"Roar!"
Gu Qingfeng declared with shameless confidence, his tone unyielding despite the absurdity of his stance.
Old Ghost was utterly dumbfounded. What kind of person was this? Pure, unadulterated spite—harming others without even benefiting himself.
"Hold on, you were imprisoned by the Heavenly Dao for so many years. Now that you have the chance to destroy it and take revenge, not only do you refuse to join, but you actively sabotage things? Have you lost your mind after being locked up for so long? Why would you do this?"
"Because this Emperor finds you insufferable."
Old Ghost: "......"
After a moment of stunned silence, Old Ghost suddenly burst into maniacal laughter. "Kekeke... Gu Qingfeng, my plan to overthrow the Heavenly Dao has been in the works for countless ages. Do you really think you alone can—Ah! Emperor Gu! Let’s talk this out, no need for rash actions!"
"Hmph."
Gu Qingfeng snorted coldly and halted the activation of the Heavenly Conveyance Array in his hands.
The Heavenly Conveyance Array was a teleportation formation that borrowed the power of the Heavenly Dao—meaning it could directly communicate with the Heavenly Dao itself.
And why had the Burial Grounds been constantly shifting through dimensional layers?
Simply put, it was to evade capture by the Heavenly Dao, hiding like a fugitive.
So, when Gu Qingfeng pulled out the Heavenly Conveyance Array, it was like calling the cops right in the middle of a criminal hideout. Old Ghost was practically pissing himself in terror.
To be honest, Old Ghost was indeed drenched in cold sweat. He wasn’t afraid of Gu Qingfeng’s usual antics—after all, the Sin of Annihilation granted immortality, not combat prowess.
But he never expected Gu Qingfeng to pull such a move—directly summoning the Heavenly Dao.
If the Heavenly Dao turned its gaze toward the Burial Grounds, the outcome would be a fight to the death. Even if he somehow survived, his grand plan to overthrow the Heavenly Dao would be ruined.
Billions of years of preparation—gone in an instant.
Old Ghost shot Gu Qingfeng a resentful glare. He hadn’t imagined Gu Qingfeng could be this ruthless.
After being imprisoned by the Heavenly Dao for endless eons, he was now willing to collaborate with it against Old Ghost? And after painstakingly severing his own essence to escape the Primordial Forbidden Grounds—didn’t he fear being dragged back if the Heavenly Dao found out?
"What are you staring at? Keep looking, and this Emperor will pluck out your eyeballs and stomp on them for fun!" Gu Qingfeng barked, not sparing Old Ghost an ounce of dignity.
Old Ghost hurriedly bowed with an ingratiating smile. "Yes, yes, Emperor Gu is absolutely right."
"Still acting tough?"
"No, no, not at all."
"Still pretending to be hot shit?"
"Never again, never again."
"Then why the hell haven’t you introduced yourself properly yet?"
"Right away, right away."
Old Ghost nodded and bowed like a sycophant, devoid of any semblance of a supreme expert’s demeanor.
Whether this was his true nature or the result of living so long that he’d shed all shame, no one could say.
As Old Ghost began his tale, Gu Qingfeng gradually pieced together his identity.
According to Old Ghost, he was a human from ancient times—now over a hundred million years old, though the exact number had long been forgotten.
His real name? Also forgotten. Over the ages, he’d used countless aliases, but "Old Ghost" had stuck the longest, so that’s what he went by.
The reason for his absurd longevity? A unique Immortal Physique—the Longevity Immortal Physique.
Among all Immortal Physiques, the Longevity variant was the most peculiar. It granted no power, no cultivation advantages—its sole function was longevity.
Not true immortality, but a lifespan so vast it defied comprehension.
With his Longevity Immortal Physique perfected, even Old Ghost himself didn’t know how long he could live.
As for his grasp of the Time Dao? That came from living through endless epochs, granting him but a sliver of its mysteries.
"You may not have true immortality, but your lifespan is already beyond measure. Why isn’t that enough? Why insist on overthrowing the Heavenly Dao for eternal life?" Gu Qingfeng questioned.
"A man must have a purpose," Old Ghost replied solemnly. "When none in the mortal realm can rival me, who else is there to fight but Heaven itself?"
SLAP!
A resounding smack landed on Old Ghost’s wrinkled face.
"Didn’t you just promise to stop acting pretentious?"
"Yes, yes, my mistake, my mistake," Old Ghost immediately abandoned his dramatic flair, reverting to his groveling demeanor.
"You old bastard, not a single word out of your mouth is trustworthy. But whatever—this Emperor can’t be bothered to care about your schemes.
"All I want to know is—what can you do for me?"
A glint flashed in Old Ghost’s eyes as he grinned slyly. "Emperor Gu, I can help you obtain the complete Sin of Annihilation essence. All you have to do is aid me in destroying the Heavenly Dao."
"Oh?"
Gu Qingfeng’s interest was instantly piqued. The benefits of the Sin of Annihilation were self-evident—with its full power, his combat prowess would rival that of a Heavenly Emperor.
At full strength, the Sin could even affect Heavenly Emperors. If one were in their twilight years, their will weakened, it might even be possible to obliterate their divine consciousness.
"Well, Emperor Gu? What do you say?"
A thought struck Gu Qingfeng, and he smirked dismissively. "Trying to trick me, huh? If I take all the Sin essence, do you really think the Heavenly Dao would let me go?"
Old Ghost shook his head and produced a tattered doll from his robes—worn, ancient, looking like it had been trampled a hundred times over centuries.
"This is a Substitute Calamity Doll. It can serve as your stand-in, taking your place in the Primordial Forbidden Grounds."
Whoosh!
Gu Qingfeng snatched the doll and examined it with his Golden Eyes of Truth. The object radiated an ineffable, mystical aura, intertwined with the Dao of Illusion and Reality. It truly possessed the power to divert tribulations—a rare treasure indeed.
"If you had this thing back when I was imprisoned in the Primordial Forbidden Grounds, why didn’t you rescue me?"
Gu Qingfeng feigned the tone of the Abandoned Heavenly Emperor, testing Old Ghost’s sincerity. The old fiend was cunning beyond measure—living up to his name as a true "ghost"—and couldn’t be trusted blindly.
"This doll’s effects last only a century. That’s why I didn’t save you back then—even if I had, it would’ve been pointless. After a hundred years, the substitute would fail, and you’d be dragged back anyway."
"Kekeke... Clever," Gu Qingfeng suddenly laughed.
"So this thing only works for a century. Meaning, if I don’t help you destroy the Heavenly Dao within that time, I’ll inevitably be suppressed again. You’re forcing me onto your warpath.
"And why exactly does it only last a hundred years? I’d bet you tampered with it yourself."
Old Ghost put on an aggrieved expression. "How could you think so little of me? We’re the closest of friends, bound since antiquity! This Substitute Calamity Doll took me countless eras to craft, scouring the ends of the world for materials—all for you!"
Gu Qingfeng couldn’t be bothered to humor Old Ghost’s theatrics. The old schemer had long transcended shame, caring only for profit.
"Enough. What’s your plan? How exactly do you expect this Emperor to help you?"
Seeing Gu Qingfeng cut to the chase, Old Ghost eagerly leaned in. "Simple. All you need to do is use the Sin of Annihilation to shield the Heavenly Emperors within the Burial Grounds as they enter the Path of Emperors."
"Shield them? What do you mean?"
"Come with me. You’ll understand once you see them."
Without further explanation, Old Ghost led Gu Qingfeng deeper into the heart of the Burial Grounds.
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
