The Reincarnation Pot had been streaking through the void for less than the time it takes an incense stick to burn when Lan Xiaobu’s divine sense locked onto Minyuan. Minyuan had clearly used some trick—his body was wrapped in a flickering yellow light, moving at an unbelievable speed. If Lan Xiaobu hadn’t deployed the Reincarnation Pot, he might not have caught up.
This time, Lan Xiaobu didn’t wait for Minyuan to react. The pot surged past him, and with a flick of his hand, a set of array flags flew out, sealing Minyuan in tight.
Minyuan halted, his face pale as he stared at Lan Xiaobu and the others. Regret gnawed at him. If he’d known the spatial rules in this void passage were so stable, would he have lingered outside it for months?
“Great Saint, back in the Abyssal Divine Ruin, you nearly took my life—I remember it crystal clear. Today, I’m finally collecting a piece of that debt,” Meteor chuckled, stepping off the pot to flank Minyuan.
To catch Minyuan, he’d sacrificed cultivation time—countless hours wasted on this chase. The Rootless Divine Realm’s scarce resources drove him mad; restoring his strength demanded top-tier treasures, especially divine spirit veins, which he craved desperately.
Tifo said nothing, simply starting to lock down the space. In a void passage, sealing it was even easier.
Minyuan clenched his fists. He’d just tried a Boundary-Breaking Talisman, but it failed to tear through the spatial rules instantly. He’d had one shot—no second chance.
Regret consumed him. He’d been too stingy. If he’d used his Post-Heaven Displacement Talisman from the start, he might’ve escaped. Chasing Xi Nianmo into this passage wouldn’t have landed him here either.
It all boiled down to the talisman’s rarity—he had only one and couldn’t bear to use it.
“Tifo Saint, we teamed up back then—today, you’re turning on me?” Minyuan took a deep breath, speaking slowly. He knew Tifo was likely the group’s leader.
Hearing Minyuan’s seemingly earnest words, Lan Xiaobu almost believed Tifo and Minyuan had a deep past.
Tifo twirled the prayer beads on his chest, flashing a equally sincere smile. “Friend Minyuan, I’m not in charge here. It’s all up to Dao Lord Lan.”
Dao Lord Lan? Minyuan’s gaze snapped to Lan Xiaobu. How?
Here stood Tifo, one of the Eight Saints; Pu He, one of the Twelve Divine Emperors; and Meteor, a mortal cultivator no less than a saint. With so many ancient powerhouses, why would Lan Xiaobu call the shots? Back then, he’d been just a Divine King…
Minyuan recalled the punch Lan Xiaobu had thrown at him earlier—a blow no less than Quasi-Saint level. He’d been too rattled by Tifo to think straight, fleeing in panic. Now, piecing it together, he saw the glaring issue.
That punch was terrifying, yet when they’d traded, Lan Xiaobu had only just stepped into Divine King. In a few hundred years, he’d leapt from Divine King to Quasi-Saint? Even tens of thousands of years wouldn’t suffice for most geniuses.
It hit him—Lan Xiaobu, like Meteor, must be a reincarnated ancient powerhouse. Why else would Tifo defer to him as “Dao Lord”?
With that, Minyuan clasped his fists toward Lan Xiaobu. “Dao Lord Lan, I admit my past mistakes, but our trades were fair—I offered real treasures, and you didn’t lose out.”
Lose out? Lan Xiaobu hadn’t just broken even—he’d given nothing at all. Minyuan couldn’t say that, though. He couldn’t admit Lan Xiaobu had swindled seven hundred divine spirit veins—two hundred of them top-grade—empty-handed.
Lan Xiaobu replied coolly, “To escape your killing array back then, I burned ten million years of my lifespan. I look young and fine now, but I’ve got just a few centuries left. I buried that pain deep, mourning in silence. Meeting you today, I’d choke on it if I didn’t speak—er, I mean, I’d get sick holding it in. But that’s not the main issue.”
Minyuan’s teeth ached with rage. If it were just Lan Xiaobu, he might’ve risked it all in a desperate fight.
But alongside Lan Xiaobu were Tifo, Pu He, and Meteor—three who knew him inside out, none easy to handle.
To survive, he’d have to break through Lan Xiaobu.
“Dao Lord Lan, I don’t know which ancient deity you are, but I hold deep respect for you. You know if I detonate my world in a last stand, no one gets my treasures. I’m confident I can do it—even a Fifth-Turn Saint couldn’t pry it open before I blow it apart,” Minyuan said solemnly, his tone dripping with sincerity.
Lan Xiaobu half-believed him. Minyuan’s demeanor suggested truth—he could likely destroy his world first. Yet something felt off, like a hidden lie.
Sensing Lan Xiaobu’s hesitation, Minyuan sent a private message. “Dao Lord Lan, I’ll give you three thousand top-grade divine spirit veins, ten thousand high-grade ones, and the location of a cosmic law…”
Lan Xiaobu was floored. Thousands of top-grade veins and ten thousand high-grade ones, just like that? Poverty had clearly cramped his imagination. He’d thought a thousand top-grade veins was Minyuan’s limit—yet here he was, offering three thousand without prompting. How rich was this guy?
His heart still raced when Minyuan added, “Dao Lord Lan, a cosmic law is the universe’s pinnacle rule, leagues above Primordial Chaos laws. It’s from the universe’s birth, unlike the cosmic laws we usually grasp.”
Without that nudge, Lan Xiaobu might’ve mistaken it for a Primordial Chaos law. Now he understood.
“Five thousand top-grade veins, ten thousand high-grade ones, the cosmic law’s location, plus top-tier divine herbs and materials,” Lan Xiaobu countered privately.
“Deal,” Minyuan agreed instantly.
Lan Xiaobu blinked, suspecting he’d lowballed.
Before he could rethink, Minyuan spoke aloud, “Dao Lord Lan, Saint Tifo, Friend Pu He, Friend Meteor—I’ve roamed for years, my resources nearly gone. I know you won’t believe me, but I’m willing to give up almost everything. Each of you can have five hundred top-grade veins and a thousand high-grade ones. Any more, and I’ll self-destruct with my world.”
His words carried a helpless, heartfelt tone, convincing most he was tapped out.
Meteor frowned, snorting as his aura flared. He didn’t buy it. If Minyuan had so little, he wouldn’t be worth this long chase—or his Great Saint title.
Feeling Meteor’s displeasure, Minyuan’s body pulsed with the rhythm of self-destruction, ready to blow.
Lan Xiaobu waved Meteor off. “Friend Meteor, let it go. We can’t push him to detonate. Minyuan, hand over the goods.”
Minyuan tossed out four rings, one to each.
Lan Xiaobu’s divine sense scanned his—five thousand top-grade veins, ten thousand high-grade ones, heaps of top-grade crafting materials and herbs, plus a jade slip wrapped in a special restriction, likely the cosmic law’s location.
Pu He chuckled, pocketing his ring. Five hundred top-grade and a thousand high-grade veins for free? He was delighted. Tifo stayed quiet, while Meteor, though he took his, fumed inwardly. He suspected Minyuan had given Lan Xiaobu more—why else would he be so agreeable?
Meteor knew Lan Xiaobu better than Tifo. This guy never took a loss.
Once everyone stowed their rings, Lan Xiaobu said calmly, “Minyuan, our business ends here today. Don’t mess with me going forward, and I’ll leave you be. But my friend’s matter is just starting…”
Minyuan’s heart sank.
Sure enough, Lan Xiaobu continued, “My friend Xi Nianmo—you trashed her Thunder Sword Manor and hunted her down for no reason. That’s why I’m here.”
Minyuan cursed inwardly but swallowed his fury, offering another ring. “Dao Lord Lan, this is my last stash—compensation for your friend. If you’re not satisfied, take my life. I went after her over a jade slip, that’s all.”
Lan Xiaobu scanned it—a thousand top-grade and a thousand high-grade veins.
Not bad. He nodded. “Fine, this settles it. But don’t touch my friends again, or I’ll find you. As a realm’s Dao Lord, I’ve got ways.”
Minyuan’s pursuit of Xi Nianmo was likely for that cosmic law jade slip. She’d handed it over, yet he still tried to wipe her out. Now, after a twist of fate, it was back in Lan Xiaobu’s hands.
“Farewell.” Minyuan clasped his fists and, astonishingly, headed back toward the Rootless Divine Realm.
They all knew he couldn’t return that way, but no one cared. With hefty gains, who bothered where Minyuan went?
