Firmament Sword

”Well, well, well... Heheheh. I never expected this. I came out for a hunt and ran into a Heaven-Swallowing Fox. Though... you’re just a descendant of that old fellow, and your bloodline isn’t very pure, you should still be... barely edible!”

The pervy old man gulped, his eyes gleaming as he stared at Master Mao.

Master Mao’s fur bristled, and he snarled, ”You old turtle bastard, who the hell do you think you are? You dare get ideas about me? Aren’t you afraid I’ll shatter that mouthful of rotten teeth of yours, AAAAAHHHH?”

”I *am* a turtle, so what are you gonna do about it?” The pervy old man rolled his eyes. ”Don’t be hasty, little kitty. Your flesh may be delicious, and I’d love a bite, but... I have more important things to do right now.”

The pervy old man chuckled, then turned to Xu Luo, the light in his eyes growing even brighter. He bared his teeth. ”Eighth Star Monarch. I trust you’ve been well.”

Xu Luo’s expression didn’t show much surprise.

In fact, from the moment the pervy old man had identified Miaomiao, a rough guess had already formed in Xu Luo’s mind.

’This old fellow... is very likely a clone of that giant turtle!’

And that giant turtle was, in all likelihood, one of the Four Ancient Divine Beasts from the Lower Realm back then...

The Black Tortoise!

”You have the wrong person. I am one of the Heavenly Brilliance Disciples. I came here... for training and to hunt for treasure, not this Eighth Star Monarch you speak of,” Xu Luo said, looking calmly at the pervy old man.

”Hahaha, that body full of Star Power gives off such a captivating aroma...”

”I am most sensitive to the earth, and the stars... are the earth. So how could I be mistaken?”

”It doesn’t matter if you don’t admit it. As long as I believe you are, that’s enough. Then, when I eat you, I’ll find out if it’s true or not!”

The pervy old man stared at Xu Luo with gleaming eyes, like a lecher who had just seen a naked woman.

There really wasn’t a good way to deal with a lawless scoundrel like this. Fortunately, the old man’s strength was also suppressed to the Initial Tier of the Ultimate Venerable Realm.

Although this old man at the Initial Tier of the Ultimate Venerable Realm was certainly much stronger than a human of the same realm, if Xu Luo fought for his life, he wouldn’t be without a fighting chance.

At this moment, Xu Luo suddenly recalled that the giant turtle clearly hadn’t been suppressed so severely. It even seemed as if the world of these ancient ruins had no suppressive effect on it at all.

It had devoured Great Saint Realm experts in a single gulp, something an Initial Tier Ultimate Venerable couldn’t possibly do.

Yet the pervy old man before him had his strength suppressed.

’These ruins... they must only suppress humans!’

Xu Luo’s eyes narrowed slightly as he considered this possibility. He also guessed, ’These ruins... might not have been left by a human expert at all!’

That was the only way to explain why it didn’t affect beast-type Cultivators but suppressed humans so harshly.

Ultimately, the former master of these ruins simply didn’t want humans to dominate this place!

”Are you sure... you want to eat me?” Xu Luo looked at the pervy old man and said calmly, ”You will very likely regret it.”

”Hahahaha, when have I ever regretted anything I’ve done?” A flash of pride appeared in the pervy old man’s eyes. ”From ancient times to this day, I have never known regret!”

”Is that so? Then why are you hiding here, afraid to leave? What are you scared of? The Kunpeng?” Xu Luo suddenly sneered.

The expression on the pervy old man’s face suddenly stiffened. Two beams of divine light shot from his eyes, runes flickering within them, containing an endless, ancient aura.

That pervy expression vanished completely. He stared coldly at Xu Luo and asked, ”What did you say?”

”What did I say... you don’t understand?” Xu Luo looked at the pervy old man and sneered. ”Devouring hundreds of young experts in a single gulp, how domineering and arrogant. Since you’re so powerful, why don’t you just leave through that exit? The Divine Domain World outside is full of people like that for you to eat!”

”Why are you cooped up here? Don’t tell me it’s for cultivation. Heh!”

That final ”Heh” was an extremely cold laugh from Xu Luo.

The pervy old man chuckled. ”So what if you’re right and I’m here hiding from the Kunpeng?”

”You think the Kunpeng can find me here? It won’t come!”

”Even if the entire Divine Domain World outside is turned upside down, it will never find me here!”

”Here, I am the true king! What can anyone do to me?”

The pervy old man sneered, pointing at Xu Luo. ”But you, Eighth Star Monarch, now that you’ve fallen into my trap, don’t even think about leaving! After I eat you, my strength... will definitely rise to a whole new level!”

Xu Luo looked at the pervy old man and sighed. ”I truly feel sorry for the Cyan Dragon and the White Tiger.”

The pervy old man narrowed his eyes at Xu Luo, a dangerous glint in them. His tone changed again. ”Young man, you’d better make yourself clear.”

Xu Luo said nothing, merely baring his arms. With a flicker of his Divine Thought, two phantom images slowly rose from his arms: a menacing, coiling Cyan Dragon and a proud, roaring White Tiger!

The old man stumbled back two steps, crying out, ”The Cyan Dragon... the White Tiger... How could they be on you? No, that’s not right!”

As he spoke, a ferocious light suddenly erupted in his eyes. He roared, ”You killed them! I’ll kill you!”

BOOM!

The old man turned hostile on the spot, striking out with his palm.

A giant black palm instantly formed above Xu Luo’s head, like a mountain of black gold crashing down to suppress him.

An ancient stele instantly appeared above Xu Luo’s head, emanating a primordial, ancient aura and a Dao rhythm of infinite release as it met the black palm.

A muffled, titanic boom erupted between heaven and earth.

Xu Luo stood his ground, unmoving, but the blood and qi in his organs churned violently. His eyes, however, blazed with an incredibly intense battle intent.

At that moment, the two phantom images on Xu Luo’s arms—the long-unconscious Cyan Dragon and White Tiger—suddenly let out a roar toward the old man.

The old man froze on the spot, murmuring, ”Was I wrong?”

Xu Luo took a deep breath, standing there and watching the old man with a clear, cold gaze.

The old man suddenly gave Xu Luo a deep look, said nothing, and then... turned and walked away.

Xu Luo was stunned, unable to understand what had just happened.

From the very beginning, the old man had been determined to eat him, leaving no room for negotiation. Yet after Xu Luo had summoned the remnant souls of the Cyan Dragon and White Tiger, which lacked any Divine Thought, the old man had attacked once and then just left.

He hadn’t said a word!

His retreating figure... even seemed somewhat desolate.

Xu Luo glanced at Master Mao, who also looked completely baffled.

In the end, all he could conclude was that deep down... the old man still held a place in his heart for the Cyan Dragon and the White Tiger.

They were known as the Four Ancient Divine Beasts; it was impossible for them to have had no connection with one another.

But no matter what, the immense crisis... had been temporarily averted.

Xu Luo didn’t know if he would cross paths with this old man again in the future, but for now, he should be safe.

’There’s still that section of the Cyan Dragon’s corpse in the world of the Bronze Divine Hall. I wonder how the old man would react if I took it out.’

He thought about it but decided not to try.

Shaking his head slightly, Xu Luo glanced at Master Mao. ”Let’s go.”

Master Mao shook his head, still bewildered. ”That old coot looked like he had a lot on his mind. As one of the Four Ancient Divine Beasts, he’s just holed up here playing king of the mountain. What a disgrace.”

”Sounds a lot like you, doesn’t it?” Xu Luo said with a deadpan expression.

”AAAAAHHH, I was training new recruits for you! You don’t know shit!” Master Mao roared.

”Alright, Miaomiao, let’s go see if we can find our own opportunities,” Xu Luo said softly. ”I still need to find the second half of the Soul Scripture, but I don’t have a single clue right now.”

With that, Xu Luo led Master Mao and continued heading northwest.

According to Xie Wanrou, the second half of the Soul Scripture should be in the northwest region of these ruins.

Long after Xu Luo and the others had left, a figure slowly materialized in the air. It was none other than the pervy old man who had just departed.

He stared blankly in the direction Xu Luo had gone, murmuring, ”The Cyan Dragon and the White Tiger... how could they willingly acknowledge him as their master? I know those aren’t the real Cyan Dragon and White Tiger, just wisps of their will left behind in the Lower Realm.”

”But even a wisp of will... still represents the intentions of the original!”

”Could it be that after the Vermilion Bird and I left the Lower Realm, many things happened that I don’t know about?”

The old man frowned slightly, muttering, ”The Eighth Star has reincarnated into this generation and actually came to the Divine Domain... Truly incredible. It seems the Kunpeng is about to appear as well.”

”If that’s the case, staying here... might not be safe either.”

As he spoke, the old man gazed thoughtfully in the direction of Xu Luo’s departure. ”The Cyan Dragon and the White Tiger... chose him. So... there must be something extraordinary about him. The identity of a reincarnated star alone... might not have been enough to move them.”

”Should I... Master Gui... also give it a try?”

......

Xu Luo led Master Mao, following the map Tang Xiao had left in the Sound Transmission Stone, and hurried in that direction.

Master Mao’s familiarity with the mountain forests far surpassed Xu Luo’s, and he led him over mountains and across ridges, taking shortcuts.

Along the way, they encountered many powerful beasts, including some at the Great Saint Realm.

Xu Luo barely had to lift a finger as Master Mao dealt with all of them directly. In the end, these birds and beasts all became a meal for the two.

The flesh of high-realm beasts was exceptionally delicious, and the essence contained within was of great benefit to Cultivators.

It could greatly improve one’s cultivation!

Gradually, Xu Luo noticed something was wrong. It seemed they were getting farther and farther away from Tang Xiao’s group.

Logically, the time difference between them wasn’t that great. At most, the others had used their Divine Movement Talismans for a bit longer, but it shouldn’t have taken this long to find them.

Xu Luo focused his thoughts and considered it. ’It’s very likely that Tang Xiao and the others have entered an illusion within the Illusion Realm!’

In other words, Tang Xiao’s group had broken into a separate, independent space within these ancient ruins!

Outside that space, there was probably an Illusion Array. This meant the terrain they were seeing... might not be real!

If they looked at it from another angle, it might appear completely different!

When he tried using the Sound Transmission Stone to contact Tang Xiao and the others now, the connection was lost.

Recalling what Tang Xiao had said about the characteristics of that space, Xu Luo decided not to look for them for the time being. Then, he activated a skill he hadn’t used in a long time... the Treasure Hunting Skill!

His Divine Sense expanded, spreading out like quicksilver flowing over the ground—in every direction and deep into the earth, bit by bit... it crept outward.