How did a bastard like him become an immortal?

"The aura of an immortal?"

The black cloth covering Zhu Qi's eyes moved without wind, and the green bamboo spear in his hand emitted a low hum. The tender leaves at the tip of the spear withered instantly, already affected by this grayish-white aura. At this moment, his face was filled with an unprecedented solemnity.

"How could an immortal possibly remain in the mortal realm? That's impossible!"

A hint of doubt flashed through his mind. Once one breaks through to immortality, one will surely ascend to the upper realm. How could anyone possibly remain behind?

Just as everyone was utterly shocked by this sudden divine power...

In the center of the battlefield, the space a hundred feet in front of Emperor Li Tian silently collapsed, not shattered, but as if wiped away by an invisible giant hand. A figure slowly stepped out of the space.

The old man looked extremely ordinary, dressed in plain gray cloth. He was thin, with a withered face, deep wrinkles, and sparse white hair held together by a single wooden hairpin. His eyes were closed, and his breath was so faint as to be almost imperceptible, as if a gust of wind could blow it away.

However, this seemingly frail old man caused the entire world to collapse around him the moment he appeared, and the source of that pervasive, annihilating divine power was him!

He was the true pillar of the Tang Dynasty's Li imperial family, the ancestor of the Li family, who slept deep in the ancestral land of the dragon vein, barely surviving with secret methods, and barely stepped into the legendary realm of immortals, but had to sleep forever due to the exhaustion of his lifespan.

"Ancestor!"

A glint of light flashed in Li Tiandi's eyes. He suddenly knelt on one knee, his expression extremely devout, and shouted loudly.

"Your unworthy descendant, Emperor Li, respectfully requests the presence of your ancestor to punish the traitor and protect the eternal foundation of our Great Tang!"

As Emperor Li knelt in worship, everyone on the battlefield who belonged to the Tang Dynasty imperial family, the Hall of Worship, the Imperial Guard, and even those members of the Yangshen Temple who were secretly controlled by Emperor Li, suddenly froze.

At the top of their heads, strands of life essence and cultivation power, some dense and some sparse, contained the origin of life. As if drawn by an invisible hand, they transformed into streams of light of various colors, surging wildly toward the withered Li Podao.

"what!"

In an instant, screams rose and fell. The cultivators whose lifespan and cultivation were forcibly drained, regardless of their cultivation level, withered and aged at a visible speed.

Their hair turned white and fell out instantly, their skin became covered in wrinkles, their aura rapidly declined, and those with low cultivation levels were even reduced to ashes.

Li Podao's withered body, like a parched sponge encountering sweet rain, greedily absorbed this massive amount of life essence.

His faint breath began to rise at an alarming rate, and his tightly closed eyes trembled slightly, as if they might open at any moment.

"Stop him!"

Zhu Hongwu's eyes were bloodshot; this resurgent energy was far too strong, making him feel a deadly threat.

He suddenly flipped the broken bowl in his hand, and the crystal divine fire inside transformed into a pillar of fire that could scorch the heavens and boil the seas, recklessly blasting towards Li Podao, who was absorbing lifespan.

"Fire will ignite the world!"

Zhu Qi also looked solemn, and the bamboo spear in his hand burst out with a dazzling green light. The spear tip pointed directly at Li Podao's brow, and a sharp spear intent that pierced through illusions suddenly soared into the sky.

However, Li Podao kept his eyes closed and did not make any movement.

Just then, the pillar of fire, powerful enough to incinerate even a peak Mahayana cultivator, and the spear intent, powerful enough to pierce through the laws, exploded with a hum.

A thin, almost transparent gray halo, like ripples on water, gently rippled outwards from Li Podao's center.

The blazing pillar of fire vanished the instant it touched the gray halo. Zhu Qi's spear intent, which pierced through illusions, was unable to even create a ripple when it collided with the gray halo.

"Insects, how noisy."

A hoarse, dry voice slowly rang out, and Li Podao, who was in the distance, slowly opened his eyes, his words carrying immense power.

Zhu Hongwu was struck as if by lightning. The Sun and Moon Universe Glass Cup in his hand trembled violently, and a tiny crack spread from the rim of the bowl.

His burly body swayed violently, his face turned ashen, and he spat out a mouthful of blood, his cultivation energy instantly weakening by more than half.

"Uh!"

Zhu Qi grunted, and two glaring lines of blood seeped out from under the black blindfold. He staggered back several steps, and the green bamboo spear in his hand let out a mournful cry. For the first time, the invincible sharpness of the spear was crushed by absolute power.

Li Podao's eyes had no whites, no pupils, only a vast expanse. Wherever his gaze fell, space silently vanished, and the laws wailed and collapsed, radiating utter and complete immortal might. Immortal beings regarded all things as mere straw dogs.

No longer a terrestrial immortal, nor a pseudo-immortal, but a true being who has grasped the essence of the laws and principles of immortality.

His gaze casually swept across the battlefield.

puff! puff! puff! puff!

The Yin-Yang Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise, which were formed from the eight managers of the Imperial Cinema, shattered inch by inch the moment that gaze swept over them, turning into countless points of light and dissipating. The eight managers groaned in unison, spitting out blood, and their auras plummeted to the bottom.

Yang Jian, Li Xianjiu, De Biao, De Shan, Elder Jian Chi, and all the powerful figures on Li Muyun's side, regardless of distance or the severity of their injuries, all coughed up blood the moment that gaze swept over them, as if they were being stared at by the eyes of death.

His true essence, soul, and even life force were rapidly draining away, like a candle flickering in the wind, ready to be extinguished at any moment.

At the edge of the deep pit, Li Muyun felt the most terrifying pressure. That gray and desolate gaze seemed to linger on him for a moment, and Li Muyun immediately felt that the whole world before him had fallen into a deathly silence and darkness.

A pair of large hands slowly hovered and appeared above his head, emanating an incomparably dense aura of annihilation, as if anyone who touched even the slightest bit of it would immediately turn into dust and be completely wiped out by heaven and earth.

Li Muyun's Great Dao Sword Body let out a mournful cry. The sword intent within his body became chaotic and trembled violently, as if it were about to shatter. Just as his energy was beginning to recover, his body collapsed once again, covered in blood, turning into a blood-soaked figure, and fell straight into the deep pit.

Just a glance.

He severely injured the Sun and Moon Emperor and Zhu Qi, defeated the eight managers of the Imperial Cinema, severely damaged all the peak Mahayana experts, and once again plunged the newly recovered Li Muyun into the dust.

This is the immortal, the absolute power that transcends the mortal realm, viewing all living beings as ants, a being that has completely transcended the mundane world.

The entire battlefield was plunged into a moment of despair more deathly silent than ever before.

Under the gray sky, only Li Podao's withered figure floated silently.

He slowly raised a withered, bony hand, his fingertips swirling with a gray aura that seemed to annihilate all things. His expression was utterly indifferent as he held it high, and an aura of power emanated from the heavens and earth, filling the hearts of everyone on the battlefield.

Everyone felt a faint, almost imperceptible connection to their destiny, which quickly amplified, creating a feeling of life force being gripped by the gods and demons before them, almost suffocating them.