161: The two emperors met

Gu Changge took in the silent probing between the two and the fleeting understanding in the Lord of Annihilation's eyes, the faint smile on his lips deepening a few shades.

Although the Azure Profound Sect's Concealment Skill was exquisite and could deceive ninety-nine percent of Cultivators in Xuan Province, it ultimately couldn't escape the perception of a Great Emperor-level gaze.

It seemed it was time to upgrade the Sect's Cultivation Technique library; they couldn't let their Sect's "hidden methods" be useless in front of true powerhouses.

He then slowly opened his mouth, breaking the brief silence: "Senior Brother, Elder of Silent Extinction is new to Zizhu Peak. My Peak only has simple bamboo dwellings built by Xiao Ruobai and Hanyu. I'll have to trouble you to dispatch some capable personnel from the Main Peak to build a house for the Elder."

Xuan Yangzi immediately understood upon hearing this, and he clapped his chest in assurance, his tone full of cheerfulness: "Junior Brother, don't worry! Leave this to me! I'll go arrange it right away!"

The Lord of Annihilation nodded slightly: "Thank you, Sect Master Xuan Yang, for your trouble. Silent Extinction is new to the Azure Profound Sect, and in the future, I will need Sect Master's guidance in Sect affairs."

"Haha, no problem, no problem! We're all one family, no need to be formal!"

Xuan Yangzi laughed and agreed, then chatted with the two for a few more moments before discreetly taking his leave.

Once Xuan Yangzi's figure had completely disappeared into the horizon, Gu Changge's gaze slowly swept over every blade of grass and every tree on Zizhu Peak. Finally, his gaze returned to the Lord of Annihilation, a profound light flashing in his eyes, his tone a bit more serious than before.

"Although the Azure Profound Sect appears peaceful, it also hides many secrets. Since you have joined my command, in the future, besides protecting Zizhu Peak, you can also pay more attention to the movements inside and outside the Sect."

At this moment, the light screen at the entrance of the Eternal Heavens Pride Tower rippled again, and Ling Xi's figure stepped out.

At this moment, her hair was slightly disheveled, her moon-white battle attire stained with faint traces of energy annihilation left by virtual combat, and she even bore some injuries.

She stood outside the Tower, not leaving immediately, but instead looked up slightly, gazing at the majestic and ancient black Tower. In those Imperial eyes that once looked down on all ages, there remained a shock, fatigue, and a kind of... almost scorching excitement that had not yet fully dissipated!

This time, she had been inside for a full night, challenging the projections of three Great Emperors from different eras.

When battling the Blazing Heaven Great Emperor, the opponent's fiery Imperial Dao almost burned away all the Spiritual Qi around her. She relied on the Heaven Devouring Dao Art to withstand the scorching heat and found a flaw to counterattack.

Facing the Star River Great Emperor, the opponent used stars as weapons and the Universe as a formation. She was trapped in desperate situations several times, only narrowly escaping by relying on her past life's battle techniques.

Finally, in the duel against Taiyin Ancient Emperor, the extreme Yin Law froze half of her Meridians. She gambled her Origin to activate a secret technique, barely managing a narrow victory.

Every battle was extremely perilous, pushing her to the very edge of her current Realm's limits.

She won, but the victory was by no means easy.

Her internal Spiritual Qi was almost depleted, her Divine Soul felt faint stinging sensations from high-speed deduction and extreme concentration, and her muscles and bones retained a soreness from high-intensity confrontation.

However, Ling Xi showed no trace of dejection. Instead, she slowly raised her hand, looking at her slightly trembling but tightly clenched fists, the corners of her mouth uncontrollably curving upwards, finally letting out an extremely soft, yet incredibly satisfying sigh.

"What a thrill..."

She couldn't remember how long it had been since she had experienced such an evenly matched battle, one that required her to exert all her wisdom and strength to fight.

Being invincible for too long in her previous life, sparring in the same Realm had long lost its meaning. And challenging those beyond her Realm was more about relying on Realm comprehension and power suppression.

Only here, in the same Realm, confronting these projections of supreme powerhouses who once stood at the pinnacle of an era, could she experience the purest art of combat and the most extreme clash of Dao Laws!

This Tower was simply a supreme treasure on the path of Cultivation!

It was not only a test of combat power but also an all-around refinement of Dao comprehension, battle awareness, and adaptability.

Each exchange with a Great Emperor projection allowed her to glimpse the shortcomings of her own Cultivation Techniques and battle techniques, and even to absorb the opponent's unique understanding of the Great Dao, making it her own.

Under these repeated extreme pressures, the Heaven Devouring Dao Art seemed to become even purer and more active. The Cant Catch Me and Cant Catch Me she had just learned also gained deeper insights in actual combat.

That feeling of constantly challenging limits, constantly breaking through herself, and constantly absorbing nourishment, intoxicated her.

She finally understood why Xiao Ruobai and Fang Hanyu's cultivation had improved so rapidly and their combat power was so solid.

Constantly tempered in such an environment, it would be difficult not to become powerful!

"Although I reached the Peak in my previous life, I lacked such tempering... If I had this Tower earlier..."

Ling Xi murmured to herself, then chuckled and shook her head, suppressing the hint of regret in her heart, her gaze becoming even more resolute.

"To be Reborn in this life and gain this Opportunity is my good fortune! In this life, my Imperial path will undoubtedly be even more perfect!"

She took a deep breath of the extremely rich Spiritual Qi on Zizhu Peak, feeling her body and Divine Soul rapidly recover. When her gaze turned to the Tower of the Prodigy again, it was filled with endless fighting spirit and anticipation.

There were even more powerful projections waiting for her to challenge.

However, the moment Ling Xi looked up, her gaze met a figure standing silently not far away.

That person wore a black robe with a few dark gold patterns embroidered on the ink-colored fabric. His aura was calm and restrained, like a deep pool, only revealing a Heavenly Human Realm cultivation on the surface.

He stood quietly slightly behind Gu Changge, his posture respectful but not showing any subservience, as if he were just an ordinary Elder attendant.

But Ling Xi's pupils contracted almost imperceptibly. In her previous life, she ascended to the Imperial throne of the Tianlan Great World, controlling the destiny of billions of living beings. Her sensitivity to Qi had long become extremely keen, and even after Reincarnation and Rebirth, this instinct etched into her Imperial Soul had not dissipated.

The person before her seemed calm and placid, but beneath that calm, there seemed to be an boundless ocean, unfathomably deep.

That was not the underlying strength of an ordinary high-level Cultivator, but rather a profoundness that had accumulated over eons, a vastness that had once suppressed an era and overlooked all Universes. Even at her Peak, she might not have been able to fully see through this depth.

Especially those eyes, calm like a frozen galaxy, yet in their depths, they hid a faint, elusive phantom of Reincarnation, as if reflecting the birth and death of the Universe and the flourishing and decline of all things, carrying the vicissitudes of overlooking all ages.

"This person... is absolutely no ordinary being!"

Ling Xi's heart suddenly grew solemn, and her Imperial Soul trembled slightly.

"When did Revered Master acquire such a terrifying presence by his side?"

She subconsciously recalled the Great Emperor projections she had fought in the Eternal Heavens Pride Tower earlier. This person's aura was even more real and more vast than those projections, as if a living Emperor stood before her.

But the Xuanhuang Great World had been without an Emperor for ten thousand years. How could such a figure condescend to be an ordinary "Elder"?

Just as Ling Xi was secretly alarmed and countless thoughts raced through her mind, the Lord of Annihilation's gaze also swept over faintly.

The moment their eyes met, the air seemed to freeze for an instant.