Chapter 972: The Fish Are Fat, Each Taking What They Need

The land of glaciers fell silent in an instant.

The gaze of Lu Lingzi immediately drew the focused attention of the Lan family ancestor and the six Elders present.

Deep down, they harbored wariness toward this disciple of the Great Emperor.

In truth, this individual was a peerless prodigy even within the entire Demon Feather Sacred Land.

His schemes were profound, making him difficult to fathom.

In particular, the Demon Eye between his brows contained profound mysteries; not only did it allow him to seize authority while still in the Spirit-Nurturing realm, but he could also use this Demon Eye to unleash all manner of terrifying arts.

As for Lan Yao, being Lu Lingzi’s Dao companion, she understood him better than most, so her expression changed instantly, and her breathing grew slightly rapid!

The ominous premonition that had surfaced in everyone’s hearts became infinitely real for her, combined with her understanding of Lu Lingzi!

Beside her, Yue Dong felt the same; her mind surged with unease. After a swift exchange of glances with Lan Yao, the two women did not hesitate and immediately retreated, attempting to put distance between themselves and the battlefield to find an opportunity to escape!

Meanwhile, under the gaze of the masses, inside the Sacred Heaven Pagoda floating in mid-air, Erniu was acting strangely!

"Why are you looking at me?"

"What does this mean? Am I his backup plan?"

"Or are you saying you want me to keep providing the voiceover for him?"

Inside the pagoda, just as Erniu was about to say something, Xu Qing, whose contemplative look had already faded, took a step forward and walked straight out of the pagoda, standing outside!

Xu Qing’s sudden appearance caused the already highly vigilant crowd to immediately straighten up; their gazes shifted from the pagoda in an instant and focused on Xu Qing!

Erniu also felt a sense of bewilderment in his heart, but recalling Xu Qing’s earlier gaze, he had a sudden realization!

"Could it be..."

As for Lan Yao, she was now even more suspicious and fearful; Yue Dong’s expression changed again, and the Lan family ancestor and the six Elders felt an even stronger sense of foreboding, their brows furrowed!

Only Lu Lingzi maintained his usual smile, looking at Xu Qing as he spoke!

"Are you my backup plan?"

Xu Qing shook his head.

"Oh? Then why did you walk out?"

Lu Lingzi’s eyes flashed with a strange light as he scrutinized Xu Qing carefully.

Xu Qing remained expressionless, his gaze passing through the bubble wall in front of him as he looked at Lu Lingzi and spoke calmly.

"I am not your backup plan, but during our previous exchange, I discovered some interesting fluctuations on you."

"Within your body, there is a trace of divine fire fluctuation, hidden extremely deep. If it weren't for the fact that my divinity is now dominant, my sensitivity to divine fire fluctuations exceeds what it once was, and this physical body of mine is special, I fear it would have been very difficult to detect."

"So, to be precise, it was the instinct of my physical body that sensed this trace of fluctuation."

"And this fluctuation is one I am very familiar with, so I had been pondering its source... and in the end, I found the answer."

"This divine fire comes from the Lixia Human Emperor!"

Xu Qing’s gaze was calm, but his words exploded like thunder, rumbling across all directions!

Erniu’s eyes widened, but he quickly returned to normal. He laughed a few times, strode forward rapidly to Xu Qing’s side, and struck a pose of confident mastery, as if he had guessed it all along and had the whole situation in his grasp, speaking proudly.

"Little Ah Qing is right; that is exactly what I wanted to say!"

Lan Yao and Yue Dong retreated without hesitation!

The Lan family ancestor and the six Elders had their expressions change completely!

Xu Qing’s voice, devoid of any emotion, continued to echo.

"I think, since you possess the divine fire of the Lixia Human Emperor, then in all likelihood, it was given to you by the Empress herself!"

"Combined with the task the Empress gave this time—merely to capture Lan Yao alive... given the Empress’s status, such a trivial matter would not be worth her attention. Therefore, it is highly probable that this fishing expedition—Feng Lintao is bait, Lan Yao is bait, and you are also bait!"

"The one being fished is the entire Lan family!"

"Furthermore, the previous victories of the human race against the Demon Feather Sacred Land were due to the leakage of the Demon Feather’s strategic intelligence. Although the Empress attributed this to Feng Lintao, but..."

"Given Feng Lintao’s status, there is much intelligence he could not have accessed, so there must be someone else cooperating with the Empress!"

It was rare for Xu Qing to speak at such length; his words swept through like a cold wind, converging into a single sentence.

"So your backup plan is not me; it is the Empress!"

The turmoil caused by these words was like a giant wave, roaring in the outside world!

The Lan family ancestor immediately spread his divine sense to perceive the surroundings. At the same time, his body flickered; instead of choosing to attack Lu Lingzi, he rushed toward the firmament, raising his hand to tear open a rift to escape!

Those six Elders also unleashed their full cultivation, vigilant to the extreme, and ascended into the sky together!

Everything Xu Qing said was, in their judgment, highly credible, so leaving this place and returning to the Sacred Land was the best choice!

Once entangled, if the Empress truly descended... the consequences would be unimaginable!

The Demon Eye was important, but not as important as their own safety.

Especially the matter of Lu Lingzi colluding with the human race; once confirmed, they wouldn't even need to act themselves. With such a merit, the Lan family would naturally have a way to obtain the Demon Eye!

Xu Qing did not pay attention to their actions, and Lu Lingzi didn't even glance at them either. He looked at Xu Qing, a hint of admiration appearing in his eyes.

"As expected of the human race’s number one prodigy. No wonder the Empress let you come to help me!"

"The Empress promised that she would not tell anyone about my affairs. I thought she had broken her word and told you about me."

Xu Qing shook his head!

"The Empress did not say a word. The reason I walked out is that there is another key point: the fish here are already numerous enough. Even if my judgment were wrong, it wouldn't matter!"

As he spoke, Xu Qing raised his hand and took the jade slip made of light that the Empress had given him.

Amidst Erniu’s anticipation, Lu Lingzi’s smiling face, the Lan family’s frantic escape, and the very moment the Lan family ancestor tore open a rift!

Xu Qing crushed the light slip.

A crisp sound echoed through the glacier!

The world turned pitch black in an instant.

It was as if a god had blown out the lamps of the ancient past, briefly stripping the concept of light from Wanggu, turning all daylight into darkness in that moment!

Only the scattered white light from the shattered jade slip became the source of light in this place at that moment!

Like the eruption of a dawn sun!

It turned into a brilliant sea of light, roaring across the entire firmament!

And so, within the firmament, inside the light source, a god with closed eyes walked forth.

This god wore an imperial robe and an imperial crown, surrounded by the aura of the human race. The appearance of the divine aura storm affected time and rippled through space!

The entire space-time seemed to become a mere backdrop!

The teleportation rift torn open by the Lan family ancestor solidified, and his body trembled in mid-air, unable to take a single step!

The six Elders beside him felt their very souls trembling!

In the distance, Lan Yao and Yue Dong became statues, dominated by endless fear!

All things and beings were moved by the robe!

That peerless, graceful figure was none other than the Empress!

She took a step and arrived in front of Xu Qing, opening her closed eyes!

Endless light shone from her eyes, becoming the dawn that tore through everything in the dark night!

Wherever this light passed, the world turned from pitch black to bright in an instant!

"You have done well!"

The first thing the Empress looked at was Xu Qing!

As her words spread, the humanity that had faded from Xu Qing returned!

Xu Qing took a deep breath and bowed his head!

Erniu blinked and hurriedly bowed as well!

The Empress withdrew her gaze and looked toward Lu Lingzi!

"Greetings, Empress. This subordinate has not failed the mission; I have lured the Lan family ancestor and the core Elders here!"

Lu Lingzi’s expression was solemn; he bowed, bending his waist deeply and respectfully!

The Empress nodded!

As Xu Qing had deduced, her goal could not have been just Lan Yao alone. What she wanted were the core powerhouses of Lan Yao’s entire family; only by refining the bloodlines of all these people could she shake that Great Emperor who was suspected to have fallen!

She had long been in cooperation with this disciple of the Great Emperor!

The reason for the human race’s multiple victories in previous campaigns due to certain intelligence was precisely this person!

Now, seeing that everything was complete, the Empress spoke faintly.

"What you require, I will give you!"

As she spoke, the Empress raised her hand, and a wisp of divine fire rose from her palm, flying toward Lu Lingzi!

For the first time, Lu Lingzi’s breathing grew rapid, and a fiery heat appeared in his eyes. Everything he had done, betraying the Sacred Land, was for... the divine fire.

Outsiders all thought he valued his master’s inheritance, but in reality, after descending to Wanggu and learning of the Empress’s affairs, his desire was no longer the Great Emperor’s inheritance!

What he wanted was the spark to become a god; he wanted to become a god.

To him, his own future was everything, so he did not want to participate in this war!

Whether it was Wanggu or the Sacred Land, he did not want to engage in meaningless slaughter

and end up as cannon fodder!

He only considered himself, planning to break away from the Sacred Land and become a god himself!

Once he became a god, the sea would be wide and the sky would be high; he could go anywhere!

After all, this was a universe of gods; he believed that breaking away from the cultivator system and becoming a god was the right path.

Originally, he only longed for this, with no certainty!

But the Empress had found him and given him hope.

As the only cultivator to successfully become a god in the continent, the hope given by the Empress was incomparably important to him!

Therefore, everything that had happened since the battle began came to be!

Lu Ling took a deep breath, received the divine fire, bowed once more to the Empress, and then his body flickered, instantly speeding away toward the horizon!

Almost the moment he departed, a sea of light rose up across this glacial land!

Within the light, the Empress walked toward the Lan family ancestor!

The Lan family ancestor was horrified; the teleportation rift was right before him, yet he could not move a muscle, forced to watch helplessly as the Empress approached!

The immense pressure and terrifying aura made the Lan family ancestor tremble; no matter how he struggled, the insurmountable gap in cultivation between them rendered everything futile!

The next instant, the Empress raised her hand and pressed down lightly!

Despair appeared in the eyes of the Lan family ancestor as his body was engulfed by the light, becoming a part of it, and was taken away by the Empress!

Subsequently, the Empress looked calmly at the six Elders of the Lan family!

The souls of these six were instantly extinguished, melted by the Empress's gaze, and dissipated, erasing all traces of their existence!

Finally, there was Xiang Lanyao!

All were taken away by the Empress!

Before leaving, the Empress's voice echoed clearly beside Xu Qing and Chen Erniu!

"This girl, Yuedong, possesses immortal arts, and within the soul of Feng Lintao, a legacy is hidden!"

These two are the reward for your completion of this mission!

With the current chaos in Wanggu, the situation is complex; the two of you should not get too deeply involved, it would be best to find a peaceful place to go into seclusion and comprehend the immortal arts and the legacy!

The voice gradually faded, the world returned to normal, and the Empress was gone!

Xu Qing's gaze fell upon the unconscious Yuedong in the distance, lost in thought, while Chen Erniu beside him looked toward the horizon with a suspicious expression and suddenly spoke in a low voice!

"Little Ah Qing, why do I feel like the Empress is a bit off? Why did she say so much, acting as if she wants to send us away..."

"She wouldn't be like the old man back in the day, trying to keep things from us and hog all the good stuff for herself, would she?"