The opening scene reveals the story of Yao Lao, alarming the Soul Emperor.

Hun Yue's killing intent was written all over his face.

He stood in the center of a circle with golden patterns, black battle aura surging around him, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles cracked.

A useless member of a collateral branch with no cultivation not only blocked his palm strike in front of all the Heavenly Venerables and Battle Venerables in the hall, but also set up an array under his feet.

If I lose face like this, how will I ever be able to hold my head high in the Heavenly Hall again?

"You think a few array patterns can trap me?"

His voice was squeezed out from between his teeth.

"It can't trap them," Hun Yu said casually, waving his fan, "but it's enough to blast them."

"Those patterns on your feet are absorbing your own battle qi. A full-force attack from a peak half-step Dou Zun has considerable energy."

"I pressed them into a three-foot-deep layer of stone slabs and used the locking pattern to lock the direction of diffusion."

"Now that energy has only one outlet, which is the center of the circle beneath your feet."

"If I withdraw the formation, they will return the way they came."

"Where do we return to?"

Hunyu tapped the sole of his foot with his fan.

"Please take a look."

Hun Yue's expression changed several times, finally settling on an extremely ugly, ashen blue.

He is not stupid.

He had fought battles his whole life and knew the consequences of having one's fighting spirit backfire.

The energy from his full-force palm strike exploded up from the soles of his feet; even if he didn't die, both his legs would be ruined.

But to be publicly suppressed by a cripple like this was even more painful than having both legs crippled.

"Fine, you've got guts."

He took a deep breath and lowered his voice to the lowest possible level.

"Then I'll try another method. I won't make a move, nor will I use any fighting spirit. I want to see what your fancy footwork can do..."

"Fifth Heavenly Venerable," Hun Yu interrupted him, "I'll say a few more words, will you listen?"

"explain."

"First of all. I am here to meet the clan leader in Zhongzhou by order of the clan leader. I am not here to fight you. You are one of the Nine Heavenly Venerables, with a higher status and stronger cultivation than me. It would be dishonorable for you to win against a collateral descendant like me, and it would be even more shameful to lose."

Hun Yue's brow twitched.

"The second sentence."

He peeled away the casual shell from Hunyu's voice, revealing something cold and decisive underneath.

"If you really want to make a move, I can't stop you. These few array patterns will at most cause you some minor losses, but they won't cripple you. You could crush my body with a single finger."

"but."

He shook his fan.

"The clan chief's decree clearly states that I must reach Zhongzhou alive. If you kill or maim me on the way, how will you explain it to the clan chief?"

"Are you planning to tell the clan leader that this good-for-nothing from a collateral branch has a foul mouth and deserves a beating?"

These two sentences changed the atmosphere in the hall once again.

It wasn't tension, but a subtle quiet.

Neither the Dou Zun on either side nor the Tian Zun on the high platform spoke, but Hun Yu could sense many gazes shifting back and forth between him and Hun Yue.

Hun Yue's expression was not good.

He certainly knew what the clan chief's decree meant, and he also knew what kind of consequences it would be if he attacked someone appointed by the clan chief here.

But he knew even better that if he were to be silenced by a useless person in front of so many people, his prestige in the Heavenly Gang Hall would be ruined.

dilemma.

"Your mouth," Hun Yue said, enunciating each word clearly, "is more disgusting than your fan."

"Thank you for the compliment."

"I wasn't praising you."

"I know." Hun Yu closed the fan, held it in his hand like a cane, and tapped the ground. "Fifth Heavenly Venerable, I can take back the array patterns."

"But I have a small request."

"What right do you have to make requests of me?"

"I'm not qualified. This is purely a discussion."

"explain."

"Please make way. I'll walk to the front of the platform, see whoever I need to see, and say whatever I need to say. This little matter will be forgotten once we're out of this door."

"You won't lose face, and I won't lose my life. It's pretty fair."

Hun Yue stared at him for a long time.

The main hall was so quiet that the faint sound of will-o'-the-wisps burning could be heard.

Finally, someone spoke from the shadows of the platform.

This time, it wasn't a tone of persuasion, it was a command.

"Hun Yue, step back."

The sound wasn't loud, but each word made the entire hall resonate.

Hun Yue's body trembled, and the black battle qi suddenly receded into his body.

He didn't turn around, but he kept his mouth shut.

Three breaths later, he lifted his foot and walked out of the circle with golden patterns.

He walked back to his original spot, neither looking at Hunyu nor at the high platform.

His back was as stiff as an iron plate.

Hunyu glanced down at the golden patterns on the ground, then gently waved his fan. The patterns slowly faded from the cracks in the rubble and disappeared completely.

He started walking again, heading towards the platform.

I took two steps.

Hun Yue's voice came from behind, extremely low and deep.

"Boy, I'll remember this debt you incurred today."

"Five Heavenly Venerables," Hun Yu said without turning his head, "you have too many debts to keep track of. I suggest you take a notebook."

There was no further sound from behind.

Soul Feather walked past the last three rows of will-o'-the-wisps and stopped in front of the high platform.

Raise your head.

There are five stone chairs on the platform, three in the front row and two in the back row.

There was one person sitting on the left and one person sitting on the middle chair in the front row, while the one on the right was empty.

Two blurry figures sat on the two chairs in the back row, their auras so deep that they were impossible to discern.

Above the five stone chairs, beneath the dome, the black object still hovered in mid-air.

It remained still and silent.

But Hunyu could sense that the thing had been watching him ever since he entered the room.

He unfolded the white feather fan again and bowed slightly towards the platform.

"Hunyu, a collateral disciple, has been ordered by the clan leader to enter Zhongzhou to meet with the clan leader."

"Passing through this place, I am honored to have been entertained by the banquet hosted by the Tiangang Palace. I am sorry to have troubled you."

They introduced themselves respectfully, neither humble nor arrogant.

The person in the middle chair in the front row shifted and leaned forward.

The light from the will-o'-the-wisp finally reached his face.

It was an unnaturally young face, looking no more than thirty years old, with fair skin and a small, neatly trimmed mustache on his chin.

His eyes were gray with very light pupils.

He smiled, his voice neither warm nor cold.

"Soul Feather, do you know who ordered this welcome banquet today?"

"This junior does not know."

"it's me."

He stood up from the chair.

The moment he stood up, a layer of black luster appeared on the entire stone surface of the platform.

"The Great Celestial Venerable under the Lord of the Heavenly Gang Palace, Soul Abyss."

Great Heavenly Venerable.

Above the Nine Heavenly Venerables, below only one person.

Hunyu's pupils narrowed slightly, then quickly relaxed.

He remained in a bowing posture, with his fan hanging at his side.

"The Grand Celestial Venerable personally hosted this banquet, and I am overwhelmed with gratitude."

"Don't be so flattered yet." Hun Yuan walked down from the high platform, each step carrying a pressure that seemed to make the air feel heavy. "I didn't bring you here to treat you to drinks."

"It's because I have a question I'd like to ask you in person."

He stopped three steps away from Hunyu.

Gray eyes met Soul Feather's eyes.

"The clan chief's decree contained four characters."

"Which four words?"

"At any cost."

Hunyuan's voice was flat and even, but each word carried an unnatural weight.

"At any cost, we'll bring you back to Central Plains. Alive."

"What do you think the clan chief meant by using these four words to describe a member of a collateral branch?"

Hunyu did not answer immediately.

He straightened up, draped the white feather fan back over his shoulder, and looked at the unnaturally young face in front of him.

There was a three-breath silence.

"This junior does not understand the clan leader's meaning."

"But I can guess one."

"Guess."

"The clan leader isn't protecting me."

"He's wary of me."

The moment those words were spoken, everyone on both sides of the hall held their breath.

Hunyuan's expression remained unchanged.

Something flickered in his gray eyes, and it lingered for several breaths.

Then he laughed.

This time, the laughter was a step deeper than before, so deep it was chilling.

"interesting."

He was about to say the next sentence.

Above the high platform.

The floating black mass suddenly moved.