Smoke billowed, and waves of air surged.
Only after a long while did everything settle down.
A gigantic palm print lay in the area ahead, the terrifying aura of a Sage within it enough to make hearts tremble.
"Hiss..."
"He was simply too powerful!"
"Was this the legendary power of a Sage?"
No one even dared breathe loudly. This was a peak Sage whose qi and blood had yet to decline!
"Gui Yin pays his respects to the Divine Son!"
As those words fell, a black-clothed middle-aged man abruptly appeared on the flying boat's deck and respectfully dropped to one knee before Su Changge.
"No need for such ceremony, Senior."
"It was a trivial matter. Thank you for intervening, Senior."
Su Changge wore a smile and appeared very approachable.
"It is my honor to serve the Divine Son!"
Sage Gui Ying had never expected the legendary Divine Son to treat him so courteously, and he was all the more moved!
In his eyes, Su Changge's talent was so terrifying that his future accomplishments would surely transcend this world, yet he remained neither arrogant nor impatient and treated his elders with every courtesy. Such unique charm could make people lose themselves!
Why was this Sage acting strange too?
Staring at me with such a burning gaze...
At that thought, Su Changge shuddered. It was simply too frightening to think any further!
The many factions of the Heaven River Realm were even more dumbfounded at this sight.
A Sage! That was a legendary Sage!
All below Saint Realm were mere ants.
And this legendary Sage was actually this young man's guard!?
Their scalps tingled all the more. How powerful must a faction be to send a Sage as a guard? They no longer dared pursue that thought.
Su Changge stood with his hands behind his back, looking indifferently down at everyone below. "Now, does anyone still object?"
His icy voice reached their ears, making their minds tremble and their bodies go numb.
Object?
Anyone who objected would have to take a palm strike from a Sage!
Who would dare? That would be like the god of longevity hanging himself-tired of living too long!
"We shall obey your command, my lord..."
"We will respectfully await you here, my lord."
The ancient, secluded Ancient Factions of the Heaven River Realm bowed their heads one after another. There were actually half-step Sages among them, but the gap between them and the Sage before them was a hundred and eight thousand miles wide.
It was not merely a difference in qi and blood, but also in strength.
The many cultivators kept their heads lowered, not even daring to look up at the figure aboard the flying boat.
That terrifying aura seemed capable of shattering their minds with a single exchanged glance, leaving them walking corpses from then on.
Watching the silent crowd, Su Changge's lips lifted slightly. The strong devouring the weak had always been a law of heaven and earth.
"Gui Ying, Xin Yan, come inside with me."
The figure aboard the flying boat moved.
They had not seen Su Changge's appearance before, and now that they could see him clearly, they were astounded by his otherworldly beauty!
A tall, straight figure stood against the wind atop the flying boat, his white robes snapping and his black hair dancing in the breeze, his features comparable to a Banished Immortal's.
Countless faction leaders and elders briefly lost themselves. Such a proud, unworldly bearing surely belonged only in the heavens.
"It seems that young man in white is the legendary Divine Son."
"Tsk, tsk. With such an unworldly bearing and the strength to suppress an Emperor-Sealing Realm expert with a single word, calling him the Divine Son is no exaggeration."
"I'm starting to feel that being bullied by him like this isn't so bad..."
"Tch, you're just a bootlicking dog!"
"I was born in the year of the dog. Got a problem with that?"
"You..."
Many cultivators had originally harbored immense hatred toward Su Changge, yet after seeing that face, quite a bit of it actually faded!
It truly bore out a saying from his previous life: so long as the villain was handsome, people's moral compass followed his face.
Su Changge and his two companions had arrived before the tomb's entrance. He was just about to activate the Jade Pendant in his hand to open it when another unexpected development arose.
Whoosh!
A streak of light abruptly descended, forming a barrier that blocked Su Changge and the others.
"Hmm?"
"A Ninth Grade Defense Array?"
Numerous Great Dao Runes flowed across the barrier, each golden rune resonating and intermingling with the others like an exceptionally sturdy protective shell.
Nine represented the utmost limit, and this Defense Array could be considered a rare sight.
"If you want to enter the tomb, you'll have to get past me first!"
Just then, a woman's voice rang out. It was none other than Luo Qingyu, the Holy Daughter of the Returning Unity Sect.
"Divine Son, I can break this Magic Array," Sage Gui Ying said beside him, cupping his hands.
"No need." Su Changge shook his head in refusal, stroking his chin as though considering something.
Logically speaking, leaving this girl here should not have allowed Luo Yan to stir up much of a splash.
Although it was a ninth-grade Defense Grand Array, even if he dealt with it himself, it would not take much time.
Suddenly, the information recorded in the Jade Pendant flashed through his mind, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.
"A petty little trick."
It seemed Luo Yan deliberately wanted him to shatter this Defense Array, so the aftershocks of the battle would trigger the tomb's self-defense restrictions.
During that interval, Luo Yan would have enough time to inherit the Great Emperor's entire legacy.
He had to admit that this Fortune's Child did have a little cunning.
Unfortunately.
Luo Yan still lacked seasoning, and he had left Su Changge the perfect way to counter it too.
Looking at Luo Qingyu, Su Changge put on a sympathetic expression. "What a pitiful child."
"You clearly love your Brother Luo Yan so deeply, yet he only treats you as a tool."
"Ah..."
"You've given so much, but he doesn't have the slightest feeling for you. In the end, it's nothing but your own one-sided affection."
Su Changge deliberately made his words ambiguous, so her imagination would run as wild as possible.
That would also favor what came next.
Sure enough, after hearing Su Changge's words, Luo Qingyu felt her heart lurch, and her face grew somewhat pale.
Still, she stubbornly retorted, "Impossible! Brother Luo Yan said he would share the Great Emperor's legacy with me. He would never lie to me!"
"You must be deliberately lying to me! Don't even think about driving a wedge between us!"
Su Changge shook his head helplessly, pretending to be overwhelmed with emotion. "The most pitiful people in this world aren't those whose devotion is betrayed, but those who are used as tools and then discarded."
"If he really intended to do that, why didn't he simply take you inside? Rather than sharing it afterward, wouldn't receiving the legacy together be faster?"
"Besides, with his knowledge of these ruins, as long as he moved quickly enough, he could finish receiving the legacy before I even entered."
"No! No! Brother Luo Yan would never!"
"Y-you must be lying to me!"
Luo Qingyu clutched her head in anguish, a hint of wavering in her eyes.
If she carefully considered Su Changge's words, they fit the current circumstances perfectly.
Seeing Luo Qingyu's state, Su Changge knew his opportunity had come.
All that remained was one final dose of potent medicine.
"I previously obtained Luo Yan's Jade Pendant."
"Do you know what was recorded in it?"
Su Changge paused there.
He was deliberately drawing all of Luo Qingyu's attention, so that when he revealed the truth, the blow she suffered would be greater and the effect better.
"The Jade Pendant said that if a major battle broke out outside the tomb, it would activate the tomb's self-defense restrictions."
"When that happened, no one would be able to enter, and Luo Yan could inherit the ruins' entire legacy."
"You would have earned credit for buying him time, but how would things end for you?"
"The local factions of the Heaven River Realm wouldn't know the truth and would vent all their fury on you. Even as the Holy Daughter of the Returning Unity Sect, could you still protect yourself against that furious crowd?"
"You would meet the most tragic end, while Luo Yan would gain both success and fame."
"Ah... You've been kept in the dark from beginning to end. You're nothing but a pawn he intended to discard all along."
It was as though thunder exploded in Luo Qingyu's heart.
Her mind went utterly blank, and she crumpled to the ground, trembling uncontrollably as though unable to accept any of this.
The once-beautiful woman was now utterly distraught, the tremendous blow causing her mind to collapse!
A faint smile lingered on Su Changge's lips as he continued, "You can't believe it, can you?"
"Aren't you furious?"
"As long as you open this Defense Grand Array, I can take you into the tomb with me."
"This is your best chance to tear off his mask."
"Are you going to let it slip away?"
Before you continue