245: The Immortal Kingdom Descends

Li Chengqian toyed with the ancient black ring, completely ignoring Xiao Yan's aggressive punch.

A mere third stage of Dou Zhi Li wasn't even enough to scratch an itch for him.

He didn't even need to move; the Human Emperor Aura naturally radiating from his body formed an invisible barrier, halting Xiao Yan's fist in mid-air, unable to advance even an inch.

"You!"

Xiao Yan's face flushed red as he exerted all his strength, but his fist felt like it had struck a transparent iron wall, remaining completely motionless.

He was both shocked and angry.

Who exactly is this guy? Why is he so strong?

He didn't even use Dou Qi, yet he made me unable to move? This is impossible! Even the strongest Clan Chief in Wutan City wouldn't have this kind of ability!

"Be quiet."

Li Chengqian glanced at him indifferently. The gaze was calm, yet it made Xiao Yan feel as if he had been seen through from head to toe. A sudden chill gripped his heart, and the fiery rage that had gone to his head was instantly extinguished by more than half.

He withdrew his fist and stared fixedly at Li Chengqian. Although he didn't dare to make another move, the anger and wariness in his eyes remained undiminished.

Li Chengqian couldn't be bothered to pay him any mind, simply turning his gaze back to the ring in his hand.

"Hiding inside and absorbing someone's Dou Qi for three years—you've been enjoying yourself, haven't you?"

"Now that your host is in trouble, do you, as his teacher, intend to keep playing the coward and watch him get bullied?"

Li Chengqian's voice wasn't loud, but it clearly transmitted into the ring.

The ring shuddered violently!

Yao Chen, hiding inside, was so terrified that his entire Soul almost suffered Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering!

He... how did he know about me?!

How did he know I was absorbing this kid's Dou Qi?!

This is impossible! This is absolutely impossible! I hid so well that even a Dou Zun expert couldn't discover my existence; how on earth did he see through it?

A monstrous wave rose in Yao Chen's heart, and countless thoughts flashed frantically through his mind.

Run?

Where could he run to? The other party could see through his identity at a glance and even speak to him through the ring; such methods had already exceeded his scope of understanding.

Play dead?

That was even less possible. The other party had already called him out by name; what was the point of pretending anymore?

"Your Excellency... just who are you exactly?"

An old and weak voice drifted slowly from the ring, filled with vigilance and a trace of undisguised terror.

"Oh, finally willing to speak?" Li Chengqian chuckled lightly. "You aren't qualified to know who I am."

"I am giving you two choices now."

"One, you obediently come out yourself."

"Two, I drag you out of this shell."

"My patience is limited; I'll give you three breaths to consider."

Li Chengqian's tone was very calm, yet it carried an unquestionable dominance.

Yao Chen's heart sank to the bottom of the abyss inside the ring.

He could feel that the other party definitely wasn't joking.

That invisible pressure made him, a former Dou Zun expert, feel the threat of death.

He didn't doubt for a second that if he didn't come out, the other party would truly use methods he couldn't comprehend to forcibly drag his Soul out, perhaps even crushing it on the spot!

"Sigh..."

A helpless sigh emanated from the ring.

Immediately, a wisp of white smoke rose from the ring, slowly condensing in mid-air into the semi-transparent phantom of an old man with white hair and beard.

It was none other than Yao Chen.

As soon as he appeared, he looked at Li Chengqian with a solemn expression, his cloudy old eyes filled with wariness and confusion.

"Junior Yao Chen greets you. I do not know why Your Excellency is looking for me?"

He lowered his posture, not daring to be the least bit arrogant.

Beside them, Xiao Yan's eyes widened upon seeing this scene!

This... what is this?

There's actually an old man's Soul hidden in my ring?!

Is he the culprit who has been absorbing my Dou Qi for these past three years?!

In an instant, anger, shock, confusion... all sorts of emotions surged into his heart, turning Xiao Yan's brain into a complete mush.

"Teacher?"

He subconsciously called out this title.

Yao Chen gave a bitter smile and looked back at Xiao Yan, his gaze complex.

He had originally intended to observe for a while longer and wait until the time was ripe to have a showdown with this kid.

But now, everything had been thrown into chaos by the mysterious man before him.

"You are Yao Chen?" Li Chengqian scanned Yao Chen's Soul, nodding. "The former number one Alchemist of the continent, your strength was not bad. Unfortunately, betrayed by your disciple, you ended up as nothing but a remnant Soul—truly miserable."

In just a few words, Li Chengqian had bloodily ripped open Yao Chen's greatest scar.

Yao Chen's expression instantly became incomparably ugly, and a flash of resentment and pain flickered through his illusory eyes.

"You... who exactly are you? How do you know these things?!"

Yao Chen's voice had changed pitch.

The matter of Han Feng's betrayal was one of the greatest secrets on the continent; besides himself and that wicked disciple, it was impossible for a third person to know!

What on earth was the background of this person before him?

"I know far more than you can imagine." Li Chengqian tossed the ring back to Xiao Yan, then stood with his hands behind his back, looking at Yao Chen.

"I can help you reshape your Physical Body, restore your strength to its Peak, and even make you stronger than before."

"I can also help you take revenge, making that wicked disciple who betrayed you suffer Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering, never to be reincarnated."

"I can even give you an opportunity to reach a higher Realm that you wouldn't even dare to dream of."

Every condition Li Chengqian threw out was like a heavy hammer, smashing fiercely onto Yao Chen's heart.

Reshape the Physical Body!

Kill the traitor with his own hands!

Reach a higher Realm!

Wasn't this the greatest wish he had been clinging to life for until now?

Yao Chen's heart began to beat violently. He forcibly suppressed the excitement in his heart and asked in a hoarse voice, "What are the conditions? There is no free lunch in this world. If Your Excellency is willing to help me, what do I need to pay?"

"Smart." Li Chengqian gave him an approving look. "My conditions are very simple."

"From now on, serve me."

"Refine pills for my Great Tang for the rest of your life."

Serve him? Refine pills for a lifetime?

Yao Chen was stunned.

Great Tang? What kind of faction is this? Is there such a Sect in the Central Plains?

He frowned and thought carefully, only to find that there was absolutely no information about "Great Tang" in his memory.

"Your Excellency... forgive this Junior for his ignorance," Yao Chen asked cautiously. "I do not know... what kind of faction is the 'Great Tang' you speak of? And where do you come from?"

He wanted to figure out the other party's background.

Li Chengqian looked at his expression, which was both eager and wary, and a smile curled on the corners of his lips.

He didn't answer directly, but instead raised his head to look at the grey, hazy sky.

"Do you think this sky is everything?"

"Do you think Dou Di is the end of Cultivation?"

Li Chengqian's words caused Yao Chen's heart to tremble, and a bad premonition arose spontaneously.

"What you know is merely an insignificant speck of dust in this endless Universe."

"As for where I come from..."

Li Chengqian slowly withdrew his gaze, looking at the bewildered Yao Chen and Xiao Yan, and indifferently spat out four words.

"Major Thousand Worlds."

As soon as his voice fell, he suddenly raised his hand and snapped his fingers toward the sky.

"Now, let you frogs in the well witness what a real world is!"

"Descend, my Great Tang's Immortal Kingdom!"

Rumble—!

A terrifying roar, enough to shatter the entire Dou Qi Continent, came from above the Nine Heavens!

The entire Wutan City, the entire Jia Ma Empire, and even the sky over the entire northwestern region of the Dou Qi Continent split open at this moment without any warning!

Streaks of pitch-black cracks, huge beyond imagination, covered the entire firmament like hideous scars!

Endless Chaos Qi poured down from the cracks!

Following that, towering, magnificent, golden palaces wreathed in Immortal Qi slowly descended from behind those cracks!