"Hahahaha..."
Nangong Jinghe laughed when he heard that, without a trace of fear on his face. "You needn't try to frighten me with words. The Gold Ring is right here on me. If you have the ability to take it, I'll admit defeat and submit to whatever you decide."
"Besides, all your high-minded talk of 'risking a deadly tribulation to destroy your own Dao Body' and 'descending to the Lower Realm to uphold order' sounds laughable to me."
"That story might fool outsiders, but don't fool yourself with it."
"We're after the same thing. Do you think I don't know your real reason for descending to the Lower Realm and starting your cultivation over?"
"So tell me, fellow Daoist: are you afraid I've broken the rules, or afraid I'll get there first and snatch that opportunity?"
Luo Qianchou did not grow angry at Nangong Jinghe's retort. He merely shook his head. "What fate holds for you will come in time; what fate denies you, you must not force. That opportunity belongs to whoever it was meant for. Your fixation on it has clouded your judgment."
"Hmph."
Nangong Jinghe gave a contemptuous snort, then closed his eyes and said no more.
Meanwhile, in the Divine Mausoleum area, Wu Chang, who had heard their entire exchange, felt a lingering chill of fear.
Who would have thought these two righteous prodigies, who appeared to be only at the Path Seeking Realm, had descended from the Void Realm?
It was fortunate Chen Yang had stopped him in time. If those two had learned of his existence, there was no telling what trouble it might have brought.
Chen Yang remained relatively calm, for their conversation had confirmed two very important things.
First, strict restrictions governed the descent of Void Stepping Realm cultivators to the Lower