Two Tribulation Stage cultivators?

One is Daxia’s Chief Offering.

The other is some sword spirit from who knows where. Its sword intent is strong, and even if it is at the Tribulation Stage…

Two Tribulation Stage cultivators?

So that’s the trump card he’s relying on?

The old emperor shook his head, then thought again.

Well, it makes sense. That’s the extent of his cultivation.

It’s hard for him to imagine power beyond the Tribulation Stage.

In Li Xuanxiao’s mind, he must naturally think,

1 + 1

1.

Two Tribulation Stage cultivators must be stronger than one.

Heh, that’s the difference in perspective.

The old emperor suddenly remembered a joke.

In ancient times, two old farmers fantasized about the emperor’s lavish life. One said,

“I bet the emperor eats his fill of white steamed buns every day!”

The other replied, “No way, I think the emperor even uses a golden hoe when he works the fields!”

Two Tribulation Stage cultivators—that’s the full extent of his trump cards.

The old emperor kept observing Li Xuanxiao.

Thirty percent disguise.

The first layer—Foundation Establishment stage.

But upon peering inside, he was actually at the Golden Core stage.

And deeper than the Golden Core, was the Nascent Soul stage.

Nascent Soul...

This Nascent Soul—an astrologer?

Why does it seem familiar somehow?

An illusion?

The old emperor’s steps suddenly paused.

After thinking for a moment, he continued forward.

As he walked, he kept reviewing the situation.

What other cards did the other party have?

The Tribulation Stage cultivators of Mount Shushan were all under his control.

Where they were, where they vanished to, he knew it all.

So far, two of Mount Shushan’s Tribulation Stage cultivators were in closed-door cultivation.

Only those two were out of his sight.

But the old emperor was sure they were really cultivating.

No surprises there.

What else did he miss?

The old emperor once again stopped in his tracks.

“...........”

At the same time.

Inside Shencao Mountain.

Li Xuanxiao’s eyebrows twitched slightly. His clenched fists were soaked with sweat.

He used tiny threads of spiritual energy to control the sweat,

Making sure not a single drop escaped. At the same time, he couldn’t use too much spiritual power.

Only a sliver.

His heartbeat had to stay steady. His soul and Nascent Soul could not show the slightest tremor.

Turtle Breath Technique.

The gap in strength between them was massive.

The opponent’s divine sense was clearly scanning the surroundings, penetrating everything, staring at him, seeing through him.

Yet Li Xuanxiao couldn’t sense a thing.

That’s what made it so terrifying.

He was being watched—yet he felt nothing.

Move on already—why aren’t you moving?

Did you notice something else?

You’ve got Tribulation Stage cultivation, the Ten Thousand Soul Banner, and you’re still this cautious?

As expected, villains aren’t dumb.

Oh heavens, is there a low-difficulty boss I can farm somewhere?

Just a bit easier, please!

Li Xuanxiao’s nerves were stretched to their limit.

He had prepared for this day for so many years. Everything rides on this one moment!!

From today on, there can only be one transmigrator in this world.

“........”

“No, no...”

The old emperor suddenly stopped walking.

His divine sense, like countless stars, locked tightly onto Li Xuanxiao with one part, while the rest spread out over the entire Shencao Mountain.

Is this really it?

Something feels off.

The old emperor clicked his tongue.

At this point, he wasn’t worried about Li Xuanxiao escaping.

If the guy managed to escape right under his nose,

Then what was the point of all his Tribulation Stage cultivation?

Tactics? What other tricks did the opponent have?

The old emperor shook his head, dismissing each possibility one by one.

It looked like he was thinking for a long time—

And in fact, he was.

The old emperor wasn’t just thinking, he was also observing Li Xuanxiao’s condition.

At this moment, even the slightest movement from Li Xuanxiao

Would make the old emperor sense something was off.

His trump cards? What else did he have?

The old emperor walked half a circle—then suddenly spun around and started sprinting in circles.

Then he clasped his hands behind his back, striking a ninja run pose.

Then suddenly, he did a backflip, and let out monkey-like cries.

“Wooo wooo wooo~”

Li Xuanxiao: ............

Suddenly, the old emperor stopped again.

His divine sense had never left Li Xuanxiao, nor did it miss the slightest movement in the surroundings.

Hmm, not even that got a reaction.

Then he probably didn’t know the old emperor had arrived.

The old emperor kept walking forward. Then suddenly stopped again and walked backwards.

“To be safe, I’ll send someone else in first.”

With that, he ripped open space and vanished.

No trace of his aura.

Did... did he run?

About half a stick of incense later—

Suddenly, a black shadow streaked across the sky, falling like lightning.

Li Xuanxiao’s vision went dark. It felt like the entire world was being swallowed by the black shadow.

He looked up and saw a massive, sky-covering palm.

The once-towering and majestic Shencao Mountain looked fragile and ant-like beneath that palm.

The old emperor had finally made his move.

Almost at the same time, two figures appeared.

One on the left, one on the right.

One was Elder Sun in a black robe, the other was the sword spirit radiating golden sword intent.

In that instant, the two figures blurred—

And transformed into two towering beams of light that shot into the sky.

Then a deafening explosion rang out.

As if the heavens and earth themselves were shaking.

Torrents of spiritual energy clashed like a raging tide, colliding and surging, bursting into dazzling waves of light and energy ripples.

The old emperor hovered in the sky, unshaken, performing countless divine arts with his palm.

The sword spirit gave a low shout, unleashing sword energy like a galaxy pouring down.

The dark sky was lit up by the blinding sword light.

In the old emperor’s palm, a sea of blood churned. Countless wailing souls surged forth, forming terrifying divine powers...

Li Xuanxiao dove underground, the surrounding soil collapsing as he descended.

This was his real body—he didn’t dare gamble.

He didn’t dare bet on whether the old emperor could tell his decoy apart. He had to step into the trap himself.

Li Xuanxiao dove directly into the teleportation array he had prepared.

The battle to come was no place for him.

Li Xuanxiao arrived at his battlefield and activated the incantation.

The spatial formation roared to life!

At its core, the acquired-grade spirit treasure—the Purple Gold Gourd—hummed loudly.

The formation had been constructed with help from Elder Sun and Liu Qiushui.

The spirit treasure had been borrowed from Zhenren Hongyun.

It massively enhanced the spatial sealing power of the formation,

Making it capable of locking down all space within ten thousand miles.

This was essential to prevent the old emperor from escaping.

His spatial-travel ability made him an unfair mix of mobility and power!!

Space lock activated.

Li Xuanxiao crushed the message jade talisman.

“Di Nü Feng Beast, come forth!!”

“...........”

The sword spirit waved its hands and transformed the battlefield, manifesting the ruins of an ancient warzone from within its body.

A massive sword hung upside-down in the center, surrounded by chain-like array patterns.

Under Elder Sun’s robe, countless talismans burst forth, instantly arranging an ancient killing formation. The moment blood dripped, it formed a sealing barrier.

Two battlefield barriers merged with the main formation.

The old emperor’s face remained stoic, but his voice rumbled low.

“Come. Let me see what tricks you’ve got!”

...........