One had to understand that the people he had met were more numerous than the meals these people had eaten.
To be ranked within the top hundred in his eyes was an honor that the entire Crimson Eye Realm should be proud of.
If this princess were to be revived, offering incense and kowtowing to him in the future would be only fitting.
Because he was the great Universe God!
But before he could avert his gaze from that face, a streak of black light suddenly shot out.
The black light, sharp as a blade, pierced straight into the Guardianâs chest.
The black mist seeping from above instantly corroded both the Guardianâs soul and body, leaving no time for him to muster his Thought power.
As a result, he couldnât make a counter move.
âImmortal Jiu Chen, youâŠâ Li Miao was also startled.
There had been no prior signs, and he had already resigned himself to the worstâhe was willing to abandon the imperial consort and not affect the grand plan.
He was even prepared to give up his own chance to shatter the void and ascend.
Yet, at this critical moment, Immortal Jiu Chen unexpectedly killed the Guardian, without giving any hint beforehand!
âStop standing there in a daze. Quickly gather up your ancestor, and letâs get down to business!â Immortal Jiu Chen retracted the black light blade and let out a sigh of relief.
He had only been seventy percent confident in that move.
If he had failed, it would have risked ruining the entire plan.
But this was a risk he was willing to take, and he had no regrets.
Li Miao retrieved the stone coffin and turned to look at Immortal Jiu Chen, his eyes slightly reddened.
âHey, hey, donât say anything. Weâre just partners; donât overthink it. I only want you to become stronger so you donât drag me down in the future!â Immortal Jiu Chen waved his hand dismissively, showing no concern.
Even with a heart of stone, Li Miao silently accepted this great favor at that moment.
The reason he always called the other party âImmortal Masterâ was because, to him, the other was no different from his own master.
He just hadnât formally become his disciple, and since the other claimed to be Immortal Jiu Chen, he had continued to address him as Immortal Master.
At this moment, the bond between master and disciple transcended everything.
With just a glance, the two began their plan to resurrect the imperial consort.
The first step was to bring Chen Yuan over, and Li Miao immediately took out a token to issue the command.
Bringing a mortal over naturally didnât require his personal involvement.
But what he didnât know was that Chen Yuan was no longer in the city but in a castle outside the city.
Jian Wushuang, who had witnessed all of this, had already made arrangements to capture Chen Yuan, instructing them to find Wei Jiuxian, so he wasnât worried.
However, the relationship between Li Miao and Immortal Jiu Chen made him think there was more to it than met the eye.
The bond between master and disciple was deep.
This significance wasnât limited to the righteous path; it applied equally to the demonic path.
Even for those who pursued the Dao, it was the same.
In fact, some masters would willingly sacrifice their lives for their disciples, hoping that they could tread the great path that the masters themselves had never reached.
It was akin to the relationship between a father and son.
If the father couldnât achieve something, he would hope that his son could. If the son failed, he would be disappointed but wouldnât lose faith.
But if the son could fulfill his expectations, or even surpass them, the father would be willing to die contentedly.
This was the legacy of Dao seekers.
It was extreme.
Jian Wushuang neither liked it nor hated it.
After observing for so long, he hadnât heard anything about the altar. Now that they intended to resurrect the imperial concubine, it didnât concern him much.
However, the life force within the concubine greatly tempted him.
His current body was forged within the Space Realm.
Skipping the process of refining his body, once he regained his mastery of space, he could quickly elevate his physical body to a new level.
But his life force was lacking. If he could obtain that life force at this moment, he could use it to comprehend the Dao and advance his body to master the Dao of All Things ahead of time.
This would greatly help him return to his peak.
But since he hadnât found the altar yet and hadnât sensed the sealed power, revealing himself now and seizing the life force would only alert the enemy.
Moreover, there were external threats like the Ghost Emperor and the demons.
Even if he obtained the life force, it would be hard to strengthen himself in a short time.
The risk wasnât worth it.
Fortunately, after the resurrection of the imperial concubine, that life force wouldnât vanish. He still had a chance to claim it. But reviving the concubine required Chen Yuan, so he had to make a choice now.
With a thought, Jian Wushuang sent a message to Xiang Yang.
All that remained was to stay hidden carefully.
To observe this human tragedy as a bystander!
But those outside werenât so lucky.
âŠ
Outside Mangshan County City.
Yang Xiao led Xiang Yang and the others to the ancient castle, where they met Wei Jiuxian.
Qianzu Saintess also followed, discovering that all the strong members of her tribe had died. She collapsed on the spot.
Fortunately, Wei Jiuxian wasnât a petty person; otherwise, she wouldnât have survived.
The others were fine.
After all, it wasnât their people who died.
When Yang Xiao saw Wei Jiuxian, he immediately knelt on one knee and respectfully reported, âCommander, in the cityâŠâ
He relayed everything he had witnessed.
Wei Jiuxian merely nodded indifferently and said, âStay here for now. Thereâs probably no safer place than this.â
âOh?â Xiang Yang raised an eyebrow, just about to retort, but when he felt the oppressive force from afar, his expression changed instantly.
He was all too familiar with that powerâit was the aura of demons.
âSo strong!â
Before he could marvel, he received a message from Jian Wushuang.
The message was simple: send Chen Yuan into Taiâan City.
Even if someone tried to take Chen Yuan, donât fight back.
Xiang Yang found this odd. Wouldnât that allow the Tang Emperor to revive the imperial concubine?
Could this somehow benefit Jian Wushuang?
Though he had his doubts, he still followed Jian Wushuangâs instructions.
This time, however, he laid out the consequences for Chen Yuan.
There was no need to deceive a mortal.
Moreover, Chen Yuan had always harbored guilt. When he learned that he was the key to reviving the imperial concubine, he resolutely walked toward Taiâan City.
Wei Jiuxian, of course, knew this and didnât stop Chen Yuan.
Instead, he curiously sized up Xiang Yang.
At the same time, Chen Yuan rushed toward Taiâan City.
A group of black-clad, masked demonic cultivators also headed his way, reducing a lot of trouble by converging on him.
But they were still detected by Zhen Xian and Fu Qing.
However, both were entangled with the Ghost Emperor.
They couldnât afford to be careless.
Nor did they have the time to deal with these small fry.
Several Daoists at the Divine Form Realm focused their full attention on besieging the Ghost Emperor.
This bought time for the demonic cultivators of Chiyang Sect.
After binding Chen Yuan tightly, they tossed him into the well where Jian Wushuang had entered.
A force pulled Chen Yuan into an underground palace.
Li Miao watched him calmly and dispelled the restraints with a wave of his hand. He said in a steady voice, âChen Yuan, you must have known this day would come, right?â
âNo,â Chen Yuan shook his head and replied, âBut a senior has enlightened me, so Iâve come to terms with it!â