531: This is the greatest cruelty for a former prodigy!

After a hearty drinking session, Mo Qi departed gracefully.

However, this was only temporary. There were still several months until the Contest of the Imperial Son, and Mo Qi's strength had not yet recovered. He also needed to find a suitable place to Cultivate and regain his power.

At the same time, he also needed to find some means to deal with his old adversaries, lest he have to flee again in a moment of crisis.

"Mr. Mo Qi's talent is truly remarkable, and his perseverance is one in a million."

"Even with his Dao severed, he was able to Cultivate to the Immortal Realm again. Even those with extraordinary Aptitude probably couldn't achieve that."

"Thirty thousand years, it's too long!"

Yan Yuzhu, who had been silent, took a light sip of fine wine and slowly spoke.

She wasn't familiar with Mo Qi; this was their first meeting. Although they were at the same table, some things couldn't be said casually.

She understood the principle of not speaking too intimately with new acquaintances.

But this didn't prevent her from feeling respect for a figure like Mo Qi. Mo Qi deserved that respect!

Shen Tianxing listened and couldn't help but nod, saying, "Before, I only knew he was a man with a story, but I didn't realize he was also a pitiful person who had experienced countless hardships."

"However, the fact that he could overcome that mental hurdle in thirty thousand years also indicates that his return to the Immortal Realm was by no means accidental."

"The Outer Domain won't stop him; he will definitely return to the Inner Domain alive. It's really hard to say who will benefit more from the cooperation between him and me."

Drinking the wine in his cup, Shen Tianxing felt a sudden enlightenment rise in his heart.

He possessed the soul slaying platform and didn't need to rely on talent to succeed, but he truly envied Geniuses like Mo Qi and Yan Yuzhu, who were born with exceptional Aptitude.

Especially Mo Qi's experience, like a history of struggle from prosperity to decline, then abandoning everything to start anew, which was thought-provoking.

This was the world of Cultivators.

Full of infinite possibilities, yet everywhere going against the Heavens, emphasizing the strong as supreme, and constantly engaged in struggle.

Compared to the intrigues of the human world, it was remarkably similar, sometimes even more cruel.

Yan Yuzhu pondered, saying, "What do we do next? Your strength still has room for improvement. Shouldn't you focus on improving yourself? After all, the Contest of the Imperial Son will begin in just four months."

"As Mr. Mo Qi said, the people in the Inner Domain might not be so easy to fool, so we should be prepared for the unexpected."

If someone conspired with the Three Saints of the Golden Crow to deal with Mo Qi thirty thousand years ago, it's not impossible that Cultivators might use similar methods to deal with Shen Tianxing this time.

Being prepared is the way to act.

Yan Yuzhu knew the stakes involved. She didn't want Shen Tianxing to sacrifice his own Cultivation time just to help her quickly improve her cultivation.

"You make a good point. It's time to start preparing."

"Four months is enough for me; you don't need to worry."

With the soul slaying platform as his Golden Finger, what preparations were needed?

It was nothing more than harvesting the lives of more powerful individuals.

As long as he had enough experience points, his strength could even increase infinitely within a single day.

Although this was merely theoretical, it showed that four months was sufficient for him to improve himself.

A gentle breeze blew, scattering bamboo leaves in the mountains, carrying a few wisps of fragrance that permeated the air, filling the entire valley with a sense of tranquility.

Only the two figures remained seated outside the bamboo house, unmoving like mountains... A massive city was built on the edge of the Forbidden Sea.

It stretched for millions of miles, with countless inhabitants!

The towering city walls, reaching into the clouds, emitted a brilliant glow. In the sunlight, dazzling light shone, like an inverted bowl firmly protecting the entire great city within it.

Within the Forbidden Sea, there were myriad creatures, and they did not always stay in the sea. They would also, with the rising tides, use the towering waves to come ashore and assault this great city built by Cultivators.

Bihai City was the name of this great sea city.

No one knew how many years it had existed, only that since the city's establishment, countless great battles occurred here every year, and the targets of these battles were the endless creatures of the Forbidden Sea!

Bihai City belonged to the Dugu Family, a vast Cultivator Family. It was due to their existence that billions of people could live safely here.

At this moment, in a mountain courtyard within the city.

In the secluded courtyard, ancient trees stood tall, clear springs flowed, and melodious sounds emanated from the garden, softly humming, and at times rising to a high, impassioned pitch.

In the courtyard's small pavilion, a middle-aged man with a stern expression, dressed in white, sat by a stone table in the center of the pavilion, leisurely sipping tea.

Not far from the table, a young man with a slightly pale complexion and a short beard beneath his chin silently played the zither, completely unaffected by the middle-aged man.

This courtyard was part of the Dugu Family's estate.

And the owner of this courtyard was the young man gently playing the zither.

Clang!

After a long while, the zither's music abruptly stopped. A string had broken, and a trickle of blood flowed from one of the young man's fingers.

"Alas..."

The middle-aged man silently put down his teacup, his stern face turning towards him, and said in a deep voice, "So many years have passed, and you still cannot move on. If this continues, how will you Breakthrough this final Heart Demon? How will you successfully enter the Dao?"

Dugu Can's gaze held a hint of disappointment and exasperation, as well as a touch of regret and sorrow.

The young man before him was his own son, once an unparalleled Prodigy who dominated the Inner Domain. Unfortunately, his Dao Heart was shattered, and a Heart Demon grew within him, leading to his gradual decline.

As long as he couldn't overcome the Heart Demon, he couldn't enter the Dao.

For someone who was once a favored son of Heaven, this was the greatest cruelty!

The young man was named Dugu Fei, the favored son of Heaven of the Dugu Family's younger generation, but he had silently remained in this courtyard for thirty thousand years!

His former pride had long been worn away, and his past prestige was gradually replaced by the new generation of favored sons of Heaven within the Family.

As one of the Dugu Family's elders, Dugu Can wielded immense power, yet he couldn't help Dugu Fei. A Heart Demon was fair to everyone.

Only by relying on one's own will to break through the Heart Demon could one succeed; external forces were useless.

Dugu Fei had heard these words for thirty thousand years and was long accustomed to them.

His eyes were as calm as still water, as if nothing could register in them, and nothing could stir his inner being.

He simply wiped the blood flowing from his finger, appearing very composed.

But in Dugu Can's eyes, this was an act of self-abandonment.

"The Contest of the Imperial Son in the Outer Domain is about to begin. You've already missed it twice; do you want to miss it again?"

"Your Dao Heart was shattered in the Outer Domain back then. If you want to return to your Peak, you can only find it there!"

Dugu Can's voice carried a hint of authority, and even the surrounding air trembled with it. All things seemed to be still at this moment.