberd from his back, and let his killing aura surge around him.
Since its reforging, the halberd had barely tasted blood. Relying solely on absorbing cosmic killing momentum and fortune for growth was too slow.
“No wonder he got the Reincarnation Pot, such a fiery temper,” a raspy voice remarked, amused. In his eyes, Lan Xiaobu’s readiness to fight without even knowing his foes screamed hotheadedness.
The speaker was a bald man. Though he called Lan Xiaobu temperamental, he wore a grin. His aura suggested strength far beyond Pu He Divine Emperor’s, especially with those eighteen prayer beads on his chest, each seeming more volatile than the last.
What was up with the Rootless Divine Realm? Powerhouses were popping up left and right.
As for the man beside him, Lan Xiaobu recognized him.
“Fellow Daoist Tifo, this guy’s temper isn’t the best. He also loves snatching others’ stuff. Back when we went to the Abyssal Divine Ruin, he even dared target Minyuan’s things, and pulled it off,” the other man chuckled.
Lan Xiaobu stared coldly at him. “Meteor, forgot how you begged for my help so soon? Feeling itchy now that your cultivation’s back?”
“You’re Tifo Saint? Didn’t you…” Pu He’s shocked voice cut in, trailing off mid-sentence. Lan Xiaobu caught the fear in his tone, not just wariness, but dread.
“Oh? Pu He Divine Emperor, your bones are still kicking?” Tifo Saint’s tone chilled after his initial surprise. “Pu He, you think I, Tifo, should’ve died?”
Sensing Tifo Saint’s icy shift, Pu He forced a smile. “How could I think that? I just heard there was a big battle before the calamity, and you… well, rumors aren’t reliable…”
“Not bad, kid. Feel like you’ve latched onto a big shot?” Tifo Saint ignored Pu He, turning to Lan Xiaobu with a mocking edge.
To him, Lan Xiaobu was clearly riding Pu He Divine Emperor’s coattails, maybe even his disciple.
Without waiting for a reply, Tifo Saint faced Pu He again. “Pu He, you’ve got guts, taking the Reincarnation Saint’s stuff. Even I wouldn’t dare, yet here you are, flaunting it, heh…”
In his eyes, the Reincarnation Pot was obviously Pu He’s.
Pu He opened his mouth but said nothing. Lan Xiaobu was his master now, he couldn’t explain without Lan Xiaobu speaking first.
Lan Xiaobu ignored Tifo Saint, addressing Meteor instead. “I haven’t settled the score for you tricking me into being cannon fodder. Now you hit my pot too? Heh, Meteor, the tally’s growing.”
Meteor frowned, sensing something off. First, Lan Xiaobu’s tone didn’t sound like Pu He’s lackey. Second, he claimed the pot as his own. If he were Pu He’s follower, he wouldn’t dare say that, nor would he keep it instead of handing it over.
Lan Xiaobu was a mystery, loaded with treasures. Back at the Abyssal Divine Ruin, he seemed an early World God, but later inquiries revealed he wasn’t even that, just a Divine King. Meteor had fled, while Lan Xiaobu cut a deal with Minyuan, walking away with hundreds of divine spirit veins.
In short, while Meteor schemed to use Lan Xiaobu as bait, Lan Xiaobu had played him right back, succeeding where Meteor failed, leaving empty-handed after losing an eighth-grade divine talisman.
Seeing Meteor silent, Tifo Saint found it odd too. He stepped forward, reaching for the Reincarnation Pot. “I’ll take this pot to an old friend. It’s not something you can handle.”
Even if Lan Xiaobu seemed unusual, Tifo Saint didn’t take him seriously.
