286: Chapter 285 The Immortal Emperor Appears, the Ultimate Winner?

As Lin Feng's voice fell, a moment of deathly silence descended upon the world.

The originally shrill 'Heavenly Crying' blood rain seemed to have been forcibly paused by some supreme will. The red clouds across the sky stopped rolling, the violent spatial turbulence instantly calmed, and even the thick scent of blood in the air was masked at this moment by a faint scent of sandalwood.

This silence was even more unnerving than the thunderous roar when the Seven Luminaries Immortal King erupted earlier.

If the Seven Luminaries Immortal King's pressure was an erupting volcano, violent and destructive, then the Aura descending now was the entire firmament—vast, majestic, and irresistible.

"Buzz..."

The void rippled, as if a calm water surface had been stepped upon.

In the clouds where Lin Feng's gaze was locked, a pair of golden boots slowly stepped out.

Following that, a middle-aged man wearing a dark gold imperial robe adorned with nine dragons and a Twelve-Tasseled Flat-Top Crown walked out step by step from the void. His hands were behind his back, his face ancient and majestic, and his eyes seemed to contain scenes of the rising sun, the setting moon, and the birth and death of stars.

He didn't release any Aura, but the moment he appeared, the Laws of the entire Third Layer of Heaven were submitting to him.

Immortal Emperor Haotian!

The ruler of the Thirty-Three Layers of Heaven, the nominal master of the Three Realms!

"Thud!"

In the ruins below, the survivors of the Qiyao Immortal Palace who were still holding on now looked as if they had seen a True God. They couldn't control their bodies at all, kneeling in unison, their foreheads pressed tightly against the ground, their bodies trembling.

Even the eight hundred death soldiers of the Demon Suppression Division behind Liu Ming felt waves of trembling from the depths of their Souls at this moment. That was the absolute suppression of life levels, like a rabbit meeting a true dragon, instinctively wanting to submit.

"Stand up straight for me!!"

Liu Ming bit the tip of his tongue, using the sharp pain to forcibly wake his consciousness, his long spear slamming into the ground, "We are soldiers of Tiance Mansion! We bow to no one but the Division Master!!"

Hearing this angry roar, the middle-aged man in the sky lowered his eyes slightly and glanced indifferently at the scene below.

It was just a single glance.

"Pfft!" Liu Ming felt as if he had been struck by lightning, violently spitting out a mouthful of blood and flying backward dozens of meters, but the fire in his eyes burned even brighter.

"You have some backbone."

Immortal Emperor Haotian withdrew his gaze, his tone as flat as if he were commenting on whether an ant was strong. Then, he fixed his gaze on Lin Feng.

At this time, Lin Feng still maintained his posture of standing with his blade. Although the duration of the 'Asura King Experience Card' had passed and his Aura began to recede, the arrogance in his eyes had not diminished in the slightest.

Clap, clap, clap.

Crisp and slow applause came from Immortal Emperor Haotian's hands.

"Lin Feng, you are very good."

A faint smile hung on Immortal Emperor Haotian's face, the appreciation of a superior for an inferior, carrying a high-and-mighty sense of detachment. "I have seen countless people, and in these ten thousand years, you are the only junior who has managed to surprise me."

"Slaying an Immortal King as a Great Luo Early Stage... although it was with the help of external forces and some secret method, it is enough to be recorded in the annals of the Heavenly Court."

"This blade is sharp enough; I like it very much."

Listening to these words, the corner of Lin Feng's mouth curled into a playful arc. He didn't feel honored by the Immortal Emperor's praise; instead, he gripped the blade in his hand tighter, his muscles tensed to the extreme.

He felt an unprecedented threat from this man.

It was the kind of threat that could crush him to death at any moment.

"Your Majesty overpraises me," Lin Feng said with a fake smile, his eyes full of vigilance. "I was just helping Your Majesty clean house. This old dog was disobedient and wanted to bite his master, so I slaughtered him for you. You don't need to thank me."

"Heh, cleaning house?"

Immortal Emperor Haotian laughed, but the smile didn't reach his eyes; instead, it carried a chilling coldness. "Although Qiyao had some schemes, he was, after all, an Immortal King personally enfeoffed by me, a pillar of the Heavenly Court. By killing him, according to the Laws of the Heavenly Code, your nine generations should be executed, and your Divine Soul banished to the Nine Serenities, never to be reincarnated."

These light words were like a judge deciding life and death.

The air below instantly froze, and everyone's hearts leaped into their throats.

But in the next second, Immortal Emperor Haotian shifted the topic.

"However... I am one who cherishes talent. Currently, the Heavenly Court is in need of people. Now that Qiyao is dead, I need a new, sharper blade."

"As long as you are willing to submit to me and swear a Heavenly Dao Oath never to betray, I can waive this death penalty. Even..."

Immortal Emperor Haotian paused and threw out an enticing bargaining chip: "I can appoint you as the new Seven Luminaries Immortal King, to take over everything in this Third Layer of Heaven."

Recruitment.

This was blatant recruitment.

Giving a slap then offering a sweet date was an old trick of imperial strategy.

Lin Feng sneered in his heart. If he hadn't known the original plot, or if he didn't have the System, an ordinary person would have probably bowed down in gratitude long ago.

But Lin Feng was very clear about this old fox's calculations.

Although the Seven Luminaries Immortal King was his subordinate, he also possessed an independent faction and had even hidden many good things. Immortal Emperor Haotian had been stuck at the Late Stage of the Emperor Realm for many years; to break through to the Peak, he needed to devour the Origin of other experts.

But as the Immortal Emperor, he cared about his reputation and couldn't openly move against his own people. That would alienate the other immortals and lead to the collapse of the Heavenly Court.

Therefore, he had been waiting.

Waiting for a reckless youth, waiting for a blade.

And Lin Feng was the blade he had chosen!

Using Lin Feng's hand to kill Qiyao, and then appearing as the mantis stalking the cicada, he could rightfully reclaim Qiyao's Origin and conveniently subdue or suppress Lin Feng, holding this peerless blade in his hand.

Killing two birds with one stone! A good plan! Truly a good plan!

"So Your Majesty is also interested in this 'dead man's wealth'."

Lin Feng didn't respond to the 'recruitment' offer but instead slowly pulled a dazzling ball of light out of the Myriad Dao Furnace.

That was exactly the purest [Origin Power] left behind after the Seven Luminaries Immortal King's death. It was like a miniature sun, emitting an enticing Aura of the Great Dao, containing the essence of Qiyao's tens of thousands of years of cultivation.

The moment he saw this ball of Origin, a trace of greed that was hard to conceal finally flashed through Immortal Emperor Haotian's originally calm eyes.

Although he hid it well, it was still captured by Lin Feng, who had been staring at him.

"As expected, it's for this," Lin Feng understood in his heart.

"Hand it over."

Immortal Emperor Haotian stopped beating around the bush and directly extended a hand, palm up, saying as a matter of course: "Hand over Qiyao's Origin to me. That is an asset of the Heavenly Court and the power I bestowed upon him. You are not yet qualified to touch a treasure of this level."

"Hand it to me, and the previous promise still holds. I will ensure you become the new Seven Luminaries Immortal King."

His tone was flat and certain, as if this were a great favor. In his view, Lin Feng had no reason to refuse, nor would he dare to.

After all, he was the Immortal Emperor.

In these Three Realms, no one yet dared to defy his decree.

However.

Lin Feng toyed with the burning ball of Origin in his hand, feeling the surging energy within. The smile on his face grew wider and wider, finally turning into an extremely arrogant and cynical wild laugh.

"Hehe... Hahahaha!"

"Immortal King? Sounds really tempting; that's a position so many people dream of."

Lin Feng's laughter stopped abruptly, and he suddenly looked up, his pitch-black eyes staring directly into Immortal Emperor Haotian's pressure-filled eyes, without a hint of fear.

"But, Your Majesty."

"I have a certain problem."

"I don't like eating steamed buns that others have already chewed."

"And I especially don't like... handing over the spoils of war after being used as a tool!"

"You want to get something for nothing? You want to use me as your cat's paw?"

"You look pretty enough, but you're dreaming too much!"