Chapter 1653: Encountering Foreign Demons Again

The old man was bewildered by Xu Que's answer; only after a long pause did he mutter, "Do you know who I am..."

"I do. An Immortal Emperor, the one who's dead."

"Then why did you refuse me?"

"This humble one is a Buddhist; I do not accept food thrown like scraps," Xu Que declared once more with righteous dignity.

Hmph, does he think I'm an idiot?

Who ever hands over a legacy like this?

Xu Que rolled his eyes inwardly; without even thinking, he knew there had to be a trap.

The most crucial point was that the black qi that had surged forth just now felt very familiar to him.

Not long ago, he had just felt that same power within the Mie Shen Huang Mo.

The Demon Qi of the Foreign Demons!

Connecting the events before and after entering the Ancient Secret Realm, Xu Que already had some conjectures in his heart.

This conjecture shocked him greatly, even making him begin to suspect whether such a situation had also arisen within the Heavenly Gate itself.

"Old man, stop beating around the bush; I know you aren't that dead Immortal Emperor." With no one else around, Xu Que saw no need to hide anything further. "You dragged me here alone; what do you want? Just say it."

The old man froze, his features twisting into a ferocious look: "How did you see through me?"

"To be honest, your intelligence is indeed quite low. You made so many Cloud Pattern Stones to serve as keys, attracting vast numbers of Cultivators here. If I'm not mistaken, the original guardian wasn't nearly this powerful, was it?" Xu Que said with a cold smile. "You reshaped the guardian like this for the sole purpose of making Cultivators die at the First Stage. As for what you truly intend to do... I suppose you're trying to break free from your confinement, correct?"

"Am I wrong? Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon."

Xu Que stared straight at the other, speaking word by word.

The old man's face sank completely; he fixed Xu Que with a sinister gaze: "Who exactly are you? How could you possibly know this old one's origins?"

Xu Que immediately burst out laughing: "I just bluffed casually and you confessed; are you really that easy to fool? Stop being an Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon and go find a factory job instead."

"Hmph, since you know, I cannot let you live."

The old man waved his hand; dense Demon Qi instantly surged forth, enveloping Xu Que.

Xu Que knew he had guessed correctly.

The entire Ancient Secret Realm had, in fact, been a conspiracy from the very beginning.

All those Cloud Pattern Stones, including the guardian, were creations of this old man.

His purpose was to attract vast numbers of Cultivators to enter this place and become blood food to supply his escape; this was also why the Cloud Pattern Stones contained both Immortal Yuan and Demon Qi.

That old man was, in truth, an Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon.

As for why an Immortal Emperor's Legacy would contain an Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon, Xu Que did not know; the old man must have realized he had actually defeated the guardian, which is why he panicked and devised a way to isolate him.

That business about inheriting the Immortal Emperor's Legacy—if he had agreed, he might never have been able to leave.

"This Demon Venerable was imprisoned here by that damned Immortal Emperor for ten thousand years; now that I finally have a chance to break free, how could I allow a mere Cultivator who hasn't even grasped the Great Dao to ruin my plans!" the old man said coldly. "This Demon Qi is something this old one has refined over many years; just turn into dried bones within it."

Having said this, the old man turned and departed.

There were still so many Cultivators to deal with; he had tried every method to break free from his suppression. If only he could devour this group of Cultivators, he would surely be able to escape this place.

Thinking of this, the old man's features grew even more ferocious: "Once This Seat breaks free, I shall make the Immortal Cloud Continent a land strewn with corpses!"

"What did you say?" A voice suddenly rang out from beside him.

The old man's heart leaped violently; instinctively turning to look, he found Xu Que smiling brightly at him.

"How did you escape?" the old man asked in disbelief, looking back and forth, only to discover that his Demon Qi had vanished without a trace.

Following the old man's gaze, Xu Que smiled and said, "That clump of Demon Qi? I ate it."

"Ate... ate it?" The old man thought, Are you fucking bragging without even drafting a script!

That was Demon Qi this old one had refined over many years; even if an Immortal Emperor absorbed it, they wouldn't fare much better.

And you, a mere fellow at the Immortal King Realm, dare to speak so boldly?

"Bastard, simply ignorant of the height of heaven and the depth of earth..." The old man raised his hand and grabbed straight for Xu Que's head.

Xu Que merely tilted his head to dodge, then directly seized the old man's hand, saying with a cold smile, "Old man, do you really think you're an Immortal King?"

The moment he encountered the old man, Xu Que had already ordered the System to begin analysis; now the results were ready.

This old man had no physical form; he was composed entirely of Demon Qi.

Since it was Demon Qi, the solution was simple: devour it!

The old man had just tried to pull his hand back when his expression suddenly changed; terrified, he cried, "What are you doing? This Seat's body... Ah... Stop quickly!"

Strands of Demon Qi could be seen surging up from the old man's body, being inhaled into Xu Que.

"Ding. Reminder to Host: if you absorb this Demon Qi, progress will regress to fifty percent." The System's voice suddenly rang out.

Xu Que sighed: "Keep absorbing; could we possibly just let him go?"

Amid the old man's terrified screams, his entire body completely transformed into Demon Qi and was inhaled into Xu Que.

Xu Que exhaled a long breath; feeling that heavy sensation within his body, he helplessly shook his head.

Well, this trip yielded no legacy; instead, progress had regressed by a stretch.

Nevertheless, there was still a benefit gained: the Giant he had defeated had already been stored within the System.

Although this Immortal Emperor's Legacy was a trap, the rules of that guardian had not been altered; as long as one defeated the opponent, one could claim them.

With the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon gone, this space also began to collapse.

In the final second before its disappearance, Xu Que saw a cluster of golden light flashing in the Void.

"System, collect that thing for me!"

Xu Que hurriedly cried out.

His sixth sense told him that this would be the greatest harvest within this Ancient Secret Realm!

The next moment, the space completely collapsed.

Xu Que felt only a wave of dizziness in his mind; his vision blurred, and he found himself outside the Ancient Secret Realm.

Besides him, other Cultivators who had entered the Ancient Secret Realm also looked left and right with faces full of confusion.

"Strange, how did we come out?"

"Didn't we already defeat the guardian? Could it be that we failed?"

"That's impossible, right? Did we make this trip for nothing?"

Murong Yunhai stood together with several of his own Junior Brothers, vaguely sensing a familiar aura flash past.

He suddenly turned his head, only to see a familiar figure dart toward the distance.

From the angle of the back view, it seemed to be... Master Tang Sanzang?

"Sigh, let's go." Murong Yunhai sighed, turning to leave with his Junior Brothers, "The legacy of the Ancient Secret Realm has likely already been taken by someone."

He had a premonition that perhaps in the near future, he would meet Tang Sanzang again...

As soon as Xu Que left the Ancient Secret Realm, he ran wildly all the way, his heart overflowing with wild joy.

This time, he had damn well made a huge profit!