His body trembled uncontrollably. At that moment, only one thought filled Devil Lord Kugu's mind:
Run!!
But before he could make a single move—
the Devil Path Magnate who had just been so arrogantly invincible discovered that he could no longer move.
Was it a Magic Treasure? Or was it his own fear?
In the span of a single breath, countless thoughts flashed through Devil Lord Kugu's mind.
The next moment, they abruptly ceased.
Because he clearly felt a terrifying presence, one that stood above all the heavens, lock onto him.
Beside the Imperial Chariot, an unremarkable old man turned his head and glanced over.
He was not like the Black Armor Guards. He had been appointed by the Old Ancestor—and was a true Dao Protector.
"Presumptuous."
No lengthy speech. No exchange of names.
The old man merely flicked a finger.
Pfft—!!!
Before the astonishment could fade from Devil Lord Kugu's face, his demonic body, still radiating a terrifying aura, crumbled inch by inch like a withered tree that had rotted for ten thousand years.
The Banner of Ten Thousand Souls, which had devoured billions of living beings, had seventy-two Saint Souls on its surface. Before they could even wail, they silently vanished into ash, as if they had never existed.
Even with a supreme treasure in hand, he hadn't even had the chance to scream or struggle.
He died as helplessly as the ants he had once crushed beneath his heel.
At the final moment, Devil Lord Kugu's Primordial Spirit struggled frantically, trying to escape, but some invisible force held him fast. All he could do was watch as his demonic body turned to ash and his soul flame went out, bit by bit.
"I was only one step away! One step away from reaching the very top!"
"No... No! I, the Emperor... I haven't yet..."
"My dream..."
But even that final thought failed to fully form. Beneath the Nine-Headed Heaven-Rending Hou's indifferent glance, it was utterly extinguished.
Devil Lord Kugu, who had once slaughtered billions and lorded over an entire realm, simply vanished without a sound...
Reduced to nothing but ash.
Not even dust remained.
Inside the Imperial Chariot, Qin Wangchuan didn't even raise an eyelid. He merely asked, "What happened?"
"Reporting to the Young Master, a Quasi-Emperor blocked our way just now. He has been dealt with." The old man respectfully continued, "We have arrived in the Xuanming Realm."
A closer look revealed that there was more than one old man with such heaven-defying strength.
There were at least ten in plain sight alone.
This wasn't the Young Master descending to the Lower Realm.
It was the Crown Prince out on a tour!
"Mm." Qin Wangchuan tapped the window frame lightly with a fingertip. His gaze swept over the sea of blood the Devil Lord had left below, and he said mildly, "The smell of blood is strong."
As soon as he spoke, a Black Armor Guard swept out his hand.
A breeze passed, and the corpses and bloodstains disappeared at once.
"Perhaps some dispute has broken out in this realm," the old man replied.
"Mm..."
Qin Wangchuan stepped out of the Imperial Chariot. Though only nine, he already seemed extraordinary.
He wore a Black Brocade Robe, its collar and cuffs embroidered with ancient Qin Clan Dao Patterns in dark gold thread. As he walked, the robe shifted slightly, as if stars were turning within it.
His face was carved from White Jade, his features handsome and refined. His lips were thin as blades, and when pressed together, they gave him a maturity beyond his years. Yet when he lifted his eyes, a boyish liveliness flickered within them.
Though his body had yet to grow, every gesture already carried the bearing of a dragon striding and a tiger pacing.
It was worth noting that Ye Jianwei had not come with them.
They had invited her, but she had said she needed to seize every moment to cultivate.
Just look at how hard the future Heavenly Emperor worked.
So Qin Wangchuan was the only one descending to the Lower Realm this time.
He glanced at the spot where Devil Lord Kugu had just died and murmured:
"A strong one."
The old man beside him paused at those words.
Strong?
A Half-Step Great Emperor might seem formidable.
But in truth—
at most, he was only a Quasi-Emperor.
As long as he hadn't attained Emperorhood, he was an ant.
Without the slightest chance to fight back.
Even if he did succeed in becoming an Emperor and transcended the world—
the Heavenly Emperor still stood above him, leaving him no room to make waves.
He would merely go from an ant who could be disposed of at will to a monkey who took a little more effort to handle.
After some thought, the old man still offered a compliment. "He was indeed strong, but with that level of power..."
Before he could finish, Qin Wangchuan interrupted him:
"I wasn't talking about him."
Qin Wangchuan suddenly turned around. His gaze pierced the void and landed on a bank of clouds a hundred zhang away that seemed utterly empty.
"If you're waiting for me here, why not show yourself?"
If not him, then who? Everyone's hearts jolted. Their eyes followed Qin Wangchuan's gaze before they could stop themselves.
The clouds parted, revealing several figures hovering in midair.
At their head stood a cool, aloof young woman.
She looked about fifteen or sixteen. Her Azure Phoenix Flowing Cloud Dress fluttered in the wind, and an Azure Jade Belt cinched her waist, accentuating her tall, slender figure.
Her ink-dark hair was loosely gathered with a plain silver hairpin. A few wisps fell beside her porcelain-white cheeks, adding to her distant, frosty air.
Most captivating of all were her eyes—
Their color was pale as glass, yet the corners tilted slightly upward, carrying a hint of sharpness even when she wasn't smiling.
At that moment, she looked down at him, her long lashes casting faint shadows beneath her eyes. She seemed carved from the ice of the highest heavens, radiating a chill that brooked no blasphemy.
"That aura..." Qin Wangchuan's brows drew together as his gaze lingered on the girl.
Although this was their first meeting, the aura around her felt inexplicably familiar.
As if he had encountered something similar before.
The girl led the people behind her down slowly.
Qin Wangchuan was about to speak when she suddenly stepped forward two paces, her phoenix eyes widening slightly as she studied him. "You..." She stopped, then examined him more closely.
"So the Qin Clan's Young Master looks..." She paused, apparently choosing her words. "...quite handsome."
She was very pleased.
Handsome?
Qin Wangchuan's expression shifted slightly, as did those of the people standing behind the girl.
They had actually heard their young mistress call someone handsome?
Was this really Li Qingluan, the one who kept everyone at arm's length?
No matter what the others thought, Li Qingluan raised her sleeve slightly and gave him an ancient, solemn greeting. Then she watched him with curiosity and asked:
"I was indeed waiting for you, but how did you discover me?"
"I used an Immortal Emperor Weapon. Even an ordinary Great Emperor shouldn't have been able to sense me."
An Immortal Emperor Weapon?
She carried one of those around with her?
Several old men drew sharp breaths at her words, but they didn't pay it much mind.
After all, given the identity of the person before them...
One of the old men sent a voice transmission to Qin Wangchuan. "Young Master, this is Li Qingluan of the Heavenly Sword Li Clan."
So she's from the Li Clan.
Qin Wangchuan nodded.
No wonder her aura seemed familiar. It resembled that of Heavenly Emperor Li.
The old man then briefly introduced her accomplishments.
Li Qingluan, the Li Clan's direct descendant, was cold by nature and disliked crowds.
Her talent was so exceptional that she was rarely seen even once in a million years.
On the day she was born, ten thousand swords rang in unison above the Li Clan's ancestral grounds. Three thousand beams of sword light descended from beyond the Ninth Heaven, transforming into Azure Luans that circled the rafters for three days without dispersing.
When she was three, she was playing in the Sword Pool when she accidentally stirred the Ancestral Sword, which had lain silent for ten thousand years. Its Sword Qi soared to the heavens, alarming the Li Clan's Heavenly Emperor.
At five, she began learning the Sword Dao. After just three days of practice, she triggered the phenomenon known as "Sword Qi Transforming into Rainbow," turning the Spiritual Energy within a hundred li into the shape of swords.
When she was seven, she secluded herself in the Sword Mound. The hundred thousand ancient swords there trembled as one, forming the spectacular sight of "Ten Thousand Swords Paying Homage."
That same year, she broke through to the Fourth Realm.
Nine strands of innate Sword Qi descended from the Ninth Heaven, forming a Sword Lotus that carried her aloft for a hundred days without falling.
Heavenly Emperor Li had once declared that she was the reincarnation of a "Sword Dao Immortal," destined to walk an unprecedented path to the pinnacle of the Sword Dao.
Though she was only sixteen, her legend had spread throughout the Ten Directions Immortal Court.
Seven years old and already in the Fourth Realm? Qin Wangchuan nodded.
That was indeed excellent talent.
It was just still a little short of his own.
"Spiritual energy."
He spoke suddenly, leaving Li Qingluan momentarily stunned.
"What?"
Qin Wangchuan repeated himself. "I said, spiritual energy."
As he spoke, he gave her a long look.
They said she was cold by nature. Why does she seem so airheaded, like she'd be easy to fool?
"Even if you conceal your figure and suppress your aura, as long as there are cultivators around, the surrounding Spiritual Energy will be disturbed."
"It's easy to find you by following the flow of Spiritual Energy."
"See the flow of Spiritual Energy?"
Wouldn't that make every concealing technique and Supernatural Power useless?
Li Qingluan's pupils contracted sharply. For the first time, her usually cool expression showed shock.
"Is that even possible?"
Even with her Sword Heart Clarity, she had never heard of anyone who could control the flow of Spiritual Energy.
It was like trying to find a grain of white sugar amid a snowstorm.
It required an almost absurd sensitivity to the Spiritual Energy of Heaven and Earth...
"The Young Master can actually..." The others weren't the only ones stunned. Even the old men with him looked aghast.
They had never heard of anything like this before.
Qin Wangchuan looked back at the people behind him and asked, puzzled, "Is it that difficult?"
This ability had come to him after he ate the Heavenly Fortune Creation Fruit.
His sensitivity to Spiritual Energy had reached an almost absurd level.
He hadn't thought it would be useful, but now it seemed that might not be true.
"This isn't a matter of difficulty, Young Master. You're defying the heavens..." The old man who had just struck down Devil Lord Kugu muttered to himself. Now he understood why the Old Ancestor had assigned several people to protect him.
Someone this heaven-defying absolutely could not be allowed to die before his time!
Li Qingluan took a deep breath, suppressing her shock. She raised her jade-like hand, and Sword Intent flowed around her fingertips.
"This isn't the place to talk." Her voice was still cool. "Come with me."
Before she had even finished speaking, a ten-thousand-zhang rift suddenly split open in the sky!
Boom—
A colossal ship cast entirely from Azure Jade burst through the void. A divine Azure Luan, its wings spread wide, was carved into the bow. Its wings stretched a thousand zhang, and every feather shimmered with razor-sharp Sword Intent.
Ancient Li Clan Dao Patterns were engraved across its hull, gleaming with a cold edge in the sunlight. The entire vessel looked like a peerless divine sword drawn from its sheath.
Qin Wangchuan had never seen such an enormous Flying Ship, but the several Dao Protectors behind him had seen plenty.
"This is the Heavenly Sword Flying Ship of the Li Clan," the old man explained.
"They say the Li Clan's founder forged it from Ninth Heaven Profound Jade, then tempered it with supreme Sword Intent for ten thousand years. When this ship appears, it can cleave the sun and moon!"
After speaking, he sent Qin Wangchuan another voice transmission:
"Now that she's brought out a Flying Ship like this, either she thinks very highly of you, Young Master, or she has a favor to ask."
Li Qingluan's robes fluttered as she lightly touched down on the wing of the Azure Luan statue at the bow.
She turned to look at Qin Wangchuan, her hair streaming in the wind. Behind her stretched the boundless Cloud Sea and the colossal ship that seemed ready to pierce the heavens.
"Please."
Before you continue