Chapter 414: Ascending Primordial Mountain Again

Heh... heh... heh...

Shen Qing walked unhurriedly into the thatched hut, each step sounding like it was treading on Xuan Ji's heart.

At this distance, Xuan Ji could even smell that scent on Shen Qing, the scent left after the divine radiance was crushed; Xuan Ji's back pressed against the wall, sweat continually flowing out.

But now it has nowhere left to retreat; in Primordial Mountain, everything here exists with the power of time, which it simply cannot destroy.

Shen Qing smiled and looked at Xuan Ji.

"Run."

"Why aren't you running?"

Xuan Ji's mouth opened wide, but he couldn't utter a word.

Shen Qing's gaze toward Xuan Ji was like looking at a piece of meat on a chopping board.

Shen Qing stepped forward, reached out and patted Xuan Ji's face, his tone extremely gentle, as if old friends reuniting.

"Don't be afraid, I'm not in a hurry to kill you."

Shen Qing indeed isn't in a rush to kill Xuan Ji; after all, he's an ancient thing that has lived through endless ages, and now it's certain that this Xuan Ji has some connection to Primordial Mountain.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have found this thatched hut so easily.

In that case, Xuan Ji still has some value.

Shen Qing said, "Come, tell me, you're quite familiar with Tai Chu Lao Ren, right?"

Xuan Ji nervously nodded, then immediately shook his head.

What came straight at him was a slap from Shen Qing.

"Smack!"

Shen Qing looked at Xuan Ji, somewhat displeased: "How did your vocal cords end up at home?"

"Can't you speak?"

Xuan Ji immediately spoke: "I... I say..."

"I know Tai Chu Lao Ren; back then I was also considered an inner disciple, but I made a mistake, was demoted to guard the gate of Primordial Mountain, yet I wasn't close with Tai Chu Lao Ren, we barely exchanged a few words."

Xuan Ji spoke extremely fast, not daring to slow down, for the slower he spoke, the closer Shen Qing's slap would get to him.

Shen Qing was somewhat dissatisfied: "After all that, you're just a gatekeeper?"

"Forget it, being a gatekeeper is fine."

"Then you must have some understanding of what happened back then on Primordial Mountain, right? What exactly happened to Tai Chu Lao Ren?"

Shen Qing remained wary of Tai Chu Lao Ren.

After all, he is to inherit the power of time, but who knows what manner of inheritance it is?

What if inheriting the power also means inheriting Tai Chu Lao Ren's memories?

Xuan Ji first froze, then his face showed a hint of fear.

"That day... that day... a boundless hand reached out and grabbed toward Primordial Mountain."

"I have never seen such terrifying might; just its power caused many disciples on Primordial Mountain to explode and die."

"Then... then... Tai Chu Lao Ren rushed toward that hand, and Primordial Mountain vanished."

Shen Qing narrowed his eyes: "How did you manage to survive?"

Xuan Ji's throat rolled: "Maybe because I'm just a gatekeeper, and I was farther away then; that hand was mainly aimed at Primordial Mountain, so I was likely only minimally affected..."

Shen Qing said: "Whose hand was that? Did Tai Chu Lao Ren come back alive?"

Xuan Ji shook his head fearfully: "I don't know whose hand that was; I've never seen such a powerful creature..."

"As for Tai Chu Lao Ren, he's definitely dead! Since that day, Tai Chu Lao Ren has never appeared again; that great hand took away not just one expert comparable to Tai Chu Lao Ren, but even more than one! None of them returned!"

"Moreover, for tens of thousands of years, no disciples have appeared on Primordial Mountain..."

"Otherwise I wouldn't dare go look for Primordial Mountain..."

"That's actually true; a gatekeeper doesn't have that much courage—only after confirming everyone's dead would he dare come take a glance at Primordial Mountain."

Shen Qing said: "How much do you know about Tai Chu Lao Ren?"

Xuan Ji shook his head: "I'm not sure; I'm just a gatekeeper, but Tai Chu Lao Ren always treated the inner disciples well."

Shen Qing glanced at Xuan Ji with some disdain, but just being a gatekeeper, providing him with this much information is not bad.

Moreover, based on what Xuan Ji said, there's over a ninety percent chance Tai Chu Lao Ren is dead.

The backup plans inside, no matter how fierce, are just that; while a living Tai Chu Lao Ren would make Shen Qing wary threefold, what's a dead man's backup?

So you should ask him whether he fears Shen Qing.

Just now, after Shen Qing entered Primordial Mountain, he gained a rough understanding: Tai Chu Lao Ren's grasp of temporal power is at least half a level inferior to Shen Qing's command of chaotic power.

If Tai Chu Lao Ren truly left a backup and intends to use temporal power to scheme against Shen Qing, then Shen Qing can only say, "Sorry."

Seeing Shen Qing silent, combined with his expression, Xuan Ji's heart leapt straight to his throat.

Shen Qing saw this and chuckled: "I said, I'm not in a hurry to kill you."

"I'll also give you a chance to live."

"Since you've spent some time in Primordial Mountain, you should have heard of the Supreme Soul Seal Technique, right?"

"The Triple Supreme Power Domain is indeed a decent combat force; subduing it will surely be useful later, and if not, just toss it back into the human world, back to Great Martial, to let it keep watch at the gate."

Xuan Ji swallowed a mouthful of saliva and nodded.

"I've... heard of it."

"Then it's simple: you only have one chance to become my servant; if you fail, you die."

Xuan Ji took a deep breath; as a disciple of Primordial Mountain, he naturally had heard of the Supreme Soul Seal Technique—this enslavement method is famed as the most domineering in the third-layer world, directly imprinting upon the depths of the soul.

However, Xuan Ji also recalled the benefits: at least he could retain some consciousness, unlike other enslavement methods that turn people into walking corpses.

Xuan Ji looked at Shen Qing, adjusted his state: "Come on."

As soon as the words fell, a soul seal directly landed on Xuan Ji's body.

Xuan Ji only felt a wave of numbness in his soul; the enslavement had succeeded, there was a hint of desolation, but also a feeling of relief.

Because Shen Qing's strength and potential exceeded its imagination, the future holds infinite possibilities.

In short, one sentence.

Shen Qing's servant is worth being one.

Anyway, I was just a gatekeeper at Primordial Mountain before; now being Shen Qing's servant is not bad either; being a servant anywhere is still being a servant, right?

Xuan Ji opened his eyes, without a hint of hesitation, directly knelt on the ground: "Xuan Ji greets his master."

Shen Qing nodded in satisfaction, stretched out his hand and hung several strands of life force on Xuan Ji's body, slightly healing his injuries.

"Alright, just wait for me under the mountain."

Having said that, Shen Qing walked toward the mountain peak; now he is going to meet Taichu Lao Ren.

Let's see if he really wants to find a successor, or if he's selling something else in the gourd.