The Deputy Leader Position Isn't for Me; Lend Me the Pangu Banner for Two Days!

The white jade doors of Jade Void Palace silently closed behind him.

Boom.

That was not a sound, but a separation.

A single door divided two worlds.

Outside lay Kunlun Mountain's immortal breeze and spiritual aura, along with the gazes of Chi Jingzi and the others, mingling fear, humiliation, and towering hatred.

Inside was absolute silence.

The cold silence of order, one that permitted no stray sound to exist.

Yang Chen's footsteps left the first nearly inaudible sound upon the mirror-smooth tiles of the great hall.

He raised his head and surveyed this legendary saint's sanctuary.

It was tall.

It was empty.

There were no beams or pillars visible beneath the hall's vaulted ceiling, only a swath of chaotic clouds slowly drifting overhead.

Within them, countless stars were born and extinguished. The path of every star followed an unfathomably precise principle that was suffocating to behold.

The spiritual energy here did not flow.

A supreme will had forcibly solidified it into fixed forms.

It had become the walls, the floor tiles, and the jade pillars carved with the doctrines of the Chan Sect.

The entire hall was a massive prison constructed from "rules."

Exquisite and majestic, yet utterly devoid of life.

Yang Chen's gaze finally settled on the deepest part of the hall.

There stood a cloud couch.

A figure sat cross-legged atop it.

Primal Celestial Venerable.

He was there, yet he seemed not to be there.

His existence had perfectly merged with Jade Void Palace, with all of Kunlun Mountain, and with the Heavenly Dao order that followed the will of Heaven.

He was order.

He was the rules.

He was the sole, unquestionable truth of this world.

His eyes were shut, his face expressionless. His saintly might was like a prison, suppressing the entire space until it nearly froze solid.

He did not look at Yang Chen.

It seemed that from the moment Yang Chen entered the hall, he had not received even the slightest bit of attention.

It was arrogance taken to the extreme.

A complete disregard for lower beings that came from the difference in their very levels of existence.

Yang Chen did not care.

He even found it a little boring.

This pressure, this saintly majesty, was laughably light compared to the weight of the karmic consequences of the Immeasurable Tribulation deep within his Divine Soul.

He stepped forward and walked unhurriedly toward the center of the hall.

One step.

Two steps.

Every step shattered the eternal silence of this place.

Every step was like a stone thrown into the stagnant waters called "order."

At last, the unmoving eyelids of Primal Celestial Venerable, seated high upon the cloud couch like ancient glaciers, trembled ever so slightly.

He opened his eyes.

What kind of eyes were they?

There were no pupils, no whites, only endless Great Dao Runes being born and extinguished within them.

They were the eyes of the Heavenly Dao, the embodiment of order.

Cold, emotionless, without any feeling belonging to a living being.

"Yang Chen."

His voice rang out, neither high nor low, yet it directly affected the origin of the Divine Soul, as though the Heavenly Dao itself were delivering its final judgment.

"I already know everything about your origins and foundation."

Primal Celestial Venerable's gaze finally fell upon Yang Chen.

It was not scrutiny, but dissection.

It was as though he intended to completely break Yang Chen down to his smallest particles and uncover every one of his secrets.

"You bear immeasurable karma. You are the greatest variable in the Primordial world."

Every word he spoke resonated with the laws of the entire hall, transforming into invisible shackles that sought to nail Yang Chen firmly in place.

"A mistake that should not exist."

Primal Celestial Venerable's voice remained calm, but it carried the unmistakable meaning of a verdict.

He paused.

The pressure throughout the hall reached its peak at that moment.

The will of the Heavenly Dao Saint was no longer merely oppression. It took the form of a "bestowal."

A lofty gesture of charity.

"I invited you here today to give you a choice."

"A choice to correct your mistake and return to the proper path."

Primal Celestial Venerable spoke slowly, his voice carrying what seemed to be heartfelt "compassion."

"What I said last time still stands."

"If you are willing to join my Chan Sect, I can appoint you as Deputy Leader, above Guang Chengzi."

"And I will personally help you sort through your karma, sever your karmic burden, and guide you onto the proper path."

"From this day onward, you will be part of the orthodox Mystic Sect, sheltered by the Heavenly Dao and blessed with boundless fortune."

His words carried a strange kind of magic.

It was as though a single nod would instantly lift one from hell into heaven, turning a sinner hunted by the entire Primordial world—

Into the most honored existence beneath a saint in a single step.

This was a tremendous opportunity.

It was a temptation no living being could refuse.

After saying this, Primal Celestial Venerable spoke no more.

He merely watched Yang Chen in silence, waiting for his choice.

Waiting for this "mistake" to make the only "correct" decision.

He believed no one could refuse.

Yet—

Yang Chen laughed.

The soft chuckle was incomparably abrupt and piercing within the deathly, majestic hall.

He was not crushed into immobility by that saintly pressure.

Nor was he overwhelmed with gratitude by that tremendous "bestowal."

He merely looked around, then—

Among the neatly arranged meditation cushions prepared for the Chan Sect disciples to listen to teachings, he casually picked one and plopped down.

He even lazily crossed one leg over the other.

That action instantly shattered the precise, symmetrical, sacred, inviolable "rules" of Jade Void Palace.

It was like splashing a great mass of ink across a flawless painting.

Upon the cloud couch, the flow of Great Dao Runes within Primal Celestial Venerable's eyes slowed by an almost imperceptible degree.

"Fellow Daoist Primordial."

Yang Chen spoke in a tone as relaxed as if he were chatting with a neighbor.

"You really know how to work those calculations."

He looked at the Heavenly Dao Saint seated high above, a teasing smile on his face.

"Deputy Leader? It sounds impressive, but isn't it really just being your high-ranking thug while helping you discipline those disciples of yours who think they're above everyone else?"

"I'm not interested."

"Sever my karmic burden? That would be even more fatal."

Yang Chen raised a finger and tapped his temple.

"This karmic burden of mine is my protective charm."

"Without it, you'd probably be the first one to refine me into ashes, wouldn't you?"

"Do you take me for a three-year-old? Am I that easy to fool?"

There was not the slightest trace of reverence in his words.

Every sentence was the most direct and naked mockery.

Primal Celestial Venerable said nothing.

But the chaotic clouds beneath the hall's ceiling began to circulate faster.

The countless stars being born and extinguished within them gleamed with greater sharpness.

The temperature throughout Jade Void Palace was dropping at a visible rate.

Yet Yang Chen seemed not to notice.

He even shifted into a more comfortable position, leaning against the jade pillar behind him as he continued.

"Last time, outside the Purple Sky Palace, you kept calling me 'Father' so affectionately."

"What, now that you're back in your own home, you've changed it to 'Fellow Daoist'?"

"A saint's skin really is a wonderful thing. It can turn faster than a page, and you don't even need to draft it first."

Boom!

The moment those words left his mouth, the eternal clouds beneath Primal Celestial Venerable's cloud couch churned violently for the first time.

An extremely cold killing intent flashed past.

It was so fast that even a Quasi-Saint could not have caught it.

But Yang Chen caught it.

The smile on his face grew even brighter.

"Still..."

He changed the subject, raising one finger and wagging it at Primal Celestial Venerable.

"Since you're being so 'sincere,' I can't exactly refuse to give you some face."

"Those conditions of yours are worthless to me."

"How about this instead?"

Yang Chen's gaze moved away from Primal Celestial Venerable's face and began roaming around the hall.

His eyes passed over the jade pillars carved with doctrine, swept across the chaotic stars on the ceiling, and finally settled behind Primal Celestial Venerable.

There floated an ancient banner.

Chaotic energy swirled across its surface, and the aura of the Twelve Capital Heavenly Fiend Formation faintly appeared. Simply looking at it made one feel as though they could see Great God Pangu splitting heaven and earth, tearing apart chaos with supreme divine power.

The Pangu Banner!

"Lend me your Pangu Banner for two days so I can play with it."

Yang Chen withdrew his gaze and looked at Primal Celestial Venerable again, revealing an incomparably sincere smile.

"If I have fun with it..."

"Then perhaps, when I collect Protection Fees in the future, I can give you a one-percent discount."

The moment his words fell—

The temperature in all of Jade Void Palace, which had just dropped to freezing, instantly solidified.

Time, space, laws, spiritual energy...

Everything, at that very instant, was forcibly struck with a pause by an indescribable will so terrifying it defied imagination.

This was naked provocation!

This was the most shameless, most insane extortion carried out right in front of a saint!