65: The Crimson Lord has arrived? Sorry, even a half-step Great Sage would have to get a slap in the face!

Inside the warm pavilion of Purple Heaven Palace.

The floor heater was burning brightly, dispelling the last bits of chill left by the Taiyin phenomenon.

Gu Lingshuang held the newborn Su Qingyue, her finger gently poking that pink and tender little face. The usually decisive Empress now had eyes full of a smile so soft it could drip water.

"This little one is much quieter than that little monkey Changge."

"She doesn't cry or make a fuss; she'll definitely be a lady of a great household in the future."

Beside her, Bai Lingxi leaned on a soft couch, drinking the spiritual porridge brought by Yu Xin, a look of happiness on her face upon hearing those words.

Even the consistently ice-cold Yu Xin, looking at the baby in swaddling clothes, felt much of the 'strangers keep away' coldness in her eyes melt away. She even subconsciously reached out her hand, wanting to touch that small clenched fist, only to stop in mid-air, fearing her Evil Qi might startle the child.

"Touch her if you want to."

Su Xuanchen sat by the window, peeling a spirit orange and casually popping a segment into his mouth, speaking indistinctly:

"The children of our Su Family aren't that delicate."

Yu Xin was stunned for a moment.

Her fingertips gently touched that warm skin.

So soft.

A warm current flowed through her fingertips and into her heart.

Su Xuanchen watched this scene, filled with a myriad of emotions.

A few years after Transmigration, from a piece of Trash who could have his family wiped out at any moment to now having a wife, children, and a warm home—this is what life should be like.

Only... he looked toward the corner.

There, An Wanrou sat with her head lowered, her hands tightly clutching the corner of her clothes. Her charming and moving face was filled with unease, and her eyes drifted toward the window from time to time, like a startled rabbit.

"Debts don't weigh one down when there are too many."

Su Xuanchen sighed.

These few at home had just settled in, but this Demon Palace Saintess's heart knot hadn't been untied yet.

Having such flourishing luck with women was also a kind of trouble.

Just as he was thinking about how to say a few words of comfort.

Suddenly.

*Clang!*

The teacup in An Wanrou's hand fell to the ground, shattering into pieces.

The scalding tea splashed onto her embroidered shoes, but she was completely oblivious.

Her whole being seemed lost, her face turning deathly pale in an instant, and her delicate body began to shake uncontrollably.

"He's... he's come..."

Her teeth chattered, her voice carrying a fear that originated from her very marrow.

"Who's come?"

Su Xuanchen threw away the orange peel, pulled out a silk handkerchief to wipe his hands, his expression calm.

"The... Crimson Venerable!"

An Wanrou looked up, and in those peach blossom eyes that were usually soul-stirring, only endless despair remained.

"The Fentian Demon Palace's First Hall Master... that devil!"

"He found me!"

"Husband Su, leave quickly! Take the sisters and go!"

She stumbled over, wanting to push Su Xuanchen, but her legs gave out and she knelt directly on the ground.

"He is a Half-step Great Sage! He even has a great sage weapon!"

"He will kill you! He really will kill everyone!"

Half-step Great Sage.

In this era where Great Sages do not appear, these four words represented invincibility, represented a natural disaster.

Inside the room, Gu Lingshuang and Bai Lingxi's expressions also changed.

Only Su Xuanchen remained.

He still sat there, not even moving his buttocks.

He simply reached out, pulled the kneeling An Wanrou up, and drew her into his embrace.

"What are you afraid of?"

Su Xuanchen's large hand pressed against her back, the warmth from his palm forcibly calming the restless spiritual power within her.

"When the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up."

"I am your man."

"If I can't even protect my own woman, wouldn't my cheats have been opened for nothing?"

Listening to that powerful heartbeat, An Wanrou's logic, which was on the verge of collapse, returned slightly, but her tears still wouldn't stop falling.

"But..."

"Shh."

Su Xuanchen raised a finger.

"If some Trash isn't swept away, the house won't be clean after all."

He stood up and cast his gaze out the window.

There.

The originally clear sky had been shrouded by an eerie dark red at some point.

The sky looked as if a bucket of dog blood had been splashed across it.

The suffocating smell of sulfur, even through the family protection array, still made one's throat feel dry.

"Let's go."

Su Xuanchen straightened his collar, a playful smile curving at the corner of his mouth.

"Let's go meet that..."

Outside Wanbao City, thousands of miles into the Void Realm.

*Rumble—!*

Red clouds pressed down, and a sea of fire surged.

A ten-thousand-zhang-long white jade flying boat came to a forced halt at the edge of the sea of fire.

"Stop!"

On the deck, Taixu opened his eyes, those eyes hiding Sword Intent full of wariness.

"What terrifying fire-poison Evil Qi!"

"To cultivate the Fentian Demonic Technique to this level, he really is only a half-step away from becoming a Great Sage."

He looked at the crimson figure standing in the center of the sea of fire in the distance and sucked in a breath of cold air.

"Crimson Venerable!"

"Why did this old madman come in person?"

Beside him, Lin Miao held an ancient zither, her face also pale.

"Senior Brother, is that... the direction of Wanbao City?"

"Is the Crimson Venerable going to move against the Su Family?"

Taixu nodded and gave a cold, gloating laugh.

"That idiot Su Xuanchen really doesn't know how the word 'death' is written."

"Not only did he offend the Heavenly Kingdom and the Heavenly Demon Palace, he even dared to abduct the Saintess that the Fentian Demon Palace had their eyes on."

"The Crimson Venerable is famous for being narrow-minded and vengeful."

"This time, the Su Family is finished."

"Then we..."

Lin Miao hesitated.

"Didn't the Old Ancestor tell us to come and pressure Su Xuanchen? If he dies..."

"If he's dead, then he's dead."

Taixu flicked his sleeve, his expression indifferent.

"A dead man has no value in being pressured by the Taishi Sect."

"And..."

He glanced at the sea of fire that was enough to incinerate the Void Realm, fear flashing in his eyes.

"The current Crimson Venerable is in a state of rage."

"If we interfere, we might end up getting burned ourselves."

"Let's just watch from here."

"Watch how that arrogant brat is burned to ashes."

Above Wanbao City.

Hot.

Extremely hot.

The water level of the city moat dropped at a speed visible to the naked eye, and the spiritual trees in the city immediately withered and spontaneously combusted.

Countless Cultivators looked up in horror.

They saw a hundred-zhang-tall Flame Dharma Idol standing amidst the clouds, looking down upon this tiny city.

Crimson Venerable.

His red hair danced wildly, his skin was as red as a branding iron, and magma-like demonic fire flowed through every inch of his muscles.

That was the manifestation of the Law of Fire.

"You Su Family brat!"

The Crimson Venerable spoke.

His voice was like rolling thunder, causing the light of Wanbao City's family protection array to flicker unsteadily.

"Get out here for this Venerable!"

"Hand over that wench!"

"Otherwise, this Venerable will refine this Wanbao City today and turn this place into a land of death!"

A loud bang!

He stepped down.

The Void Realm shattered.

A visible red shockwave slammed violently into the family protection array.

*Crack!*

That Ninth-rank Array, which was enough to withstand the attacks of a Peak Saint King, actually cracked with a shocking fissure.

The might of a Half-step Great Sage was truly terrifying!

Inside the city, there was a chorus of wails.

"It's over!"

"It's the Crimson Venerable! That murderous Devil Head!"

"Where is the Su Family Ancestor? Why hasn't he come out yet?"

Despair spread.

Just as the array was about to completely shatter.

"You're so noisy."

A lazy voice abruptly echoed through heaven and earth.

There was no world-shaking Aura.

It was like an old neighbor complaining about the noise downstairs, opening a window to shout a reprimand.

But with just those three words.

The sea of fire churning across the sky strangely froze for a moment.

Immediately after.

A Starlight Path extended from Purple Heaven Palace, unfolding in the Void Realm.

Su Xuanchen walked out with his hands behind his back, as if taking a leisurely stroll.

Beside him followed An Wanrou, her head lowered and her body still trembling.

"Yo, you call this playing with fire?"

Su Xuanchen glanced at the Flame Dharma Idol in the sky, his eyes full of disdain.

"If I didn't know better, I'd think someone's gas tank exploded."

Quiet.

Deathly silence.

On the white jade flying boat in the distance, Taixu almost couldn't catch his breath.

"Crazy!"

"This kid is crazy!"

"Facing a Half-step Great Sage, he actually dares to speak like that?!"

In the sky.

The Crimson Venerable was stunned.

He had traversed the Sacred Ruins Continent for thousands of years; where had he not been revered by thousands? When had he ever been compared to a gas tank?

Although he didn't know what a gas tank was, he knew from the tone that it was definitely not a good word.

"Good, good, good!"

The Crimson Venerable laughed out of extreme anger, his crimson face twisting like a malevolent ghost.

"Sharp-tongued little beast!"

"When I pull your tongue out later, I hope you can still be this tough!"

He looked past Su Xuanchen, his gaze landing on An Wanrou.

Instantly, the killing intent in his eyes turned into a nauseating mix of lewdness and greed.

"Wench."

"I didn't expect that after following this pretty boy for a few days, you've become even more alluring."

Stared at by that gaze, An Wanrou felt as if a poisonous snake was crawling up her spine, and she subconsciously shrank behind Su Xuanchen.

"Don't be afraid."

Su Xuanchen patted the back of her hand, then looked up, the smile on his face vanishing.

His face turned to one of indifference.

"Old thing."

"I don't like your eyes."

"Since you don't know how to look at people, then don't keep them."

Arrogant!

Simply arrogant beyond measure!

The Crimson Venerable shook with rage, the surrounding Laws of Fire completely going berserk.

"You're looking for death!"

"Kneel down for this Venerable!"

A loud bang!

He raised his hand, demonic light surging in his palm.

A thousand-zhang-tall, pitch-black stone monument appeared out of thin air.

Sky-Covering Demonic Stele!

A Supreme Grade Sage Weapon!

It was covered in cursed and poisonous runes. As soon as it appeared, the vitality within a hundred-mile radius was forcibly plundered; flowers and grass withered, and birds fell from the sky.

"Suppress!"

The Crimson Venerable pressed his palm down.

The demonic stele, carrying a weight that could crush mountains and rivers, smashed down toward Su Xuanchen's head.

This strike held nothing back.

He intended to smash Su Xuanchen, along with the entire Su Family, directly into meat paste!

"It's over."

In the distance, Taixu shook his head and closed his eyes.

"A Half-step Great Sage activating a Supreme Grade Sage Weapon—this kind of power is something even a true Peak Saint King couldn't withstand."

"Su Xuanchen is doomed."

However.

The next second.

*Crack!*

A crisp sound of shattering made Taixu open his eyes.

He saw Su Xuanchen standing in place, not moving at all.

He simply extended two fingers and casually swiped toward that sky-blotting demonic stele.

As if cutting tofu.

*Ssh—!*

A brilliant Stellar Sword Light, at its absolute Peak, instantly sliced through the Void Realm and also sliced through that overbearing demonic stele.

From top to bottom.

One divided into two.

The cut was as smooth as a mirror.

*Boom!*

The two halves of the demonic stele crashed to the ground, kicking up clouds of dust.

A Supreme Grade Sage Weapon, destroyed!

"This..."

The Crimson Venerable's eyes widened, his eyeballs nearly falling out of their sockets.

"How is this possible?!"

"That was a Supreme Grade Sage Weapon! Even a Saint King Weapon couldn't cut through it!"

"You... you've hidden your cultivation?!"

Su Xuanchen blew on his fingers, his expression flat.

"Just a piece of broken stone."

"Is it worth making such a fuss over?"

He raised his eyelids, looking at the dumbfounded Crimson Venerable.

"Any other tricks? Hurry up."

"My wives are waiting for me to eat at home; I don't have time to waste with you."

Humiliation.

Pure, unadulterated humiliation.

The Crimson Venerable's face suddenly turned the color of pig liver.

"Ahhh!"

"Little beast! You go too far!"

"If I don't kill you today, I swear I am not human!"

A loud bang!

He had gone completely mad.

He struck his chest and spat out a large mouthful of essence blood.

"nether lords precious wheel, come forth!"

*Buzz!*

The heavens and earth changed color.

A gray circular wheel emerged from between his brows.

The wheel wasn't large, only the size of a palm, yet it radiated a terrifying Aura that made all living beings want to kneel.

A great sage weapon!

A true, flawless great sage weapon!

The nether lords precious wheel was the personal weapon of the ancient Nether Lord, containing the Great Dao Laws of death and aging.

"Die!"

The Crimson Venerable's face was hideous as he frantically activated the precious wheel.

A gray beam of light, carrying the power to strip away all Lifespan, shot toward Su Xuanchen.

Everywhere it passed, the Void Realm was aging and decaying.

"A great sage weapon?!"

In the distance, Taixu cried out in alarm, his face deathly pale.

"The Crimson Venerable actually had such a trump card hidden?!"

"Not good! Retreat quickly! This Aging Power has too wide a range; to touch it is to die!"

He frantically drove the flying boat backward, fearing he would be caught in the crossfire.

"Go to hell!"

The Crimson Venerable laughed maniacally.

This nether lords precious wheel was something he had obtained in a forbidden land by risking half his life. Although he could only activate a portion of its power, it was enough to Suppression a true Great Sage!