168: You're someone I can't afford to offend.

Dark clouds pressed down over the Taichu Sect.

A figure stood in the Void Realm, surrounded by profound array patterns, looking down coldly at the crumbling Sect-Protecting Array below.

He was Lin Chao, the newly ascended Quasi-Emperor of the Taishi Holy Land.

"Grand Beginning, it's been thousands of years since we last met. You've really regressed as you've aged."

Lin Chao mocked him excessively, his voice like rolling thunder, exploding in the ears of every Taichu Sect Disciple.

"How does it feel to guard this desolate, barren land and play the local king?"

In front of the Sect's main hall, Great Sage Taishi's hair and beard were completely white, and his body was withered, but under that Quasi-Emperor pressure, his back remained perfectly straight.

He looked at his high-spirited Junior Brother in the sky, his expression calm and undisturbed like a deep well.

"Lin Chao, why vent the grievances between us on the Sect's Juniors?"

"Grievances?"

Lin Chao burst into wild laughter as if he had heard the world's biggest joke.

"Are you even worthy of talking about grievances with me?"

His laughter stopped abruptly, his eyes suddenly turning icy cold, revealing naked killing intent.

"Back then, you suppressed me so much I couldn't even lift my head, treating me like an ant!"

"Today, I am already a Quasi-Emperor!"

"And you are nothing but an old dog trapped here, gasping for your last breath!"

"Now, it's my turn to teach you the meaning of hierarchy!"

Lin Chao's anger flared even more, vowing to trample what little dignity this old fellow had left under his feet.

"Kneel!"

He roared.

"Boom—!!!"

An even more terrifying Quasi-Emperor pressure crashed down like a Primordial Divine Mountain!

"Crack! Crack!"

The ground beneath Great Sage Taishi's feet shattered inch by inch. The bones throughout his body made overwhelmed popping sounds, and his old face turned bright red.

But his knees remained as motionless as two divine iron pillars rooted deep into the earth!

"Still stubborn?"

Seeing this, Lin Chao laughed in extreme anger.

A trace of cruelty flashed in his eyes as he prepared to apply more pressure and snap Great Sage Taishi's kneecaps.

Suddenly.

His eyebrows twitched slightly as he sensed an Aura rapidly approaching the Taichu Sect.

"Saint Realm?"

Lin Chao's Divine Thought swept over, and the sneer on his face deepened.

"Hahaha! Grand Beginning, is this your reliance?"

"You found a mere Saint to be your savior?"

"Pathetic! Ridiculous!"

He raised his hand, and the Void Realm trembled. A heaven-covering hand condensed from Quasi-Emperor Laws appeared out of thin air, carrying a vast imperial might as it grabbed fiercely toward the approaching light!

He wanted to crush Great Sage Taishi's last hope right in front of him, as easily as squashing an ant!

"Stop!!"

Seeing this, Great Sage Taishi's eyes nearly split from rage.

Filled with shock and anger, he moved to block it without a second thought.

"Overestimating yourself!"

Lin Chao snorted coldly and flicked his finger.

"Pfft!"

Great Sage Taishi felt as if he had been struck by lightning. He spat out a mouthful of blood, and his entire body was pinned in place by an invisible force, unable to move or even speak.

He could only watch helplessly as that Quasi-Emperor hand grabbed toward the person he least wanted to be involved in this mess.

「It's over...」

Great Sage Taishi's heart turned cold.

「The measures Senior Su left behind must work!」

He prayed frantically in his heart.

He knew better than anyone that what Lin Chao was grabbing wasn't some Saint.

He was grabbing a catastrophic disaster capable of wiping out the entire Taichu Sect, and even the Taishi Holy Land!

Meanwhile.

Inside the Taichu Sect, those Elders who had already bowed and scraped before Lin Chao began to flatter him even more upon seeing this.

"The Lord Quasi-Emperor's Divine Might is peerless!"

"A mere Saint is nothing but an ant before you, easily crushed with a flip of your hand!"

"That old thing Grand Beginning doesn't know what's good for him, daring to defy the Lord Quasi-Emperor. He deserves to die!"

The sounds of sycophancy were endless.

Listening to these praises, Lin Chao's conceit and pleasure swelled to the extreme, as if he were already the sole Dominator of this world.

* * *

Lin Miao, who was rushing over at full speed, furrowed her elegant brows.

As soon as she neared the vicinity of the Taichu Sect, she noticed the surrounding Void Realm was forcibly imprisoned by a domineering power.

Immediately after.

A large hand wreathed in Quasi-Emperor Laws tore through the clouds and grabbed down at her.

Although the power was strong, it carried a clear sense of superficiality and impatience.

Lin Miao understood instantly.

「Someone is plotting against me!」

「They want to use me to threaten my husband?!」

A cold light flashed in her clear, beautiful eyes.

"You're looking for death!"

Facing a Quasi-Emperor strike that would drive even an ordinary Saint King to despair, Lin Miao did not dodge.

She flipped her jade-like hand.

A green pearl, flowing with a Supreme divine charm, appeared in her palm.

The Supreme Secret Treasure Chang Xiyue had personally refined for her—the Changxi Green Moon Pearl!

"Break!"

Lin Miao infused her Divine Power into it.

"Hum—!!!"

A vast, holy Supreme pressure that transcended the Emperor's Dao erupted!

That pressure swept in all directions like an invisible tide!

"Crack!"

That aggressive Quasi-Emperor hand was as fragile as tofu before this Supreme pressure.

It couldn't even last a single breath before shattering on the spot!

Turning into a sky full of light rain!

"Hmm?"

Lin Miao broke free from the restraint and floated in the air, but a trace of doubt appeared in her eyes.

「This Quasi-Emperor... why is he so weak?」

She shook her head, not bothering to look deeper into it.

The priority was the Old Ancestor's safety!

Lin Miao put away the pearl. Her face was covered in frost as she turned into a streak of light and continued charging toward the Taichu Sect.

Her undisguised anger and killing intent made the space along the way wail.

* * *

"Pfft!"

The moment the Quasi-Emperor hand was crushed, Lin Chao felt as if he had been struck by lightning. He spat out a mouthful of heart's blood, and his face instantly turned pale.

"A... a Supreme Secret Treasure?!"

His eyes widened as he looked at the figure who had broken free and whose Aura was soaring. His heart pounded wildly, and a chill rushed from the soles of his feet to the top of his head!

To be able to casually bring out a Supreme Secret Treasure for protection!

Was this woman's background something he could afford to provoke?!

His soul nearly left his body, and he was about to retreat.

Suddenly.

An indescribable, terrifying gaze from the infinitely distant Chaos Divine Realm crossed hundreds of millions of space-time distances and fell upon him!

That gaze held no emotion whatsoever.

Yet it made the spiritual sense of Lin Chao, this newly ascended Quasi-Emperor, let out an unprecedented, heart-wrenching, and frantic warning!

It was as if with just a single thought from the other party, his body and soul would be extinguished, leaving not even a chance for Reincarnation!

"Thud!"

Lin Chao's legs went weak, and he almost tumbled out of the sky.

His back felt cold, and cold sweat had already soaked his robes.

He was terrified.

He, a Quasi-Emperor who had lived for thousands of years and whose Heart-Nature was as firm as a rock, was actually scared out of his wits by a single gaze!

He suppressed the terror in his heart, not daring to look at that receding streak of light again.

He turned his head and stared fixedly at the suppressed Great Sage Taishi, roaring with false bravado:

"Grand Beginning!!"

"You... you actually dared to hide such a powerful helper?!"

"You dared to set me up?!"

The pressure on Great Sage Taishi suddenly decreased, and he could finally catch his breath.

Looking at Lin Chao's panicked and wretched appearance, he slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, a mocking sneer appearing on his lips.

"I told you long ago."

Great Sage Taishi spoke word by word, his voice not loud, but each word was like a slap across Lin Chao's face.

"You, can't afford to provoke them."

"You!!!"

Lin Chao was both angry and afraid, his face turning the color of pig liver.

He pointed at Great Sage Taishi, his finger trembling violently. Finally, he came up with a ridiculous accusation to excuse his own stupidity.

"Fine, Grand Beginning!"

"You colluded with outsiders to harm your fellow Sect members!"

"You are betraying the Taishi Holy Land!!"