Emperor Gu Gets Arrogant

Old Ghost finished speaking and immediately began forming intricate hand seals with both hands.

In the next moment, an overwhelming aura surged from his body. His originally murky eyes suddenly brightened, filled with endless Dao patterns swirling wildly within, like the brightest stars in the night sky.

Gradually, more and more silver Dao patterns emerged, spreading from Old Ghost’s eyes and swirling around his body, almost encasing him in a silvery cocoon.

Gu Qingfeng watched carefully from the side, his Golden Eyes of Discernment already activated.

To his astonishment, the technique Old Ghost was performing was incredibly complex—not composed of a single Dao, but containing hundreds of different Daos. Some of these Daos shared similar attributes, while others were inherently conflicting. Yet, under Old Ghost’s control, the hundreds of Daos merged perfectly, unleashing unimaginable power.

Old Ghost was truly unfathomable!

Having lived for hundreds of millions of years, he had encountered countless Heavenly Emperors and even nurtured many of them. Naturally, he had some understanding of the Heavenly Emperor’s Dao—indeed, he had likely dabbled in all the myriad Daos of the world.

Boom!

A deafening roar erupted, as if ten thousand Daos cried out in unison.

The silver runes covering Old Ghost’s body converged like flowing water before him, condensing into a single silver pupil. Within it was an aura of indifference, majesty, and absolute rationality—devoid of even a trace of humanity.

The Eye of the Heavenly Dao?!

Gu Qingfeng hadn’t expected Old Ghost to be capable of even mimicking the Eye of the Heavenly Dao.

This proved that Old Ghost’s understanding of the Heavenly Dao had reached an incredibly profound level.

Witnessing this, a sudden thought crossed Gu Qingfeng’s mind—was Old Ghost’s true goal really to destroy the Heavenly Dao?

Could it be that he wanted to replace it instead?

Ah, never mind. It didn’t matter. They were family, after all, and it was only natural to wish the best for family.

"Emperor Gu! Prepare to act!" Old Ghost shouted in a low, grave voice, clearly strained from maintaining such a state.

Whoosh!

The silver pupil shot forth a beam of silver-white divine light toward the chains of law.

Then, something miraculous happened.

The chains of law, which even a Heavenly Emperor would struggle to break, trembled violently under the silver-white radiance, emitting loud clanging sounds.

Like snow meeting the blazing sun, the chains began to disintegrate inch by inch.

The Primordial Sin Origin was instantly freed from its restraints.

Seeing how devoted his family was, Gu Qingfeng didn’t hesitate. He opened his mouth wide and inhaled sharply, drawing all the Primordial Sin Origin into his body.

While absorbing the Primordial Sin Origin, his hands weren’t idle either—he swiftly tossed out a Substitute Puppet to take the place of the Primordial Sin Origin.

Seeing the puppet in position, Old Ghost immediately dispersed the Eye of the Heavenly Dao, panting heavily as if drained. Whether it was genuine or an act remained unclear.

Without the influence of the Eye of the Heavenly Dao, the partially dissolved chains of law instantly regenerated from the void, clattering like countless giant serpents as they coiled and entangled around the Substitute Puppet.

"This matter is settled, Gu... Gu..."

Old Ghost was about to claim credit, but when he turned his head, the sight of Gu Qingfeng’s current state startled him so much that his words caught in his throat.

At this moment, Gu Qingfeng floated midair without any wind, his feet lifting effortlessly. An endless tide of the wicked thoughts of all living beings surrounded him, materializing into a thick black mist that filled the entire space. Within the mist, countless screaming figures writhed—filled with jealousy, rage, cruelty...

An endless torrent of negative emotions and wicked thoughts ran rampant.

Then, the black mist transformed again, gathering into thick strands—one, two, three... until seven massive black serpents took shape. Their bodies were studded with countless twisted human faces and the visages of other races, as if stretching out from the void behind Gu Qingfeng.

These seven serpents represented the seven deadly sins: Pride, Wrath, Envy, Sloth, Greed, Gluttony, and Lust.

"Kekeke..."

A bone-chilling laughter echoed through the heavens and earth.

Gu Qingfeng’s once handsome and pale face was now completely distorted. The seven black serpents writhed and coiled around him, his ink-black hair whipping wildly in the wind. His black imperial robes fluttered, and his eyes had turned pitch-black, like black holes devouring all light around them.

Within those eyes lay the concentrated wickedness of the world. Even a hundred-life saint, a born sage, or the most virtuous gentleman would fall into an abyss of corruption with a single glance.

To gaze upon him was to gaze into the abyss.

His presence was like that of an ancient demon god awakening, destined to bring eternal night to the mortal realm.

Truth be told, Old Ghost had seen countless grand spectacles. What truly shocked him wasn’t Gu Qingfeng’s overwhelmingly sinister aura, but that horrifying, twisted grin. Looking at that face, Old Ghost couldn’t help but wonder if Gu Qingfeng had been corrupted by the Primordial Sin Origin, turning into a mindless monster of endless wickedness.

"From this day forth, this Emperor shall stand above all! The world shall bow before me!!"

Gu Qingfeng’s maniacal laughter snapped Old Ghost back to reality.

Watching the utterly arrogant Gu Qingfeng, Old Ghost’s lips twitched involuntarily.

He’s really gotten carried away—so much so that he’s floating in the sky now.

But then again, Old Ghost mused, this was a good thing. The more inflated Gu Qingfeng’s ego, the more obvious his weaknesses. An arrogant, overbearing man was far easier to deal with than a reserved, scheming one.

"Congratulations, Emperor Gu! Felicitations, Emperor Gu! With your return to peak strength, it is destined that you shall trample all realms underfoot. When you reign supreme, I hope you won’t forget the contributions of this humble Old Ghost," he fawned obsequiously.

To him, pride had long been discarded. After countless eons of existence, he had seen through everything.

Losing face couldn’t harm you in the slightest. Aside from physical injury, all other suffering was merely an illusion born from one’s own perception.

If Emperor Gu enjoyed flattery, then so be it. If kneeling and kowtowing would help achieve his goals, he’d do it without hesitation.

Gu Qingfeng observed Old Ghost’s respectful demeanor with satisfaction. As his power and status grew, family members like Old Ghost—both formidable and deferential—were becoming increasingly rare.

"You... are not bad," Gu Qingfeng remarked indifferently.

Old Ghost cursed inwardly, but his aged face blossomed into a delighted smile, as if he had received the highest honor. He showered Gu Qingfeng with endless praise, sparing no effort.

Gu Qingfeng listened calmly, nodding occasionally, never once finding the flattery excessive. Instead, he considered Old Ghost an honest man.

By the end, Old Ghost had exhausted his vocabulary accumulated over hundreds of millions of years and could barely keep up.

"Emperor Gu, perhaps you should retract your divine might for now. We should leave this place—lingering here might cause us to miss the opening of the Emperor’s Path."

Gu Qingfeng cast a sidelong glance at Old Ghost and said flatly, "Lead the way."

Old Ghost hastily bowed and scraped, opening a spatial passage to escort Gu Qingfeng out of the Primordial Forbidden Ground.