After I stopped trying, a rich woman trained me into a demon emperor.

Zhou Ran looked away from the window and went downstairs.

living room.

Zhou Ran sat in the host's seat, and Old Xu sat in the guest's seat.

The middle-aged swordsman and the Taoist nun stood behind Old Xu, not taking their seats.

Li Zhiyao leaned against the window frame, her arms crossed over her chest.

Chen Ya stood to Zhou Ran's right, holding a pen in her hand.

There was no tea served, nor any small talk.

They were all looking at Zhou Ran's expression.

Old Xu took out a small brass box from his pocket and pushed it to the center of the table.

"The things entrusted to Meng Po".

Zhou Ran reached out and opened the box lid.

The interior is lined with black velvet, and a piece of broken porcelain lies in the very center.

Its shape, material, and glaze are of the same origin as the two pieces he repaired in the River of Oblivion.

Tiny inscriptions have appeared on the inner wall of this broken porcelain piece.

So small that they were indistinguishable to the naked eye, Zhou Ran had to infuse his divine sense to recognize each character.

Within the Heavenly Corpse lies a sea of ​​spider lilies; those who cross this sea of ​​flowers must not turn back.

Zhou Ran muttered to himself, "I had met Meng Po in the underworld before."

This old woman loves to speak in riddles.

Although he didn't know the meaning of those words, he put the broken porcelain into his pocket and looked up at Old Xu.

"The Pavilion Master said that Penglai has existed for 30,000 years."

"Thirty thousand years, didn't you ever think of going in yourselves?"

The smile on Old Xu's lips faded slightly.

"I've been inside."

Seven times.

He stretched out his left hand and placed it on the table.

He has only three fingers.

The index and middle fingers are now just two smooth cut surfaces, without even a scar.

That wasn't cut off by the blade; it was the empty space left after the entire finger was "swallowed."

"I came back three times."

The remaining four times, the person was gone.

Zhou Ran stared at that hand.

"This was the sixth time, and I went in person."

Old Xu put his hand back into his sleeve, his voice sounding like he was talking about someone else's old stories.

"I lost two fingers and half my life."

The laws of the ethereal realm within the Heavenly Corpse are thinner than those outside, so they won't be instantly obliterated, but will gradually erode it.

The longer you stay, the more you are assimilated.

Diluted version of the Void Realm.

Nascent Soul cultivators can enter alive, but there is a time limit.

Only the Golden Elixir of the Mind can withstand assimilation.

Zhou Ran's gaze shifted from the crippled hand to Old Xu's face.

"I understand what the Pavilion Master means."

He leaned back in his chair.

"Is there anything else you'd like to add?"

The middle-aged swordsman spoke.

He took a step forward, looked Zhou Ran up and down, and spoke without the slightest bit of politeness.

"The Pavilion Master is respectful to those who are talented, but to be honest, as a late-stage Golden Core cultivator, you can't do anything inside except block the laws of the Void Realm."

He placed his five fingers on the hilt of the sword wrapped in cloth at his waist.

"In terms of combat strength, Penglai doesn't need you."

Chen Ya's pen tip slid across the paper, leaving a trail of ink.

"oh."

Zhou Ran didn't even glance at the swordsman.

He took something out of his pocket and gently placed it on the table.

Bronze token.

The surface is covered in a layer of verdigris and worn edges. On the front is a name that has been blurred by the passage of time, and on the back is a line of small characters.

This command can summon the gate of the Heavenly Corpse's spine.

The sound of the token hitting the table was very soft.

Old Xu's reaction, however, was disproportionately large.

Three fingers trembled simultaneously.

The bamboo cane slipped from his knees and hit the floor tiles with a crisp sound.

"Li Chengfeng..."

His voice was hoarse.

Having cultivated the Dao for 2,700 years, his composure at the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm was shattered by this token.

"Where did you get it?"

"Li Chengfeng's belongings".

Zhou Ran's answer was brief.

"His sister kept it for him for four thousand years."

Old Xu's gaze shifted from the token to Li Zhiyao, and then back again.

His Adam's apple bobbed up and down.

"Penglai entered the Heavenly Corpse six times before, always through the 'eyes'."

Old Xu's voice had returned to normal, but his speaking speed was faster than before.

"The laws of the void are weakest there, but the area accessible is limited, only able to reach the surface organs of the celestial corpse."

His eyes were fixed on the token.

"The spine is the core passage of the Heavenly Corpse, leading directly to the central plane where the heart is located."

For thirty thousand years, Penglai Pavilion has searched every inch of the celestial corpse's surface, but has never found a way to open the gate to the spine.

The middle-aged swordsman's expression changed.

"Li Chengfeng's token is the only key."

The living room was silent for three seconds.

Zhou Ran tapped the edge of the token lightly with his finger.

Old Xu stood up.

The Taoist nun picked up the bamboo walking stick and handed it to him, but he didn't take it.

The 2,700-year-old man solemnly clasped his hands in a fist salute to a 24-year-old young man.

"Young friend Zhou, you name the terms of the cooperation."

The middle-aged swordsman's lips moved, but he ultimately swallowed his words.

Zhou Ran's lips curled up slightly, not in a smile, but in a gesture of satisfaction.

He was about to speak.

A loud thud was heard beneath my feet.

It was neither an earthquake nor a fluctuation of a magic array.

It's a heartbeat.

A heartbeat pounding up from the depths of the manor.

Everyone present sensed it.

Zhou Ran's Golden Core in his dantian trembled violently, and the three gray lines lit up simultaneously, three times brighter than before.

The rules he inscribed on the seventh seal.

"The heart rate must not exceed thirty beats per minute."

It was wiped out from the inside.

thump.

thump.

thump.

thump.

My heartbeat is getting faster and faster.

Old Xu's noodles turned ashen.

"Someone got in before us."

Old Xu's cane slid two inches further off the ground.

The middle-aged swordsman's hand was already gripping the cloth-wrapped hilt of his sword, and his entire body's energy was fully mobilized in an instant.

Zhou Ran didn't move.

He focused all his attention on his dantian.

The three gray lines on the Golden Elixir of the Mind were glowing intensely.

The vibrations transmitted through the soles of my feet were rhythmic and consistent.

More than sixty times per minute.

The rule he personally inscribed on the seventh layer of the seal has become invalid.

Zhou Ran took out the Yin-Yang Communication Bone Fragment, poured in his true essence, and lowered his voice to a flat tone.

The bone fragment glowed for a moment and a half, then Qiao Kun's voice boomed out, panting heavily:

"Grand Commander, the imprint of the idealistic laws on the seventh layer of the seal has been removed!"

"When did this happen?"

"Just a quarter of an hour ago!"

When Yan San led his men to investigate, the sealing token on the stone wall was still there, but the additional rules you had engraved were completely gone, without even a trace.

Zhou Ran's thumb paused for a moment at the edge of the bone fragment.

"Who did it?"

Qiao Kun swallowed hard: "I checked, he's a half-step Nascent Soul cultivator."

In the living room, Old Xu slowly picked up his cane, supporting himself with both hands on the tip of the cane, his knuckles turning white.

"King Yama."

Zhou Ran told him his name.

"It wasn't the rebels who stormed in from the outside; Yama bypassed the River of Oblivion and went directly into the eighth level."

Qiao Kun remained silent for two seconds on the other end.

"Grand Commander, there is one more thing."

There was nothing unusual in the direction of the main hall of the third hall; the Song Emperor's barrier was very stable.

He couldn't possibly be unaware that a power at the half-step Nascent Soul level had intruded into his territory.

"But he did nothing."

"Nothing was done."

Zhou Ran cut off communication.

He tucked the bone fragment into his sleeve, looked up, and met Old Xu's eyes.

The old man's face showed no panic; 30,000 years of accumulated emotions had been suppressed deep within his bones, but his three severed fingers trembled uncontrollably.