Don't mess with me, stop thinking about it

Though Chen Yi and Wuji both agreed that Ling Xiao was a dumbass, in reality, he was anything but foolish—most of the time, he was sharp as a tack!

So, being as shrewd as he was, how could he not realize that Chen Yi had deliberately left the flaw in the Celestial Pivot Star Domain unaddressed?

The chat logs were all recorded. Even if Chen Yi later destroyed all the evidence after entering the central system, the traces of his reckless actions remained glaringly obvious!

Given his cautious and meticulous nature, would he really leave such a gaping loophole unfixed?

His feigned ignorance had to be part of a deeper scheme!

Ling Xiao knew this all too well—but he was powerless to stop it.

He couldn’t just stand by and watch Chen Yi grow unchecked. That bastard had already secured a massive fortune from the treasure realm, not to mention the resources Ling Xiao himself had "sponsored." With Chen Yi’s terrifying growth rate, if left unchecked, he wouldn’t just be a blade Ling Xiao could wield against Wuji—he’d turn around and stab Ling Xiao himself!

So, even though this was clearly a trap set by Chen Yi, Ling Xiao had no choice but to step right into it.

As long as he moved swiftly and cleanly, leaving no traces for Chen Yi to exploit, there’d be nothing Chen Yi could do to him!

Ling Xiao had full confidence in his own skills.

Outsmarting Chen Yi wasn’t hard, but deceiving that Primordial Chaos Treasure? That was another story.

After all, his true form was trapped deep within the River of Time, leaving only scattered imprints in the present world. Many things couldn’t be executed flawlessly.

But so what?

If he couldn’t hide it, then fine—by the time the Primordial Chaos Treasure noticed, Wuji would have already caught on, and Ling Xiao would be long gone, unscathed!

What could they possibly do to him?

"Hahaha, exhilarating!"

In an unknown realm, Ling Xiao’s avatar stood with his hands behind his back, calmly perched atop a fragment of the Primordial Creation Disk. His profound gaze pierced through endless time and space, settling on the Celestial Pivot Star Domain, where the fabric of reality was beginning to distort.

"Admittedly, if you were to go all out, sparing no cost to descend and hunt me down, you might actually succeed."

"But Wuji… do you dare?"

"You’re just a newcomer who barely secured your throne. If you dare descend, I’ll burn every last trace of the accumulated Dao Rhyme across the myriad realms just to drag you down with me!"

"When the newly stabilized Immortal Realm plunges back into chaos, when ancient powers rise again and history rewinds itself—will you still be able to hold everything together?!"

"If I can’t be the Immortal Emperor, neither can you! I’d rather let that little freak Chen Yi take the throne than let you have it!"

"And you, Chen Yi, you little monster! Why won’t you just focus on Wuji? Why must you fixate on me?!"

"Do you have any idea how many times I’ve spared you? Do you know how much pressure I’ve endured from Wuji for your sake? Is this how you repay your benefactor?!"

"Try to mess with me? Don’t even think about it! Just thinking about it is a crime!"

"Go after Wuji instead. If you don’t, I’ll make sure Wuji comes after you!"

Ling Xiao’s avatar grumbled bitterly, his eyes locked on the Celestial Pivot Star Domain, ready to fan the flames at any moment.

"BOOOOM!!!"

Torrential rains and earth-shaking thunder ravaged most of the Celestial Pivot Star Domain, driving fish into the deepest waters and forcing every land-dwelling creature into hiding.

Dark clouds blotted out the sky, smothering the sunlight as if heralding an impending storm.

The Celestial Pivot’s Heavenly Dao trembled in fear. Though it didn’t understand what was happening, the violently distorting spatial barriers beyond the domain were terrifying. The leaking aura coiled around the world like a python, threatening to drag everything into an abyss of oblivion at any moment.

With both of the Fang Clan’s Supreme Beings unreachable and no shelter to seek, the Heavenly Dao could only muster all the world’s power to withstand the coming calamity…

But could it even hold?

A mere wisp of the leaking aura was already on the verge of shattering the entire Celestial Pivot Star Domain—who could fathom the devastation when the true storm arrived?

"Fang Zheng, can you hear me? Fang Zheng?"

"No… Fang Zheng’s soul was reincarnated from another world. The call of his homeland means little to him…"

"Fang Fan… Fang Fan… Why can’t I sense you anymore?"

"Zeng Niu, Zeng Niu! You only ascended recently—can you send word of this catastrophe to the Purple Star Immortal Court?"

"Jin Shu, Jin Shu! It’s been two and a half years since your ascension. Have you gained a foothold yet? Your homeland needs your help—go and summon Supreme Fang Zheng at once!"

"Why? Why can’t I send out any messages? The distorted barriers have cut off everything… Is the Celestial Pivot Star Domain truly doomed?"

"Someone… please save the Celestial Pivot Star Domain… save its countless living souls…"

The Heavenly Dao despaired, its Celestial Heart Seal unable to even maintain form, dissipating into mist.

The storm raged across the world. Before the apocalyptic disaster could fully descend, the people of the Celestial Pivot Star Domain were already drowning in catastrophic floods.

And then—

A voice laced with disdain drifted through the chaos.

"Pathetic as ever, aren’t you?"

In an instant—

The skies cleared. The rains ceased.

The Heavenly Dao’s sense of security skyrocketed!