Chapter 58 Did they run away?

As the Divine Thought poured down...

Shattering sounds echoed over the city. Chong Batian's eyes were blood-red, and fine beads of blood seeped from his skin, dripping onto the stone steps along his dark-gold demon armor.

"Damned old Human Race geezer!"

He growled, raising both arms. His demonic essence, which had fallen to the Late Stage of the Demon Venerable Realm, surged as Devilish Qi transformed into a hundreds-of-feet-tall phantom of a Six-Armed Demon God, meeting the descending Sword Intent.

The two collided.

An Immortal Emperor and a Demon Venerable were a whole Realm apart—it was a natural chasm.

Jiang Wuji's Sword Intent and Divine Thought didn't even pause, splitting the Six-Armed Demon God phantom right down the middle.

Puchi!

The demon armor shattered, and a sword scar appeared before Chong Batian. His knees buckled, and he knelt in the Void Realm before the hall.

Defeat came in an instant.

Chong Batian turned his head, glancing out of the corner of his eye at the guest hall behind him. Sitting there was the "Living Ancestor" he had just acknowledged.

Run?

The thought flashed for a second before he snuffed it out.

If he abandoned that Deputy Hall Master of the Immortal Realm Law Enforcement Hall to escape alone, even if he survived the Taixu Sword Sect's Immortal Emperor today, he would be crushed into ashes by that lord in the future.

He would risk it all. He'd treat it as a token of loyalty to that lord.

Chong Batian gritted his teeth, a pained ruthlessness flashing in his eyes. He slapped the Storage Pouch at his waist, and a blood-red stream of light soared into the sky.

"blood bone arhat bell! Block it for me!"

It was a palm-sized copper bell, dark red all over. This was a life-saving treasure he had snatched years ago from the place where an ancient great demon had passed away. To refine it, he had spent three thousand years of effort, treating it as his second life.

The blood bone arhat bell expanded rapidly, becoming like a blood-colored mountain protecting Chong Batian beneath it. Blood-light shone on the bell's surface, and the wails of ten thousand demon souls resounded through the clouds, forcefully blocking the Immortal Emperor's pressure.

A temporary respite.

Chong Batian panted heavily, his chest heaving as he stared at the blood bell above him, his heart bleeding. He knew this treasure wouldn't last long.

Meanwhile, inside the hall.

The world outside was falling apart, but it didn't seem to affect the eerie atmosphere here.

Lin Qingyue's elegant brows furrowed slightly as her gaze pierced through the hall's Formation light screen, landing on the Demon Venerable outside.

She looked at the sky, then turned to look at Gu Heng, who sat in the main seat, holding a cup of tea as if in a daze.

Since the moment that Immortal Emperor's pressure descended, this man had maintained this posture, staring blankly at the Void Realm outside the hall.

"This... Lord Deputy Hall Master,"

Lin Qingyue's eyes narrowed as she teased, "The Demon Venerable outside is about to be split in two by your Immortal Realm's Immortal Emperor. If you don't act soon, this play of 'incognito travel' might end prematurely."

Hearing her voice, Gu Heng retracted his gaze, glanced at Lin Qingyue, and rolled his eyes.

"Do you really think I'm a Quasi-Immortal Emperor?"

Gu Heng tapped the tea cup against the table. "That old man is an Immortal Emperor at the very least. He could flip this place over just by breathing. You want me to fight him? Do you think I've lived too long?"

Lin Qingyue was choked up by his words.

She had seen shameless people, but never someone who spoke of their own shamelessness so refreshingly.

When you used a token to scare two members of the Demon Race into wetting their pants and ordered a Demon Venerable around like a dog just now, why didn't you say you weren't a Quasi-Immortal Emperor?

Gu Heng sighed, his gaze sweeping across the hall before landing on the Old Dragon King, who was huddling in a corner, trying his best to minimize his presence.

His eyes lit up, and he pointed a finger.

"Hey, Old Dragon King, this is a perfect opportunity for you to show off. You go."

Pfft—

The Old Dragon King, who had just picked up his teacup again to moisten his throat, sprayed tea thirty feet away.

???

The Old Dragon King's dragon eyes widened, his whiskers trembling, his face practically screaming, "Are you kidding me?"

He scrambled to Gu Heng's feet, grabbing his leg and wailing, "Mas... Master! You can't screw over your old servant like this! I can't bear it!"

"That's an Immortal Emperor out there! Although I have thick skin, I can't withstand an Immortal Emperor's Sword Qi! I was locked in the Lower Realm for tens of thousands of years and have barely warmed up since getting out. I haven't even touched a little female dragon's hand yet; I haven't even found a wife. I don't want to die yet!"

He cried while clinging tightly to Gu Heng's leg, refusing to let go.

Gu Heng looked at the Old Dragon King's cowardly appearance and sighed.

"Fine, fine. I didn't expect this Old Loach to be of any use anyway."

Gu Heng rubbed his temples, his expression gradually becoming solemn.

He stood up, walked to the hall's entrance, and looked up. His gaze passed through the crumbling blood bone arhat bell, staring at the source hidden within the clouds hundreds of kilometers away.

"It seems I have no choice but to use that move?"

Gu Heng murmured softly.

Lin Qingyue, standing nearby, caught those words.

Her heart skipped a beat, and a hint of doubt flashed in her eyes.

Does he... still have a trump card?

There were too many mysteries surrounding Gu Heng—so many that she couldn't see through him at all.

Right now, facing the Immortal Emperor's pressure, although he said he couldn't do it, his calm and composed demeanor—as if he were still calculating something—wasn't faked.

"Just what... move is he going to use?"

Lin Qingyue held her breath, secretly gathering her True Immortal essence, preparing for the battle that might follow.

While the three people inside the hall were lost in their own thoughts.

Crack!

The sound of breaking was exceptionally jarring on the battlefield.

Outside the hall,

Chong Batian's blood bone arhat bell finally couldn't withstand the crushing weight of the Immortal Emperor's Sword Intent. A crack spread from the top of the bell down to its rim.

"No!"

Chong Batian roared.

Bang!

Accompanied by an explosion, the blood bone arhat bell shattered into pieces, scattering across the ground.

Without its final barrier, Jiang Wuji's Immortal Emperor Divine Thought met no further resistance as it poured down toward Chong Batian's head.

Chong Batian's face turned ashen.

It's over.

He closed his eyes, preparing for his body and soul to be obliterated.

Swoosh—

At this critical moment, a ripple appeared in the Void Realm at the hall's entrance.

Lin Qingyue, who had been staring at Gu Heng, had her pupils contract suddenly.

Where is he?

Gu Heng, who had been standing at the hall's entrance, vanished into thin air, disappearing without a trace right before her eyes.

The Old Dragon King, who was trembling while hugging a table leg, also noticed something was wrong. He looked up at the empty entrance, completely stunned.

"Huh?"

The Old Dragon King's mouth hung open, his two whiskers fluttering in the wind. "So... so the 'move' Master mentioned was running away?"

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind.

Master ran away, and the Fairy is here too. Does that mean the Immortal Emperor's wrath will fall on him, the most conspicuous dragon?

"Master! You're not being honorable! Take me with you if you're running away!"

"No, wait!"

Lin Qingyue's voice interrupted the Old Dragon King's wailing.

She stepped forward, her gaze passing through the damaged hall doors and pointing directly behind the Demon Venerable kneeling in the Void Realm above the square.

"He's there."

The Old Dragon King followed Lin Qingyue's gaze, his eyes bulging as if they were about to fall out.

Amidst the raging storm of Sword Qi...

Gu Heng remained unsullied by a single speck of dust.

At some unknown point, he had bypassed the pressure blockade that could tear a True Immortal apart and was now standing behind Chong Batian, who was waiting for death with closed eyes.

He reached out a hand and patted Chong Batian's blood-stained shoulder.

"You've done well enough."

"Leave the rest to me."

Hearing this voice, Chong Batian, who thought he was doomed, trembled all over.

He snapped his eyes open and turned his head to see the smiling young man in white beside him. His eyes instantly reddened.

"Lord Deputy Hall Master..."

Chong Batian's voice was hoarse.

Could it be... that the Lord Deputy Hall Master finally couldn't stand that old geezer's arrogance and was going to personally step in, using the supreme power of a Quasi-Immortal Emperor to crush the guy above with a single finger!?

Chong Batian trembled with excitement. Gritting his teeth, he looked up at the sky, arrogance reigniting in his eyes.

With a Quasi-Immortal Emperor backing him, what did he have to fear!

Meanwhile...

Tens of thousands of feet in the air, hundreds of kilometers away.

Jiang Wuji stood on his Flying Sword, his aged face now furrowed with deep lines of worry.

He lowered his gaze to the young man in white below.

The words the Demon Venerable blurted out drifted on the wind, entering his ears without missing a single syllable.

What does this mean?

Jiang Wuji's hand stroking his beard paused slightly.

That dignified border Demon Venerable actually called this Human Race youth... Lord Deputy Hall Master?

What he found even more unbelievable was that this young man's appearance and attire were identical to the thief in white who stole the Divine Court's treasure, the heaven-reaching tower, according to the highest wanted poster issued by the Lord Divine Envoy!

How could a wanted criminal who stole an Immortal Realm treasure become a Deputy Hall Master in the eyes of the Demon Race?

Jiang Wuji had lived for tens of thousands of years and was meticulous. When things were abnormal, there was bound to be a catch. Instead of rashly pressing down his Divine Thought, he shifted his intent, turning the Immortal Emperor Divine Thought intended to crush the Demon Venerable into invisible threads to probe Gu Heng.

He wanted to test the depth of this young man in white first.

However, when his Divine Thought touched Gu Heng's body, Jiang Wuji's expression changed abruptly.

Like a clay ox entering the sea.

His Immortal Emperor Divine Thought, capable of seeing through all illusions, encountered what felt like a barrier of absolute nothingness the moment it touched Gu Heng's body. He couldn't detect any cultivation level; he couldn't even sense if the other party existed within this world at all.

Jiang Wuji sucked in a breath of cold air, his fingers gripping his sword involuntarily tightening.

"I can't see through him... I completely can't see through him?"

At this very moment, Gu Heng, who was being repeatedly scanned by the Immortal Emperor's Divine Thought, maintained a calm and profound smile on the surface, even intentionally tilting his chin up toward the sky.

[part:gemini-3.1-flash-lite]

However, deep inside, he was counting down the seconds.

"System, measure the distance."

[Beep! Current target "Jiang Wuji", linear distance from host: 375,000 meters.]

Gu Heng muttered to himself.

375,000 meters. 375 kilometers.

His current System Passing By range could only reach 120,000 meters at most. This damn old man, relying on being an Immortal Emperor, was putting on airs and refusing to descend directly into the city, insisting on staying upwind, so high and so far away, just to act like an expert.

The distance was insufficient, so the "Passing By" mechanism could not be triggered.

And he had just finished Passing By Chong Batian's thousand years of cultivation, making him only a Late Stage Profound Immortal. If they really fought, that old man could take him down with a single strand of hair.

Gu Heng continued to smile with an air of indifference, maintaining the smile on his face so it wouldn't stiffen.

There was no other way. Retiring one step now meant falling into an abyss. He had to keep up the act to the end and see if he could use this "inscrutable" facade to scare off this old scoundrel.

Jiang Wuji was currently staring at the white-clothed young man below like a hawk.

It was too strange.

As the Supreme Patriarch of the Taixu Sword Sect, Jiang Wuji was knowledgeable and experienced. Even with a powerhouse at the Quasi-Immortal Emperor level, as long as he used secret techniques and Divine Thought to investigate, he could perceive at least a trace of the pressure from the Dao.

Yet the person before him was completely clean, just like a black hole, swallowing all his Divine Thought probes without causing a single ripple.

"White-clothed Human Race... thief of the heaven-reaching tower... under the protection of a Demon Venerable..."

Jiang Wuji sorted through this chaotic information in his mind.

The opposition between Immortals and Demons was an ironclad rule branded into the bones of every living being in the Three Realms.

Since ancient times, whenever the Immortal Realm and Demon Realm met, it was always a life-or-death confrontation. When had he ever seen a Demon Venerable risk their life to shield a member of the Human Race? And to call them "Deputy Hall Master" every other breath?

This completely defied common sense.

Could it be that this white-clothed youth really had a significant background?

Just at the moment when Jiang Wuji was filled with suspicion and his Divine Thought was frozen in mid-air.

On the square below, Chong Batian, having caught his breath, sensed the weakening of the pressure from high above.

He looked at the calm and composed Gu Heng beside him, and his confidence instantly exploded; a sense of arrogance, like a fox exploiting a tiger's might, rushed straight to his head.

"Old scoundrel!"

Chong Batian stood up and pointed at the sky, cursing loudly. His voice rang out like muffled thunder across the world, "Who do you think you are, daring to put on your stinking Immortal Emperor airs in front of our Deputy Hall Master!"

"Open your dog eyes and look clearly! This person is the newly appointed Deputy Hall Master of the Immortal Realm Divine Court Law Enforcement Hall! You dare to flaunt your power here; if you provoke the Deputy Hall Master, let alone you, an Old Ancestor of the Taixu Sword Sect, even if your entire Sect were tied together, hundreds of lives wouldn't be enough for you to spend!"

Chong Batian shouted these words with great vigor and righteousness, as if he were the one who was the high and mighty Quasi-Immortal Emperor, and Jiang Wuji was just an ant.

Gu Heng stood to the side, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly.

This Chong Batian truly had a unique talent for drawing aggro.

However, these clamorous words fell into Jiang Wuji's ears no less than a bolt from the blue.

Immortal Realm Divine Court, Law Enforcement Hall Deputy Hall Master.

As a top-tier figure in the Immortal Realm, Jiang Wuji naturally knew of the existence of the Law Enforcement Hall. It specialized in executing rebels and monitoring the myriad worlds. What shocked him even more was that he had indeed heard that a mysterious new Deputy Hall Master had recently been parachuted into the Law Enforcement Hall, with an extremely special status that even the various Immortal Emperors dared not easily provoke.

"If he really is that Deputy Hall Master..."

Cold sweat instantly poured down Jiang Wuji's back.

He couldn't see through the other party's cultivation, which now had the most reasonable explanation: the other party's Realm was far above his, and it was highly likely they had already stepped into the level of a Quasi-Immortal Emperor.

And why was the Demon Venerable protecting him? Perhaps this Deputy Hall Master was carrying out some top-secret mission concerning both the Immortal and Demon Realms, and had even secretly subdued this Demon Venerable.

If that was the case, he had been so aggressive just now and had even nearly injured this lord... The more Jiang Wuji thought about it, the more his scalp tingled. Although the Taixu Sword Sect was powerful, it was nothing before the absolute violent organization of the Divine Court.

After weighing the pros and cons, Jiang Wuji made his choice.

The longer one lived, the more one knew when to back down.

High in the sky, that overwhelming Immortal Emperor Divine Might, capable of tearing the Void Realm apart, instantly receded like a tide, vanishing completely.

The devilish clouds dispersed, revealing a glimmer of daylight.

Jiang Wuji stepped on his Flying Sword and slowly descended from the high altitude hundreds of kilometers away, stopping only when he was less than a hundred zhang from the ground. This height both showed respect and retained a margin for defense.

He withdrew his sharp Sword Intent and took the natal Immortal Sword, which was exuding Immortal Emperor Divine Might, back into his body. Subsequently, Jiang Wuji cupped his hands and bowed to Gu Heng, his attitude respectful.

"So it was the Deputy Hall Master carrying out official business here. This old man failed to recognize Mount Tai and has offended you greatly." Jiang Wuji's voice was sincere. "This old man was also acting under orders to track down a wanted criminal. I did not know that you, my lord, were laying out a plan here. It was truly abrupt, and I hope you will be magnanimous."

Below, Chong Batian saw that the Immortal Emperor had truly conceded, and he was so excited he almost jumped up.

The look he gave Gu Heng changed from awe to worship.

Awesome. This is a real big shot. Without saying a word, just relying on a title, he made an Immortal Emperor bow his head and apologize.

Meanwhile, Lin Qingyue, inside the hall doorway, frowned slightly. She watched Jiang Wuji's respectful appearance and then looked at Gu Heng's back, the strange feeling in her heart growing stronger and stronger.

It's... over just like that?

This old man just believed it like that?

Gu Heng stood with his hands behind his back, watching Jiang Wuji bowing to him in mid-air, and breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.

That was close. He had finally bluffed this old scoundrel.

But he knew that he absolutely could not show any flaws now; he had to play the part to the end.

Gu Heng slightly raised his chin, arched his eyebrows, and looked at Jiang Wuji with a condescending, half-smiling gaze, speaking in a nonchalant tone.

"Oh? You're not arresting me anymore?"

Jiang Wuji's whole body tightened, and he quickly bent his waist a few more inches, saying repeatedly, "My lord, you are joking. Even if you gave this old man ten times the courage, I would not dare to be disrespectful to you. Since you are here, this place must be part of your plan."

"This old man will return to report back now."

Jiang Wuji swallowed, "I will just say... this old man has searched this place, and there are no traces of the wanted criminal here."

Gu Heng gave a non-committal hum and waved his hand, "Since you understand, then go. Don't delay me from doing important business."

"Yes, yes. This old man will take his leave."

Jiang Wuji shifted his thoughts slightly.

Immortal Qi scooped up the young Disciple of the Taixu Sword Sect in the corner of the square, who had previously been knocked unconscious by Chong Batian's Divine Might.

After doing all this, Jiang Wuji did not linger. He condensed a ray of sword light at his fingertip and slashed a space rift about a zhang long in the Void Realm.

He took that Disciple, turned, and stepped into the space rift.

Watching the rift about to close, Chong Batian let out a long breath, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and leaned over to Gu Heng, smiling fawningly, "My lord's Divine Might is peerless! That old scoundrel isn't even worthy of carrying your shoes; he's lucky he ran fast!"

Gu Heng ignored Chong Batian's flattery and just stared expressionlessly at that space rift, seemingly thinking about something.

Just at the moment when the space rift was about to close completely, with only a tiny gap remaining.

Jiang Wuji, who was in the Void Realm passage, suddenly paused.

Surrounded by spatial turbulence, Jiang Wuji's heart was nevertheless churning with stormy waves.

How agile was the mind of an Immortal Emperor? Once he was free from the high-pressure environment where he had been intimidated by the title of "Deputy Hall Master," the now-calm Jiang Wuji immediately sensed the strangeness of the situation.

He fell into deep thought once again.

"Wait... something is wrong."

Jiang Wuji frowned tightly, his brain working at high speed, "If that person really is the newly appointed Deputy Hall Master, then why did the Divine Envoy issue such a severe wanted order earlier? Even going so far as to mobilize the Immortal Realm army to press the border?"

"Could it be a power struggle within the Law Enforcement Hall? Are the Divine Envoy and the Deputy Hall Master at odds?"

This thought had barely emerged before Jiang Wuji refuted it himself.

"No... that's not right. Absolutely impossible."

A bright light shot from Jiang Wuji's eyes.

Although the Divine Envoy had monstrous power, he was acting under the orders of the Imperial Teacher.

Who is the Imperial Teacher?

That is an existence in the Divine Court who is below one person but above ten thousand, the supreme authority representing the will of the Empress.

The capture order issued personally by the Imperial Teacher had a clear target and distinct characteristics. That was a thief who had refined the heaven-reaching tower, a matter concerning the Foundation of the Immortal Realm.

"The Imperial Teacher could absolutely not have mistaken the target. The Divine Envoy would also never dare to joke about such a matter."

The logical chain closed at this moment.

If the Imperial Teacher had not made a mistake, then the only explanation was—that white-clothed youth below was not a Deputy Hall Master of the Law Enforcement Hall at all.

He was just a fraud.

He had used a concealment secret technique that even an Immortal Emperor couldn't see through, combined with the cooperation of that Demon Venerable, to forcefully put on an Empty Fort Strategy, treating him, the dignified Supreme Patriarch of the Taixu Sword Sect, like a monkey.

"You rascal! How dare you deceive me!"