Immortal Gate Worship, Three Days of Kneeling

The western suburbs of the capital.

Three kilometers away from the mountain gate of the Taiyi Daoist Sect, at the Longyuan temporary blockade line.

The early morning mist had yet to disperse.

Four fully armed Longyuan agents, wearing the highest grade tactical bulletproof vests and wielding Gauss rifles, were on routine patrol.

"Damn it, why is the smell in this mist getting weirder and weirder?"

One of the agents sniffed the air.

A highly bizarre fragrance permeated the air. It smelled like dead wood that had been rotting for centuries suddenly blooming with incredibly alluring flowers.

"Don't get distracted. The higher-ups gave orders: anyone attempting to approach the blockade line, whether civilian or... one of those things, gets a warning shot first, then we shoot to kill."

The captain scolded in a low voice, his finger resting tightly against the trigger.

Right at that moment.

Footsteps echoed from within the mist.

Very light.

Not the heavy thud of military boots on dirt, but a soft rustling sound, like incredibly fine fabric gently brushing against the tips of the grass.

"Who goes there?! Halt!"

The captain abruptly raised his rifle, the infrared targeting laser locking directly onto the silhouette in the fog.

The other three agents instantly entered combat readiness.

The footsteps stopped.

A gentle breeze blew the mist apart.

A young man wearing a moon-white Daoist robe appeared thirty meters in front of them.

He looked to be only in his early twenties.

His features were incredibly handsome, exuding an otherworldly aura that seemed untouched by the mortal realm.

His robe was spotless. He carried no modern weapons and wasn't even wearing shoes. He stood barefoot on the muddy grass, yet the soles of his feet were completely free of dirt.

The Head Disciple of the Taiyi Daoist Sect.

Li Miaoyuan.

On the second day after the folded space opened, he led four of his junior brothers to truly set foot in this mortal world that had been sealed for a thousand years.

He glanced at the four Gauss rifles pointed at him.

His brows furrowed slightly.

"What are these?"

Li Miaoyuan's voice was cold and clear, laced with a condescending confusion.

"Too noisy. Too dirty."

He surveyed the distant steel defense line, the roaring armored vehicles, and the grayish sky.

A very obvious flash of disgust passed through his eyes.

"Drop your weapons! Hands behind your head! Now!" the captain roared fiercely, able to feel the suffocating pressure radiating from the man before him.

Li Miaoyuan ignored the captain's warning.

He didn't even look at the gun barrels again.

He simply, and incredibly casually, raised his right hand.

His slender fingers gently flicked the air.

It was as if he were brushing aside a leaf blocking his path.

"Boom!"

A burst of pure, massive spiritual energy erupted without warning right in front of the four agents!

There were no flames, no shockwaves.

It was simply an absolute crushing force.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The four fully armed Longyuan agents, who had undergone strict genetic enhancement, didn't even have the reaction time to pull their triggers.

Their bodies were struck as if hit head-on by a high-speed bullet train!

They were sent flying backwards for over thirty meters!

They smashed heavily into the armored command vehicle behind them!

Four deep, human-shaped dents were smashed into the refined steel body of the vehicle.

Two agents suffered broken limbs on the spot, violently coughing up blood. The other two passed out instantly, their fates unknown.

Li Miaoyuan lowered his hand.

He looked down at his own palm.

"Mortal bones are still so fragile."

He shook his head. His tone held no pity, only a cold indifference akin to accidentally stepping on a bug.

The four junior brothers standing behind him let out a burst of light laughter.

"Eldest Senior Brother, these iron sticks made by mortal ants look intimidating, but who would have thought they couldn't even pierce our protective astral qi."

Li Miaoyuan did not smile.

His gaze crossed the defense line, looking toward the bustling city center of the capital.

"Pass down my decree."

Bolstered by his spiritual energy, Li Miaoyuan's voice instantly echoed through every corner within a fifty-mile radius.

Even Gu Qinghan in the Longyuan command post heard it loud and clear.

"A fifty-mile radius in the western suburbs."

"From this day forth, belongs to the Taiyi Daoist Sect."

"Within three days, all mortals are to scram from this land."

"Those who disobey will be killed without mercy."

After speaking.

Li Miaoyuan turned around and walked back into the thick mist.

Leaving behind a devastated defense line and the completely panic-stricken Longyuan agents.

...

Day three.

10:00 AM.

Shen Group Headquarters, 108th floor.

Shen Qiuhan sat at her desk.

The Ice Blade Queen's expression was as ugly as it could be.

In front of her lay a letter.

It wasn't printer paper.

It was an extremely ancient piece of rice paper, inscribed with a few lines of incredibly arrogant running script written with a pure wolf-hair brush.

The handwriting was vigorous enough to pierce through the paper, even faintly carrying a sharp sword aura that stung the eyes.

This morning.

A young man in a Daoist robe had walked straight through the first-floor lobby of the Shen Group as if no one was there, casually tossing it onto the front desk.

Dozens of security personnel and hidden Grandmaster shadow guards didn't even have the courage to draw their guns in front of that young man. All of them were forced to their knees by the terrifying aura radiating from him.

"Click."

The office door was pushed open.

Shen Fei walked in.

He wore a highly tailored black suit without a tie. His eyes were so calm they held not a single ripple.

"Shen Fei."

Shen Qiuhan stood up and handed the rice paper to Shen Fei with both hands.

"This was sent from the Taiyi Daoist Sect in the western suburbs."

"The messenger said this is a dharma decree issued personally by their Eldest Senior Brother, Li Miaoyuan."

Shen Fei took the rice paper.

He glanced at the contents.

Taiyi enters the world and shall receive the incense of the mortal realm.

It is heard that the Shen family of the capital is wealthy enough to dominate a region.

Within three days, prepare a hundred billion in funds, to be offered annually. Half of the company's foundation shall be appropriated to fund the Daoist Sect's villa.

The head of the Shen family must personally travel to the western suburb mountain gate.

Kowtow once every three steps.

Kneel all the way up the mountain to show submission.

If delayed by half a moment, we shall ride our swords into the city and slaughter your entire family.

Every word was a vicious strike to the heart.

Every sentence was dripping with arrogance.

This was utter humiliation.

Not only did they want the entirety of the Shen family's assets, but they also demanded that the highest authority of the Shen family crawl up the mountain gate of the Taiyi Daoist Sect like a dog, bowing every three steps.

In the eyes of these so-called immortals, a secular trillion-dollar plutocracy was nothing more than an ATM they could harvest at any time.

Shen Qiuhan looked at the side of Shen Fei's face.

She thought Shen Fei would fly into a rage.

That he would directly order the mobilization of all armed forces to bomb the western suburbs to the ground.

But Shen Fei did not.

He finished reading the letter with extreme calmness.

Then, he casually placed the rice paper imbued with sword aura onto the desk.

"What is his name?"

Shen Fei adjusted the cuffs of his suit, his tone as plain as if he were asking what was for lunch today.

"Li Miaoyuan." Shen Qiuhan swallowed hard. "The top-secret intelligence assessment from Longyuan puts his threat level at SSSS-class."

Shen Fei nodded.

"Understood."

He turned, preparing to leave the office.

"Shen Fei!"

Shen Qiuhan couldn't help but call out to stop him.

For the first time in front of this omnipotent man, she displayed a profound sense of worry.

"Is this person... really that strong?"

Shen Qiuhan's voice was a bit tight.

"News from Longyuan says that any random junior brother under his command severely injured four fully armed Longyuan agents barehanded. Colonel Gu Qinghan personally evaluated it..."

"She said that ordinary martial arts Grandmasters wouldn't even have a chance to get close to them. There is basically no chance of winning."

Shen Fei's footsteps, as he walked to the office door, paused for a moment.

He turned his head and looked at Shen Qiuhan, whose face was full of worry.

He fell silent for two seconds.

"I don't know," Shen Fei finally spoke.

This was the first time he had said these words since he entered the capital.

It was not out of weakness.

Nor was it out of cowardice.

Rather, it was an extremely calm sense of crisis based on absolute rationality.

Facing an enemy completely beyond the known intelligence system and mastering high-dimensional immortal cultivation laws, Shen Fei would not be blindly confident.

He left those words behind.

He pushed the door open and strode out of the office.

He left Shen Qiuhan with a tall and straight back that exuded an endless, chilling aura of death.

...

That afternoon.

Shen Fei did not bring Ling Shuang, nor did he bring Ling Xue.

He didn't even drive that extremely conspicuous bulletproof Maybach.

Instead, he drove a very ordinary black Mercedes-Benz G63 himself, leaving the urban area of the capital and heading straight for the western suburbs.

At three o'clock in the afternoon.

The Mercedes-Benz parked in a hidden mountain valley five kilometers away from the entrance of the Taiyi Dao Sect's folded space.

Shen Fei pushed the car door open and stepped out.

He stood on a huge rock, gazing into the distance at the mountain gate shrouded in clouds and mist.

He activated the Eye of Destiny.

That SSSS-grade golden pillar of light representing Li Miaoyuan was close at hand.

The blinding light almost burned Shen Fei's eyes.

Shen Fei stared at that pillar of light for a while.

He felt a sensation he had never experienced before.

It wasn't the feeling of absolute crushing superiority he had when facing those low-level Children of Destiny in the past.

Nor was it the ease he felt when facing an SSS-grade esper like Gu Qinghan.

Instead, it was...

An extremely strong sense of unfamiliarity.

Under the deep scan of the Eye of Destiny.

The system unexpectedly did not pop up any evaluation tags regarding Li Miaoyuan's weaknesses or killability.

It was completely blank.

There was only one cold word: Cultivator.

This was the first time since the system was bound that it fell into complete silence when facing a target.

Shen Fei withdrew his gaze.

He looked down at his palms.

Heavenly Demon Physique, peak Grandmaster.

How much power could this physical strength, which was enough to let him walk unhindered in the secular world, actually exert when facing those cultivators who could fly through the sky, burrow into the earth, and manipulate flying swords?

Shen Fei didn't know.

But he knew one thing.

"Within three days, one kowtow every three steps."

The corners of Shen Fei's mouth twitched ever so slightly.

There was no anger.

Only a cruelty that was cold to the bone.

He turned around, pulled the car door open, and got into the driver's seat.

He started the car.

He turned around and drove back toward the urban area of the capital.

The Mercedes-Benz SUV sped along the winding mountain road.

Shen Fei held the steering wheel with one hand and took out his phone with the other.

He looked at the photo of the copy of the letter sent by the Taiyi Dao Sect.

"One hundred billion."

"This price..."

Shen Fei stepped on the gas pedal, and the engine let out a furious roar.

"I, Shen Fei."

"Will not pay."

The car turned into a black blur and disappeared into the twilight of the Western Hills.

His hunting instincts told him.

Tomorrow.

There would be blood.