Luo Chuan glanced at Devil Lord Six Desires, whose features were still rather handsome, and said coolly, "No cultivator capable of turning me into a puppet has been born yet."
"Haha, little brother, you certainly have an extraordinary temperament. No wonder you broke through to the Spirit Severing Realm at such a young age. I admire you."
Devil Lord Six Desires licked his lips as he gazed at Luo Chuan's peerless beauty, wishing he could turn him into his puppet right then and there, to serve him for the rest of his life.
But Devil Lord Six Desires was no fool. He understood better than anyone that Luo Chuan was formidable, and that he would need the right opportunity to make him his puppet.
Duanmu Ji stroked his beard and said calmly, "Six Desires, let me give you a word of advice. This young fellow knows the Death Curse Technique. He'll be rather important to us later."
"Heh, of course. I have no intention of going after a Spirit Severing Realm cultivator. Besides... your cultivation, brother, should have already reached the Mid Spirit Severing Realm, right?"
Luo Chuan was now concealing his cultivation at the mid stage. Naturally, these old fellows couldn't tell that he had already broken through to the Late Spirit Severing Realm.
Duanmu Ji stared solemnly toward the location of Star-Shattering Chaos and said, "We're only waiting on Meng the Hunchback now. Three hundred years ago, I heard he offended the Giant Devil Race, a Level 4 Cultivation Country, and was hunted by the ten great war devils of their clan. I wonder if he's still alive."
"The Giant Devil Race... I heard they recently produced a Yingbian Realm powerhouse and have already advanced to a Level 5 Cultivation Country."
Ancient Emperor stroked his beard and nodded. "The Giant Devil Race was a Level 5 Cultivation Country back then. Later, their Progenitor suddenly died, and they fell to Level 4. Now that they've produced another Yingbian Realm powerhouse, advancing back to Level 5 will be a simple matter."
"Meng the Hunchback offended the Giant Devil Race. I'm afraid he's as good as dead."
"Even if this old hunchback dies, he'll drag the entire Giant Devil Race down with him!"
Just as Ancient Emperor's voice fell, a hoarse voice slowly rang out from the horizon. Amid its vast, rumbling echo, a gigantic, green toad dozens of zhang tall appeared in the distant sky.
The toad landed in the distance with a thunderous crash. Though it was far away, everyone present could still feel the ground shake.
Then the toad kicked off with its hind legs, its enormous body springing into the air. It vanished in a flash of lightning and reappeared not far from the group.
Suspended in midair, it came crashing down like a small mountain. Ten zhang from Duanmu Ji and the others, it slammed into the ground.
With a boom, the surrounding mist was violently swept up and blown far away.
When the mist cleared, the enormous toad came into view. Countless raised lumps studded its back, each slowly contracting, faint pulses of spiritual power flickering within them.
Its huge eyes rolled, revealing a savage, bloodthirsty gleam.
A man sat astride the toad. He wore a green robe and had a short, hunched frame, his back raised high like a hunchback's.
He had triangular eyes, a small chin, and a sharp, monkeylike face. A ghostly light glimmered in his eyes, while his face was covered in swollen lumps like those on a toad. A foul stench wafted from the sores, making him look hideously ugly.
Meng the Hunchback touched the sores on his face and let out a hoarse, cackling laugh:
"Those old devils of the Giant Devil Race hunted this hunchback for over three hundred years. I poisoned every last one of them to death. If the thousand-year cycle weren't about to arrive and this place weren't about to open again, this old hunchback would've stormed the Giant Devil Race and avenged their pursuit."
Devil Lord Six Desires clasped one hand behind his back and sneered. "You? The Giant Devil Race has a Yingbian Realm powerhouse now. The moment you set foot in their territory, they'd wipe you out."
"Six Desires, you little brat, you talk too much!"
Meng the Hunchback said, looking thoroughly displeased.
He had only said it offhand. After all, Spirit Severing Realm powerhouses weren't fools; they naturally understood how terrifying a Yingbian Realm monster was.
"All right, stop arguing. As agreed, I'll contribute four Top-Grade Spirit Stones this time."
Duanmu Ji reluctantly took out four seven-colored Top-Grade Spirit Stones. After looking them over, he forcefully embedded them in the grooves of the formation.
Devil Lord Six Desires and Ancient Emperor each took out three. Only Meng the Hunchback, that old fellow, brought out a single one, showing that he really was out of Top-Grade Spirit Stones.
As the Top-Grade Spirit Stones were placed in the teleportation formation, several golden pillars of light shot into the sky.
Vast energy gathered within the formation, spreading in all directions like raging waves. The moment the boulders around them touched that energy, they shattered to pieces.
The formation beneath them also burst into dazzling golden light, enveloping Lin Che and the other person inside it and transporting them to the true Ancient God Land.
As one of the few forbidden regions on Vermilion Bird Planet, the Ancient God Land was so dangerous that even Ascendant Realm powerhouses would surely perish there.
It was, after all, the place where Tusi, an Ancient God, had fallen.
Tusi had been an Eight-Star Ancient God. While pursuing the Nine-Star level, he used a reverse cultivation method, giving rise to the demonic thought Tuosen. In the end, Tusi fell, and his body landed on Vermilion Bird Planet, forming the Ancient God Land.
The place was filled with danger, including all kinds of traps, unknown threats, and special restrictions such as Forbidden Mountain and Nirvana Realm, as well as a great many Wandering Souls.
"This is the first checkpoint of the Ancient God Land. To enter the second checkpoint, we have to cross the floating stones here."
Duanmu Ji glanced at Luo Chuan beside him and said calmly, "There's not much danger in this first checkpoint. As long as we don't make too much noise, that beast hasn't woken up once in a thousand years."
The beast he meant was the Desolate Beast beneath the seven-colored floating stones, whose strength had reached the peak of the Late Spirit Severing Realm.
Ancient Emperor snorted disdainfully. "It's just a beast. What's there to fear?"
But just as Ancient Emperor finished speaking, the entire void suddenly trembled. A mass of blood-red light flashed past, shattering all the floating stones before them.
A blood-red Azure Dragon, a hundred meters long and enormous in build, appeared amid the red light. Its surging, overwhelming energy instantly engulfed the area, pressing down on everyone with an unprecedented sense of oppression.
Ancient Emperor's expression froze. Before he could react, his blood surged violently, and he abruptly spat out a mouthful of crimson blood.
"This... this is a Desolate Beast! What do we do?"
Ancient Emperor looked at Duanmu Ji and the others in terror. Clearly, he hadn't expected this to be a Desolate Beast whose strength had reached the peak of the Late Spirit Severing Realm.
Duanmu Ji's face turned ashen. He summoned his magic treasure and shot straight into the distance, shouting, "What else can we do? Run!"
Luo Chuan, Jade Flute in hand, glanced sideways at the Desolate Beast. Without revealing his cultivation prematurely, he followed Duanmu Ji and the others toward the exit of the second checkpoint.
Devil Lord Six Desires looked at Luo Chuan, whose expression remained unchanged. After a moment's thought, he fixed his gaze on Ancient Emperor and twitched his finger, sending out a seal in an instant.
"Fear!"