Now, the massive hand known as the Guiyuan Group was exerting its force once again.
This was a matter he had to resolve.
In the plaza, An Changqing's gaze was involuntarily drawn to the figure walking toward death.
An Changqing was about to forcefully organize a defensive line, but upon seeing Chen Guan, all his prepared words caught in his throat.
He watched that back.
There were no heroic declarations, no passionate rallies.
He didn't even look back.
There was only action.
While everyone else was plunged into chaos and fleeing, that man had already made the only choice.
An Changqing stared blankly. Then, all the hesitation in his eyes faded away, leaving only a kind of ignited resolve.
He turned his head, his voice reaching Long Ao's ears clearly:
"Yuehe, Long Ao, let's follow him!"
Long Ao paused, following An Changqing's line of sight, and also saw that solitary, resolute figure.
The anger that had filled his chest was replaced by something far more scorching.
While he was still stubbornly trying to organize the cowards, a brave man had already gone ahead alone.
Let's just fight!
Long Ao grinned, revealing stark white teeth as his battle intent surged. "Now that's more like it!"
He ignored the crowd behind him and strode after him.
Su Yuehe, however, looked toward the top of the tower. Compared to An Changqing and Long Ao, she saw much more.
Was this really something they could handle?
Hesitating in her heart, images flashed through Su Yuehe's mind of An Changqing, Long Ao, and Chen Guan standing in front of her.
It seemed she didn't need to hesitate.
Just as they had never hesitated.
Not far away, Yin Chen was already wreathed in wind elements. He softly said to Hong Yuan beside him, "Looks like we're being left out again this time."
Hong Yuan's giant axe dragged along the ground, sparking blindingly. She gave a cold harrumph. "Not necessarily."
The two didn't say another word, but having reached a consensus, they followed closely without hesitation.
A few instructors who had rushed over were hoarsely calling out to count the numbers. One of them held an electronic roster, his face deathly pale as he looked at the sea of grayed-out names.
"Wei Zhe! Who saw Wei Zhe from the Magic City Academy?! Answer me!"
Before his questioning voice could even land, it was entirely swallowed by an earth-shattering beastly roar.
Accompanied by that roar, another new rift appeared on the walls of the Myriad Demon Tower.
The entrance to the Myriad Demon Tower was pitch black, like the gaping maw of a silent behemoth. A foul wind, a mixture of rotting corpses and old, tainted blood, rushed out to hit them in the face.
"Ugh... what the hell is that smell!" Long Ao had barely taken a step inside when he was staggered by the demonic aura, which was so heavy it felt like it could drown a person.
He raised an arm to cover his nose and mouth, complaining in a muffled voice, "It's like tossing hundreds of demonic beasts into a cesspit and marinating them for a hundred years."
"The foundation of the Demon Suppression Stone Array has shattered."
An Changqing's voice sounded from behind, his sword blade gleaming faintly in the dim light. His tone grew heavy. "The residual array circuits are mixed with the out-of-control demonic aura. Watch your step, the force field here will slow down your movements."
Just as he finished speaking, several low-tier mobs lunged out from the darkness. However, before they could even touch the corner of Chen Guan's clothes, they were pierced through the throat by a few fleeting flashes of sword light and pinned dead to the wall.
Chen Guan turned a deaf ear to the commotion behind him. Carrying a black coffin on his back, he was like a blade cutting through muddy waters, walking straight past the low-tier demonic creatures that were screaming and fleeing for their lives. His gaze pierced through the dense darkness, locking onto the spiral staircase leading to the upper levels.
"Does this guy only have eyes for the stairs?" Hong Yuan dragged her giant axe, the blade pulling a long trail of sparks across the floor. She snorted, a hint of indignation in her voice.
"Keep up with him and cut the chatter." Yin Chen whispered beside her. A current of air supported his body, allowing him to nimbly dodge a charging demonic pig before turning back to kill it with a wind blade. "We'll handle clearing the flanks."
"I don't need you to tell me that!"
Despite her words, the two had already taken positions on the left and right. Wind blades and the giant axe wove into a net, and in the blink of an eye, they cleared a clean path behind Chen Guan.
The person who understands you best is often your enemy. The two had been fighting each other since childhood and couldn't be more familiar with one another.
"Ha! Good timing!" Long Ao's voice rang out at the entrance of the stairs. The muscles in his arms bulged, veins winding around them, as he caught a lunging Tier 4 demonic cat barehanded. Amidst a scalp-numbing sound of bones cracking, he forcefully tore it into two halves.
The stairs were quickly covered with a slippery layer of demonic beast chunks.
"Stop." An Changqing's voice suddenly echoed, the tip of his sword hovering in the air.
Long Ao was right in the middle of a killing spree, but at An Changqing's shout, he held back and looked around. "Is there some danger?"
"It's not that." An Changqing ignored his question, using the tip of his sword to gently lift the corpse of a demonic beast. It was a Tier 4 Ironclad Rhino, famous for its thick and tough hide. "Look at this."
Long Ao leaned in, his brows knitting together. "...What the hell is this? Air-dried?"
The Ironclad Rhino's corpse had completely shriveled up. Its heavy hide was wrinkled and tightly wrapped around the contours of its skeleton underneath. Its massive eye sockets stared emptily toward the ceiling, and not a single wound could be found on its entire body.
"There are some over here too," Yin Chen's voice came from the corner of the stairs. He pointed to several other demonic beast corpses of different species. "The manner of death is exactly the same."
Hong Yuan walked over and curiously poked the corpse of a jackal demon with the handle of her axe.
Under the touch of the axe handle, the seemingly intact corpse collapsed instantly, turning into a pile of pale gray bone dust on the ground.
"Hiss..." Even someone like Hong Yuan couldn't help but draw a sharp breath. "This is even more sinister than just chopping them up."
Su Yuehe crouched down, pinched a bit of the powder, and stood up a moment later, shaking her head with a grim expression. "Their flesh, blood, demonic cores, everything... it seems like it was all sucked dry in the blink of an eye."
Just as a chill ran through everyone's hearts, Chen Guan's flat tone drifted down from above.
"All the answers are up there."
Without anyone noticing, he had already climbed a dozen steps alone and was looking down at another dried corpse at his feet.
After speaking, he continued upward without looking back.
Long Ao was about to speak, but An Changqing raised a hand to stop him.
"He's right." An Changqing sheathed his sword. "Let's go. It's time to see the answer to this riddle."
...
Top of the Myriad Demon Tower.
"An Changqing, you're here."
A voice filled with morbid excitement rang out from the center of the hall.
Wei Zhe stood there with his hands behind his back.
He had changed into a brand-new outfit. The former unwillingness on his face was gone, replaced only by the arrogance of someone fully in control.
Beside him stood two burly demon kin. One had the head of a tiger and the body of a man, its muscles bulging. Just standing there, the aura it exuded made Long Ao feel a suppressive weight in his bloodline.
The other was entirely cloaked in a black robe, with only a pair of ghastly green slitted pupils opening and closing beneath the hood.
"Tier 7..." Yin Chen's voice was a bit tight. "Two of them."
He subconsciously looked toward Chen Guan. In the past, he would have cowered when encountering a Tier 7, but now, with Chen Guan here, he lacked nothing.
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.
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
uld barely embark on the path to immortality. Just as he was on the verge of death, his golden finger awakened. No matter whether it was poison, drained blood and vital energy, diminished lifespan, or any other physical debuff caused by paying a price—once midnight passed, everything would be refreshed. From then on, whenever someone asked what kind of person Chu Ran was, the answer was simple: Forbidden arts that other cultivators dared not learn? Chu Ran would learn them. Prices that even demonic cultivators dared not pay? Chu Ran would pay them. Lifespan that even righteous cultivators dared not burn? Chu Ran would burn it. All the blood essence in his body? Take it. Want both his hands and feet? He would cut them off and send them to you. You say he’s finished? He wasn’t built to sit idle. You think he’s gone mad? No—he was simply waiting for midnight. From that day onward, Chu Ran would respect neither Heaven nor Earth, bow to neither gods nor ghosts. He had only one wish: For midnight to arrive a little sooner.
