I am an incredibly handsome man, and my fiancée refuses to call off the engagement even at the cost

Gu Yan began to speak to himself, like a storyteller. But a storyteller could never match his magical skills. Gu Yan not only spoke, but he also conjured up various scenes from Journey to the West, making it feel incredibly immersive.

Tan Yue initially stared at him coldly, but as she listened, she became quite engrossed. Especially when he talked about the Monkey King's havoc in Heaven, his icy expression softened, and he even forgot to glare at that scoundrel Li Bai. The story then progressed to the point where Sun Wukong was suppressed under the Five Elements Mountain.

He even showed a regretful expression upon hearing this.

Gu Yan smiled and continued, telling the story of how Tang Sanzang released Sun Wukong, but Sun Wukong was unruly and difficult to tame. In the end, Guanyin instructed Tang Sanzang to trick Sun Wukong into wearing the golden headband.

"When Tang Sanzang recited the Tightening-Headband Mantra, Sun Wukong's head throbbed with pain. In the end, he could only beg Tang Sanzang for mercy, saying that he would never dare to be disrespectful again and that he was willing to listen to his teachings."

Gu Yan stopped there and stared at Tan Yue with a smile.

Tan Yue felt uneasy under his gaze. What exactly did this guy mean? He came all this way just to waste so much breath telling stories. Was he bored out of his mind?

"What exactly do you want to do?" Tan Yue asked, her tone tinged with impatience.

Gu Yan made a grasping motion in his hand, and with a flash of golden light, several round, golden hoop headbands appeared in his palm. Some were thin, some wide, some simple, some inlaid with jewels and jade—each one glittering with gold. Holding the headbands, he smiled and asked Tan Yue:

"My disciple, which golden headband do you like?"

Tan Yue was stunned for a moment, then, after realizing what was happening, he flew into a rage. But before his anger could even rise, a golden headband was already on his head. The instant the headband landed, the chains binding him broke free. With the restraints gone, Tan Yue's first instinct was to remove the golden headband.

However, the golden headband had taken root on his head, and no matter how much force he used, he couldn't remove it. Instead, he felt a surge of power emanating from the headband, which spread from his head throughout his body and firmly locked his primordial spirit.

"Li Bai—"

Enraged, Tan Yue roared and threw a punch at Gu Yan. Before the punch even landed, the wind from the blow sent Gu Yan's long hair flying and her clothes billowing.

Gu Yan smiled and said:

"Kneel down!"

The golden headband on Tan Yue's head emitted a light, and golden runes appeared on his body, instantly covering his entire body. Tan Yue's body went out of control, and with a loud thud, one of his knees slammed heavily into the ground.

Inside the Panlong Pagoda, a black-haired, golden-eyed man knelt on one knee before the black-clad youth, his eyes wide with disbelief. A force controlled his body; that absolute, suppressive power transformed into invisible threads, binding his body and turning him into a puppet.

A sharp pain shot through his head, as if countless heavy hammers were pounding on his brain, making his head ache terribly.

He endured the pain and looked at the black-clad youth in front of him with murderous eyes.

Gu Yan smiled radiantly and said, "Oh, my golden headband is different from Guanyin Bodhisattva's. It doesn't need the tightening spell to make you suffer to death, and you can't disobey my orders."

Tan Yue trembled all over, furious. He had never hated anyone so much before.

"Li Bai—"

A voice like that of an enraged beast rang out, but it quickly turned into a painful groan. Tan Yue, who had tried to resist, collapsed to the ground in pain, his whole body covered in beads of sweat the size of soybeans, veins bulging under his skin, and his teeth bleeding from being bitten so hard.

The pain subsided after a quarter of an hour. Tan Yue, drenched in sweat, looked up with bloodshot eyes, her gaze like that of a wild beast ready to devour its prey.

Gu Yan completely ignored his gaze, and stretched out her hand, revealing a pill radiating multicolored light. This was the Emperor Nourishing Pill.

"Eat it."

Tan Yue was shocked when he saw the Nourishing Emperor Pill, but his hands moved faster than his brain. At Gu Yan's command, he grabbed the pill and put it in his mouth. The potent medicinal power was immediately released into his body, and Tan Yue's spiritual energy seemed to boil within him, his spiritual pressure soaring.

"Focus on breaking through to the Spirit Emperor Realm."

Gu Yan gave the order.

In fact, even without his orders, Tan Yue would focus on breaking through to the Spirit Emperor Realm.

Tan Yue sat cross-legged on the spot, her whole body surrounded by purple light, making her look like a purple sun.

With a wave of Gu Yan's hand, the interior of the Panlong Tower expanded infinitely, forming its own world. This world was like a secret realm rich in spiritual energy, so dense that it manifested as a visible, ethereal mist.

In his previous life, Gu Yan obtained the Dragon Pagoda when he was twenty-eight years old, but he couldn't open it without the strength to reach the Void Refinement stage. Earth's spiritual energy was so scarce, and even with his extraordinary talent, it took him over six hundred years to reach the Nascent Soul stage. Therefore, he never had the power to open the Dragon Pagoda in his previous life, even until his death.

He was reincarnated in the Cloud Realm and cultivated to the Void Refinement stage before he could open this tower. He discovered that it was a self-contained world inside, brimming with spiritual energy, which infuriated Gu Yan. If he had opened this tower earlier in his previous life, he wouldn't have needed over six hundred years to reach the Nascent Soul stage!

But this is a vicious cycle. The Panlong Pagoda is rich in spiritual energy, but without the power of a Void Refinement cultivator, it cannot be opened. Outside, there is no spiritual energy, and one cannot cultivate to the Void Refinement stage.

I won't say anymore, it'll only bring tears to my eyes.

Tan Yue's aptitude far surpasses Huo Yun's, making it much easier for him to break through to the Spirit Emperor Realm than for Huo Yun.

Even if Tan Yue were incredibly talented, without the Nourishing Emperor Pill, it would still take him hundreds of years to reach the Spirit Emperor realm. Therefore, at the moment of his success, he was extremely excited. He was filled with disbelief—he...he had succeeded just like that? He was already at the early stage of the Spirit Emperor realm?

He looked at Gu Yan in disbelief, confused as to why this bastard would help him improve his strength.

"you……"

Tan Yue wanted to say, what exactly do you mean?

Before he could finish speaking, Gu Yan kicked him hundreds of miles away, sending him crashing through a distant red mountain peak. The interior of the Panlong Pagoda transformed into a red plateau, from which a deafening roar erupted, raising a cloud of dust, followed by an angry howl:

"Li Bai—"

Gu Yan was surrounded by sword energy, and streaks of silver sword light shot out from his body, transforming into thirty-six Heavenly Gang Swords.

Thirty-six Heavenly Gang Swords swirled behind him, splitting into layers of sword intent to form a magnificent sword wheel. With a flick of his finger, Gu Yan transformed the Heavenly Gang Swords into a terrifying rain of swords, which shot towards Tan Yue, who had just advanced to the early stage of the Spirit Emperor Realm.

bang bang bang-

Tan Yue roared and threw a punch, causing the void to tremble. Purple fist imprints instantly filled the void, colliding with the Heavenly Gang Swords and creating a deafening roar.

Gu Yan and Tan Yue started fighting.

Tan Yue was no match for him, and then—

Tan Yue was beaten to the point of near death by Gu Yan.

The red plateau had collapsed in large part, and a huge crater had formed a pool of blood. Tan Yue was beaten beyond recognition and was on the verge of death in that pool of blood, but his blood was actually flowing back, and he was healing rapidly.

In the sky, a stunningly beautiful young man sat on a throne made of long swords, smiling as he looked down at him.