Eastern Emperor Taiyi's pressure became almost tangible, carrying the scorching heat of True Sun Fire and the domineering authority of the Heavenly Emperor as it locked tightly onto Li Wuyang. The surrounding air seemed to freeze, while the temperature abruptly soared. Some great powers who had yet to leave stopped to watch, their eyes filled with scrutiny and curiosity.
Li Wuyang felt like a lone skiff caught in a raging storm, liable to be crushed at any moment. He groaned inwardly. Taiyi truly was as forceful and overbearing as the legends said!
"P-Please judge clearly, Senior! This junior has absolutely no connection to the Demon Ancestor!" Li Wuyang desperately circulated the Huang Ting Jing and the Great Dao Imprint, barely managing to withstand the pressure. His face had gone pale as he explained, "This junior merely entered Zixiao Palace through a fortunate coincidence. If I have offended you in any way, Senior, I beg your forgiveness!"
"A fortunate coincidence?" Taiyi's gaze burned like torches, as though he intended to see straight through him. "Zixiao Palace is the Dao Ancestor's Saint Realm. How could one enter it through any ordinary stroke of luck? Your very existence is an anomaly! Senior Brother Laozi has always been detached and inactive, yet today he took the initiative to gift you pills. There must be something unusual about you! If you do not tell the truth, do not blame this Emperor for taking you into custody and interrogating you thoroughly!"
As he spoke, True Sun Fire faintly rose around him. Clearly, his patience was running thin.
Cold sweat streamed down Li Wuyang's back as his mind raced. There was no way he could withstand this head-on, and lies likely would not fool a great power like this. Did he really have to reveal his identity as the Primordial Dao Child? But if he did, the trouble it caused would probably be even greater!
At that critical moment, a cold, ethereal female voice, as if carried from an icefield of eternal frost, suddenly rang out across the scene. It was not loud, yet it entered everyone's ears with perfect clarity:
"Since when did His Majesty the Eastern Emperor start making a habit of interrogating juniors?"
Everyone followed the voice and saw that, at the edge of the distant sea of clouds, a figure had appeared at some unknown time. She was a woman in a black gown, slender and graceful, with a peerlessly beautiful face as cold as frost. Her dark blue hair moved without wind, and her mismatched eyes—purple on the left, silver on the right—looked over indifferently. Her aura was faint and elusive, as though she had merged with the surrounding void, making it impossible to gauge her depths.
It was Xuan!
Li Wuyang froze when he saw her, then an inexplicable sense of relief surged within him. She had come to Zixiao Palace too? And she had appeared at just this moment!
Eastern Emperor Taiyi frowned slightly as he looked at Xuan. A trace of gravity and wariness flashed through his eyes. "You? Myriad Manifestations Demon Lord... are you interested in this boy as well?"
Xuan slowly walked over, her steps light. Wherever she passed, even the roiling clouds seemed to fall still. She did not answer Taiyi's question, merely saying in an indifferent tone, "Zixiao Palace is a place of purity. The Dao Ancestor has only just finished preaching, yet Your Majesty is already threatening a junior here. If word spreads, it may damage the Heavenly Court's dignity."
There was not the slightest hint of emotion in her words, yet they were like a basin of ice water poured over Taiyi's rising anger.
Taiyi's expression darkened slightly. He truly did have concerns about appearances, especially before Zixiao Palace and under the watchful eyes of so many. Moreover, this Myriad Manifestations Demon Lord had a mysterious background and unfathomable strength. She had once fought the Demon Teacher Kunpeng without falling at a disadvantage. He had no desire to clash with her lightly.
"This Emperor was merely conducting a routine inquiry." Taiyi withdrew his pressure. His tone remained forceful, but he no longer showed any intention of acting. "Since the Demon Lord has spoken, this Emperor will grant her that respect. Boy, take care of yourself!"
With that, he gave Li Wuyang and Xuan a deep look before turning into a streak of golden light and shooting into the sky. After joining Di Jun and the others who had been waiting for him, he departed Buzhou Mountain.
Seeing that the spectacle had ended, the observing great powers also transformed into streaks of escaping light and left. Yet before departing, they did not forget to glance several more times at Li Wuyang and Xuan, committing their appearances to memory. After today, the name "Li Wuyang" would likely begin circulating within a small circle among the upper echelons of the prehistoric world.
With the crisis resolved, Li Wuyang let out a long breath and quickly cupped his hands toward Xuan. "Thank you, Miss Xuan, for coming to my rescue!"
Xuan walked up to him, her mismatched eyes calmly fixed on his face. Her tone remained cold. "I was not helping you. I simply dislike noisy scenes and people who throw their weight around."
Li Wuyang had long grown accustomed to her saying one thing and meaning another. Smiling, he said, "No matter what, thank you! You came to hear the Dao too? How come I never saw you?"
Xuan said flatly, "I was one row behind you." She seemed unwilling to speak further about listening to the Dao and instead asked, "What do you plan to do next?"
Li Wuyang looked at the plaza, which was gradually growing quiet, and at the still-majestic Zixiao Palace. He scratched his head. "We listened to the Dao for three thousand years. Who knows what the outside world has become? I should head down the mountain first, gather some information, and then... continue traveling, I suppose. What about you?"
Xuan fell silent for a moment and gazed out at the boundless sea of clouds. A faint, almost imperceptible trace of confusion flashed through her eyes. "I do not know. Perhaps... I will follow you around and see."
Li Wuyang was stunned, then overjoyed. "Really? That's wonderful! If we travel together, we can look out for each other!" With Xuan, a superpowered fighter and walking library, by his side, his sense of security would be through the roof!
Xuan neither confirmed nor denied it. She merely said, "Let us go down the mountain first."
The two walked side by side toward the path down the mountain. Li Wuyang's heart brimmed with anticipation for the future, along with a trace of doubt: why had Xuan taken the initiative to say she would follow him? Could it really be just because... he was "interesting"?
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