Venerable Supreme of Myriad Dragons

"Not long ago, that Shen Daoxing went on a rampage in Ancient Moon City! I heard even three talented Inner Sect Disciples from the Celestial Profound Sacred Land died at his hands, and that he destroyed the entire city!"

"What! He destroyed an entire city? That’s horrifying!"

An uproar erupted among the crowd in the hall.

’Shen Daoxing?’

The Tianze Emperor was stunned for a moment. He clearly hadn’t expected this to be Shen Daoxing’s true identity. But he quickly snapped out of it, looked toward the old man in the seat of honor, and said hurriedly,

"Great Ancestor, this talk about some great demon who will destroy the East Continent, this ’Celestial Slaughter Demon Star’... it’s just the Celestial Profound Sacred Land’s side of the story! It can’t be taken as truth!"

However, the Tianze Old Ancestor, as if he hadn’t heard a word, suddenly bellowed, "Bold! Celestial Slaughter Demon Star! You deliberately concealed your identity. What are your intentions for coming to Tianze?"

With that, the Tianze Old Ancestor slammed his hand on the table and shouted, "Guards! Seize him for me!"

The three generals standing guard, Peng Yue, Deng Fang, and Yuan Yuan, were taken aback. "But... but... Great Ancestor, Young Master Yang just saved Tianze!"

"BANG!"

A loud crash echoed.

All of a sudden, the low table in front of the Tianze Old Ancestor exploded into pieces. He was enraged. "Bold! Peng Yue, Deng Fang, Yuan Yuan, have you boys decided to stop listening to me?"

"This... this..."

The three generals, Peng Yue, Deng Fang, and Yuan Yuan, froze. They glanced at the Tianze Old Ancestor, then back at Shen Daoxing. But it was an order from their Great Ancestor. No matter how unwilling they were, no matter how much it went against their principles, they could only obey.

With a wave of his hand, Peng Yue gave the signal. The soldiers in the hall sprang into action. With a CLATTER of armored feet, they rushed forward, surrounding Shen Daoxing in an instant.

"Stop!"

But just then, a sharp cry rang out in the hall as the Tianze Emperor shot to his feet. "Great-Ancestor, Shen Daoxing just saved Tianze! How can you treat him like this? This makes us seem ungrateful!"

He took a long stride forward, placing himself between Shen Daoxing and the Tianze Old Ancestor. "Great-Ancestor, as long as I’m here today, I will not allow you to touch him."

"That’s right, Great-Ancestor! Tianze cannot repay kindness with hatred! How can you believe a word those people from the Celestial Profound Sacred Land say? Don’t forget how they just tried to destroy us! This talk of a ’Celestial Slaughter Demon Star’ who will one day destroy the entire East Continent is complete nonsense! Don’t we know what kind of person Shen Daoxing is?"

A pleasant female voice suddenly called out from outside the hall.

"BANG!"

Another loud crash.

The hall doors were thrown open, and He Qian, He Yu, and He Yong strode inside. Without a word, all three of them moved to stand protectively in front of Shen Daoxing.

At the sight of this, the Tianze Old Ancestor’s face grew dark. "You... all of you...!"

"He Cheng, it seems no one in your He Family can be trusted."

Just then, a mild-mannered male voice spoke up.

Everyone froze, turning toward the voice. A man in green robes emerged slowly from the side of the hall.

The man in green had a refined, scholarly air about him, and his gentle face held a faint, constant smile.

"He Cheng, since they’re unwilling to do it, we’ll do it ourselves."

As he spoke, the man in green clapped his hands. Suddenly, the disciples of the Celestial Profound Sacred Land—who should have been locked in the dungeons—began to emerge, their footsteps clattering as they surrounded everyone in the hall.

’The people from the Celestial Profound Sacred Land!’

Everyone stared, stunned.

"Great-Ancestor!"

The Tianze Emperor stared at the old man in utter disbelief. "Great-Ancestor! The Celestial Profound Sacred Land just plotted against Tianze, trying to seize our entire kingdom and the Celestial Essence Ore Vein! And you’re still in league with them?"

The Tianze Old Ancestor, however, remained impassive, his face unreadable. "Wu, this is the only way to save Tianze now."

’The Tianze progenitor’s whereabouts are unknown. At this moment, Tianze has no one to rely on. The various powers of the East Continent will surely be eager to make a move. If they want to protect the Celestial Essence Ore Vein within their kingdom, they can only find a new patron. As the greatest power in the East Continent, the Celestial Profound Sacred Land is the best possible backer.’

"Exactly! A wise man adapts to the times."

The man in green strode forward, his lips cracking into a small smile. "He Cheng, you just have to help the Celestial Profound Sacred Land eliminate this Shen Daoxing, and the grudge between our Sacred Land and your Tianze will be wiped clean."

The man in green then looked indifferently at Shen Daoxing. "He Cheng, what are you waiting for? Kill Shen Daoxing!"

Shen Daoxing calmly met the man’s gaze. "It’s you. So you didn’t die after all."

’The moment he saw the man in green, Shen Daoxing remembered. This was the person he’d met in Ancient Moon City, the one who had hung Shangguan Yiran from the city gates to torture her.’

’He had forgotten his name, though.’

Wang Mingxuan shot a cold look at Shen Daoxing. "Heh heh heh... that’s right! And what a pity! You were so close. You’re quite skilled, Shen Daoxing. I nearly died by your hand. Too bad for you that you didn’t count on the protective Daoist Talisman my Master gave me."

Shen Daoxing was completely unfazed. "It doesn’t matter. I’ll just kill you again today."

At this, Wang Mingxuan flew into a rage. "Insolent! Shen Daoxing, do you really think this will be like Ancient Moon City? Our Celestial Profound Sacred Land has already surrounded the entire Celestial Lake Swamp—"

But Shen Daoxing couldn’t be bothered with his nonsense. He simply raised two fingers, and a pinpoint of white light flared into existence. In an instant, it had crossed a vast distance.

Wang Mingxuan was about to say more when a jolt of alarm went through him. He hastily brandished a yellowish-brown talisman.

But in that same instant, before the talisman’s glow could even manifest, the paper was pierced through, leaving a large hole.

WHOOSH!

A long streak of white light shot through like a rainbow.

Startled, Wang Mingxuan’s figure flickered, turning illusory before dissolving into a stream of golden copper coins. They fell to the ground with a CLANG, and every single coin had a conspicuous hole pierced through its center.

The next moment, Wang Mingxuan’s figure materialized a short distance away. A bloody hole had appeared on his chest, barely an inch from his heart. Blood dripped steadily to the floor below. DRIP. DRIP.

’Ninth Layer of the Spirit Transformation Realm!’

’When did his cultivation reach the Ninth Layer of the Spirit Transformation Realm?!’

Wang Mingxuan’s pupils contracted. He stared at Shen Daoxing in utter horror.

’He had fought Shen Daoxing before. Back then, his opponent’s techniques were formidable, but his cultivation was only at the First Layer of the Spirit Transformation Realm.’

’And in such a short amount of time, this brat in front of him was already at the Ninth Layer of the Spirit Transformation Realm!’

’A level of cultivation that took others decades, even centuries, to reach!’

’Yet this brat before him had done it in less than a month!’

’This... This was a terrifying speed of cultivation.’

Wang Mingxuan’s eyes widened in horror.