At the very least, we'll have to wait another half month.

Even the never-ending wind of the wasteland became barely audible as it approached this place.

Su Ji could roughly guess why.

Those two were doing it on purpose.

It was to make him put away any messy little schemes he might have.

It was also to tell him that in the face of absolute power, any plots and tricks were nothing but a joke.

He would be better off cooperating honestly; perhaps then he would have a way to survive.

Zhao Tianyang stopped at the door, his wrinkled old face a bit pale at this moment.

He turned his head to look at Su Ji. Although he didn't say anything, Su Ji could roughly understand his meaning.

"Kid, remember the agreement we just made!"

"Whether you live or die is entirely up to your own fortune!"

Having said that, he hesitated no longer and pushed the door open.

Creak—

The door hinges let out an overwhelmed groan.

The scene inside the door subsequently entered Su Ji's line of sight.

The room was not large, and the furnishings remained simple.

Zhao Wuji sat upright on one side, holding a steaming cup of tea. He looked refined, his joy or anger indiscernible.

On the other side, the Pavilion Master of Tingfeng leaned against the back of his chair, holding a jade slip. His posture was languid, as if he couldn't care less about the outside world.

But the moment Zhao Tianyang pushed open the door, both of their movements paused.

Two gazes—one as deep as the sea, the other as ethereal as the clouds—landed on the doorway at the same time.

Zhao Tianyang's body uncontrollably hunched over, shrinking by half.

As for Su Ji, he felt as if he were being crushed by two invisible mountains.

His breath hitched instantly.

Within his Dantian's sea of qi, that towering Heavenly Palace actually began to circulate on its own under this pressure. A torrent of spiritual energy nearly burst out of his body.

Su Ji's heart clenched violently.

He forcefully suppressed the spiritual energy that was about to run rampant. As his vitality surged, he nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.

Su Ji staggered a step and supported himself on the doorframe. His already pale face turned even more ghastly white.

"Cough... cough cough..."

He began to cough violently.

"Patriarch, Pavilion Master."

Enduring the pressure, Zhao Tianyang respectfully cupped his fists toward the two.

"I have... brought the person."

Zhao Wuji set down his teacup and turned his gaze to the door, his voice flat.

"Lead the way."

Hearing this, Su Ji shook his head instead.

"Not... right now."

"You can see my current condition."

"If I force my way in, let alone retrieving the item, whether I can even come out alive is uncertain."

Su Ji added weakly.

"We have to wait... at least another half a month."

The atmosphere in the room instantly turned cold.

Zhao Wuji didn't speak; he merely picked up his teacup again and sipped slowly.

The Pavilion Master of Tingfeng slowly turned his gaze back to Su Ji.

"Didn't Zhao Tianyang tell you?"

Su Ji's voice wasn't loud, but it reached everyone in the room clearly.

"I do not have a Flawless Body."

As soon as these words came out, the hand Zhao Wuji used to hold his teacup paused in midair.

The Pavilion Master of Tingfeng's casual posture also quietly withdrew.

Two gazes as sharp as knives instantly focused on Zhao Tianyang.

Zhao Tianyang's body trembled violently. His already bloodless old face turned deathly pale in a flash.

He fell to his knees with a thud, a sobbing tone in his voice.

"Patriarch! Pavilion Master! I... I verified it! It's absolutely true!"

He couldn't figure out why this Su Hao would dare to say such a thing at a time like this!

Was he trying to get himself killed?!

Watching Zhao Tianyang's terrified, groveling display, Su Ji slowly spoke the second half of his sentence.

"I only managed to temporarily gain the characteristics of that physique because of the Heaven Devouring Demonic Art I obtained by a stroke of luck."

The Pavilion Master of Tingfeng casually tossed the jade slip in his hand onto the table, making a soft clack.

"This is the key you found?"

"And he's trying to bargain with us?"

A layer of fine cold sweat instantly seeped out on Zhao Tianyang's forehead. He hastily bowed, his posture humble to the extreme.

"The Pavilion Master is right, it's just... this person's physique is special. He is indeed the only candidate who can enter that place."

Hearing this, the Pavilion Master of Tingfeng let out a soft chuckle of unclear meaning.

"The only one?"

He repeated these words, and then turned his gaze to Zhao Wuji beside him.

"Patriarch Zhao, tell me, are there really that many 'only ones' in this world?"

Zhao Wuji set down his teacup, wearing a perfectly measured smile on his face.

"The Pavilion Master jests."

"This person is nothing but a tool. To be discarded after use, nothing to be taken seriously."

The two echoed each other, conversing as if there were no one else around. From beginning to end, they didn't spare another glance at Su Ji in the doorway.

Su Ji's coughing gradually subsided.

This was a warning to him.

To make him realize his status and not harbor any crooked thoughts.

But this behavior proved exactly one thing.

He, as this key, was incredibly important.

Important enough that a True Immortal and a Soul Formation cultivator needed to team up to put on a show for him.

The Pavilion Master of Tingfeng stretched, stood up from his chair, and paced a couple of steps around the room.

"Half a month it is."

"But that's the absolute limit."

After his words fell, he had already walked to the door.

At that moment, no one noticed that an aura as ethereal as clouds enveloped Su Ji.

Su Ji's body suddenly stiffened.

He felt as if he had plunged into a boundless sea of clouds. All around him was churning mist; he couldn't distinguish directions, nor could he find a way out.

"Kid."

The Pavilion Master of Tingfeng's voice seemed to come from all directions.

"Let me ask you."

"Where did you get your so-called Heaven Devouring Demonic Art?"

The voice was flat, yet it made Su Ji feel as if his very soul was trembling.

"I... I don't know..."

His voice carried a bit of a stutter.

"It was an ancient ruin. I just wandered into it by mistake, saw the cultivation method carved on the stone wall, and... and memorized it."

"A ruin?"

The Pavilion Master of Tingfeng's voice remained unhurried.

"After I... I came out, that ruin just... collapsed..."

"Heh."

A soft chuckle came from the clouds and mist.

That laughter was filled with undisguised mockery.

"Make it up, keep making it up."

"Do you take me for a three-year-old child?"

The next moment, Su Ji felt the surrounding clouds and mist suddenly tighten. An irresistible, massive force squeezed in from all directions.

He felt his bones groaning, as if in the very next second, he would be crushed into powder by this terrifying pressure.

"Senior Brother!"

Su Jiu exclaimed in alarm, wanting to resist that pressure.

"Don't move!"

Su Ji shouted lowly in his heart, forcefully suppressing Su Jiu's power.

He couldn't expose Su Jiu's existence just yet.

Once the other party knew that a Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox was hiding in his body, the problem would be massive.