Hearing this, Xu Taiping asked Old Daoist Huang in return:
"Elder Huang, since you are a Qi-Reading Practitioner, surely you would know whether I was lying?"
Old Daoist Huang gave Xu Taiping a searching look.
When he once again saw the mass of fortune behind Xu Taiping, radiant as a river of stars, he finally decided to believe him.
So Old Daoist Huang replied through voice transmission:
"You deliberately revealed the information about the Earth Treasury Fruit because you wanted This Old Man to work with you to slay this Primordial Lord, didn't you?"
Xu Taiping corrected him:
"Work with us."
Old Daoist Huang said somewhat impatiently:
"Fine, fine. You lot, you lot!"
Old Daoist Huang continued:
"With an Earth Treasury Fruit as the prize, This Old Man could stake it all. Otherwise, at worst, This Old Man could sacrifice seventy or eighty percent of my cultivation power, fall back to the Spirit Refining Realm, and cultivate all over again."
Xu Taiping understood what Old Daoist Huang meant.
He was telling Xu Taiping that he could forcibly break free of the Immortal-Inviting Decree's restraints, though he would have to pay a price.
Xu Taiping said very calmly:
"That's all right. Elder Huang, if you are unwilling, there is no need to forcibly break free of the Immortal-Inviting Decree. I can release you from it right now."
Xu Taiping met Old Daoist Huang's eyes with an utterly earnest expression, then continued, "After all, we only invited you here to activate the grand formation."
"Now that the grand formation has been activated, you are free to decide whether to stay or leave."
Old Daoist Huang clearly had not expected Xu Taiping to say this, and for a moment he did not know how to answer.
Had he not heard Xu Taiping mention