"Who are you?"
Sun and Wang had arrived alongside Xiaoqing and Xiaohong, and in a fleeting daze, Xu Ke had almost thought they were his own descendants.
He came to his senses quickly, however.
Given the lack of spiritual energy in the Empire's pocket world, cultivators of such a realm could never have emerged from there.
Xu Ke's profound gaze settled immediately on the two of them.
Sun Erlang cupped his hands with neither deference nor arrogance. "By our master's order, we have come to invite Senior to an audience."
"Oh?"
Xu Ke was rather surprised.
He had not expected that anyone in this world still remembered him.
Once Xiaoqing and Xiaohong recounted the Empire's recent tribulations through sound transmission, Xu Ke's expression grew increasingly solemn.
"Someone who knows of me and possesses such ability? Who could it be?"
Vague silhouettes flashed through his mind, only to be dismissed one after another.
Casting an imperceptible glance at the rotting wooden coffin behind him, Xu Ke initially intended to decline their invitation.
Yet...
Xu Ke's gaze lingered once more on Xiaoqing and Xiaohong.
Then he gave a soft sigh.
Having already known his whereabouts, they still brought Qing and Hong along. The implicit threat was self-evident. Though he had avoided seeing them for a millennium, he had done so out of sheer necessity. How could he, Xu Ke, be an unfeeling man who could stand idly by and watch them come to harm?
At this thought, Xu Ke shook his head faintly. "I can accompany you. But I have a few conditions."
Sun Erlang said at once, "Please speak freely, Senior."
"First, one of you two must take my place and sit atop this mountain peak. Before I return, no matter what happens, that person cannot leave early. As a precaution, I will set down a restriction," Xu Ke said slowly.
"This..." Hearing this bizarre demand, Sun Erlang hesitated.
"No problem. I will take Senior's place and sit here," Wang Xuanba agreed, patting his chest.
Sun Erlang knew that after cultivating the technique taught by their master, his brother could manifest myriad avatars just like a strange beast. Even if this body were utterly destroyed, it would have no significant impact. Thus, he did not intervene.
Xu Ke nodded and continued, "Second, once I leave this pocket world with you, no one is permitted to come within a hundred feet of me. Otherwise, do not blame this old man for showing no mercy."
Xu Ke glanced at Xiaoqing and Xiaohong, emphasizing his tone.
Evidently, "no one" included Qing and Hong as well.
A chill ran through Sun Erlang's heart upon hearing this, but he still nodded in agreement.
"As for the last condition..."
Xu Ke addressed Xiaoqing and Xiaohong, "If anything seems amiss with me, kill me. Do not hesitate for even an instant."
As he spoke, a wooden sword no larger than a palm appeared in Xu Ke's hand.
Xu Ke extended his hand, and the wooden sword flew of its own accord to hover before Xiaoqing.
Xiaoqing froze completely.
Yet seeing Xu Ke's aged and resolute face, so reminiscent of how he had looked when he insisted on leaving the Empire all those years ago, tears welled in her eyes. Xiaoqing said nothing more and softly agreed.
"All right."
Xiaoqing gripped the wooden sword tightly in her palm while carefully listening to Xu Ke's sound transmission explaining how to use it.
Once everything was settled, Xu Ke turned to Sun and Wang.
Seeing Xu Ke act with such gravity, Sun Erlang and Wang Xuanba dared not be negligent. "Does Senior have any further instructions?"
"Wait for a moment, and stand farther back."
The two men and two beasts did not understand why. Exchanging glances, they obediently flew far away from the abrupt stone mountain where Xu Ke stood.
Xu Ke pressed his right hand onto the mountain peak and applied slight force.
The stone mountain, heaven and earth, and even the entire world trembled faintly in an instant.
Shrill, venomous curses seemed to ring out, yet it also felt like an illusion.
Once the tremors subsided, this pocket world seemed subtly different from before.
Yet Sun Erlang and the others could not pinpoint where the difference lay.
Xu Ke slowly rose to his feet, looked at Wang Xuanba, and stamped his right foot.
Wang Xuanba signaled for Sun Erlang not to worry, then flew up beside Xu Ke.
"Sit down."
Xu Ke moved his foot aside, revealing a sunken impression on the ground atop the mountain peak.
Wang Xuanba sat down squarely upon it.
"It might hurt a bit, but you won't die."
By now, Xu Ke had floated into midair and spoke slowly.
Yet the moment he flew beyond the bounds of that towering stone mountain, Wang Xuanba let out a wretched scream.
As though an immense weight had slammed down upon him, caught unprepared, his spine was crushed flat against the ground.
The grinding sounds of bones being ceaselessly crushed echoed without pause.
"Xuanba?!" Sun Erlang cried out in alarm.
"I'm... fine!" A hand reached out from the body that had almost been squashed into a meat patty.
It weakly waved at Sun Erlang.
"It just... really hurts a bit."
Xu Ke pointed lightly at Wang Xuanba. "Let us go. I said he wouldn't die."
The pressure on Wang Xuanba seemed to ease slightly, and he barely managed to lift his head again.
Seeing this, Sun Erlang took a deep breath. Without hesitating further, he led the way ahead alongside Xiaoqing and Xiaohong.
Xu Ke followed closely behind.
Just like Qing and Hong, Sun Erlang discreetly observed Xu Ke behind them.
When Xu Ke was sitting earlier, the seemingly rotting wooden coffin on his back had not been particularly conspicuous.
Yet whether it was Sun Erlang's illusion or not, ever since leaving that pocket world, the coffin appeared to be growing increasingly intact.
Its form was also gradually enlarging.
It was as if...
something might crawl out of it at any moment.
Recalling the three strange conditions Xu Ke had given earlier, a faint unease welled within Sun Erlang's heart.
Inexplicable low whispers even began to drift into his ears.
Just as Sun Erlang could not resist listening, an icy chill in his heart suddenly circulated of its own accord.
The noises in his ears vanished in an instant, replaced by Xu Ke's low warning.
"Pay no heed to those bizarre voices."
Sun Erlang broke out into a cold sweat.
He prided himself on not being weak-willed, having even lived an entire real lifetime in the Taiyan Sect's Dao Transformation Stone simulated world.
Yet hundreds of years of experience proved utterly fragile before those insidious whispers, nearly succumbing in a split second.
"If not for the Immortal Heart Incantation personally taught by Master, I would have been doomed.
"This Xu Ke..."
Sun Erlang dared not look at Xu Ke or the coffin on his back any longer; he focused his mind and quickened his pace.
Before long, the party traversed the long void passage and arrived outside the Daqi pocket world.
"Huh?"
This time, the sound of shock and uncertainty came from Xu Ke.
Sun Erlang looked back, only to find that for some reason, the coffin on Xu Ke's back had once again decayed and shrunk a bit.
It was almost no different from how it had appeared back in the pocket world where Xu Ke had stayed.
Having received notice in advance, all citizens of Great Qi in Shengjing had returned to their homes.
The immense city was devoid of people, leaving only a path through empty space opened specifically for Xu Ke, leading straight toward the Holy Emperor Throne.
"Master is already waiting for you, Senior," Sun Erlang said respectfully.
There was no longer any need to guide the way.
From the moment he arrived here, Xu Ke had felt that omnipresent, mighty aura enveloping the entire pocket world like a blazing sun in the heavens.
It far exceeded the ordinary Dao Integration stage.
It even exercised a degree of suppression over the Xuanhuang malice sealed inside the coffin on his back.
What stunned Xu Ke even more was that he faintly detected a hint of familiarity within this aura.
Yet...
"How could that be?"
Xu Ke's heart held thirty percent doubt, thirty percent trepidation, and a hidden trace of excitement.
He finally stepped into the Holy Emperor Throne.
Once he clearly saw the figure seated above, Xu Ke breathed a sigh of relief.
At the same time, a twinge of disappointment flashed through him.
"I overthought it. How could it possibly be Mr. Bai, who is already dead?"
Forcibly suppressing the stray thoughts in his mind, Xu Ke focused his attention on this legendary "Faceless Holy Emperor" of Great Qi.
Or rather, the Destined Holy Emperor.
At the same time, Li Ping was also observing Xu Ke.
And the coffin on Xu Ke's back.
Li Ping naturally saw far more than Sun Erlang did.
What he saw was not rotting wood, but a faint, transparent, pale figure.
The figure possessed the most handsome countenance in the world, yet it was paired with an expression steeped in venomous malice and evil.
Li Ping sensed that the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao's urging had descended once again.
Moreover, it grew increasingly fierce.
At the same time, the pale Xuanhuang malice seemed to sense something as well.
It snapped its head up, staring intently at Li Ping.
Correspondingly, the coffin on Xu Ke's back began to shake violently.
Loud banging sounds echoed unceasingly through the lofty sacred hall.
"You..."
Xu Ke was jolted into vigilance.
His body flew backward in a retreat as the phantom of a turning wheel manifested above his head.
The golden turning wheel spun rapidly, manifesting the images and roars of countless ferocious beasts.
It attempted to suppress the violently vibrating coffin.
Yet the Xuanhuang malice's struggle became fiercer than ever before.
Not until Holy Emperor Li Ping had a thought, causing Heaven and Earth Myriad Spirits, All Living Beings Spirit Refining within the Daqi pocket world to churn slightly and mask the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao, did the Xuanhuang malice—having lost the perception of its other half—gradually quiet down.
At this moment, having tried for a while only to find that he could not fly out no matter what, Xu Ke abandoned his futile attempts.
He glared coldly at Li Ping. "Just who are you?"
How could Xu Ke fail to realize by now that this Holy Emperor had come specifically for the sealed Xuanhuang malice?
"Who am I..."
Li Ping paused slightly. "That is not important. What matters is that it is time to return this to its original owner."
Xu Ke's countenance shifted drastically. "Return it to its original owner?"
"Back then, Mr. Bai failed the Heavenly Dao's trust and even sealed a portion of its power. Today, I shall set things right and return the Dao to Heaven." Though Li Ping's voice was not loud, it reverberated continuously throughout the Holy Emperor Throne.
To Xu Ke's ears, it fell like a clap of thunder.
"What did you say?!"
Having lived for so long and witnessed many bizarre wonders in his past, Xu Ke had never been this shocked.
"Guiding is better than blocking. Sealing is merely a temporary measure; the longer it is suppressed, the more ferocious the backlash will be when it breaks free. Did Mr. Bai not teach you this principle?
"How much longer can you hold out?"
Li Ping gave Xu Ke no time to react, relentlessly shaking his state of mind.
Cold sweat dripped from Xu Ke's forehead.
"Are you..." he asked in disbelief.
"Great Heavenly Venerable Xuanhuang?"
The moment the term left his lips, the air in the Holy Emperor Throne seemed to freeze.
After a brief silence, Li Ping chuckled softly.
"No."
This answer clearly defied Xu Ke's expectations, plunging him into confusion.
"After Mr. Bai's betrayal, do you think the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao would ever trust cultivators again?"
Li Ping's tone was enigmatic.
"I am not Heavenly Venerable Xuanhuang.
"I am the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao."
As Li Ping spoke, he rose powerfully from the Holy Emperor Throne.
In an instant, his figure seemed to expand boundlessly.
Like an indomitable giant spanning heaven and earth, he filled Xu Ke's vision.
And the already overwhelmingly formidable aura on Li Ping erupted and soared once more.
With the masking of the Myriad Spirits Formation gone, Li Ping borrowed the power of the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao.
And for the sake of its sealed other half, the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao was unprecedentedly generous this time.
A fissure faintly appeared in the sky above the Daqi pocket world.
It was a sign that the entire world had been stretched to its very limit.
Had Li Ping's stewardship over the years not upgraded Great Qi considerably, raising its upper ceiling far beyond that of ordinary pocket worlds, this surge alone would likely have burst it apart.
Though the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao appeared powerless against Heavenly Venerable Chuanfa and the True Immortals of the Immortal Ruins, the reality was different. With the Xuanhuang Realm's current constitution—having merged with numerous ruined cultivation remnants—the power of the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao was actually not much weaker than in its pristine prime.
Strength and weakness were relative.
At this moment, in Xu Ke's eyes, he seemed to see once more that graceful figure of the past whose every gesture carried the rhythm and will of heaven and earth.
All the favor of heaven and earth had been bestowed upon him.
Yet there was a difference: Mr. Bai was gentle and refined,
whereas the figure before him now...
was domineering and majestic,
commanding both dread and conviction.
In a daze, Xu Ke recalled Mr. Bai's words back then.
"On whether to leave, my view differed from this consciousness.
"I do not think I was wrong, nor do I think it was a betrayal.
"I was merely looking for a better way to save the world.
"Xu Ke, if possible, watch over it for me.
"I believe that one day, it will understand."
...
Back then, Xu Ke had not understood Mr. Bai's words.
Over these several millennia, the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao consciousness severed by Mr. Bai had not come to understand at all; instead, it developed in an increasingly extreme direction.
Not only did the thoughts and curses it conveyed become ever more venomous,
it even tainted any entity that drew close to it.
The pocket world where Xu Ke resided—used to seal the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao consciousness—gradually lost all vitality, turning entirely into a desolate gravel desert.
And his own body had aged far beyond normal.
Until today, Xu Ke had believed that he would eventually meet his end by being devoured by this malice.
He had never anticipated...
"Is this what Mr. Bai meant by 'it will understand'?
"It is merely... the other part, the main body, that has come around."
Xu Ke could not help but think so.
"Return it to me."
Just as Xu Ke's thoughts whirled in a hundred directions, Li Ping spoke again.
This snapped Xu Ke out of his reverie.
He took an involuntary step back, his golden turning wheel continuing to suppress the rotting wooden coffin.
Chapter 1236