Chapter 167: The Immortal King Seeks to Cross the Boundary

Stone Emperor stiffened in midair; the words "You also deserve?" were like an invisible ear slap, making his soul and spirit tremble.

Li Hentian didn't look at him; his gaze swept past this ruined carcass and fell upon that distant, unknown void rift.

"I have guarded this realm for several epochs, having seen countless wanderers like you."

Li Hentian spoke in a flat tone, his fingers lightly rubbing the sword hilt at his waist,

"Your bodies reek of a nauseating rot, like maggots crawling out of a grave pile, willing to devour anything to stay alive."

The Stone Emperor's face turned ashen; he was an ancient emperor who once ruled over all tribes—when had he ever suffered such humiliation?

But he dared not move.

That finger hanging above his head, though lacking earth-shaking pressure, locked down all causality and space around him.

As long as he dared to move a finger, his fate would be annihilation of both body and spirit.

"Senior... let's talk this out."

The Stone Emperor gritted his teeth and swallowed it down, forcing out a thread of fawning,

"Since you're interested in that Gu Family, junior is willing to show the way! The Gu Family grandfather and grandson are right……"

"Show the way?"

Li Hentian finally lowered his head to glance at him; his eyes held no killing intent, only the cold indifference of one looking at a tool: "Not needed."

He raised his hand, palm facing down.

This time it truly fell.

There was no earth-shaking explosion, nor any dazzling light effect.

The Stone Emperor only felt his vision go black, then an indescribable sharp pain instantly engulfed his consciousness.

That was not bodily pain, but the agony of having his memories forcibly rifled through and his soul violently torn apart.

Soul Search.

Simple, direct, brutal.

For an Immortal King, to know something requires no interrogation at all.

An ant's mouth may lie, but a soul imprint does not.

"Ah——!!!"

A shrill wail echoed across the Cloud Mountain Range.

The Stone Emperor's flesh, which was in the midst of reforming, began to spasm violently, black smoke spewing from his seven orifices.

His incomplete Imperial Dao laws, under the pressure of the Immortal King's will, were as fragile as a sheet of paper.

After a moment.

Li Hentian withdrew his palm, disdainfully shaking off nonexistent dust.

"I see."

He closed his eyes, and scenes unfolded in his mind.

It was a star domain where laws were defective, a group of supremes who barely survived by cutting off their own finger, a half-step Immortal King named Gu Cangsheng, and…… a boy who talked nonsense but had myriad tricks.

"Burial Emperor Star Domain……Path to Immortality……"

Li Hentian's mouth twitched slightly, revealing a hint of amusement,

"And that bronze ancient coffin."

In the Stone Emperor's memories, he saw that ancient coffin.

Although it was only a fleeting glance, the Sword Intent within his body instantly produced a violent resonance.

That was absolutely a treasure surpassing the Immortal King level, possibly even…… involving the legendary Era of the Emperor's Fall.

"No wonder it could block my deductions, no wonder it dared to steal two provinces from under that idiot Chi Xiao and right under my nose."

Li Hentian opened his eyes; two pitch-black sword beams shot from his pupils, instantly piercing the firmament and delving into the depths of chaos.

"Found it."

Relying on the spatial coordinates lingering in the Stone Emperor's soul, plus Immortal King-level causality tracing, he finally locked onto that world long hidden in the mist.

As for the Stone Emperor……

At this moment, the Stone Emperor lay limp on the ground, eyes rolled back, foaming at the mouth, his soul and spirit utterly shattered into dregs, leaving only a body brimming with power but devoid of consciousness—a walking corpse.

"Putting waste to use."

Li Hentian casually flicked his wrist, a sword qi sweeping up the Stone Emperor's ruined corpse.

"Since you escaped from that world, let your flesh and blood serve as a guide to build a bridge for me."

He is not a brute like Chi Xiao; crossing realms under rule suppression will greatly diminish his strength.

But if the native living beings of that world are used as sacrificial flesh and blood, it can maximally deceive Heaven's Dao, preserving more of his combat power.

Li Hentian took a step, his figure instantly vanishing from the spot.

The next moment, he appeared atop the highest peak of Buried Sword Mountain in Sword Province.

Countless broken swords resonated in unison at that moment, as if welcoming their king.

Li Hentian raised his hand and hurled the Stone Emperor's ruined corpse into that huge sword forge.

"Offering."

Boom!

Black flames shot up into the sky; the Stone Emperor's corpse instantly turned into pure energy, constructing in the void a faint bridge that reached straight to that distant far shore.

"Gu Cangsheng……"

Li Hentian stood with his hands behind his back, his robes snapping in the gale.

"I want to see whether you can still escape from my grasp this time."

……

Burial Emperor Star Domain, the end of the path to immortality.

That fragment of the broken immortal domain has been thoroughly cleaned up.

Gu Yuan sat cross-legged on the bronze ancient coffin, holding the stone tablet dug out from the immortal mausoleum, studying the inscriptions on it.

Gu Cangsheng, like an old farmer, was busy on a floating continent not far away, occasionally grabbing some law fragments from the void.

This place, although dilapidated.

But at least it bears a trace of the immortal.

Bringing it back to the Gu family, properly refining it to serve as a martial training ground wouldn't be bad.

「Grandfather。」

Gu Yuan tossed the stone tablet into the ancient coffin, brushed off the dust on his hands, and said, 'Stop busying yourself; this kind of dirty, tiring work ought to be done by your son.'

Gu Cangsheng, hearing that, stopped what he was doing and stroked his beard.

「That's also reasonable. »

The old ancestor nodded, 'Having Gu Lin Tian do this rough work is just right; it also saves this old man from wasting time.'

Gu Yuan's eyes lit up; he'd been waiting for those words!

With a thought, a splendid spatial gate slowly unfolded in the void.

Boom—

From the other end of the gate came a familiar aura.

First to step out was Gu Lin Tian's towering figure.

Following closely behind were Gu Lingjiang, Jiang Rou, and several other Heavenly Emperor realm experts.

Obviously they were always ready to provide support.

「Father! 」

As soon as Gu Lin Tian appeared, he respectfully saluted Gu Cangsheng.

「Yuan'er, are you alright? 」

He then turned his head, looking concernedly at his son.

「Dad, what could possibly happen to me? 」

Gu Yuan gave a hehe smile, patted his chest, and said, 'With Grandfather here, those emperors of the Burial Emperor Star Domain aren't even worthy to fill the gaps between my teeth.'

Only then did Gu Lin Tian relax his breath, his gaze sweeping over the broken immortal domain fragment, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

「This... actually is a fragment of an immortal domain? 」

「That's right. »

Gu Cangsheng nodded, 'Although it's dead, taking it back to refine it would make a decent training ground; these tasks are yours to handle.'

「Yes, Father. »

Gu Lin Tian responded, immediately commanding the Heavenly Emperor realm experts to begin cleaning up this space.

Amid everyone's busyness, Gu Yuan suddenly produced a storage ring from the bronze ancient coffin.

「Father, elders, please pause a moment. »

Gu Yuan cleared his throat, a smug smile appearing on his face.

「This time our haul is not small; I'll first distribute resources to everyone. »

Gu Cangsheng raised his brow, his old face twitching.

He just said Yuan'er's so eager because he's waiting to show off!