As soon as the Reincarnation Cauldron landed, Lan Xiaobu stepped out, not even having time to stow it away, when he saw seven or eight disheveled cultivators rushing toward him. Spotting Lan Xiaobu, they didn’t pause for a moment and quickly sped off.
Just as Lan Xiaobu extended his divine sense, he noticed one man doubling back.
“Chen Hu?” Lan Xiaobu recognized the approaching figure as Chen Hu. Clearly, Chen Hu hadn’t wasted these years, now at the first layer of Quasi-Saint.
“Sect Leader Lan?” Chen Hu exclaimed with delight. He’d thought the Reincarnation Cauldron looked familiar, and returning confirmed it was indeed Lan Xiaobu.
“What Sect Leader? This is our Dao Lord,” Tu Wang said gruffly, striding over and clapping Chen Hu on the shoulder. Since following Lan Xiaobu, his fortune had soared, and he’d even achieved First-Turn Sagehood. He was riding high. In Tu Wang’s heart, Lan Xiaobu was his sole allegiance. Outside, the Dao Lord’s dignity couldn’t be compromised in the slightest.
“Senior…” Sensing Tu Wang’s strength, Chen Hu quickly offered a respectful greeting.
Lan Xiaobu waved Tu Wang back and asked, “Chen Hu, has something happened?”
In today’s Great Desolate Divine Realm, Quasi-Saint wasn’t much, but in the Rootless Divine Realm, it was enough to strut around with little threat. Chen Hu’s ragged state and unsteady aura suggested he’d faced immense danger, barely escaping with his life.
Chen Hu hurriedly explained, “It’s the Dimeng Tower Plaza. Something’s gone wrong there. Not long ago, countless nightmare-spawned demons burst out of Dimeng Tower, devouring cultivators. Many powerhouses from the Rootless Divine Realm came to suppress it, but the demons were too numerous, and lots of them fell at the plaza. I was invited to help contain the demons, to stop them from ravaging the realm.”
Lan Xiaobu’s heart sank. He knew all too well how terrifying these demons were. If they overran the Rootless Divine Realm, the entire divine realm could vanish.
“Last time I went to Dimeng Tower, didn’t it shut down after an incident? How are there nightmare demons now?” Lan Xiaobu asked, puzzled.
Chen Hu clarified, “No one’s entered the tower since, but the plaza’s been around so long it turned into a trading hub. Lots of cultivators liked doing business there. This time, when the demons surged out, millions died at the plaza. I went to help, only to realize my strength was nothing against them. Oh, and Senior Lou Tianhu got caught by the demons saving me. I don’t know if he’s alive.”
“Eternal River Pill Sage?” Lan Xiaobu grew worried. Lou Tianhu was a good man, and they were close.
“Yes. If not for Senior Lou stepping in, I’d probably be a ghost in some demon’s maw by now,” Chen Hu said, eyes full of shame. “He saved me, but all I could do was run.”
“Quick, to Dimeng Tower Plaza,” Lan Xiaobu urged, beckoning Chen Hu into the Reincarnation Cauldron.
Chen Hu trusted Lan Xiaobu completely. Back when Lan Xiaobu was just a Divine Monarch, he’d rallied a group of Quasi-Saints to take down the fearsome Qu Peng—a feat Chen Hu couldn’t even dream of. Now, Lan Xiaobu’s cultivation was beyond his perception, and the people around him were likely all stronger than Chen Hu himself.
In that moment, he felt a pang of regret. Back then, Qin Ku had left with Lan Xiaobu, while he’d stayed behind. His strength had surged over the years, but compared to Lan Xiaobu, he realized he was nothing.
“Sect… Dao Lord, what’s Qin Ku’s cultivation now?” Chen Hu hesitated, then asked. He had a hunch Qin Ku had surpassed him.
Lan Xiaobu sighed, “Qin Ku entered a secret realm, and his whereabouts are unknown. But he’s probably at Quasi-Saint by now.”
Qin Ku had decent talent, plus the heaps of cultivation resources and upgraded techniques Lan Xiaobu had given him. Lan Xiaobu was confident that if Qin Ku hadn’t fallen, Quasi-Saint was a given.
The Reincarnation Cauldron moved swiftly, stopping outside Dimeng Tower Plaza in less than half an incense stick’s time.
Lan Xiaobu clearly saw the plaza shrouded in black mist. His divine sense pierced through, revealing swarms of demons pouring out of the tower.
Oddly, a ninth-level defensive divine array stood here, manned by a First-Turn Sage frantically working to keep the demons from escaping. So far, the array had held them in.
But this sage’s strength was limited. It was only a matter of time before the demons broke through.
“Leave now! The demons are about to breach the plaza. Staying is a death sentence…” the First-Turn Sage shouted, sensing Lan Xiaobu’s group.
Lan Xiaobu stowed the cauldron and said to Tu Wang and the others, “Stay outside and block the demons. Tian Gang, you’re with me into the plaza.”
He called Tian Gang Sage to join not for help fighting, but in case the demons overwhelmed him while he was distracted saving Lou Tianhu. Though unlikely, caution never hurt.
“Huh…” The First-Turn Sage frowned at Lan Xiaobu approaching despite his warning. What shocked him was that he couldn’t read Lan Xiaobu’s strength.
When his gaze landed on Tian Gang Sage, his expression shifted. He quickly offered a formal bow, “Xing Wen of Lingxiao Divine Sect greets Senior.”
Before Tian Gang could reply, Lan Xiaobu spoke up, “You’ve done well, holding these demons back from the Rootless Divine Realm. Leave the rest to me.”
With that, he stepped through the array gate into the plaza. He’d visited here before but lacked the power to destroy Great Dream Sage’s stronghold. Today, he’d end it. Their enmity stretched from the immortal realm to the divine, an irreconcilable grudge.
To Lan Xiaobu, Great Dream Sage’s true self was likely inside the tower. If he could face him, killing him today would cut off all future threats.
Tian Gang Sage followed Lan Xiaobu into the plaza.
Outside, Xing Wen, sect leader of Lingxiao Divine Sect, stood stunned. Only now did he realize Lan Xiaobu outranked the senior he’d just greeted. Otherwise, why would he take the lead? And that array—a ninth-level disc setup—he’d crossed effortlessly, showing array skills far beyond Xing Wen’s.
Xing Wen sucked in a breath. He’d thought himself the pinnacle of the Rootless Divine Realm, stepping up because no one else could. If it fell, so would his sect. Yet today, two random arrivals could crush him.
He exhaled deeply, shaking off the blow. He’d seen plenty of geniuses—another didn’t faze him. Many fell, but he endured. Sects vanished, even giants like Nirvana Academy, yet Lingxiao Divine Sect stood.
As Lan Xiaobu entered the plaza, endless demons surged at him, their bloodlust enough to unmoor most people.
Even Tian Gang, a Fourth-Turn Sage, felt dizzy, as if he’d stepped into another realm. Illusions swirled, but a shred of clarity in his spirit told him this was nightmare space—normal amid such a demon horde.
Lan Xiaobu’s divine sense found Lou Tianhu, alive, fighting alongside another First-Turn Sage against the onslaught. Without Lou’s flames, they’d have been devoured.
“Dao Lord, these demons fear fire. I’ve got a top-tier divine flame—I can handle them. But if more come from the tower, I might not hold,” Tian Gang said urgently.
“No need. I’ll do it,” Lan Xiaobu replied, sweeping his hand. A vast aura of the Dao rolled out, strands of reincarnation charm descending. Tian Gang’s face paled beside him. If he weren’t at Lan Xiaobu’s side, he’d feel swept away by this reincarnation Dao.
Boom! An ethereal wooden bridge landed, intangible yet heavy like a mountain’s crush.
Endless reincarnation charm spread, and faint words appeared above: “One Breath, One Cycle.”
The swarming demons rushed the bridge, vanishing into it. In moments, the bridge grew more solid.
Lan Xiaobu was thrilled. He hadn’t expected his Reincarnation Bridge to solidify this way. As its master, he felt it harden and sensed a faint, flowing aura beneath—gray, like the Six Paths’ Yellow Springs. As it consumed more demons, the gray flow thickened.
In no time, half the demons on the plaza were gone, the space clearing up.
Tian Gang stared, dazed, as the bridge devoured the demons, muttering, “Reincarnation Bridge?”
Only now did he realize Lan Xiaobu had claimed it long ago.
