Lan Xiaobu was the most satisfied of the group. He’d somehow snagged fifteen thousand divine spirit veins, including five thousand top-grade ones—a fortune more than enough for his cultivation.
Among the four, only Meteor felt a pang of disappointment. As for Tifo Saint, his sights weren’t set on Minyuan’s haul. Chaos divine spirit veins might’ve stirred him, but top-grade ones? He had piles of those already.
His earlier alliance with Meteor was just a chance to profit off Minyuan’s stash—who’d turn down easy gains? More importantly, he’d seen Meteor’s potential as a future ally. Now, though, his focus had shifted to Lan Xiaobu. Compared to him, Meteor’s standing seemed trivial. In Tifo’s eyes, Lan Xiaobu was undoubtedly a reincarnated ancient titan.
The Reincarnation Pot picked up speed, and in just half a month, Lan Xiaobu caught up to Xi Nianmo.
Through his divine sense, he saw her气息 chaotic, yet she was still fleeing desperately. Clearly, after entering the void passage, she’d realized its stable spatial rules meant certain death if Minyuan caught her.
Even at the cost of her foundation, she pushed herself to the brink.
The Reincarnation Pot surged past her and stopped, blocking her path. Sensing the trap, Xi Nianmo halted in terror—who else but Minyuan could intercept her here?
“Senior Sister Xi, long time no see,” Lan Xiaobu greeted with a grin.
“Xiaobu, it’s you?” Her fear turned to joy as she stared at him, thrilled to see Lan Xiaobu in the void passage.
Truth be told, only two people truly awed her, and Lan Xiaobu was one. Not for his cultivation strength, but for how, as a World God, he’d flawlessly ambushed a peerless expert who cultivated their own Great Dao.
For any World God to rally Divine Kings, Harmony Gods, and even two Quasi-Saints as allies was unthinkable—yet Lan Xiaobu had done it. More than that, he’d played a pivotal role in taking down Qu Peng.
“How are you here?” she asked instinctively, then realized—void passage, bound for the Eternal Life Realm. Of course.
It made sense he’d catch her with the Reincarnation Pot. Though the passage’s spatial rules were stable, not every flight treasure could function here. Ordinary divine artifact ships would slow to a crawl, unable to adapt to the ever-shifting rules.
The Reincarnation Pot, a top-tier innate treasure, was different. Its rules outranked the passage’s, unaffected by spatial suppression.
“I came looking for you. I’d planned to swing by Nirvana Divine City, but passing Thunder Sword Manor, I found it razed…” Lan Xiaobu began.
“What? Xiaobu, you didn’t run into Minyuan before coming in?” Xi Nianmo jolted, thinking of Minyuan. She didn’t know he hadn’t entered and assumed he was chasing her, prompting her frantic flight.
But after asking, she guessed Lan Xiaobu hadn’t met him. If he had, Minyuan wouldn’t have let him go—not with the Reincarnation Pot at his feet.
Lan Xiaobu chuckled, “Senior Sister, hop on the pot first.”
“Alright.” Xi Nianmo didn’t hesitate, landing on it before urging, “Hurry, push the pot to full speed through this passage. I’m being hunted by a guy named Minyuan—I’m worried he’ll catch up.”
Lan Xiaobu waved it off. “No need to worry. We’ve already met him. After finding your manor destroyed, I tracked you here and ran into Friends Tifo and Meteor. They’re good-hearted—helped me convince Minyuan. He felt guilty and coughed up some compensation. It’s for you.”
He handed her a ring.
Xi Nianmo took it absently, glancing at Tifo’s trio. Her face shifted as she sent Lan Xiaobu a private message: “Xiaobu, at least two of them are Quasi-Saints, and one—I can’t even sense their strength.”
Her injuries had scrambled her aura, and in front of a powerhouse like Tifo, her transmission was easily intercepted.
Tifo squinted, grinning. “Friend Xi flatters me. My cultivation’s a bit higher—a Second-Turn Saint. These two are Quasi-Saints.”
He seemed to relish flaunting his prowess.
Second-Turn Saint? Xi Nianmo gaped at Tifo. With the Rootless Divine Realm’s rules now complete, she knew full well what that meant.
“Don’t worry about them. We’re partners now, all getting along. Your injuries aren’t severe, but you’ve been draining yourself. Heal up first—don’t risk your foundation,” Lan Xiaobu said, concerned Tifo might underestimate her if she kept pushing.
Tifo, a Second-Turn Saint, was overly cocky. If Lan Xiaobu weren’t unfazed by him—and if Tifo didn’t need his help—he wouldn’t be as amiable as his smile suggested.
Xi Nianmo sucked in a breath, calming quickly. She couldn’t gauge Lan Xiaobu’s current level either, knowing he had concealment techniques—the higher the realm, the less his aura showed. Back as a World God, he’d recruited powerhouses like Lou Tianhu. Now, possibly a Divine King, pulling in a saint wasn’t outrageous. But a Second-Turn Saint? That stretched belief.
She’d have to warn him—saints weren’t easy to work with. One misstep, and they’d devour you whole. Not everyone was as upright as Lou Tianhu.
“Alright, I’ll heal. Be careful,” she said. Her injuries were light, but burning divine essence and blood nonstop could turn them grave, even damaging her Great Dao foundation.
She stepped aside, scanning the ring. Seeing a thousand top-grade and a thousand high-grade divine spirit veins inside, she froze.
After a few breaths, she snapped out of it, thrusting the ring back at Lan Xiaobu. “Xiaobu, I can’t take this. I’ve never seen so much in all my cultivation years.”
He waved it off. “I didn’t ask for it—Minyuan felt ashamed and offered it himself. Keep it. He compensated us too.”
“Right, right. The Great Saint’s magnanimous—generous too. He not only paid us but apologized. Since Dao Lord Lan spoke up, just take it,” Tifo chimed in, impatient. A couple thousand veins—why the fuss? Let’s get moving.
Xi Nianmo glanced at Lan Xiaobu, nodded, and pocketed the ring.
The Reincarnation Pot sped on. A month flashed by, and Xi Nianmo’s injuries had healed. She approached Lan Xiaobu, messaging privately, “Xiaobu, is Tifo really a Second-Turn Saint? How’s that possible?”
With perfected rules, she knew saints had nine turns, but a Second-Turn Saint now? Hard to swallow.
Her resources weren’t lacking, yet in centuries under the Rootless Divine Realm’s improving rules, she’d only reached the second Quasi-Saint layer.
Saints and Quasi-Saints were worlds apart—a qualitative leap.
Lan Xiaobu smiled. “He’s indeed a Second-Turn Saint. Don’t worry—he keeps his word. Among them, only Meteor’s got ulterior motives. Pu He’s my man—no concerns there.”
“Pu He sounds familiar,” Xi Nianmo mused, frowning as she racked her brain.
“He’s one of the Twelve Divine Emperors in the universe hosting the Rootless Divine Realm—Pu He Divine Emperor,” Lan Xiaobu explained.
“Right, I remember now—the Twelve Divine Emperors…” Xi Nianmo’s words cut off as she stared at Lan Xiaobu, then at Pu He, stunned.
A legendary figure, one of the Twelve, sitting with her on the Reincarnation Pot.
“Dao Lord Lan, we’ve reached the Eternal Life Realm…” Tifo’s voice broke through. As he spoke, the blur of the void passage cleared, revealing a vast wilderness beneath their feet. The passage’s vague rules solidified into tangible heavenly laws, thick with destiny and crystal-clear principles.
“Hold on, I need to check directions. I want to see if the way back’s blocked, then collect some debts,” Lan Xiaobu said, pulling out a directional jade slip.
“By the way, Xiaobu, I keep forgetting to ask—how’d you become a Dao Lord?” Xi Nianmo finally voiced her lingering question.
Studying the slip, Lan Xiaobu replied, “I’m the Dao Lord of the Great Desolation Divine Realm. Come with me there later, Senior Sister. It’s more refined than the Rootless Divine Realm, though with realms merging now, the gap’s shrinking.”
He didn’t mention one thing—if Xi Nianmo joined him there, her cultivation would skyrocket. Her retreat cave would be near his, and he’d plant chaos divine spirit veins.
Among spirit veins, top-grade ones outclassed high-grade by over a hundredfold. But chaos veins versus top-grade? The difference wasn’t just richness or quantity—it was a whole other league.
