184: Chapter 181 Fang Tao

Within the secret chamber, deathly silence returned.

"Chu Chaosheng" lowered his head and looked at his own hands. These hands, with distinct knuckles, seemed to still retain the warmth and power belonging to a Late-stage Grandmaster.

He slowly clenched his fist, feeling the endless river of spiritual energy surging within the Physical Body.

"The tactile sensation of flesh... the taste of spiritual energy..." He spoke hoarsely, his voice carrying a trace of reminiscence, a trace of intoxication, but more than that, a sort of aloof indifference.

"It has truly been a long time... this feeling of being imprisoned in a cage."

The cage he spoke of did not refer to the Seal beneath Qinghua Mountain, but this Physical Body named "Chu Chaosheng."

To him, any Physical Body was a form of restraint, a kind of... temporary station.

He raised his head, his gaze seemingly piercing through the layers of Restrictions in the secret chamber, looking toward the endless firmament.

"However, before the feast begins, one always needs some appetizers."

"Let's start with... overturning this chessboard."

A month passed quietly.

For a Cultivator, a month was merely a fleeting moment, a short period of seclusion.

However, for the Mortal kingdoms and the entire landscape of the Desolate Province, this month was filled with surging undercurrents and shifting winds and clouds.

The Great Chu Dynasty, this ancient Dynasty that had stood for thousands of years, seemed like a slumbering giant beast, quietly awakening.

Decrees from the depths of the imperial palace, written personally by the Old Ancestor Chu Chaosheng, flew towards the major military camps like snowflakes.

There was no court assembly, no deliberation; even the contemporary Chu Emperor was only "notified" after the decrees were issued.

Although the Chu Emperor felt shock and suspicion regarding this, he dared not show the slightest defiance in the face of the majesty accumulated by the Old Ancestor over thousands of years.

He could only watch helplessly as ninety percent of the Great Chu Dynasty's military forces turned into torrents of steel, like hundreds of rivers returning to the sea, secretly gathering at the border bordering the Great Xuan Dynasty.

At the border, the Evil Qi soared into the sky; iron armor filled the camps, and banners blocked out the sun.

That murderous Aura was so thick it almost solidified, dyeing the clouds in the sky a dark red.

The entire Great Chu was like a fully drawn bow, its arrow aimed directly at Great Xuan!

Yet the instigator of all this, the true "Chu Chaosheng," had at this moment quietly left the Great Chu imperial capital.

His figure, like an invisible wind, swept across mountains and rivers, finally descending upon the imperial palace of the Great Yan Dynasty.

The Great Yan imperial palace was magnificent and golden, with purple Qi rising; a golden Dragon formed by the national fortune coiled within the clouds, emitting vast pressure.

However, this Dragon Qi of national fortune, which would make any Grandmaster Realm Cultivator tremble with fear, seemed to encounter a natural predator in front of "Chu Chaosheng," letting out a low whimper and shrinking back.

He walked down casually, as if walking on flat ground, ignoring all the Restrictions and guards within the palace, and appeared directly inside the Great Yan Dynasty's political affairs hall.

Inside the hall, someone had long been waiting.

That person wore a crimson dragon robe, with a dignified appearance, naturally imposing without anger, and faint fiery energy circulated around him; he was none other than the Old Ancestor of the Great Yan Dynasty, Fang Tao.

"Brother Chu, you have finally come." Fang Tao slowly opened his eyes, two flashes of brilliance passing through them.

He looked at the Chu Chaosheng before him, but his brows furrowed slightly and involuntarily.

For some reason, today's Chu Chaosheng gave him a feeling of being extremely unfamiliar.

It was clearly the same face and the same Aura, but the coldness and deathly silence in the depths of those eyes made a chill inexplicably rise in his heart.

"Brother Fang, you have waited long." "Chu Chaosheng" spoke indifferently and sat down casually opposite Fang Tao.

His posture was excessively casual, as if he were not a visiting guest but the true master of this palace.

Fang Tao suppressed the strangeness in his heart and asked in a deep voice: "Brother Chu, our two dynasties have been in an Alliance for many years, so I will speak directly."

"You suddenly mobilized ninety percent of Great Chu's military forces to the Great Xuan border; what... exactly is the meaning of this move?"

His voice was filled with gravity and confusion.

"Could it be that you really intend to fight Great Xuan to the death?"

Fang Tao's eyes were fixed tightly on "Chu Chaosheng," trying to discern something from his face.

During the last trip to Qinghua Mountain, the five of them, all Great Grandmasters, joined forces but were suppressed by that Prodigy named Chen Zhiwen, unable to even lift their heads. That battle had left him with too much shock.

Afterward, Chen Zhiwen even fought alone against the North Sea, slaying five Great Grandmasters of the Yao Race.

Such a person could no longer be described by the word "Prodigy."

That was a true... invincible posture!

Although Fang Tao also wished he could devour the Great Xuan Dynasty alive, he knew better than anyone that as long as Chen Zhiwen was not dead, no one could stop the rise of Great Xuan!

Now that Chu Chaosheng was acting this way, in his view, it was no different from courting death.

"Chu Chaosheng" heard Fang Tao's questioning, but there was not the slightest ripple on his face.

He picked up the teacup on the table and took a light sip, his movements elegant and composed.

"Fight to the death? That term is used well." He put down the teacup, making a soft sound.

"It's just that it will be them who die, and we... shall rest."

Fang Tao's pupils shrank violently: "Brother Chu, have you gone mad! Chen Zhiwen..."

"Chen Zhiwen?"

A mocking curve hooked the corner of "Chu Chaosheng's" mouth, as if he had heard some huge joke.

"Just a... mere Chen Zhiwen."

His voice was very light, yet it carried an unquestionable arrogance and contempt.

"Even if he is strong, could he possibly slaughter everyone in both of our Imperial Dynasties all by himself?"

"Brother Fang, I have come this time to join forces with your Great Yan to annex Great Xuan in one fell swoop and divide its national fortune and territory. After it is done, we two shall divide the world; wouldn't that be wonderful?"

He looked at Fang Tao, his eyes carrying a bewitching magic.

"As for that Chen Zhiwen..."

"Leave him to me to handle; that will suffice."

Inside the hall, it instantly fell into a deathly silence.

Fang Tao stared intently at the "Chu Chaosheng" before him, the look of shock and suspicion on his face growing deeper.

The unease in his heart had now climbed to its peak.

Something is wrong!

Something is very wrong!

The person in front of him is definitely not Chu Chaosheng!

Although Chu Chaosheng was arrogant, he was certainly not stupid. He had personally experienced Chen Zhiwen's terror and would never say such arrogant and ignorant words!

Furthermore, his eyes... that was a gaze that viewed all living beings as mere grass, a sort of aloofness that stood above the Mortal world. This was not a gaze that an Imperial Dynasty Old Ancestor should have!

Fang Tao's heart sank bit by bit.

His expression also turned abruptly cold, and a terrifying Aura slowly rose from within his body; the air in the entire hall seemed to solidify.

"You..."

Fang Tao said word by word, his voice so cold it seemed squeezed out from between his teeth.

"Who on earth are you?!"

The moment his voice fell, the spiritual energy within his body had been pushed to its limit, and a crimson flame True Essence faintly transformed into a roaring Flame Dragon phantom behind him.