“Dao Lord, Meteor’s really a piece of work. After ascending to first-turn sage here, he just up and left on his own,” Tifo said as he led Lan Xiaobu into the Dao Lord’s mansion, finally revealing Meteor’s departure.
Lan Xiaobu shrugged it off. “That guy was bound to leave sooner or later. He’s a reincarnated sage—probably looks down on our little operation.”
From the moment he met Meteor, Lan Xiaobu knew they weren’t on the same wavelength. Cooperation was fine, but friendship? Out of the question.
“Heh,” Tifo sneered dismissively. “Even at his peak, Meteor was just a pseudo-sage—not quite a reincarnated sage. Still, his Dao is something else. If he hadn’t fallen, he might’ve carved out a broad path.”
“The Mortal Dao?” Lan Xiaobu asked, puzzled.
Tifo nodded. “Yep, he cultivated the Mortal Dao—rumor has it he created it himself. But he’s not the only one. There’s another who’s far more brilliant. If Meteor’s Mortal Dao scores a ten, this other guy’s a hundred.”
“That impressive?” Lan Xiaobu halted mid-step. He trusted Tifo wouldn’t exaggerate—if he said someone was that good, they were.
“Absolutely,” Tifo said gravely. “At my peak, I couldn’t last a few breaths against him. And my current strength is leagues below that. So no matter how far Meteor goes, he’d be crushed by this guy.”
Lan Xiaobu frowned. If he crossed paths with such a powerhouse and a fight broke out, what were his odds?
But he quickly dismissed the thought. Someone that strong wouldn’t linger in the Eternal Life Realm. At a certain level, powerhouses congregated in specific places. It was the same back when he was a mortal on Earth, and it still held true now—your strength dictated the company you kept.
His gaze settled on the intricate array patterns before him. The Dao Lord’s mansion had crumbled, built as it was atop the primal chaos laws. Now, it had dissolved into faint golden ripples of array patterns.
Lan Xiaobu recognised them—he’d laid these patterns himself long ago. Back then, they were low-grade, but over the years, infused with primal chaos laws, they’d evolved into something nearly on par with saint-level arrays.
No wonder the fusion of the Great Desolate Divine Realm and Eternal Life Realm hadn’t seen any traffic. These patterns barred entry from both sides—he’d bet the Great Desolate Divine Realm faced the same barrier.
As their creator, Lan Xiaobu was confident he could pass through. He extended his divine sense, syncing with the patterns and seeping into them.
What he saw stunned him. Beyond the barrier lay an untouched expanse of primal chaos wilderness—a newly formed domain bridging the Great Desolate Divine Realm and Eternal Life Realm, birthed by the fusion of primal chaos laws and heavenly rules.
This was an undeveloped treasure trove of primal chaos, brimming with rare materials and untold opportunities.
He couldn’t open this passage yet. If he did, he’d first need to cloak this pristine wilderness. A place this rich was for his people to explore—not a free-for-all.
Seeing Lan Xiaobu study the patterns, Tifo explained, “The primal chaos laws fused with heavenly rules, linking the Eternal Life Realm and Great Desolate Divine Realm, and spawned a vast new domain between them. It’s sealed off by these void arrays on both sides—no one’s getting in.”
Lan Xiaobu nodded, about to respond, when a faint tug stirred his heart. In an instant, he understood—Kun Wei was calling for help through the Eternal Life Realm’s Heavenly Dao, despite lacking his communication bead.
Kun Wei couldn’t die—not now.
“Tifo, I need to rescue Kun Wei,” Lan Xiaobu said swiftly. “Help Zhao and Puhe take control of the Eternal Life Realm quickly. If you hit any tough nuts, hold off—I’ll deal with them when I’m back. You know the Great Desolate Dao Court’s rules—spread them across the realm immediately.”
“Yes, Dao Lord,” Tifo replied without hesitation.
He suspected Lan Xiaobu was now a fifth-turn sage. Ascending so fast in such a short time marked him as a future Eternal Life Sage. Tifo’s choice to align with him had been spot-on.
Lan Xiaobu prepared to leave, but a few steps in, he paused and turned back. “Tifo, ever heard of two guys—Guang Ye Chang and Luo?”
Tifo’s eyes widened. “Dao Lord, you’ve met them?”
Lan Xiaobu nodded. “Yeah, I even fought Guang Ye Chang.”
Hearing that Lan Xiaobu had clashed with Guang Ye Chang and emerged unscathed, Tifo’s confidence in him soared.
He said solemnly, “Before the world-ending calamity, if anyone in the vast cosmos could transcend ordinary sagehood and step into Eternal Life Sagehood, Guang Ye Chang and Luo were among them. While we squabbled over sage positions, they couldn’t care less. To them, those fighting for such titles were small fry—bound to a single universe, unable to break free and become true eternal beings.”
Lan Xiaobu nodded approvingly. That aligned with his own view. To reach eternal life and become an Eternal Life Sage, you had to forsake a universe’s bestowed titles—unless you controlled them yourself and handed them out. Otherwise, you’d be shackled by the Heavenly Dao.
“If not for an accident that destroyed Guang Ye Chang’s body, he’d likely already be an Eternal Life Sage. His God-Slaying Diagram is just too terrifying…”
“His body was destroyed?” Lan Xiaobu asked, puzzled. The Guang Ye Chang he’d seen had a body.
Tifo affirmed, “Yes, it was. Even with just his primordial spirit, few sages could survive him. His Dao is the God-Slaying Dao—ruthless and overwhelmingly powerful. Yet someone still destroyed his body. It shows how many powerhouses roam the vast cosmos.”
Lan Xiaobu nodded inwardly. Guang Ye Chang must’ve found a new body—whether seized or merged, it wasn’t perfectly attuned to his Dao, weakening him somewhat.
And then there was the missing God-Slaying Diagram. If Guang Ye Chang restored his body fully and reclaimed it…
Lan Xiaobu grew warier of him. Suddenly, third-turn sagehood didn’t feel secure enough.
“What about Luo?” Lan Xiaobu asked. He’d always sensed Luo was scarier than Guang Ye Chang, yet Tifo seemed more wary of the latter.
Tifo sighed. “If Guang Ye Chang can be countered—if sages like me have a slim chance of surviving him—then meeting Luo is a catastrophe.”
“What do you mean?” Lan Xiaobu pressed.
Tifo’s eyes brimmed with dread. “Luo’s strength defies description. He fused with the cosmic treasure, the Creation Sword, pushing his power to world-shattering heights. Where a sage might need a grand destruction technique to obliterate a planet, Luo needs only a hand seal—or a casual wave. He’s a born destroyer…”
Fused with the Creation Sword? Lan Xiaobu jolted with realisation. No wonder Luo didn’t feel human—he’d merged with a sword.
Wait—Luo’s hunched back. That wasn’t normal. With his cultivation, why would he stoop unless enduring immense pain?
When they met, Lan Xiaobu had sensed Luo like a weapon poised to strike. And when they fought, Luo used his body as a treasure…
Lan Xiaobu exhaled sharply, piecing it together. Luo’s fusion with the Creation Sword had made him absurdly powerful, but he’d realised his Dao wasn’t the strongest—likely after a loss. Lan Xiaobu now understood that to forge the ultimate Dao, you couldn’t rely on fused treasures. Even a cosmic artifact like the Creation Sword weakened your path if you depended on it—external aids diluted the purity of one’s Dao.
Luo had figured this out and was trying to separate the Creation Sword from his Dao. When Lan Xiaobu encountered him, Luo was at that critical juncture.
A chill ran through him. Separating the Creation Sword would’ve left Luo at his weakest—yet even then, as a second-turn sage, Lan Xiaobu couldn’t beat him. Luo was a monster.
“So, Dao Lord, if you meet them again, tread carefully,” Tifo warned. He knew Lan Xiaobu was cautious, but Guang Ye Chang and Luo were on another level.
Now tied to Lan Xiaobu’s fate, their fortunes were intertwined.
