Who Gave You the Audacity to Look Directly at This Emperor

Just as Old Ghost was stunned, Gu Qingfeng had already swallowed the entire origin of the Solar Immortal Body.

"You dare, brat?!"

A thunderous roar exploded beside Gu Qingfeng’s ears.

The towering figure of Emperor Qilin descended like divine wrath.

Boom!

A massive Qilin claw slammed toward Gu Qingfeng, as if trying to force the Solar Immortal Body’s origin out of him.

Gu Qingfeng didn’t dodge. Instead, he threw a punch, meeting the attack head-on.

And then...

The long-awaited system notification sounded.

Ding!

Host attacked by Forbidden Emperor Corpse (Emperor Qilin).

Cultivation +1,000,000,000...

Gu Qingfeng felt himself taking another small step forward on the path to becoming a Quasi-Emperor and couldn’t help but smile.

But he wasn’t smiling because of his increased cultivation—he had found his family!

Just as he had suspected, these Forbidden Emperor Corpses were his long-lost kin!

An overwhelming surge of joy filled his heart.

Who could possibly understand this feeling?

Looking around, all he saw were graves—each one holding a family member. Who else could comprehend such happiness?

Emperor Qilin was shocked to see Gu Qingfeng completely unharmed.

"Impossible!"

Though his strength was less than a hundredth of what it once was, even with just an Emperor Corpse, he didn’t believe any Quasi-Emperor in this world could withstand his attack.

Yet Gu Qingfeng had blocked it—effortlessly, without a scratch.

At this moment, Old Ghost stepped forward with a dark expression, his gaze piercing as he stared at Gu Qingfeng and said in a low voice, "Emperor Gu, you’ve taken this joke too far. You’d better return the Solar Immortal Body’s origin immediately."

Old Ghost’s current state was unusual. Though he still looked like the same decrepit, wretched old man, an unfathomably terrifying aura emanated from him, deep as an abyss.

It was as if this was his true form—everything before had been an act.

"Keh keh keh..." Gu Qingfeng let out a scornful laugh as he looked at the former Emperor and the mysterious Emperor’s Advisor before him.

His face twisted into a savage grin, his eyes filled with arrogance and disdain.

"What kind of trash are you? Who gave you the right to think I’d joke with you?"

Old Ghost’s expression darkened further, his eyes like black holes devouring souls. A bone-chilling aura rose from him, and slowly, the entire Burial Ground began to tremble.

Then, earth-shaking Emperor auras erupted from countless tombs within the Burial Ground, threatening to tear through the heavens. The land itself seemed on the verge of collapse.

One after another, spectral figures emerged from the graves—legendary figures whose names once shook the world, the past Emperors of their eras.

These Emperors had not yet fully awakened. Instead, they manifested as projections, their majestic gazes fixed on Gu Qingfeng.

In an instant, the weight of countless Emperor auras pressed down on him.

This was the Emperors’ way of expressing their displeasure. Their goal was to defy the heavens, and by absorbing the Solar Immortal Body’s origin, Gu Qingfeng was weakening Emperor Qilin—reducing their chances of success.

Faced with the collective hostility of these Emperors, Gu Qingfeng only laughed even more wildly.

"Keh keh keh..."

"A bunch of worthless trash hiding in coffins—who gave you the right to look down on this Emperor?!"

His domineering gaze swept over these once-unrivaled rulers of their eras. His black hair whipped wildly in the storm of his aura, his Emperor’s robes fluttering as demonic energy radiated from him, making him appear like an eternal sun in the cold void—too dazzling to behold.

The Emperors didn’t respond to Gu Qingfeng’s taunts. They merely frowned slightly, their expressions tinged with faint disgust, as if watching an ignorant fool who didn’t know his place.

They were true pinnacle existences, beings who had once stood at the very top. Looking down from such heights, they wouldn’t be provoked by mere words.

Yet, in the next moment, their aloof composure shattered.

Because Gu Qingfeng suddenly formed a series of hand seals, and a faint ripple of heavenly dao emanated from him—the Heavenly Summoning Array.

That’s right. He was using the array to contact the Heavenly Dao.

He was about to call the Heavenly Dao and report that a group of rebels was hiding here, urging it to come and suppress them.

Seeing this, the Emperors’ expressions changed drastically.

"Stop!"

"Cease this at once!"

"What do you think you’re doing?!"

Countless shouts rang out.

Gu Qingfeng grinned savagely, locking eyes with the gathered Emperors. His "call" was one last seal away from completion—like a madman holding a lit fuse, scanning the crowd before finally settling on Old Ghost’s face.

Old Ghost stood motionless, his expression blank as a corpse, his eyes dark and fathomless as an abyss. There wasn’t a trace of panic on his face—no telling what he was thinking.

"Keh keh keh... Old Ghost, are you happy?" Gu Qingfeng asked.

Old Ghost remained expressionless. "Are you certain you want to do this?"

"Of course not. You’re all my dearest friends, my sworn brothers. If you all died, I’d be left all alone in this world."

With that, Gu Qingfeng casually released his hand seals, dispersing the array entirely.

He wasn’t stupid. If he wiped them out now, he’d be at a huge loss—after all, none of them had yet returned to their peak strength.

"Keh keh keh... I knew you were just joking. You’ve certainly gotten more humorous over the years." Old Ghost suddenly burst into laughter, reverting to his usual sleazy demeanor as if the tense standoff had never happened.

Then, without hesitation, he pulled out a sphere of intertwined laws from his body and tossed it to Gu Qingfeng.

"This is a portion of the Eternal Immortal Body’s origin. Consider it a reunion gift between old friends."

Gu Qingfeng caught the origin and immediately understood Old Ghost’s meaning. He then spat out the Solar Immortal Body’s origin—though he had swallowed it, this was an immortal body’s essence. It needed to be refined, not just digested like food.

"Emperor Qilin, since this is our first meeting, consider the Solar Immortal Body’s origin my gift to you."

With that, Gu Qingfeng tossed the origin back to Emperor Qilin.

Emperor Qilin caught it with a darkened expression but said nothing, preparing to return to his coffin.

He didn’t curse or shout. For beings like them, only interests mattered—and Gu Qingfeng was far too important to them now to act recklessly.

"Hey!"

Gu Qingfeng called out to the departing Emperor Qilin, displeased. "Don’t you know the meaning of reciprocity? I gave you a gift—shouldn’t you return the courtesy?"

Emperor Qilin nearly lost his composure, almost lashing out in anger.

Taking what was originally his, gifting it back, and then demanding a return gift?!

He had once believed that nothing but immortality mattered to him—that nothing else could provoke him.

But now, Emperor Qilin realized he had underestimated things.

Old Ghost glanced at Emperor Qilin, who stood rooted in place, trembling with rage.

He quickly ran over and patted Emperor Qilin on the shoulder, grinning slyly. "Gu Qingfeng is right. You shouldn’t be so stingy—it’s just some worldly possessions. Once you regain your strength, you can always collect more."

Emperor Qilin was no fool. He understood Old Ghost’s implication: endure for now and seek revenge later once his power was restored.

Huff!

Emperor Qilin took a deep breath, then tossed out a spatial ring before walking away without another glance.

Gu Qingfeng didn’t stop him. He knew there would be plenty of time for a "family reunion" later.

The other Emperor projections also dispersed, and the burial grounds returned to their usual tranquility.

Gu Qingfeng examined the essence of the Eternal Immortal Physique in his hand, then turned to Old Ghost. "To be honest, I’ve never known your true strength. I joined your 'Heaven-Slaying Plan,' but you, the mastermind, have always kept your abilities hidden. It’s hard to believe you’ll succeed. How about a little spar?"

Old Ghost chuckled awkwardly. "Gu Qingfeng, you’re joking again. How could I possibly be your match?"

"Hmph. You’re right—you’re not. Fine, just attack me once. Let me gauge your worth."

Truthfully, Gu Qingfeng wasn’t testing Old Ghost’s strength—he wanted to confirm whether he was "family." His upbringing had taught him not to accept gifts from strangers, but "family" offerings were safe.

This fragment of Eternal Immortal Physique essence came from Old Ghost. Who knew if it was tampered with? Given Old Ghost’s unfathomable methods, any hidden traps would be nearly undetectable.

But if Old Ghost was truly "family," Gu Qingfeng would trust him completely—even if the essence was laced with poison, he’d swallow it without hesitation.

Old Ghost had acted twice before, but only using time-freezing techniques—non-damaging abilities like sealing, which the system couldn’t use to verify his identity.

After a moment’s hesitation, Old Ghost decided to comply.

What choice did he have? Gu Qingfeng was a madman who defied all logic—someone who’d fight corpses and insult Emperors. If he displeased him, who knew if he’d summon the Heavenly Dao in a fit of rage?

But now, Old Ghost faced another dilemma: how much power to use?

Too little, and Gu Qingfeng might accuse him of holding back and call him useless.

Too much, surpassing Gu Qingfeng’s strength, and he might provoke his wrath.

After careful consideration, Old Ghost settled on a level slightly weaker than Gu Qingfeng’s.

"Life and Death: Withering Flourish!"

With a single finger pointed, the fluctuations of life and death laws manifested, and a beam of intertwined black-and-white annihilation shot toward Gu Qingfeng.

Ding!

Host attacked by Gui Lai.

Physique +100,000,000...

Huh?

The power of life and death seamlessly merged into his Chaos Physique, enhancing it further.

Gui Lai? What the hell?

The system explained: "True name."

True name?!

Gui Lai? Old Ghost? Old Turtle!

So this bastard was a turtle?!

Damn it! No wonder this old turtle never told the truth—first claiming to be human, then saying he’d forgotten his name and just went by "Old Ghost."

Tch.

But since he was "family," Gu Qingfeng let it slide.

Old Ghost glanced at Gu Qingfeng, unharmed, and a faint glint flickered in his eyes.

He had used power close to Gu Qingfeng’s level—albeit slightly weaker—yet it was effortlessly blocked.

So, Gu Qingfeng still has hidden cards up his sleeve.

But Old Ghost wasn’t overly concerned. In his eyes, no matter what Gu Qingfeng concealed, it was meaningless. No trump card could rival his own eons of accumulation.