Starting as a Grandmaster, all of my cultivation techniques are at max level.

Within the Hetu Luoshu, Lan Tianzun felt a blur before his eyes, and the scene before him instantly transformed from the desolate, ruined star field.

Beneath my feet stretches a verdant mountain range that extends for thousands of miles, in the distance lies a vast, blue lake, and above me hang three strange stars.

Looking around, this place is simply a perfect paradise.

But the moment Lan Tianzun stepped into this place, his expression suddenly darkened.

"Where did this bastard take me, the Heavenly Venerable, to?!"

His divine sense spread wildly, yet it couldn't reach any edge of this world. It was as if this small world, though seemingly small, was actually boundless.

"This place is indeed a bit strange, but in front of me, the Celestial Venerable, it's all just a charade!" The Celestial Venerable Lan sneered, raising his hand to unleash a blood-red blade that slashed towards a distant mountain peak.

As expected, the streak of blood-red light ripped through the sky, instantly cleaving the thousand-foot-tall peak in two! The entire mountain collapsed with a deafening roar.

But in just three breaths, the collapsed rocks seemed to be drawn together by an invisible force, and the collapsed mountain rose up again at a speed visible to the naked eye. When the dust settled, the mountain was restored to its original state.

Lan Tianzun's brows furrowed.

"This...how is this possible! Hmph! I, the Celestial Venerable, refuse to believe it!" He waved his hand again, and ten blood-red beams of light simultaneously blasted in all directions!

In an instant, the earth cracked, the lakes receded, and jagged cracks were torn open in the void.

But as soon as the cracks appeared, they were quickly healed as if smoothed out by an invisible hand; the shattered earth closed up again, and the churning lake returned to calm.

Everything was repaired without a trace.

Even more strangely, Lan Tianzun clearly felt that a strange power of rules was seeping out from every corner of this world, wrapping around his limbs and bones.

That power was extremely gentle, even carrying a hint of warmth, and would absolutely not make anyone pay attention to it.

But it was precisely this gentleness that made him even more terrified.

It is like a giant millstone, turning slowly, and you are the grain in the center of that millstone, being ground and crushed little by little.

Lan Tianzun looked down at his hands, feeling fear for the first time. The edges of his fingertips were beginning to blur, as if they were being erased from this world. Even if it was just a little bit, who could guarantee what would happen in a day, a month, or a year?

"No!!" He raised his head, his pupils filled with madness. "I am the Heavenly Venerable Lan! Heaven won't take me, earth won't take me, and this place can't take me either!"

His blood surged wildly, and a huge blood-red phantom rose from behind him, roaring as it opened its blood-red maw and swallowed the sky.

But only ripples appeared on that barrier of rules before it returned to calm.

However, the grinding force suddenly intensified by three points at this moment.

Lan Tianzun's body began to become transparent at an even faster rate.

"Bastard!!" His voice held a hint of fear. "You can't hold me! I was born from a sea of ​​blood, my essence is immortal, and one day I will break free of this cage! Then I will tear you to pieces and extract your soul!"

But all that responded to him was the unchanging, slow rotation of the three stars and the silent, grinding power of the omnipresent rules.

......

Outside of the Hetu and Luoshu.

Xia Jin looked into the Hetu Luoshu and saw a tiny, blood-red figure struggling and roaring frantically. The edges of the figure were becoming fainter and thinner.

He sneered and slowly closed his five fingers.

"Lord Lan, enjoy your time in my River Chart and Luo Book. If it can't be crushed in one day, then crush it for ten days; if it can't be crushed in ten days, then crush it for a hundred days. I have plenty of time to wait, but you don't have that much time to wait with me."

After saying that, the Hetu Luoshu transformed into a stream of light and disappeared into his brow.

Just as Xia Jin was about to turn and leave, his brows suddenly furrowed slightly.

A flash of seven-colored light appeared between his eyes.

Xia Jin did not turn around, but simply stood casually with her hands behind her back in the void.

"Like a rat hiding its head and tail. You've already come all this way, yet you're still hiding behind that broken rock. Do you really think you can just wait for me to invite you out for tea?"

As soon as he finished speaking, two ripples suddenly appeared in the shadow of a ruined star in the distance.

The shadow seemed to come alive, and two figures slowly emerged from it.

They were two extremely ordinary-looking people, dressed in gray linen robes, with faces so plain that they would be easily forgotten, and no one would give them a second glance if they walked down the street.

But how could anyone who can appear here be an ordinary person?

They took a step forward, appearing a hundred feet away from Xia Jin, staring at him expressionlessly, their four eyes lifeless, devoid of any living spirit.

A flash of seven-colored light appeared in Xia Jin's eyes, followed by a sneer.

"Heh... I thought you were some kind of powerful being, but it turns out you're just two divine thoughts descending using puppetry as a medium. You don't even dare reveal your true forms, yet you dare to come before me? Do you really think that just because you're puppets, I won't be able to find your true forms?!"

One of the figures looked at Xia Jin and said calmly, "Your strength is indeed extraordinary, easily suppressing Lan Tianzun. We admire you. With your abilities, finding our true forms would indeed be easy for you, but we are here today not to be your enemy!"

"Hmph! Stop beating around the bush. Just say what you mean." A hint of impatience flashed in Xia Jin's eyes.

"This Celestial Venerable Lan has some connection with our Dark Source. We request that you return him to us, which would be a favor to the Dark Source."

Another figure spoke up, but his tone was equally deathly: "Lan Tianzun is of some use to us. Detaining him will not bring you much benefit; on the contrary, it will only create karma between you and my Dark Source."

After hearing this, Xia Jin suddenly burst into laughter.

"Ha ha ha ha!!"

"Human relationships? Cause and effect? ​​Are you threatening me?"

He laughed for a long time before gradually stopping, but his eyes turned icy cold in an instant.

"So who dares to be so bold as to speak to me like this? It turns out you come from the source of darkness. No wonder you have such confidence."

"But what about the source of darkness?"

Xia Jin's purple hair moved without wind. He looked at the two expressionless puppets and said calmly:

"Why should I need to curry favor with anyone in my actions?"

"Let alone the fact that you are merely two puppet divine thoughts descending, even if your true forms, the source of darkness, were to appear before me in person, I would still say the same thing."

His lips slowly curled upwards, revealing a smile full of mockery and domineering arrogance.

"Lord Lan, I have made up my mind to refine it."

"If you, the source of darkness, are not satisfied, then bring it on."